Welcome to the trusted experience-based economy

The customer experience is now largely digital. Customers are empowered by choice and increasingly in control of their personal data, which means trust is their signal. These are the findings based on the fifth edition of Status Report of Connected Customers 2022one Sales force surveyed 13,020 consumers and 3,916 business buyers worldwide.

Here is the report’s executive summary with four key takeaways:

1. The trust-based economy turns to investment money: As customers navigate a rapidly changing world, questions of trust, value, and integrity arise. 88% of customers believe trust becomes more important in times of change.
2. Digital acceleration drives the need for personalization at scale: Digital channels continue to dominate customer engagement, but as public health restrictions ease, it’s important for organizations to bridge new ways of interacting with those method has been tested. 73% of customers expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations.
3. New Reality Brand Loyalty Test: As consumer preferences and behaviors change, established brand loyalty undergoes tests of strength. 71% of consumers have switched brands at least once in the last year.
4. Digital-first experiences that expand to meet the moment: While open questions remain, the long-term impact of COVID-19 on customer experience is coming into focus, with impacts across the entire customer lifecycle. 68% of customers have purchased products in new ways in the past two years.

Here are 10 powerful statistics from the 2022 Connected Customer Status Report:

1. 88% of customers believe trust becomes more important in times of change. Here are the top 5 actions to build trust: 1. Communicate honestly and transparently, 2. Use customer information responsibly, 3. Treat me like a person, not a person must be a number, 4. Solve problems proactively, 5. Actively communicate.
2. 74% of customers say honest and transparent communication is more important now than before the pandemic. 62% of customers feel an emotional connection to the brands they shop with the most.
3. 52% of customers say they generally trust companies – up from 48% in 2020. Additionally, 88% of customers expect companies to clearly state their values, but only 50% of customers say they do.
4. 66% of customers have stopped buying from a company whose value doesn’t match theirs – up from 62% in 2020. Top reasons customers say influences a competitor’s purchasing decision competition is 1. Treatment of customers, 2. Treatment of employees, 3. Environmental practices, 4. Action on economic injustices, 5. Action on racial injustices , and 5. Community Participation.



5. 88% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its product or service – up from 80% in 2020. To improve customer experience, start with your experience. Staff. Research shows that improving employee experience leads to better customer experiences and increase the revenue. In fact, companies are leaving money on the table. Bridging the gap between employee experience and customer experience can lead to a huge opportunity to grow revenue by 50% or more.
6. 61% of consumers feel comfortable with companies using relevant personal information in a transparent and beneficial way – up from 52% in 2020. The report notes that 58% of people are generational. Z prefers to shop online, compared to just 38% among startups.



7. 71% of consumers have switched brands at least once in the past year. While better deals and product quality were the main drivers of brand abandonment, a multitude of additional factors such as improved customer service, product availability, and convenience were found. benefits will attract consumers. 56% of consumers say they are more likely to buy from a brand with a loyalty program.



8. 83% of customers expect to interact with someone immediately when they contact a company. The number of customers who prefer to interact on dedicated mobile applications by organizations today is almost equal to those who want to be met on the messaging apps they use in their personal lives. , like WeChat and Google Hangouts. Engagement is as omnichannel as ever, with customers turning to an average of nine different channels to communicate with companies.



9. 68% of customers have purchased a product in a new way in the past two years. The absorption of the new services has been very rapid. For example, between 2020 and 2022, the percentage of customers using curbside pickup nearly doubles, from 31% to 60%. More importantly, 61% of customers who shop via social media expect to do more in three years.
10. Only 13% of customers say it takes little effort to resolve cases. In fact, 83% of customers expect complex issues to be resolved by talking to one person, but 53% say most support interactions are sporadic. And 75% of business buyers say sales chats are more out of sync than they used to be.

The report closes with a reminder of the importance of excellent customer service and support experiences with the following results: 96% of customers say excellent customer service builds trust. In fact, 83% of customers say they are more loyal to companies that provide cross-departmental consistency.

To learn more about the 2022 Connected Customer Status Report, you can visit this.