Enough about trends – let’s talk CX resolutions

The CX Network Weekly is the LinkedIn Newsletter from CX Network. Each week we share our take on a key development in experience management, with links to CX Network resources that can inform, inspire and help your organization’s response.

This week’s edition looks at how CX can thrive in 2025.

The threats for CX are all around. The closure of CX departments and the downsizing of CX and service teams have shifted from being cyclical responses to economic pressures to a near-norm. Some accomplished CX practitioners are changing careers as a result, others are finding their roles reshaped to better reflect their organization’s focus on operations or revenue.

In recent weeks a number of high-profile CX practitioners who built their names either working for some of the world’s biggest brands or advising those who do, have warned that CX faces irrelevance and that – because CX is nothing more than great operations – its future is uncertain to say the least.

It isn’t very Christmassy to be so negative at this time of year, but we ignore the CX Grinch at our peril: the position here at CX Network is that although the focus at this time of year usually turns to CX trends, this year, CX needs resolutions in order to ensure it continues to grow in recognition.

But before we get to the resolutions, let’s explore the current situation in more detail.

For years, CX’ers have been advised to collaborate with IT, data and operations. To upskill in preparation for a data- and AI-powered future and to ensure they can communicate the benefits of their work. Yet as our own research found only seven months ago, 63 percent of those in CX right now are unable to measure all the benefits CX brings to their organization.

Last month, we caught up with @Jim Tincher CCXP who said that as he sees more and more CX departments closing, CX itself risks becoming irrelevant. Why?

Not because of the difficulty that comes with proving the ROI of CX initiatives, nor because customers are less important to business success. But because CX cannot connect to operational measures and explain how it drives overall business revenue.

There’s more from Jim in the links below, but it’s worth noting that he isn’t the only one to understand that great CX and great operations are one and the same.

Around the same time we spoke to Jim, we had a completely unrelated conversation with brand marketer and CX Network board member @Ash Tailor, who said the growing role of operations – and data – in experience design and management is leading to bigger conversations and questions around who owns CX.

Is it operations and their ability to make things seamless and efficient? Is it the data team who hold the key to orchestrated and 360-degree journeys? “Is it brand, is it marketing, is it customer service, is it supply chain, is it corporate strategy?” Tailor asked. “Getting that DNA right at the heart and then making sure the business and the brand are aligned with it is so important. Easy to say, but difficult to do,” he added.  

These questions arise after a time of apparent positivity and growth for CX, where more tools, better data and enhanced capabilities to meet customer needs put experience and service in the driving seat for many organizations. But for CX to continue to thrive, accountability and alignment are required. At the simplest level, this means business leaders must be educated on the role CX plays in orchestrating other business units to work in harmony towards customer-focused goals. 

In short, CX must now ensure its recent gains do not dilute the value of a dedicated CX function.

In recent months the CX Network Weekly has brought you insights on top practitioner challenges, the trends set to dominate in 2025 and the skills your CX teams need to deliver your 2025 strategy. This week, as CX’ers around the world sign off for a well-deserved year-end break, we’re bringing you our three CX resolutions that could change our collective fortunes in 2025.

Your final 3 links for this year cover how to kill bad policies before they kill your brand, how to upskill for what’s ahead, and how to link your work to financial performance, avoid irrelevance and, ultimately, save CX.

Wishing you all the best for 2025!

Here’s something to inform you…

Here’s something to inspire you…

Here is something to help you…