Top Customer Experience Statistics of 2020

Greg Gianforte from RightNow Technologies, Inc. defines customer experience (CX) as “the sum of all interactions that customers have with a brand, and the perception they form as a result.” Though customer experience is a general term, there’s a reason we hear it so often – it’s what makes businesses competitive in the times we’re living in.

This year has been full of uncertainties, and the research proves that customers are practically begging for a dependable and positive interaction with your business. Here are the top customer experience statistics to help you understand the current state of CX and how to begin improving yours today.

Customer Experience Statistics

Expectations Are High

Customers’ expectations of an interaction with your brand are rising. Here is what consumers have to say:

• Only 3% of U.S. consumers want their experiences to be as automated as possible  
• Consumers say 56% of businesses lack adequate self-service options for customers
• 70% of customers believe that a single phone call should be enough to get in touch with a company

Customer Service Plays a Dominant Role

Although customer service is just a piece of the overall customer experience pie, research shows that it’s a pretty important component to their perception of a business:

• 96% of people say customer service is important in their choice of loyalty to a brand
• 64% of U.S. consumers feel companies have lost touch with the human service element of the experience they provide
• 71% of Americans would rather interact with a human than a chatbot or some other automated process during a customer service interaction

Businesses are Responding

The importance of customer experience has been recognized, and businesses everywhere are rising to the occasion:

• 81% of businesses have increased focus on creating a more cohesive customer journey
• 28% of customer service leaders cite social media engagement and analytics as top priorities for their organizations in 2020
• 89% of digital businesses are investing in personalization

Common Roadblocks

With process and operational improvements…comes challenges, and businesses across the board are having a similar experience:

• 56% of companies say “deriving real-time insights” is the top challenge of improving customer experience
• 48% of businesses struggle to improve their customer experience because the strategy is not cohesive across the entire team
• 44% of businesses working to improve their customer experience have trouble with the ability to respond in real-time

Simple Ways to Improve

Your customers have spoken and are here to tell you what they want:

• 90% of consumers are willing to share their behavioral data if additional benefits are provided that make shopping cheaper or easier
• Human interaction matters now—and 82% of U.S. and 74% of non-U.S. consumers want more of it in the future
• 59% of customers have an increased demand for personalized service

With customer experience statistics revealing the importance of the CX in 2020, it may seem like a lot of pressure to wow your customers at every single touchpoint. However, as a small business that offers a personal touch, you already have a leg up on large corporations – 71% of people say small companies provide better attention and service than large companies.

There are plenty of easy (and free) ways to step up your customer experience game. By getting to know your customers, using personalization, and providing human service as often as possible, you can blow your competitors away with an efficient and exceptional customer experience that keeps them coming back for more.