• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, October 11, 2016

From mobile platforms to in-person interactions, customer experience (CX) remains an enormous challenge for many businesses. In fact, while 84% of companies aspire to be leaders in this arena, just one in five deliver good or great CX, according to fresh data from Forrester Research.

“Most organizations have a long way to go with customer experience,” according to a Forrester representative.

By the research firm’s reckoning, businesses lack discipline in six areas that would otherwise allow them to consistently deliver great CX: customer understanding, design, measurement, prioritization, delivery, and culture.

“That shouldn’t dissuade executives, though, because the results of an effective CX plan can have a direct impact on the business,” the Forrester rep insists.

For example, Forrester data found that customers are willing to pay nearly five times as much for an excellent customer experience versus a poor one -- while CX innovators lead laggards in growth by just over 500%.

Meanwhile, there’s no shortage of data demonstrating the urgency for businesses to improve their CX strategies.

Just consider the fact that Netflix already has about 65 million subscribers -- or nearly three times as many as Comcast. Translation: Digital disruption is lowering barriers to entry across categories, and threatening established players.

The solution (or, at least, part of it) is better CX.