The survey found that organizations implemented an average of 5.7 CX projects during 2014, with the biggest focus on programs to improve the collection and analysis of customer feedback and "opening up" the organization. The second most frequently cited projects were those associated with reconfiguring the customer process. Third was activating self-service and tools to select, order, track and stop product purchases.
More than one-third of survey participants said their customer experience improvement projects during 2014 involved significant changes of their business models. The majority of business model changes mentioned by the participants involved changes to the process around the production of products and services, including supply chain and internal processes. In one-third of cases, the business model changes related to changes in the way the customer interacts with the organization.
"Not all business model changes are of equal significance, but there appears to be a recognition among the more mature organizations that CX projects span organizational boundaries and fundamentally affect the way the organization operates," said Nick Ingelbrecht, research director at Gartner. "As a result, Gartner predicts that by 2018, more than 50 percent of organizations will implement significant business model changes in their efforts to improve customer experience."
Survey participants also provided a perspective on their 2015 plans for CX improvement projects. The leading CX priorities for 2015 are projects aimed at improving consistency across channels and acting as "one" unified organization. Improving customer satisfaction is still important in 2015, but there is increased focus this year on driving customer loyalty and driving advocacy. "There are perhaps signs of a realization here that CX is more than just customer satisfaction; you actually have to drive word-of-mouth recommendations and give your existing customers more reasons to keep coming back to you," said Mr. Ingelbrecht.
The top three projects planned for 2015 are self-service CX projects, multichannel orchestration activities, and, as in 2014, collecting and analyzing customer feedback.
Multichannel consistency is the No. 1 focus for 2015, up from the seventh position in the 2014 project list. The top-ranked voice of the customer projects of 2014 has slipped to third place in 2015, while customer metrics stayed the same.
The survey took place in January 2015 among a panel composed of IT and business leaders. In total, 289 members participated. Respondents were responsible for CX projects, working on CX projects, or were familiar or indirectly impacted by such projects.
The full report titled <link http: www.gartner.com document>"Survey Analysis: The State of Customer Experience Innovation, 2015." is available online for registered users.
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