Just 35 per cent of Kiwi and Australian companies have or are planning to invest in data privacy and cybersecurity management to improve customer experience in the next 12 months, a new research study has found.
This is despite the study's further finding that 80 per cent of New Zealanders and Australians think it is important the companies they buy from use secure technology in order to protect their privacy.
These views were among several key points to emerge from the global Become 2021 report research conducted last September and October with a local study in New Zealand and Australia by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services sponsored by technology company Mastercard.
Mastercard's Vice President of Fintech Account Management for Australasia Kallan Hogan says the study shows 48 per cent of consumers from both countries believe having their data protected and private is the most important element of a perfect customer experience.
"In fact eight out of 10 New Zealand and Australian consumers agree it is important that the companies they buy from are using secure technology to make their privacy ironclad," he says. "Yet only 35 per cent of organisations (from both countries) have or will invest in data privacy and cybersecurity management to improve customer experience in the next 12 months."
Kallan says the Become 2021 study reveals the top five key traits of innovation leaders – digital agility, surround-sound analytics, ironclad data security, strategic investment and customer proximity.
These traits point the way forward for other organisations and enable fast and successful innovation around customer experience, even under challenging conditions.
He says privacy and cybersecurity are "innovations consumers are most excited to see impacting the purchasing experience in the next year" and that although 75 per cent of executives view customer insight as a key vehicle in this issue – and may take this insight on board – the survey is a warning for business not to under-estimate the importance of privacy.
The findings came out of a business survey which questioned 264 executives on both sides of the Tasman including leaders in companies such as Xero, Afterpay and Westpac and a consumer survey completed by 1,002 people aged 18 and over.
Hogan says one of the other key findings – half (51 per cent) of New Zealand and Australian organisations surveyed say they regard innovation as a very high priority – shows the impact the Covid pandemic has had.
"Many organisations went from strength to strength amid Covid through both a quickened pace of innovation and an increased awareness of how these initiatives play out in their businesses," he says. "It's had a profound effect. At Mastercard we've seen five to 10 years of growth in digital payment systems in one year."
He says Mastercard's Click to Pay, which launched last year, is an example of this. The technology stores payment information using an encrypted unique virtual card number, powered by tokenisation technology.
The online checkout solution eliminates passwords, protects data with smart security and makes transactions a breeze with just a few clicks. More than 10,000 merchants globally are enabling their customers with the option to Click to Pay.
"It is one of the ways in which Mastercard has invested in innovation through people, digital capabilities and partnerships and by putting customers and clients at the centre of strategy," Hogan says.
He says the aim of the research is to provide a roadmap to spark business innovation. "It is a big piece of work and is the first time we have expanded research with Harvard Business Review Analytic Services to provide clear insight into New Zealand and Australia."
He says while the study shows 47 per cent of organisations are looking to increase their innovation budgets compared to 42 per cent globally and 68 per cent consider innovation as a strategic objective, in other critical areas they lag behind their global peers.
Just over half (55 per cent) are measuring the impact of innovation on business performance compared to 66 per cent who do so in the rest of the world.
Alex Clemente, Managing Director of Harvard Business Review Analytic Services says the pace and speed of innovation that has arisen in the shadow of Covid has brought new opportunities, but also some challenges.
"Many organisations have proven they can be fast, agile and emerge stronger after whatever next awaits," he says. "But there are some gaps in what businesses see as important and what consumers need during and after the pandemic – and businesses everywhere should re-evaluate if the new-found velocity and pace of change can be sustained."
The research also highlighted that New Zealand and Australian organisations are under-using financial or other rewards for recognition of employees' innovative work. Just 37 per cent were shown to be using this strategy compared to 47 per cent globally.
Among the business leaders interviewed for the survey was Steve Vamos, CEO of Xero: "Innovation is not just about having great ideas. Ideas are a commodity (but) good execution isn't. You have to be really clear about what you're trying to accomplish and create the environment where ideas can come from anywhere, at any time.
"Aspirations to be customer-centric and to serve the customer better require a holistic organisational capability to embrace change and make it happen," he says. "The faster you can iterate in a changing world, the faster you get where you want to go."
To download the full report and take the Become Challenge – where you can find out how your organisation's approach to innovation stacks up to global leaders – visit Becomeindex.com