CFI Group
CFI Group is a privately held customer experience measurement firm founded in 1988, applying its proprietary ACSI cause-and-effect methodology to measure satisfaction for U.S. federal agencies and enterprise clients. It operates globally with offices in the US, Sweden, and Italy.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1988
- HeadquartersAnn Arbor, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What CFI Group does
CFI Group is a privately held customer experience measurement company founded in 1988 and headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The firm measures customer, citizen, and employee satisfaction using its proprietary American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) methodology—a cause-and-effect statistical framework for which it is the only US-licensed custom provider in both the government and business sectors. Its product portfolio centers on ACSI-based consulting services and ongoing measurement programs, supplemented by sector solutions for federal government and private enterprises, vertical modules (QJourney for journey mapping, MortgageSAT, Higher Education Solutions), an online predictive analytics dashboard, and annual benchmark indices including the Contact Center Satisfaction Index (CCSI), Government Contact Center Satisfaction Index (GCCSI), Credit Union Satisfaction Index (CUSI), and Bank Satisfaction Barometer (BSB).
The firm serves two primary customer segments: U.S. federal government agencies—reached primarily through an exclusive partnership with Federal Consulting Group (FCG) covering approximately 40 agencies and departments—and enterprise businesses in retail, financial services, telecommunications, and insurance, with named clients including Best Buy, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA, and Radial (formerly eBay Enterprise, covering 100+ retail brands). Operating geographies span North America (US headquarters) and Europe (Sweden and Italy offices), with a claimed four-continent footprint. CFI Group is CCPA- and EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework-compliant, enabling cross-border survey data handling for federal and international engagements.
The business model combines professional services (custom research, survey design, data analysis, consulting) with subscription-style recurring measurement programs, distributed through direct enterprise field sales and the FCG channel partnership. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is engaged via request-info contact forms. The firm is led by CEO Sheri Petras and founder/Chairman Dr. Claes Fornell, the creator of the ACSI methodology, and in November 2025 expanded its board with three new directors to support strategic growth.
CFI Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CFI Group
- Legal name
- CFI Group
- Website
- https://cfigroup.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1988
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- CFI Group is a privately held customer experience measurement firm founded in 1988, applying its proprietary ACSI cause-and-effect methodology to measure satisfaction for U.S. federal agencies and enterprise clients. It operates globally with offices in the US, Sweden, and Italy.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CFI Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Customer Experience Measurement Consulting
- NAICS
- Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Customer Experience (CX) & Voice-of-Customer Analytics (BPAHALAK)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Customer Experience (CX) & Digital Experience (BPAHAEAC)
Keywords
Where CFI Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ann Arbor
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
CFI Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Consulting Services: CFI Group provides consulting services to help organizations measure and improve customer, citizen, and employee satisfaction using ACSI methodology. Services include custom research, survey design, data analysis, and actionable recommendations for improving satisfaction scores.
- Measurement Programs: Ongoing satisfaction measurement programs with dedicated teams providing end-to-end management and administration. Programs are tailored to specific client needs and provide actionable insights.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
CFI Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CFI Group is a customer satisfaction measurement and consulting firm that applies its proprietary American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) cause-and-effect methodology to measure and improve customer, citizen, and employee satisfaction for U.S. federal government agencies and private enterprises. It delivers end-to-end programs — including survey design, data collection, analysis, benchmarking, and actionable recommendations — through dedicated consulting teams, sector-specific solution suites for Government and Business, and an online predictive analytics dashboard.
Product overview
CFI Group is a customer satisfaction measurement company offering a unified platform centered on its proprietary American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) methodology. The core technology applies cause-and-effect analytics to survey data, linking satisfaction drivers to financial outcomes. The product portfolio includes sector-specific solutions for Government (citizen, employee engagement, website, contact center satisfaction) and Business (customer satisfaction, employee engagement), supplemented by specialized modules including QJourney (customer journey mapping), MortgageSAT (mortgage sector), and Higher Education Solutions. CFI Group also produces annual benchmark indices including CCSI, GCCSI, CUSI, and BSB. The platform includes an online dashboard with predictive analytics capabilities and integrates with existing data collection systems.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ACSI (American Customer Satisfaction Index): A proprietary, cause-and-effect methodology for measuring customer satisfaction, developed in partnership with the American Customer Satisfaction Index. CFI Group is the only company in the United States licensed to apply customized ACSI methodology.
Products and services
- Solutions for Government Comprehensive suite of citizen, employee, and customer satisfaction measurement solutions for U.S. federal government agencies, including Citizen Satisfaction, Employee Engagement, Website Satisfaction, Contact Center Satisfaction, Qualitative Research, and Custom Research modules, delivered using the proprietary ACSI cause-and-effect methodology.
- Solutions for Business Customer satisfaction measurement and consulting solutions for private-sector businesses, including Customer Satisfaction, Employee Engagement, Website Satisfaction, Contact Center Satisfaction, Qualitative Research, and Custom Research modules, using customized ACSI methodology and an online dashboard with predictive analytics.
- MortgageSAT Specialized customer satisfaction measurement solution designed for mortgage lenders and financial services providers, building on the ACSI methodology to benchmark and diagnose borrower satisfaction.
- Higher Education Solutions Campus experience measurement solutions for students, faculty, and staff using the ACSI methodology, including survey design, sampling, and predictive analytics tailored to educational institutions.
- QJourney Customer Mapping Customer journey mapping tool that helps organizations — particularly public-sector agencies — understand and visualize the complete customer experience across touchpoints, boosting comprehension of the citizen journey.
- ACSI Methodology Licensing & Customized Measurement Programs Licensed application of the proprietary American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) cause-and-effect methodology to measure customer, citizen, and employee satisfaction, recognized for superior precision, diagnostic approach, and linkage to financial results; delivered as ongoing measurement programs with dedicated teams.
Quantifiable outcome
- Government agencies partnering with CFI/FCG achieve ACSI scores 10+ points higher than average Federal Government score (74.7 vs 64.4)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use CFI Group
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
CFI Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature3 records
CFI Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Federal Consulting Group (FCG)corePartnership between CFI Group and Federal Consulting Group to help government agencies measure citizen satisfaction using ACSI methodology. Since 2011, agencies working with CFI/FCG consistently achieve ACSI scores 10+ points higher than the Federal Government average. The partnership serves 40 different federal agencies and departments.
- American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)coreCFI Group is the founding partner of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) and the only company within the United States licensed to apply customized ACSI methodology in both government and business sectors. ACSI is the gold-standard metric for measuring customer satisfaction established in 1994.
- RadialminorPartnership with Radial (formerly eBay Enterprise) for retail customer satisfaction research. CFI Group and Radial conduct quarterly retail reports analyzing consumer preferences, fulfillment options, and shopping behavior.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
CFI Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Qualtrics: XM category leader with survey-based and experience management offerings spanning customer, employee, and product experience. Closely comparable to CFI Group in satisfaction measurement methodology and enterprise/government customer overlap.
- Medallia: Enterprise CX and VoC platform with experience management across customer, employee, and citizen journeys. Comparable to CFI Group because both serve CX measurement use cases for large enterprises and government, though Medallia is a broader SaaS platform rather than a methodology-anchored consultancy.
- Verint (CX/Voice of Customer): Enterprise engagement analytics vendor with a dedicated VoC/CX portfolio (incorporating legacy ForeSee). Overlaps with CFI Group in customer satisfaction measurement, benchmarking, and contact center satisfaction analytics.
Direct peers
- InMoment: CX intelligence and VoC platform combining surveys, text analytics, and consulting services for enterprise and public sector clients. Direct competitor in CX measurement and analytics, with similar mix of platform and professional services.
- Walker Information: Customer experience consulting and measurement firm serving Fortune 1000 and government clients with proprietary CX methodologies. One of the closest direct analogs to CFI Group given similar methodology-led, consulting-driven CX measurement model.
- Forsta (formerly Confirmit): Experience and research technology provider offering VoC, employee engagement, and market research platforms. Comparable to CFI Group across both survey-based measurement and adjacent analytics modules (dashboarding, segmentation).
- MaritzCX: CX research, consulting, and technology firm serving automotive, financial services, and retail. Directly comparable to CFI Group's business-sector measurement practice and shared verticals such as automotive and financial services.
Emerging players
- Clarabridge (now part of Qualtrics): VoC and customer experience analytics platform focused on text and sentiment analysis. Comparable to CFI Group's analytics layer (predictive dashboards, comment analysis) and addresses overlapping enterprise use cases.
- CustomerGauge: NPS and B2B account experience platform with VoC analytics. Comparable to CFI Group's contact center and B2B satisfaction measurement offerings, particularly in financial services.
Regional players
- Gallup: Global analytics and advisory firm with deep employee engagement and customer research practices. Comparable to CFI Group's employee engagement solutions and government benchmarking, and serves as an alternative CX research provider to many federal agencies.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CFI Group social profiles
Digital presenceCFI Group compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
CFI Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CFI Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
CFI Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CFI Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CFI Group
What does CFI Group do?
CFI Group is a customer satisfaction measurement and consulting firm that applies its proprietary American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) cause-and-effect methodology to measure and improve customer, citizen, and employee satisfaction for U.S. federal government agencies and private enterprises. It delivers end-to-end programs — including survey design, data collection, analysis, benchmarking, and actionable recommendations — through dedicated consulting teams, sector-specific solution suites for Government and Business, and an online predictive analytics dashboard.
Is CFI Group a public or private company?
CFI Group is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was CFI Group founded?
CFI Group was founded in 1988. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is CFI Group based?
CFI Group is headquartered in Ann Arbor, United States, in the North America region.
How does CFI Group make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Consulting Services are the primary driver. The others are measurement Programs.
Who are CFI Group's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Qualtrics, Medallia and Verint (CX/Voice of Customer). Direct peers are InMoment, Walker Information, Forsta (formerly Confirmit) and MaritzCX. Emerging players are Clarabridge (now part of Qualtrics) and CustomerGauge. Gallup is listed as a regional player.
Does CFI Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for CFI Group.
What industry is CFI Group in?
CFI Group's product category is Customer Experience Measurement Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHALAK, Customer Experience (CX) & Voice-of-Customer Analytics, with a secondary code of BPAHAEAC, Customer Experience (CX) & Digital Experience. Its NAICS code is 54161 and its SIC code is 8742.