Insights from the EDHEC webinar Is Your Customer Experience Strategy Really Working? with Arne De Keyser, Professor of Marketing at EDHEC Business School
Most organisations believe they deliver excellent customer experience. Most customers disagree.
In an ever-evolving and highly competitive environment, what truly differentiates one brand from another is the experience it creates for its customers: how it adds value, responds to customer needs, and builds meaningful interactions across every touchpoint.
This means CX must now be embedded across the entire organisation, not limited to support or marketing teams. Organisations that succeed today are those that put customer experience at the centre of their decision-making. This is where customer experience (CX) becomes a strategic advantage.
How can organisations create a customer experience that truly delivers value? And how can they bridge the gap between what they believe they deliver and what customers actually perceive?
Read on to discover key insights from EDHEC expert Arne De Keyser.
What is customer experience and why does it matter?
Customer experience (CX) refers to the overall impression customers form through every interaction they have with a brand throughout their journey. From website navigation and purchasing processes to customer support and post-purchase communication, every touchpoint contributes to how customers perceive a company.
CX has become a major driver of loyalty, advocacy, and long-term growth. Yet many organisations still struggle to align their CX ambitions with the reality customers experience every day.
As customer expectations continue to evolve, delivering a seamless, consistent, and customer-centric experience is no longer optional, it has become a key competitive advantage.
The reality: The gap between Customer Experience and Customer Perception
As Arne De Keyser explained during the webinar: “CX rarely fails because of intent. It fails because of execution.”
Many business leaders believe they are succeeding in their customer experience journey when the reality tells a different story.
Research highlights the scale of this disconnect: while 80% of business leaders believe they deliver a superior customer experience, only 24% of customers agree.
This gap demonstrates why organisations must move beyond intention and focus on delivering measurable, customer-centric experiences consistently.
How can they do that and what strategies can they implement?
Five priorities for building an effective CX strategy
Drawing on academic research and real-world business examples, Arne De Keyser outlined the foundations of a customer experience strategy that delivers measurable impact.
1. Define a clear CX ambition
Organisations must first decide what they want to be recognised for.
Is the goal to deliver:
- Reliability
- Personalisation
- Simplicity
- Human connection
This ambition should shape:
- Recruitment and training
- Internal culture
- Performance indicators
- Customer-facing processes
A strong CX strategy starts with strategic clarity.
2. Master the fundamentals before chasing “Wow” moments
Many companies invest in “surprise-and-delight” initiatives before fixing operational inconsistencies.
However, customers value reliability first.
Before creating memorable moments, organisations must ensure:
- Seamless processes
- Consistent delivery
- Product and service quality
- Clear communication
Sustainable CX excellence is built on consistency.
3. Listen to customers continuously
Metrics such as NPS and satisfaction scores provide useful indicators, but they rarely capture the full customer reality.
High-performing organisations go further by creating direct exposure to customer feedback across teams and functions.
This includes:
- Listening to customer conversations
- Collecting qualitative feedback
- Sharing customer insights internally
- Embedding customer understanding into decision-making
Hearing customers in their own words often drives the most meaningful change.
4. Use AI with Purpose
Artificial intelligence offers significant opportunities to personalise experiences and generate insights at scale.
Netflix, for example, attributes much of its customer engagement to its recommendation engine.
However, successful AI adoption depends on:
- Clear business objectives
- High-quality data
- Defined use cases
- Understanding where automation enhances or weakens human interaction
Technology alone does not create better experiences. Strategic implementation does.
5. Empower employees to act
Some of the most memorable customer experiences come from small, human gestures.
These moments happen when employees:
- Understand the brand promise
- Feel trusted to make decisions
- Can respond quickly without unnecessary escalation
Creating this culture requires leadership alignment as much as operational efficiency.
Ultimately, improving customer experience is not about having the right intentions or ambitious brand promises. As Arne De Keyser highlighted during the webinar, organisations often understand what customers expect, but struggle to deliver it consistently across every interaction.
The real challenge of CX lies in execution: translating strategy into reliable, customer-centric experiences that employees can deliver daily and customers can genuinely perceive.
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