The Fallacy of Customer Experience as a Priority in Marketing Organizations

Introduction

Marketing organizations frequently proclaim that their primary focus is on delivering an exceptional customer experience (CX). This claim has become almost ubiquitous, with agencies and marketers alike touting their expertise in creating seamless, personalized interactions that purportedly put the customer first. However, the reality is far more complex and often contradictory. The true priority of many marketing organizations is not the customer’s experience but rather maximizing customer lifetime value (CLV) and catering to the needs of their clients. This focus often leads to decision-making processes that prioritize incremental sales over genuine customer satisfaction.

The Misalignment Between CX and Business Objectives

Marketing organizations are tasked with several responsibilities, from brand building to driving sales, and ultimately ensuring the profitability of their clients. While these tasks are not inherently at odds with delivering a positive customer experience, the strategies employed often reveal a different focus.

At the heart of the issue is the inherent conflict between managing multiple "moments of truth"—those critical points in a customer's journey that can make or break their relationship with a brand—and the overarching goal of maximizing CLV. These moments require careful handling, but the decision-making processes within marketing teams are often skewed toward achieving immediate, measurable outcomes, such as an incremental sale. This can lead to tactics that prioritize short-term gains over long-term customer satisfaction.

For example, a marketer might choose to push a product or service that a customer does not need or want, simply because the data suggests it might drive an additional sale. While this approach may boost revenue in the short term, it can erode trust and damage the customer relationship in the long run. Research supports this view, showing that companies focused heavily on CLV tend to underperform in customer satisfaction metrics over time, as their strategies become increasingly transactional and less about genuinely meeting customer needs.

The Client Experience Over Customer Experience

The disconnect between the marketed emphasis on CX and the actual practices of marketers becomes even more apparent when considering the role of agencies. While these agencies often claim to be experts in CX, what they are truly experts in is Client Experience—delivering the experience that their clients, the businesses that hire them, want their customers to have.

This distinction is crucial. The "experience" that marketers and their agencies create is often not aligned with what customers actually want. Instead, it reflects the desires of the client company, which may prioritize brand messaging, upselling, or data capture over genuinely addressing customer needs. For instance, a client may want a website designed to funnel visitors toward making a purchase, while customers might prefer a site that provides easy access to information without aggressive sales tactics. The agency, beholden to the client, will prioritize the former, even if it leads to a frustrating experience for the customer.

The Dark Side of Personalization and Data Tracking

Another area where the misalignment between claimed CX priorities and actual practices becomes evident is in the use of digital signals and data tracking. Marketers have increasingly embraced sophisticated tools to track and analyze customer behavior online, using this data to deliver highly personalized experiences. However, this practice raises significant ethical questions about privacy and consent.

Research indicates that while consumers appreciate personalization to some extent, they are often uncomfortable with the level of data collection and tracking that is required to deliver these experiences. A 2023 study by the Pew Research Center found that 72% of Americans feel that most of what they do online or on their cellphones is being tracked by advertisers, technology firms, or other companies, and 77% said they were concerned about how their data was being used.

Despite this, marketers continue to deploy strategies that rely heavily on data tracking, often without transparent communication with consumers about how their information is being used. This approach directly contradicts the notion of prioritizing customer experience, as it disregards the customer’s desire for privacy and control over their personal information.

Conclusion

The pervasive rhetoric of customer experience as the top priority in marketing is, in many cases, a facade. While marketers and their agencies may claim to prioritize CX, their actions often reveal a different focus—one that is more aligned with maximizing customer lifetime value and delivering the experience their clients desire, rather than the experience customers want.

This misalignment has significant implications for customer trust and long-term business success. As customers become more aware of how their data is used and more critical of the experiences brands deliver, marketing organizations must reassess their priorities. Genuine customer experience requires more than just lip service; it demands a commitment to understanding and meeting customer needs, even when those needs conflict with short-term business goals.

Marketing organizations that fail to recognize this risk alienating their customers and, ultimately, undermining the very objectives they seek to achieve. Moving forward, it is imperative that marketers shift their focus from simply managing moments of truth to truly valuing the customer’s perspective and experience, even when it challenges traditional business practices.