Just over a third of CMOs – 36% – haven’t invested in customer experience, according to research by digital agency AmazeRealise.
A further 41% of marketing leaders spend less than 1% of its annual turnover on improving CX, the study found.
This is despite 88% citing they expected a focused CX programme to deliver long-term customer loyalty and increase sales.
The research also found there were three primary reasons cited for lack of investment: CMOs didn’t know enough about CX, expectations around the cost of implementation, and the struggle to build a business case for CX based on results.
This correlates with research from Dimension Data in which 70% of marketers said CX wasn’t part of the board’s focus.
Chris Barnes, director of customer experience at AmazeRealise, said: “We all need to face up to the fact that customer experience is now a key factor in driving business growth. The key is to bring everyone along on your journey. It can be immensely satisfying when you can see that the changes you’re making have a tangible impact on your bottom line.
“There’s still a huge and growing gap between customer expectations and the reality of what brands are delivering, especially when you see smaller, more agile disruptors entering the market place and being able to be much more forward-thinking with their digital experiences.”
The research surveyed more than 100 senior CX professionals from national and international brands as part of The CX Challenge report.
