Leaders, Here Are Five Stats You Must Know And Understand

As leaders, we must make important decisions every day. Most of the time decisions are based on facts, data, stats, testing, experimentation and research. I’m often asked how to get leadership to consider investing in customer service and customer experience. Bringing this request to leadership requires proof of ROI. So, let’s make the case for investing in service and CX. The first thing to keep in mind, and the stats below will support this statement, is that customer service should not be seen as a cost, but as an investment that will lead to higher profits. Customer service done the right way really means customer retention, marketing, opportunities for up-sells and cross-sells, and other revenue-generating outcomes. So, why invest in customer service and CX?

1.      Service and CX Are Not an Option: Numerous studies over the past five-plus years indicated that by 2020 customer experience would be more important than price. Walker’s Customer 2020: A Progress Report even adds product into the mix, stating that customer experience overtakes price and product as the key differentiator. Even the pandemic didn’t alter the outcome of these studies.

2.      B2B or B2C: The CX Expectations Are the Same: For those in B2B, don’t think that customer service/experience doesn’t apply to you as it might to a B2C. An article published by Lumoa stated that at least 80% of B2B buyers are not only looking for, but also expect a buying experience like that of a B2C customer. I’ve worked with many clients in many different industries. The B2B clients are finding that their customers are demanding a better experience now more than ever before. They want an easy process, also known as convenience.

3.      Empathy Has Measurable ROI: Forrester’s new research, To Win and Retain Consumers During the Pandemic, Start With Empathy, reports that in times of crisis, consumers gravitate toward brands that prioritize people over profits. At the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, 52% of U.S. online adults made it clear they wanted to buy from companies that were committed to protecting their customers and employees from COVID-19. Once they saw that a company was adapting its products, services and process to protect everyone, 34% gave them higher trust, 33% evangelized the brand to their friends and family, and 30% expressed a preference for the brand over its competitors.

4.      Convenience Is an Expectation: In the B2C world, convenience rules. Our research published in the 2020 Achieving Customer Amazement Survey found that 62% of customers are willing to pay more for good customer service. That number jumps to almost 69% if the experience is convenient. If that convenience includes delivery, the number goes to more than 90%. This became even more important in the pandemic, when delivery was the best, if not only, option for some customers, depending on their situations. As we move into 2021 and beyond, this isn’t going to change. Just a little over two years ago I wrote the book The Convenience Revolution, which introduced the concept of convenience as a breakthrough and differentiator. It became a trend during the pandemic. Now it’s an expectation.

5.      The ROI of CX: I’ve saved the best for last. This is the fiscal proof leadership needs to know about the power of a better experience that comes from convenience. Siegle+Gale’s Simplicity Index studied the simplest companies to do business with, created a list of the top picks, and tracked their stock market results. Over a 10-year period starting in 2009, a stock portfolio that invested in their global “Top 10” picks for the simplest companies to do business with outperformed the stock market by 830%! During that same time, the S&P went up 207% and the DOW increased 184%. Furthermore, Siegle+Gale found that collectively, $98 billion is left on the table when brands don’t simplify. Simplicity is a word to describe a convenient, friction-free experience. It’s at the top of the list strategies companies use to differentiate themselves from their competition—and potentially disrupt their entire industries. It’s simple: Be convenient to do business with!