Happy Friday! We’re bringing you the latest roundup of industry news. This week, we’re looking at customers fleeing businesses with slow-to-act commerce experience, Kantar’s BrandZ Most Valuable UK Brands 2022 report, and Reputation’s automotive report revealing new trends and customer attitudes.
Key news
- Gartner poll (comprised of 234 finance leaders) finds that only 7% of CFOs plan to decrease customer service spending over the next year. 21% percent plan to increase customer spending and 72% to maintain spending.
- Contentsquare launches new speed analysis, Find & Fix Capability, to help businesses optimise site performance and conversions. This will create an understanding of website speed on customer experience for companies to improve accordingly.
- Sabio Group and Contact Babel have launched the latest ‘UK Customer Experience Decision Makers’ Guide 2022-23′. Findings include – CX being widely recognised in both B2B and B2C businesses; telephony is still the largest communication channel by customers; and interaction analytics are becoming increasingly useful in collecting and acting upon CX data, but only used by a small amount of businesses.
- Twilio announced that BSH Home Appliances Group will leverage Twilio Flex, a cloud-based contact centre, to revamp its entire digital infrastructure within their customer service organisation. This will be fully internally programmable and flexibly customisable and integrate digital communication channels, amongst other advantages.
- SALESmanago is strengthening its C-Level executive team to help grow the company from 20 to 100 million Euro revenues in the next four years and become the European leader in customer engagement.
Customers are quick to flee slow-to-innovate brands with lagging commerce experiences
commercetools’ new report has found that nearly three-quarters of brands and retailers recognise that failure to adopt emerging commerce solutions will negatively impact areas of the business. The survey queried 300 global retail business leaders.
73% of shoppers will take their business elsewhere if a brand’s commerce experience does not meet their expectations. Over half prefer modern commerce experiences, defined by evolving customer preferences, payment options, and digital devices. Yet despite all that, 45% of respondents say they only dedicate a minimum amount of their budget to improving or expanding commerce capabilities.
Other findings include:
- 40% of respondents say their company’s current commerce solutions hinder the sale of their products or services, and 49% of this group feel this issue has existed for over a year
- Over one-third of businesses are struggling with the ramifications of an outdated commerce solution, signifying the impact a lack of innovation has on customer experience, sales, and brand loyalty
- More than half of respondents (52%) said they’ve decided not to implement a new commerce capability due to budgetary constraints
“Change is constant in the modern commerce ecosystem. Brands need to be nimble and meet customers where they are. This means having a finger on the pulse of their customers’ shopping behaviors and adopting the commerce experiences that resonate the best among them. Anyone who thinks they can sit still and not evolve amid changing demands will be out of business shortly.”
– Jen Jones, Chief Marketing Officer of commercetools
Resistance to innovation is driving customers away and damaging bottom lines. If businesses do not jump on trends and adopt the technology that enables them to provide experiences at every touchpoint, it will be impossible to remain competitive in today’s market.
Latest Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable UK Brands 2022 report has been released
Assessing brands across the UK and ranking their value is completed annually by Kantar. Collectively, the UK’s leading 75 brands are now worth $282.9 billion, up by 1% year on year. For the fifth year running, Vodafone has come out on top at 32,779 USD mil.
Vodafone is followed by HSBC and Shell, who have bucked the wider trend to raise their brand value by more than 10%. Barclays has also entered the top 10 for the first time as it increased its brand value by 6%. Kantar’s analysis shows there are some signs of stagnation for UK brands. Globally, the 100 most valuable brands grew by 23% in 2022, suggesting UK brands are falling behind in the face of challenging market conditions.
“Businesses often think that inflation means a race to the bottom, but we know that what matters to consumers when inflation bites is not lowest price, but which brand offers best value. Kantar data shows even price conscious consumers pay 14% more for brands that they think are worth it.”
– Dom Boyd, Managing Director of Kantar Insights UK
While the retail sector has had mixed results this year, newcomer to the Kantar BrandZ ranking, Pets at Home, is an example of a business which has proved the value of its service to consumers –
“Pets at Home benefited from massive organic growth during Covid-19, as the pandemic fuelled a jump in pet ownership. But it hasn’t just rested on its laurels to enjoy this success. Instead, it has cleverly capitalised on the gift it was given, expanding services including on-site vets and grooming to make Pets at Home a one-stop shop for animal lovers. It has also invested in delivering a personalised, digital experience for shoppers through its VIP programme and app. This has helped it demonstrate to consumers that it’s a brand worth paying a premium for, pushing the business into the top 75 for the first time.” Dom Boyd commented.
Reputation automotive report reveals huge growth opportunities in CX
The report annually looks at key industry trends and ranks the top auto brands and dealer groups. This comes after a year of various macro issues impacting the industry. This includes inventory challenges and rising costs of both new and used vehicles due to inflation.
Analysing 5 million customer reviews, surveying buyers about how they shop for cars and service their vehicles, Reputation found that:
- Dealerships are winning on the sales floor. 50% of respondents found the professionalism of the staff to be an important factor when selecting a dealership.
- However, dealers need to focus more on their service departments. 47% of people are motivated to write a review based on their experience.
- 80% of consumers say they have delayed a purchase due to inventory shortages.
- 85% of consumers say reviews are the most important factor in choosing a dealership, behind price and inventory. Their feedback is directly shaping the future of the industry.
- 65% say a dealership needs to have at least a four-star rating to consider purchasing from them.
- Reviews are 70% of consumers said they’d be willing to travel 20 miles to a top-rated dealership.
The report also found some of the key trends shaping the automotive industry include:
- Subscription add-ons create a CX problem
- Continued price increases and supply chain challenges
- Electric vehicles are creating tension between OEMs and dealerships
Renault is ranked as one of the top brands in the UK with an 75% customer sentiment score. Kia and Hyundai also achieved scores of 74% and 77% respectively.
Thanks for tuning into CXM’s weekly roundup of industry news. Check back next Friday for the latest updates of the week!