In any profession, success comes to those who are constantly evolving, staying updated on current trends and learning best practices. We often look to leaders and industry experts to show us the way forward whenever there’s a roadblock, and if your work profile is dependent on keeping up with evolving customer trends and expectations, you need ongoing guidance.

Companies that excel at customer experience have been shown to drive revenues 4-8% higher than their competitors. This increase can be attributed to a variety of benefits that arise from improving CX. First, a great customer experience leads to higher loyalty rates. Second, 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience, according to research from PWC. Additionally, people who enjoy their customer care typically tell others about it.

As almost every industry enters the third year of grappling with the pandemic’s effects, companies are constantly in search of methods to support growth and demand. But often, growing rapidly comes at a cost. As does standing still. Companies that are spread thin, understaffed or under-resourced are at risk of not remaining competitive or providing customer experiences that are lacklustre.

Admittedly, it’s been a minute since I’ve dusted off my crystal ball – closer to the length of a global pandemic. I made some predictions about the future of CX back in 2018, and certainly a lot has changed since then. During the past few months, I’ve been thinking a lot about this quote from futurist Roy Amara: “We tend to overestimate the effect of technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.”

Companies that excel at customer experience have been shown to drive revenues 4-8% higher than their competitors. This increase can be attributed to a variety of benefits that arise from improving CX. First, a great customer experience leads to higher loyalty rates. Second, 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience, according to research from PWC. Additionally, people who enjoy their customer care typically tell others about it.

It’s impossible to overstate the importance of customer service. This is because 73% of companies now report a direct link between customer service and business performance, according to our 2022 Customer Experience (CX) Trends Report, and 60% of customers will now walk away after just one bad experience – a 22% jump from the previous year.

With customer experience becoming more important than ever, interactive customer experience conferences are the need of the hour. Whether it’s a virtual experience, in-person event or a hybrid summit, companies are reimagining customer journeys to reduce friction, accelerating the shift to digital channels, and providing for new safety requirements. With the ongoing global crisis, many organizers have switched to hybrid and virtual conferences.

In a recent study commissioned by Zendesk, just 39% of customer service agents said they were confident they could respond to customers in a conversational, convenient way. And only 32% said they could effectively manage and monitor customer requests during the working day. Both of these findings reveal powerful truths. Customer service staff often feel overwhelmed, particularly when they have to respond to everything quickly.