Independent Study Commissioned by Ada Finds Brands Still Struggling to Provide the Highly Personalized Experiences Today’s Customers Expect
Ada, the leader in Automated Customer Experience (ACX), today announced findings from a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Ada in March 2021 which found that while 91% of consumers are loyal to brands that provide personalized experiences across the customer journey, nearly half (48%) of brands report that keeping experiences consistent and personalized across platforms, channels and devices is a challenge. More than half (52%) of respondents report difficulty keeping up with the constant and rapid change of customer needs, and a staggering 89% said that their organization could be customer-centric if data were consolidated into one centralized view of the customer across the entire customer journey.
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The study explores the ways more proactive customer engagement can be beneficial to organizations. Key findings include:
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- Empathetic connection is critical to good CX. More than 90% of study respondents report that customers are more loyal to — and will spend more money with — brands that provide good experiences, and 92% of customers want convenient and highly personalized experiences when they interact with brands.
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- Digital experiences are the most effective way to engage with customers, and technology investments reflect this. Nearly every survey respondent (96%) aims to increase the conversations they’re having with customers, and another 49% will increase investment in proactive CX in the coming year. Eighty nine percent believe that their organization could be customer-centric if its data were consolidated into one centralized view of the customer, but struggle with siloed data ecosystems that make analyzing data and delivering insights difficult.
- The benefits of proactive customer engagement include growth and efficiencies.
More than half (57%) of decision-makers report an improved ability to meet customer expectations after having more conversations with customers, therefore improving retention and increasing sales. Nearly half (49%) of respondents cited increased employee efficiency as the top benefit to proactive engagement, and 44% cited improving customer retention and reducing churn as a top benefit.
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- CX teams want a cost-effective and scalable way to engage customers. While more than three-quarters of respondents (78%) want to invest in proactive messaging, they find it too expensive to do so.
- Virtual assistants are helping bridge the gap by providing a smart, scalable way to engage customers. Sixty-seven percent of respondents report that their organization has already implemented this technology, and 81% find them effective at creating more proactive experiences. Virtual assistants are the top technology respondents plan to implement in the coming year.
“The Forrester Consulting study reveals that customers and the brands they buy from are looking for more conversations, deeper connections and closer engagement, but many are still struggling with organizational and technological silos,” says Mike Murchison, CEO and cofounder of Ada. “As a digital-first company, Ada is the new front line of customer experience, empowering businesses to provide personalized interactions at scale, with an automation layer to underpin the entire customer journey. Our approach to CX has always been to break down those silos and put the customer first.”