New CX Maturity Scale finds companies using
service and support best practices drive dramatically better
success and agility in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic
Zendesk, Inc. (NYSE: ZEN) today released new research in
partnership with Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) that shows how
companies investing in customer experience (CX) are reaping the
benefits. The global study found there is a clear link between
organizations with more mature customer experience capabilities,
and improved business success in areas such as market share,
increased customer spend, and pivoting processes over the last six
months.
The new report, CX Champions: How CX Leaders who raise their
game are driving business success, surveyed more than 1,000 CX
managers and leaders in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and
Latin America to better understand their investments in CX. From
the research, ESG developed a CX Maturity Scale that segments
organizations into three tiers of customer service maturity, based
on seven key characteristics that cover how organizations use their
support teams, technology and data to drive better performance. ESG
then classified businesses into three maturity categories:
Starters, which exhibit zero to three of the seven characteristics;
Risers, which have four to five of the characteristics; and
Champions, which have at least six of the characteristics in
place.
The research also found that, as companies around the world
adapt to new ways of remote working and ongoing uncertainty in
2020, more than three quarters of midsize and enterprise businesses
(78%) and nearly two thirds of small businesses (65%) said that
customer-centric agility has increased in importance as a result of
the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Organizations are under increasing pressure to rise above the
competition and grow their businesses - that’s even more of a
challenge as companies adjust to the impact of a global pandemic,
and the associated uncertainty that lies ahead,” said Colleen
Berube, Chief Information Officer and SVP of Operations at Zendesk.
“In working with ESG, we set out to confirm the link between an
organization’s ability to deliver a high quality experience and
better business results. The relationship is clear. We hope these
insights on the connection between a focus on customer experience
and business success can help companies learn from those that are
ahead on the CX scale.”
Some key findings from the report show that companies that
invest in CX yield significant benefits, including:
- Faster growth: Even during the pandemic, midsize and
enterprise Champions were found to be 8.7 times more likely than
Starters to have significantly grown customer spend. For small
business Champions, this figure increases to 9.2 times.
- Increased market share: Mid-size and enterprise
Champions were 3.3 times more likely to have grown their customer
base over the past six months. Small business Champions experienced
similar growth, being 3.6 times more likely to have grown their
customer base in the same period.
- Senior-level support: Champions also secured greater
investment and support from senior leadership within their
organization. For example, senior leaders at midsize and enterprise
Champions were 3.8 times more likely to see customer service as a
differentiator.
“Our research identified a clear connection between CX
excellence and business growth. Companies that are at the Champion
stage of the scale not only see better outcomes in traditional
service metrics, such as resolution time and CSAT, but they’re also
experiencing positive business outcomes in customer spend,
retention, and board-level support of CX as a business priority,”
said Adam DeMattia, Director of Custom Research at ESG.
Only a quarter of companies are at the top of their
game
While nearly all respondents agreed that CX stagnation will lead
to business disruption, the research found that companies were at
varying stages in their own CX maturity. While most organizations
are identified as Starters or Risers, with significant room for
improvement in their customer experience, larger organizations are
generally further ahead in their maturity, with 29% of midsize and
enterprise businesses identified as Champions. For small
businesses, this figure drops to 22%, while nearly half of small
businesses (47%) are at the Starter phase, compared to 36% of
midsize and enterprise businesses.
Performing under pressure (and in a pandemic)
Reflecting on the first half of 2020, when companies globally
had to rapidly transition to remote working, nearly three quarters
of CX leaders surveyed agreed that agility matters more in a
post-COVID-19 world. At the same time, Champions fared best during
the pandemic: midsize and enterprise Champions were 4.9 times more
successful in pivoting to remote work; while SMB Champions were 7.8
times more successful.
“Results show that CX Champions were better positioned to
transition to remote working and manage surges in customer
requests,” added Berube. “Companies that already invested in
technology to not only deliver a good customer experience, but also
support customer service agents with flexible and scalable
operations, were able to successfully pivot their businesses
quickly. While an atmosphere of uncertainty and change becomes the
norm, it’s important to know companies still have the opportunity
to focus on agility, continue to invest in CX, and prepare for
constantly changing customer needs.”
CX teams are also experiencing a lasting impact as the pandemic
changes the way businesses work. Among those who said their
organization had enacted more flexible remote work policies, 70%
are considering making these changes permanent.
Five lessons from Customer Champions
For businesses aspiring to move to the next stage of the CX
Maturity Scale, the research calls out five trends that are
consistent among Champions:
- Building a culture focused on CX, driven from the top
down: Champions agreed more strongly that CX is a critical
business priority. They also have greater involvement from senior
business leaders with 33% of midsize and enterprise and 42% of
small business Champions reviewing CX Metrics with C-Suite
executives on a daily basis.
- Don’t forget your people: Service and support continue
to be an area of focus among leaders, with agents at midsize and
enterprise Champions receiving an average of two and a half
additional days of training per year than Starters.
- Data-centric support delivers: Champions place a focus
on KPIs and metrics to guide their support decisions. Nearly two
thirds of midsize and enterprise Champions (63%) state their KPIs
can be reported in real-time.
- Automation and AI is making an impact: Responding to the
increased volume of data and rising customer expectations,
Champions make use of automated methods of building and updating
cross-channel customer profiles. AI tools, such as automated
chatbots, are also making an impact on support performance.
- Investing in CX success: When asked about plans for the
next 12 months, nearly three-fifths (57%) of midsize and enterprise
Champions and half (50%) of small business Champions expect their
organization’s spend on CX tools and technology to increase
significantly, versus just 9% of midsize and enterprise Starters
and 6% of small business Starters.
“As we see the trend that Champions are taking the steps to
invest more in their tools, team and processes for CX success,
Starters not only have the challenge of catching up to their
competition in customer service, but also ensuring the gap doesn’t
widen,” added DeMattia. “To make these gains, it will be critical
for leaders at lagging organizations to make the most of their
budgets by learning from their more mature peers and investing in
the areas that can drive the greatest impact on their CX
maturity.”
Additional Resources
- For more information, download the report, CX Champions: How CX
Leaders who raise their game are driving business success,
here
- Check out the livestream, “Go From CX Starter to CX Champion”
with ESG here
- Read the blog content series on how businesses can achieve CX
maturity here
- Find out if your organization is a Starter, Riser or Champion
by taking the quiz here
Methodology
To gather data for this report, ESG conducted a comprehensive
survey of business decision makers responsible for ensuring and
enhancing customer service and support at their organizations.
Organizations represented spanned the globe, including North
America (N=256), Europe (N=250), Asia (N=250), and Latin America
(N=256). Organizations represented were split between SMBs (those
with <100 employees, N=500), midmarket organizations (those with
100-999 employees, N=255), and enterprises (those with 1,000 or
more employees, N=257). The survey was fielded between July 14,
2020 and August 8, 2020.
About Zendesk
Zendesk is a service-first CRM company that builds support,
sales, and customer engagement software designed to foster better
customer relationships. From large enterprises to startups, we
believe that powerful, innovative customer experiences should be
within reach for every company, no matter the size, industry or
ambition. Zendesk serves more than 160,000 customers across a
multitude of industries in over 30 languages. Zendesk is
headquartered in San Francisco, and operates offices worldwide.
Learn more at www.zendesk.com.
About ESG
Enterprise Strategy Group is an IT analyst, research,
validation, and strategy firm that provides market intelligence and
actionable insight to the global IT community. Learn more at
www.esg-global.com
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201008005339/en/
Media Contact: Analisa Schelle
press@zendesk.com
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