Driven by consumer demand, the importance of customer experience cannot be underestimated – and is rightly becoming integral to many brand strategies.  2019 has been a busy year for recruitment in Customer Experience.  The challenge is that CX roles vary so widely – as does the skill-set required in the profession.

Market Challenges

Customer Experience is in its adolescent phase and some organisations still confuse it with Customer Service.

Whilst CX follows the customer journey, Customer Service is just one part of the journey. Customer Experience encompasses all interactions that a consumer has over the life of a relationship with a brand. Some organisations struggle with the difference, so we work with them to understand what the challenges are around delivering a great customer experience.

The challenges are around aligning your people, process and technology, listening to and reviewing insight and working across multi-channels to deliver what is best for the customer.

We have spoken with our network of thousands of clients and candidates throughout 2019 and the top four challenges we hear every day are:

Lack of relevant information

To have a successful CX strategy, organisations must have access to correct and up-to-date data.  A number of the top CX experts that we work with feel that the quality or quantity of data they have to make decisions with is lacking, as insight has not been invested in.  Without this data or MI (or a baseline Net Promoter Score), how can an effective CX strategy be built and measured?

Omni channel experience & customer behaviour

Working to deliver CX excellence at all touchpoints to complete a sale or transaction is key. Consumer behaviour seems to change at a rate much faster than CX can adapt – at times it can feel as though the customer is a step ahead of the CX team.

This experience varies widely across sectors, but the retail sector has the most variables, in that consumers browse in store, then often purchase online. The challenge is to encourage them to complete the purchase in store, or if they are shopping online, to complete that purchase with the same organisation and not a competitor. An effective CX strategy can improve overall omni-channel experience.

Measuring CX impact successfully

Many of our clients have said that even when they feel they have implemented a successful CX strategy, they are not sure if they have then reviewed the insight correctly via the use of NPS, VoC or other methods.  Investing in effective CX insight and tools is key to developing and improving the customer experience.

Influencing the board and other internal stakeholders

Board buy-in varies widely within organisations. We see candidates leave organisations when the leadership team cannot be influenced to invest in this area.  On the flip side, we have worked with clients who have identified CX as the number one area to invest in. They are delivering excellent outcomes by hiring the right leaders who utilise their people and technology to increase CX scores and measures.

Trends in Customer Experience

Throughout 2019, there has been a growing demand for experts in the field of Customer Experience Technology. Some of the key innovations that require expertise and knowledge are:

AI & Chatbot’s

AI is accelerating rapidly across the contact centre and CX industry. Chatbot’s can be great at arranging a delivery time for furniture or a simple transaction, but human interaction is often required for more complex queries. Advances in this area are progressing at pace and experts in the field are in high demand.

Mobile is the primary channel for customer contact & engagement

The smartphone has been the catalyst for true omni-channel experience. Organisations have recognised that the mobile contact needs to be at least as good as or better than other digital channels – up to 40% of mobile users will go to a competitor after a bad mobile experience. The ability to continue your transaction via webchat or a voice conversation also makes mobile invaluable when trying to deliver the ultimate CX strategy.

Analytics are personalising CX

The use of analytics tools are making it easier to dissect the amount of data that’s available to assist with improving Customer Experience and Service Design.

Organisations are continuing to develop speech analytics, which help service customers more effectively whilst training contact centre staff to better serve their customers.  The same methodology is being applied across standard channels to understand what customers might need before they ask.

Voice of the Customer – it’s just not about the voice anymore!

CX professionals will know that Voice of the Customer (VoC) programmes have been one of the key feedback channels aligned to Customer Experience management.   But there is now a need for a more holistic approach which spans all channels and customer journeys – think contact centre, digital, face to face, outsource partners and  social media.  This has been a challenge for businesses who have two, three (or more) organisations servicing, fulfilling or delivering a product.

Professionals with experience in the above are in high demand. They are seen as true CX evangelists and are invaluable for understanding customer behaviour and how to deliver great customer outcomes.

Salaries

This brings us to asking,  what does an organisation need to pay to bring a CX professional into their business?  The market for CX professionals is developing quickly and the salaries on offer vary widely.  Typical roles that psd Group has supported clients with over the last 12 months have included:

• Director of Customer Experience – £110,000 – £150,000+
• Head of Customer Experience – £75,000 – £125,000
• Customer Experience Manager – £50,000 – £80,000
• CX Programme / Implementation Lead £70,000 – £110,000
• CX Service Design Specialist £70,000 – £100,000
• CX Technology & Digital Transformation Lead £65,000 – £100,000

These are base salaries only and packages will vary depending on the benefits included. If you are looking for specific information around salary levels for a CX professional please contact one of the team.

What is the future of Customer Experience?

The importance of providing outstanding Customer Experience cannot be underestimated, and the profession will continue to develop. The take up of professional qualifications such as those delivered by the CCXP will also ensure that CX continues to evolve. Experts will be seen as true practitioners of Customer Experience and not just Customer Service.