• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, December 15, 2021

Email is the top channel for customer feedback, and it has grown in importance during the pandemic, according to the 2022 State of CX Report, a global study released Wednesday by GetFeedback. 

Of the companies polled, 60% use email for feedback, followed by websites (47%),  customer calls (46%) and in-person (43%). 

Moreover, many firms added email (and other channels) for getting feedback during the COVID-19 crisis: 

• Email — 49% 
• Websites — 42%
• Customer calls — 38% 
• Chat — 38%
• In-app — 32% 
• In-person — 32%

This report covers incoming email, not outgoing. But it follows that brands providing a good customer experience will also leverage email for marketing and communications, using the feedback they receive to drive 1-to-1 targeting.    

Yet email and other forms of messaging are at the bottom of the personalization list. Here are the ways brands have built personalization into their customer experiences:

• Customer surveys — 53%
• Product and/or service recommendations — 53%
• Dynamic website experiences — 43%
• Segmented customer messaging — 43%

At the same time, 73% have increased their efforts to deliver a personalized experience to customers. 

And the future? CX professionals who have not yet collected feedback from key digital channels hope to add these: 

• Email — 33%
• Website — 32% 
• In-app — 30%
• In-person — 28% 
• Chat — 27% 
• Calls — 25% 
• API — 25%
• Social media — 20% 

Meanwhile, the study notes that there is a slightly higher demand in the U.S. for collecting feedback via website, in-person and customer integrations with application programming interfaces than in Europe.  

On another front, only 13% of CX professionals work in an actual CX department. Rather, 20% work in IT, 12% in product, 11% in sales and 10% in support. 

And 44% are from firms with no formal CX program.

Only 27% of brands have advanced capabilities. Yet 26% have a holistic CX leader who focuses on the end-to-end customer experience, and those firms are 7% more likely to have a stated CX goal.  

Of the U.S. companies surveyed, 64% have a CX goal, up from 41% last year. In contrast, 53% of European firms have one. But European CX teams are strongest at at these skill sets:

• Teamwork and cross-collaboration — 48%
• Problem solving — 45%
• Analytical and critical thinking — 34%
• Leadership — 34%
• Market research — 21%

Which tech tools do they use the most? They include:

• Customer relationship management — 47%
• Customer experience management — 41% 
• Service and/or help desk software — 37% 
• Messaging and chat tools — 36% 

Teams that collaborate across functions are 27% more likely to have high ROI. And 72% of firms do. 

GetFeedback, a Momentive brand, surveyed over 2,200 executives at companies in the U.S. and Europe, in B2B and B2C.

Among the 26 industries represented were tech, manufacturing finance & finservices, healthcare & pharmacy, retail & consumer, construction, education, hospitality & tourism and government.