Bain & Company, Kantar and Qualtrics today release an update to their jointly-endorsed Global Standards for Customer Experience (CX) following a 10-week industry-wide consultation. The revised standards, now available at cx-standards.com, are the result of cross-industry outreach and collaboration from the three firms, and introduce a common language for excellence in CX with the aim of elevating the quality of CX practices across all sectors. Designed to guide businesses’ CX programmes, the standards offer proven strategies for superior customer experience.
Recent research from Kantar found that companies that improved customer experiences are 2.5x more likely to significantly increase their market share than those that made no improvements. Analysis from Qualtrics, meanwhile, outlines the scale of the issue, finding that organisations are putting $3.7 trillion annually at risk due to bad customer experiences, an increase of approximately $600 billion (19%) compared to projections from last year.
More than 1,500 CX practitioners and stakeholders downloaded the standards during the consultation window. Responses and feedback were received from companies and individuals in 23 countries. In response to the consultation submissions, around half of the initial Global Standards for CX have seen refinements, and three new standards have been added. Key themes arising from the responses included:
• Application – Respondents explored the application of standards in complex organisations and requested accompanying detail to enable practitioners to adopt the standards in their own work.
o Respondent, GCM, Large Corporate Firm, France: “While the standards are comprehensive and insightful…I believe that expanding on the cultural dimension of CX on the standards could be beneficial.”
• Scope – Many made suggestions for additional standards, such as capturing ROI of CX programmes, and to cover how technology can and should be developed to support CX.
o Respondent, VP Customer Experience, Retailer, Netherlands: “[We suggest adding a] clear and committed CX roadmap, as well as committed IT capacity for CX improvements. This is often what stands between ambition and the actual delivery reality.”
Discussing the consultation, Rob Huijboom, Global Head of Customer Experience at Kantar, said: “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.”
“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." stated Stanford Swinton, EVP at Bain & Company and Principal Author of the standards.
“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," said Brian Stucki, President and COO of Qualtrics.
To read the updated Global Standards for CX visit cx-standards.com.