Happy Friday! ‘This week in CX’ brings you the latest roundup of industry news.

This week, we’re looking at how marketers in eCommerce are missing that vital customer connection, and how they may be lacking behind now we have generative AI at hand. We’re also learning what are the top motivators in customer service teams, and what business SMS messages are really doing for customers.

Key news

  • When it comes to buying from brands online, over four in five consumers won’t buy from a brand that doesn’t offer local language support, according to a new report released by RWS. The research found that 62% of global consumers see the internet as very important when undertaking daily activities, with a third of people admitting they cannot live without the internet (35%) – rising to two-thirds in Japan. As a consequence, 20% of consumers spend over 10 hours a day online. Yet when it comes to dealing with online companies, the provision of local language services can have a drastic impact on the user experience and the level of trust that consumers hold in different brands.
  • Zendesk are introducing their own artificial intelligence named Zendesk AI. It is regarded as an intelligence layer that makes personalised, efficient and more empathetic CX accessible for all companies. Further, it continuously learns from every customer interaction, and allows companies to better assist customers through features like advanced chatbots and agent assistance.

eCommerce marketers struggling to get close to customers, research reveals

Customer intimacy and convenience are key challenges for eCommerce marketers across Europe. That’s according to research gathered from SALESmanago’s CUPID Score – measuring customer engagement and experience. 

Results since its launch reveal that out of 500 responses, the average score was 38.57 out of 100. Measuring customer intimacy (34.83) and convenience (37.73) received the lowest average scores. Customer understanding (41.71) and data (39.74) received the highest. Middle of the road was personalisation – at 39.4 out of 100.

“The results from CUPID Score so far emphasise the need for a better understanding and measurement of customer engagement. With an average of just 40%, there is a long way to go for eCommerce marketers to improve their customer engagement. One way this can be achieved is through embracing Customer Data Platforms, which can enable businesses to deliver personalised and relevant experiences to their customers, ultimately improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.”

-Greg Blazewicz, CEO at SALESmanago

Customer Data Platforms empower eCommerce marketers with analytics, optimisation tools and marketing intelligence to provide a single customer view and better retention strategies. This includes targeted email campaigns and loyalty programs. CDPs also help to avoid the misuse of data by having GDPR-compliant preference centre options and first-party data collection via the platform.

Learn more about eCommerce today with CXM’s resources:

Generative AI: UK marketers keen to invest but lack know-how, according to new Sitecore study

UK marketers are fully embracing the opportunities afforded by generative AI. Over the next 12 months, 72% of marketers will prioritise spending on AI and two-thirds (67%) will put up to 30% of their marketing budgets towards the technology.

These findings are taken from the “AI & Composable Marketing Software Survey”. Sitecore conducted the survey to both understand marketers’ use of generative AI and discover how the technology can improve the digital experiences offered by brands.

Despite the eagerness to invest, there is a concern from marketers that they’re not yet ready to fully benefit from generative AI. 45% don’t feel their marketing technology is currently equipped to leverage generative AI. Here, Sitecore’s findings highlight the importance of a flexible tech stack in order to reap the benefits of generative AI. In fact, 70% plan to move towards more composable software solutions.

The findings also highlight ongoing skills gaps that continue to plague the marketing industry. The Chartered Institute of Marketing previously pointed to a stagnation in digital skills in 2021. Fast-forward to today, 42% surveyed by Sitecore still feel their marketing team lacks technical skills. Interestingly, 92% think AI will actually plug skills gaps in their businesses and 70% think it will lead to new jobs being created.

This lack of know-how hasn’t stopped marketers from experimenting with generative AI. That being said, Sitecore’s research does suggest the UK is lagging behind the US. In the UK, 63% have experimented and are looking for ways the technology, into their long-term strategy versus 80% in the US. Looking ahead, only 32% of UK marketers feel it is too soon to invest in generative AI, with 68% saying the opposite.

What are the top motivators of the modern customer service team?

Gladly’s Hero Experience Report 2023 has been released. It investigates the experiences and minds of customer service agents and illustrates their positive impact on a brand’s overall customer experience. It has found that 59% of all consumers feel companies have lost touch of the human element in CX. Here is what the customer service agents had to say:

Personalised interactions with customers motivate customer service teams

Legacy ticketing systems don’t create a personalized experience for consumers or customer service. In fact, 73% of consumers want to be treated like a person, not a case number. And the same goes for the agents — 47% of respondents ranked engaging and conversing with customers as a top motivator, while 37% ranked resolving service issues as their secondary motivator — yet too often they are forced to work in systems that treat customers as cases rather than people to build connections with.

Customer service agents desire continual learning opportunities

62% of respondents report that they want ongoing training opportunities to help them grow their careers and stay on top of the latest industry trends. In fact, many of these agents are already incredibly skilled in the field, with 61% of agents having been in the industry for six years or more — and they’re ready to take on more.

Customer service teams are well equipped to grow with the business

The report also revealed the customer service agent’s dedication to grow in their role, with 52% of international respondents ranking career growth as their second most important motivator. 89% of respondents plan to stay in their field and two-thirds of agents want to climb the ladder to a management role.

Business SMS messages are costing your customers their patience and trust

Sendbird have released the findings of their newest study with Arion Research. It revealed a global shift is underway in terms of how brands can effectively reach consumers in today’s mobile world. 

 Live chat has grown significantly as people spend more time online and businesses increasingly deploy mobile apps with live chat capabilities. Last year, 43% of mobile app users 18+ around the world have used chat to interact with a business. Of these, 55% of consumers reported using live chat via the business app.

While 49% consumers report using SMS in the past year to interact with businesses, 34% say they get more unwanted SMS spam, 26% ignore messages from businesses more frequently, and 19% block more businesses from Text/SMS messaging. SMS tied with email and social media, just behind the phone for the communication channel losing the most attention over the last 12 months.

Consumers trust in-app chat over SMS, public messengers and social media. In fact, 72% now say SMS / text is the least trusted channel for communicating with a business. This is especially true when the business is banking or healthcare. 

Looking at channel noise and the desire to tune it out by generation, Millennials and Gen Z are not fans of the increased volume and growing use of text / SMS for marketing purposes. These two generations are the core target set of consumers for many brands. 32% of Millennials and 27% of Gen Z respondents felt that companies sent too many text or SMS messages, compared to Gen X (18%) and Baby Boomers (12%).

Interestingly, 85% of respondents usually allow (some or all) applications and/or websites to track their activity across other applications and websites. Consumers are willing to share more data if it’s for more personalized offers and experiences. There is also a marked difference by generation in how open and willing they are to share data.

Thanks for tuning into CXM’s weekly roundup of industry news. Check back next Friday for the latest updates of the week!

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