برچسب: CFO

  • Alchemer’s CFO on the keys to getting finance backing behind your CX initiatives

    Alchemer’s CFO on the keys to getting finance backing behind your CX initiatives


    When CFOs push back on customer experience (CX) investments, it’s rarely because they don’t care—it’s because the business case for CX isn’t framed in the financial terms they trust. 

    In the latest episode of The Business of Feedback, Alchemer CMO Bo Bandy sits down with CFO Jove Oakley to explore how CX leaders can break through that disconnect. Together, they outline three practical steps to bridge the gap with Finance, align meaningful metrics, and turn strong CX ideas into fully funded initiatives. 

    Step 1: Speak the CFO’s language—business outcomes 

    Jove’s #1 piece of advice?  
    “Find a partner in the CFO org. Spend time understanding what they’re tasked with. They care about the same things you do—they just speak a different language.” 

    Many CX leaders start with metrics like NPS or CSAT. But as Jove explains, “NPS is just a trended line. The key is tying it to business outcomes that matter—like retention, expansion, and revenue growth.” 

    Instead of starting with customer complaints or experience gaps, start by asking Finance: 
    What problems are you trying to solve this year? 

    It could be improving renewal rates, increasing customer lifetime value (LTV), or reducing churn. Once you know what Finance is focused on, you can position CX as a solution to that challenge, not just another expense. 

    💡 Pro tip: If you’re aligning CX to LTV, break the metric down. Focus on the controllable components—like retention rate, expansion potential, and customer acquisition—that CX can actually influence. 

    Step 2: Show the path to measurable results 

    Your CFO doesn’t need a miracle, they need a clear, measurable roadmap. 

    Jove’s advice? “Tell me what you’re going to measure, how we’ll track it over time, and when I can expect to see progress, even if the full payoff takes two or three years.” 

    That means: 

    • Setting baseline metrics (e.g., current NPS or churn rates) 
    • Defining target outcomes (e.g., 3% retention lift) 
    • Mapping the leading indicators (e.g., reduction in support tickets, more promoters in key segments) 
    • And most importantly: Correlating CX improvements to business impact 

    CX pros often overlook neutral NPS respondents, but as Bo and Jove discussed, that group might actually have the lowest retention rate. Focus on them, and your ROI story becomes even stronger. 

    Step 3: Understand total cost and deliver ROI 

    To get a “yes” from Finance, show that you’ve done your homework. 

    Jove wants to see: 

    • Total cost of ownership (TCO), including vendors, internal resources, and opportunity costs 
    • A realistic timeline for returns 
    • A projected ROI—ideally 3–4x over the program’s lifecycle 

    He’s also evaluating scalability. “Don’t bring me a point solution that solves one problem today but needs to be replaced or expanded in a year,” he says. CFOs want tools that grow with the business and can support multiple teams—marketing, product, HR, and beyond. 

    Bonus: Demonstrate how AI adds real value 

    AI can be a major accelerator, especially when it comes to summarizing unstructured feedback, surfacing insights faster, and democratizing access to data. But it needs to be tied to value. 

    If your CX platform includes AI: 

    • Highlight how it reduces time-to-insight 
    • Emphasize executive visibility (dashboards that your CFO will actually use) 
    • Address security and data governance concerns 

    Jove notes, “The tools I never question are the ones that give me dashboards I open every day. If your platform gives me visibility into key metrics without needing a meeting? That’s a win.” 

    Ready to watch the full conversation?  

    This blog just scratches the surface. To hear the full, candid discussion between Bo Bandy and Jove Oakley—including real-world examples, personal insights, and practical tips—watch the complete webinar

    👉 Watch the full webinar here 

    Looking for other resources? You can also watch previous episodes of the Business of Feedback, here. Additionally, check out our latest e-guide, titled The CX Leaders Guide to the CFO



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  • The CX leaders’ blueprint to winning over the CFO

    The CX leaders’ blueprint to winning over the CFO


    As a CX leader, you clearly know how essential customer experience is to long-term business success. But knowing isn’t enough, especially when you’re seeking funding, headcount, or executive support. 

    To make real progress, you need more than a compelling narrative. You need a powerful business case. And that means speaking the language of your CFO. 

    Here’s the good news:  bridging the gap between customer experience and finance is not only possible—it’s one of the smartest moves you can make. 

    Below are five reasons why every CX leader should build a strong partnership with their finance team: 

    The following post references our latest e-guide, “The CX Leader’s Guide to the CFO: A how-to workbook to build a finance-friendly CX business case”. To download the free e-guide, click here! 

    1. Strategic expertise that strengthens your program 

    Let’s be honest, most CX leaders aren’t financial experts. That’s okay. But to get your program funded and prioritized, you need alignment with company-wide strategy and budget realities. 

    That’s where the CFO comes in. A strong finance partner provides strategic guidance on where CX fits into broader business goals. They also help evaluate cost structures, frame the investment conversation, and align your CX program with key priorities like growth, risk management, and long-term value creation. According to McKinsey, companies that align customer experience with strategic priorities see 15–20% improvement in sales conversion rates and reduce churn.  

    Pro tip: Invite Finance into the planning phase of your next initiative, not just the pitch. Their input early on will help your program land better later. 

    2. New insights from familiar metrics 

    You might already track metrics like NPS or CSAT. But finance leaders think in terms of metrics like customer lifetime value (CLV), acquisition costs, or average recurring revenue (ARR). 

    By collaborating with your CFO, you’ll gain access to new layers of analysis that connect CX results to business impact. Want to prove your program reduces churn, increases retention, or drives revenue per customer? Finance has the data and tools to help you tell that story. 

    Bottom line: Better insights lead to better decisions and stronger top-line results. 

    3. Executive advocacy opens doors and broadens impact 

    In organizations without a Chief Experience Officer, having a CX-savvy CFO can be a game-changer. 

    Your CFO acts as a powerful advocate across the executive team, the board, and investors. When your finance team champions CX, it brings legitimacy, visibility, and urgency to your initiatives—and increases the likelihood that you’ll get the resources you need. 

    They can: 

    • Elevate CX in cross-functional discussions 
    • Help prioritize it within business-wide strategies 
    • Advocate for budget and technology investments 
    • Link CX efforts to enterprise goals and ROI 

    4. A culture that puts the customer first 

    It’s one thing to say your customer-centric—it’s another to show it at every level of the organization. 

    According to Forrester, customer-obsessed companies are 4x more likely to achieve 10%+ revenue growth year over year. Building that kind of culture starts with buy-in from the top, including the CFO. 

    When your finance team backs CX, it sends a strong signal to the rest of the business: the customer experience matters. This type of alignment helps everyone—from product to support to marketing—rally around delivering consistently excellent experiences. 

    5. Program (and job) security in tough times  

    Economic uncertainty. Budget scrutiny. Rising cost pressure. In challenging business environments, customer experience programs are often vulnerable to cuts, unless the CFO sees them as a source of long-term value. 

    A CFO who understands the ROI of CX is less likely to view it as a soft cost. Instead, they’ll advocate for protecting (or even expanding) CX budgets because they know the payoff: higher retention, stronger margins, and increased revenue. 

    Continue reading  

    There’s never been a more important time to invest in customer experience—and right now is a critical moment for CX leaders to build the kind of business case that drives real investment and lasting impact. 

    Want to keep reading? Download The CX Leader’s Guide to the CFO: A How-To Workbook to Build a Finance-Friendly CX Business Case”. 

    In this practical workbook, you’ll learn: 

    • Why aligning with Finance is essential to proving CX value 
    • How to translate CX metrics into financial outcomes 
    • What CFOs care about and how to speak their language 
    • 5 key financial KPIs every CX leader should understand 
    • A step-by-step framework to build a winning CX business case 

    Or if you want to see how Alchemer can help you build and scale your CX programs, checkout out some of our other resources or request a demo



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