Customer expectations have greatly evolved in recent years with the rise of new and complex contact center technology, including AI-driven self-service channels, advanced chatbots, and more. However, while contact centers have faced mounting pressure from customers and business leaders alike to develop faster and more cost-effective CX channels, it seems that CX quality is continuing to decline in a majority of industries.
Cyara helps leading brands assure CX quality through every stage of development with automated testing and monitoring solutions.
Forrester recently released their 2024 Customer Experience Index (CX Index™) Report, which found that US customer perceptions of leading brands’ CX quality has dropped for a third consecutive year. The study found that average CX quality dropped in ten industries, with the index measuring performance across ease of use, effectiveness, and emotional quality.
For many businesses, this report should be eye-opening, highlighting exactly how CX quality is suffering in our current business landscape. However, it should also speak to opportunity—by investing into improving your CX with assurance solutions, your business can stand out from the competition and attract customers.
CX Quality is on the Decline for Many
According to Forrester’s report, CX quality has become an issue for many brands. In 2024, 39% of brands saw a significant decline, compared to just 17% in 2023. In addition, the average drop in quality per brand was higher compared to previous years, with brands dropping by an average 3.9 points compared to 3.6 points in 2023.
What does that mean? While we’ve seen overall CX quality drops in 2022 and 2023, this year’s report highlights an accelerated decline in CX quality across the board. While the airline industry saw an uptick in quality, all the other industries in the report were unable to make improvements.
This is a far-reaching issue, affecting even top brands in their industries. The report found that six out of 11 top brands remained stagnant while four others saw significant declines. Put together, these types of statistics highlight the struggles that businesses are facing across the board, as contact centers struggle to meet customer demands and support top-line business objectives. With each point drop, these businesses may lose a large number of customers and revenue. These numbers are more than a pulse-check—they have lasting ramifications for a business’ performance on the whole.
What Can You Do?
While this report shows a clear deficiency in CX quality, it shouldn’t be disheartening. With the right tools, your business can begin the process of improving your CX channels and delivering quality interactions that will delight your customers.
Companies that fail to keep up with the curve and deliver excellent, flawless CX journeys are at risk of losing their customers. A recent study from Zendesk found that 73% of customers are willing to jump ship and move to a competitor if a brand fails to deliver positive experiences. And, as many elite brands have dropped in CX quality since last year alone, there is plenty of opportunity for your business to make a positive impression and create loyal customers.
It’s not too late to begin investing in your contact center technology and CX development—in fact, now’s the perfect time to take advantage of this opportunity.
By committing your efforts to developing better CX journeys, you can improve in each of the pillars Forrester looked to in their measurement of CX quality:
- Ease: You never want your customers to feel like they must jump through hoops to receive information or answer their query. With CX assurance solutions, you can design your CX so it’s easier for your customers to contact your team or use self-service channels.
- Effectiveness: Imagine the frustration a customer must feel when they’re stuck in a conversation with a chatbot that fails to properly escalate their issues to an agent, or to experience voice quality issues when speaking on the phone. You can begin eliminating CX defects ahead of customer impact with automated testing and monitoring solutions.
- Emotional impact: It’s critical to make your customers feel important through your CX offerings. When your CX journeys are littered with errors or aren’t meeting your customers’ expectations, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to forge an emotional bond. CX assurance solutions help you ensure your CX pathways are always working as intended, leading to long-term customer loyalty.
Take Advantage of Cyara’s AI-Led CX Transformation Platform
Cyara’s AI-Led CX Transformation Platform offers all the tools you need to take advantage of this opportunity. When you invest in CX assurance and partner with Cyara, you’ll be able to verify CX performance through every stage of the development lifecycle and beyond. Accelerate your CX development and ensure that your journeys are always performing as designed.
While CX quality is dropping for many businesses, across the majority of industries, your organization doesn’t need to follow suit. Instead, you can stand out from the crowd and invest in your business’ long-term success by leveraging Cyara’s CX assurance solutions.
Contact us today to schedule a demo or visit our website to learn more!
