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7 CUSTOMER-EXPERIENCE-RELATED PREDICTIONS FOR 2023
Adrian Swinscoe
Contributor
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
I write about customer service and the customer's experience.
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For the last four years, in and around December, I have compiled a set of
customer experience-related predictions for the coming year.
For each article, I gather together a set of predictions that have been sent to
me over the preceding month. I then select the ones that stand out and make the
most sense in the current context, arrange them into themes, and add a bit of
commentary.
This year I received 82 different predictions on various experience-related
topics. This is up from around 60 last year.
Now, last year’s predictions were compiled on the expectation that we were
emerging into a period of relative stability after two years that were dominated
by the effects of the pandemic.
The relative stability didn’t materialize, and 2022 has presented its own unique
challenges.
As such, brands have had to adapt yet again to a changing and challenging
environment, and while I could argue that we have seen some progress over the
last year, it’s probably fair to say that we have not made as much progress as
we would have liked.
PROMOTED
Next year looks set to be another challenging year as economic uncertainty
persists.
The predictions I have selected bear this in mind.
Look to the future
getty
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So, without further ado, here goes with 2023’s predictions:
1. CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR CONTINUES TO EVOLVE. THAT’S NOT A SURPRISE. HOWEVER, RISING
CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS, THE DEMAND FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND HOW TO INTEGRATE AUDIO
MESSAGING INTO CUSTOMER SERVICE, IN PARTICULAR, ARE WORTH PAYING ATTENTION TO.
Barry Cooper, President, CX Division at NICE, predicts:
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“Digital adoption has been a dominant lifestyle force over the past decade,
accelerating in importance in the past 2 to 3 years. [In 2023] The CX scales
will tip, with more than 80 percent of customers starting their journeys through
digital channels rather than in-person interaction.”
Vasili Triant, COO at UJET, adds:
“A few years ago, people would look up info on their phone out of convenience,
but then get their laptop to actually do something – like make a purchase, book
a flight or hotel, etc. However, companies have evolved their e-commerce
capabilities and optimized for the 6-inch screen. Customer service providers
need to keep pace. Brands must communicate via text, picture, or video depending
on the situation and their customers' preferences, blend multiple forms of
communication into one efficient conversation without losing context, or collect
information via chat before transitioning to a phone call, so their customers
quickly get the help they need. Focusing on mobile technology will also enable
brands to verify customer identity with face ID or fingerprints - technology
that consumers use on a daily basis.“
Colin Crowley, CX Advisor at Freshworks, points out that:
“Voice memos are one of the most popular ways Gen Z communicates, with a third
saying they prefer it over text messages. Gen Z makes up nearly 40% of the U.S.
consumer base, so it’s key businesses jump on the voice memo bandwagon to meet
the needs of this demographic. In 2023, we can expect to see early signs of
audio and video in customer support – from businesses prompting customers to
record short videos or audio recordings to explain issues they’re having, which
will then be transcribed and submitted to a support agent.”
Finally, Peter Graf, EVP and Chief Strategy Officer at Genesys, adds:
“Customer experience will be on public display (and measured against
competitors) in the future. When the Department of Transportation unveiled its
new Airline Customer Service Dashboard earlier this year with the goal to
improve air travel, people noticed. After just one year of headline driving bad
service, the accountability provided a much need change for the airline industry
and its customers.
After years of putting up with fragmented experiences and mediocre customer care
across industries, the dashboard serves as a pivotal moment in consumer
expectations. It’s only a matter of time before customers rightfully demand
similar accountability in other sectors. With clearer measurement of their
customer experience against competitors, organizations will have no choice but
to fundamentally shift strategies from just meeting inbound service needs to
proactively orchestrating great experiences.”
Comment: Although many leading brands are struggling to keep up with rising
customer expectations, they continue to work hard to align themselves with their
changing behaviour to understand, engage, serve and delight them. Why? Because
they know that it is worth it. Others are reputedly scaling back their CX
efforts. Make of that what you will.
2. INVESTING IN CX IS VITAL, BUT INVESTMENTS MUST QUICKLY DELIVER CLEAR BUSINESS
BENEFITS, OR THEY WILL BE AXED.
Gregg Johnson, CEO at Invoca, predicts that:
“As we face economic uncertainty and a turbulent market ahead, executives are
becoming more disciplined about technology investments and overall spend to
ensure all expenditures deliver ROI. In 2023, businesses will need to squeeze
every incremental dollar possible out of marketing budgets, contact center
teams, and technology investments.”
Eric Johnson, CIO at Momentive, maker of SurveyMonkey, adds that:
“In the last six months we have witnessed companies significantly tightening
budgets and scaling back on investments. Profitability is more top of mind than
it ever has been. As these financial headwinds continue into 2023, CIOs will
reevaluate and recalibrate what they are making bets on, ensuring value in the
investments they made/will make. If the investment hasn’t provided 3x value,
critical review is needed.”
Finally, Annie Gendreau, Director of Experience at Valtech, warns:
“In 2023, with the recession and ongoing inflation, many businesses will be
afraid of spending. As a result, investments in Customer Experience (CX) will
likely be on the chopping block. This is a major risk. Cutting back on CX
projects and investments will be more destructive than helpful. Today, people
are looking for exceptional experiences from their chosen brands and from their
workplaces. Good CX is about both client and employee experience. The brands who
continue to put human realities and needs at the center of their decisions and
investments will emerge stronger.
Instead of cutting investment, double down. Make sure your executive teams stay
closely tied to your CX departments. From employee experience to omnichannel
brand experiences, the onus will be on CX teams to measure and relay the
business impact of their initiatives. Aligning across teams will help companies
avoid silos while working to satisfy and delight their highly complex and always
evolving customer base. Investments in CX, despite the economic context, will be
a lifesaver.”
Comment: In an uncertain and tightening economic environment, delivering a great
customer experience becomes even more critical as customers become more
discerning about where they spend their money. Leaders know this but also know
that budgets are under pressure, so their investments must deliver tangible
business benefits and fast.
3. LEADING BRANDS WILL DECIDE NOT TO WAIT FOR GOOGLE TO SUNSET THIRD-PARTY
COOKIES AND WILL START TO GET THEIR ACT TOGETHER ON PERSONALIZATION BY
LEVERAGING THEIR FIRST-PARTY AND, INCREASINGLY, ZERO-PARTY DATA.
Suzanne Steele, VP & MD UK, Ireland, Middle East and Africa at Adobe, predicts
that:
“Our recent Make it Personal research has shown that consumers’ preferences are
evolving and changing all the time. An approach that relies on broad generalised
demographic segments like “Millennial” and “Gen Z” is no longer working, and
people increasingly want to be engaged and recognised as the unique individuals
they are. However, with 1 in 10 saying they think brands aren’t doing this well,
it's clear that more needs to be done.
As we head into 2023, with the additional pressure of a cost-of-living crisis,
customer loyalty and trust will be more important than ever. To ensure they
build that all-important trust with their customers, brands will need to focus
on delivering these more tailored, thoughtful and empathetic experiences. In
order to do that effectively, brands will need to take a data-led approach,
building up a better understanding of customers’ changing wants and needs and
acting on that information in real-time. Luckily the technology to do this
already exists, and by investing in it now, brands can better understand
consumers, build greater trust with their customers, and retain the loyalty that
will enable them to weather the storms ahead.”
Tara DeZao, Director of Product Marketing for Martech & Adtech at Pega, adds:
“In 2023, we’ll see organizations using AI more than ever before, particularly
with their first party data. While the threat of the sunsetting of third-party
cookies continues to get pushed out (as of now, we’re looking at 2024), brands
in the know are busy preparing ways to maximize their most precious resource –
first party customer data – as soon as possible, regardless of this looming
deadline. Additionally, with an impending recession, it’s going to be more
important than ever to have smart, empathetic, and helpful interactions with
customers, and that’s done by intelligently analyzing and making decisions based
on customer data – including context and history – to understand and meet them
exactly where they are on their journey. Economic downturns are prime for
customer churn, so one wrong or insensitive interaction can send customers
running for a competitor, and marketers need to (and can) do better.
Virtually every brand has some technology implemented for collecting and storing
customer data. But it’s activating that data that’s going to separate the
leaders from the laggards, and we’ll see a lot of this in the year to come.
Customers move quickly through their buying journeys, often pivoting and
changing course in an instant. The only way for brands to keep up will be to
infuse AI and decisioning into their data strategies. Understanding a customer’s
propensity to buy based on their behavior and quickly acting on that data in
real time can be the difference between making a lasting impression or losing
out to a competitor."
Sai Koppala, CMO at SheerID, goes further and says that:
“During the coming year, I think we’ll see zero-party data increasingly become a
more meaningful part of marketers’ tech stacks. Zero-party data improves on the
promise of first-party data because it allows organizations to give customers
exactly what they want, earn their trust through transparency, and get ahead of
privacy regulations.
But, it’s also true that the majority of brands are struggling to put it to good
use. In a survey that SheerID conducted with Forrester Consulting, we learned
that while 82% of marketers have access to zero-party data, 42% admitted they
don’t know how to effectively use it. Another challenge of implementing a data
strategy based on zero-party data is that getting that information at scale
isn’t trivial. Collecting zero-party data presents the challenge of persuading
customers that providing their information is worth their while.
But, I think we’re approaching a “crossing the chasm” moment for zero-party
data. Marketers are learning how to integrate zero-party data collection
seamlessly into the customer journey. In other words, make data collection about
better serving the customer, not just providing the company with more data.
For example, we’ll see more ads that, instead of simply increasing awareness for
products, will ask consumers to engage and share their interests. I expect we’ll
also see a greater use of post-purchase surveys to gauge satisfaction and gather
recommendations. If brands treat collecting zero-party data as an opportunity to
start a two-way conversation about how they can best serve their customers,
they’ll be able to use that information to build the experiences that keep
customers coming back.”
Finally, Angel Maldonado, CEO at empathy.co, adds another dimension and says
that:
“With digital trust around data becoming a priority over convenience, we will
see tailored customer experiences continue into 2023 but this no longer has to
be at the expense of privacy. Instead, we will see an era of empowerment in
anonymity, where privacy and tailored customer journeys can co-exist through
explainable AI. Trust-by-design search navigation tools achieve this by using AI
to track user’s behavioural patterns on-site and recommend context-aware
suggestions without any personal identifiable information (PII). Not only does
this protect user’s privacy but it is shown to reduce cart abandonment, increase
product findability and click through rates. In 2023 those that prioritise
privacy and cultivate ‘Digital Trust’ amongst consumers will be best placed to
thrive in increasingly challenging circumstances.”
Comment: For the longest time, customers have cried out for more personalized
experiences. But, while brands have tried to deliver more personalized
experiences, they have often left customers feeling either underwhelmed or
creeped out. Delivering a more relevant, valuable, contextual and personalized
customer experience will require brands to move away from relying on third-party
data to a strategy built on first and zero-party data. Shockingly, research
undertaken by Iterable in March and April of this year found that nearly 50% of
CMOs reported that they are not well prepared for the end of third-party
cookies. These brands need to hurry up if they are not to be left behind.
4. CUSTOMER LOYALTY AND RETENTION WILL BE PARAMOUNT BUT WILL NOT JUST BE DRIVEN
BY DISCOUNTS AND REWARDS.
Luke Ladyman, Co-founder & COO at Cheddar, predicts:
“The last few years have been a rollercoaster of a ride for many to say the
least. We’ve gone through a pandemic, lockdowns, supply chain issues, and now a
cost of living crisis and recession. Gen Z consumers are going through a very
tough time, with many having not experienced a situation like this before. This
has spawned a much savvier consumer, one that is ultra-connected, engaged and
pragmatic with their money.
2023 will see the rise of a new breed of consumer who will have higher
expectations in terms of customer experience throughout their buyer journey.
They will expect an experience tailored to their needs and personalized for
them. Businesses will need to up their game in order to captivate consumers and
earn their loyalty. When it comes to spending, consumers will seek added value
and incentives from their customer experiences, prioritizing money saving
promotions, discounts and cashback opportunities when choosing where they'll
shop during these challenging times.
Right now, for Gen Z, the main strain in their life is financial. The year ahead
will see businesses needing to amplify the customer experience by providing
tangible discounts and money to consumers to encourage spending, with cashback
being king of the reward categories.”
Zsuzsa Kecsmar, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-founder of Antavo, adds:
“In 2023, we are moving from a post-pandemic mindset, to a recession one:
companies are focusing on customer retention rather than acquisition, and the
customers are looking to get more value. However, by using the latest
technology, companies can also tap into a variety of ESG causes and help build a
real connection with their customers while doing so. This leads to a whole new
world of non-transactional loyalty program benefits which allows people to
combine their purchasing with their ideals, values and aspirations so for
example, a mountain wear retailer can reward you if you go out hiking. It's a
significant trend away from the traditional loyalty programs and allowing both
companies and customers to be more creative.”
Sai Koppala, CMO at SheerID, builds on that by saying:
“With mounting concerns of an economic recession, in 2023, I think we’ll see a
doubling down by brands on engaging their existing customer base. That said,
loyalty is getting harder to come by because consumers have a seemingly infinite
number of choices today. In response, marketers are seeking out new ways to
build lasting emotional connections with customers.
During the coming year, we’ll also see more brands engage consumers on arguably
the biggest existential issue of the day: the environment. A number of reports
over the past year indicate that consumers - young people, in particular - are
choosing brands that demonstrate environmentally sustainable practices or
values. Marketers, I believe, will address buyers’ environmental concerns
through a number of ways, from highlighting their brands’ sustainability
efforts, to engaging customers in conversations about what matters to them, and
developing engagement-based loyalty programs that recognize and reward these
shared values.”
Comment: When times get tight, a little extra help here and there from brands,
in the shape of things like discounts, rewards, payment plans, additional
features and extra help, will go a long way to foster the loyalty of customers.
However, that’s not the whole story, with research showing that an overwhelming
majority of customers are increasingly aligning themselves with brands that
share their values and concerns, particularly around sustainability and
environmental issues. Brands not wanting to get caught in a race to the bottom
would do well to pay attention.
5. BRANDS WILL DIG INTO AND LEVERAGE THEIR DATA TO DELIVER A LONG-AWAITED
NEXT-LEVEL CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE.
Leslie Pagel, Chief Customer Officer at Authenticx, predicts:
“Companies are starting to realize they’re ignoring the most valuable source of
customer insights — the interactions they have with customers every day. They’re
ignoring customer conversations because they believe their NPS scores and survey
data represent the voice of the customer. But some haven’t realized that the
literal voice of the customer is already in their walls and the technology
exists to harness this data. Those who have ventured down the path of harnessing
their customer interaction data recognize a value that is exponentially greater
than the survey data they have relied on for decades.”
Dan O'Connell, Chief Strategy Officer at Dialpad, adds:
“I think we'll see a big shift to proactive service and support throughout 2023.
AI will play a critical part in identifying and inferring risks and
opportunities within sales, support, and service conversations which will lead
to much faster reactions from those teams. For example, instead of being behind
the 8-ball reacting to a cancellation notice, they'll be well aware that a
customer is growing increasingly frustrated and be able to get ahead of a
reduction in seats or cancellation request. Ultimately giving the agent and
business a chance to save that customer.”
Tal Klein, CMO at Relay Network, goes further and says:
“My prediction is that 2023 will be the year when we start shifting from
"self-service" to "self-healing" in the context of customer engagement.
Self-service, whether through phone menus, portals or AI chatbots are all
contributing to deteriorating customer sentiment. Businesses who invest in
solving problems before the customer notices them, or in catalyzing meaningful
engagement prior to an event that may cause dissatisfaction, will be the ones
who succeed in retaining long-term customers. For example, rather than merely
informing someone they are nearing their credit limit — a task which requires
action, a card issuer may automatically increase the limit to avoid declined
transactions. It's easy to imagine a world in which the businesses who get this
right capture more market share from those who keep the onus of solving problems
on the customer.”
Comment: The promise of proactive service has been around for years. Research
shows that customers want to be contacted proactively, particularly in a service
context, and a proactive customer service strategy offers opportunities to both
save costs and boost retention. This feels like the perfect combination in this
current environment and explains the seeming groundswell from brands actively
looking to deliver proactive service at scale.
6. A STAND-OUT EMPLOYEE (AGENT) EXPERIENCE WILL BE AT THE HEART OF EVERY LEADING
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.
Mark Smith, SVP Digital Experience at CSG, predicts:
“In 2023, we expect employee experience to feed into customer experience more
than ever. Over the course of the past few years, we’ve seen an influx in
conversations around the employee experience and how it plays into attracting
new talent. But post-labor shortage, it will center around retention and
education. Employee satisfaction is at the forefront of every company’s mind,
sometimes even more so than customer satisfaction. More often, businesses are
realizing that without an empowered and happy employee, you won’t be able to
translate that to a confident and happy customer. It’s a completely symbiotic
relationship. By giving your employees the tools and information they need to do
their job well, they’ll be happier, more efficient, and impactful. In turn, this
will enhance the customer experience – leading to a more dedicated customer, and
a more loyal customer means increased revenue.”
Michael Lawder, Chief Experience Officer at ASAPP, adds:
“Talking to customers is a privilege. Not every business function has the
opportunity to build relationships, foster loyalty, drive lifetime value, and
strengthen the bond between the customer and the products and services they buy.
Companies that invest in the contact center and customer experience will see
increased revenue and acquisition. That's why contact center agents - the ones
who speak with customers on a daily basis - will be seen as an organization's
secret weapon in 2023. Agents that are empowered with advanced technology and
tools like automation have the opportunity to drive significant business
outcomes based on the information they learn from speaking with customers.”
Tom Goodmanson, President & CEO of Calabrio, adds:
“As we go into 2023, we’re seeing more and more consumers expecting an
omnichannel experience, yet they crave human-to-human interactions for customer
service. They expect a real, live, human agent to be available when they want
one. In our growing digital world, voice still reigns when it comes to the
customer experience. 2023 will be a year of empowerment for contact centers, and
managers need to shift perspective to position agents as brand guardians.
Contact centers are a brands virtual front door to enriching customer
experiences and need proper technology to meet the rising consumer expectations
heading into 2023.”
Bill Staikos, SVP, Evangelist & Head of Community Engagement at Medallia, builds
on this saying:
“In the Contact Center, more companies will invest in capabilities that deliver
real-time coaching to agents. With turnover at the agent and supervisor levels
continuing to negatively impact companies and the agent-experience delivered,
real-time coaching helps smooth out the retention curve as it provides agents
with insights such as reducing their rate of speech, using more positive
language, tips to de-escalate, surface policy in real time based on what the
customer is saying, and prompts to stay on brand to name a few.
With supervisors having to take on more staff, real-time coaching tools will
provide scale to supervisors so they can focus on agents requiring deeper levels
of coaching. Finally, this capability will also be used as a retention tool and
as a differentiator in the hiring process when looking for top talent.”
Jonathan Allan, CMO at Puzzel, sums things up by saying:
“A prediction, and hope is that 2023 will be the year of the customer service
employee. Turning our backs on the days when working in a contact centre was
associated with low skills, low morale and low pay. When technology was
introduced to lower staffing levels through indiscriminate automation - without
thought for the impact on the customer.
Tomorrow’s hero brands know that simplified and exceptional customer experience
is the only way to ride out the current economic challenges and even claim more
market share. And that this can only be provided when contact centre employees
are valued, trained and supported to provide exceptional customer experiences.
Here’s to the Chief Customer Officer who harnesses the power of technology and
automation to free their team of customer heroes to build a happy customer base
and increase lifetime value. Here’s to our customer heroes being proud of their
skills and their contribution to their chosen career.”
Comment: Despite the investment in digital self-service tools, the demand for
live help from a fellow human being remains strong. These are critical
interactions and can make or break a relationship. However, successful live
interactions require skilled, resilient, and empathetic agents enabled and
supported by the right technology.
But, labor markets worldwide are tight, and these types of individuals are in
short supply. When you combine that with a perennially high attrition rate in
the customer service space, particularly in contact centers, that poses a
problem.
Therefore, it is heartening, but not surprising, that brands are increasingly
focusing on the employee (agent) experience as they seek to upskill, support and
retain their existing agents and attract new ones.
7. ORGANIZATIONS WILL INVEST IN COMPOSABLE TECHNOLOGY AND LOOK TO VENDORS TO
HELP THEM ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS QUICKLY AND PROVE THE ROI OF THEIR INVESTMENTS.
Deanna Ballew, SVP of Product at Acquia, predicts that:
“CX in 2023 will inevitably be influenced by how the pandemic and economic
uncertainty impact customer expectations. I believe the organizations that will
be successful in their CX strategy in 2023 will be the ones that embed the
importance of CX across the entire organization - as opposed to a siloed
approach - and prioritize technologies such as a CDP to unify customer data. As
budgets are constrained in 2023, organizations will need to stay agile by
focusing on composable architecture and platforms like DXP that optimize your
work.
In fact, according to Acquia’s 2022 CX Trends report, 58% of marketers are
focused on adopting new marketing technology. With that, I think composable
technology will be an increasing area of strategic CX investments in the coming
year. It enables organizations to mix and match components from different
sources, which allows them to be more agile while avoiding vendor lock-in. This
approach helps marketing teams accomplish more, in partnership with IT teams.”
Amanda Malko, CMO at G2, adds:
“In 2023, product education will become the new B2B product marketing, as
customers are under greater pressure to provide return on investment (ROI)
faster. In the software world, we see that more than half of all contracts are
six months or less. And, when asked what the most important considerations are
when they’re making a software purchase, B2B buyers ranked the following as
their top three: 1) ease of implementation, 2) seeing return on investment (ROI)
in six months, and 3) ease of use – which notably, all increased in importance
over the past year. Knowing that the barrier to customer success is often a lack
of understanding of how to use the solutions, B2B marketers have a huge
opportunity in front of them to eliminate friction in product adoption and take
their customer education to the next level.”
Finally, Eric Williamson, CMO at CallMiner, says that:
“In 2023, it will be more important than ever for technology vendors to
demonstrate their value to prospects and existing customers. With the current
economic uncertainty, potential and current customers are scrutinizing their
tech investments and looking for places to trim budgets, and vendors that can’t
prove their ROI will be on the chopping block. To retain and expand their
customer base, vendors need to do a better job of setting realistic expectations
and living up to them by showing value and delivering ROI quickly.”
Comment: The only things, at the moment, that seem certain are uncertainty and
change. Therefore, brands will increasingly align themselves with technology
vendors offering a more composable architecture that enables them to quickly
adjust to changing market and customer conditions.
That’s it for predictions from me this year.
Thank you to everyone that sent me material and predictions to consider.
If yours didn’t make it, I apologize. But I did have a long list to whittle
down.
However, of the seven themes that have emerged, I think there are some decent
bets in there.
Let’s see what happens.
Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other
work here.
Adrian Swinscoe
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I’m an advisor, speaker and best-selling author on customer service, experience
and engagement. I have worked with a range of well known brands as well as
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