Many Australian organisations are still struggling to realise the full potential of their CX programs, which is attributed to persistent, systemic challenges, the latest State of the CX Nation report has found.
The report revealed that although 80% of CX leaders see brand alignment as essential, only 55% feel their customer experiences live up to their brand’s promise. Disturbingly, 37% believe their brand experiences actually fall short of what they pledge to customers,
The report is based on survey data collected from 190 CX professionals nationwide, along with in-depth interviews with national CX leaders in various sectors including finance, insurance, automotive, retail, healthcare, consumer packaged goods and telecommunications.
Results from Ipsos and Ashton Media 2024 State of the CX Nation report aim to set the benchmark for customer experience in Australia. The report, introduced in 2023, offers first-of-its-kind research insights into Australia’s CX industry as companies increasingly recognise the importance of embedding customer experience into the fabric of their operations.
It noted that while Australia’s CX progression has become inert over the past 12 months, with many organisations lacking the necessary formal governance structures and data sets to take their CX to the next level. The report found more than half of organisations (54%) still deliver CX in silos, resulting in an ad hoc, inconsistent experience.
More than half of those surveyed (51%) pointed to CX strategy and governance, particularly competing priorities, as the top challenge to progressing on CX, along with data challenges (32%) like siloed customer data and incomplete customer profiles. Another 23% blamed the lack of actionable insights, specifically the ability to create actionable insights from data, while 31% said their organisations needed to build a customer-first culture.
CX and governance
When it comes to governance, 35% of survey respondents said while their organisation had a formal CX governance structure, there was no clear definition of accountability for CX objectives and activities. Another 15% said their organisation had no clear person or team governing CX.
Additionally, just 27% said their organisation had a long-term, strategic CX roadmap, leaving most CX programs without a clear vision or direction.
Data challenges
Data challenges are also still plaguing CX progression, with just 16% of organisations saying they have a data ecosystem that is designed and managed to enable CX integration. Most (63%) said they were only able to integrate data sources on an ad hoc basis.
The need for a customer-first culture
Building a customer-first culture was cited as another key challenge to CX growth. Most organisations said the issue was being compounded by low employee awareness and engagement. And while half of respondents said their organisation actively provided employees with access to customer feedback, just 16% said employees regularly ‘speak the language’ of CX.
AI and the future of CX
The report revealed 13% of organisations surveyed currently have no plans to incorporate AI in their operations, and just over a third (34%) said they were planning to invest in AI tools and solutions to improve efficiency. More than half (51%) said they were beginning to integrate some AI tools into certain tasks.
The research, which was conducted by Ipsos between March and May this year, focuses on identifying future trends, best practices and challenges facing CX leaders in Australia, and the evolving nature of customer experience.
This year’s report revealed that without executive engagement and strategic investment to overcome the barriers to CX implementation, the industry could “struggle to evolve beyond tactical plays and short-term quick fixes.”
Rollo Grayson, Ipsos CX Advisory Australia director, said: “CX has seen a wave of momentum for over 10 years. During that time, I have seen amazing developments from Australia and around the globe, but this report is a wake-up call for CX teams and executives; if they want that momentum to continue, things need to change. CX needs to become more strategic and integrated with other parts of the business.
“With the arrival of AI, the need for strategic thinking becomes even more critical. For years, CX technology has been the focus and organisations dived in with no clear plan – it’s these organisations that are now struggling. We hope this report is a rallying cry – the potential value gains from CX remain huge, we just need to realise that value.”
“It’s worth recognising our progress in elevating CX and making it part of the boardroom dialogue in most organisations,” Melissa Yow, Ipsos CX Australia director, said. “We’ve made significant strides in eliminating major friction points and demonstrating CX’s tangible benefits to the C-suite. However, we seem to have reached a plateau and the instances of CX as a true brand differentiator are few and far between.
“Our annual State of the CX Nation report validates this, showing little change in the proportion of organisations at a foundational CX maturity level. The ask of CX leaders is ever-increasing, encompassing mastery of strategy, data, technology, people management and now AI. However, a clear CX strategy with solid governance is crucial to avoiding misguided investments and efforts.”
Ashton Media CX Portfolio director, Stacy Goater, said: “Ashton Media are thrilled to partner with Ipsos on the State of the CX Nation report for a second year. As leaders in facilitating connections and knowledge sharing among senior CX professionals, we’re proud to support this thriving industry and to continue driving the thought leadership and discussion that shapes its future.
“Over the past 11 years, we’ve had the privilege of bringing the CX community together at our industry-leading events, and we’ve witnessed firsthand the remarkable growth in both the size and maturity of the profession. But, as has been highlighted by the findings in this report, there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done to operationalise a customer-first mindset throughout all levels of the organisation. But with strong foundations to build upon, it’s an exciting time for the profession.”
See also: Ipsos: Australian professionals lacking CX strategies