The stakes have never been higher for SaaS companies when it comes to customer experience (CX). Today, a single negative interaction can cost you a lot. According to research, 52% of customers will switch to a competitor after just one poor experience.
For SaaS companies, it’s essential to advance CX maturity. In this article, we explain CX maturity and outline the milestones you need to follow to evolve your CX.
The Importance of Advancing CX Maturity in SaaS
Most SaaS leaders grasp the importance of advancing CX maturity. But understanding alone won’t drive results. Some are already seizing the opportunity, while others are starting to lag.
While some implement AI virtual assistants and predictive analytics, many organizations remain stuck with basic, reactive support. Those who don’t advance their CX will struggle to meet evolving customer expectations.
While some SaaS companies merely grasp the importance of transformation, the innovators are already investing in advanced CX systems. The message is clear: it’s time to get started.
The Key Benefit of Advancing CX
As your CX matures, it should become more personalized. According to Forbes, 46% of customers will buy more when given a personalized CX. That’s nearly half your customer base. Face it: you’re leaving revenue on the table if you’re not advancing your CX maturity.
There’s a gap between what customers want and what they get—and the gap is widening. 55% of consumers want knowledgeable staff (Forbes). But many SaaS companies struggle to meet this demand. Their data remains fragmented. Their systems need to be better integrated. This creates barriers for teams to be able to give customers the informed, personalized support they want.
The AI Imperative
The landscape is shifting rapidly—you’ve probably felt it. IBM reports that 42% of enterprise-scale companies have deployed AI in their business. Another 40% are exploring or experimenting with AI. By considering how AI fits into your CX maturity journey, you’ll be best placed to keep step with your competitors and provide what is steadily becoming an industry standard.
There’s a rush toward automation to resolve customer issues. Yet, 40% of consumers prefer humans over chatbots and automated systems. It’s not about choosing between human and automated support. Instead, it’s about understanding how to advance your CX maturity to leverage both.
Customer Experience Vs. User Experience
In marketing, the terms CX and UX are often used interchangeably. They’re actually very different terms. Let’s briefly explain customer experience vs. user experience.
Essentially, CX focuses on the customer journey. It spans curiosity-driven first encounters to loyalty-driven repeat purchases or subscriptions. UX broadly measures satisfaction with your product and its interface.
Understanding CX Maturity Levels: Where Do You Stand?
Before diving into transformation strategies, look at how mature your CX system is. We’ll describe four maturity levels. Think of it as a GPS coordinate for your CX journey. You need to know your starting point to chart a practical course forward.
Level 1: Basic Support (The Reactive Phase)
At this level, SaaS companies operate in firefighting mode. Here’s what that looks like:
Support is primarily reactive
No structured approach to customer data collection
Automation does not exist (or barely exists)
They treat customer interactions as isolated events
No consistent measure of customer satisfaction
Most SaaS companies start here, but naturally you should want to progress and improve as you continue to know and understand your customer base. Remember: more than half of your customers will move to a competitor after a single bad experience, so moving beyond the reactive phase is a necessity.
If you’re wondering where to start, take a look at what your customer churn rate is. Understanding churn is especially useful when paired with insights into how and why customers do business with you. This brings us to the next phase.
Level 2: Structured Engagement (The Process Phase)
At this stage, companies begin to implement systematic approaches. You’ll see the following begin to take shape:
Established, consistently-followed support processes
Basic customer data collection across touchpoints
Automatic handling of routine tasks and common inquiries
Regular measurement of customer satisfaction
Visible attempts to personalize customer interactions
This is where many organizations currently operate, but there is still a lot of room for growth.
Regular customer satisfaction measurements are a hallmark of this phase. One essential CX metric is the Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), which ranges from 0 to 100.
To calculate CSAT, ask your customers how satisfied they are with your product or service. Assign a numerical score from 1-5, 3 being neutral and 4-5 being positive. Divide the total positive responses by the total number of survey responses. You’ll want to see continued improvement in this metric.
Level 3: Proactive Optimization (The Strategic Phase)
This is where CX begins to drive business value. Here’s how to recognize this phase:
The market is rushing toward this level of maturity. Companies now spend over half their marketing budgets on personalization. Those operating at Level 3 will capture a significant share of the market.
If you’re at this level then you’ll want to concentrate on staying ahead and continuing to provide an exceptional experience. That’s what’s needed in a market where sophisticated CX is becoming the norm, not the exception.
Level 4: Predictive Experience (The Transformative Phase)
This is the gold standard of CX maturity, and it looks like this:
At this level, you’ll capitalize on the 46% of customers who spend more on personalized CX. To this end, 42% of enterprise companies are already deploying AI.
More advanced strategies take AI modeling one step further using Cohere’s fine tuning embedding models. This leads to better-performing AI models that help them understand context and intent better.
Level 4 maturity is thus becoming the new competitive battleground.
The Business Case for Advancing Customer Experience Maturity
For SaaS companies today, advancing CX maturity isn’t a luxury—it’s a survival requirement. Most business leaders grasp this. However, many struggle to make a strong investment case. The following points might just turn the tide in favor of better CX:
1. Revenue and Growth
The connection between CX maturity and revenue isn’t theoretical—it’s measurable. Mature CX systems lead to higher customer lifetime value and better retention rates. A personalized customer experience means customers spend more and stay longer. Even better, they become advocates who bring in new business through referrals.
2. Beyond Traditional ROI
Standard ROI calculations often miss the snowball effect of mature CX systems. When you implement sophisticated CX, your support costs drop. Your marketing spend becomes more efficient. Word-of-mouth drives new business. Early warning systems catch unhappy customers before there’s any chance of it escalating. Moreover, your team works smarter with better tools.
3. The Price of Waiting
While you stand still, your competitors advance their CX maturity, and it gets harder to catch up. The gap between leaders and laggards widens, and the cost of implementation goes up. The sooner you start to gather customer data, analyze it and implement your improvements better, both for your costs and for your team’s motivation.
4. The New Data Economy
Today’s customers understand the value of their personal information. They expect real benefits in exchange for sharing their data. SaaS companies that use customer data wisely earn more trust and get more information in return.
Essential Milestones in CX Evolution
If you want to rise above most SaaS leaders, you’ll make every effort to advance your CX But where exactly should you focus your efforts? Let’s explore the key milestones that will transform your CX. Here are some proven stepping stones. Follow these to advance your CX maturity.
From Manual to Automated Support
You’ll know you’ve hit your first major milestone when you see your team spending less time on run-of-the-mill tickets and more time on high-ARR client escalations and your overall strategy.
You should also see a shift from email-based support to specialized platforms. This isn’t only about getting organized, it’s about gaining insights. These insights will change the way you serve your customers.
No more digging through emails to find customer history. Those days are behind you when you set up a solid knowledge base with automated workflows and a CSP with automated playbooks.
True professionals want to be challenged by complex business cases and customer issues. Hit this milestone, and your team and customers love you.
Data-Driven Decision-Making
Here’s where things start to get exciting. Wouldn’t it be amazing to know what your customers want before they ask for it? When you start using standardized customer satisfaction scores and predictive analytics, that’s exactly what happens.
The team stops acting like reactive firefighters. Instead, they become proactive problem-solvers.
The best part—your product decisions become bulletproof when they’re backed by real usage patterns and customer feedback. No more guessing what to build or where to invest. Your customers will tell you through their actions and outcomes.
The AI Integration Journey
The real magic happens when you find the sweet spot between automation and the human touch. Start with intelligent chatbots for routine queries. Remember to focus on how AI can enhance, not replace, your team’s capabilities.
Watch as your support staff turns from ticket-takers to strategic advisors. With AI handling routine tasks, your team can focus on human tasks where they excel. Those tasks are to build relationships and solve complex problems.
Breaking Down Data Silos
Your customer data is only as good as your ability to use it. Break down those departmental walls and create a single source of truth! You’ll soon see customer insights that were previously impossible to spot.
Imagine the power you could wield if your sales, marketing, product, and support teams used the same playbook. That’s what you can expect when you eliminate data silos. The result is that every team member becomes an expert in your customers’ needs and experiences.
In Brief: Your Next Steps in Advancing CX Maturity
We’ve covered a lot of ground in understanding CX maturity—from basic support to predictive experiences. But knowing isn’t the same as doing.
So, where should you start? Begin by honestly assessing your current CX maturity level. Examine your support processes, data collection, and team skills. Don’t worry if you find yourself at Level 1 or 2—what matters is your commitment to evolution.
Immediate Actions
Take these immediate actions:
Map your current customer journey to identify pain points.
Check your tech stack for integration options.
Ask your team about their biggest customer service challenges.
Review your customer feedback over the last six months.
It’s a Journey, Not a Race
Remember, advancing your CX maturity isn’t a race—it’s a journey. Work towards one milestone at a time. Celebrate small wins. Make exceptional customer service your guiding light and customer satisfaction your North Star.
But don’t sleep on it. You’ve seen the numbers and more importantly, you now have a roadmap for evolution. The gap between customer expectations and basic support will continue to widen.
The question isn’t “Should you advance your CX maturity?” – it’s “When can you begin?”
Your customers are ready for a more sophisticated experience. Are you ready to deliver it?
Victor Antiu is the Marketing Manager at Custify. With nearly 10 years experience, his focus is product marketing and B2B inbound strategy. When he’s not trying to fix websites and automate processes, he’s traveling and sailing around the world.
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