Most leaders think they offer great experiences, but customers beg to differ

Dive Brief:

The gap between what business leaders perceive they deliver and customers’ actual experiences is growing, according to a November survey from Stellar Elements. Stellar Elements surveyed over 500 business leaders and 2,000 consumers globally and analyzed two decades of client data.
While 4 in 5 business leaders believe they excel in CX, only 1 in 5 customers agree.
This gap was most significant in digital entertainment and streaming services, with 95% of leaders feeling they excel and just 28% of customers agreeing. It was smallest in transportation and travel, where the difference was 59% to 37%.

Dive Insight:

The growing gap between how business leaders and consumers perceive customer journeys spells trouble for businesses. When customers don’t believe they’ve received the experience a brand has promised, it can erode trust and loyalty.

“The size and growth of the experience gap have direct repercussions on customer engagement, retention, and revenue growth,” Jeannette Michels, senior global director of marketing strategy and insights and analytics at Stellar Elements, said in an email. “A widening gap could mean customers are slipping through, turning to competitors who offer a more seamless experience.”

Consumers don’t tolerate missteps. After just one bad experience, 4 in 5 customers say they consider alternatives, according to research by Qualtrics XM Institute.

Just 1 in 3 customers say companies are living up to their expectations, according to the survey. Moreover, 3 in 5 customers say the gap between the high-quality service they expect and the actual service they receive is expanding.

Stellar Elements attributes the expansion of the gap to changing customer expectations. “It boils down to the rate at which customer expectations and technological capabilities are advancing, outpacing the rate at which organizations can adapt their CX strategies,” Michels said.

Another factor is business leaders’ misinterpretation of CX, with nearly 4 in 5 business leaders conflating CX to customer service and product quality.

The survey also identified a misalignment in business leaders’ valuation of CX and their desires to fund it. While 91% of business leaders recognize the central role CX plays in generating revenue, only 44% consider investing in it extremely important.