CX leaders need to focus more on service rather than branding: report

CX leaders in organisations need to move their focus away from digital branding and campaign activations and pivot more towards customer service, according to a new report.

The Customer Engagement Stack report produced by independent analyst Aarron Spinley highlights how companies are focusing too much on short-term digital transactions, and damaging the crucial services layer.

According to this report, customer expectations have increased markedly since the turn of this century, but the customer operations vocation is largely “absent a professional infrastructure” and has struggled to respond.

Technology’s undue influence over both marketing and customer service ultimately leads to brand behaviour that is increasing frustration among consumers, Spinley said. 

He told Digital Nation a perfect example of this is the abandoning cart email customers get from e-commerce sites.

“We have this propensity to default to campaigns in sales all the time, irrespective of the customer,” he explained.

“Why is it that brands don't care why they abandon the cart and brands hit them with an offer or discount? There might be a reason they abandon the cart. If you care about that customer, as an individual, you will resolve it,” he said.

“That is the thing which will bring them back on a more sustained basis. But we don't think about that because it is not how marketing technology works.”

Spinley there needs to be a balance between the absolute need for technology innovation and efficiency gains by adopting valid practices.

“Some vendors provide exactly that, but many are less aligned with critical thought,” he said.  

Those who dub themselves chief experience officers or experience directors are unable to articulate what a human experience is, Spinley noted.

“There has been a marked increase in CX investment from major brands all around the world as it relates to the technology, yet net outcomes for customers are worsening,” Spinley said.

“That should tell us something, research shows consumers are incredibly annoyed by pushy sales interventions, comically bad chatbots, soul-destroying call centre wait times, and an inability to get things done quickly and easily.”

The report highlighted that the majority of interactions a company has with its customers are the actual product offering itself, and services, not experiences, be that in digital channels, contact centres, and physical channels. 

It prescribes treating customers as individuals, not as members of a segment, and reveals that the experience layer (such as branding campaigns and other memory activations), only takes up a small portion of the mix when it comes to engaging with customers”.

Spinley said it is vital to execute the services layer brilliantly in order to earn the right to provide great experiences.

"The services layer has the most impact in the creation and sustenance of customer trust," he ended.