The Henley Centre

What The Henley Centre does

The Henley Centre for Customer Management (HCCM) is a membership-based research consortium operating under Henley Business School at the University of Reading in Henley-on-Thames, UK. Founded in 2006 (originating from a CRM research forum established in 2002 under Professor Moira Clark), the Centre convenes 10-20 leading organisations per year — including Lloyds Banking Group, RSA, Heathrow, Thames Water, Renault, BOC, GM Financial and Mercedes Benz Financial Services — to share best practices in Customer Management. Its core technology consists of proprietary research frameworks developed by the founding team: the CM Space Model (a diagnostic for implementation pre-conditions), the CM Eco-System Model (classifying organisations into five CM sub-species), the Functional CM Model (a four-stage process loop), and the Organisational Climate Assessment Survey (rooted in Professor Clark's doctoral research). The Centre's commercial offering is the annual membership programme priced at £10,500 plus VAT per organisation, providing access to a series of one-day workshops, two annual conferences (October Annual Conference and Regatta Week Conference), exclusive research reports with a six-month member exclusivity window, and peer benchmarking. Research outputs span over 16 years of work covering Customer Experience, CRM, Multi-Channel, Employee Engagement, Personalisation, B2B Satisfaction, and Trust, with the research team comprising eleven named academics from Henley Business School. The 2018-19 programme was lead-sponsored by Huntswood, a UK complaints resolution and intelligent customer management firm, indicating additional sponsorship revenue streams beyond membership fees.

Name

The Henley Centre

Legal name

The Henley Centre for Customer Management

Website

http://www.hccmsite.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Henley Centre for Customer Management is a UK membership-based research consortium hosted at Henley Business School that convenes 10-20 leading enterprises annually to research and benchmark Customer Management practices, selling annual memberships at £10,500 plus VAT.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Customer Management Research

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Customer/User Conferences & Client Advisory Boards (THAHAMAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sponsorship, Exhibitor & Partnership Management Services (THAHACAK)

Keywords

• Customer management research
• Membership research consortium
• Customer experience benchmarking
• Organisational climate assessment
• Applied business research

Headquarters

HQ city

Henley On Thames

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Annual Membership Fees: The primary revenue stream is annual membership fees from organisational members. Each membership year (01/08/XXXX-31/07/XXXX), organisations pay to join the Centre and gain access to workshops, research programmes, networking events, and exclusive reports. Members are entitled to send up to 3 delegates to hands-on workshops and receive early access to research results.
2. Research Reports (Post-Exclusivity): Research reports are initially available exclusively to members for a six-month period. After this exclusivity window, reports become available for public purchase, providing a secondary revenue stream from non-member organisations seeking access to the Centre's research outputs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Henley Centre for Customer Management operates a membership-based research consortium that recruits 10-20 leading organisations annually to participate in a year-long programme of applied research, hands-on workshops, and conferences focused on Customer Management. Member organisations pay an annual fee (currently £10,500 plus VAT) and receive exclusive access to proprietary diagnostic frameworks (CM Space, CM Eco-System, Functional CM, Organisational Climate Survey), research reports, and networking opportunities with sector leaders.

Product overview

The Henley Centre for Customer Management operates as a membership-based research and knowledge-sharing organization offering a comprehensive portfolio of products and services focused on customer management excellence. The core offering is the annual membership programme (priced at £10,500 plus VAT), which provides access to workshops, annual conferences (including the October Annual Conference and Regatta Week Conference), and exclusive research reports. The centre has developed proprietary intellectual property including the CM Space Model, CM Eco-System Model, and Functional CM Model, along with an Organisational Climate Survey assessment tool. Research reports and white papers are developed collaboratively with member organizations and released to the public after a six-month exclusivity period. The portfolio is structured around collaboration between business practitioners, academic experts, and industry thought-leaders.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CM Space Model Self-diagnostic framework assessing pre-conditions for successful implementation of Customer Management, bounded by marketing strategy conditions, IT conditions, and organisational culture and climate conditions.
• HCCM Membership Programme Annual membership programme priced at £10,500 plus VAT per organisation, providing access to workshops (up to 3 delegates), research reports, conferences, and member-only discussion forums. Membership year runs from 01/08 to 31/07.
• Research Reports Annual research reports and white papers on customer management topics developed through member-driven research agenda. Reports are exclusive to members for six months before public availability.
• Workshop Programme Series of six one-day workshops per year including inaugural workshop, new member workshop, member visits/workshops, and final workshop. Each member organisation is entitled to three places per workshop.
• Annual Conference Annual conference held in October featuring world-class speakers and presentations on customer experience topics. Members receive one free place plus preferential discounts for additional attendees.
• Regatta Week Conference Annual conference held in July at Henley Business School concluding the membership programme, featuring morning conference followed by cruise along the regatta course.
• Organisational Climate Assessment Survey Questionnaire-based assessment tool measuring five key themes of organisational climate: Structure, Rewards and Recognition, Cohesion, Warmth and Support, and Customer Care. Used to identify gaps between high and low customer-retaining branches.
• CM Eco-System Model Framework classifying organisations into five sub-species of Customer Management (Mass Market, Customer-managed Relationship, IT-enabled micro-segmentation, Proposition prefabrication, One-to-one) based on market granularity and proposition flexibility dimensions.
• Functional CM Model Four-subprocess model for Customer Management: Data Gathering, Data Analysis and Value Identification, Value Delivery, and Monitoring, Feedback and Control, forming an iterative loop for continuous improvement.
• Achieving Success in Strategic Customer Management Course Course focused on achieving excellence in customer management through understanding factors affecting customer experience and gaining insights into customer needs and behaviours.

Quantifiable outcome

• The five key themes of organisational climate (Structure, Rewards and Recognition, Cohesion, Warmth and Support, Customer Care) correlate with customer retention - high customer-retaining branches scored more highly on all five themes than low customer-retaining branches

Named customers12 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Institute of Customer Service: UK-based membership body promoting customer service excellence through research, benchmarking, accreditation, and events. Directly comparable as a UK membership organisation focused on customer service standards, with member organisations across sectors analogous to HCCM's roster.
• Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA): Global professional association for CX practitioners offering membership, community, education, and resources. Comparable as a CX-focused membership community serving enterprise practitioners, though with a global rather than UK-only footprint.
• ICMI (International Customer Management Institute): Membership community for contact centre and customer management professionals offering research, training, and events. Comparable as a CM-focused membership body serving enterprise customer operations leaders, with overlapping content themes (CRM, CX, employee engagement).
• Customer Contact Week (CCW): Events and community platform for customer contact and CX professionals producing conferences, research, and benchmarking. Comparable through its annual conferences, research reports, and curated community of enterprise customer leaders.
• CX Network: Global community and events platform for CX executives producing research, webinars, and conferences. Comparable as a community-led CX knowledge network serving enterprise members, with a broader global reach than HCCM.

Emerging players

• 1to1 Media: Media and events company covering CRM, customer strategy, and personalisation. Comparable as a CX/CRM thought-leadership and events brand targeting enterprise practitioners, with overlapping content themes (personalisation, CRM, CX).
• CustomerThink: Global online community and thought-leadership publication for customer-centric business. Comparable as a customer management thought-leadership platform with research, articles, and community features, though primarily digital rather than membership-fee based.

Broad incumbents

• Forrester Research: Global research and advisory firm covering CX, customer experience, and digital strategy. Comparable through its CX research subscription model and enterprise advisory, but operates at vastly greater scale across many domains beyond CM.
• Gartner: Global research and advisory firm covering CRM, CX, and customer service technologies. Comparable as an enterprise CX research provider, but with a much broader portfolio and platform-based delivery model.

Others

• Huntswood: UK leader in complaints resolution and intelligent customer management experience (iCMX) and current lead sponsor of HCCM. Comparable as a UK CM-focused firm serving enterprise clients, with an operational rather than research consortium orientation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-henley-centre-for-customer-management

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Henley Centre