People love benchmarks. It’s human nature to want to know how good or bad your #CX is relative to competitors or best-in-class firms. Unfortunately, that data is exceptionally tough to get, especially in B2B.
One alternative to consider is asking current customers how their experience with you compares to their experience with other firms. AmEx did that in a survey they sent me recently from their B2B division (Figure 1).
My only caution is to be specific about WHICH firms you want people to compare you against. Why? Specificity makes it easier for respondents to give you a precise answer.
I’m someone who designed and ran a benchmark survey for many years, and even *I* was overwhelmed by the generic version of this question. My brain tried scrolling through a list of the dozens of companies I deal with, asking for each one: “Is AmEx better or worse than them?” I gave up on that approach after roughly one nano-second and just picked the middle option. Every small business owner I know would do the same.
Figure 1: AmEx Survey Question
