The Crucial Role of CX Education in Driving Customer (and Employee) Centricity: A Personal Perspective

A personal perspective on the results of the recently released McorpCX and CXPA CX Education Research

On behalf of all of us at McorpCX, I’m happy to share the findings from our latest collaborative research with the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA). Titled “The Pivotal Role of CX Education and Upskilling in Accelerating Customer Centricity Leadership,” the study offers valuable insights into the transformative impact of CX education on organizational maturity and customer-centricity across a variety of industries and company sizes. 

It's particularly relevant given what we’ve seen in organizations desiring a pivot towards greater customer-centricity. Some of these enterprises want to pivot all the way to being truly “customer first”, while others simply want to be more competitive by better serving their customers and employees.

No matter what your strategic imperative, becoming more customer-centric requires helping the entire organization better understand what it means, what it means to them, and gives them the tools to shift some of the ways they think and work. And while we’ve seen this in action with our clients and other CX leaders, this research backs up our observations with data and insights that reflect the perspectives of about 500 global CX leaders and practitioners worldwide. 

Insights from Our Global Research 

This research uses the McorpCX Maturity Model and core aspects of my and Diane Magers’ Experience Operating System (XOS) to better understand the state of experience-related education and training programs and the relationship of CX training to CX maturity within organizations.  

Some key takeaways include:

• Strategic Objectives: A significant 82% of companies recognize that a top outcome of CX initiatives is to shift organizational mindsets towards prioritizing the customer's perspective in their operations. 
• Levels of CX Maturity: About 30% of the companies surveyed rate themselves as highly mature, identifying with either stage 4 (systematic) or stage 5 (embedded) of our maturity model. 
• Link Between Learning and Maturity: Our findings demonstrate that organizations that champion CX education across their operations are up to three times more likely to have higher levels of CX maturity. 
• Areas of Learning: Respondents note that the greatest need for CX-related learning lies in better understanding customer insights (number one, with 72% of respondents), followed by advancing customer centricity (62%).
  

Despite these positive indicators, gaps exist in leadership's engagement with CX education:

• Executive Recognition vs. Action: It’s disconcerting to note that while 87% of executives say that CX is a top strategic priority for driving growth, and only 1 in 3 feel “very prepared” to address it*… that only 27% see CX knowledge building as a priority. 
• Most Important Audience to Educate: Interestingly (or ironically, considering the above bullet) respondents suggest that the most important audience for CX education is…leadership, with 78% for functional leaders, and 71% for executive leaders.
  

A Call to Action from Experience 

The data (as it does!) speaks volumes. And as noted earlier, what we’ve learned aligns with my own experiences, as well as, those of our clients. After all, investing in CX-related learning and education not only drives greater CX maturity, it's also key for driving business value.  

It's a perplexing reality that while the necessity for CX education is acknowledged, it doesn't appear to receive the requisite priority – unless an organization has already reached a certain level of maturity. Chicken, meet egg. Or is it egg, meet chicken? 

The virtuous cycle that we've seen between CX learning, maturity, and value creation underscores a simple truth: to build a more customer-centric organization, it’s really important to prioritize educating your teams about the essence of customer-centricity, the benefits it brings, and the practical tools they can use to embed it into every aspect of their daily work. 

Engage with Our Research and Improve Your Customer Centricity  

For those interested in learning more, McorpCX and our partners at the CXPA have summarized our findings in this research report which provides a series of insights and actionable recommendations to help organizations find the right types of content and audiences for CX education, regardless of their stage of CX maturity. You can download it here. 

For additional information and support, or for any questions you might have about the research or how you can CX learning and development to boost your organization's CX maturity please visit or contact McorpCX and the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA). We’re on a mission to communicate the importance of customer experience education, to help transform businesses in a more customer-centric, experience-led world. 

* North Highland survey of 700 senior business leaders in US and UK companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenues.