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I’ve been working full-time on developing customer experience for 15 years, and I’ve noticed that certain topics—and certain “mental traps” about customer experience—keep repeating themselves. These issues are not industry-specific; rather, they occur across a wide variety of business environments.

Quite often, toward the end of a management workshop or discussion, someone will say something like: “This all sounds important, but first we need to get our core processes in order. Only then can we start thinking about customer experience.”

But how should this be interpreted? Does it mean customer experience sounds important but is ultimately just a “nice-to-have”? Or does it mean that the core processes are somehow separate from the customer experience? There may be several interpretations—but let’s focus on this comment about core processes, because it implies that customer experience is not part of them. But is that really the case?

In truth, customer experience is created within the core processes—not outside them. The idea of postponing CX development until the core processes are “fixed” suggests that I, as a CX advocate, haven’t successfully conveyed the fundamentals.

Customer experience is about functionality, ease, connection, and emotion. Functionality is the foundation—and that foundation is embedded in processes. It’s pointless to try to build any kind of “frosting” if the cake itself is unfinished.

But then, what kind of foundation is good enough? Does it mean that the product is delivered on time? That quality meets expectations? That complaints are responded to? Or is it something else?

We must remember that customer expectations are constantly evolving. Today’s surprise is tomorrow’s minimum. Expectations are also shaped by experiences with other industries and companies. So, customer experience must be embedded within the processes, not layered on top of them.

But what does that really mean?

When we talk about core processes, we’re referring to key areas like customer acquisition, account management, order handling, and delivery. These processes often include typical friction points that cause problems—and those problems lead to bad experiences for customers. In other words, internal process failures manifest as poor customer experiences.

Customers don’t spend their time wondering how a company is doing or how its internal processes are flowing. They’re not interested in the company—except in the moments when they interact with it. That’s precisely why it’s not enough to optimize internal processes only from the company’s perspective. The process as experienced by the customer is the one that matters most.

Companies spend an enormous amount of time in meetings to improve processes, yet they often forget to ask: how do these processes actually meet the customer?

Customer experience should not be treated as separate from core processes—it must be designed into them.

This means incorporating elements into core processes that foster not just functionality, but also ease, connection, and emotion. These dimensions offer new ways to stand out and build competitive advantage. They must be deliberately embedded in processes—not treated as “extras.”

As long as customer experience is not part of the core processes, it remains disconnected—and fails to drive competitive advantage. It’s not about magic or flattery. It’s about creating those small moments where the customer feels something:

• the company reached out at just the right moment

• the partner had already thought ahead

• customer service recognized them personally

• the company anticipated their needs

• handling a complaint was easy and taken seriously

• feedback triggered real follow-up

These are not “extras”—they are examples of how to bring the customer’s experience into the heart of core business processes.

Customer experience is not an add-on. It is a systematic, sustainable way to create cost savings, loyalty, growth, and long-term business success.

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