Business

Zendesk released new research in partnership with Enterprise Strategy Group that shows how companies in Asia Pacific investing in customer experience are reaping the benefits

The study found a clear link between organisations 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 globally – of which 250 were from Australia (N=64), India (N=69), Japan (N=57) and Singapore (N=60) – to better understand their investments in CX.

From the research, ESG developed a CX Maturity Scale that segments organisations into three tiers of customer service maturity, based on seven key characteristics that cover how organisations use their support teams, technology and data to drive better performance. The three maturity categories are: 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.

Key findings from the report show that companies in Asia Pacific (APAC) that invest in CX yield significant benefits, including:

Faster growth: Even during the pandemic, APAC Champions were found to be 10.8 times more likely than Starters to have significantly grown customer spend – the highest amongst Champions globally including North America (8.7 times), Europe (7.3 times) and Latin America (6.5 times).

Increased market share: The region’s Champions were 4.4 times more likely than Starters to have grown their customer base over the past six months, compared to Champions in North America (3.9 times), Europe (3.6 times) and Latin America (2.3 times).

Senior-level support: Champions also secured greater investment and support from senior leadership within their organisation. For example, senior leaders at CX Champion organisations were 4.2 times more likely to see customer service as a differentiator than Starters.

“The pandemic has been a catalyst for organisations to transform in order to sustain and grow their business. Our new research with ESG confirms the clear link between a focus on customer experience and business success. In fact, the business impact of investing in CX is even more pronounced in APAC than in any other regions,” said Wendy Johnstone, Chief Operating Officer, APAC, Zendesk. “The accelerated shift to digital means customer expectations have never been higher, and the pressure is on for organisations to respond. The new reality is that delivering exceptional customer experience has become a business imperative for any organisations looking to future-proof their operations.”

Adam DeMattia, Director of Custom Research at ESG, said, “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.”