Adobe: It Pays to be an Experience Driven Business

THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT INVESTING IN CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IS ESSENTIAL TO BUSINESS SUCCESS

New Adobe-commissioned research has confirmed that brands which invest in experience transformation across people, processes and technology, achieve superior business performance.

By investing across these disciplines, businesses in Asia Pacific (APAC) can trigger a transformation in customer experience that results in increased revenue and a rise in the acquisition and retention of customers.

Adobe commissioned Forrester Consulting to evaluate the business impact of investing in customer experience across the customer lifecycle.

The study, The Business Impact of Investing in Customer Experience – A Spotlight On Asia Pacific, found that long term investment in customer experience is paying off for those brands willing to embrace it.

The study found that APAC brands focusing on customer experience achieve an average revenue growth rate of 23%, compared with 13% of other companies surveyed.

“There is no doubt that investing in customer experience is essential to business success,” said V.R. Srivatsan, Managing Director, Southeast Asia, Adobe.

V.R. Srivatsan, Managing Director, Southeast Asia, Adobe

“While it’s exciting to see the impact that investment in customer experience is having, the study highlights that only 29% of brands in APAC can claim to be experience driven businesses.

“There are still huge opportunities in the region. Companies that delay their transition to becoming an Experience Business will find it harder to compete.”

Key findings of the study include:

• Experience driven brands sacrifice short term wins in favor of creating holistic experiences.  Organizations that prioritize holistic customer experiences report higher costs, however they enjoy more than twice as much return on ad spend. They also report 80 per cent higher year-on-year growth rates, and a doubling of their customer lifetime value.
• Experience driven businesses are customer obsessed. They invest in specific customer experience and marketing initiatives such as loyalty programs and customer analytics; they are also twice as likely to increase their investment year-on-year.
• Experience driven businesses report happier and more engaged employees. Employees in these businesses enjoy 60 per cent greater personal and team satisfaction than their counterparts in other businesses. They also feel 30 per cent greater company-wide satisfaction.

“The age of the experience driven business is well and truly upon us and it’s encouraging to see brands across APAC investing in experiences and customer loyalty,” said Scott Rigby, Head of Digital Transformation, Adobe.

“There is a higher cost for these businesses, but the boost to their revenue growth rate, customer lifetime value, and even the happiness of their employees, all mean the investment is worth it.

“Customers are responding to businesses that are clearly dedicated to providing a unique and customized experience for their entire journey.

“As customers become more accustomed to this, businesses that don’t manage to deliver that experience are likely to be left behind.”

“Everything we do today centers around our customers. We invest in analytics and tools that help us understand what our customers want, so we can customize our offerings and deliver experiences that are hyper-personal and meaningful, and applicable at scale,” said Cedric Dias, Head, Digital Marketing, Product Marketing and Silver Segment, OCBC Bank. “

“The higher-education space in Malaysia is a highly competitive one. Beyond ranking, reputation and quality of courses and educators, student experience is an often understated but key differentiator,” said Ben Foo, Chief Marketing Officer, Taylor’s University. “By making sure we deliver the right content and experience to the right student and prospect at the right time, we build stronger relationships with our students and alumni community, while at the same time deliver better academic experience across the board.”