76% of customers say they are less loyal to a brand than two years ago. 

This finding comes from research about customer and employee experience in EMEA we recently released at ServiceNow. 

The challenging economic landscape and ever-high inflation are the primary reasons to drive brand loyalty down. To battle the current environment, customers are cutting costs, switching to cheaper alternatives and leaving brands for competitors that offer more or better value. 

In summary: it's never been as difficult as today for companies to retain their customers. 

What's the solution?

Well, 77% of customers say they're more loyal to businesses that understand them as a consumer. 

In addition to price, we found that there are four other very important elements that improve the experience as a customer: 

• Security of personal data (67%)
• Easy issue resolution (65%)
• Fast response times (58%)
• Treating employees well (56%)

The last one might surprise you because it's not a direct customer engagement element. 

We're seeing more and more the importance of boosting employee experience to boost customer experience. It all starts internally - great products, great solutions, great experiences. And it's not just the customer service team responsible for the customer relationship. Behind every customer interaction is a web of decisions, actions, plans, processes, and needs conceived and created by the employees. 

In fact, 90% of our survey respondents say that they will support companies that treat their employees well. Additionally, 70% admit they’re less likely to engage with a company whose employees are unhappy.

Focusing on the customer experience alone means missing an important part of the puzzle.

Enter the world of Total Experience (TX).

CX + EX = TX

You'll find many companies focusing on CX and/or on EX but these two programmatic efforts are not aligned and miss providing a holistic experience. 

Your employees are your best brand advocates. They're the ones who can ultimately drive a terrific customer experience. If you have unhappy employees, they will naturally drive an unhappy experience for your customers. If you're not happy yourself, you can't help make someone else happy. It's that simple. 

Chaotic internal processes or lack thereof, no career prospects, and poor mental health are often the biggest barriers to a great employee experience. 

If you focus on keeping your employees engaged and allow them to be successful in their roles with the right technology, you'll have a massive advantage over your competitors in the economy today. 

Take a look at this infographic to get some more pointers on CX and EX: 

What Customers and Employees Want in 2023 [Infographic]

What are your thoughts on Total Experience?