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The Customer Experience Movement Has Stalled
Customer experience has become an oft-repeated phrase in business circles. You would think that, by now, CX ratings would be through the roof. To be fair, some reports indicate there already have been huge gains in customer experience. But, you may be surprised to learn that CX overall is no longer on the rise. At least that’s the word from the ACSI and Forrester (News - Alert).
This month the American Customer Satisfaction Index reported that aggregate customer satisfaction has stalled. Coming in at 76.7 in the fourth quarter, the index remained unchanged for two quarters.
“While that score is just 0.4 percent below the all-time high in Q1 2017, it’s not a good omen for the Trump Administration’s goal of three percent annual growth in GDP,” says ACSI.
ACSI explains that its national score reflects the average American consumer’s satisfaction across all sectors for a 12-month period.
Forrester’s 2017 CX Index also reports CX has flatlined in most industries and companies. Customer Think says Forrester predicts 30 percent of companies will see declines in CX performance this year. That’s too bad, because Forrester has proven that CX leaders grow revenue faster than do CX laggards. It says leaders in this realm also drive higher brand preference and can charge more.
Forbes in October of 2017 reported that CX quality worsened between 2016 and 2017. Forty-nine of the 314 brands in the CX Index lost points, it said, just 24 gained points.
“Overall, brands that worsened lost an average of five points,” Forbes said. “The number of brands in the excellent category fell to zero. And the percentage of brands with poor scores rose from 20 to 23 percent.”
AskNicely in this blog explains that NPS is one way companies can assess the customer experience they deliver. It notes that the Net Promoter Score spectrum divides people into Promoters, Passives, and Detractors. That’s based on their likelihood to recommend a business’ products and services to others.Edited by Erik Linask