Forrester’s recent research emphasises the critical role that Brand Experience (BX) and Customer Experience (CX) play in driving long-term revenue growth. However, many companies treat these dimensions separately, missing the chance to unlock compounded growth by integrating them.
By aligning BX and CX, businesses can craft a cohesive, seamless journey for customers, strengthening loyalty, enhancing customer lifetime value, and boosting revenue. This combined strategy not only differentiates brands in competitive markets but also deepens customer relationships, making it easier to attract and retain a broader customer base.
“Our research finds that brand experience and customer experience are two sides of the same coin. As a result, companies must invest in improving both these elements simultaneously. Forrester’s new BX Index and growth grid are designed to help companies recognize the duality between BX and CX. These also enable firms to effectively measure both to fuel actionable growth and create a strategy that addresses the real-time needs of both customers and prospects,” said Sharyn Leaver, chief research officer at Forrester.
To capitalise on this potential, Forrester recommends using two indices in conjunction.
Brand Experience Index (BX Index)
This metric assesses how well a brand resonates with prospects and customers, focusing on three key components: salience, fit, and trust. It evaluates how effectively a company leverages its brand to attract and retain customers.
Customer Experience Index (CX Index)
This index measures the quality of customer interactions based on ease, effectiveness, and emotional connection. It helps gauge how well a company’s customer experiences foster loyalty and satisfaction.
The interplay between BX and CX is visualised through a “growth grid,” which provides a snapshot of a company’s success in acquiring and retaining customers compared to its peers. Forrester’s analysis, drawing from over 313,000 customer and 145,000 prospect responses across 13 countries and nearly 400 brands in 11 industries, highlights several applications of the growth grid.
The grid allows brands to see how they fare against competitors. For example, DBS Bank dominates the banking sector in Singapore, whereas Standard Chartered and Maybank lag in customer retention and acquisition.
Moreover, the growth grid reveals the relative strength of different business lines. For instance, PNC’s credit cards appeal more to prospects than Wells Fargo’s, suggesting a strategic focus on converting credit card users to banking services for growth.