The customer is always right, or so the old marketing adage goes, but in 2023 there will be consequences for brands that fail to listen to their customers’ needs and live up to their growing expectations.

With economic uncertainty rife in the UK, customer loyalty is all but a thing of the past and gone are the days when a great product at a fair price were the key drivers for success.

Post-pandemic, customers have grown used to the speed and convenience of doing business online and in 2022, more than three quarters of those surveyed admitted they would buy from even their favourite brand’s competitors if it was cheaper or more convenient to do so. And with household budgets getting tighter in 2023, this trend will only increase.

Our survey showed that brands were gearing up to meet these challenges with a renewed focus on customer experience, personalisation and streamlining online customer journeys.

Identifying and retaining their most valuable customers were identified as business priorities for 35% of businesses and 31% of large businesses saw Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) as essential investments for 2023.

However, many organisations are struggling with the lack of skills, business investment and internal buy-in required to make these transformations a reality.

A shocking 40% of respondents felt their CEOs either did not understand the benefits of digital transformation or did not buy into them personally and 27% admitted they were unable to get the best from the technology they already owned.

So, while expectations are high among the 68% of businesses already engaging with digital transformation projects, there remain many barriers to overcome if brands are to meet the challenges set down by their customers.

The key to success, organisations recognise, is unlocking the power of data within their businesses and 40% of large organisations say they will prioritise this in 2023. But there is still work to be done in this area and 18% of businesses admitted that they were still unable to measure the effectiveness of their digital transformation efforts.

Discover more insights from our survey in this white paper and find out where your organisation should be focussing in the year of the customer.

Content includes:

• Foreword

• Executive Summary

• Research trends:

  • Prioritising the customer. Customer experience and personalisation are the big priorities in 2023

  • Expectations are high. But are they unrealistic in many organisations?

  • People problems. Most transformation projects fail because of humans

  • Data and measurement. Your data strategy is key to successful transformation

• Key takeaways

• Conclusions

• About the research

• About iCrossing

Our whitepaper 'Transforming Around the Customer' is free to download.