CX shape-shifted over the years from a conceptual afterthought to a key strategy. A recent Super Office survey found that 45.9% of companies are making CX a top business priority in the next five years.

Let’s take a look at how CX impacts a brand’s revenue and profitability, even when a customer interaction does not involve a purchase transaction. Customers consider factors like brand rating and customer service ratings when selecting a brand over a competitor. Almost 80% of people will choose a brand based on a recommendation from a trusted friend or colleague. Additionally, 93% of customers become repeat customers if they have a good experience.

We have all clicked on a headline with a catchy headline about a bad customer experience. While it’s true that bad customer experiences sometimes make headlines, customers are more likely to share positive experiences over negative ones. And those positive experience are worth their weight in gold. In fact, businesses with excellent CX can grow revenue 4%-8% over their market. And a whopping 68% of customers say they are willing to pay more for a product or service from a brand with with good customer experience. This establishes a clear link between CX and revenue.

CX is also a double-edged sword. When bad experiences happen, they tend to be costly. Approximately 61% of customers who have a bad customer experience consider switching to a competitor. These bad experiences can occur at any touchpoint in the customer journey. This may include not being able to easily locate a customer service channel, failing at a self-service instruction, waiting on hold, being transferred to multiple agents, or not having their issue resolved in the first phone call.

Here are a few strategies to consider for best in class CX:

• Make it easy for your customers to get in touch with you. Give customers engagement options like voice, chat, and self-service. This empowers your customers to contact you in their channel of choice. It also sends the message to your customers that their time, experience, and choice matters.

• Help customers help themselves. A recent ZenDesk study found that 67% of customers will try to solve a problem before calling into a support line, and 69% would prefer to wholly self-serve. Create an easy-to-locate and easy-to-read FAQ page, help center, or support forum on your website. Even though a particular customer may never call into your support line, they still experience a positive and helpful interaction with your brand’s resources.

• Qualify experiences with data. Get insight and feedback directly from your customers. Feedback mechanisms like surveys, social media engagements, and email forms hep your brand understand the positive and negative experiences your customers are facing at each touchpoint. This data helps craft informed strategies around successes and adaptations. And as a CX bonus, 77% of customers think more highly of brands that solicit feedback from customers. Talk about a win/win.