Zoho, a leading global technology company, has found that 21% of UK businesses view their customer experience innovation as excellent, according to its Digital Health Survey.
However, around four-fifths (79%) of respondents were unable to rate their CX innovation as excellent, despite 43% seeing improved customer experience as the top benefit of Digital Transformation. Those found to have good digital health (43%) are more likely than those with average digital health (19%) or poor digital health (11%) to rate their CX as excellent, demonstrating the positive impact of digitisation.
Despite a comprehensive market of customer-focused technology, the biggest issues cited were technology, rather than people-related. Almost a quarter of respondents (23%) reported that not being able to see the entire customer journey across all touchpoints and departments is negatively impacting CX.
Almost a fifth (17%) say they do not have the right software in place to be able to deliver good CX. Twelve percent say that not being able to collaborate easily across the business affects CX. Poor leadership (15%) and not having a strong customer support team (15%) are two other factors cited as obstacles to deliver good CX.
In today’s competitive landscape, CX is critical to success. This is demonstrated by 97% of UK business respondents citing that they plan to invest more in CX in the next year. Almost three in five (58%) are planning to invest more in AI as part of CX investments in the next year. However, for those with good digital health, this rises dramatically to 81%. Half (50%) are also planning to invest in CX through customer support software, and almost two-fifths (39%) are planning to invest in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. This demonstrates the impact of digitisation on a business’s ability to deliver good CX.
Sachin Agrawal, Managing Director at Zoho UK, said: “It is clear from the findings that more needs to be done to not only drive further use of technology to help, but to educate on the right strategy to make a positive impact. We remain committed to helping our customers serve their customers better through Digital Transformation.”
According to the study, four-fifths (80%) of UK businesses surveyed noted they had shifted to focus more on Employee Experience (EX) over the past couple of years. Respondents say this is driven by the need to increase staff retention and counter the ‘Great Resignation’ (45%) and to remain competitive (33%).
The study shows that 32% of UK businesses acknowledge improving EX as one of the top three benefits derived from Digital Transformation.
Technology empowerment is acknowledged by the majority of respondents, with 88% citing the importance of digital tools and technology in enhancing EX. However, when evaluating the introduction of new cloud software applications, only 21% of UK businesses surveyed cite the importance of EX as one of their top three considerations.