About 52% of marketers participating in a survey about serving an exceptional customer experience (CX) to millennials said they must adapt to changing preferences that will have long-term effects on the company’s business. Some 37% of marketers said they are under pressure to adapt to millennial preferences.

Half of marketers admit their company faces challenges in connecting with millennials. This really speaks more to the lack of focus on the details of planning and executing a strategy, according to recent data.

The 2018 NGCX Benchmark report, Millennials As Customers, suggests that the lack of strategy and execution prevents brands from reaching their goal of creating an experience that connects with millennials. Brands struggle to keep up with their taste for disruptive technology, which challenges the relationship with the largest buying force to win their loyalty.

Creativity doesn’t just mean video and display; it also touches search ads. About 70% of survey participants say they have focused on improving the customer experience for more than three years. About 15% said they have been working at it for the past two to three years, 7% for the past one to two years, and 8% for the past year.

Still, 28% of marketers said their company still doesn’t have a dedicated customer experience department.

When judging the success of their customer experience initiatives, the most common KPIs are satisfaction, retention, and loyalty. Some 71% of survey participants said they use satisfaction as a KPI, followed by retention at 67%, loyalty at 65%, engagement at 58%, revenue at 47%, and profit at 35%.

Mobile lead as a spending priority with 30% of respondents placing it as their top area of investment within their budget. In-store follows at 22%, social media at 21$, websites at 14%, and employee training at 13%.

Interestingly, the brand’s website remains the most long-standing digital property when combined with support from SEO strategies and potentially years of testing. Mobile’s advantage is the near-constant accessibility that an app or mobile website can offer.

When asked to rate the performance of their customer experience strategy, the most effective channels were Website, followed by in-store, social media, mobile and overall omnichannel strategies.

Some 32% do not have a strategy to identify and increase the customer satisfaction of millennials, although 34% said this is a priority.