Companies that Automate their Customer Experience Expect to Double in 2022
In the 2022 Customer Experience Automation Impact Study, ActiveCampaign, the leader in Customer Experience Automation (CXA), found that businesses using CXA expect to double their revenue in 2022 (growing by 100% over the next year), compared to the typical 3.5% growth seen from those using legacy email marketing, marketing automation and CRM tools. This growth is fueled by businesses more than doubling their new leads year over year, with a reported 110% increase in new leads and a 94% increase in conversions compared to the previous year. While companies who implement CXA are able to generate nearly half of their revenue from current customers, higher than the 25% industry standard, it’s clear that delivering exceptional experiences for new customers has never been more crucial.
ActiveCampaign surveyed nearly 600 growing businesses across industries and in more than 20 countries and found both B2B and B2C companies are seeing real business impact after implementing CXA. In fact, B2B organizations reported a 109% average increase in sales effectiveness and nearly doubling (92% increase) their deal win-rate, which they attribute to stronger 1:1 experiences across the entire customer journey. B2C organizations report CXA helped them achieve a 108% increase in engagement rates from emails, newsletters and campaigns, with better engagement leading to more sales.
CXA also helped ecommerce companies gain back lost revenue and create repeat, loyal customers this past year. Seventy-eight percent of ecommerce businesses increased average order value per customer and 70% increased revenue from abandoned carts. However, customers don’t want just any message in their inboxes when mulling over a purchase. CXA goes beyond the message alone and helps customers send it to the right audience at the right time, ensuring the tone and delivery is tailored to each person, creating a true 1:1 experience for all.
The message is clear: if businesses aren’t using CXA, they are missing out on better experiences, more customers and higher revenue. Every day, customers get dozens of emails and messages across multiple channels from similar brands that are offering the same products. A great customer experience is what makes a particular brand stand out and encourages loyal customers. CXA makes brands stand out by demonstrating that they are better than the competition in knowing what makes their audience special. This goes further than relevant messages to groups of a company’s audience, and gets into the details of what each customer really wants to see.
Additional findings from the report include:
Automation isn’t taking jobs, it’s providing necessary personnel support: Nearly half of businesses using CXA report that they now spend more time talking to customers because of time saved using automations. SMBs, especially, rely on automation to combat the tight bandwidth of a small team and limited resources. That’s why the general population shouldn’t be fearful of automation taking over jobs, but optimistic about the better experiences and balance it provides.
Communicating via one channel just won’t cut it: All brands still need to be taking an omnichannel approach — 99% of those surveyed agree companies grow faster by using multiple channels beyond email marketing alone and 93% report using their website as an engagement channel to supplement their email marketing efforts.
CXA + social media is the sweet spot for B2C:Nine in 10 (89%) B2C businesses using CXA also leverage social media to share information with existing and potential customers. This omnichannel approach helps improve customer experiences by sending the right message at the time it’s going to be best received by existing and potential customers.
Highly relevant communications are critical to a great customer experience: Nearly 80% of CXA users agreed that the technology helps them send highly relevant communications, leading to greater retention and customer acquisition. Personalization is table stakes. Customer loyalty all depends on if each individual buyer feels a brand is speaking directly to them and communicating with them based on their own personal wants and needs.
Supporting Quotes
“Every day we see businesses grow using the power of CXA. This is because they can effectively send the right messages to the right people at the right time,” said Maria Pergolino, Chief Marketing Officer of ActiveCampaign. “Businesses of all sizes save time and create loyal, repeat customers with the 1:1 experiences they are able to put in place. Organizations across all industries are reaping the benefits of being able to reach, nurture and convert prospects which leads to additional business growth.”
“My business scaled rapidly after implementing customer experience automation because it provides me with the features and benefits I need to continue to save me time, help my customers and grow my business,” said Margaret Rice, Owner of Your Therapy Source. “When I look at the marketing revenue in my ecommerce dashboard, I'm always in shock that for the money I’ve paid for CXA over the last 12 months, I’ve received over 2,000% return on the money invested.”
“Customer experience is the most important aspect of a business. That’s why this data and the tools ActiveCampaign provides are imperative to helping businesses grow,” said Paul Matker, CEO of Thanx Media, Inc. “Together, we support our mutual customers in helping them create hyper-personalized, relevant experiences that have the power to make every one of their customers feel like their most important.”
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