2020… Just saying the year elicits a visceral response from just about everyone! It is a new world. The Covid 19 pandemic and renewed fervor to address racial inequality along with the resultant socio and economic impacts of both are causing seismic shifts in the way we live. Social distancing has resulted in overwhelming reliance on the internet and smart devices for functional and emotive needs. These pulled levers have resulted in savvier customers who expect seamless, consistent and uncompromised service on the go.
This new era of customer engagement demands lenders to sharpen their focus on the customer experience. In order to bridge the gap between what consumers want and what brands can deliver, innovative companies are leveraging the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning to change the rules of engagement to quickly deliver highly personalized customer experiences…and that pace of change is accelerating!
A new update to the IDC Worldwide Digital Transformation Spending Guide forecasts global spending on digital transformation will grow 10.4% in 2020 to $1.3 trillion with the US delivering roughly one third of the worldwide total. Specifically, according to research published by MarketsandMarkets, the customer experience management market is projected to grow from $8.5 billion in 2020 to $14.9 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.8% during the forecast period. Key growth drivers for the spend include the need to better understand customers, customer-related scores helping organizations to plan better customer engagement strategy, and solutions to help in reducing customer churn rates.
Innovative companies are paying attention to the IoT trends which show the number of connected devices in 2020 is predicted to hit 50 billion.(Source: IEEE) By 2030, this figure is expected to jump to 125 billion. Across all demographics, consumers are rapidly becoming increasingly mobile and digital. As such, innovative and disruptive technologies are redefining traditional engagements.
Forrester Research has also come to the conclusion that in the coming years, the difference between leaders and market laggards will be even more obvious. This means that not investing in customer experience is bound to destroy the financial result of a company. Consider research by Bain & Co. that shows that a 5% increase in customer retention rates increases profits by 25% to 95%. The time to meaningfully invest in customer experience is now, when your company can be among the thought leaders, and not later, when it becomes a necessity of survival.