Observed Signal · Jun 7, 2022 · Industry Conference · Source: CMSWire · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Negative

Forrester Warns CX Leaders Face Mounting Challenges Amid Crises

Executive Signal Summary

At the Forrester CX North America conference in Nashville, Forrester analysts delivered a sobering keynote on the state of customer experience in 2022. While brands improved CX quality in 2021, Forrester's CX Index 2022 shows a decline, with nearly 20% of brands seeing a drop. Sharyn Leaver, chief research officer, said she could not deliver an inspirational message about companies emerging from the pandemic stronger. Anjali Lai, senior analyst, framed crises as catalysts for change, urging leaders to connect brand purpose with their people. Mike Proulx highlighted that many CX leaders lack understanding of customer friction points, are resource-constrained, or do not prioritize fixing fundamentals. SecureAuth's Nichole Devolites recommended enabling creativity, refining customer journeys, and segmenting customer bases to improve satisfaction despite resource pressures.

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High Confidence

Forrester's CX Index 2022 data and keynote insights highlight declining customer experience quality and systemic CX challenges, providing relevant benchmarks for CX and MarTech leaders, though no industry-shifting platform or technology change was announced.

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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding

  • Forrester kicked off its CX North America conference in Nashville on June 7, 2022.
  • Forrester's CX Index 2022 shows nearly 20% of brands experienced a drop in customer experience quality.
  • Sharyn Leaver, Forrester chief research officer, said she could not deliver an inspirational post-pandemic CX message.
  • Mike Proulx reported that 1 in 5 CX leaders do not understand customer friction points and 35% cite lack of resources.
  • Nichole Devolites of SecureAuth Corporation recommended creativity, journey fine-tuning, and customer segmentation to improve CX.

Connected Companies & Entities

1 Entity mapped

“Anjali Lai, senior analyst at Forrester, shared those thoughts in her opening keynote from the Forrester CX North America conference....”

Primary Source Grounding & Direct Attribution
Direct Origin Attribution
Primary Reporting: CMSWire•Published: Jun 7, 2022
Original Coverage Title: “Providing Customer Experience In Times of Crisis — Again”

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