Business A focus on experience Recent years have seen a blurring of the lines between customer experience, user experience and market research. Do the three complement each other? By Liam Kay I n business, as the saying goes, the customer is king. Customer experience (CX), user experience (UX) and market research all focus on, in various forms, serving the customer. However, after a year of a worldwide pandemic tearing up old models of business, and as technological changes help flatten company structures, can or should the three disciplines be brought closer together? Like three siblings, CX, UX and market research have much in common, but also have their own distinct approaches. Broadly, UX is centred more on the product and how customers interact with it, while customer experience deals with the publics interactions with the company, often focusing on removing friction in the customer journey. Market research tends to be broader, and more strategically focused. Tools for the job Charlotte Burgess, managing director of customer research agency C Space, says it can be useful to think of UX, CX and market research as being part of the same broad industry, but coming at customer service from different angles. Where they do come together is in the service of creating a better experience or product for the end customer, she 48 Impact ISSUE 33 2021_pp48-49 Business.indd 48 26/03/2021 10:13