“Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers.” Stephen Covey was onto something when he coined this quote at the center of total experience.
What is total experience? Gartner defines it as a business strategy that creates superior shared experiences by weaving together four disciplines – employee experience (EX), customer experience (CX), user experience (UX) and multiexperience (MX) – across multiple touchpoints to accelerate growth.
Putting all the pieces together
Total experience can drive greater customer and employee confidence, satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy through the holistic management of stakeholder experiences. Despite a growing industry focus on digital transformation, by 2025 Gartner predicts1 that 50% of large organizations will have failed to unify engagement channels – causing a disjointed and siloed customer experience that lacks context. Disparate systems are like an incomplete puzzle with separate pieces scattered throughout different departments or functional areas of an organization. But when the pieces are prioritized and put together, they tell a complete story by forming the full picture.
Why total experience is important
The disruption of the last two years has sparked lasting changes for customers and businesses. Digital fatigue is everywhere. According to OpenTextTM research, 80% of survey respondents experienced information overload driven by factors like constant information 24/7 or too many apps to check each day, contributing to their daily stress every day – up from 60% in 2020.
At the same time, customers are expecting seamless, personal, omnichannel journeys from every brand they interact with. OpenText research shows a personalized digital experience can make or break a sale: 44% of respondents said they will try to only interact with businesses that offer an excellent experience online, and 28% said they won’t use a brand at all if the experience isn’t excellent. For 72% of respondents, having an excellent digital customer experience is a key factor in their purchasing decision.
Experience is the only sustainable differentiator for businesses in the future. Forrester research shows that customer experience leaders grow revenue faster than CX laggards. CX leaders also cut costs, reduce risk and can charge more for their products.
Improving CX helps increase customer retention by reducing churn. On average, when companies deliver a good service experience by solving problems quickly, their customers are 2.4 times more likely to stay with them.2 Other business benefits include higher cross-sell and upsell potential, more new customers and a decreased cost to serve customers. Customers who have better experiences spend more with a company. When brands deliver a high-quality experience by communicating clearly, their customers are 2.7 times more likely to spend more with them.2 Therefore, CX and total experience take on heightened significance in an uncertain economy.
Build communication-centric experiences
A total experience strategy brings all departments together with customers in a shared digital experience. Pave your path to loyalty and growth by creating relevant, communication-centric digital experiences that are frictionless, omnichannel, data-driven and highly personalized. Learn more.
- Gartner: Rethink Customer Experience for a Disrupted World with the CX CORE Model: A Gartner Trend Insight Report, 16 February 2022.
