Trend 4: Unlocking Sentiment

We’ve all had one of those customer experiences that can only be described as infuriating—the kind that sticks with a person long after an interaction has ended. It’s no joke—a negative experience with a company can cause real, lasting emotional damage, not to mention create fierce critics who won’t hesitate to spread the word.

Given that roughly 20 percent of interactions end in this upsetting territory, companies that fail to recognize the ramifications of these negative experiences stand to lose more than a few disgruntled customers—they can also see their brand take irreparable damage. A major issue is that leaders don't have a true pulse on what their customers are feeling because they lack a formalized way to collect and understand consumer emotions.

The lift for tracking customer emotional data is not as high as you think—there are out-of-the-box solutions that easily automate capturing of sentiment data. Why is capturing customer sentiment so important? Simply put, sentiment data enables you to understand the pain points your customers experience with your product or service. That information will help you make informed strategic decisions.

Clue: 66%