Customer Experience Executive Landscape and Salary Report
By Howard Schulman
The Customer Experience (CX) industry is rapidly changing to keep pace with today’s customers and their expectations. Customer experience is more than customer service interactions and often include C-level execs to guide an organization to CX excellence.
Lightico has conducted a study titled CX EXECUTIVE LANDSCAPE & SALARY REPORT – 2019 EDITION on the role of C-level execs in the CX initiative in companies in the United States. The goal was to learn more about C-level involvement, best practices, salaries and more. We’re sharing some highlights from the report here and the full report is also available for more information.
Key findings at a glance
Some of the most important data gleaned from the report include these quick facts:
The most common industry in Consumer Experience is financial services: 16.5%.
Customer Experience C-Suite jobs make up close to 12% of all CX jobs in the U.S.
20% of CX professionals who were educated at an Ivy League university work in C-Suite positions.
Over one third of all CX executives work in either California or Texas.
The average salary for senior level CX positions is $132,000.
The gender gap for CX executives is almost nonexistent.
Financial Services most popular CX industry
Financial services rates even higher than IT or retail when it comes to CX initiatives throughout the country. Data from the report supports the need for a crucial first step in developing innovative, customised customer experiences in banking or insurance which entails CX leadership relating to “broad and diverse customer demographics, lifestyles and experiences."
Those CX execs who will succeed understand consumer demands for simple, instant interactions through mobile engagement whenever possible.
CX Execs in a changing support function
It used to be that customer support entailed asking questions and resolving disputes or providing product information. Today’s consumer demands much more from a company in terms of support and loyalty. CX execs are discovering that their role definition is changing too.
Today’s CX professionals are expected to optimize interactions between all the channels they manage. This expanded CX role means that digital tools that improve visibility across functions and streamline customer journey processes have become industry requirements.
CX and new market realities
CX execs are facing two new market realities—digital transformation and rising consumer expectations—when it comes to adapting customer experience initiatives within organizations.
IDC research indicates that 2/3 of CEOs from 2,000 global companies have shifted focus from more traditional, offline strategies to digital initiatives in order to improve customer experiences.
CX is also making inroads into the business development—which indicates that customer experience is finding its footing as an indispensable function within an organization as it relates to growing the business.
Where CX jobs are located
The Lightico report found that over one third of all CX employees work in the states of California and Texas, while only 21% of the entire U.S. population resides in those states. Conversely, the greatest disproportion of CX employees to state population is in New York, Rhode Island, Illinois and California. This information should serve as valuable data when considering locations for a thriving career in customer experience.
Aside from the aforementioned states, the quantity of CX professionals per state is closely proportional to the state’s respective population. The continued growth of CX-related opportunities nationwide indicates that more and more organizations are relying on service and customer experience to build satisfaction and increase retention rates.
CX salary gaps
Over the last few decades a small group of CEOs has been able to dramatically increase their salaries while average wages have remained flat. According to a recent 40,000-person study, the average salary for CX professionals in senior level positions is $132,000. However, there is a significant gap between the salaries of CX managers and CX professionals in senior level positions.
Want to read the rest of the Salary data - Download the report.
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Financial Services most popular CX industry
Financial services rates even higher than IT or retail when it comes to CX initiatives throughout the country. Data from the report supports the need for a crucial first step in developing innovative, customised customer experiences in banking or insurance which entails CX leadership relating to “broad and diverse customer demographics, lifestyles and experiences."
Those CX execs who will succeed understand consumer demands for simple, instant interactions through mobile engagement whenever possible.
CX Execs in a changing support function
It used to be that customer support entailed asking questions and resolving disputes or providing product information. Today’s consumer demands much more from a company in terms of support and loyalty. CX execs are discovering that their role definition is changing too.
Today’s CX professionals are expected to optimize interactions between all the channels they manage. This expanded CX role means that digital tools that improve visibility across functions and streamline customer journey processes have become industry requirements.
CX and new market realities
CX execs are facing two new market realities—digital transformation and rising consumer expectations—when it comes to adapting customer experience initiatives within organizations.
IDC research indicates that 2/3 of CEOs from 2,000 global companies have shifted focus from more traditional, offline strategies to digital initiatives in order to improve customer experiences.
CX is also making inroads into the business development—which indicates that customer experience is finding its footing as an indispensable function within an organization as it relates to growing the business.
Where CX jobs are located
The Lightico report found that over one third of all CX employees work in the states of California and Texas, while only 21% of the entire U.S. population resides in those states. Conversely, the greatest disproportion of CX employees to state population is in New York, Rhode Island, Illinois and California. This information should serve as valuable data when considering locations for a thriving career in customer experience.
Aside from the aforementioned states, the quantity of CX professionals per state is closely proportional to the state’s respective population. The continued growth of CX-related opportunities nationwide indicates that more and more organizations are relying on service and customer experience to build satisfaction and increase retention rates.
CX salary gaps
Over the last few decades a small group of CEOs has been able to dramatically increase their salaries while average wages have remained flat. According to a recent 40,000-person study, the average salary for CX professionals in senior level positions is $132,000. However, there is a significant gap between the salaries of CX managers and CX professionals in senior level positions.
Want to read the rest of the Salary data - Download the report.
