A comparison of the study results with figures from surveys on customer expectations illustrates how much work still lies ahead for companies. For example, according to adesso’s findings, two thirds of companies do not have a complete picture of their customers and therefore find it difficult to tailor offers precisely to them or to optimise Outbound Consumer Service. However, 70 percent of customers1 expect all employees with whom they communicate to be informed about previous concerns and interactions. They also want to receive a direct response to their enquiry when they contact a company. However, the spread of AI solutions in service, such as chatbots for direct customer contact or knowledge agents to assist with support, is far from widespread: According to the adesso study, only 36 percent of the companies surveyed have so far used AI to improve the customer experience.
In order to obtain a comprehensive picture of their customers, companies can also use AI solutions to analyse the data they collect on all channels. This helps them to better tailor their products and services to their customers and, above all, to address prospective buyers very individually throughout the entire customer journey. This so-called hyper-personalisation is particularly important for customer loyalty, but only 30 percent of the companies surveyed by adesso offer their customers seamlessly personalised information across all channels.
The value of a smooth customer experience
In fact, 88 percent of customers2 consider the shopping experience to be just as important as the product or service itself. It is therefore an important decision criterion – not only for consumers, but increasingly also for business customers. The companies are aware of this. Almost all participants surveyed in the study are convinced that customers want a seamless, positive shopping experience. However, only 18 percent rate their omnichannel integration as excellent – so there is still a lot of room for improvement and investment here.
