In July, Bain & Company, Kantar and Qualtrics unveiled the Global Standards for Customer Experience Teams, comprising more than 50 standards grouped over seven pillars, and covering everything related to customer experience management (CXM) and what a CX program should look like to be successful.
Following publication, Bain & Company, Kantar and Qualtrics conducted aa 10-week industry-wide consultation, which saw more than 1,500 CX practitioners and stakeholders from 23 countries share their take on the document.
The consultation closed at the end of August and the feedback was published this week, coinciding with CX day. There were four common themes in the practitioner feedback:
Support for global standards: Many respondents expressed the value of establishing global standards for CX and how unified guidelines can provide consistency across industries. They appreciated the effort in consolidating practices and frameworks for improving CXM.
Value and benefits: Many highlighted the potential benefits of these standards, such as improving customer satisfaction, making customer-centric strategies more effective and enhancing organizational performance.
Clarity and practicality: Some feedback pointed to the practical value of the standards in day-to-day operations, stating that they provide clear, actionable guidance that organizations can implement to enhance CX.
Agreement with concepts: There was general agreement with the foundational principles behind the standards, such as the need for leadership in CX, the role of customer feedback and the importance of delivering a positive, friction-free experience.
The feedback also included several suggestions for additional standards and future developments:
- Over time, develop tailored versions by industry.
- Include tactics organizations can implement to accomplish each of the seven areas of CX maturity.
- Create training programs.
- Deliver a certification process.
- Delve into AI.
- Address the issues of data privacy and innovation in CX.
Based on all the feedback, three new standards have been added, covering data management, journey management and lifecycle management.
Stanford Swinton, EVP at Bain & Company and principal author of the standards, said: “There’s work to be done now in winning over hearts and minds of the industry and generating critical mass behind the Global Standards for CX. In doing so, we aim to re-establish the role of CX within businesses; it’s more than just doing satisfaction surveys.”
Enhancing the call to adopt the revised standards recent research from Kantar found that companies that improved customer experiences are 2.5 times more likely to significantly increase their market share than those that made no improvements. Meanwhile, analysis from Qualtrics found organisations are putting US$3.7 trillion at risk annually due to bad customer experiences – this marks a 19 percent increase on the projections from 2023.
Rob Huijboom, global head of CX for Kantar, added: “The experience economy has caused a fundamental shift for businesses and experience is now an important – if not the single most important – driver for growth. Our clients and the wider industry have responded positively to the Global Standards for CX, demonstrating that a set of common industry standards is long-overdue, and an enthusiasm for the growth our framework can unlock.”
Brian Stucki, president and COO of Qualtrics, said the “real value” of experience management is in helping organizations better serve their stakeholders. “These global standards serve as a roadmap for companies aiming to build durable differentiation and the discipline to quickly adapt to the evolving needs of their market, their customers and their employees,” Stucki said.
The fully revised document can be viewed via cx-standards.com