What does Forrester reveal in its latest Canadian Customer Experience Index?

Despite Canadian companies’ drive to improve customer experience (CX), their efforts are not fully paying off, according to Forrester’s Canada 2016 Customer Experience Index (CX Index™). Of the 15 industries ranked, more brands’ scores fell than rose, and only a quarter of brands’ scores changed at all.

Based on a survey of nearly 75,000 Canadian online adult consumers, Forrester’s Canadian CX Index measures and ranks close to 200 Canadian companies across 15 industries to identify how leading brands stack up based on the customer experiences they provide.

Most notably, the Canada CX Index found that traditional industries now perform as well as, or better than, their digital competition. For example, traditional banking firm ATB Financial scores higher than its competition in the direct banking industry. Additionally, traditional retail and TV providers are ranked evenly with digital retail and OTT services, respectively.

“It’s not surprising to see that traditional players are gaining CX traction on digital disruptors,” Rick Parrish, principal analyst at Forrester, said. “While most digital companies that start out with a customer-obsessed mindset have trouble staying focused on CX as they grow, many traditional companies understand their CX weaknesses. Because of that, they’re able — and willing — to work systematically to improve their CX management maturity. This year’s CX Index data makes that clear.”

Forrester’s CX Index also reveals the CX elite — companies that rank in the top five percent for CX quality across all industries. The companies that made Canada’s CX Index 2016 best-in-class list include the following (in alphabetical order): ATB Financial, CAA Insurance, Chapters/Indigo, Desjardins, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Hampton Inn & Suites, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Newegg, Videotron, and Well.ca.

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Read the September 2016 issue of Business Review USA & Canada magazine