Long-term customer experience strategy to combat declining customer loyalty
In Switzerland, 71% of customers are less brand loyal today than they were two years ago. This was revealed by a survey conducted by ServiceNow. Swiss consumers particularly value problem-solving expertise (93%), seamless service (93%) and fast response times (90%). These points should be part of a long-term customer experience strategy, the study recommends.
ServiceNow, the solution provider for digital workflows, has published its Consumer Voice Report 2024. The study, which was conducted for the second time, clearly shows that continuously changing customer expectations and economic instability are driving factors behind consumers' declining loyalty to their brands. In this environment, an outstanding customer experience (CX) that optimally balances human interaction and the use of technology is proving to be a decisive factor, according to the report. As part of this ServiceNow Consumer Voice Report 2024, 15,000 adults from ten countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa - including 1,000 in Switzerland - were asked about their views on the topic of customer experience. As in the previous year, the study clearly shows that brand loyalty is declining: 71% of all respondents stated that they are less loyal to companies than they were two years ago. The main reasons for this are financial aspects such as the increased cost of living (35%) and growing competition and therefore greater choice (19%). However, disappointing experiences with certain brands and companies (15%) also play a role.
Optimized customer experience for more brand loyalty
The results prove it: Companies need to move away from reactive measures to a long-term CX strategy. When asked what companies should do to increase brand loyalty again, 28% say they should look for ways to offer a better service without using more customer data, 26% want websites and apps to be more user-friendly and 32% demand a better after service.
Technology plays a decisive role here. The significant majority of respondents state that a high level of problem-solving competence (93%), seamless services (93%), fast response times (90%) and the ability to choose the communication channel that suits them best (77%) as well as self-service options (64%) are particularly important to them when it comes to customer service. Many of these aspects can be achieved, for example, through the use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) be optimized.
The right balance between people and technology
However, the ServiceNow Customer Voice Report 2024 also shows that consumers are still reluctant to interact with AI. Especially when it comes to making a complaint or solving a specific problem, customers prefer personal interaction with a service employee to AI. Technological solutions such as chatbots (53%), intelligent search engines (29%) or automated phone calls (20%) are more likely to be used when it comes to obtaining general information.
"The key to a successful customer experience lies in how well a company understands when an interaction can be controlled by technology and when human intervention is required," says Dino Minichiello, Country Manager Switzerland at ServiceNow. "Providing alternative points of interaction at different stages of the customer journey is an important part of this balance. Having a range of options that are easy to navigate relieves and motivates employees while providing the optimized experience customers expect."
The future of customer experience
The study also asked participants about their views and wishes regarding the future use of technology in customer service. 47% of respondents stated that they do not want a customer service based entirely on AI in the future. In addition, 52% say they want to reduce automated processes and return to an employee-based service. However, many consumers also see that technology can improve the customer experience. They can imagine, for example, that by 2025 virtual reality (VR) will be used to test products before they are purchased (34%), complaints management will be handled by smart assistants such as Amazon or Alexa (23%) or AI will provide precise personalized product recommendations (22%).
Example: The city of Geneva
"We are continuously optimizing the customer experience to provide users with the most intuitive, efficient and enjoyable platform possible so that we can use technology to facilitate their communication with the city," says Tom Royston, Head of IT, at the City of Geneva. The City of Geneva's IT department has been using Service Now for ITSM management since 2000. And since 2021, Service Now has also been used for the business management of various corporate services, such as public spaces, sports, social services, the municipal police, purchasing and even financial management. In this way, a number of specific business applications have been developed based on reusable functional blocks. Thanks to the CSM module, the general public (citizens and associations) can now carry out 100 % paperless online procedures for these specific services. The aim is to cover as many different types of requests as possible with this procedure. This is an effective and modern strategy aimed at facilitating citizens' communication with the city through technology.
Source and further information: ServiceNow
