Retention works with clients including GE Capital, American Express, Toyota, Microsoft and AOL to train staff in how to improve the customer experience they offer.

David Conway (pictured), Nunwood’s chief strategy officer, said the acquisition was made with a view to providing an end-to-end approach to customer experience – from research to strategy development to implementation of new customer-facing programmes.

“Retention Specialists give our clients that capacity, translating their insights into effective frontline change,” said Conway. The company, headed by principal consultant Matthew Hawk, boasts an average 20% improvement in customer retention rates for businesses that use its training services.

Nunwood has been actively building up its customer experience practice since April 2010 when Conway was brought on board. Since then it has started an annual survey to rank the customer experience offered by UK and US companies. In February it hired Mulberry’s Consulting’s Alvin Jackson as customer experience director.

Customer experience management is now Nunwood’s largest area of business, according to Conway.