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Retail executives lag in driving customer experience strategy, reveals new research

Company leaders are lagging in focusing on customer-centric strategies and there's a lack of trust between the C-level and mid management in making change.

April 13, 2016

The retail customer experience may not be advancing or improving as fast as believed. A new report reveals 43 percent of business chiefs cite more important business strategies to focus on, 65 percent are leaving it at the doorstep of the next executive team and 33 percent of leaders don't trust management to deploy customer-centric approaches.

Yet, in direct contrast, the most startling reveal from The Storyteller’s latest research is that 76 percent of company leaders believe that if they don't focus on customers the company won't survive beyond two years.

The study included interviews with C-level leaders and managing directors across 150 companies in the top 500 of the Forbes' 2000 list.

Despite the sluggish push on customer experience strategies 88 percent of leaders acknowledge improving customer treatment is fundamental to future success and more than half, 56 percent, are worried the business is complacent when it comes to providing a rewarding consumer interaction.

"Leaders need to lift their heads out of the sand and realize that this is a critical juncture, at which there are just two options: become more customer-centric or face the prospect of imminent extinction. Every day of paralysis is an opportunity for more nimble competitors to offer customers the experiences they demand," said Alison Esse, co-founder and director at The Storytellers, in an announcement.

The lack of corporate drive regarding customer experience improvement is tied to feeling "powerless" in solving customer issues and a disconnect between mid and lower management and the executive team when it comes to making changes and revamping policies to improve customer service.

A third, 33 percent, of leaders don’t trust lower-level teams to do the right thing by customers, states the report.

“Trust in — and loyalty to — a brand is determined by every interaction a customer has with a company. Invariably, it is employees who must deliver the exceptional experiences expected by today's customers," stated Esse. "Yet too many leaders are failing to tap into this unique resource. They need to inspire, engage and empower their people to do the right thing for the customer, and align them at every level. This is a matter of urgency: without employees’ involvement, productivity and performance will suffer."