Elevating CX Requires Alignment of ALL Stakeholders, Including Customers

Introduction

At Customer Experience 2025, held in LA recently, Frost & Sullivan hosted CX leaders across various industries, including retail, finance, healthcare, and automotive, along with solution providers and thought leaders. The audience was constantly engaged in highly energized discussions, sharing challenges and best practices. These discussions, whether at a roundtable, the coffee station, or Top Golf, helped them learn how to improve their agents’ performance, customer experience, and operational efficiency, with AI technologies playing an important role.

The key takeaways include:

• Creating personas and understanding the lifestyles and goals of each target market is essential for a hyper-focused approach to sales, marketing, and customer interaction.
• Incorporating customer feedback continually to improve contact center interactions, brand equity, and hyper-personalization is the order of the day. Customers want more than care; they want to feel connected with a business. Humanizing interactions with empathy is essential for creating a lasting impact on customers.
• Aligning all employees on CX and corporate goals is central to eliminating silos and minimizing friction in customer interactions.

These themes will be examined through presentation summaries, supported by evidence demonstrating why they are essential steps for contact center leaders to take over the next two years to remain competitive in any industry.

Future-Proofing Today: Tackling Tomorrow’s Consumer Concerns in the Present

In his Executive Insight session, Michael Nevski, Director of Global Insights at Visa, provided a forward-looking view of the changing dynamics of consumer behavior through 2026.  Taking a customer-first approach requires a thorough understanding of customer behavior and the drivers behind their decisions. Based on exclusive Visa customer research, Nevski identified three key forces influencing consumer sentiment and market reactions: increasing long-term financial anxiety, the strong influence of the “confrontational consumer,” and the rapidly growing role of Generative AI (GenAI) in brand engagement and personalization.

“Consumers are growing increasingly anxious about their ability to achieve major life goals like owning a home, retiring comfortably, or starting a family.” — Michael Nevski, Visa

Visa’s consumer sentiment data reveals a growing disconnect between aspirations and reality:

• The estimated total cost of achieving the “American Dream” now exceeds $4.4 million, including education, homeownership, retirement, and end-of-life expenses.
• Among Millennials, those reporting worsening living standards increased from 29% in Q1 2024 to 42% by Q3 2024.

The Confrontational Consumer: Vocal, Influential, and Values-Driven

Nevski introduced the concept of the “confrontational consumer,” who is less concerned about the economy and their finances, is highly active on social media (where they not only communicate with one another but also shop and share their opinions), and cares deeply about Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) values. Further, while concerns around privacy remain, Nevski noted that “consumers are increasingly willing to trade privacy for convenience when the value exchange is clear.” Understanding this segment allows businesses to offer a personalized customer journey and real-time recommendations (e.g., hotels, concerts, groceries).

Implementation Guidelines: How Visa Turned Insight into Action

Visa is acting on these insights using the following framework by:

• Monitoring long-term sentiment
• Engaging the confrontational consumer
• Activating GenAI thoughtfully
• Designing with empathy

Nevski concludes, “Success for consumers is changing—and so must we. It’s not just about meeting today’s needs but anticipating what matters tomorrow.”

Unified Vision: Building a CX Strategy Supporting Strategic and Tactical Decision Making

“Once churn happens, it’s too late. You won’t get that customer back for 3 to 5 years ̶ if ever.” Maribeth Duggins, McKesson

Maribeth Duggins, Director of Customer Insights at McKesson, kicked off the event with a Headliner session titled “Unified Vision: Building a CX Strategy Supporting Strategic and Tactical Decision Making.” Her approach demonstrates how integrating CX into operational strategy, churn mitigation, growth support, and product innovation can yield both immediate and long-term business benefits.

McKesson’s CX journey reflects a five-year maturity path that others can model, from running a customer survey to formally launching a CX program that closes the feedback loop and creates a health model that better predicts patient needs. Throughout each phase, McKesson systematically moved from gathering data to using it for real-time risk detection and strategic planning.

Benchmarking data showed that only 30% of decision-makers prioritize the lowest price when selecting a group purchasing organization (GPO) or distributor. Instead, the top differentiators were customer service, past experience, and trust. This insight helped McKesson’s sales teams shift from defending their prices to emphasizing the value of what they offer, customer support, and long-term partnership benefits.

McKesson’s transformation reveals that CX isn’t just a function; it’s a strategic operating system and an enabler of long-term business health. When deeply embedded, it enables organizations to predict churn, drive growth, and align internal priorities with real customer needs.

“CX success isn’t measured by survey scores – it’s measured by what you prevent, what you build, and who stays with you.” Maribeth Duggins, McKesson

Co-Creating Excellence: Partnering with Customers to Shape Unforgettable Experience

In his compelling Success Story session, David Massey, Digital Experience Director, UPS, unveiled how UPS redefined its customer experience (CX) strategy by shifting from designing for customers to designing with them. Using a structured, sprint-based co-creation framework called J.E.D.I. (Journey, Experience & Design Innovation), UPS was able to rapidly test, iterate, and launch improvements that directly reflected real user needs, especially for underserved SMBs.

The outcome? UPS saw measurable gains in conversion, revenue, development efficiency, and internal alignment.

From Assumptions to Co-Creation: The Problem UPS Faced

“Designing without customer input is like playing darts blindfolded on a unicycle.” — David Massey, UPS

UPS identified fundamental flaws in its UX design approach. Interfaces were optimized for large enterprise shippers, leaving SMBs confused, unsupported, and often abandoning the process. This resulted in revenue loss and increased support costs. The company shifted its strategy by stopping assumptions about customer needs. Instead, it started involving customers as co-creators to understand what truly matters before developing solutions.

Massey suggests that businesses clearly explain their design decisions to customers and then listen closely to how they respond. Determine what surprises them, what confuses them, and what matters most. It’s not just being open and transparent; it’s about simplifying the entire workflow. Key findings from UPS’ customers:

• 77% of users wanted to review all order details before making payments
• 69% preferred to receive a price estimate with minimal input upfront
• 87% found that multi-step processes felt easier when presented transparently, even if they weren’t actually faster

The J.E.D.I. Framework: Sprint-Based, Collaborative Design

The J.E.D.I. framework is a 4-sprint design model built for speed, feedback, and cross-functional collaboration. UPS prioritized weekly feedback over annual studies. Each sprint generated weekly user feedback through live interviews, allowing UPS to:

• Rapidly iterate designs
• Avoid costly redesigns post-launch
• Make user-backed decisions in 50% fewer iterations, 3x faster

“We saw a +5.9% lift in guest conversion and a 3% revenue bump. That’s the power of designing with customers.” David Massey, UPS

UPS’s co-creation strategy exemplifies modern CX maturity, characterized by customer-validated design, real-time feedback loops, and a shared organizational focus on outcomes rather than opinions. For organizations aiming to eliminate redesign waste, accelerate UX improvements, and create experiences users love, this UPS model offers a valuable roadmap.Top of Form

The 4 C’s of Experience: Aligning for Exceptional CX Outcomes

Embracing Challenges: Transforming Customer Experience into a Strategic Advantage

“The Rocks Don’t Block the Rivers, They COMBINE Them”— Sean Albertson, CX4ROCKS

A compelling Capstone session, led by Sean Albertson, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of CX4ROCKS, reframed the ongoing challenges in CX as essential components of organizational growth, rather than obstacles. In today’s dynamic marketplace, customer experience (CX) has become a pivotal differentiator for organizations. Frost & Sullivan’s latest survey of CX leaders confirms this, with almost 70% of businesses ranking improving CX as a top corporate objective.

Albertson advises leaders to understand that, just as a river flows and is shaped by the rocks within it, customer experiences are defined by the challenges we face. He says that organizations mistakenly treat CX as a static noun, such as a department or a set of metrics. He urges businesses to embrace CX as a verb, a living, breathing process that encompasses every interaction a customer has with a brand. This shift in mindset is crucial; it recognizes that every encounter is an opportunity to build trust and loyalty.

Strategically reframing the perspective on obstacles can turn potential barriers into valuable learning experiences that define and enrich the customer journey. By intentionally navigating these challenges, organizations can enhance their ability to deliver exceptional experiences.

Adopting these insights requires a commitment to alignment rather than perfection. He recommends:

• Focus on fostering collaboration across teams to break silos.
• Be intentional with language and communication to drive cultural shifts.
• Recognize the significance of micro-decisions for accumulating positive change.
• Blend data analytics with empathy to inform values-driven decision-making.

Albertson’s message was clear: the challenges we face in customer experience are not mere hindrances; they are defining elements of our journey. By weaving purpose, empathy, and strategic intent into their approaches, organizations not only navigate disruptions but also emerge from them stronger, with a more human-centric focus on customer experience.

Raising the CX Bar with a Unified Data and Analytics Strategy

“CX transformation doesn’t fail from lack of data—it fails from a lack of connection.” ̶  Paola Bianchi, NAPA Auto Parts

In a thought-provoking Executive Bulletin session, Paola Bianchi, Director of Digital Strategy & Retail at NAPA Auto Parts, emphasized that CX transformation failures are rarely about data scarcity; instead, they stem from disconnected data and organizational silos. She asserts that at NAPA, success stems from integrating disparate data sources, aligning around shared customer-centric metrics, and fostering a culture that empowers employees to act on real-time insights. Central to this approach is a deep understanding of customer personas, particularly the use of a single, focused, and emotionally resonant persona to guide decisions across the organization.

A unified data and analytics strategy is critical to enabling meaningful customer experiences by aligning insights, eliminating friction, and making decisions that truly reflect the customer’s voice.

Turning Insights into Actionable Strategies

Bianchi opened by highlighting a common paradox: CX teams often possess large volumes of data, yet lack the alignment and clarity needed to convert insights into impactful experiences. NAPA’s transformation journey is driven by:

• Data integration
• Deep understanding of customer personas
• Cross-functional metric alignment
• Empowering employees to act on insights

Understand Your Market and Customers

NAPA utilized data-driven segmentation (beyond demographics) to identify meaningful customer archetypes: Gearheads, Auto Enthusiasts, Indifferent, Road Happy, and A Car Is a Car. These personas must be based on behavioral and emotional data, not assumptions. Alignment occurs when customer and brand values connect.

Ensuring consistency across channels is crucial; while tone and style may be adapted by platform, the persona and brand voice must remain consistent. Tailored tone and consistent messaging strengthen brand identity and foster a deeper connection with customers.

Align on Metrics That Matter

CX teams often clash with other departments due to conflicting KPIs (e.g., Sales vs. Inventory). NAPA uses a Customer Alignment Score as its guiding metric, measuring how well the brand experience aligns with customer values and expectations. A shared metric creates coherence across the customer journey. Customers perceive when teams are out of sync; unified metrics ensure consistency.

Creating a culture of curiosity encourages customer-facing employees across all departments to ask questions of customers, uncovering deeper insights. Equipping teams with accessible data enhances their agility and confidence in responding in real-time.

CX Edge: Redefining Customer Experience for the Next Generation

“Patients want to be known, not just seen.” Connie Lee, UCLA Health

Karen Bains (Senior Director of Ambulatory Operations, UCLA Health) and Connie Lee (Patient Access, UCLA Health) teamed up to share valuable insights on the healthcare landscape and the role of CX within it. Consumer expectations in healthcare have shifted; patients now expect on-demand, personalized, real-time, and intuitive experiences. Healthcare must close the gap between innovation and operational execution.

Patients no longer compare experiences only with other providers; they compare them with seamless digital leaders, such as Amazon and Uber. This presentation revealed best practices and strategic imperatives from UCLA Health’s approach to transforming patient experience through empathy, digital integration, and operational alignment.

By reframing CX from a clinical interaction to a holistic, person-centered journey, healthcare organizations can build lasting loyalty, reduce friction, and enhance care outcomes.

Patients demand more than care; they want connection. Healthcare CX must evolve from reactive touchpoints to proactive, empathetic journeys. According to UCLA Health, a next-gen experience is built at the intersection of empathy, technology, and personalization.

From Patient-Centered to Person-Centered: A Paradigm Shift

UCLA’s CX strategy is centered around the idea that the organization must move from touchpoints to journeys and from reacting to anticipating.

Healthcare organizations must embrace a person-centered approach, which considers a patient’s full context, not just their clinical needs. This evolution aligns digital tools, human interactions, and care delivery into a single, cohesive experience.

The key elements required to achieve this goal include:

• Implementing a unified CX platform that allows access to consistent and relevant customer information by anyone involved in the customer journey.
• Trackable success metrics defined collaboratively across the enterprise
• Enterprise-wide alignment on supporting and honoring patient preferences
• Shared ownership across departments: from IT to clinical staff to marketing

Breaking Down Silos: Codesigned, Cross-Functional Solutions

UCLA Health’s success hinged on cross-functional collaboration, involving ambulatory operations, IT teams, marketing, and patient experience leaders. Together, these groups:

• Co-developed a unified technology architecture
• Streamlined workflows and scripting for staff
• Standardized feedback loops with structured surveys and post-implementation analysis
• Conducted service line–specific readiness assessments

Modern CX can’t be solved in silos. Integration across departments is crucial to delivering a consistent and intuitive experience across all access points. Healthcare’s future will be won by those who turn empathy into action and innovation into routine.

The Last Word

Relationships between people and brands are evolving. Success depends on predicting what matters to the future consumer today. Great customer experience doesn’t happen by chance — it requires planning, collaboration across teams, and a strong commitment to understanding your customers, not just responding to their questions quickly. Every customer is different and expects highly personalized interactions. The only way to do this is to involve customers in the digital transformation journey.