UserTesting's Eighth Annual CX Survey Reveals That Customer Empathy Is No Longer Optional

- Survey shows that 45% of organizations increased their investment in customer feedback and research as a result of the pandemic

SYDNEY, March 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- UserTesting, a leading provider of on-demand human insights released new data identifying how the pandemic has put customer experience (CX) and empathy center stage. Findings show that businesses are in one of two categories, those doubling down on CX and those scaling back on it, and that customer feedback collection is on the rise, with 72 percent of organizations stating that they plan to increase their investments in 2021.

The 2021 CX Industry Report uncovered three key trends influencing customer experience today:

• Feedback has gone remote

The survey revealed that moving to online user research can cut costs by an average of 40 percent. Moving to online user research was found to increase revenue by about 40 percent. Many respondents noted that the pandemic will permanently reduce the amount of in-person research moving forward.

• The pandemic has put the focus on CX

The survey found that companies acknowledge an increase in the use of customer feedback, which drove more investments into customer feedback and user research. Despite these efforts, 60 percent respondents admitted that their organization doesn't have a formal CX strategy in place or only reacts to issues as they happen.

• Teams are doing more with less

Nearly 70 percent of those surveyed reported reductions in spending or workforce resources due to business changes caused by the pandemic. The pandemic also required many companies to quickly pivot their product or service offerings. 46 percent of respondents reported a change to their product roadmap.

"We have been through a year unlike any other where organizations have had to adapt to changing customer needs. The past year has shown that organizations must prioritize customer understanding and empathy to build long term customer loyalty," said Janelle Estes, Chief Insights Officer at UserTesting. "The takeaway for every size organization should be that talking with and listening to your customers cannot take place only during times of crisis but should be part of regular business practices."

Methodology and survey results

In this eighth annual Customer Experience Industry Survey, we asked over 4,700 professionals from around the world across a wide variety of industries.

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