Genesys has released a global study which anticipates an upsurge of customer experience (CX) investment by Australasian companies over the next three years. Motivated to improve customer loyalty, this investment can be linked to the direct correlation the survey found between CEO engagement in CX and company performance in revenue growth and profitability.

The study found that 86 percent of Australasian C-level executives considered “improving CX” a key driver for their company’s digital transformation.

Twenty percent of respondents said they planned to boost investment in CX by more than one quarter (27 percent) in the next three years, up from 15 percent three years ago, reflecting the growing appetite for digital CX channels.

By comparison, on a global scale, larger companies are cutting back on their investment, with just 12 percent planning a similar increase over the next three years.

While Genesys says this puts Australasia ahead in the race to lead CX innovation, it could alternatively be argued that global businesses have either reached ‘peak CX’ or are slowing investment to focus on other areas.

Genesys APAC MD Bruce Eidsvik said more senior executives are beginning to understand digital consumers, prioritising CX innovation. “With this in mind, organisations need to evolve to meet the growing demands of their customers, build trust, increase loyalty and drive revenue growth.”

The study said traditional CX channels were set to drop to 45 percent in terms of importance in the next three years, compared to 60 percent currently. These traditional channels are to be overtaken by social media, web self-service and online assistance. However, 60 percent of Australasian business leaders still believe face-to-face interaction is an important and effective CX channel.

More than one-third (40 percent) of Australasian respondents said increased customer retention was one of the benefits of CX investment, followed by increased sales and improved customer satisfaction, both identified by 18 percent of respondents.

A direct correlation between CEO engagement in customer experience and profitability is also driving the investment. The survey found that when CEOs lead CX initiatives, they were more likely to transform a company’s future success. Fifty eight percent of Australasian companies reported a higher profitability than their competitors when the CEO was in charge of customer experience.

A significant number of Australasian companies (67 percent) were also more likely to measure the success, or return on investment, of CX initiatives, above that of the Asia Pacific region (66 percent), Europe (59 percent) and North America (51 percent).

The research titled, ‘The value of experience: How the c-Suite values customer experience in the digital age’, was conducted with 516 C-suite executives in 21 countries, including Australia and New Zealand.

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