In its new Digital Health Survey, Zoho—the global technology company—has found that 71% of UK firms are struggling to retain customers while facing huge challenges in delivering an excellent customer experience (CX).

Around four fifths (79%) of respondents were unable to rate their CX innovation as excellent, despite 43% seeing improved customer experience as the top benefit of digital transformation.

Those found to have good digital health (43%) are more likely than those with average digital health (19%) or poor digital health (11%) to rate their CX as excellent, demonstrating the positive impact of digitisation.

The survey also found that, despite a comprehensive market of customer-focused technology, the biggest issues cited were technology rather than people-related.

Almost a quarter of respondents (23%) reported that not being able to see the entire customer journey across all touchpoints and departments is negatively impacting CX.

Almost a fifth (17%) say they do not have the right software in place to be able to deliver good CX.

Meanwhile, 12% say that not being able to collaborate easily across the business impacts CX.

Poor leadership (15%) and not having a strong customer support team (15%) are two other factors cited as obstacles to delivering successful CX.

With an understanding of how critical CX is to success, 97% of UK business respondents cited that they plan to invest more in CX in the next year.

Almost three in five (58%) are planning to invest more in artificial intelligence (AI) as part of CX investments in the next year, too.

However, for those with good digital health, this rises dramatically to 81%.

Half (50%) are also planning to invest in CX through customer support software, and almost two fifths (39%) are planning to invest in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.

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Speaking on the survey findings, Sachin Agrawal, managing director at Zoho UK commented: “Customer experience is the lifeblood of any company today – it is no longer just a ‘nice-to-have’.

“An excellent experience can drive improved retention, loyalty, and advocacy, which are critical.

“It is clear from the findings that more needs to be done to not only drive further use of technology to help, but to educate on the right strategy to make a positive impact.”

To uncover these findings, 1,531 senior digital transformation decision-makers in firms with 25 plus employees were surveyed across the UK, France, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands.

The UK sample consists of 306 senior digital transformation decision-makers, split evenly across small, medium, and large businesses.