Benchmarks are B*llocks. Mostly.
Benchmarks are a staple of customer experience and brand tracking programmes. They promise context, comparison and a quick answer to the question every insight team eventually faces: is our score good or bad?
But in market research, benchmarks are rarely as robust as they appear. Differences in methodology, category expectations and cultural response styles can turn a seemingly objective comparison into little more than noise.
In this article, Andrew Wiseman explores why CX and NPS benchmarks often mislead organisations – and why the most valuable insight usually comes from understanding your own customers, rather than comparing your scores with everyone else’s.