The Rise of CX Strategists in AEC

Twenty years ago, safety officers were optional in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) firms. Today, you cannot imagine running a project without them. They became a business necessity because firms recognized that safety had to be managed as a discipline, not left to chance. 

Today, client experience in AEC is at a similar inflection point. The difference is that while clients now expect a seamless, human, and responsive experience, no one truly owns the client experience inside most firms. 

This gap is where the CX Strategist role emerges, and this is what makes client experience a measurable business discipline rather than a marketing touchpoint. The CX Strategist defines how CX is managed, tracked, and embedded into daily operations, shaping the trust, growth, and retention that will define the next decade.

Why CX Matters Now

For decades, AEC firms prided themselves on technical excellence. Delivering projects on time, on budget, and with precision was the badge of honor. But the industry is changing fast, and technical skill has become table stakes. What sets firms apart today is not only the quality of the engineering but the quality of the relationship that supports it.

Clients are raising the bar in unmistakable ways. 

According to the “2025 Benchmarks, Insights, and Trends: Client Experience in the AEC Industry” report, published in collaboration with the SMPS Foundation, 78% of AEC buyers view seamless CX as a top decision factor when choosing a firm. Another 68% of clients expect real-time updates throughout projects, not just milestone reports. And 68% of architecture clients say they prefer firms known for strong communication and relationships, not just technical skill. 

The message could not be clearer. Technical expertise earns a seat at the table, but the experience of working with your firm determines whether clients stay, return, and refer.

Why Firms Need CX Strategists

The CX Strategist role is not a silver bullet. Culture never shifts because of a title. What makes the role vital is its ability to orchestrate people, technology, and accountability. Strategists convene cross-functional teams, embed governance, and translate feedback into action.

They prevent feedback from dying in silos. They train teams to prevent adoption from collapsing under skepticism. They bridge systems like CRM, feedback platforms, and business intelligence to create a 360-degree view of clients. In short, they make CX real, not ornamental.

Drawing from responses across the AEC landscape, it reveals how firms are structuring, funding, and operationalizing CX initiatives, and what top performers are doing differently.

👉 Read more insights here.

The Current State of CX in AEC

The industry is aware of the shift, but the follow-through is far behind. Nearly half (47%) of firms admit they do not have a formalized CX strategy. Of those that do, only 4.2% describe their CX program as “enculturated,” which means client experience is truly embedded into how the business operates day-to-day. Another 76% of firms report that they lack any formal CX structure.

The absence of structure creates measurable risks. Regression analysis shows that 69% of the variance in firm performance can be explained by how firms manage and measure CX efforts. Firms with clear strategies, ownership, and disciplined measurement consistently outperform those without. The difference between intention and execution is not only about missing an opportunity. It directly impacts revenue, client retention, and firm health.

This finding is visualized in the 2025 Benchmarks, Insights, and Trends: Client Experience in the AEC Industry Report, which highlights CX as a measurable driver of business performance and outlines practices that separate top-performing firms from laggards.

Additionally, our survey data illustrates this maturity gap vividly:

Even more concerning, 92% of firms do not measure the ROI of CX. In other words, they invest in experience without knowing whether it drives returns, referrals, or retention. Only 11% of firms report having a dedicated CX leader. 

And while many firms claim to pursue CX to enhance project management, only 35% of project managers actually buy into it. This disconnect between leadership vision and daily practice undermines progress.

Comparing AEC with Other Industries

The gap becomes even clearer when you compare AEC with other industries. Adoption of formal CX leadership roles is already mainstream elsewhere.

• Technology and Software: 50–70% penetration, as digital-native firms view experience strategy as a competitive edge.
• Retail and Financial Services: 40–60% penetration, driven by intense competition and digital transformation.
• Healthcare: 30–50% penetration, fueled by regulatory pressures and patient experience priorities.
• Hospitality and Restaurants: 35–55% penetration, since guest experience is at the core of differentiation.
• Professional Services (Legal, Consulting, Staffing, Accounting): 20–35% penetration, despite client relationships being central to their value.

Market Forces Creating Urgency

Three powerful forces are converging right now, and together they explain why CX is more important today than ever:

A demographic shift in leadership

Firm ownership is rapidly transferring from retiring Boomers to Gen X and Millennial leaders. These leaders expect data-driven decisions, technology-enabled workflows, and client-centric models. 

Legacy approaches that rely on personal networks and annual client surveys no longer satisfy client loyalty.

Mergers and acquisitions fragment client relationships

As firms consolidate, the client journey often fractures across teams, systems, and cultures. Without a dedicated role to unify the experience, firms risk losing key clients precisely when they most need stability.

AI and automation risk the human connection

AI and automation create efficiency in back-office tasks, but they also risk automating away human connection. If firms rely on technology without strategy, they erode the trust and empathy that differentiate them. 

Where AEC Firms Stand Today

When you look closely at the maturity of CX programs in AEC, you see a wide spectrum:

• 22.2% Not Started: No formal CX efforts. Any client experience that occurs happens by chance.
• 25% Exploring: Beginning to understand value but have not committed to a clear plan.
• 29.2% Adopting: Launched initiatives but lack structure, leadership, or integration with firm-wide goals.
• 19.4% Maturing: Formal program in place and beginning to connect CX with strategy and performance.
• 4.2% Enculturated: CX is embedded in the firm’s DNA and shapes decisions, rewards, and relationships.

The real transformation happens at the enculturated stage. At that point, CX stops being a project and becomes a principle.

Partnerships with associations can help, but they don’t create legitimacy. Legitimacy comes from success stories in the field, like executives reviewing feedback face-to-face with clients. That’s what earns credibility, and our market-facing story should lead with proof, not stamps of approval. That credibility grows even stronger when a CX Strategist connects those conversations to measurable outcomes, guiding firms from scattered efforts toward programs that drive growth and retention.

Building the Business Case for CX in AEC

For firms still in the early stages, the most effective path forward is to treat CX as a response to business problems. The process starts with defining the problem, whether it is losing repeat work, facing revenue stagnation, or struggling to grow existing accounts. Then, leaders must identify the root causes, which often turn out to be communication failures, unmet expectations, or a lack of follow-through.

The next step is assessing the impact. That means quantifying lost revenue, client churn, or internal burnout caused by CX breakdowns. For example, one firm estimated $3.6 million in annual losses due to employee churn linked to poor client management. Another calculated that improving proposal win rates from 32% to 36% would add $4.8 million in new revenue annually. These numbers create urgency.

Finally, leaders propose a CX response that directly addresses those challenges. That could mean milestone-based feedback programs, training for project managers, or systems that close the loop with clients. The goal is not to add another initiative but to show how CX solves what is broken and accelerates growth. And this is precisely where a CX Strategist becomes vital, ensuring those responses have clear ownership, structure, and accountability so strategy translates into measurable results.

What Top AEC Firms Do Differently

High-performing firms share clear habits:

• They treat CX as a business strategy, not a marketing function. 
• They secure buy-in from leadership and project managers, not only marketers. 
• Nearly 70% of top-performing firms report having a dedicated CX role or team. 
• And 74% of them achieve buy-in from regional or sector leadership, compared to just 50% of average firms.

As Peter Ducker notes, “You can’t improve what you don’t measure.”

To put this into perspective, most firms are still lagging when it comes to having a dedicated CX Strategist or team.

These firms also invest in training and feedback loops, where CX Strategists play a central role in turning client insights into action. They involve clients directly in conversations, not just in survey dashboards.  With our Client Savvy platform, you can track KPIs, NPS scores, and feedback request statuses (such as accepted, declined, opened, or abandoned) alongside average CXI scores that met expectations. 

They show quick wins, whether saving a client relationship, earning a referral, or preventing scope creep. Small victories build trust and momentum, proving that CX is more than theory. 

The Moment for CX Leadership is Now

The AEC industry is at an inflection point. Technical excellence remains essential, but it no longer guarantees loyalty or growth. Clients want a frictionless, responsive, and human experience at every interaction. The firms that invest in CX Strategists today will protect trust, increase retention, and capture the opportunities that others miss.

Just as safety officers became standard in every firm, CX Strategists will soon be indispensable. The question is whether your firm will wait until the client demands force the change, or whether you will lead by making CX a core discipline now.

At ClearlyRated, through our Client Savvy platform, we see firsthand how firms transform when they take this step. We believe the next decade belongs to those who treat CX not as a project, but as a principle, one supervised by strategists who protect relationships as the foundation of growth.