Five Additional Customer Experience (CX) Trends and Projections for 2025

Five Additional Customer Experience (CX) Trends and Projections for 2025

Welcome back for Part Two of my 10 trends and forecasts for 2025. (In case you missed it, here's Part One.) Let's dive right in, starting with No. 6.

1. Customers will no longer tolerate a subpar or average experience and will provide fewer opportunities to correct their wrongs. Our annual CX survey (backed by RingCentral) posed the question, "How many chances would you give a company after a poor customer service encounter before switching to a new one?" The average response was 2.2 chances. They may cut you some slack once or twice, but that's it. Customers now demand fewer chances if an error is made. Moreover, they are less patient with an ordinary or mediocre experience. Almost one in four (23%) are likely to depart, even if they are content overall. In today's highly competitive market, a satisfactory/average/ordinary experience fails to suffice.

7. The phone will lose its significance for customer support. I have predicted this in the past, yet each year, I was mistaken. I keep expecting that self-service customer support will be more convenient and quicker than making a call, dialing a number, and enduring hold time. Despite the rise of AI-based self-service, the phone has gained prominence over the past few years. In 2024, 70% of customers opt for using the phone for customer support. In 2023, the figure was 69%, in 2022, 65%, and in 2021, 59%. Even though the number of people using the phone is on the rise, this trend will change. The digital assistance experience is continuously improving as businesses invest in technology to enhance the self-service option. A consistent experience across brands builds customer confidence in self-service and resolves many of their challenges. The phone will undoubtedly persist, but it will no longer be the primary means of support for many clients.

1. Hyper-personalization will see significant advancements. If you have a Netflix account and admire the precision of their recommendations, you've witnessed personalization—and the upcoming upgrades will be even more impressive, thus, hyper-personalization. AI will analyze a customer's data, including their past, buying patterns, comparisons to other clients, and more. The outcome is an immensely personalized experience, enabling the brand and its employees to propose suggestions through automation or human interaction with customer service representatives, salespeople, and anyone else interacting with the customers. Data will become more actionable and will continue enhancing the customer experience.
2. The distinction between AI bots and live (human) voice conversations becomes increasingly challenging to discern. Conversational AI in text format has advanced to a level where the distinction between technology and human interaction is virtually indistinguishable. Typically, it's the speed of a text response that serves as the sole indicator of the difference. (It's obvious that our human limitations in typing speed ensure that AI-driven bots consistently outpace us.) In some instances, voice communication has improved to a level where it's difficult to differentiate between the two, although this doesn't mean that AI will fully replace humans in customer support and sales, which brings us to the next trend.
3. AI will not serve as the ultimate solution to delivering an exceptional customer experience. AI will improve customer support/CX, but it will not negate the department. It will continue to be a popular first option for many customers. Companies that have replaced their customer support agents with AI-driven technology are currently reconsidering their decision. For the time being, it's not working as anticipated. As I engage with executives from some of the world's most prominent brands, they concur that human-to-human communication is still required to provide the optimal customer experience. AI will enhance the capabilities of employees (see prediction No. 2), ensuring that AI and human-to-human interactions remain the most effective way to deliver exemplary customer service.

As we conclude my list of 10 trends and forecasts, let's emphasize that customers now demand and anticipate more (go back and revisit prediction No. 1). Strong customer support is no longer a nice-to-have but a must-have for any and every organization. If you fail to provide the desired customer experience, you put your organization at risk, as customers will seek an alternative company or brand that will.

I wish you a joyous New Year. May 2025 be your best year yet, with even better years to follow!

1. For companies aiming to maintain a competitive edge in 2025, effective leadership and strategic implementation of the aforementioned trends will be crucial.
2. To deliver an exceptional customer experience in an era of AI-driven personalization, companies will need to strike a balance between leveraging technology and preserving the human touch in their interactions.

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