Customer satisfaction scores: The verdict is in

A new Genesys benchmarking report, “The State of Customer Experience,” gives the verdict on customer experiences worldwide. The research, based on a global survey of 5,517 consumers, finds that two-thirds of respondents say customer experience (#CX ) is generally improving.?

And almost three-quarters say they’ve mostly had good experiences in the past year. But don’t pat yourself on the back just yet.?

A deeper look at the data finds customers frequently frustrated to anger or tears with technology glitches or poor journey design. And less than half felt valued or appreciated after a customer service interaction in the past year.

Overall perception of CX is improving?

The report finds that CX is intrinsically linked with an organization’s reputation and brand. Some 86% of consumers globally say a company is only as good as its service, up from 70% in 2021. And their perception of CX is improving: 73% say they mostly experienced good service in the past year.??

Good, not great?

The key word to note here is good. When we asked which industries they would rate as “exceptional,” consumers really held back.

Travel and hospitality companies were ranked in first position, followed by banks, airlines and online retailers. All industries received lower scores than in the previous edition of this report. Bottom line for businesses: It’s getting harder to stand out.?

The highs and lows

What do consumers consider to be good service? The most important criteria are that it’s fast, resolved in the first contact, professional and friendly. Half of consumers say they actually enjoyed a customer service interaction over the past year. And 39% made a recommendation to others based on a positive interaction.

Unfortunately, when things go wrong, emotions run high. One-third of consumers stopped using a company in the past year after a negative interaction, and 26% were so frustrated that they lost their temper. The biggest pain points were dropped calls, having no way to reach a live agent from a #chatbot , reaching a dead end in a call center menu (or being unable to find the right option), and having to repeat information to different agents.

Omnichannel is essential ?

The only channel consumers said had improved year-over-year was #voice . Forty percent of consumers said they were “extremely satisfied” with their voice experiences, compared to just 21% with chatbots. But younger generations increasingly want unassisted interactions. For CX leaders, that means mastering a connected voice and digital strategy is critical for long-term success.?

The experiences that build loyalty are also personalized; delivering these at scale is where orchestration technology excels.

Empathy at scale?

Experience orchestration coordinates people, channels, interactions, knowledge, data and systems in real-time to deliver empathetic end-to-end experiences. This involves three key priorities:

1. Visibility: Great service begins with having a deep understanding of what your customers expect and what they’re experiencing across the customer journey — from aggregate data all the way through to individual interactions.
2. Innovation: Customer preferences change quickly. Organizations need to adopt a flexible CX architecture where they can quickly try new capabilities, understand the impact and adapt as necessary.
3. Execution: To deliver CX that’s fast, personalized and efficient, you need to leverage?automation and #AI across customer and employee experiences.

For all the latest insights download “The State of Customer Experience .”