How Should A Customer Experience Department Be Structured?

Customer satisfaction matters to your company’s bottom line. In your efforts to deliver a superior customer experience, how should you structure your customer experience (CX) department for maximum effect?

We’ll highlight actionable best practices that will put your CX team at the top of their game.

Quick links:

CX’s position in the organization

Steps to build a CX department

Roles and responsibilities

Important components

Cross-functional collaboration

Struggling to structure your customer experience management? Schedule a free consultation and let our experts show you what your options are. We’ll find the right solution to improve your CX strategy and boost customer satisfaction.

How CX Fits into Your Org Structure

To integrate a CX department effectively into an organizational structure, follow these best practices:

Place the CX department at a high level within the organizational hierarchy, reporting directly to the CEO or COO. This ensures that CX leaders have the authority to influence decisions across departments and prioritize customer-centricity.
Cross-functional collaboration: the CX team collaborates with marketing, sales, product development, and customer service to create a seamless customer journey.
Leadership and vision: appoint a head of CX to lead the department, set the vision, and align with company goals. This person should interact with heads of marketing, advertising, customer support, and other departments regularly, as well as with the C-suite.
Data-driven insights: gather, analyze, and interpret customer feedback and data for continuous improvement.
Customer-centric culture: foster a company-wide culture that prioritizes customer needs and values feedback.
Employee training: regularly train all employees on the importance of CX and how their roles impact the customer journey.
Robust feedback systems: establish systems for collecting and analyzing customer feedback across all your customer-facing channels.
Internal communication: communicate CX insights, successes, and areas for improvement across the entire enterprise.

With these principles, you’ll be well on your way to a high-functioning CX program. Now, let’s look at how to structure your CX department.

How to Structure a CX Department

The CX department brings together a diverse set of roles, each focusing on different aspects of the customer experience. These roles collaborate to understand customer needs, design smooth experiences, and build long-lasting relationships.

Here are the main roles in the customer experience team:

CCO
CX manager
CX analyst
Customer insights specialist
CX designer
Customer success team

Chief Customer Officer (CCO)

The CCO leads the CX department and develops the overall customer experience strategy. They align the organization’s goals with customer needs, advocate for customer-centric decisions, and ensure the CX team has the necessary resources. The CCO reports directly to the CEO or a senior executive.

CX Manager

CX managers oversee specific aspects of the customer experience, such as customer service, customer success, or customer insights. They implement CX strategies, manage projects, and lead teams to achieve CX objectives. CX managers analyze customer data, identify improvement areas, and collaborate with other departments to drive change.

CX Analyst

CX analysts collect, analyze, and interpret customer data to gain valuable insights into customer behavior, preferences, and pain points. They use different tools and techniques, such as surveys, feedback forms, and analytics platforms, to gather data. CX analysts identify trends, create reports, and provide recommendations to improve the customer experience.

Customer Insights Specialist

Customer insights specialists conduct in-depth research to understand customer needs, motivations, and expectations. They use qualitative and quantitative methods, such as interviews, focus groups, and market research, to gather insights. Customer insights specialists collaborate with product, marketing, and sales teams to inform strategy and decision-making.

CX Designer

CX designers create and optimize customer interactions and touchpoints across different channels. They use customer insights and feedback to design intuitive, user-friendly experiences. CX designers collaborate with UX/UI designers, product teams, and developers to create a consistent customer journey.

Customer Success Team

Customer success teams proactively engage with customers to achieve their desired outcomes and maximize value from the company’s products or services. They build long-term relationships, provide guidance and support, and identify opportunities for upselling or cross-selling. Customer success managers act as advocates for the customer within the organization.

Important Components of an Effective CX Department

To create an exceptional customer experience department, you need the right mix of people, processes, and technology. Let’s break down the must-haves:

Customer-centric leadership: ensure top-down commitment to customer experience.
Diverse skill sets: hire individuals with expertise in data analysis, design, strategy, and operations.
Empowered teams: give CX teams the authority and resources needed to make impactful changes.
Customer journey mapping: understand and optimize every touchpoint in the customer journey.
Feedback loops: establish robust systems for collecting and acting on customer feedback.
Data-driven decision-making: use data analytics to inform strategies and measure success.
Continuous improvement: review and refine CX processes based on feedback and performance data.
CRM systems: implement robust customer relationship management tools to track and manage customer interactions.
CX platforms: utilize platforms that provide comprehensive CX insights and analytics.
Automation tools: Leverage automation to streamline repetitive tasks and improve efficiency.
Data analytics tools: Employ advanced analytics tools to gather deep insights from customer data.
Customer feedback tools: use surveys, social media monitoring, and other tools to capture real-time feedback.
Agility: be prepared to adapt quickly to changing customer needs and market conditions.
Innovation: continuously seek new ways to enhance the customer experience through technology and creative solutions.

The right mix of these components will set your CX department up for success. It’s not a one-and-done deal—it takes constant nurturing and tweaking to keep your CX game strong. But with the right foundation, you’ll be well on your way to creating customer experiences that truly stand out.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

To create a customer experience that really hits the mark, your CX team needs to work tightly with other departments. When everyone works together, you can spot and fix customer issues at every step of the journey.

When your CX team works with marketing, they can check that marketing messages match the actual customer experience. Sales gives the CX team meaningful insights about customer preferences and challenges. This information lets the CX team create a positive customer experience.

The same applies to working with product development. Your CX team provides feedback on what features customers want and which ones they don’t. This feedback helps guide product decisions.

Cross-functional collaboration breaks down silos and gets everyone working towards the same goal: satisfying customers. When your CX department collaborates with other teams, you get better employee engagement and customer experience that lead to a more successful business.

Measure the Success of Your Efforts

Your CX program can’t succeed unless you know how to measure success. You need to define the specific metrics that tell you how close you are to hitting your goal. Track the following CX metrics closely:

Customer satisfaction (CSAT) measures how well your company meets customer demands. Survey consumers and ask them to rate their satisfaction level with each item on a scale of 1 to 10. Calculate your CSAT score by dividing positive responses by total responses and multiplying by 100.
Customer retention considers the number of loyal customers and those who stop using your products or services over a specific period. Measure customer loyalty using purchase frequency, average order size, repeat orders, and loyalty program members.
Advocacy assesses a customer’s likelihood to recommend your products or services. Use price sensitivity, social media sentiment scores, trust ratings, and event attendance to measure advocacy, reputation, and brand perception.
Quality evaluates how well your products or services meet customer standards. A product or service should meet those standards to maintain the customer experience.
Employee engagement. Disengaged employees can result from unsuccessful attempts to improve customer experience or executives prioritizing quick results over sustained improvement.
Net promoter score (NPS) measures customer loyalty and satisfaction. Ask customers to rate their likelihood of recommending a business or product on a 0-10 scale (9-10: Promoters, 7-8: Passives, 0-6: Detractors). Calculate NPS by subtracting the percentage of Detractors from the percentage of Promoters.

About Symplicity

We’re here to help you supercharge your CX program. Here are the key areas we can help:

Identify CX shortfalls and opportunities
Map the journey and pain points of your customers
Implement automation, business intelligence, and contact center solutions
Audit and streamline your spending on technology, including customer experience tech
Ensure you’re getting the very best solutions for the very best price

We understand that every organization has unique priorities and challenges, which is why we offer a customized approach to match you with the perfect solution. We connect you with the best CX solutions by thoroughly evaluating providers based on their expertise, track record, and ability to meet your specific requirements.

See our solutions page for the full range of services we offer.

CX FAQ

What is the CX pyramid?

The CX pyramid organizes customer experience into levels. At the bottom sits basic service. The middle covers easier interactions and problem-solving. The top focuses on delighting customers. Companies use this model to improve their customer approach step-by-step. It helps them move from just meeting needs to surprising customers in positive ways.

What are the three phases of CX?

The three phases of CX are acquisition, engagement, and retention. These stages map the customer journey from initial contact through ongoing interactions to long-term loyalty. Each phase requires tailored strategies to meet customer needs and business goals.

How can I organize customer service teams?

Organize customer service teams based on specialization, channel, or customer segments. Implement a clear customer service organizational structure with defined roles and responsibilities. Foster cross-functional collaboration and provide ongoing training to enhance employee experience and customer support.

What are the three key areas of customer service?

The three key areas of customer service are:

Communication skills
Problem-solving abilities
Product knowledge

These core competencies enable customer service representatives to effectively address customer needs, resolve issues, and contribute to business success.

How is the customer support team important?

Customer support teams keep customers satisfied and loyal. They act as the main point of contact for your customer base. These teams answer questions, solve problems, and collect useful feedback. How well they perform affects whether customers stay with your business and influences your company’s results.

Why is the voice of customer important for CX?

Voice of Customer (VoC) captures direct customer feedback, needs, and expectations. This data helps companies understand customer perceptions, identify pain points, and spot improvement opportunities. VoC programs enable businesses to make informed decisions, tailor their offerings, and create experiences that truly resonate with customers.

How does customer journey mapping improve the customer experience function?

Customer journey mapping visualizes every interaction customers have with your business, from initial contact through the sales process and beyond. It identifies pain points, streamlines the onboarding process, and highlights opportunities to create happy customers. This tool guides your internal team in making informed decisions to improve the overall customer experience.

What are the business benefits of prioritizing employee listening and retention in contact centers?

When you prioritize employee listening and retention in contact centers, you increase agent productivity and improve customer sentiment. It reduces the complex structure of constant hiring and training and allows your team to focus on achievable goals. Engaged employees provide better service, handle customer complaints more effectively, and contribute to a positive workplace culture.