A focus on experience: The relationship between CX, UX and market research

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In 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 public’s 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 ...