Author: Monica Ryan, Vice President, Concentrix Australia & New Zealand

In the current economic climate, the focus of every Australian business leader is rightly fixed on the bottom line. For too long, customer experience (CX) has been treated as a ‘soft’ metric: important, but hard to quantify. In today’s economy, that view is not just outdated, it's a direct threat to revenue and market share. 

New data from our inaugural Concentrix ANZ CX Index, conducted in collaboration with AWS, proves that a failure to invest strategically in CX is a critical business risk separating the winners from the losers, because it's a lost opportunity to connect with the people who drive your business, your customers and your teams.

Quantifying the ROI of CX

The data proves that CX maturity is a primary driver of financial performance, revealing a stark divide that separates the market into high-performing ‘Leaders’ and underperforming ‘Laggards’, with most businesses stuck in the middle. The key difference is bridging the gap between strategic intent and operational reality. A mature CX capability is a powerful growth engine with a direct, measurable link to profitability. And exceptional employee experiences are the foundation for creating lasting customer value.

Businesses qualifying as 'CX Leaders' are nearly twice as likely to have experienced revenue growth (84%) in the past financial year compared to 'CX Laggards' (46%). The same holds true for profit, with 83% of Leaders seeing profit growth versus just 52% of Laggards. Leaders also report stronger operational benefits, including increased productivity, improved customer retention, and enhanced brand trust.

The risks of underinvestment in CX

The evidence shows that mature CX capabilities drive financial performance. Yet, despite this link, a troubling paradox exists within Australian businesses. While leaders understand the value of CX, they are failing to act on it.

Understanding CX’s role in business growth is not the problem, with 82% of Australian leaders rating CX as 'extremely' or 'very' important to their growth strategy, and 75% believe underinvestment would hurt financial performance. Despite this, eight in ten (80%) organisations face significant barriers to improving their CX. This reveals a costly gap between knowing what needs to be done and having the capability to do it.

What is stopping them? It’s not a failure of vision, but of operational reality. The most common barriers are fundamental execution challenges, including talent shortages, data and insight limitations, and difficulty measuring ROI. This is further evidenced by a disconnect between leaders and their teams. C-suite executives are the most optimistic about their company's CX capabilities (with a Capability Index score of 77.50), while the dedicated CX and Customer roles, the people responsible for execution, have the lowest confidence (63.87).

This profound disconnect reveals a truth at the heart of the CX paradox, the people on the front lines feel a growing gap between their company's vision and the tools they have to deliver it. Technology is stepping in to be the powerful ally they need. 

The AI-driven evolution of CX

It’s clear that the strategic value of CX is escalating rapidly. Within the next two to five years, 74% of those surveyed believe CX will be fundamental in their business success. 31% see it as a primary source of revenue and competitive edge, while 43% consider it a key growth engine.

The next chapter of CX delivery will be powered by agentic AI. This technology is expected to assume a dominant role, with 40% of respondents forecasting it will autonomously manage the majority of customer interactions, requiring only minor human supervision. Furthermore, almost half (48%) anticipate its value as a crucial support system for frontline staff or customers.

However, the shift to autonomous AI must be managed with a comprehensive strategy that emphasises governance, ethical frameworks, and necessary human oversight to ensure both accountability and customer trust.

Australian businesses are upgrading their CX systems to handle new AI-driven experiences. The clearest sign of this is the massive shift to the cloud: 50% already use a solution such as Amazon Connect, and another 36% are planning to or trialling one.

This is more than just a technological upgrade, it's the critical first step toward building a new kind of business. By moving to the cloud, Australian companies are laying the groundwork for a data-driven, agile future. This enables them to focus on maximising long-term customer value.

Shifting focus from acquisition to long-term value

As we look to the future, it's far more efficient to nurture existing customer relationships than to constantly chase new ones. By shifting focus from the high expense of acquisition to the efficiency of retention, leaders generate far more predictable and sustainable revenue. CX isn't just about customer satisfaction; it's about proactively designing experiences that maximise customer lifetime value. These organisations will be the ones who successfully build a culture that bridges the gap between intent and execution, creating sustainable, reliable value for their customers and their bottom line. 

The full findings of the report can be found in The CX Divide: The Cost of Underinvestment