In a time of rapidly changing consumer and employee preferences, leaders at growing enterprises know it takes something special to connect every team, delight every customer, and drive business value. It takes more than just interest in customer success to gain a competitive edge.

The companies that get ahead are truly customer-obsessed. They don’t settle for good-enough customer experience or just-okay employee engagement scores. They seek a communications platform built for them. One that unites contact center, voice, video, chat, and SMS and delivers it with the reliability, integration, and expert services only a customer-obsessed company can provide.

At 8x8, we know that it takes great experiences to make new connections, to bring teams together, and to turn prospects into loyal customers. Communications for the customer-obsessed means that we believe in our obligation to provide incredible communications experiences, every time. We believe in a world without silos, where everyone, from the front desk to the back office, is empowered to reach further and aim higher.

What it means to be customer-obsessed

8x8 advisor John Combs, puts it more simply:

“[Defining] ‘customer-obsessed’ is simple. We think and do what is best for the customer first, before we think how they can benefit us as individuals or as the company.”

The research and advisory firm Forrester defines it as “putting the customer at the center of your leadership, strategy, and operations,” and has built research and a curriculum around customer obsession. Across years of study, they have tracked the improvement and value customer-obsessed organizations have witnessed. Some of the impressive statistics are curated here.

7 statistics that show the return on investment for customer-obsessed companies

1. Customer-obsessed B2C firms demonstrate 1.8 times the profit growth of non-customer-obsessed firms. (Source: Forrester, Customer Obsession Pays Dividends)

2. Customer-obsessed B2C firms grow 2.5 times faster than non-obsessed ones and retain 2.2 times more customers per year. (Source: Forrester, Customer Obsession Pays Dividends)

3. Investing in customer obsession yields a 700%-plus return on investment over 12 years. (Source: Do You Believe Customer Obsession is Worth It in a Difficult Economy)

4. Organizations with high levels of alignment across their customer-facing functions reported 2.4 times higher revenue growth and twice the profitability growth of those with no alignment. (Source: Forrester, Align Around Your Customers To Power Growth In Today’s Economic Climate)

5. A 5% increase in customer retention rates can increase profitability by 25%. (Source: Forrester, Customer-led Growth is Getting More Attention Among B2B Firms. Should You Care)

6. Retailers that ensure their agents can answer all customer questions could see an additional 15.8 Forrester CX Index points per customer, resulting in $1.1 billion in incremental revenue. (Source: Forrester, Money on the Table: Proof that Customer Service Drives Revenue)

7. Retailers that improve their first contact resolution (FCR) could see an additional 18 CX Index points per customer, resulting in $1 billion in additional revenue. (Source: Forrester, Money on the Table: Proof that Customer Service Drives Revenue)

Forrester notes that call routing efficiency, coaching, and eliminating the silos between frontline customer service agents and organizational subject matter experts are all keys to first contact resolution and improving the overall customer experience.

Invest in being customer-obsessed

According to the Metrigy 2023 Technology Spending Forecast, 65% of companies plan to increase customer experience spending by an average of 24% in 2023, and according to 8x8 research, 46% of CX and IT leaders believe that customer experience will be the top differentiator for brands by 2030, trumping employee experience, product quality, corporate responsibility, and price in that order.

Now is the time to invest in being customer-obsessed.

Learn more about how 8x8 Contact Center and the 8x8 eXperience Communications Platform™ can help, and how 8x8 is helping organizations that are customer-obsessed deliver differentiated customer experiences.

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