Forrester's Canada 2020 Customer Experience Index: CX Scores Remain Stable While Several Industries See Improved CX Quality Despite COVID-19 Pandemic

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Forrester

Aug 27, 2020, 10:00 ET

Canadian brands must focus on emotion to differentiate from competition

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 27, 2020 /CNW/ -- According to Forrester's (Nasdaq: FORR) Canada 2020 Customer Experience Index (CX Index™), 11% of Canadian brands significantly improved their CX Index scores this year. The results also reveal that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, several industries saw an improvement in customer experience (CX) quality, including credit card issuers, direct banks, investment firms, and multichannel retail industries. Compared to last year, no industry averages declined in 2020's Canada CX Index, making 2020 the second year in a row — and the second year ever — this trend has occurred.

Seven brands represented elite brands — the top 5% of brands in the entire CX Index — Chapters/Indigo, Costco Wholesale, Home Hardware, MEC, PetSmart, Toyota, and Well.ca. Of four new elite brands, only Toyota rose to its status due to a real improvement in CX quality.

Results further show that emotion is key to achieving brand differentiation. How an experience makes customers feel has larger influence on their loyalty to a brand than effectiveness or ease in every industry. In the multichannel retail industry, for example, among customers who felt valued, 87% plan to stay with the brand, 84% plan to increase spending with the brand, and 86% will advocate for the brand.

"While the COVID-19 pandemic has done little to disrupt the quality of experience Canadian brands provide customers, our rankings show those brands looking to break away from the pack and deliver better CX must shift their focus to understanding how customers are affected by experiences emotionally," said Sharyn Leaver, SVP of research at Forrester. "This will be a crucial differentiator in how brands can not only achieve and sustain customer loyalty but better distinguish themselves from the competition."

Conducted for the sixth year in a row, Forrester's CX Index results are benchmarked on a survey of more than 58,000 Canadian customers across 147 brands and 12 industries. Forrester's CX Index methodology helps CX leaders grow revenue faster, drive higher brand preference, and charge more for their products. Forrester's CX Index helps brands identify the key drivers of a positive CX for their customers to prioritize efforts. Even a minor improvement to a brand's customer experience quality can add tens of millions of dollars of revenue by reducing customer churn and increasing share of wallet. Additionally, superior CX leads to reduced service costs and lowers the cost of customer acquisition through word of mouth.

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About Forrester's CX Index
Forrester's CX Index is the most complete and powerful CX tool in the market today. The CX Index connects quality and loyalty measures to specific revenue drivers, giving leaders the unprecedented ability to guide CX investments that produce revenue return.

About Forrester
Forrester (FORR) is one of the most influential research and advisory firms in the world. We work with business and technology leaders to drive customer-obsessed vision, strategy, and execution that accelerate growth. Forrester's unique insights are grounded in annual surveys of more than 690,000 consumers and business leaders worldwide, rigorous and objective methodologies, and the shared wisdom of our most innovative clients. Through proprietary research, data and analytics, custom consulting, exclusive peer groups, certifications, and events, we are revolutionizing how businesses grow in the age of the customer; learn more at forrester.com.

Media Contact:
Ira Kantor
Public Relations
Forrester Research, Inc.
[email protected]

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