,SECOND EDITION,State of the Connected Customer,Insights from 6,700+ consumers and business buyers on the intersection of experience, technology, and trust,State of the Connected Customer2,About This Report,For this second edition “State of the Connected Customer” report, Salesforce Research surveyed over 6,700 consumers and business buyers worldwide to discover:How customers expectations of companies are changingWhich emerging technologies are influencing the future of customer experienceWhy customer trust is increasingly important, and how companies can foster itData in this report is from a double-blind survey conducted from March 26April 12, 2018, that generated responses from 6,723 individuals in Australia/New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Nordics, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States.,All respondents are third-party panelists (not limited to Salesforce customers). See page 56 for detailed respondent demographics.,1,350,900,2,223,2,250,About This Report,In this report, we examine survey results from three primary groups:ConsumersThose reporting on their interactions with companies when purchasing for themselvesBusiness BuyersThose reporting on their interactions with companies when purchasing on behalf of their employersCustomersAggregated consumers and business buyersDue to rounding, not all percentages may add to the sum total. All comparison calculations are made from total numbers (not rounded numbers).,State of the Connected Customer3,Consumers,Business Buyers,All Customers,State of the Connected Customer3Salesforce Research,Salesforce Research,State of the Connected Customer4,Contents,Executive Summary .5,Customer Expectations Hit All-Time Highs .6,Companies Face a New Connected Mandate.10,Technology Sets New Benchmarks for Innovation .15,01020304Customers Balance Personalization and Privacy Amid a Crisis of Trust.19,Last Look .22Country & Regional Profiles.23Appendix .42Demographics .56,Salesforce Research,State of the Connected Customer5,Executive Summary,Rising generations take for granted that they can order almost anything by just talking to a device. But their parents remember when mail-order catalogs were the norm. Suffice to say, technology is raising customer standards at a breakneck pace.,For businesses, theres more focus than ever on going beyond the expected product or service, to deliver a customer experience that truly differentiates.,But while expectations for personalized, connected experiences are soaring, trust in companies to responsibly handle the data they require is bottoming out.,This report examines the evolution of these expectations,the technology thats driving them, and the balance of trust between customers and companies.,With more choice, more access to information, and less incentive to be loyal, todays customers are firmly in control of their relationships with companies. Consumers and business buyers alike seek differentiated experiences based on trust and understanding, and will shop around to find them. Eighty percent of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services.,Customer Expectations Hit All-Time Highs(See page 6),01,From product recommendations to proactive service, customers expect engagement thats uniquely personalized. Whats more, customers are looking for interactions that are connected and contextualized at every turn. Seventy percent of customers say connected processes are very important to winning their business.,Companies Face a New Connected Mandate(See page 10),02,As technology evolves at a head-spinning pace, customers have been conditioned to expect newer and better experiences. Customers are far more likely to view various emerging technologies as revolutionary, rather than hyped, with artificial intelligence (AI) playing an increasingly prominent role in their daily lives. Fifty-six percent of customers actively seek to buy from the most innovative companies.,Technology Sets New Benchmarks for Innovation(See page 15),03,Delivering personalized experiences requires a data-driven, 360-degree view but more than half of respondents are uncomfortable with how their data is used. Customers say companies can earn their trust by taking certain steps, such as giving them control over how their data is applied, and being transparent with how its used. Eighty-six percent of customers are more likely to trust companies with their relevant information if they explain how it provides a better experience.,Customers Balance Personalization and Privacy Amid a Crisis of Trust(See page 19),04,Salesforce Research,State of the Connected Customer6,one day are outdated the next. In this context, the experience a company offers is increasingly its differentiator. But the scope of customer experience is changing, too. To win hearts and wallets, companies must not only deliver amazing marketing, sales, ecommerce, and service interactions, but also prove that they have the customers best interests in mind.,Tethered to their smartphones and accustomed to nonstop innovation, todays consumers and business buyers are more informed and less loyal than their predecessors. In this era of exponentially disruptive technological change, often referred to as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, products and services that are cutting-edge,a STAGGERING 95% ofcustomerS say trusting a company increasestheir loyalty.,Customers Push Companies to Do BetterConsumersBusiness Buyers,80%,of customerssay the experiencea company provides is as important as its products and services,79%81%,95%,of customerssay they are more likely to be loyal to a company they trust,94%96%,67%,of customerssay their standard for good experiences are higher than ever,64%73%,01Customer Expectations Hit All-Time Highs,Salesforce Research,State of the Connected Customer7,59%44%,53%45%,51%,of customerssay most companies fall short of their expectations for great experiences,54%,of customersdont believe companies have their best interests in mind,Customers expect a lot from companies, but dont have faith in them to deliver much less in a principled fashion. About half of customers say most companies fall short of their expectations for great experiences. This would be troubling enough, but there are signs of an even deeper discontent; nearly six in 10 consumers dont believe companies have their best interests in mind.,The reality is that todays customers expect companies to understand and care about them as individuals, and treat them accordingly.,76% of customersexpect companies tounderstand their needs and expectations.,Companies Are Missing the Mark on Experience ConsumersBusiness Buyers,01Customer Expectations Hit All-Time Highs,SSaalleessffoorrccee RReesseeaarrcchh,State of the Connected Customer8,Experience Impacts the Bottom Line, for Better or WorseConsumersBusiness Buyers,62%,of customerssay they share badexperiences with others,61%63%,57%,of customershave stopped buying from a company because a competitor provided a better experience,But this new dynamic is not all doom and gloom. Seventy-two percent of customers share good experiences with others a full 10% more than those that share the negative.,76% of customers say its easier than ever to take their business elsewhere.,The ripple effect of a single bad experience goes beyond one lost sale. Fifty-seven percent of customers have stopped buying from a company because a competitor provideda better experience. Whats more, 62% of customers say they share bad experiences with others. With the proliferation of peer review sites and social media, this practice can inflict widespread reputational damage.,Two-thirds of customers will even pay a premium to companies that offer superior experiences, thereby introducing not just competitive differentiation, but increased or even new revenue streams.,61%50%,72%,of customerssay they share goodexperiences with others,67%,of customerssay theyll pay more for a great experience,70%77%,63%74%,01Customer Expectations Hit All-Time Highs,Salesforce Research,Business Buyer Expectations Get Consumerized,SPOTLIGHT,B2B Expectations Mirror B2C Standards,Percentage of Business Buyers Who Agree with the Following,Naturally, business buyers also have personal lives as consumers and their expectations as consumers have seeped into their professional world.,82% of business buyers want the same experience as when theyre buying for themselves.,At a time when personalized recommendations, proactive engagement, and deeply relevant content are table stakes, more than seven in 10 business buyers expect vendors to personalize engagement to their needs. And for 84% of business buyers, trust is a critical factor in choosing vendors.,To put a fine point on this convergence of B2C and B2B worlds, 69% of business buyers expect an Amazon-like business buying experience. However, only 27% of business buyers say companies generally excel at meeting their standards for an overallexperience, signaling ample room for improvement.,I expect vendors to personalize engagement to my needs,72%,I expect Amazon-like buying experiences,69%,I think vendors are providing more retail-like experiences than ever before,67%,I have switched vendors for a more consumer-like experience,67%,State of the Connected Customer9,See appendix page 44 for generational breaks.,State of the Connected Customer9Salesforce Research,Salesforce Research,State of the Connected Customer10,Connected Customers Demand Connected Journeys,Percentage of Customers Who Say the Following Are Very Important to Winning Their Business,Connected processes,Todays customers want to be understood and respected as individuals. Eighty-fourpercent of customers say being treated like a person, not a number, is very important to winning their business.,For teams accustomed to owning only one stage of the customer journey, its a tricky proposition. Customers judge companies based on their experience as a whole not just interactions with individual departments and they expect consistency.,70% of customers say connectedprocesses such as seamless handoffs or contextualizedengagement based on earlier interactions are very important to winning their business.,Todays customers seek contextualized experiences meaning their engagement with a company reflects an understanding of past actions, product usage, and a myriad of other factors. Yet, 37% of customers feel less connected to companies than they did two years ago.,75%,67%,70%,70%,66%,76%,67%,73%,63%,Understanding how they use products/services,Instant, on-demand engagement,02Companies Face a New Connected Mandate,84%,of customerssay being treated like a person, not a number, is very important to winningtheir business,84%83%,All Customers,Business Buyers,Consumers,Salesforce Research,State of the Connected Customer11,What experiences are customers looking for before they even make a purchase? Many say that user-generated content such as product reviews and photos from other customers is important.,Personalization is another common thread that customers say is important. Even if a customer hasnt interacted with a company, they still want to feel known. Customers are 2.1x more likely to view personalized offers as important, versus unimportant.,59% of customers say tailored engagement based on pastinteractions is veryimportant to winning their business.,One area where business buyers differ from consumers is advertising. Business buyers place more importance on retargeted offers and personalized cross-channel ads than do consumers.,Respondents were not required to rate a quality as important or unimportant. Data is based off respondents who elected to rate a quality as such.Not a complete list. See appendix page 46 for a full list broken by generational segmentations.,02Companies Face a New Connected Mandate,User-generated content(e.g., product reviews, photos, testimonials, and other content from other customers),Personalized offers(i.e., a discount based on my purchase history),