Customer Journey Challenges and How to Solve Them

The CX landscape is rapidly evolving, with AI and other emerging technologies redefining customer journeys for the better. While most decision-makers recognize the importance of exceptional customer interactions, many are still struggling to understand their customers and meet their unique needs. There are clear reasons for this.

Alterian and CX Network’s The State of the Customer Journey Experience report found that 20% of businesses have limited or no formal customer journey strategies in place, while 42% have only made initial steps to try to understand and improve customer journeys. This is compared with 10% of leaders that already have fully integrated customer journey strategies in place that utilize the latest CX technology. As this small number of early adopters charge ahead, the laggards are falling further and further behind.

What’s holding these businesses back?

Clear challenges exist, and many of these are preventing businesses from being able to deliver the optimal journey experiences that are needed. When asked to identify the roadblocks preventing them from taking action to deliver the best customer experience, 64% of business leaders said siloed data and a lack of integrated systems. This barrier was of particular concern to decision-makers within the healthcare and retail sectors, with more than 40% of respondents in both industries stating it was a major challenge.

Additionally, 43% of all respondents said inconsistent customer experiences were a major roadblock, while 39% said the inability to deliver personalization and individualized customer interactions was an ongoing concern.

These findings are not surprising. Siloed data and disconnected channels are the key reasons for inconsistent customer experiences. When systems don’t speak to each other about real-time behavior that’s happening across different channels, customers end up receiving irrelevant and frustrating communications that don’t align with their needs.

Equally concerning is that 85% of business leaders say they struggle with understanding and acting on actual customer behaviors. Without a holistic view of what customers are doing or the ability to act on these insights, teams will always fall short and deliver fragmented experiences that weaken customer loyalty, retention, CSAT, revenue, and more.

“Annette Franz CCXP, founder and CEO of CX Journey, explains, “There are a couple of vital pieces of the puzzle that need to be in place so that [a lack of understanding and the inability to act on actual customer behaviors] is no longer the top business or customer journey challenge.”

75% of all respondents also said difficulty measuring and tracking the effectiveness of CX efforts was one of the major business challenges impacting their journey outcomes, while 72% stated poor cross-functional communication across departments.

Overcoming customer journey challenges: the four critical steps to success

According to Alterian’s CEO, Bob Hale, “Transforming the customer journey experience into a competitive advantage requires a holistic approach, recognizing the importance of every customer touchpoint in fostering relationships beyond transactions. Embracing personalization, leveraging AI, nurturing cross-functional collaboration, and iteratively enhancing strategies based on data insights is pivotal.”

If you can address all of these challenges head-on, you will be in a strong position to deliver exactly what your customers want and need. While it can seem like a daunting challenge to tackle, there are clear steps to be followed to ensure future success.

1	Foster a customer-centric culture To elevate CX, executives must commit to customer-centricity and foster an internal culture that prioritizes the customer in every action and decision. Employees at all levels must believe in and understand the business’s overarching customer-centric goals.

Eliminate silos

The only way to ensure consistent, cohesive, and relevant experiences for your customers across every touchpoint is by breaking down data and departmental silos. This means integrating all systems and channels so every touchpoint, and every team has the real-time information needed to deliver the best customer experience at any time.

Personalized customer communications when it matters most

Customers demand to feel seen and heard. Crafting and delivering the right message at the right time is essential to ensuring this happens at every point of the customer journey. When they visit the website, speak with an agent, receive an SMS, or engage with any other touchpoint – every message must feel relevant and unique to that customer.

Implement real-time CX technology

Investing in the right solutions is pivotal to superior customer journeys. It is the only way to gain full visibility of the vast amounts of real-time activity that exists and the only way to be responsive to customer needs in the moment. Adopting a Real-Time CX Platform that harnesses AI and is designed to solve the major challenges facing businesses today will empower your team to do just that, delivering individualized customer-led journeys at scale.

An international travel company leveraged Alterian’s Real-Time CX Platform to integrate its previously disconnected channels and customer journey data. This enabled customers to experience real-time individualized experiences that were consistent and cohesive across all channels and led to a 19% increase in conversions, 15% increase in customer satisfaction, and an overall rise in existing customer lifetime value. Read our case study.

Navigating the customer journey challenges with strategic expertise

When it comes to customer journeys, the ultimate goal for any business must be happy customers through a wholly integrated approach to the customer experience. While achieving this goal is not without its challenges, there are clear actions that business leaders can take to successfully navigate the complexities that exist. Customers today demand seamless and individualized journeys that respond to and solve their specific needs in real-time. By harnessing the power of AI and real-time technology, you can leverage real-time journey data at scale, using it to understand your customers and deliver the optimized and individualized experience they demand.

Download The State of the Customer Journey Experience 2023-2024 report now for more valuable insights and key points on optimizing your customer journey experiences.

Unlocking Success: Overcoming Customer Journey Challenges with Proven Solutions