Companies expect digital revenue to grow in 2023 but they’re struggling to meet customer privacy expectations while maintaining customer profiles in real-time, according to the inaugural 2022 Qualtrics Digital Experience Report.
Qualtrics surveyed over 1,300 digital leaders worldwide representing organizations in more than a dozen major industries to uncover their top priorities, pain points and predictions for the next year.
Rising costs and a bearish economic landscape are changing consumer spending habits, leading many companies to rein in spending and lower growth expectations. However, 85% of digital leaders believe revenue from digital channels will continue to grow in the next 12 months. Across industries, almost 75% of companies say that more than 40% of revenue already comes from digital channels.
Companies have on average at least five customer data sources (EX: social media, website, digital content, email, mobile) and digital experience leaders valued improved customer segmentation more than any other outcome from their data initiatives.
- 39% of digital leaders said their company has faced challenges creating and updating customer profiles in real-time.
- The most valued data are digital identities (email, social IDs) and transactional data.
With state legislatures throughout the US introducing comprehensive data privacy bills in 2022 that will go into effect in 2023, data privacy ranked as the most important data initiative to an organization among digital leaders.
- Only 40% say their companies go above and beyond to protect and respect customer privacy
- 41% of digital leaders said balancing personalization with customer comfort is challenging
- DX Leaders have low satisfaction with their digital data when it comes to how their organizations handle timeliness, consent management and identity reconciliation
To achieve their revenue goals, the top priority for digital leaders is creating a cohesive customer journey across channels. The most effective digital channel today is social media.
- 70% of brands use social media & 28% say social media is the most effective, followed by website (17%) and digital ads (15%).
“Given the current market dynamics, companies cannot afford customer churn caused by disjointed digital experiences and digital leaders will be asked to demonstrate how their programs are generating revenue in 2023 clearly,” said Shek Viswanathan, Head of Product, Digital CX at Qualtrics. “Successful organizations build strong, cohesive digital journeys across all their channels and these new findings offer a view of the most pressing needs during a high-pressure time for digital experience leaders.”
