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new global research report from MIT Sloan Management Review ( SMR ) Connections , Delivering Experiences That Win Business and Build Loyalty : CX Champions Share Their Strategies , sponsored by SAS , has revealed that customer experience ( CX ) champions gain better returns from their CX tech investments than competitors by managing CX across the enterprise through cross-functional teams , clearly defined workflows and extensive use of analytics and AI .

Champions are also ahead of the game when it comes to the adoption of CX tools . Some tools will be nearly ubiquitous for CX champions within the next two years :

• 86 % will have adopted personalisation technology

• 84 % will have adopted real-time data collection

• 81 % will have adopted AI-powered chatbots

• 72 % will have adopted connected omnichannel experiences

“ With more than 40 % of survey respondents planning to increase CX technology investments by as much as 25 % over the next two years and some 35 % expecting to boost investments by up to 50 % from current levels , companies must have a roadmap on how to get the most payoff from these tools ,” said Lisa Loftis , Principal Product Marketer for SAS Customer Intelligence . “ The research findings offer a caution against ‘ random acts of technology ’ because value is created only when the technology helps to fulfil customer expectations . In today ’ s world , this means adding MarTech that enables companies to capture digital activity at a customer level and dynamically manage identities , to make the most of first-party data by managing journeys and to incorporate analytics and AI into real-time decisions .”

AI emerges as the power tool of CX

CX champions lead the pack in terms of sophisticated use of analytics and AI . More than 80 % of CX champions make significant use of analytics throughout the customer journey , from research to adoption to ongoing engagement .

The research also found that champions are significantly more likely to employ ‘ smart ’ approaches to improve CX , including smart assistants embedded in goods and services . They also expect to outpace the competition in their use of Edge Computing , using its ability to boost real-time analytics .

Digital strategy and collaboration key

Strong CX performance isn ’ t predicated on having a single executive in charge of the activity . Instead , research shows that tying CX strategy to a company ’ s digital strategy makes the biggest performance difference . Doing so ensures the creation of enterprise-wide CX goals and Key Performance Indicators ( KPIs ) that cascade through the organisation .

By elevating CX strategy to the level of corporate and digital strategy , CX champions can build highly empowered crossfunctional or decentralised teams . To keep everyone on the same page , 70 % of CX champions also have documented workflows of their CX processes . x www . intelligentcxo . com

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