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What is Customer Experience (CX)?

CXPA has developed community consensus-based definitions to help guide the field.

Defining Customer Experience

Customer Experience (CX)

Customer Experience is the perception that customers have of an organization – one that is formed based on interactions across all touchpoints, people, and technology over time. It encompasses every aspect of a company's offering—the quality of customer care, of course, but also advertising, packaging, product and service features, ease of use, and reliability.

Customer Experience Management (CXM)

CX Management is the set of practices that an organization employs to meet or exceed customers' expectations. It involves the strategic orchestration of all customer interactions, the continuous measurement and optimization of experiences, and the alignment of organizational resources to deliver consistent value across the customer journey.

Customer Experience Professional

A CX Professional is a catalyst who enhances an organization's results by understanding, designing, and improving experiences across the entire customer relationship. These professionals champion customer-centricity, drive cross-functional collaboration, and leverage data-driven insights to create meaningful experiences that drive business growth.

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The Four Components of Customer Experience

Every customer experience is built on four fundamental pillars that work together to shape perception and drive loyalty.

Customer Service

Direct interactions between customers and your organization. Every touchpoint shapes perception, from phone calls to chat support.

  • • Response time and availability
  • • Problem resolution effectiveness
  • • Agent knowledge and empathy

Product/Service Quality

The core value proposition delivered to customers. Quality extends beyond features to include reliability and performance.

  • • Meeting stated specifications
  • • Consistency of experience
  • • Innovation and improvement

Customer Journey

The complete path customers take from awareness to advocacy. Understanding and optimizing each stage is critical.

  • • Seamless channel transitions
  • • Consistent messaging
  • • Personalized experiences

Emotional Connection

The feelings and perceptions customers associate with your brand. Emotional bonds drive loyalty beyond rational factors.

  • • Brand trust and reputation
  • • Shared values alignment
  • • Memorable experiences

Understanding Customer Experience

Short video explaining the concept of Customer Experience.

The Evolution of the Customer Experience Discipline

Customer Experience (CX) has transformed from the concept of treating customers well to a scalable, disciplined business imperative.

  • Customer Experience Concept Emerges
    Building on foundations of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Total Quality Management (TQM), the concept of customer experience management as a comprehensive business strategy is often credited to Lewis "Lou" Carbone and Steve Haeckel who co-authored "Engineering Customer Experiences" in the January 1994 issue of Marketing Management Magazine.


  • Experience Metrics, Roles and Technology Arrive on the Scene
    Brands begin to appoint Chief Customer Officers. Medallia (2001) and other technology firms are established to help power this growing data-driven field. "The One Number You Need To Grow", a December 2003 Harvard Business Review article written by Fred Reichheld, a partner at Bain & Company, introduces a new metric that quickly captures attention in C-Suite offices: Net Promoter Score.


  • CX Professionalizes
    The CXPA is formed in 2011 to help support the growing number of CX professionals. CX Day is established as a annual recognition of the field, and CXPA conducts the first comprehensive Job Analysis study of this new role in 2013, followed promptly by creation of the CXPA CX Framework and Certified Customer Experience credential. in 2014. As the field professionalizes, new tools and techniques for understanding and serving customers emerge. The importance of technology to deliver CX at scale rises in importance.


  • The Pace of CX Accelerates
    Machine learning enables hyper-personalization at scale. Predictive analytics and real-time adaptation lead a shift from journey mapping to journey orchestration. CX knowledge and education accelerate too. Michigan State University begins work in August 202 to launch North America's first master's program in Customer Experience Management (CXM), CXPA publishes the CXPA CX Book of Knowledge in October 2022. The CXPA CX Knowledge Copllot, an AI-powered large language model powered by Google Gemini, it is trained specifically on CXPA’s published books, is released on October 2024.

Frequently Asked Questions

Customer Service is one component of the overall Customer Experience. Customer service is typically a department or team that focuses on direct support interactions when customers need help, Customer Experience (CX) is a more holistic approach that encompasses the entire customer journey—from initial awareness through purchase and all use stages. CX includes marketing touchpoints, product quality, ease of doing business, brand perception, and yes, customer service. Think of CS as reactive support, while CX is the proactive design of all customer interactions.

Common CX metrics include:

  • Net Promoter Score (NPS) - Measures customer loyalty and likelihood to recommend
  • Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) - Gauges satisfaction with specific interactions
  • Customer Effort Score (CES) - Evaluates how easy it is to do business with you
  • Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) - Projects total revenue from a customer relationship
  • Customer Retention Rate - Tracks how well you keep customers over time
  • First Contact Resolution (FCR) - Measures service effectiveness

While many organizations have a Chief Customer Officer or VP of Customer Experience, true CX success requires shared support across the entire organization. Marketing shapes brand perception, Product determines functionality, Operations ensures delivery, IT enables digital experiences, and HR cultivates a customer-centric culture. In some organizations, this is accomplished by a C-Suite level department, while in others CX leadership is distributed throughout the organization, coordinated by a central CX leader whose role is to orchestrate these efforts, ensure alignment, and champion the customer's voice in all decisions. What is essential is that there is strong support from the highest level that this customer-focused coordination and collaboration must happen.

A great way to start is to have your CX leaders join CXPA. This will provide access to trusted independent guidance as well as a truly supportive global community. Here's one outline of the steps that might be ahead for you:

Begin with these foundational steps:

  1. Map your customer journey to understand current touchpoints and pain points
  2. Collect customer feedback through surveys, interviews, and behavioral data
  3. Identify quick wins that can demonstrate value and build momentum
  4. Establish CX metrics to track progress and ROI
  5. Create cross-functional teams to break down silos
  6. Invest in employee training to build customer-centric culture
  7. Implement continuous improvement processes based on customer insights

Technology is a critical enabler of modern CX, but it's not the complete solution. Key technologies include CRM systems for unified customer data, analytics platforms for insights, automation tools for efficiency, AI for personalization and prediction, and omnichannel platforms for seamless experiences. However, technology should support—not replace—human connections. The best CX strategies use technology to enhance human capabilities, automate routine tasks, and free up staff to handle complex, high-value interactions.

Discussing ROI is one of our favorite discussions with in the CXPA community! There are multiple metrics to accomplish multiple goals - each aligned to your specific organization strategy, A great place to start is using the CXPA CX Knowledge Copilot to get tailored advice. Another smart step is to use CXPA's Proven business Impact Case Study program to get personalized peer advice on the business case you develop.

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