Yesterday’s program gave us an exciting glimpse of a very near future in which human and AI capabilities will dynamically blend to enable boundless, innovative experiences. Today, we looked more closely at a critical human part of this equation: alignment of strategy and teams. We also highlighted the results of our most recent US and Canada Customer Experience Index (CX Index™) results and heard from our Customer-Obsessed Leadership Award Winners.
We began the day by honoring Juneteenth. We held a special breakfast led by Forrester’s Director of Diversity & Inclusion, Fadjanie Cadet, to create an inclusive space for building connection. We’ve also partnered with black-owned businesses and, for every session feedback survey submitted throughout CX Summit, we’re are making a donation to Black Girls Code, a nonprofit that supports girls of color in tech.
On the main stage, we kicked off today’s program by emphasizing that we’re at a pivotal moment in CX history. Our latest CX Index shows CX quality at its lowest-ever point ever. However, we also have the greatest-ever possibilities for improvement, thanks to the fusion of human + AI capabilities. The results are also a stark reminder that no matter how ardently we believe in customer obsession, we need to put it into action.
Our keynotes began and ended with alignment. Judy Weader discussed alignment of CX, marketing, and digital strategy, while Dipanjan Chatterjee delved into alignment among teams to deliver on that strategy. To thrive in the world of boundless experiences and generate customer-obsessed growth, organizations need a unified approach, and our sessions provided clear examples of successful alignment looks like.
We also heard from this year’s Customer-Obsessed Leadership Award winners in a special keynote panel. Jill Pavlovich, senior vice president of digital shopping experiences, Albertsons Companies, was recognized for her leadership in shaping her company’s digital strategy in the rapidly evolving digital grocery space. Her steadfast commitment to customers and employees has helped the grocery retailer create and deliver seamless omnichannel experiences. Jon Freier, president of Consumer Group, T-Mobile, was honored for fostering deep collaboration and alignment across retail, customer care, and network teams to eliminate customer pain points and create efficiencies. He firmly believes that employees must be emotionally connected to their brand to serve their customers best and is continually looking for innovative ways to solidify the customer relationship.
I attended two excellent track sessions — one on improving chatbots with David Truog and Max Ball and another on customer feedback in the age of genAI with Colleen Fazio. I also had lunch with some of our Executive Leadership Exchange clients, where we talked about the pros and cons of various wiring diagrams for CX programs, scopes of resonsibilities for CX leaders, and the many desserts we’re eating this week.
It’s hard to believe that tomorrow is already the final day of CX Summit North America. We’ll have more great content, including a closing keynote from Katy Tynan on building the workforce of the future.
