Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 28 | Page 21

LATEST INTELLIGENCE WHY YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT THE IT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE . . . AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT I n 2015, the quality of the Customer Experience (CX) became the number one focus for business and technology leaders, according to Forrester Research. 97% of execs say delivering a great customer experience is critical to their business. Yet only 80% of CEOs believe they offer a superior customer experience and only 8% of their customers agree. Organisations have realised that in the ‘Age of the Customer’ – where customers have the power to switch brands with ease – customer experience is the battle ground where business is most frequently won and lost. Data from customers proves this to be true: a full 89% of customers have switched to a competitor because of a poor customer experience. The same behaviour is impacting the corporate IT department. When IT’s customers don’t get what they want, they seek outside sources for solutions to business challenges. The cloud technology explosion and the easy availability of powerful consumer technologies are empowering business technology customers to select and buy solutions without the involvement of the corporate IT department. The irony is that as technology becomes an increasingly vital part of the customer experience and corporate IT is becoming less involved in creating that experience. The IT department’s inability to provide a high-quality experience for end-users within the organisation means business leaders are unlikely to trust IT with building and managing the customer experience – pushing an increasing portion of total technology spend into the hands of the Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Digital Officer and Chief Customer Officer. n Download whitepapers free from www.intelligentcio.com/me/whitepapers/ www.intelligentcio.com INTELLIGENTCIO 21