Customer experience needs a bigger definition

A Business Reporter article argues that brands should rethink customer experience by focusing on the needs behind customer interactions, not just polishing existing touchpoints. The Harris Poll UK says that approach can reduce friction, improve reputation and help companies design better experiences before problems start.

Why it matters: - Customer experience is tied to how people judge a brand, not just how they rate a single interaction. - Businesses that understand what customers need in context can remove friction before it becomes a complaint. - The Harris Poll UK found a 0.79 correlation between customer experience and corporate reputation across the 100 most visible brands in the UK.

What happened: - Business Reporter published an article by Sarah Beams, Managing Director of The Harris Poll UK, on September 16, 2026. - Beams argues that customer experience should start with understanding what people actually need, rather than only optimizing existing processes to improve satisfaction scores. - The article says businesses should look beyond individual touchpoints and understand the wider context in which customers make decisions and interact with brands.

The details: - People manage work, family, finances and other pressures while dealing with brands. - Those pressures can create friction when businesses ask for information customers already provided or route them through chatbots that do not solve problems. - The article says some problems could be resolved before a customer even makes contact. - Better design starts with identifying needs earlier, then deciding where to simplify experiences and where to remove unnecessary effort altogether. - The Harris Poll UK works with organizations on research and consultancy to understand how brand experiences shape customers’ lives. - The firm says its work helps clients prioritize investment, strengthen reputation and build lasting loyalty. - Business Reporter publishes business content on online hubs including Bloomberg, Fortune, USA Today, Wired, Independent, Die Welt, Business Insider Germany and Le Figaro. - Business Reporter also hosts conferences, debates, breakfast meetings and exclusive summits. - The Harris Poll UK describes itself as a Stagwell company focused on research, analytics and consultancy. - The company says its work identifies unmet needs and the opportunities they create for organizations to make better decisions and grow. - More information is available in the article. - More information is available at The Harris Poll UK.

Between the lines: - The argument shifts customer experience from a service metric to a broader business strategy. - That framing suggests companies may need to redesign journeys, not just improve response times or satisfaction scores. - The correlation figure is not proof of causation, but it signals a strong link between experience and reputation.

What's next: - Businesses looking to improve customer experience may need to invest earlier in research about customer needs and decision-making. - The article points toward more preventive design, where companies remove avoidable contact points and reduce unnecessary effort before customers feel it. - The Harris Poll UK is positioning itself as a partner for that kind of experience-led decision-making.