Unf*cking Your CX #72 - You’re Fluent in NPS. But Illiterate in Business.

The Strategic Illiteracy of CX Pros

Why Your Insights Never Get Actioned and What to Do About It

Over the last 3 weeks, I have started coaching 12 CX Leaders from across the globe and from various industries. Each of them having titles from Director to VP.

All smart. All talented. All passionate about the customer.

And not a single one of them…

❌ Had read their company’s 10-K

❌ Had listened to an earnings call

❌ Could name the top 3 business priorities for the year

But every one of them could tell me their latest NPS score.

They could tell me how it was trending the last 12-months.

That’s the problem. You’re not being ignored because your insights are wrong. You’re being ignored because you’re speaking the wrong f*cking language.

You’re fluent in dashboards. Your execs are fluent in dollars.

You’re selling survey signals. Your execs are buying business outcomes.

And if that gap doesn’t close, you will keep getting sidelined.

Your Work Doesn’t Lack Value.

It Lacks power.

Let’s be brutally honest.

Most CX teams operate like this:

• Deliver customer insights
• Present recommendations
• Hope someone else cares enough to act

And most executive teams respond like this:

“Thanks for the update. We’ll take it back.”

Translation? “You didn’t give us anything we can move on.”

Because you showed frustration. Not cost.

You showed signal. Not risk.

You showed themes. Not impact.

You brought a ruler to a P&L meeting.

The Real Issue: Strategic Illiteracy (and I mean in with the upmost respect)

It’s not your fault.

The entire discipline was built around:

• Surveys
• Sentiment
• Governance
• Listening platforms

We were trained to be stewards of the voice, not owners of the outcome.

But here’s the harsh truth:

If you can’t tie customer friction to revenue, retention, cost, or risk— you are not a strategic leader. You’re a signal manager.

And no one funds signal managers.

What Strategic Illiteracy Looks Like

Most CX leaders don’t need more data. They need to start thinking like a CFO with a customer tattoo.

Here’s Why This Hurts So Much

Because for years, the industry told you:

“You’re a changemaker.”

“You’re the voice of the customer.”

“You belong in the boardroom.”

But no one gave you the tools to win there.

→ Certifications taught sentiment analysis, not P&L modeling

→ Vendors sold dashboards, not dollarized outcomes (yes, I think I created my own word)

→ CX influencers peddled vibes, not velocity

And now you’re stuck holding a mic that execs keep muting.

3 Player Tips to Immediately Gain Executive Fluency

Player Tip #1 - Learn the KPIs That Actually Matter — Then Tie Them to the Real Priorities

Knowing KPIs isn’t enough. You have to interrogate them, connect them to strategic initiatives, and anchor your CX work inside them.

Every CX pro should know:

• Gross margin trends: What costs are ballooning? Where’s the margin compression?
• Net revenue retention (NRR): Are we growing existing customers or bleeding them out?
• CAC payback windows: How long before a customer becomes profitable? Are friction points delaying that?
• CLTV by cohort: Which segments deliver the most lifetime value—and what frictions are threatening that value?

Execution Tip: Don’t just ask “What’s our CLTV?” Ask:

• “How are we currently tracking lifetime value over time?”
• “Which parts of the customer journey most influence retention or repeat behavior?”
• “Where are we overinvesting without a clear return?”

Strategic Questions to Ask Your Execs & Peers:

• “What are the top 2–3 priorities for your function this quarter?”
• “Where is your team seeing friction that’s slowing down your KPIs?”
• “If we could remove one customer bottleneck to accelerate progress on this initiative, what would it be?”

Pro move: Show them how solving a CX friction gets them to their number faster. When CX becomes their win, you stop asking for buy-in—you start earning champions.

Player Tip #2 - Quantify Customer Friction in Financial Terms — And Model the Cost of Inaction

Saying “customers are frustrated” is emotional theater.

Quantifying the cost of that frustration? That’s performance strategy.

The Problem Statement (from The CX Case Maker):

Every [ frequency ], at least [ reach ] of our [ customers / employees / stakeholders ] experience [pain point tied to CX, e.g., delivery delays, inconsistent support, poor communication ], resulting in [ measurable CX loss, e.g., lapsed customers, increased churn, or loss revenue ].

This leads to [ implication #1, e.g., loss of repeat purchases, higher acquisition costs to replace churned customers, etc ]. If this is not resolved by [ timeline, e.g., Q2 ], we risk [ implication #2 e.g., further erosion of brand loyalty, compounding operational inefficiencies, or falling behind revenue target by $$].

Now the kicker – The Cost of Inaction: If we don’t fix this...

Our customers experience (specific problem) during (specific stage of the customer journey) because (root cause or failure).

This problem causes (specific measurable impact) such as (metric impacted), resulting in (negative outcome for the business).

This issue affects (percent or number of customers affected)of our customers, which equates to (impact in dollars or resources). Without intervention, we risk (worsening trend or consequence).

If this problem were solved, we could (positive outcome) and achieve (specific upside in metrics or dollars).

The cost of doing nothing is (specific number or metric, e.g., lost revenue, wasted resources), which directly impacts (critical business objective). If we act now, we can (immediate action and benefit).

The real question isn’t whether we can afford to fix this—it’s whether we can afford not to.

Player Tip #3 - Present Like a Growth Leader — Not a Feedback Analyst

No one funds NPS updates. But everyone leans in when you show how to unlock growth.

Here’s the mindset shift: You’re not presenting CX impact. You’re building a system that value-stacks impact across multiple KPIs.

What does that mean?

You don’t say: “We reduced WISMO.” You say: “We reduced WISMO, which dropped support volume 12%, improved delivery satisfaction, and lifted first-to-second purchase by 8%.”

You don’t say: “Returns experience improved.” You say: “Returns friction dropped, leading to a 14% increase in repeat visits, a 9% lift in ATV among high-CLTV segments, and a $1.2M boost in retained revenue.”

Execution Tip: Use a Value Stack Model Track:

• Primary KPI moved (e.g. ticket volume down, conversion up)
• Secondary effect (e.g. reduced cost, increased repeat behavior)
• Strategic alignment (e.g. supports the retention initiative or cost-efficiency drive)

Narrative Template:

“We made one CX improvement, but saw impact across three value streams. Here’s how that change helped Ops reduce cost, helped Marketing improve conversion, and helped Product reduce time-to-adoption.”

Bonus move: Run a quarterly CX Business Impact Review, not an update. Show cumulative impact across all active frictions you’ve solved or influenced.

These aren’t just tips. They’re the foundation of becoming undeniable inside your company. Because when you speak in growth mechanics (not CX rhetoric) people stop ghosting you.

They start following your lead.

2 Frameworks to start building your business literacy

Framework 1: The Strategic Literacy Self-Assessment

If you can't confidently say yes to these, it’s time to level up:

• I know which frictions are costing us the most in revenue this quarter
• I can model the business impact of retention lifts, faster adoption, or lower support burden
• I’ve tied a CX solve directly to an active strategic initiative
• I’ve collaborated with finance to validate the ROI of a friction solve
• I’ve presented a business case without using a single CX metric

No more excuses. Your credibility depends on your fluency.

Framework 2: Translate Sentiment Into Strategy

Make the shift. From messenger to mission-critical function.

1 Thought-provoking question:

If you weren’t allowed to use the words “NPS,” “CSAT,” or “survey”...

Could you still prove the value of your CX team?

You don’t get executive priority by being passionate. You get it by being dangerous.

Dangerous because you know where the money’s leaking.

Dangerous because you speak the language of the boardroom.

Dangerous because your business case can’t be ignored.

It’s time to unlearn what the old CX guard taught you.

And start leading like someone whose job isn’t to be the voice of the customer…

…but the driver of the business.

🚀 YOUR NEXT MOVE

Stop being ghosted. Start being funded.

🔹 Download the FREE 1-Page CX Case Maker Template Build your next pitch like a growth leader.

🔹 Grab the full eBook for $29.99 Includes templates, examples, and the exact structure I use with high-growth CX teams to close internal deals and win boardroom priority.

🎧 MISSED THE LAST 2 PODCAST DROPS? FIX THAT.

Unf*cking Your CX, Episode #25: The CMO’s View - What Your Exec Team Really Thinks About CX w/ Mary Drumond

Unf*cking Your CX, Episode #24: Stop Saying CX - It’s Time to Build Intimacy w/ Ken Hughes