Turn Your CX Into A Growth Engine in FY26

By Phil Prosser, CEO. March 2025 As CEOs and COOs begin locking in FY26 budgets, there’s one area with untapped potential hiding in plain sight: customer experience. You may already have an NPS or voice-of-customer program in place. You might also be investing heavily in training and development. But this isn’t about spending more—it’s about spending smarter. It’s about taking the guesswork out of what to focus on, identifying the right actions that will move the dial, and finding the most effective way to engage every individual on your team to deliver consistently better experiences. The real win comes when people know what to do, and why it matters, and are held accountable for taking actions that lead to delighted customers and powerful advocacy. We’ve found that installing expensive NPS software and collecting more data isn’t the answer. Sometimes more data confuses people—teams feel overwhelmed, and the result is little to no action. What works isn’t more dashboards—it’s laser focus. What matters most is giving each person clarity on the key actions that will make the biggest difference, right now. That’s why we believe in One Solution, purpose-built for improvement—a system that serves up exactly what each person needs to know and do today. Make it easy. Make it clear. Show me why it matters. Then, add the secret sauce: cleverly designed best practices and positive reinforcement that help leaders and managers catch people doing things right and amplify the behaviors you want more of. You’re Already Investing. But Are You Seeing Growth? If your current program revolves around collecting NPS or CSAT scores, benchmarking, and generating dashboards—chances are, you’re sitting on valuable insights but not seeing the full return. Here’s the uncomfortable truth: data alone doesn’t drive results. Feedback becomes powerful only when it’s turned into consistent frontline actions that build trust, improve service moments, and drive advocacy. And advocacy is where the real growth lives. “93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases with companies that offer excellent customer service.” (Hubspot) “Consumers are 90% more likely to trust and buy from a brand recommended by a friend—even more than from paid advertising.” (Nielsen) When we talk about customer experience as a growth engine, this is what we mean. The businesses winning in this space aren’t just tracking satisfaction—they’re mobilizing their teams to create those ‘wow’ moments that customers talk about. That’s what turns passive buyers into advocates. The Missed Opportunity in Your Network If you’re leading a business with local teams—whether in retail, health, or services—you know that your reputation is built store by store, team by team. That’s where experience either shines or fails. Too many CX programs are built for the head office. They provide visibility but not accountability. They report on feedback but don’t empower teams to act. In the end, everyone is “aware” of the issue, but no one owns the improvement. At Feedback ASAP, we’ve seen that the real CX transformation happens when local teams are fully engaged, given clear priorities, and held accountable for progress. That’s when customer feedback stops being a report and starts becoming a growth tool. Here’s What a Growth-Focused CX Program Looks Like Let’s reframe the role CX plays in your FY26 budget:

• From surveys to strategy: Instead of running more surveys, invest in a unified view of feedback that guides business priorities at every level.
• From data to action: Move from dashboards to playbooks. Make it easy for teams to take the right actions based on what matters most to customers.
• From metrics to momentum: Shift the focus from scores to behaviors. Celebrate improvement, not just performance.

“Customers are more influenced by the service they receive than by the product itself—excellent service drives loyalty and referrals.” (Phil) “96% of customers say customer service is important in their choice of loyalty to a brand” (Forbes) This is the Feedback ASAP approach. We help businesses move from being data-rich but action poor, to being team led and growth focused. Because in the end, CX is not about the numbers—it’s about what your people do with them. A Moment of Truth: How Much Growth Are You Leaving on the Table? Every business leader is looking for growth—but it’s often hiding in plain sight. Let’s say you have 100 locations. If each one increased customer advocacy by just 10%, the compounding effect on repeat visits, basket size, and word-of-mouth acquisition would be enormous. And none of that requires more advertising spend—just better service, more trust, and a CX program that actually changes behavior. You’re already paying for surveys. Why not make them pay you back? FY26 Is the Perfect Time to Rethink Your CX Investment We know the pressures of budget planning—balancing cost control with growth targets, managing teams stretched thin, and navigating a hyper-competitive landscape. But this isn’t about adding to your spending. It’s about making your existing investment work harder. At Feedback ASAP, we build programs that:

• Align with your brand’s growth goals
• Unite feedback across every touchpoint into one voice of the customer system
• Equip frontline teams with clear actions, tools, and accountability
• Deliver improvement tracking quarter after quarter
• Build customer advocacy as a real competitive advantage

Final Word: What Will You Be Known For? In a world where products can be copied and prices can be matched, customer experience is your last true differentiator. And the most powerful CX doesn’t come from head office—it happens in every local interaction, with every team member, every day. As you lock in your FY26 priorities, ask yourself: Is your CX program just measuring sentiment, or is it driving real, local growth? If you’re ready to make the shift, let’s talk. Because when CX is done right, it doesn’t just improve customer satisfaction—it fuels your next stage of business growth.