The Future of CX: Embracing Conversational Feedback in a Digital World

Friends, we’re in the midst of an era of incredible technological advancement. Everywhere you go, you see it and experience it; AI, automation, and real-time data are part of our every day lives. Even those weary of ChatGPT find themselves engaging with AI advancements when they use Google Maps, stop to view an ad they’ve been served on Instagram, or ask Siri a question. And yet, with all this innovation, basic human truths remain: people want to be heard; they want to be seen; they want to be valued. In sum, they desire connection.

That’s why the future of customer experience (CX) isn’t just about better dashboards or faster response times, it’s about better conversations. And it’s not the responsibility of just one team to own it. 

The Shift from Transactional to Relational

For years, the standard playbook for customer feedback has been transactional. Finished a purchase? Here comes a survey! (And don’t forget about your special discount for filling it out!) Made a call to customer support? Here’s another survey.

Surveys are valuable tools to offer you a bit of insight, but with declining response rates and survey fatigue plaguing your customers, they cannot be the only CX tool you use. 

Why? Because customers don’t want to feel like data points. They want to feel understood. Think about the last interaction you had with a business. Were you served a survey after? Did you complete it? When was the last time you were contacted directly by a brand to find out more information about your experience, knowing that your honest feedback could help the business truly get better?

Now think about your customers. How would you want them to answer those questions?

Research shows that Gen Z, born and bred in the digital age, desire human connection and authenticity from everyone they interact with, which includes the brands they use. 

This is a shift culturally that we can’t just shrug our shoulders at and then “set and forget” the next automation we send them. Customers want to feel connection and businesses must respond by giving them that.

Conversations: The New CX Competitive Advantage

It’s time we go back to basics. Conversations have become the new competitive advantage for companies who are looking to evolve and grow. Conversations with your customers reveal what surveys miss — nuance, desires, values. In a conversation you find out what your customer cares about and obtain insight into the buyer’s journey. 

Voice of the Customer conversations aren’t just a “nice-to-have” tool in your CX toolbox; they’re the foundation of a CX strategy that’s built for the future. 

Why This Matters Now More Than Ever

The truth is, your customers are bombarded with choices. They most likely have less patience and more distractions. And they’re savvy; if you’re just checking off a box then they’ll sniff it out fast. 

To become world-class in CX, brands need to do three things exceptionally well:

• Listen deeply through human-centric methods like Voice of the Customer conversations. Again, you don’t have to scrap your surveys, but they are incomplete data on their own.

  
  

• Act quickly on feedback using understandable and actionable sentiment analysis.

  
  

• Respond authentically across touch points (remember, you’ll finally have solid data around the buyer’s journey!) with messaging that aligns with what customers actually care about.

  
  

Let’s Reimagine Feedback — Together

We often say feedback is a gift. But there’s a great danger in receiving feedback and not acting on it, or in not knowing which feedback to act on.

Businesses face increasing pressure to perform. Everyone wants to win. But not everyone is willing to do what it takes to deliver world-class CX.

So ask yourself this question: What would change in your business if you stopped guessing what your customers care about and simply asked them?

Don't know where to start? That's exactly where we come in.

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