A new customer experience survey done by CMO Council and SAP shows that Asia Pacific is dismal when it comes to customer experience management.
For example:
- Only 26% of marketers believe their back office systems and operational structures enable their companies to live up to brand promises and marketing claims
- Only 10% of respondents felt there was strong alignment and synergy among function heads when it comes to ensuring a seamless experience across all customer touch points and business operational areas.
- Just 25% of companies have conducted a customer experience management (CEM) audit across all touch points, life stages and operational areas
- Only 36% of marketers report having a formal CEM strategy or program in their organization
- Only 24% have a comprehensive view of engagements and interactions across all stages of the customer lifecycle
- Only 8% say they have well developed and fully evolved systems for understanding and meeting the needs of customers
- Just 11% are highly satisfied with their ability to listen and respond to the needs of the customer
The report by CMO Council, “Maximize How You Individualize”, launched just this month, gathered insights from 245 senior marketers in 16 Asia-Pacific countries through an online audit during the third and fourth quarters of 2013.
From a benchmark standpoint, customer experience lacks measurement, accountability and dedicated resources throughout APJ based companies and multi-nationals operating in the region.
This is surprising considering that 45% of survey respondents represented companies with $1 billion or more in revenue, and 30% held positions at companies with annual sales between $100 million and $1 billion.
“There is no point in wasting marketing resources on seducing customers with offers, incentives and captivating branding if there is a big disconnect on the product, business policy or service experience side,” noted Donovan Neale-May, Executive Director of the CMO Council. “You’ll just see churn, disaffection and bad word-of-mouth that can be quite damaging in a socially connected region like Asia.”