When it comes to CX, public sector lags behind the private sector

MuleSoft today released a new global report titled Customer Experience and the Connectivity Chasm. The report is based on a survey of more than 9,000 consumers, analyzing whether organizations are meeting customer expectations for a connected, personalized experience across industries and geographies. The research revealed that the public sector is failing to meet consumers’ expectations when it comes to delivering connected, multi-channel experiences. Disconnected experiences — the failure to personalize consumer data across touch-points and inability to provide information in a timely manner — were a recurring source of frustration for consumers.

• Almost three quarters (73%) of consumers feel that public sector organizations are lagging behind private sector organizations when it comes to delivering connected, multi-channel services. This figure is higher (79%) among 18-34-year-olds, highlighting the high expectations the younger generation has for digital services today.

• More than two-thirds (67%) of consumers say they receive disconnected experiences from public sector organizations.

Web self-service and mobile experiences aren’t meeting consumers’ expectations

The report revealed that when it comes to web self-service and mobile experiences, local/municipal and central/federal governments still have a lot of work to do. Geographical patterns also emerge, with consumers in France and Singapore typically rating these services above the global average, while consumers in Japan and Germany were the least positive.

Web self-service:

• 30% of consumers say local/municipal government web self-service is ‘good’. Consumers in Singapore (45%) and France (39%) are the most likely to report a ‘good’ experience.

• At central/federal government level, almost a third (32%) of global consumers said web self-services are ‘good’. However, consumers in Germany (27%), the U.S. (27%) and Japan (16%) are less positive.

Mobile:

• 30% of consumers feel the mobile experience provided by the local/municipal government is ‘good’. Consumers in Germany and the United Kingdom are less satisfied, with just one quarter (25%) rating the experience as ‘good’. This figure is even lower in Japan (17%).

• When asked to rate the central/federal government mobile experience, 30% of global consumers said it is ‘good’. Again, this number is higher in Singapore (47%) and in France (38%).

“The public sector needs to find new ways to keep pace with citizen expectations that are driven by the private sector,” said David Chao, vice president of product marketing, MuleSoft. “Governments are challenged with navigating decades of disconnected, legacy infrastructure that is expensive to maintain and slows down the adoption of newer, cloud-based technologies that can help accelerate the delivery of improved services to their citizens. By building an application network using APIs, federal and local governments can integrate multiple systems and data to deliver a more connected, multi-channel experience.”

Research Methodology

This global survey was commissioned by MuleSoft and independently carried out by Opinium Research. The total sample size was 9,030 adults: UK (2,002 adults), US (2,003 adults), Germany (1,000 adults), France (1,002 adults), Australia (1,000 adults). Singapore (1,010 adults) and Japan (1,013). Demographic split 18-34-years-old (2,084 adults), 35-54-years-old (3,410 adults) and 55+ years-old (3,536 adults). Fieldwork was undertaken online between 15-22 August 2019. The figures have been weighted and are representative of adult populations (aged 18+).