We celebrated CustomerGauge's Fifth Annual Account Experience (AX) Awards!
And it was one of our most exciting years yet, with buzz built in anticipation over which customers were taking home the gold.
From nominees including Coca-Cola FEMSA to Mycronic, the race to be named an AX Award winner had never been fiercer.
As always, CustomerGauge Co-Founder and CEO, Adam Dorrell, and Co-Founder and COO, Camilla Scholten, took to the "stage" live from Amsterdam and hosted another fabulous Awards night.
So, what are you waiting for?!
Find out which world-class B2B Customer Experience (CX) programs were crowned this year's AX Award winners.
Account Experience Award Criteria
Each year, we give out Awards based on our Account Experience framework: Revenue Coverage Rate, Account Response Rate, and Closing the Loop Speed.
These metrics represent the core of a successful B2B CX program, measuring how well companies listen to, respond to, and act on customer feedback.
Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) vs. All Industries
We've continued our approach of creating designated award categories depending on the types of businesses nominated.
This year, we maintained two different award categories: Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) vs. All Industries.
We believe our CPG customers operate at an impressive level when it comes to customer experience programs.
In fact, CPG companies have achieved:
44% account response rate (up from 33% five years ago)
89% closing the loop within 48 hours
80%+ promoter follow-up rates
These benchmarks significantly outpace the industry median of 22% account response rate.
For every AX Award given (Revenue Coverage Rate, Account Response Rate, and Closing the Loop Speed), there was one winner for CPG and one winner for All Industries.
Revenue Coverage Award Winners
Consumer Packaged Goods: Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Inc.
Accepting the Revenue Coverage Award for CPG was the team from Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Inc., who achieved phenomenal performance by covering over 90% of their revenue through their customer feedback program.
All Industries: Mycronic
Accepting the Revenue Coverage Award for All Industries on behalf of Mycronic was Vanessa Mauss, Senior Program Manager. Their program, called "Bridge," achieved an impressive 90% revenue coverage of their customer base.
Account Response Rate Award Winners
Consumer Packaged Goods: Coca-Cola FEMSA
Juan Pablo De Velasco accepted the Account Response Rate Award for CPG on behalf of Coca-Cola FEMSA, the largest Coca-Cola bottler operating across ten countries and reaching more than 280 million consumers.
All Industries: Sutherland
Accepting the Account Response Rate Award for All Industries on behalf of Sutherland was Christiane Laframboise, Vice President Customer Experience, who emphasized that response rate has become ingrained in their culture alongside Net Promoter Score (NPS).
Close the Loop Award Winners
Consumer Packaged Goods: Coca-Cola HBC
Stuart Ward, Head of Customer Capability, accepted the Close the Loop Award for CPG on behalf of Coca-Cola HBC. The company has completed over one million closed loops and maintains an obsessive focus on responding within 48 hours.
All Industries: NSW Department of Industry
Jill Laurie, Service Delivery Manager, accepted the Close the Loop Award for All Industries on behalf of the NSW Department of Industry, alongside team members Emily, Matt, and Sarah, who work tirelessly on service recovery.
Dan Lang Culture Champion Memorial Award
This year, we renamed our Culture Champion Award in memory of Dan Lang from Sutherland, who passed away in 2024.
Dan was a passionate advocate for customer-centric culture and fighting "watermelon feedback" — results that look good on the outside but are problematic underneath.
Culture Champion Award Winner: Briggs Equipment
Gemma Beddow and team demonstrated exceptional culture creation through their program that includes customer boards throughout their building, monthly recognition, charity donations for responses, and organization-wide engagement.
Best in Class Award
The Best in Class Award recognizes the overall top performer who excels across all categories: Revenue Coverage, Account Response Rate, and Closing the Loop Speed.
Overall Best in Class Award Winner: Coca-Cola HBC!
Accepting the Best in Class Award on behalf of Coca-Cola HBC was Stuart Ward, who thanked their customers for giving feedback that allows them to continuously improve.
Peer-Nominated Categories
For the first time, the AX Awards introduced peer-nominated categories, with CPG Experience Council Chairman Nigel Tordoff serving as judge.
CustomerGauge Specialist of the Year: Cam Ballard, Viking Masek
Recognized for seamlessly integrating CustomerGauge with Salesforce from day one.
Transformers Team Award: Cambridge University Press & Assessment
Vanessa Milan and team achieved a remarkable 20+ point NPS increase over four years at one of the world's oldest companies.
Culture Creators Team Award: CyberCX
David Lam and Anita Chai demonstrated that customer experience is truly embedded across all 1,400 employees.
Best Performing Country Operation: Nigerian Bottling Company (Coca-Cola HBC)
Chris Christiodoulakis and Goran Sladic led their entire organization to achieve exceptional performance across all metrics.
Experience Leader of the Year: Iris Boon, Heineken
Recognized for building a community-driven approach across 57 countries, all using common metrics and best practices.
Congratulations to All of Our AX Award Winners and Nominees!
A huge thank you to all the nominees and winners who continue to raise the bar for B2B customer experience.
Your dedication to listening to customers, closing the loop, and driving real business impact inspires the entire CX community.
🎧 Interested in hearing more about how our winners have achieved their CX success? Full interviews with award winners will be available on our website and The Account Experience Podcast!
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