There are countless definitions of customer experience (CX), and if we combine them all, we might arrive at something like this:

“CX is the sum of the interactions, perceptions,

and feelings the customer has with your company.”

 

At first glance, this might seem like a solid definition—but it’s fundamentally flawed. Most definitions of CX are inside-out, meaning they reflect a company’s perspective rather than the customer’s. To see why this matters, let’s use an example:

Imagine you’re an airline, and you define customer experience based on the journey you directly control. You might assume the customer experience looks something like this:

• o   Buy a ticket
• o   Check-in
• o   Board the plane
• o   Fly on the plane
• o   Leave the plane
• o   Collect baggage

However, from the customer’s perspective, the experience is far more complex and looks something like this:

 

• o   Decide to take a trip
• o   Research flights
• o   Buy the ticket
• o   Book the hotel
• o   Book the rental car
• o   Pack
• o   Travel to the airport
• o   Go through check-in and security
• o   Spend time in the airport
• o   Board the plane
• o   Fly on the plane
• o   Leave the plane
• o   Pass through immigration
• o   Collect baggage
• o   Leave the airport
• o   Travel to the hotel
• o   Check into the hotel

Many of these steps are outside the airline’s direct control, but they are still part of the customer’s overall experience. The mistake is assuming that the interactions a customer has with your company are the entirety of the experience. They’re not.

A more accurate definition

To better reflect reality, customer experience should be defined as:

“The sum of the interactions, perceptions,

and feelings a person has during the achievement of a goal or outcome.”

 

This definition shifts the focus from what happens between the customer and the company to the customer’s broader journey in achieving their goal.

Why this matters

When you recognize that your company is just one piece of the customer’s overall journey, it changes everything about how you:

Ø  Map customer experiences

Ø  Analyze pain points

Ø  Improve customer outcomes

By adopting an outside-in perspective, you’ll stop viewing CX as a series of isolated touchpoints with your company and start seeing it as part of a larger, goal-oriented experience. This mindset shift fundamentally changes how we approach CX design. Customers don’t organize their lives around your company. Their experience revolves around them—not you.

 

The Big Takeaway

When you redefine customer experience as a person’s interactions, perceptions, and feelings during their journey to achieve a goal, you’ll transform how you approach CX. It’s the difference between designing with the customer at the center versus designing around your company.