Naarden, Aug. 10, 2022 – Six in ten managers say they have to work with fragmented information that makes it difficult to achieve a unified customer view. This stands in the way of a good customer experience. This is evident from research by low-code specialist USoft among 540 managers working at Dutch companies. USoft’s low-code development platform enables organizations to respond to customer needs based on relevant information at the right time.

Half (51%) of managers say their customers expect faster service than they can deliver. And 44 percent believe that the pace at which customer expectations change is difficult to keep up with. Several reasons emerge from the survey. In addition to a fragmented customer view, the fact that IT systems function as islands also plays into the hands of a quarter (24 percent) of managers. As a result, integration between departments such as sales and marketing, for example, is difficult.

Personal approach

Customer expectations are high, very high. Everyone is used to the services of large e-commerce players who offer a personal approach and innovative services. Two thirds of surveyed managers confirm this trend: their customers count on a similar level of service. Organizations generally know well what is needed for an optimal customer experience. 81 percent see a personal approach as a very important element of a good customer experience, as does prompt service (81 percent). In addition, real-time information provision is considered relevant by 77 percent of managers.

Speed of action

So while these elements are well in mind, they do not come to fruition. For example, a modern IT environment is often lacking, making data exchange complex and innovations difficult to get off the ground, more than three-quarters of managers (78%) confirm. There are too many obstacles in the IT environment. Thus, much data must be linked more or less manually to arrive at valuable insights. This causes delays and increases the risk of errors.

Flexible IT environment

“Precisely for good information you need a flexible IT environment, where systems such as sales, logistics and CRM are integrated. You also want to be able to develop applications quickly when the business demands it,” said Hans Canisius, CEO of USoft. “By deploying low-code software development, you can quickly and specifically develop and modify critical applications that enable employees to optimally serve the customer. On top of that, you can react quickly to developments in the market. This allows you to respond to rapidly changing customer needs and stay relevant.”

Download the full survey report here.
(the report is only available in Dutch)

About the survey 

USoft conducted a research among 540 managers in the Netherlands, at organizations with more than 50 employees. Almost half were from organizations with more than 250 employees.