Customers ready to pay for experience

Capgemini Consulting presents the results of the study "The Disconnected Customer: What digital customer experience leaders teach us about reconnecting with customers". As part of this study, 3 300 consumers and 450 managers in service companies were surveyed. The research shows that the quality of customer experience is perceived differently by customers and the company. While three quarters (75 per cent) of companies believe that they are customer-focussed, only 30 per cent of consumers agree with them. Frustrated with the fact that companies do no reply to their feedback or reward their loyalty, the majority of customers (81 per cent) are prepared to spend more on a better customer experience.However almost a third of companies (31 per cent) see it as a challenge to keep up with the rapidly developing technological landscape and customers' digitalisation expectations. Customers from Australia, China, France, Germany, India, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States were questioned for the study.Steffen Elsässer, global head of the Customer Experience Unit at Capgemini Consulting, the global strategy and transformation consultancy at the Capgemini Group: "Digitalisation has opened new forms of customer contact. Thus, consumer behaviour and expectations have also changed. It's clear that many organisations are struggling with the fast pace of change. As our analysis has shown, digitally supported customer experiences are a new strategic playing field which determine the success of the customer interface irrespective of the industry. Organisations which consistently aim their business activities towards customer experience will profit from the teamwork and loyalty of their customers."