Happy Friday! ‘This week in CX’ brings you the latest roundup of industry news.
This week, we’ve been looking at the latest research in EX and HR spaces. Full annual leave allowances are not being used, and new recruits aren’t compromising on standards. Customers are also showing dedication to their favourite brands in spite of economic concerns, but customer satisfaction is at its lowest since 2010.
We’re also discussing new studies into how effective 30-day free trials are for customer acquisition and conversion rates.
Key news
- Job seekers are increasingly using generative artificial intelligence to land their next role, using the technology to write resumes, cover letters and even take recruitment tests. Up to half of candidates are now using the tools — in some cases flooding employers with a high volume of “low-quality” applications, The Financial Times reports, citing employers, recruiters and surveys. Some large employers have warned against such use, and many are hopeful a final job interview will weed out those who cheat on tests.
- Twitter, now X, was ordered to pay a former senior executive €550,000 (£470,000) this week for unfair dismissal. Gary Rooney, an ex-director at Twitter’s European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, was told he had resigned voluntarily by not replying to an email from then CEO Elon Musk in November 2022 calling on staff to be “extremely hardcore”. In the email, Musk advised staff to click a link in order to confirm that they wanted to be part of the new Twitter. He added that staff who did not would receive three months’ severance pay. The payout is raising questions around how big global companies handle layoffs, and whether it’s fair to assume someone doesn’t want their job because they don’t click a link.
- Rapid delivery, once the domain of takeaway meals and groceries, is now making waves across various other categories. The DIY sector has led the charge, with B&Q recently partnering with Deliveroo to offer London customers everything from paint and decorating supplies to tools and hardware. This week, Card Factory joined the trend by teaming up with Just Eat to provide nationwide rapid delivery for greetings cards and celebration essentials.
- Google is upending the typical autumn smartphone release schedule, unveiling its newest Pixel devices Tuesday at the Made by Google event in Mountain View. This year, the company moved its event up nearly two months from its typical date in October — conspicuously ahead of Apple’s annual September iPhone showcase – which many analysts interpret as a message that Google intends to compete more aggressively in the hardware space. With its new Pixel 9 line, Google is expected to flex its considerable investments in AI, although some have raised concerns that Google’s growing hardware push could “irk” partners such as Samsung.
CXM news stories
Here’s the full news stories that CXM have reported on in the past week. Learn all about the latest research in EX and HR spaces. Full annual leave allowances are not being used, and new recruits aren’t compromising on standards. Customers are also showing dedication to their favourite brands in spite of economic concerns, but customer satisfaction is at its lowest since 2010.
56% of customers convert from 30-day free trials
New data from Whop’s ‘Optimal Free Trial Length for Digital Products’ study shows 30-day free trials had the highest customer acquisition (32%) and conversion rate (56%) and are shown to be 28 times more effective than free products. However, despite its effectiveness, nearly 3 in 4 ecommerce sellers didn’t use the approach in 2023.
Of the four free trial periods, 30-day free trials are the most effective method of paid customer conversions – almost four times (273%) more likely to convert a customer than a 14-day free trial. The second highest conversion rate was the 3-day free trial at 35%, however, this approach only had 2% total signups.
The findings also demonstrate that 30-day trials experience more successful signup rates, 16 times more than a 3-day trial and 1.5 times more than 7-day free trials.
While it is tempting to speed up conversion rates by using shorter free trials, the data shows 30-day free trials are the best for engaging and converting customers. This is because customers have more time to see how a product can create value for them. The longer customers use the product, the more they rely on it, and the more likely they will convert into paying customers – at no cost to the business.