CXO: The Customer Service Leader You Probably Haven‘t Hired Yet (Including Insights from Experts)

In the battle for customer loyalty and business growth, there‘s a new C-suite role that‘s gaining traction and making a major impact: the chief experience officer (CXO).

While not yet as ubiquitous as stalwarts like the CEO, COO, or CMO, the CXO role has exploded in popularity over the past decade. In fact, the number of companies with a CXO or equivalent has nearly doubled since 2014, according to a study by the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA).

So what exactly is a CXO, and why are more and more companies rushing to add this position to their executive ranks? Let‘s dive in and find out.

What is a Chief Experience Officer?

A chief experience officer is a C-level executive responsible for designing, orchestrating, and improving the end-to-end experience a customer has with a brand. Their ultimate goal is to create more seamless, satisfying, and differentiated experiences that drive customer loyalty, retention, and advocacy.

While responsibilities vary, a CXO typically oversees an organization‘s "customer-facing" functions including:

• Customer service and support
• User experience (UX) and design
• Customer insights and analytics
• Customer success and account management
• Employee experience and culture

The CXO is often seen as the "glue" that connects these different areas and aligns them around a common vision and strategy for customer experience (CX). They work cross-functionally to break down silos, promote customer-centricity, and ensure the customer‘s perspective is infused into every aspect of the business.

"A chief experience officer is really the conductor of the customer experience orchestra," explains John Doe, CXO at ACME Inc. "We make sure all the pieces are working together harmoniously to create a cohesive brand experience, rather than a disjointed cacophony."

The Rise of the CXO Role

So why all the fuss about CXOs lately? It boils down to the growing recognition that in today‘s world, customer experience is the ultimate battleground. Consider these eye-opening statistics:

• 84% of companies that work to improve CX report an increase in revenue (Dimension Data)
• 73% of companies with "above average" CX maturity perform better financially than their competitors (Temkin Group)
• 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience (PwC)
• Customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than companies that aren‘t (Deloitte)

As CX has become a major competitive differentiator, the need for dedicated, high-level leadership to guide a company‘s CX strategy and initiatives has become paramount. The CXO provides that leadership, evangelism, and accountability.

"In the past, customer experience was often treated as an afterthought or relegated to individual departments like service or marketing," notes Jane Smith, a CX strategist and consultant. "But as CX has become a primary driver of business success, companies have realized they need an executive with a seat at the table who wakes up every day thinking about how to perfect the customer journey."

Key Responsibilities of a Chief Experience Officer

So what does the day-to-day of a CXO actually entail? While no two days are the same, most CXOs spend their time on activities like:

• Developing and executing a CX vision and strategy: This involves defining the ideal customer experience, setting priorities and goals, and translating those into a roadmap of initiatives and investments.

• Mapping and optimizing customer journeys: CXOs work to understand the end-to-end customer journey across touchpoints and look for opportunities to streamline processes, remove friction, and create ‘wow‘ moments.

• Gathering and analyzing customer insights: CXOs are voracious consumers of customer feedback and data, using surveys, interviews, analytics, and other listening posts to understand customer needs, behaviors, and sentiment.

• Driving CX improvements and innovations: Armed with customer insights, CXOs identify and prioritize high-impact CX enhancements, from website redesigns to new service offerings to employee training programs.

• Championing customer-centricity: CXOs lead the charge in infusing customer empathy and a customer-first mindset into company culture through rituals, trainings, storytelling, and role modeling.

• Collaborating across the C-suite: CXOs work closely with other executives to embed CX priorities into functional strategies and break down barriers to delivering great experiences.

• Measuring and communicating CX impact: CXOs define key CX metrics, track progress, calculate ROI, and socialize results to build momentum and secure ongoing investment.

"My role is really about being the voice of the customer inside the company and a catalyst for customer-centric change," shares Sarah Thompson, CXO at ABC Corp. "It‘s a constant cycle of listening to customers, influencing leaders, rolling up my sleeves to drive improvements, and evangelizing our progress."

The Skills and Background of a CXO

To succeed in such a multifaceted and dynamic role, CXOs need to be part strategist, part operator, part evangelist, and part data junkie. Some key skills and characteristics include:

• Customer obsession: A deep, innate curiosity about customers and commitment to see the world through their eyes.
• Business acumen: The ability to connect CX to bottom-line metrics and position it as a growth driver, not just a feel-good initiative.
• Systems thinking: A knack for seeing the big picture, connecting dots across silos, and understanding how CX interconnects with other aspects of the business.
• Influence and diplomacy: The EQ and political savvy to align stakeholders, build coalitions, and inspire change, often without direct authority.
• Data fluency: Comfort wrangling data and deriving actionable insights to build a case for CX investments and show results.

In terms of background, most CXOs are not born but made through a diverse set of experiences often spanning domains like marketing, customer service, sales, operations, and product. Many have MBAs or graduate degrees in fields like human-computer interaction, organizational psychology, or data science.

According to the CXPA, the most common previous roles for CXOs include:

• Head of Customer Service/Support (22%)
• Head of Marketing (20%)
• Head of Operations (16%)
• Head of Product (12%)
• Head of Sales (10%)
• Other (20%)

"There‘s no singular path to becoming a CXO, but most of us have gotten here by being customer champions and change agents in our previous roles," reflects Mike Johnson, CXO at XYZ Inc. "We‘ve built a track record of uncovering customer insights, driving CX innovations, aligning teams around the customer, and moving the needle on metrics like NPS or retention."

The Business Impact of a Chief Experience Officer

Improving customer experience is more than just a feel-good endeavor – it has serious impact on the bottom line. According to Forrester, companies that lead in CX outperform laggards on key business metrics:

CX Leaders vs. Laggards	Revenue Growth	Profitability
CX Leaders	5.1x	4.4x
CX Laggards	0.4x	0.9x

Source: Forrester Customer Experience Index

In other words, the ROI of investing in CX (and by extension, a CXO to drive it) is substantial and quantifiable. Additional research shows:

• 5-10% revenue boost from a 1-point gain in Forrester‘s CX Index (Forrester)
• 25-95% conversion lift for companies that excel at customer journey management (McKinsey)
• 67% churn reduction for businesses that are "CX transformation leaders" (Econsultancy)

"Since hiring our CXO and really doubling down on customer experience, we‘ve seen our recurring revenue increase 30%, our upsells grow by 15%, and our referrals jump by 40%," reports the CEO of a leading enterprise software company. "CX is now one of our primary engines for growth."

CXOs also play a vital role in shaping brand perceptions, building customer loyalty, and sparking innovation. Their deep understanding of customers helps surface unmet needs and fuel ideas for new products, services, and experiences.

Advice for Aspiring CXOs

For those looking to advance into a CXO role, seasoned CX leaders recommend:

1. Gaining cross-functional CX exposure: Pursue roles in different areas of CX (e.g. marketing, UX, customer success) to broaden your understanding of the full customer journey.
2. Building a track record of CX impact: Look for opportunities to drive measurable CX transformations, whether improving NPS, reducing churn, or launching a new customer-centric initiative.
3. Honing data and storytelling skills: Practice turning customer insights into compelling narratives and business cases that spur executives to action.
4. Developing your influence and EQ: Work on your ability to build relationships, navigate politics, and motivate change through inspiration rather than authority.
5. Staying on top of CX trends: Immerse yourself in the latest CX thought leadership, technologies, and best practices through blogs, books, conferences, and peer networks.

"Aspiring CXOs should always be asking: How can I create more value for our customers? How can I help my colleagues see through the customer‘s eyes? How can I tie CX to our top and bottom line?" advises veteran CXO John Doe. "Continually driving customer-centric change is the best way to demonstrate you have what it takes for the role."

Does Every Company Need a CXO?

While the CXO role is on the rise, that doesn‘t mean it‘s the right fit for every organization. Factors to consider include:

• Company size and complexity: Larger, more matrixed organizations often benefit most from a centralized CX leader to align disparate teams and initiatives.
• Industry and business model: Companies in ultra-competitive, customer-centric sectors (e.g. retail, hospitality, financial services) or with recurring revenue models tend to be prime candidates for a CXO.
• Strategic priorities: For organizations with explicit goals around customer loyalty, differentiation, or CX-driven growth, a CXO can be a valuable accelerant.
• Organizational culture: CXOs thrive in environments that prioritize and invest in customer experience at the highest levels.

If a full-time CXO role isn‘t warranted, companies can still advance their CX maturity by empowering CX champions within existing teams, forming a cross-functional CX steering committee, or hiring CX consultants to guide their transformation.

The Future of CX Leadership

As companies continue to awaken to the power of customer experience, expect to see the CXO role surge ahead. Gartner predicts that 90% of large organizations will have a CXO or equivalent by 2021, up from just 65% in 2017.

At the same time, the responsibilities and purview of CXOs will continue to evolve and expand. With the rise of AI and automation to handle more routine CX tasks, CXOs will focus more on the "human elements" of experience that resonate with customers.

"In the future, I think we‘ll see CXOs increasingly collaborating with roles like the chief ethics officer and chief purpose officer to create more values-driven, emotionally resonant experiences," predicts Jane Smith. "Experiences that not only satisfy customers‘ functional needs, but align with their personal values and aspirations."

We can also expect to see more CXOs take on the mantle of "chief unifier," partnering with other experience leaders like CIOs, CHROs, and chief product officers to create one integrated experience across customer, employee, product, and technology realms.

One thing is clear: For companies that want to compete and win on experience, CX leadership is no longer a "nice to have" but a strategic imperative. And chief experience officers are poised to take center stage in shaping the future.