Maximising CX: The Game You Must Win

How a business engages its customers at every point of their buying journey is critical to connecting the organisation’s brand promise to, and delivering on, an exceptional customer experience. Does the board understand what the organisation does to differentiate itself with its customers? If not, it should.

Performance management is on the radar of every board. Customer satisfaction and loyalty metrics are an integral part of the dashboard directors use to discharge their oversight responsibilities with respect to strategy formulation and execution. But customer satisfaction and loyalty are outcomes.

In contrast, “customer experience” (CX) refers to the totality of all touchpoints through which a business engages with its customers. These touchpoints are often described as the buyer’s journey, or the process by which customer satisfaction and loyalty outcomes are achieved. The CX conversation applies to both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) companies. Everything from marketing to sales to customer service, product usage satisfaction, and even website and digital platforms impacts the customer experience. The CX is reflected through customer sentiment throughout the buyer’s journey as well as a customer’s decision to return to the brand.