CEOs across a range of industries are pushing their companies to adopt new strategies to enhance the customer experience, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.
The Rise of the Customer-led Economy global survey found that recent social and technological changes have transformed the traditional relationship between a company and its customers, “making the customer king again”.
89% of companies that define themselves as “high-performing” said that they are trying to “radically improve” the experience they give to their customers, while almost one third said they need to improve customer loyalty.
40% of companies say that a lack of clarity about how the customer-led economy will evolve has hampered their efforts so far.
The research also found that 51% of companies are still relying on their website as their main communication tool, followed by email (40%). 23% use social media, while just 10% use mobile apps.
However, 43% said that in the next three years, social media will become their number one channel, with the use of apps increasing fourfold.
EIU suggests that emerging technologies are the principle enablers of the shift to customer-centric thinking, with an increasing number of companies following their customers as they migrate across channels.
More than 80% of the executives polled said that improving connectivity between companies and customers will ultimately enhance the customer experience.
“We are moving away from the mind-set of trying to figure out what people want to buy and pushing it to them,” said Sean Carney, chief design officer, Philips. “Now we are looking at real-time engagement opportunities with customers.”
The full Rise of the Customer-led Economy report is available free of charge here.
