Forrester - The US Customer Experience Index, 2017

For Customer Experience Professionals
The US Customer Experience Index, 2017

How Brands Build Loyalty With The Quality Of Their Experience
by Rick Parrish
August 1, 2017
Why Read This Report Key Takeaways

How well do leading brands build loyalty with the Customer Experience Quality Worsened
quality of their customer experience (CX)? This Twice as many brand scores fell as rose; losses
year, we reveal the complete rankings of all 314 were, on average, bigger than gains. As a result,
brands across 21 industries in the US CX Index. the number of scores in the excellent category fell
We also unveil surprising trends in CX quality to zero; the percentage of good scores dipped by
and the role that emotion plays in CX. Customer one percentage point; and the percentage of poor
experience professionals can use this report to scores rose by three points. For the first time, no
inform their ongoing improvement efforts. industry averages improved, but three fell.
Top Brands’ Stagnation Leaves A CX

Leadership Gap
Not a single brand has risen to the top of our
rankings and continued to move upward —
the mark of a true CX leader. This year, scores
among elite brands — the top 5% of brands
in the entire CX Index — stayed flat, while new
industry frontrunners earned their spots because
last year’s high scorers declined. As a result, we
see no CX leaders, only languishers, lapsers,
locksteppers, and laggards.
Focus On Emotion To Become A CX Leader

Emotion has a bigger influence on customer
loyalty than effectiveness or ease in nearly every
industry. Elite brands provided an average of
17 emotionally positive experiences for each
negative experience. In contrast, the lowest-
performing 5% of brands provided only two
emotionally positive experiences for each
negative experience.
forrester.com
For Customer Experience Professionals

by Rick Parrish
with Harley Manning, Roxana Strohmenger, Xiaotong Duan, Will Willsea, and Rachel Birrell
August 1, 2017
Table Of Contents Related Research Documents

2 Customer Experiences Got Worse The Five Essential Steps To Plan Your CX
Transformation
36 With Torpor At The Top, There Are No Real
CX Leaders Gauge Your CX Management Maturity
Without Real Leaders, Only Four Types Of Improving CX Through Business Discipline Drives
Brands Remain Growth
41 Emotion Holds The Key To Achieving CX

Leadership
42 How Forrester Can Help
43 Supplemental Material
Forrester Research, Inc., 60 Acorn Park Drive, Cambridge, MA 02140 USA

+1 617-613-6000 | Fax: +1 617-613-5000 | forrester.com
© 2017 Forrester Research, Inc. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. Forrester®,
Technographics®, Forrester Wave, TechRadar, and Total Economic Impact are trademarks of Forrester Research,
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is a violation of copyright law. Citations@forrester.com or +1 866-367-7378
For Customer Experience Professionals August 1, 2017
Customer Experiences Got Worse

Customer experience leaders grow revenue faster than CX laggards, drive higher brand preference,
and can charge more for their products. Based on a survey of over 118,000 US adult customers in
2017, Forrester’s Customer Experience Index (CX Index™) methodology measures how well a brand’s
customer experience strengthens the loyalty of its customers so it can reap these benefits (see Figure
1). We use this methodology to benchmark CX quality at 314 US brands. Between 2016 and 2017, our
benchmark shows that the quality of customer experiences in the US dipped.
›› Losses were broader and deeper than gains. Twice as many brands sank as rose: Of 314 brands
in the CX Index, 49 lost points and only 24 gained points (see Figures 2 to 22).1 What’s more,
21 brands dropped by at least five points, but just three brands improved by at least five points.
Two brands — 21st Century Insurance and the US Bureau of Consular Affairs — lost more than
10 points. In contrast, no brands gained more than 10 points. Overall, brands that worsened lost
an average of five points, while brands that improved gained an average of just four points. This
contrasts starkly with our 2016 study, in which only 11 brands declined while 58 improved — of
which 28 gained at least five points and two gained at least 10 points.
›› Excellent scores died off, while the number of poor scores increased. For the first time,
the number of brands in the excellent category fell to zero (see Figure 23). What’s more, even
the percentage of scores in the good category sank from 17% to 16%. At the same time, the
percentage of brands with poor scores rose from 20% to 23%. The only good news came from
a one-percentage-point reduction in very poor scores. However, even that was no cause for
celebration: It only occurred due to small gains by the Transportation Security Administration and
the Internal Revenue Service.
›› Three industry averages fell; none rose. In another first, not a single industry average improved
this year. The bar dipped, however, for three industries: auto and home insurance providers, parcel
shipping/delivery providers, and internet service providers (ISPs) (see Figure 24). That’s slightly
worse than last year, when only two industry averages declined. The end result was that the auto
and home insurance industry dropped from 3rd to 9th; the parcel shipping/delivery industry sank
from 15th to 16th; and the ISP industry fell from 20th to tie US federal government agencies at the
very bottom of the CX Index.
© 2017 Forrester Research, Inc. Unauthorized copying or distributing is a violation of copyright law. 2
Citations@forrester.com or +1 866-367-7378
Figure 1 Forrester’s CX Index Is A Measure Of A Brand’s Ability To Drive Loyalty With Its Customers
Forrester’s CX Index score measures how successfully a company

delivers customer experiences that create and sustain loyalty.
CX QUALITY CUSTOMER LOYALTY
Effectiveness
The experience
delivers value
to customers. Retention
Likelihood of keeping
existing business.
Ease
to get value from

the experience. Enrichment
Likelihood of buying
additional products
Emotion and services.
Customers feel
good about
their experience. Advocacy
Likelihood of
recommending
to others.
CX INDEX
SCORE
Figure 2 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Airlines
Airlines
2017 2016 BRAND PERFORMANCE
1 1 JetBlue Airways
2 3 Southwest Airlines
3 6 Hawaiian Airlines
4 2 Virgin America
5 4 Alaska Air
6 5 Air Canada
7 7 Delta Air Lines
8 9 American Airlines
9 8 Allegiant Air
10 10 United Airlines
11 11 Frontier Airlines
12 12 Spirit Airlines
Very poor (0-54) Poor (55-64) Okay (65-74) Good (75-84) Excellent (85-100)
Figure 3 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Auto And Home Insurance Providers
Auto And Home

Insurance Providers
1 of 2
1 1 USAA
2 2 The Hartford
3 8 Nationwide Mutual Insurance
4 4 State Farm Insurance
5 5 Geico
6 15 MetLife
7 14 Progressive
8 13 Farmers Insurance
9 3 Erie Insurance
10 6 Travelers Insurance
Figure 3 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Auto And Home Insurance Providers (Cont.)
Auto And Home

Insurance Providers
2 of 2
11 10 Allstate
12 11 Safeco Insurance
13 9 AAA
14 12 Liberty Mutual
15 7 American Family Insurance
16 18 National General Insurance
17 20 Esurance
18 17 Auto-Owners Insurance
19 16 21st Century Insurance
Figure 4 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Auto Manufacturers
Auto Manufacturers
1 of 2
1 1 Lexus
2 6 Mercedes-Benz
3 4 Subaru
4 7 Infiniti
5 18 Toyota
6 3 BMW
7 15 Honda
8 12 Hyundai
9 14 Kia Motors
10 19 Jeep
11 13 GMC
Figure 4 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Auto Manufacturers (Cont.)
Auto Manufacturers
2 of 2
12 5 Acura
13 16 Chevrolet
14 11 Mazda
15 8 Cadillac
16 2 Audi
17 21 Nissan
18 9 Ford Motor
19 17 Volkswagen
20 10 Buick
21 22 Dodge
22 20 Chrysler
Figure 5 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Credit Card Providers
Credit Card Providers
1 1 USAA
2 2 Discover
3 6 SunTrust Banks
4 5 PNC Financial Services
5 4 U.S. Bank
6 9 Capital One
7 7 American Express
8 8 Chase
9 12 Citizens Bank
10 3 Barclaycard
11 10 Wells Fargo
12 11 HSBC
13 15 Citi
14 13 Bank of America
15 14 Synchrony Financial
Figure 6 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Digital-Only Retailers
Digital-Only Retailers
1 5 Etsy
2 1 QVC
3 2 Zappos.com
4 7 Wayfair
5 4 Newegg
6 3 HSN
7 8 eBay
8 11 Rue La La
9 6 drugstore.com
10 13 Groupon
11 12 Overstock.com
12 9 Amazon
13 14 Gilt
14 10 LivingSocial
Figure 7 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Direct Banks
Direct Banks
1 1 USAA
2 3 Capital One 360
3 6 Discover Bank
4 4 Fidelity Investments
5 2 Ally Bank
6 9 State Farm Bank
7 10 Goldman Sachs Bank
8 8 Synchrony Bank
9 7 American Express Bank
10 5 Charles Schwab Bank
Figure 8 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Direct Or Discount Brokerages
Direct Or Discount
Brokerages
1 1 USAA
2 2 The Vanguard Group
3 10 TradeKing/Ally
4 3 Charles Schwab
5 4 TD Ameritrade
6 12 State Farm
7 5 Fidelity Invesments
8 6 Scottrade
9 8 E-TRADE
10 9 Merrill Edge
11 11 Firstrade
12 7 Capital One Investing
Figure 9 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Full-Service Investment Firms
Full-Service
Investment Firms
1 1 Edward Jones
2 4 Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
3 3 T. Rowe Price
4 8 AXA Advisors
5 2 Ameriprise Financial
6 9 U.S. Bank
7 5 Merrill Lynch Wealth Management
8 6 JPMorgan Chase
9 7 Wells Fargo Advisors
10 11 PNC Investments
11 10 Citi Personal Wealth Management
Figure 10 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Health Insurance Providers
Health Insurance
Providers
1 of 2
1 1 Kaiser Permanente
2 2 Humana
3 3 Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield
4 8 Health Net
5 6 Florida Blue
6 10 UnitedHealthcare
7 9 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas
8 11 CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
9 7 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
10 16 Other Blue Cross Blue Shield
Figure 10 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Health Insurance Providers (Cont.)
Health Insurance
Providers
2 of 2
11 12 Blue Shield of California
12 14 Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield
13 15 Cigna
14 4 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois
15 13 Aetna
16 5 Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield
17 17 Anthem Blue Cross
Figure 11 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Hotels
Hotels
1 of 3
1 2 Homewood Suites by Hilton
2 13 Omni Hotels & Resorts
3 1 Residence Inn by Marriott
4 4 Hampton Inn & Suites
5 7 Marriott Hotels & Resorts
6 9 InterContinental Hotels & Resorts
7 8 Hyatt Hotels & Resorts
8 20 W Hotels
9 5 Hyatt Regency
10 16 Hilton Garden Inn
11 12 Holiday Inn Express
12 6 Hyatt Place
Figure 11 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Hotels (Cont.)
Hotels
2 of 3
13 15 Fairfield Inn & Suites
14 11 Westin Hotels & Resorts
15 19 Sheraton Hotels & Resorts
16 3 Embassy Suites Hotels
17 14 Hilton Hotels & Resorts
18 18 Grand Hyatt
19 22 Radisson Hotels
20 17 Courtyard by Marriott
21 10 Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
22 23 Holiday Inn
23 28 Fairmont Hotels & Resorts
24 21 La Quinta Inn & Suites
Figure 11 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Hotels (Cont.)
Hotels
3 of 3
25 27 Comfort Inn
26 24 Quality Inn & Suites
27 26 Crowne Plaza
28 30 Ramada Worldwide
29 29 Clarion Hotels
30 33 Travelodge
31 25 Best Western
32 32 Super 8
33 31 Days Inn
34 35 Econo Lodge
35 34 Motel 6
Figure 12 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Internet Service Providers
Internet Service
Providers
1 3 Suddenlink Communications
2 1 Bright House Networks
3 6 Verizon Fios
4 4 Verizon High Speed Internet (DSL)
5 8 Charter Communications
6 2 Cablevision Optimum
7 7 AOL
8 11 AT&T U-verse
9 5 Cox Communications
10 10 Windstream Communications
11 9 Time Warner Cable
12 13 CenturyLink
13 14 Xfinity by Comcast
14 12 Frontier Communications
Figure 13 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Mobile Device Manufacturers
Mobile Device
Manufacturers
1 1 Amazon
2 2 Google
3 5 Asus
4 4 Samsung
5 7 Apple
6 9 Motorola
7 8 Dell
8 10 Microsoft and/or Microsoft Lumia
9 6 HTC
10 12 LG
11 3 Barnes & Noble
12 11 Acer
Figure 14 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of OTT Providers
OTT Providers
1 1 Netflix
2 4 Showtime Now
3 2 Hulu
4 5 HBO NOW
5 6 CBS All Access
6 3 Amazon Prime Video
Figure 15 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Parcel Shipping/Delivery Providers
Parcel Shipping/Delivery
Providers
1 1 UPS
2 2 USPS
3 3 FedEx
Figure 16 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of PC Manufacturers
PC Manufacturers
1 3 Google
2 2 Samsung
3 1 Apple
4 10 HP
5 4 Asus
6 8 Gateway
7 6 Lenovo
8 7 Dell
9 9 Toshiba
10 5 Acer
Figure 17 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Rental Car Providers
Rental Car Providers
1 1 National Car Rental
2 3 Enterprise Rent-A-Car
3 4 Alamo Rent A Car
4 5 Avis Rent A Car
5 10 Payless Car Rental
6 8 Hertz Car Rental
7 9 Dollar Rent A Car
8 11 Thrifty Car Rental
9 7 Budget Rent A Car
10 6 Advantage Rent A Car
Figure 18 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Traditional Retail Banks
Traditional Retail Banks

1 of 2
1 1 Navy Federal Credit Union
2 2 Regions Bank
3 7 BB&T
4 6 PNC Bank
5 4 TD Bank
6 8 SunTrust Banks
7 5 U.S. Bank
8 3 Huntington National Bank
9 11 Chase
10 9 Capital One Bank
Figure 18 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Traditional Retail Banks (Cont.)
Traditional Retail Banks

2 of 2
11 10 Citizens Bank
12 13 KeyBank
13 15 M&T Bank
14 12 Fifth Third Bank
15 17 Citibank
16 16 Wells Fargo
17 18 Bank of America
18 14 Bank of the West
Figure 19 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Traditional Retailers (Stores And Digital)
Traditional Retailers
(Stores And Digital)
1 of 3
1 5 PetSmart
2 3 Nordstrom
3 2 Hallmark Cards
4 8 Neiman Marcus
5 4 Hobby Lobby
6 15 BJ’s Wholesale Club
7 6 Costco Wholesale
8 7 Bed Bath & Beyond
9 17 Michaels
10 10 IKEA
11 14 Walgreens
12 9 Petco
Figure 19 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Traditional Retailers (Stores And Digital) (Cont.)
2 of 3
13 11 Sam’s Club
14 19 Lowe’s
15 30 Toys R Us
16 13 Best Buy
17 21 Saks Fifth Avenue
18 31 Rite Aid
19 1 Barnes & Noble
20 18 J.C. Penney
21 16 CVS
22 12 Kohl’s
23 28 Old Navy
24 23 Target
Figure 19 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Traditional Retailers (Stores And Digital) (Cont.)
3 of 3
25 22 The Home Depot
26 20 Staples
27 35 Marshalls
28 24 Gap
29 27 Macy’s
30 32 H&M
31 26 Dick’s Sporting Goods
32 29 T.J.Maxx
33 25 Office Depot/OfficeMax
34 33 Sears
35 38 Walmart
36 37 Kmart
Figure 20 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of TV Service Providers
TV Service Providers
1 5 Suddenlink Communications
2 2 Dish Network
3 6 Verizon Fios
4 4 Cablevision Optimum
5 1 Bright House Networks
6 3 DirecTV
7 9 Charter Communications
8 8 Cox Communications
9 7 AT&T U-verse
10 10 CenturyLink
11 11 Time Warner Cable
12 12 Xfinity by Comcast
Figure 21 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of US Federal Government Agencies
US Federal Government
Agencies
1 1 National Park Service
2 3 United States Postal Service
3 4 Tricare
4 6 Medicare
5 8 Small Business Administration
6 5 US Citizenship and Immigration Services
7 7 Social Security Administration
8 2 Bureau of Consular Affairs
9 9 Department of Veterans Affairs
10 10 Medicaid
11 11 Internal Revenue Service
12 12 Transportation Security Administration
13 13 Department of Education
14 15 HealthCare.gov
15 14 USAJobs.gov
Figure 22 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Wireless Service Providers
Wireless Service
Providers
1 2 Cricket Wireless
2 1 MetroPCS Communications
3 4 Boost Mobile
4 3 Virgin Mobile
5 5 Straight Talk
6 7 US Cellular
7 8 T-Mobile
8 6 TracFone Wireless
9 9 Verizon Wireless
10 10 AT&T Mobility
11 11 Sprint
Figure 23 The Distribution Of US CX Index Scores, 2016 And 2017
2016 2017
60 59% 59%
50
40
30
23%
20%
20 17% 16%
10
3% 2%
1% 0%
0
Very poor Poor OK Good Excellent
Base: 118,992 (2017) to 122,500 (2016) US online consumers (18+) who interacted with a specific brand
within the past 12 months
Source: Forrester Data Customer Experience Index Online Surveys, US Consumers 2017 and 2016
Figure 24 The Distribution Of Industry Scores In Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017
Traditional retail banks

Digital-only retailers
Wireless service providers
Direct banks
Full-service investment firms
Credit card providers
Direct or discount brokerages
OTT providers
Auto and home insurance
providers
Auto manufacturers
Traditional retailers
(stores and digital)
Hotels
Mobile device manufacturers
PC manufacturers
Rental car providers
Parcel shipping/delivery
providers
Health insurance providers
Airlines
TV service providers
US federal government
agencies
Internet service providers
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Lowest score 2017 industry average Highest score
Base: 118,992 US online consumers (18+) who interacted with a specific brand within the past 12 months
Source: Forrester Data Customer Experience Index Online Survey, US Consumers 2017
Figure 24 The Distribution Of Industry Scores In Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017 (Cont.)
Traditional retail banks

Digital-only retailers
Wireless service providers
Direct banks
Full-service investment firms
Credit card providers
Direct/discount brokerages
OTT providers
Auto and home insurance
providers
Auto manufacturers
Traditional retailers
(stores and digital)
Hotels
Mobile device manufacturers
PC manufacturers
Rental car providers
Parcel shipping/delivery
providers
Health insurance providers
Airlines
TV service providers
US federal government
agencies
Internet service providers
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
= 2017 industry average = 2016 industry average = Significant change
With Torpor At The Top, There Are No Real CX Leaders

Not a single brand has managed to rise to the top of our rankings and continue to move upward — the
mark of a true CX leader. Instead:
›› Elite brands’ scores stayed flat — again. We refer to the top 5% of brands across all industries
in the CX Index as the “elite brands” (see Figure 25). Of these 18 elite brands, 16 showed no
statistically significant score change. In fact, of the 10 that are repeats from 2016, only USAA’s
direct banking business displayed any change — a slight improvement that doesn’t fully reverse
a decline from 2015. Seven of the eight new elite brands had no score change and achieved their
status only because some of 2016’s elite dropped out of the pack, leaving room for new entrants.
Only Omni Hotels & Resorts earned its slot by increasing its score slightly.
›› New industry frontrunners had point drops and stagnation to thank. Seven of 21 industries
had new top brands this year (see Figure 26). None of these changes resulted from a major
improvement by the new frontrunner. In fact, in four industries, the previous highest-scoring brand
sank, while the new frontrunner remained flat.
Figure 25 The Top 5% Of Brands In Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017
Industry rank Brands
1 USAA (credit card providers)
1 USAA (direct banks)
1 Navy Federal Credit Union
1 USAA (auto and home insurance providers)
1 USAA (direct or discount brokerages)
2 Regions Bank
1 Edward Jones
1 Homewood Suites by Hilton
1 Etsy
2 QVC
1 Cricket Wireless
3 Zappos.com
2 MetroPCS Communications
3 BB&T
1 Lexus
2 Omni Hotels & Resorts
2 The Hartford
2 The Vanguard Group
Figure 26 The Highest-Scoring Brands By Industry In Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017
Industry Top-ranking brands 2017 Top-ranking brands 2016
Airlines JetBlue Airways JetBlue Airways
Auto and home insurance providers USAA USAA
Auto manufacturers Lexus Lexus
Credit card providers USAA USAA
Digital-only retailers Etsy QVC
Direct banks USAA USAA
Direct/discount brokerages USAA USAA
Full-service investment firms Edward Jones Edward Jones
Health insurance providers Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente
Hotels Homewood Suites by Hilton Residence Inn by Marriott
Internet service providers Suddenlink Communications Bright House Networks
Mobile device manufacturers Amazon Amazon
OTT providers Netflix Netflix, Hulu (tied)
Parcel shipping/delivery providers UPS UPS
PC manufacturers Google Apple
Rental car providers National Car Rental National Car Rental
Traditional retail banks Navy Federal Credit Union Navy Federal Credit Union
Traditional retailers (stores and digital) PetSmart Barnes & Noble
TV service providers Suddenlink Communications Bright House Networks
US federal government agencies National Park Service National Park Service
Wireless service providers Cricket Wireless MetroPCS Communications
Without Real Leaders, Only Four Types Of Brands Remain
In the absence of real leaders that rise to the top of the pack and continue to improve, there are only
four types of brands (see Figure 27):
›› Languishers: brands that rose high and then stalled. These relatively high-scoring brands have
remained stuck, without a statistically significant score change, for at least two years. Overall, 13%
of brands in the entire US CX Index are languishers — as are 15 of the 18 CX Index elite brands
and 13 of the 21 industry frontrunners. A full 45% of wireless service providers are languishers,
giving that industry the highest percentage of brands in this category.
›› Lapsers: brands that rose and then fell back. Lapsers’ CX Index performance has declined for
one or two years. Across the entire US CX Index, 17% of brands are lapsers — among them are
two elite brands and two industry frontrunners. All three brands in the parcel shipping/delivery
industry are lapsers. Among auto and home insurance providers, 47% of brands are lapsers, giving
this industry the highest percentage of lapsers outside the parcel industry.
›› Locksteppers: brands that move up and down with the pack. Even when these brands improve,
they fail to differentiate themselves because the quality of their CX remains roughly on par with that
of their competitors. A full 43% of CX Index brands are locksteppers, including one elite brand and
five industry frontrunners. Five of the six over-the-top providers are locksteppers, making this the
industry with the least differentiation among brands.
›› Laggards: brands that have stayed at or near the bottom. Although some laggards have
improved the quality of their CX, their scores remain consistently at the low end of the rankings.
Overall, 27% of CX Index brands are laggards. This includes the frontrunner from the ISP industry,
which is the only industry with 100% laggards.
Figure 27 The Four Types Of Brands In Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017
Percent of
brands:
Languishers
These relatively high-scoring brands
13% have remained stuck, without a
statistically significant score change,
for at least two years.
Lapsers
These brands’ CX Index performance
17% has declined for one or two years.
Locksteppers
The quality of these brands’ CX
43% remains roughly on par with that of
their competitors.
Laggards
These brands’ CX Index scores remain
27% consistently at the low end of the
rankings.
Emotion Holds The Key To Achieving CX Leadership

Brands that want to break away from the pack should focus on emotion: How an experience makes
customers feel has a bigger influence on their loyalty to a brand than effectiveness or ease in nearly
every industry. Brand performance in the US CX Index, 2017 reflects this: Elite brands provided an
average of 17 emotionally positive experiences for each negative experience; the lowest-performing
5% of brands provided only two emotionally positive experiences for each negative experience.
We uncovered which emotions drive the most loyalty and which do the most harm to customer retention,
willingness to increase their spending with a brand, and willingness to recommend a brand (see Figure 28).
›› Six emotions most often drive loyalty across all industries. Contrary to conventional wisdom,
making customers happy is not the single most important emotional driver of loyalty. In fact,
happiness is only one of the six emotions that most often appear among the top three that are
most important in any industry we studied. The other five are appreciated, confident, delighted,
respected, and valued. The positive impact of these emotions on loyalty is clear and strong. For
example, in the traditional retail industry, among customers who felt valued, 91% plan to stay with
the brand, 89% plan to increase their spending with the brand, and 90% will advocate for the
brand. This matters to the bottom line because a one-point improvement in its CX Index score can
lead to an incremental $244 million in revenue for a big-box retailer.2
›› Annoyance, disappointment, and frustration always drive customers away. Angering

your customers isn’t as harmful to their loyalty as making them feel annoyed, disappointed, or
frustrated. We found that the TV service provider industry had the largest percentage of customers
who felt annoyed of any industry in our study. The result? Just 17% plan to stay with the brand,
12% plan to increase their spending with the brand, and 11% will advocate for the brand. These
negative emotions hurt revenues: A large TV service provider leaves $104 million on the table for
every one-point decline in its CX Index score.3
Figure 28 Positive And Negative Emotions Drive A Customer’s Experience
Positive emotions Negative emotions
Appreciated Angered
Confident Annoyed
Delighted Disappointed
Happy Frustrated
Respected
Valued
How Forrester Can Help

Even a minor improvement to a brand’s customer experience quality can add tens of millions of
dollars of revenue by reducing customer churn and increasing share of wallet.4 What’s more, happier
customers are more willing to pay a premium price for the same products and services.5 When you
add in other benefits of superior CX — like reduced service costs and low-cost customer acquisition
through word of mouth — the ROI of even large-scale CX transformations can be jaw-dropping.6
CX pros can earn these benefits for their brands via a disciplined approach to envisioning, designing,
and delivering a consistently high-quality experience. Forrester can help you:
›› Understand the drivers of great CX for your brand with CX Index. Forrester collects CX Index
data from over 200,000 consumers on almost 700 brands in 21 industries across seven markets:
Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, the UK, and the US. Underlying data behind the CX
Index can help brands identify the key drivers of a great CX for their customers. This allows you
to focus on improving the aspects of experiences that matter most for driving revenue and avoid
wasting time and money on those that don’t move the needle.
›› Prove the ROI of CX transformation. To get the benefits of improved CX, companies need
to invest in areas like training, technology, and professional services. Do the benefits of CX
transformation outweigh the costs and result in positive ROI? And how can you determine that for
your company? Forrester analysts working in concert with our Total Economic Impact (TEI™) group
can calculate the benefits, cost, and ROI of an enterprisewide CX transformation. You can use the
resulting ROI model to fuel a winning business case for CX transformation.
›› Partner with us to develop break-away CX. Work with Forrester’s experts to create your
customized roadmap to CX that drives top line growth. We tailor our data, frameworks, and best
practice research to accelerate your success.
To learn more about how Forrester can help, contact your account manager or email us at
forrestercx@forrester.com.
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Supplemental Material
Survey Methodology
For the Forrester Data Customer Experience Index Online Survey, US Consumers 2017, Forrester
conducted an online survey fielded in February through May 2017 of 118,922 US individuals ages 18 to
88. For results based on a randomly chosen sample of this size (N = 118,922), there is 95% confidence
that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 0.01% of what they would be if the entire
population of US adults who are online weekly or more often had been surveyed. The final data set
was stacked by brand (314 US brands) and weighted by age, gender, region, income, and broadband
adoption to represent 234,889 weighted respondents answering for all brands.
Bases: For each industry in 2017, the number of US online adults (18+) who interacted with a
specific brand within the past 12 months is as follows: airlines: 9,123; auto and home insurance
providers: 14, 097; auto manufacturers: 16,118; credit card providers: 11,137; digital-only retailers:
10,275; direct banks: 7,367; direct or discount brokerages: 8,786; full-service investment firms:
7,915; health insurance providers: 12,598; hotels: 25,860; internet service providers: 10,439; mobile
device manufacturers: 9,167; OTT providers: 4,529; parcel shipping/delivery providers: 2,394; PC
manufacturers: 7,757; rental car providers: 7,396; traditional retail banks: 13,345; traditional retailers
(stores and digital): 27,236; TV service providers: 9,014; US federal government agencies: 11,665;
wireless service providers: 8,673.
For the Forrester Data Customer Experience Index Online Survey, US Consumers 2016, Forrester
conducted an online survey fielded in February through May 2016 of 122,500 US individuals ages 18 to
88. For results based on a randomly chosen sample of this size (N = 122,500), there is 95% confidence
that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 0.01% of what they would be if the entire
population of US adults who are online weekly or more often had been surveyed. The final data set
was stacked by brand (319 US brands) and weighted by age, gender, region, income, and broadband
adoption to represent 242,494 weighted respondents answering for all brands.
Bases: For each industry in 2016, the number of US online adults (18+) who interacted with a
specific brand within the previous 12 months is as follows: airlines: 9,389; auto and home insurance
providers: 14,331; auto manufacturers: 16,455; credit card providers: 11,166; digital-only retailers:
10,519; direct banks: 7,558; direct or discount brokerages: 9,012; full-service investment firms:
8,219; health insurance providers: 12,756; hotels: 27,496; internet service providers: 10,466; mobile
device manufacturers: 9,176; OTT providers: 4,666; parcel shipping/delivery providers: 3,063; PC
manufacturers: 7,788; rental car providers: 8,399; traditional retail banks: 13,326; traditional retailers
(stores and digital): 28,704; TV service providers: 9,046; US federal government agencies: 12,412;
wireless service providers: 8,547.
(Note: Weighted sample sizes can be different from the actual number of respondents to account for
individuals generally underrepresented in online panels.) Please note that respondents who participate
in online surveys generally have more experience with the internet and feel more comfortable
transacting online.
How To Get Access To Forrester’s CX Index Data Analysis And Insights
Forrester’s CX Index helps companies do three things. It: 1) arms you with a deep and actionable
understanding of the quality of your customer experience; 2) provides competitive benchmark
data so you know how you stack up against your peers; and 3) enables the ability to model which
improvements will have the biggest impact on revenue and other key business metrics.
Forrester collects CX Index data on almost 700 brands in 21 industries across seven key markets
(Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, the UK, and the US). If you wish to find out more regarding
Forrester’s CX Index data and services or how you can leverage the methodology, please contact your
account manager or email data@forrester.com.
External citations, unauthorized reproduction, and distribution of any parts of this report are prohibited
without prior written consent from Forrester.
Endnotes
Brands in 19 of 21 industries saw losses; only the wireless service provider and car rental industries were spared.
1
Gains occurred in just 14 industries.
Forrester used data from its CX Index methodology to model how changes in customer experience affect revenue
2
potential for 13 industries. The models take into account industry-specific dynamics like barriers to switching and
recommendation effectiveness. See the Forrester report “Drive Revenue With Great Customer Experience, 2017.”
See the Forrester report “Drive Revenue With Great Customer Experience, 2017.”
3
See the Forrester report “Drive Revenue With Great Customer Experience, 2017.”
4
Our models showed that improving CX drives willingness to pay indirectly by increasing brand preference and trust.
5
Other factors like elements of the price experience, exceeding customers’ expectations, membership in a loyalty
program, and willingness to forgive also influence willingness to pay a premium. See the Forrester report “The Price
Premium Of Customer Experience.”
See the Forrester report “The ROI Of CX Transformation.”

6
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For Customer Experience Professionals

The US Customer Experience Index, 2017

Why Read This Report Key Takeaways

Top Brands’ Stagnation Leaves A CX

Focus On Emotion To Become A CX Leader

The US Customer Experience Index, 2017

Table Of Contents Related Research Documents

41 Emotion Holds The Key To Achieving CX

42 How Forrester Can Help

Forrester Research, Inc., 60 Acorn Park Drive, Cambridge, MA 02140 USA

Customer Experiences Got Worse

Forrester’s CX Index score measures how successfully a company

CX QUALITY CUSTOMER LOYALTY

to get value from

Figure 2 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Airlines

2017 2016 BRAND PERFORMANCE

7 7 Delta Air Lines

Auto And Home

2017 2016 BRAND PERFORMANCE

3 8 Nationwide Mutual Insurance

4 4 State Farm Insurance

Auto And Home

2017 2016 BRAND PERFORMANCE

15 7 American Family Insurance

16 18 National General Insurance

19 16 21st Century Insurance

Figure 4 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Auto Manufacturers

2017 2016 BRAND PERFORMANCE

Figure 4 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Auto Manufacturers (Cont.)

2017 2016 BRAND PERFORMANCE

Figure 5 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Credit Card Providers

Credit Card Providers

2017 2016 BRAND PERFORMANCE

4 5 PNC Financial Services

Figure 6 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Digital-Only Retailers

2017 2016 BRAND PERFORMANCE

Figure 7 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Direct Banks

2017 2016 BRAND PERFORMANCE

2 3 Capital One 360

6 9 State Farm Bank

7 10 Goldman Sachs Bank

9 7 American Express Bank

10 5 Charles Schwab Bank

Figure 8 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Direct Or Discount Brokerages

2 2 The Vanguard Group

12 7 Capital One Investing

Figure 9 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Full-Service Investment Firms

2 4 Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

7 5 Merrill Lynch Wealth Management

9 7 Wells Fargo Advisors

11 10 Citi Personal Wealth Management

Figure 10 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Health Insurance Providers

2017 2016 BRAND PERFORMANCE

3 3 Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield

7 9 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas

8 11 CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield

9 7 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

10 16 Other Blue Cross Blue Shield

Figure 10 Forrester’s US CX Index, 2017: Rankings Of Health Insurance Providers (Cont.)

2017 2016 BRAND PERFORMANCE

11 12 Blue Shield of California

12 14 Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield

16 5 Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield

17 17 Anthem Blue Cross