In Conversation with Mark Squires: All About the Canvas Index
Written by Sophie
We sat down with our CEO Mark Squires learn more about his vision for our new and innovative benchmarking product, the Canvas Index.
What actually is the Canvas Index?
The Canvas Index is a comprehensive benchmarking survey that measures KPIs across more than 100 top brands. The data is summarised in a simple, intuitive interactive Canvas dashboard, where users can quickly and easily see how they stack up, explore their strengths and gaps, and understand exactly what actions they need to take to move their brand up the leaderboard.
Why have you set up the Canvas Index?
It just made perfect sense. We’re already in the business of Voice of the Customer, which is all about looking inward, but we know that this only tells part of the story. Customers compare every touchpoint, every interaction to the best experiences they’ve had with other brands elsewhere, so it’s just as important for our clients to see how they measure up externally.
This isn’t our first rodeo either – we’ve run plenty of benchmarking studies in the past but now we have our own software (Canvas) which has made it really simple for us to create our own methodology, complete with a supporting dashboard full of intuitive, AI-powered features.
There are loads of companies doing benchmarking. What makes the Canvas Index different?
A few key things. Most benchmarking studies focus on either brand metrics or customer experience, but we bring the two together and include our own CX Principle questions that explain what creates a standout experience. This means users see not just how people perceive their brand, but how well the experience actually delivers. To keep things simple, we do all the complex modelling behind the scenes to create a single score that clearly explains a brand’s position and pinpoints which actions will have the biggest impact on performance.
Secondly and importantly our Canvas Index is fairly priced. Online research is really cheap these days, so it blows my mind that some benchmarking companies still charge astronomical fees for what is essentially just a simple survey. We keep it affordable, because meaningful insights shouldn’t cost a fortune.
Which brands are included in the Canvas Index?
Because of our heritage, we’ve chosen to focus on the financial services sector as well as the healthcare sector for the first run of the Canvas Index. We’ve also thrown in the top 20 performing brands to provide additional context and inspiration for what great really looks like. We plan to expand the sector list over time and we’re always open to including new brands so, get in touch if you have a suggestion!
Fun question to end on – if you could be any brand who would you be?
Probably Nike. Anyone who knows me knows I’m full of energy (you can often find me on a bike at 5am) and I’m all about taking calculated risks to drive the business forward, test new ideas, and push for innovation so ‘Just Do It’ is a pretty good mantra for me.
To find out more, go to www.watermelonresearch.com/canvas-index