by Craig Bradley — President, Experience Practice at Ipsos
The push to digital-first is leaving customer experience (CX) behind. In the modern, digitally-driven market, competitors are often only a click away. Brands that win loyalty are those that make interactions pleasant, easy, and memorable.
According to the 2025 Ipsos + Medallia report on The Shifting Dynamics of Customer Loyalty, 80% of customers agreed that their feelings are stronger toward brands that provide better experiences. Today, revenue growth often starts with CX, with 97% of professionals agreeing that customer loyalty plays a major role in driving business outcomes.
To maximize revenue, each customer experience must be connected and consistent across customer touchpoints. Everywhere a customer interacts with your brand — whether in-store, online, or even through sites you directly control (like Amazon, Instacart, or DoorDash) — shapes the customer experience and overall perception of your brand.
The keys to building long-term value are seamlessly integrating those touchpoints to deliver a consistent experience for the customer every time.
How customer experience drives brand growth and influences revenue
Many brands offer quality products or services that people need, but in most industries, that alone isn’t enough to earn brand loyalty. Especially in a market where social media is king, customers can compare brands in an instant, switch brands with little worry or friction, and rely on peer reviews and feedback more than brand marketing promises to make their purchase decisions.
CX is personal. Brands can see data that directly links their investment in customer experience to increased revenue driven by customer loyalty. As the 2025 Customer Loyalty report shows, high-growth companies lead with greater loyalty investments. Of the companies surveyed, 92% that report more than 10% annual growth plan to increase their investment in initiatives to boost customer loyalty.
This change in the bottom line shifts the revenue equation. When the customer experience is a smooth and strategic process, it’s easier to convert quality prospects, retain current customers, and expand brand value through repeat purchases.
CX directly influences revenue growth
CX not only directly influences revenue growth but also improves margins by reducing service friction. When the employees, automations, and systems that create an experience can focus more on delivering consistently exemplary service, customers receive better resolutions and may not feel pulled to look elsewhere for the services or products they desire.
For businesses, this means that they also have to take care of their employees, as the employee experience can strongly influence the ultimate customer experience. Employees who are recognized, well-trained, and fairly compensated will pass that job satisfaction and fair treatment on to the customer.
Knowing how important CX data can be for revenue, brands must prioritize their approach to collecting and analyzing these metrics. For CX metrics to have maximum impact, brands should approach the customer experience from a business performance perspective.
Where many organizations fail is in CX measurement. They track the wrong metrics, have too narrow a scope, or are reactive rather than proactive.
But metrics aren’t interchangeable with insights. For CX metrics to be truly meaningful, the entire customer experience journey must be measured, data must be connected across functions, and any issues must be addressed before the customer decides to look elsewhere.
Revenue through retention
One of the primary ways that customer experience contributes to revenue is through retention. In the 2025 Customer Loyalty report, 80% of practitioners agreed that it is typically less expensive to keep an existing customer than to try to acquire a new one. Great experiences make customers more apt to return to a brand again and again.
When customers develop a sense of brand loyalty, the risk of choosing another brand begins to fade. Customers who feel understood and know that their concerns will be addressed will be more tolerant of occasional mistakes (because no brand is perfect) and more likely to remain loyal to the brand that gave them such a stellar experience.
CX data can help companies anticipate customer needs, track the trajectory of the customer journey, and remove friction before it impedes customer retention.
The CX message matters today
The CX message for brands matters more today than ever before. Customers have more choices and less patience for brands that aren’t committed to the customer experience. One bad experience can drive a customer away for good, and you may not get a second chance.
Brands must approach CX as a growth strategy.
Many businesses still struggle to turn customer data into actionable strategies. For leaders who still view CX as a soft metric instead of a financial one, their inability to adapt to the current climate may end up costing them more than it does their customers, dramatically impacting their revenue.
In today’s market, the customer experience is no longer just about what happens after a sale. It’s a series of significant touchpoints that work to enable the sale, preserve the customer connection, and expand the lifetime value of the customer relationship.
Companies can’t afford to overlook the immense importance of the customer experience in a market where prices can be matched, products can be copied, and everyone is clamoring for customer attention online. Durable, compounding revenue comes from acknowledging CX, thoroughly measuring CX data, and then meeting customer expectations with every interaction.
Craig Bradley is President of Ipsos’ Experience Practice, where he leads the integration of employee, channel, and customer experience to drive enterprise sales growth and performance improvement. A seasoned global business leader, he brings decades of experience across retail, finance, research, and sales, with a proven track record of driving significant business growth through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions. At Ipsos, he oversees global client programs spanning 40+ countries and more than 1,000 clients across industries, including technology, telecommunications, retail, healthcare, automotive, and financial services, helping organizations connect experience insights directly to revenue and operational performance.
