[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/12\/27\/cx-programs-fading-to-black\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/12\/27\/cx-programs-fading-to-black\/","headline":"Don\u2019t look now: Why some CX programs are fading to black","name":"Don\u2019t look now: Why some CX programs are fading to black","description":"Forrester predicts some CX programs will disappear in 2023. Here are five reasons brands shouldn't let that happen.","datePublished":"2022-12-27","dateModified":"2025-07-30","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/jenn-vande-zande\/#Person","name":"Jenn Vande Zande","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/jenn-vande-zande\/","identifier":229,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ef76ed873963201b65acc65a3cb353caa294225a4e9a8427f011077842dd955c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ef76ed873963201b65acc65a3cb353caa294225a4e9a8427f011077842dd955c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/CX-Programs-Fade-to-Black_FTR-optimized.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/CX-Programs-Fade-to-Black_FTR-optimized.jpg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/12\/27\/cx-programs-fading-to-black\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/customer-engagement-marketing\/","name":"Customer Engagement","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_engagement","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q5196451"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/","name":"Customer Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_experience","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q984142"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/customer-experience-general\/","name":"Customer Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_experience","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q984142"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/marketing-general\/","name":"Marketing","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marketing","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q39809"]}],"wordCount":1393,"keywords":["Chief Marketing Officer | CMO","Customer Experience | CX","Customer Experience Trends","Marketing Trends"],"articleBody":"If this is the Age of the Customer, how could CX programs possibly go away?A recent Forrester report predicts 2023 will be a \u201cyear of reckoning\u201d for customer experience efforts with one in five disappearing and only one in 10 going stronger than ever.The analyst firm says economic, supply chain, and continuing pandemic distractions will be to blame.\u201cThe challenges of 2022 \u2014 when companies lost their customer focus amid rising customer expectations and a worsening economy \u2014 will create an inflection point for customer experience (CX) programs in 2023,\u201d wrote Forrester VP and Research Director Rick Parrish.\u201cCX programs that help their organizations achieve their brand aspirations \u2014 and have the data to prove it \u2014 will thrive despite corporate belt-tightening. Other programs will wither since they\u2019ll no longer have a strong economy to buoy them.\u201dFailing economy puts CX programs at riskNot long ago, the idea of scrapping CX programs would have seemed blasphemous. Forrester itself coined the phrase \u201cAge of the Customer\u201d to reflect how digital technology has empowered consumers to be more selective in buying decisions and, therefore, more empowered.This gave way to more than two-thirds of marketers competing primarily on customer experience instead of cost or productBut when economies stumble, marketing programs are often first to feel the pinch. Indeed, some companies \u2013 especially in high tech- have let thousands of sales and marketing professionals go in recent months.Not surprisingly, dedicated CX officers and programs have been swept up in that and are predicted to be split up or absorbed into other business functions.\u201cI don\u2019t think CX is going away; it\u2019s just becoming integrated into various departments because it isn\u2019t monolithic,\u201d says Tal Klein, chief marketing officer for Relay Network, a software-as-a-service company.5 reasons why brands need to stop the fadeThe down economy will only put more emphasis on customer experience as customers look for brands that they feel confident in and provide worthwhile experiences.Here are five key reasons why letting CX programs disappear would be short sighted:CX programs drive growthCX delivers the personalization customers wantCX builds customer lifetime loyalty (CLV)CX encourages brand advocacyCX bridges the physical-digital divideCX programs: Retrenching vs. doubling-down for growthWhen economies falter, companies typically take one of two approaches. Some hunker down, cut costs, and hope to survive. Others, remain focused on investing in differentiators like CX to drive continued growth and boost profitability.The importance of CX for key metrics like churn, retention, loyalty, new sales and competitive differentiation is well established, says Jaime Punishill, CMO for nCino, a cloud banking software company. \u201cNot investing in customer experience is basically saying you\u2019re willing to let those metrics falter.\u201dBrands that invest in CX are better positioned to outflank the competition, he says.\u201cIn every downturn, you see companies retrench on things that other companies double-down on,\u201d he says. \u201cThen, five years later, we\u2019re writing the story about how companies doubled-down on key differentiators and outperformed everyone else.\u201dHowever, business leaders have been known to lose faith and de-fund CX efforts because they aren\u2019t seeing clear and compelling evidence of improved sales or customer sentiment.Megan Heuer, CMO of Aite-Novarica Group, an industry analyst firm, says that can be a sign the programs aren\u2019t aligned to business priorities. Some CX programs put themselves at risk because they never prove business impact.\u201cIt may be because they’re not focused on key performance metrics, like profitability, retention and revenue growth. Others may have been designed without real connection to customer impact and value.If that’s why a CX program gets cut, a company should use the pause to rebuild their CX strategy, she added.  What happens in Vegas …\u00a0creates connections + drives results.Join hundreds of customer experience experts at CX Connect Oct. 6-8. Register\u00a0HERE.CX delivers the personalized touchPersonalization has been part of CX for years. We\u2019ve all seen studies indicating customers expect brands they patronize to demonstrate they know them on a personal level, and we know most get very frustrated if that doesn\u2019t happen.The trouble with personalization is that everyone thinks they\u2019re doing it \u2013 and doing it well. Not true. Personalization isn\u2019t just about putting someone\u2019s name on a popup add, email, or text message. It\u2019s about doing the grunt work to learn what customers care about in the moment.It includes having a golden record that can be shared across an organization so every frontline worker interacting with people knows their history, experience, and opinion of the brand. Yet, customers don\u2019t get it from every brand engaging with them.Because of this, there are numerous reports talking about how personalization is a myth, how it\u2019s been overhyped, and is now table stakes \u2013 and therefore less important.But Nigel Piper, executive general manager of customer experience for Xero, an online accounting software company, says personalization is more relevant than ever if executed properly.\u201cPeople’s expectations have gotten higher rather than lower over the last few years in terms of the experiences that they want,\u201d he says. \u201cThey want the information you have about them to be private, confidential and protected. But they also certainly want you to use the information to deliver more personalized experiences than they\u2019ve seen in the past.\u201dThis content is hosted by a third party ( player.simplecast.com ).To view the content, either update your cookie preferences or view it in a new browser window.Cookie PreferencesNew WindowBuilding valuable customer relationshipsCLV is defined as the measure of total income a brand can expect to receive from a typical customer for as long as they\u2019re patronizing the company.It\u2019s considered an important metric, especially in a tough economy, because it costs five times more to acquire new customers than to keep existing ones happy and loyal.\u201cIt stands to reason that a better customer experience increases CLV,\u201d says Relay Network’s Klein. \u201cBetter experiences lead to additional spending, greater product utilization, and elevated sentiment. An investment in CX enhances CLV which, in turn, lowers customer acquisition costs. It\u2019s a no-brainer.\u201dJonathan Allan, CMO of Puzzel, a customer service platform, agrees.\u201cLoyalty is transactional and driven by the experiences we all receive,\u201d he says. \u201cOnly brands with CX at their heart will retain and grow their customer bases.\u201dCX programs cultivate brand advocatesAny economic pressures leading brands and marketers to ditch CX programs will convince loyal customers to shift loyalty to brands still offering richer and more experiences, says Mark Nardone, CMO of PAN Communications, an integrated marketing and PR agency.\u201cDoubling down on experiences when they need them most can be the difference between a satisfied customer and an engaged advocate,\u201d he says. \u201cBefore you pull the plug on a CX program, ask yourself: do you want to be one of a dozen brands that leaves customers hanging or the one that\u2019s there for them when no one else is?\u201dBy cutting effective CX efforts, companies run the risk of losing loyal voices that have been supporting the brand and helping it grow much-needed long-term revenues, Nardone adds.Bridging the physical and digital divideDuring the pandemic, the vast majority of CX programs related to the digital realm. But as people emerged from quarantine and returned to physical outlets, an odd thing happened: their great online experiences weren\u2019t as readily found in the real world.If CX programs were to vanish, marketers would have difficulty extending their good work from digital to physical locations, resulting in disillusioned customers going elsewhere.CMOs, it seems, are generally aware of this. In fact, in a recent CMO Council report, sponsored by SAS, 67% of marketers say it\u2019s either extremely important or very important to delivery hybrid experiences.\u201cDigital engagement has led to higher customer expectations, bigger demands and about a million more choices if one brand doesn\u2019t deliver,\u201d says Tom Kaneshige, chief content officer for the CMO Council.\u201cMarketers are scrambling to get the data they need to meet customer expectations. Chances are your CX strategy is crying out for a modern makeover.\u201d  Relationship status: Complicated.AI in e-commerce is critical, but obstacles around data privacy, talent, and integration are slowing adoption. Our powerhouse panel has the stats + strategies you’re looking for. Register HERE."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2022","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"12","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/\/12\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"27","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/\/12\/\/27\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Don\u2019t look now: Why some CX programs are fading to black","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/12\/27\/cx-programs-fading-to-black\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]