Driving the case for CX Design investment

Too many businesses and organisations still rely on luck, legacy processes, or siloed thinking to impact customer journeys, without ever intentionally designing and implementing a service that’s proactive in the pursuit of shaping customer experience. 

The result of this lack of design or intent? Inconsistent experiences, missed opportunities, and customers who never feel the need to revere their experience – let alone return to it.  

Great experiences don’t happen by accident or by chance. They’re deliberately designed. So when you think about your business or organisation, are you truly aware of the positives that come from implementing customer experience design (CXD)... and the negatives that come from ignoring it? 

Actions speak louder than words

Customer experience isn’t just a one-off interaction or a single moment at a touchpoint, it’s the sum of every interaction a person has with a brand; shaping how they feel, what they remember, and whether or not they come back for more.  Customer journey’s are rarely linear, they present more as an ecosystem of interlocking moments, channels, and experiences that mirror real life. That’s why investing in CXD means going beyond transactions to design experiences that fit seamlessly into the way customers actually live.  

The opportunity is there for us to design beyond transactions and look more closely at how we can embed the experiences we offer with the way our customers actually live and go about their day. That’s why truly great experiences have real intention behind their design; to work across journeys that reflect real customer lives and meaningful interactions that make a mark. 

Competition, choice...and comparison

When thinking about the importance of investment in CXD, it can be worthwhile to ask yourself the following three questions: 

1. Do you know...the baseline of expectation for your customers when they choose you ahead of your competition?

   
   Across every stage of the customer journey, there’s a baseline level of experience that needs to be met simply to compare, if not to compete. That means being consistent, intuitive, and accessible at all levels. Positive experience through CXD reduces pain points and smooths inconsistencies that otherwise chip away at customer contentment and trust – and this is a foundation of why investment of time, thought, and money in CXD is fundamental to businesses of all shapes and sizes. 
   

2. Do you know...the moments that matter to your customers?

   CXD maximises customer experience through factoring in moments of delight that truly wow their visitors and guests. In doing this for your organisation, you’ll find that you’ll not only strengthen emotional connection, but you’ll also deepen loyalty between your brand and your buyers, too. In a market where product and price can be easily matched by any competitor, customer experience is a key differentiator. Increasingly, it’s becoming the new primary basis of choice, so drawing people in, drawing people back, and maximising moments that matter… matters. 

3. Do you know...that your customers may actually be judging you outside your industry or sector?

   
   Customers in 2026 are more informed, more connected, and more empowered than ever. They’re no longer comparing your brand to direct competitors who provide the same product or sell the same service. They’re benchmarking you against the best experience they’ve had… anywhere.
   
   Bridget van Kralingen, Senior VP at IBM Global Markets said it best… “The last best experience that anyone has anywhere, becomes the minimum expectation for the experience they want everywhere.” In addition, in their December 2024 article, ‘The future of customer experience: 5 key trends for 2025’, CX Network notes how organisations now compete primarily on the basis of customer experience, thanks to customers comparing beyond the category. So, for example, if their banking app of choice is impressively intuitive, they’ll expect the same from their airline’s app, too. If their ride-share updates in real time, then they’ll believe that their parcel delivery courier should do this, too. Global Analysts, Gartner, deemed this expectation to be as high as 89% in their most recent study.  
   

These behaviours and responses are nothing new, but in 2026, organisations (and their customers) are becoming more and more aware of the impact and significance of considering these key questions.  

Positive experiences carry companies, negative experiences carry cost 

Based on the findings from a study by McKinsey, a brand’s well-thought-out CXD leads to an average +15% churn reduction in custom thanks to consistent and seamless experiences that build loyalty as well as trust. Findings from the same research also show that businesses benefit from reduced operational costs (-20% cost-to-serve) thanks to well-planned CXD removing pain points, reducing friction, and streamlining high-demand journeys. 

Conversely, with the notion of ‘experience is everything’, poor investment or consideration within CXD can also have a strong impact. In their article of the same name, research from PWC found that 73% of consumers cited customer experience as a key factor in their purchasing decisions, but 54% also stated that they believe the majority of companies are falling short in this provision. Poor experiences break trust. A single negative interaction — especially one that feels as though it could have been avoidable in the first instance — can quickly get out of hand. And in a world where shortfalls in customer service frequently and vocally play out in the public court of social media, the impact here isn’t just emotional; it's measurable. This itself goes a long way to make the case for investment in CXD being a top priority for organisations who not only want to build their brand, but protect what they’ve already built along the way, too. 

The stats back up the research, too.  

• Over half of the consumer public (52%) will actively switch to a competitor if they experience a single negative impression with a brand they previously trusted (ZenDesk). 

• 71% of consumers admit to having changed brands at least once in the past year due to the brand in question shifting its priorities and therefore dropping the standard of experience (McKinsey, State of Customer Care, 2024).  

• Companies that invest in and embed Customer Experience Design consistently outperform their competitors, with design-led organisations showing a +211% increase in stock value (DMI Design Index). 

Customer experience design is a discipline that drives measurable value, builds resilience and creates an emotional connection that competitors can’t easily replicate. The case for investing in CXD is clear: companies that design with intention win. Those who don’t leave growth, loyalty and reputation to chance.