Global study: Leading companies bet on customer experience

A new report from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services reveals that customer experience is vital for business success, and establishes social media as the foundation for customer experience.

The survey, which includes 600+ leaders from the world’s biggest brands, also shows that companies embracing social media and customer experience exhibit stronger revenue growth and more dominant market positions.

In the global customer experience survey, you’ll discover:

• 86% of business leaders agree that customer experience is vital for success
• 75% say social media will be extremely important over the next three years
• Only 34% of companies have the tools and skills to deliver superior customer experiences
• Leading-edge companies are breaking that pattern by spending heavily on customer experience and social media
• Leaders in customer experience have more dominant market positions and post stronger revenue growth (compared to Follower and Laggard counterparts)

Methodology and participant profile
A total of 628 respondents were drawn from the Harvard Business Review audience of readers (magazine/enewsletter readers, customers, HBR.org users).

• Size of organization: 57% of organizations had 2015 revenues of $5 billion or more, 32% generated revenues in the $1-5 billion range, and 11% had revenues from $50 to $999 million.
• Organization type: 29 percent of organizations were completely B2B, 24% were primarily B2B with some B2C, and 17% were about evenly split between the two. 8% were completely B2C, and 22% were mainly B2C with some B2B as well.
• Seniority: 13% of respondents were executive management or board members, 40% were senior management, 34% were middle management, and 13% came from other grades.
• Key industry sectors: 18% were in technology, 13% were in manufacturing and financial services, and 8% were in energy/utilities. Other sectors were each represented by 7% or less of the respondent base.
• Job function: 14% of respondents were in operations/production management; 11% were in marketing/communications; 10% were in sales/business development; and 8% were in HR/training, general management and finance/risk. Other functions were represented by 7% or less of the base.
• Regions: 38% of respondents were located in North America, 33% were from EMEA, 24% were from Asia, and 5% were from South/Central America.