CX Toolbox

Brands are officially doing business in what Forrester calls “The Age of the Customer.” In this new era, customer experience (CX) is the battleground in which organizations win and lose. In fact, Gartner predicts that 89% of organizations will compete primarily on CX, and Forrester has declared CX as the only sustainable competitive advantage remaining in today’s marketplace.

But despite the urgency around CX performance, Forrester’s annual US Customer Experience Index showed that between 2017 and 2018, CX remained stagnant. And in 2019, the index improved a mere 0.4%, with 81% of brands on the index not improving their scores at all.

In order to compete effectively in The Age of the Customer, brands need to elevate their approach to CX. The journey starts in the contact center.

The key ingredient for delivering a five-star CX in the contact center is understanding and leveraging emotion across customer interactions. Emotion is a key driver for developing strong and lasting customer relationships.

Consider the recent research:

• Emotion has a bigger impact on brand loyalty and customer retention than ease of engagement and CX effectiveness.
• 60% of loyal customers use the same type of emotional language they’d use for family and friends when speaking of their favorite brands.