User experience strategy is crucial for business success and user loyalty

The conclusion of the third regional, annual FIRESTARTER conference held in Belgrade, highlights the user experience (Customer Experience - CX) as a key factor in user loyalty and higher company profits. The importance of strategic planning of user experience for business success was discussed by representatives of the CX Association in Serbia (CEXAS - Customer and Employee Experience Association of Serbia) and selected international experts, and research conducted in Serbia was also presented. This year's FIRESTARTER conference was exclusively intended for CEO leaders, bringing together more than 50 CEOs of successful companies operating in Serbia, thus providing a platform for exchanging experiences on CX strategies and best practices. 

The participants were addressed by representatives of the organizer - the CEXAS association: Branka Pudrlja Durbaba, chief director for sales and customer satisfaction of A1 Serbia and president of the CEXAS Advisory Board, as well as Dragan Đorđević, director and owner of the company SKILLS Innovative Learning Experience, which has been engaged in people development for almost three decades, Country Lead and one of the founders of CEXAS. This year's guest lecturers were: Ian Golding, pioneer and world-renowned CX expert, Gregor Stetina, Head of Customer Experience Management at UNIQA Insurance Group AG at the European level, and Mira Uzelac, Executive Director of Customer Experience at NLB Komercijalna banka, who lead successful CX initiatives. 

"In business practice, the increasing importance of a strategic approach to the topic of CX for the long-term success of companies is confirmed every day. This year, the FIRESTARTER conference brought an extra dose of exclusivity for the leaders who lead the future of companies' operations. With direct insight into the latest innovative practices and a unique opportunity to connect, the conference offered an ideal platform for the exchange of experiences between global and regional leaders on the topic of Customer Experience. Directors had the opportunity to hear, through various, concrete examples and inspiring ideas, how strategic investments in user experience can make a fundamental difference in profitability", said Dragan Đorđević, founder and director of SKILLS. 

The results of the research, which CEXAS conducted in the third quarter of this year, included representatives of the management of 50 companies in Serbia. It unequivocally shows the awareness of successful, domestic companies about changes in the behavior and expectations of consumers and users, and thus the need to strategically focus on the topic of CX. According to the answers, the main reasons for investing in CX are retaining users and clients and increasing their loyalty, differentiating from the competition, having a comparative advantage in this sense, acquiring new users, and increasing profitability. 

According to the research, among the key challenges in the implementation of CX strategies stand out: lack of knowledge and expertise (even 78%), lack of clear strategy and guidelines (71%), limited resources, such as lack of staff and budget (51.2%), problems with internal processes and communication (43%), as well as challenges in the implementation of new technologies (36%). It is on the basis of these challenges that the CEXAS organization was created, dedicated to building a successful Serbian and regional CX and EX community of experienced professionals who are empowered and inspired to constantly improve the Customer and Employee experience in their organizations. 

The responses of the management representatives of the surveyed companies show that the future of business lies in providing an exceptional and consistent user experience. They also show that the adoption of new knowledge and technological innovations is necessary for the development of CX expertise, where the key is to integrate strategy, people, and culture. 

As key trends for the development of CX in the coming period, managers see the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (83.3%), real-time data analytics (49.3%), a sustainable and ethical approach to the topic of CX (36.1% ), personalized services (29%) and customer support automation (25%). The survey also indicates that 79% of respondents believe that top management is not sufficiently trained to effectively manage CX processes, while 82% of companies still do not have employees who specialize in CX. 

Although the strategy in CX in Serbia is less represented than the European and world average, the recognition of the importance of improving the user experience is encouraging - because almost 90% of respondents believe that in the next three years they will have established practices and a specialized team.