The CX Growth Index: Measuring and Maximizing Customer Experience in Digital Banking Transformation

Introduction: Why Customer Experience is the New Battleground in Banking

In today’s digital-first world, customer experience (CX) has become the defining competitive advantage for banks. As digital disruptors and fintechs raise the bar for seamless, personalized, and emotionally resonant interactions, traditional banks are under pressure to not only keep pace but to lead. According to industry research, 89% of companies now compete primarily on customer experience—a dramatic rise from just 36% in 2010. For banking executives, CX is no longer a “nice to have”—it is a core driver of growth, loyalty, and profitability.

Yet, while most banks recognize the importance of CX, many struggle to measure it rigorously or to link CX investments directly to business outcomes. Enter the Customer Experience Growth Index (CXGX): a new, data-driven framework designed to help banks benchmark, prioritize, and maximize the impact of their CX initiatives.

Introducing the Customer Experience Growth Index (CXGX)

The CXGX, developed by Publicis Sapient, is a next-generation measurement framework that moves beyond traditional metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS). While NPS offers a simple snapshot of customer sentiment, it often fails to reveal which specific experiences drive growth or where to invest for maximum impact. CXGX addresses this gap by providing a granular, actionable view of customer experience across every digital and physical touchpoint.

The CXGX Methodology: The Three E’s

At the heart of CXGX is a customer survey framework built around the “Three E’s”:

Experience: Did the customer get what they wanted from the interaction?
Expectation: Was the experience better or worse than expected?
Emotion: How did the experience make the customer feel? (Measured across 18 possible emotional responses, from angry to uplifted.)

Each customer response is linked to one of 11 key banking touchpoints—such as mobile app, desktop website, live chat, call center, branch visit, and more. This approach enables banks to:

Pinpoint which channels deliver memorable (positive or negative) experiences
Understand the emotional drivers of loyalty or churn
Benchmark performance against peers and digital leaders

Why CXGX Matters: Linking Experience to Growth

CXGX is more than a measurement tool—it’s a predictive engine for business growth. Analysis of UK retail banks, for example, shows a strong correlation between a bank’s CXGX score and both customers’ intention to use the bank more in the future and actual net customer growth. Neobanks with the highest CXGX scores are winning the most new customers, while traditional banks with lower scores are losing ground.

Key findings:

Banks with higher CXGX scores see greater net gains in customer numbers.
A one-point increase in CXGX can translate to a measurable uplift in future usage intention and market share.
The relationship holds true across both digital and physical channels, underscoring the importance of omnichannel excellence.

Turning Insights into Action: How Banks Can Use CXGX

CXGX is designed not just to measure, but to guide investment decisions. By mapping CXGX scores against channel usage, banks can:

Identify high-impact opportunities: For example, if live chat delivers a much higher CXGX score than the call center but is underutilized, migrating more customers to live chat can boost overall CX and reduce costs.
Prioritize channel improvements: If the mobile app is the most-used channel but lags in CXGX score, targeted investment in app experience can yield outsized returns.
Benchmark against competitors: Banks can see how their touchpoints stack up against both peers and digital leaders, identifying gaps and best practices.

Example: Channel Value Chain Analysis

Suppose a bank’s mobile app is its highest-performing touchpoint, but its desktop website lags behind. By encouraging even a small percentage of desktop users to switch to the app, the bank can meaningfully increase its overall CXGX score. Similarly, if live chat outperforms the call center in both CXGX and cost efficiency, shifting customer service traffic accordingly can drive both satisfaction and operational savings.

Emotional Intelligence: The Power of Memorable Experiences

CXGX also reveals that not all experiences are created equal. Most customer interactions fall into the “Valley of Meh”—they meet expectations but are quickly forgotten. The experiences that drive loyalty and advocacy are those that are either exceptionally positive or negative. By focusing on creating more memorable, emotionally resonant moments—especially in digital channels—banks can differentiate themselves and build lasting customer relationships.

Case Examples: CXGX in Action

Neobanks: Digital-first banks consistently top the CXGX rankings, with scores more than double those of some traditional banks. Their focus on intuitive mobile apps, proactive communication, and emotionally positive interactions translates directly into customer growth.
Live Chat Transformation: One Tier 2 bank saw its live chat channel achieve a CXGX score of 18.3—among the best in the market—but only 12% of customers used it. By promoting live chat and improving its accessibility, the bank increased both customer satisfaction and reduced call center costs.
Mobile App Investment: A top-tier bank identified a significant gap between its mobile app and desktop website CXGX scores. By investing in app enhancements and encouraging migration, it improved its overall CXGX and saw a corresponding rise in customer engagement.

Data Visualizations: Making the Case for CX Investment

CXGX enables banks to visualize the relationship between channel usage, CX scores, and business outcomes. For example:

Scatter plots show the positive correlation between CXGX score and net customer growth.
Bubble charts map touchpoints by usage and CXGX score, highlighting where to focus investment.
Emotion indexes compare the emotional impact of different channels, revealing where customers feel most cared for—or most frustrated.

Guidance for Banking Leaders: Using CXGX to Drive Transformation

Adopt CXGX as a core KPI: Move beyond NPS and integrate CXGX into your performance dashboards.
Benchmark regularly: Track your CXGX scores over time and against competitors to identify trends and opportunities.
Prioritize high-impact touchpoints: Use CXGX data to focus investment where it will drive the greatest improvement in customer satisfaction and business growth.
Design for emotion: Aim to create more memorable, emotionally positive experiences—especially in digital channels.
Link CX to business outcomes: Use CXGX to demonstrate the ROI of CX investments, making the case for continued transformation.

The Future of CX Measurement: Evolving with the Industry

CXGX is currently in beta, with ongoing data collection and refinement. As the dataset grows, banks will gain even deeper insights into the drivers of great CX and the levers for growth. Ultimately, CXGX will operate at three levels:

As a macro survey tracking brand-level CX performance
As a tool for capturing CX data on specific customer journeys
As a real-time assessment of individual interactions

Conclusion: From Measurement to Growth

In a world where customer expectations are shaped by the best digital experiences—inside and outside of banking—CXGX offers banks a rigorous, actionable framework to measure, benchmark, and maximize the impact of their CX investments. By linking experience, expectation, and emotion to tangible business outcomes, CXGX empowers banks to move from intuition to intelligence, from incremental improvement to transformative growth.

Ready to unlock the growth potential of your customer experience? The CX Growth Index is your roadmap to measurable, sustainable success in digital banking transformation.

For more information on how Publicis Sapient can help your bank implement CXGX and drive digital transformation, visit publicissapient.com/fs.