According to 80 percent of global CEOs in the KPMG 2020 Global CEO survey, COVID-19 fast-tracked digital transformation efforts, particularly in the digital operations of their organizations. In fact, 30 percent cited their progress as ’years ahead of where they expected to be right now.’

For customers, virtual experiences became the norm during COVID-19 and digital holdouts, who previously shopped by in-person experiences only, migrated into the digital crowd.

As health and safety became top priorities, the pandemic not only created more virtual customer interactions but steepened digital adoption curves underpinned by these quickly shifting mindsets and behaviors.

As such, organizations realize they need to continue digitizing their operations while protecting and prioritizing revenue growth and improving customer experiences to meet evolving expectations. At the same time, ongoing market uncertainty keeps cost optimization top of mind for executives, as pressures mount to make every investment dollar count. Organizations are fully aware of the need to create exceptional customer experiences to drive loyalty and compete in the new reality, but at what cost to the business?

As our research of customer experience leaders reveal, organizations that are customer obsessed continue to excel in the marketplace, not only because they use customer experience as a point of differentiation but because they are seeing economic returns on their investments. These companies have learned to master customer experience (CX) economics.

CX economics involves striking the right balance between what customers expect and what makes financial sense for an organization to deliver. It’s the ’sweet spot’ that results in profitable growth. Achieving this profitable growth occurs when a business understands it customers’ expectations and tempers them against the returns its CX investments can support and yield.

In this new reality, we recognize it is no longer acceptable to just define and deliver customer experience visions, strategies, journeys and emotional connections. At KPMG we work with clients to develop CX visions and strategies that can help clients to deliver the results that matter and achieve the business outcomes they want.