How the best-in-class achieve 91% customer retention

A customer-centric shift in the market is forcing organisations to rethink customer engagement, and best-in-class companies are already outperforming the competition when it comes to using customer experience management (CEM) to boost customer retention and satisfaction, according to a study by Aberdeen Group and Cincom Systems.

The research report, entitled 'Customer experience management: Engaging loyal customers to evangelise your brand', reports that, while technology provides critical enablers for CEM initiatives, successful CEM also requires a shift in the way the entire organisation interacts with its customers - whether that's in the call centre, sales calls, or marketing messages.

According to Ian Michiels, author of the study and practice director for Aberdeen's Customer Management Technology Group, "Every customer experience is an opportunity to influence customer acquisition, customer retention, customer loyalty, and of course advocacy. That's why it's critical for organisations to start thinking about CEM from a structured and methodical standpoint."

Among its key findings, the study found that:

• Best-in-class companies achieved 91% customer retention on an annual basis, compared to 59% for all other organisations;
   
• Best-in-class companies achieved 88% current customer satisfaction rates, compared to 69% for all other organisations;
   
• 75% of best-in-class companies increased customer loyalty as a result of CEM initiatives, compared to only 53% of average industry organisations;
   
• While 95% of survey respondents said they saw value in formalising a CEM strategy, only 48% currently have a formal programme in place to identify and encourage customer advocacy.

The report goes on to outline the strategies commonly employed by best-in-class companies, and examines the processes, organisation, technologies and other enablers that such businesses generally use to keep their competitive advantage.

The report has been made available for free via Aberdeen's web site - click here (free registration required).