Behaviors of top-performing organizations result in 23% more effective account penetration, 22% more effective customer retention and 13% higher earnings margins
Alexander Group, the leading revenue growth consultancy to Global 2000 companies, unveiled the results of its new Customer Experience Research report. The research evaluates The Alexander Group Customer Experience Index (CXI) of over 160 organizations across seven industries. The CXI evaluated those commercial organizations in four key capabilities including CX vision and strategy, customer engagement, goals and measurement, and defined processes.
“Our research found that strong employee engagement programs increase customer satisfaction ratings of sales reps by 7.4% and service quality by 7.2% on average.”
Key findings of the Customer Experience Research indicate that CX Leaders (those companies performing in the top quartile of the CXI) achieve 37% more effective new logo acquisition, 23% more effective account penetration, 22% more effective customer retention, and 13% higher earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margins.
Furthermore, those CX Leaders share common best practices across the four key capabilities measured, ranging from initial customer encounters through post-purchase engagement. The research indicates that organizations with clear, thorough CX planning perform better than their peers. By evaluating the common practices of CX Leaders, organizations may better define their own customer experience planning and improve their own sales performance.
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Some common practices of Alexander Group’s top CXI performers included:
- CX Vision and Strategy is Key: Alexander Group’s Customer Experience Research indicated that 98% of CX Leaders have a defined, documented CX vision compared to the rest of the market (63%). Furthermore, 100% of CX Leaders have formal and well-documented CX operational strategy, compared to 48% of the rest of the market. They also lead the field in communication of that strategy and vision at 95%. CX Leaders noted that it’s not enough to have thoughtful and talented teams. CX is a key KPI for those teams and need a high level of standardization and access to tools and reporting to be successful.
As one of the four capabilities measured in Alexander Group’s CXI, CX Vision and Strategy helps improve product satisfaction through initiatives such as roadmaps, blueprints, and commercial planning. This includes creating executive buy-in via formal documentation and program investments, as well as determining the right CX ownership approach based on desired levels of dedication and investment.
- Leverage Insightful Tools to Measure Key CX Indicators: The research revealed specific tools which CX Leaders use to measure their progress and success across key CX indicators current spend, satisfaction, product and service usage, and community participation. Throughout the sales process, they leverage various tools for customer data, CRM, marketing automation, service and support, and customer feedback. For a list of the tools used by CX Leaders, see the full report.
- Personalizing Customer Engagement with Defined Roles: The Customer Experience Research indicates that 95% of CX Leaders have defined CX roles and responsibilities within their organization, as opposed to the rest of the market (54%). Common challenges executives face in customer engagement include influencing the right customers in the right segments and internally aligning customer-oriented roles and benefits of CX efforts. Top-performing CX Leaders have defined CX roles including Renewal/Resell Representatives (87%) and Customer/Client Success Representatives (85%) – there are opportunities to elevate CX influence with roles like Overlay Specialists, Field Sales and Pre-sales Support; however, currently less than 50% of CX Leaders assign CX responsibilities to these roles.
“A key foundation of CX leadership is an engaged employee. To retain best-in-class talent, organizations should employ formal programs for both workplace flexibility, including flexible hours, leave of absences and hybrid work, and also promote a culture of cohesion with regular employee feedback, career progression, and DEI initiatives,” said Jake Johnson, Principal, Alexander Group. “Our research found that strong employee engagement programs increase customer satisfaction ratings of sales reps by 7.4% and service quality by 7.2% on average.”
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- Setting Segment-Specific Goals & Measurement Based: Customer retention, rather than satisfaction, was voted the top KPI to track customer experience and engagement amongst CX Leaders. These organizations commonly set appropriate goals based on their deep knowledge of their segments and buyers’ journeys. They effectively map their segment opportunities, market size, and potential against their differentiators using resources including: reviews and ratings (95% of CX leaders view this as crucial), customer events (90%), “voice of customer” surveys (87%), continuing education (87%), and roundtables and communities (85%).
Measurement best practices of CX Leaders include determining metrics based on customer and product type, connecting those metrics back to customer-facing roles, and tying those metrics back to business performance and eventually, back to how those CX owners are compensated.
“The Customer Experience Research includes a checklist for company leaders to better understand their current CX capabilities and considerations,” said Johnson. “By offering the opportunity to self-score against CX leaders performing strongly across all four measurement categories, they may better prioritize their CX strategy and initiatives for 2024 and beyond.”
Research Methodology
Alexander Group’s Customer Experience Index (CXI) evaluated customer experience practices and outcomes of top organizations in 2023. Participating organizations spanned seven industries including business services, distribution, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, media, and technology. C-Suite, managing directors, VPs and general managers from over 160 companies participated in the research.
Alexander Group is the foremost revenue growth consulting firm to the world’s leading marketing, sales, and services organizations.
Alexander Group offers industry research reporting on market findings, trends and best practices, executive access to benchmarking, tailored research and events, and full consulting engagement yielding revenue acceleration.