A recent survey from Gartner shows that in 2022, 64% of customer service and support leaders will focus on business growth.
Forrester’s CX Predictions on trends for 2022
With customer expectations at an all-time high, customer experience (CX) teams will continue to help their organisations find ways to keep pace.
As we enter 2022, Forrester predicts that the lasting effects of the pandemic will require CX teams to manage the expectations and emotions set by customers and navigate their way through times of change, specifically when there are product shortages.
Customer experience teams will not have more responsibility than before, but they will narrow their focus to two specific areas where they can create lasting impact.
From reactionary to revolutionary
The global pandemic has caused a massive evolution in the way customer experience professionals deliver their services. Moreover, these effects have caused a disconnect in many organisations’ ecosystems.
Although these seismic shifts have been in play for a while, we are not yet out of the woods. As Forrester observes, the pandemic isn’t over and it will continue to affect us well into the new year, forcing CX teams to change their strategies.
‘This leads to 2022 as the year when companies will make the grand pivot from reactionary to revolutionary – designing long-term solutions that right-size their CX projects and investments and leveraging the now chronic disruption as a catalyst to reinvent and reinforce experiences that delight customers and empower employees’, the report says.
This revolution of sorts will bring new efforts among CX professionals to stay ahead of the competition and secure customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Customer experience drives loyalty throughout shortages
Before the pandemic, around one-third of customers would stay loyal to their brands and look to buy online if their product was not available in the store. As of this year, however, Forrester’s data suggests that lack of availability is one of the most common reasons for customers to seek their product elsewhere.
If product shortages are not addressed, customers will walk away from a brand to which they had previously remained loyal.
‘Brands will lose 50% of sales on back-ordered items unless they compensate with CX’, predicts the report. Successful brands in 2022 will be those that proactively support customers with stable supply chains, in-house alternatives, and open conversations about availability.
Keep pandemic adjustments in place
As pandemic restrictions are beginning to lift, businesses are returning to what was once normal. However, customers grew accustomed to the services offered during the pandemic and want more than half of them to stay in place.
In fact, Forrester’s data proves that shifting away from virtual opinions or removing luxuries like expanded digital payments and curbside pickup is a mistake.
‘About 60% of US and UK consumers agree that the pandemic has changed how they shop for products’, the report says.
Brands that transition to the new normal while keeping pandemic habits intact will be more powerful in the coming year.
Positive impact, positive return
As customer demands rise, companies have traditionally done whatever it takes to keep up – even if it has a negative impact on their teams. During the pandemic, more consumers began to take labour practices into consideration when making purchases.
According to the report, ‘2022 will see more companies factoring ethical responsibility to their employees into their customer journeys and offering products and services that balance conscience with convenience.’
As we move into the new year, Forrester also predicts that companies will spend more on tech in a commitment to enhance accessibility for customers.
A focus on privacy is key
In a data-driven world, customers want guaranteed privacy more than ever before. Around one-third of consumers are using privacy and security tools to stop their online activity from being tracked.
‘As a result, Forrester predicts that CX leaders at 20% of European companies […] will turn their attention to privacy consent journeys’, says the report.
Privacy-related KPIs and metrics should be included in CX measurement programs to provide insights on customer journey performance.
With over fifteen years of consulting experience, we here at redk are ready to help your organisation prepare for the new year and implement solutions that adhere to Forrester’s predictions. Don’t hesitate to reach out today.
