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

    UserTesting [https://www.usertesting.com/], a leading provider of on-demand 
human insights [https://www.usertesting.com/blog/human-insight] 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 
[https://info.usertesting.com/2021CXIndustryReport.html] uncovered three key 
trends influencing customer experience today:

    - Feedback has gone remote 
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4s9xUQapNk&list=PLxjM5m7-ZGWI--6qJxTiT-h1YDNtB
Q9lx&index=1]
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 
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6dbSNnDvqQ&list=PLxjM5m7-ZGWI--6qJxTiT-h1YDNtB
Q9lx&index=2]
    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 
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5MGnXcdlSo&list=PLxjM5m7-ZGWI--6qJxTiT-h1YDNtB
Q9lx&index=3]
    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

    For more information, Visit UserTesting [https://www.usertesting.com/]

    Media Contact:
    UserTesting, Inc.
    Chris Halcon
    +1-415-699-0553
    chalcon@usertesting.com

    Source: UserTesting