Uncategorized - CX Today https://www.cxtoday.com/uncategorized/ Customer Experience Technology News Thu, 20 Nov 2025 19:18:45 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 https://www.cxtoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/cropped-cxtoday-3000x3000-1-32x32.png Uncategorized - CX Today https://www.cxtoday.com/uncategorized/ 32 32 Customer Loyalty Management Gets Intelligent https://www.cxtoday.com/uncategorized/customer-loyalty-management/ Sat, 22 Nov 2025 13:00:13 +0000 https://www.cxtoday.com/?p=72659 Customer loyalty is more than a marketing metric; it’s an operating strategy. The days of running generic rewards schemes and hoping for repeat business are over. Today, customer loyalty management has become one of the most valuable, and under-leveraged, pillars of customer experience at the enterprise level.

A loyal customer isn’t just someone who comes back. They spend more. Stay longer. Recommend faster. They open emails, tolerate hiccups, and ignore your competitors’ ads. They’re also far cheaper to retain than any lead your sales team is chasing right now.

Loyalty isn’t a lucky break. It’s the outcome of moments that go right consistently, and often quietly. A first experience that flows without friction. A support interaction that resolves more than just the issue. A product that keeps its promise. Each of these moments builds equity in the relationship.

When those touchpoints connect  across teams, systems, and time something stronger than repeat business takes shape. Customers begin to trust. They stick around, not because it’s the easiest option, but because the experience earns it.


What is Customer Loyalty?

Customer loyalty reflects a decision: the conscious choice to stay with a brand when alternatives are just a click away. It’s not just about satisfaction, plenty of satisfied customers churn. Loyalty runs deeper. It’s emotional, earned through consistency, value, and trust built over time.

In practical terms, loyalty shows when customers return after a poor experience, because they believe it’s the exception, not the norm. It shines when existing buyers refer peers, opt into updates, or upgrade without needing a discount.

But for enterprises, this isn’t a soft metric. It’s measurable, in retention rates, customer lifetime value, and referral growth. In fact, increasing customer retention by just 5% can boost profits by 25% to 95% depending on the industry. Loyalty doesn’t just pay off; it compounds.

Now, it matters more than ever. With CX as a key battleground, loyalty becomes a lead indicator of business resilience, and a hedge against rising acquisition costs.


The ROI of Customer Loyalty

Customer loyalty used to be a feel-good metric. Now it’s a board-level priority.

Retaining a customer isn’t just cheaper than winning a new one, it’s smarter. The cost of acquisition has spiked over 60% in the last five years, especially across digital channels. Meanwhile, repeat customers spend more, refer faster, and support brands longer, even when things go wrong.

The return is measurable:

  • CAC Down, Margins Up: Brands with strong loyalty programs don’t need to outspend rivals on ads. Their customers come back organically. Acquisition costs are up to 7x higher than retention costs, and rising. Loyalty brings those numbers down.
  • Predictable Revenue: Returning customers are more consistent. They know the product, trust the brand, and often skip the comparison stage altogether. That makes forecasting easier, pipelines more stable, and marketing spend more efficient.
  • Loyalty = Resilience: In downturns, loyal customers stick. They’re more forgiving of glitches and slower to churn. A loyalty strategy isn’t just about growth, it’s about survival when market headwinds hit.
  • Better Intelligence: Good loyalty tools are also listening tools. They track not just transactions, but behavior: redemptions, preferences, referrals, and feedback. That kind of data can feed customer journey strategies and help pinpoint why loyalty is rising or falling.
  • Cross-Functional Buy-In: Loyalty isn’t a marketing-only game anymore. When programs sync with CRMs and support channels, they empower every team that touches the customer and help break down the silos that usually hurt CX.

What is Customer Loyalty Management?

Loyalty isn’t a byproduct of good service; it’s the result of managing relationships with intent. For enterprises, customer loyalty management is the discipline of designing and maintaining systems that keep the right customers coming back, staying longer, and contributing more value over time.

Loyalty doesn’t come from running rewards programs on cruise control. It starts with clarity; knowing who your most valuable customers are, what keeps them engaged, and how to stand out even when competitors promise more for less.

The best loyalty strategies don’t operate in a silo. They’re part of the broader customer experience engine, connected to feedback, support, product usage, and behavioural cues. Managed well, these strategies turn loyalty into a dynamic input, not just a passive output. It’s not a metric at the end of a funnel, it’s something built and reinforced at every stage of the journey.

Loyalty Management Tools and Platforms

The strongest tools today aren’t just managing point balances or sending birthday emails. They’re helping organizations understand loyalty as a behavior, not a program.

At a basic level, these platforms centralize loyalty data: engagement patterns, redemption activity, repeat purchase signals, and more. But the more advanced systems go further. They apply machine learning to spot early signs of churn, flag disengaged segments, and recommend next-best actions in real time.

What sets the leading loyalty management platforms apart is their ability to fit inside a broader CX tech stack. That means:

  • Integrating with CRM to unify customer context
  • Connecting to feedback loops for real-time insight
  • Embedding in messaging infrastructure like CPaaS to deliver hyper-personalized moments that actually land

Many also support predictive analytics, using behavioral data to calculate loyalty risk scores, tailor rewards dynamically, or prompt human intervention when relationships are at risk.


How to Measure Customer Loyalty

Loyalty isn’t a single number. It’s a pattern, and like most patterns in enterprise CX, it takes a mix of metrics to see the full picture.

Behavioral signals still lead the pack. Metrics like repeat purchase rate, frequency of interaction, average order value, and churn give a direct read on what customers are doing, and where that behavior changes over time.

Behavioural signals often say more than surveys. A customer who slows their spending, skips repeat purchases, or stops logging in is sending a message. Something has shifted, in the experience, the product fit, or the perceived value.

Behaviour tells you what happened. But it won’t tell you why. That’s where customer sentiment comes into play.

Tools like Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), and Customer Effort Score (CES) dig beneath the surface, giving teams a clearer sense of how customers actually feel about their experience. When behavioural dips show up, they offer the context needed to act fast, and fix the root cause before it costs more.

For many organizations, this layer is captured across touchpoints with VoC tools, then analyzed over time to correlate sentiment with spend or attrition.

What’s changing now is the rise of emotional loyalty metrics. These tools look beyond direct feedback, using conversational analysis, sentiment trends, and inferred emotional cues to understand attachment, not just satisfaction. It’s especially useful for brands competing on experience, not price.

Taken together, these data points create a more reliable model. Not just who’s loyal today, but who’s likely to stay, spend, and advocate tomorrow.


How to Choose Loyalty Management Software

The wrong loyalty platform won’t break a business, but it will stall progress. What looks slick in a demo can crumble under pressure if it can’t sync with existing systems, surface usable insights, or grow with you.

Enterprise teams evaluating loyalty management software need more than a feature checklist. They need to know how the tool will hold up six months in, with multiple departments relying on it.

Here’s what separates the useful from the disruptive:

True Integration

No platform works in isolation. If loyalty data sits in a separate bucket from customer service, CRM, or analytics tools, there’s a problem.

That means:

Most loyalty management platforms also seamlessly connect with CCaaS platforms, conversational analytics tools, and ERP software.

Dashboards That Get Used

Too many platforms surface metrics. Fewer tell you what they mean.

The strongest systems flag what matters: declining engagement from a once-loyal segment, a regional drop in redemption rates, churn triggers hiding in feedback. Ideally, these insights feed into broader customer intelligence tools.

Ask the vendor: When loyalty starts to dip, how will your platform show it, and who will know?

Scalability

Will it handle loyalty across multiple brands? Markets? Languages? Can it adapt to tiered models, emotional loyalty, partner programs?

Look for:

  • Configurable logic, not hard-coded structures
  • Clean admin interfaces for rule management
  • Role-based controls that keep compliance teams comfortable

If it takes a developer to adjust a points rule, it’s not enterprise-ready.

Discover who’s driving results in the loyalty management software market here:


Best Practices for Improving Customer Loyalty

Loyalty doesn’t just emerge from a points program or a fun campaign. For enterprises, it’s a byproduct of consistent, intentional experience design, built into service flows, product strategy, data models, and frontline decision-making.

Build Feedback Loops That Actually Close

The fastest way to erode loyalty? Ignoring input – or worse, asking for it and doing nothing.

Instead of measuring feedback volume, measure action: How many product updates were driven by complaints? How often are support teams looped in to resolve themes emerging from surveys? Connect your loyalty program to customer feedback management tools that can drive real changes, not just reporting.

Use Tiering: But Don’t Let It Turn Transactional

Tiered loyalty still has its place, but only when it’s designed with purpose. Value shouldn’t just reflect spend. It should acknowledge engagement in all its forms. Early adopters, advocates, testers, even those who provide consistent feedback – they’re all part of the loyalty equation.

In B2B especially, tiers work best when they reflect mutual success. Think retention milestones, shared KPIs, or collaborative innovation, not just contract size.

Let AI Do More Than Segment

Yes, AI can slice customer cohorts faster. But real value comes when it flags what’s slipping before it shows up in churn.

Modern loyalty management tools increasingly come with predictive features: surfacing customers at risk of disengagement, nudging reps to check in, or adjusting loyalty offers based on sentiment and behavior patterns. Don’t just use AI to automate, use it to alert.

Tie Service Quality to Loyalty Outcomes

When loyalty starts to dip, it’s often not marketing’s fault, it’s a missed service expectation, or a support gap that never got escalated.

Bring loyalty and service metrics closer together. Track whether NPS dips after a long resolution time. Monitor whether loyalty program members get faster assistance, and whether that’s noticed.

Reward the Behavior You Want More Of

Discounts create habits, and not always good ones. If you reward spend alone, you build deal-seekers, not advocates.

Instead, reward the moments that drive growth:

  • Referrals
  • Feedback submitted
  • Community contributions
  • Self-service engagement
  • Event participation

Loyalty isn’t a transaction, it’s a signal. Recognize the signals that drive real business value.

Localize Where It Matters

For multinational brands, loyalty can’t be global by default. Preferences shift by market, so should campaigns.

Consider:

  • Local holiday-based promotions
  • Regional tier naming conventions
  • Local influencers or ambassadors

Global strategy. Local flavor. That balance keeps loyalty human.


Customer Loyalty Management + Service: The Critical Link

Loyalty doesn’t just live in a dashboard or a rewards app. It’s won or lost in moments that often feel small: a delivery delay, a billing dispute, a misunderstood policy. The way a brand responds in these moments is often more influential than any discount or points tier.

And that makes customer service a cornerstone of customer loyalty management.

When Service Is Seamless, Loyalty Feels Earned

Customers don’t demand flawlessness. But they do expect clarity, speed, and respect when things go wrong. Loyalty isn’t tested during moments of delight, it’s tested when something breaks. Support teams who can see a customer’s history, loyalty status, and previous interactions don’t just fix problems faster. They solve them with more context, more care, and often, more impact.

This is where integration matters:

  • CRM systems should surface loyalty data
  • CPaaS platforms can enable proactive outreach
  • Ticketing systems can reflect VIP status or churn risk

Proactive Service = Preventative Loyalty Loss

The best loyalty moves aren’t reactive. They’re invisible, because the problem was handled before the customer noticed.

For example:

  • Flagging shipping delays and sending apologies before the complaint
  • Alerting high-value customers when products they love are low in stock
  • Following up after negative sentiment is detected in chatbot interactions

This requires orchestration. But the payoff is reduced escalation volume, increased trust, and loyalty built on more than transactions.

Empower Agents Like They’re Brand Ambassadors

Loyalty lives or dies with the agent experience. If the frontline team feels unsupported, overworked, or stuck with legacy tools, they can’t deliver the kind of service that loyalty depends on.

Modern workforce engagement platforms are helping here, giving agents better training, clearer knowledge bases, and visibility into customer journeys. This isn’t just an ops upgrade, it’s a loyalty investment.


Customer Loyalty Management Trends to Watch

Enterprise loyalty strategies evolve with the customer, and the customer continues to change.

Over the past two years, loyalty has shifted from tactical marketing add-on to boardroom-level priority. Why? Because retention has become the fastest route to stable revenue.

Here’s what’s changing right now.

  • Loyalty Is Getting Smarter: Rather than shouting about rewards, top brands are building invisible loyalty, systems that work behind the scenes, adjusting experiences based on behavior, purchase history, and product use. The loyalty isn’t in the point balance. It’s in the recognition. AI and predictive analytics are playing a bigger role here, helping teams act on churn signals before the customer ever says a word.
  • Emotional Loyalty Takes the Lead: Price cuts don’t build loyalty. They build expectations. Enterprise buyers are shifting from transactional incentives to emotional loyalty strategies, things like exclusive experiences, consistent service, and values-based alignment. In B2B markets, that might look like strategic co-development, VIP access to product roadmaps, or account-based reward systems.
  • Loyalty Hardwired Into CX: The strongest loyalty programs don’t operate in isolation. They’re woven into the wider customer experience stack, touching CRM, CPaaS, contact center platforms, and data systems. This allows brands to reward customers in real time, based on meaningful actions, not just spend.
  • Consent-First Design: The days of collecting data “because we can” are over. Modern loyalty programs are being rebuilt around trust and transparency. That means clear value exchanges, upfront permissions, and control for the customer. Loyalty is no longer about how much data you can gather, it’s about how responsibly you use what you have.

Customer Loyalty Management Beyond the Transaction

Customer loyalty isn’t a finish line. It’s an ongoing, intentional outcome earned across every interaction, reinforced with every decision, and protected by every system put in place.

For enterprise teams, managing that loyalty means more than launching a rewards program. Managing loyalty well means making it easier for customers to stay than to leave. That’s not about discounts or perks, it’s about designing experiences that feel effortless, relevant, and personal.

Whether the goal is improving retention, boosting lifetime value, or gaining a clearer view of customer behaviour, the right strategy starts with the right tools, and the right insights.

CX Today offers a range of resources to help enterprise teams build loyalty systems that actually move the needle:

  • Explore the Marketplace: Compare top loyalty management vendors with features tailored for growth, data integration, and security at scale.
  • Join the Community: Learn how CX and marketing leaders across industries are evolving loyalty strategies in the CX Community.
  • Track What’s Changing: Follow new developments in AI-powered loyalty, cross-channel experience design, and customer journey intelligence with research reports.

See how loyalty fits into the broader CX ecosystem. Visit our Ultimate CX Guide for a practical deep dive into the people, platforms, and processes driving customer-led growth.

 

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Qualtrics to Snap Up Press Ganey Forsta in $6.75BN Deal, Consolidate the VoC Market https://www.cxtoday.com/uncategorized/qualtrics-to-snap-up-press-ganey-forsta-in-6-75bn-deal-consolidate-the-voc-market/ Tue, 07 Oct 2025 12:27:44 +0000 https://www.cxtoday.com/?p=74538 Qualtrics has agreed to acquire Press Ganey Forsta for $6.75BN.

Press Ganey Forsta, often referred to as “PG Forsta”, is a rising force in the voice of the customer (VoC) space, rivaling Qualtrics.

Indeed, it recently placed as a Leader in the market’s latest Gartner Magic Quadrant for VoC.

In doing so, PG Forsta ranked alongside InMoment, which it later rolled up in May.

As such, this latest acquisition brings together three of the VoC space’s biggest brands.

Yet, Qualtrics is one of the market’s two most prominent names, with Medallia the other.

The acquisition will extend its market leadership and help consolidate the space.

Nevertheless, it will also boost Qualtrics’ industry-specific offerings, with PG Forsta widely deployed in the healthcare space and other highly-regulated sectors.

Across these industries, it offers advanced journey visualizations and templates, simplifying feature adoption.

PG Forsta is also well-known for its strong support services and differentiated AI solutions for front-line, customer-facing employees.

As such, it can offer many more bows to Qualtrics’ quiver, with the deal marking the VoC giant’s largest investment since it was taken private by Silver Lake in 2023.

“Bringing Qualtrics and Press Ganey Forsta together will accelerate the adoption of AI and create the most comprehensive platform for improving the human experience,” said Zig Serafin, CEO of Qualtrics.

Combining Qualtrics’ AI platform with Press Ganey Forsta’s trusted analytics and deep expertise creates an opportunity to deliver exceptional value and measurable outcomes for our customers.

The combined companies are expected to generate nearly $3BN in annual revenue. The cash and stock transaction is expected to close in the coming months, and the two companies will continue to operate independently in the meantime.

But beyond size, Patrick T. Ryan, Chairman and CEO of Press Ganey Forsta, stressed that the real differentiator is the ability to turn massive data into smarter, faster decisions powered by AI.

“AI is rapidly transforming every industry, and organizations need proven, innovative solutions grounded in deep expertise to move from insight to impact faster,” he said. This investment ignites our ability to deliver.”

Qualtrics has already been making strides in AI with tools like Conversational Feedback, Qualtrics Assist, synthetic research platform Edge Audiences, and Experience Agents. According to the company, more than one-third of customers have adopted these AI features, and 90 percent of their top 50 enterprise clients are already using them.

Now, with Press Ganey Forsta’s benchmarking data and advisory services in the mix, Qualtrics aims to help clients move from insights to impact faster.

As Bill Staikos, Founder and Managing Partner of Be Customer Led, put it in a LinkedIn post:

In the quickly consolidating CXM space, this is the loudest signal yet that ‘experience’ is more and more about data fidelity and industry depth. PG’s healthcare footprint is enormous, and the combined company also recently picked up InMoment. So this is data scale + vertical credibility + AI (and AI training) in one package.

That massive healthcare footprint sees Press Ganey Forsta work with 41,000 providers across 30 countries. As it does so, Press Ganey Forsta’s Human Experience (HX) Platform brings together customer experience, employee experience, patient experience, and market research. Yet, its influence is expanding.

Jim Davies, Co-Founder and Executive Partner at Actionary, summarized the move by telling CX Today:

The PG Forsta acquisition strengthens Qualtrics’ healthcare and VoC capabilities, expanding its portfolio and reinforcing its market leadership in experience management. The next frontier will be proactively embedding insights directly into operational workflows to shape customer experiences in real time.

What Does the Deal Mean for Qualtrics’ Rivals?

“The combo locks up healthcare for Qualtrics, as they’ll now have a massive inventory of longitudinal patient and clinician signals, wrapped in compliance workflows and integrations, that most horizontal platforms simply don’t have,” according to Staikos.

For Medallia, it brings both real pressure and hidden opportunity. The pressure is clear, as the narrative is shifting hard toward platforms that offer high-signal, trusted, industry-specific data and the ability to drive meaningful action within existing systems. But the opportunity lies in leaning into its strengths: blue-chip clients, strong service delivery, and a foothold in industries like financial services, travel, and telco, Staikos wrote.

Yet, what about other market competitors Sprinklr and Verint?

“[T]his is a green light [for Sprinklr] to lean into their “unified front-office execution,” continued Staikos. “They already own care, social, and marketing workflows; the move now is to prove closed-loop activation with measurable cost-to-serve and revenue lift using the signals they already collect.”

For Verint, which will merge with its rival Calabrio after its recent acquisition by Thoma Bravo, “the path is ‘interaction + intent + outcome’. They can bind VoC to interaction analytics and WEM so leaders can remove failure demand, versus just putting it on a dashboard.

“In the end, if you’re not going to be the data-plus-vertical incumbent, you have to be the activation engine that lives natively in CRM, CCaaS, EHR, POS, and ERP. Vertical depth, packaged outcomes, first-party data leverage, and ruthless proof of value in quarters, not years, is the winning message.

The VoC market has been heating up with consolidations and AI innovation. All eyes will be on how quickly the combined company can integrate its capabilities and deliver on its promise to turn better data into better human experiences at scale.

 

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Qualtrics Finds Cynicism Around AI Threatens Customer Loyalty https://www.cxtoday.com/uncategorized/qualtrics-finds-cynicism-around-ai-threatens-customer-loyalty/ Tue, 07 Oct 2025 04:01:06 +0000 https://www.cxtoday.com/?p=74520 Many businesses are enthusiastically deploying AI-powered chatbots and agents as the front line of their customer engagement, but a growing number of consumers are hitting the brakes.

The benefits for businesses are clear. AI chatbots and agents are always on, never tired, and cost a fraction of a human support team, promising speed, scale, and efficiency. But many consumers simply don’t want to talk to robots, and, worryingly for brands, this is threatening customer loyalty as well as sales, Qualtrics found in its Customer Experience Trends 2026 report.

The survey found that 95% of UK consumers would prefer not to deal with chatbots at all.

The reason is rooted in trust. Consumers remain skeptical about interacting with AI across their customer experience, with around 80% responding that they haven’t dealt with AI-based customer service help or support recently.

While some AI chatbots have improved considerably, there’s still a widespread perception that AI can’t match the nuance or empathy of a human conversation.

Around 33% of UK customers don’t trust the information provided by AI, while just 35% globally say AI customer support actually solves their problem, Qualtrics found.

AI service tools have yet to close the gap between brands’ expectations that they will help improve customer interactions and consumers’ concerns that they won’t.

More than half of UK consumers worry they won’t be able to reach a human to resolve their issues when companies automate their interactions with AI.

After all, around 46% of UK customers cite convenience as the main reason they choose a particular brand over another. So the idea that AI won’t deliver a smooth experience is enough to push consumers away from brands that rely on it too heavily.

What’s more, communication breakdowns are still one of the biggest reasons customers walk away unhappy, causing 42% of all bad experiences in the UK.

But businesses may not get the insights they need to understand churn and improve the experience for the customer. Around 31% of UK consumers do not communicate with a company directly after they have a poor experience. But with 44% of bad experiences leading customers to reduce their spending with the company, brands are losing loyalty — and revenue — without being able to understand why.

As Isabelle Zdatny, Head of Thought Leadership at Qualtrics XM Institute, told CX Today:

Silence from consumers is one of the biggest challenges for UK brands right now as they try to manage shifting customer expectations and needs.

“Increasingly, customers don’t tell companies about bad experiences – they just act, with roughly half reducing their spending. Companies can be left guessing where they went wrong,” Zdatny said. “Brands need to recognize that every missed signal, whether it’s a dropped call, an abandoned shopping cart, or a negative social post, identifies an area for improvement.”

Companies need to stay tuned in to the warning signs. When customers start showing frustration, it signals that something is off in the experience, and brands need to move to fix it fast.

The solution isn’t necessarily to ditch chatbots entirely, but to deploy them thoughtfully. Brands need to focus on seamless handoffs from AI to humans, making it clear from the start that help is available in whatever form the customer needs.

“Addressing these issues as they appear helps build consumer trust, which is the currency of customer experience. AI can help connect those dots, but only if companies are listening with the intent to act,” Zdatny said.

The Loyalty Fallout

Customer loyalty doesn’t just hinge on solving problems. It’s also about feeling heard and valued. When a consumer reaches out to a brand with a concern or question and they’re met with a chatbot that dodges the issue or fails to escalate properly, that loyalty takes a hit.

And in the wake of several high-profile data security breaches this year in the UK, the trust stakes are especially high.

While 63% of UK consumers prefer to buy from brands that provide personalized experiences, 36% are uncomfortable with their information being used for personalization, Qualtrics’ survey found, and only 40% trust companies to use their data responsibly.

That aligns with the findings of PwC’s 2025 Customer Experience Survey, which indicated that while executives tend to assume customers are willing to share their data for personalized services, consumers are reluctant to share detailed personal data for an improved experience.

Just 39% of the respondents to Qualtrics’ survey believe the benefits they receive from sharing data with brands are worth the privacy trade-off.

UK consumers are some of the most concerned in the world when it comes to hackers potentially stealing their information, with 28% citing data breaches as their biggest fear when companies collect their personal information, compared with 23% of global consumers.

The recent cyber attacks on UK retailers have sharpened those fears and left many questioning whether sharing data is worth the risk, Qualtrics noted.

“As brands scale AI solutions across the customer experience, they must do this with authenticity and transparency. People want reassurance that the tools designed to make their lives easier won’t erode their privacy or block access to real support,”  Zdatny said.

When companies deploy AI that actually resolves issues — not just deflects them — while protecting customer data and maintaining clear paths to human support, that’s when trust starts to grow. Anything less feels like a cost-cutting exercise.

The research points to a way forward, as around 44% of UK consumers say they would be prepared to share more of their data if companies were transparent about what they collect. And 47% want greater control over how their information is used.

As AI becomes more embedded in customer experiences, brands need to achieve a fine balance. If they rely too heavily on AI, they risk alienating their customer base. But if they ignore its potential, they could fall behind on efficiency and innovation. At the same time, given consumer concerns about the way their data is being used, strong privacy practices are as important as the technology itself.

If brands can find that sweet spot bringing together smart automation, human availability, and clear communication, they might just keep cynicism at bay and loyalty intact.

 

 

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The Contentsquare-Loris Acquisition: A Closer Look https://www.cxtoday.com/uncategorized/the-contentsquare-loris-acquisition-a-closer-look/ Tue, 26 Aug 2025 14:23:58 +0000 https://www.cxtoday.com/?p=73180 Contentsquare is an analytics platform that connects the dots across the digital experience and generates visual insights. 

If there’s an issue on a brand’s site, it aims to flag it before customers report the problem.  

Earlier this month, Contentsquare shared its intention to expand its platform by snapping up Loris AI, a conversational intelligence solution deployed in contact centers.  

The solution comprises AI and machine learning models that analyze what customers are saying, without asking them directly.  

By bringing Loris into the fold, Contentsquare takes a unique step in merging digital analytics with conversational intelligence. 

That helps expand the scope of customer journey analytics beyond isolated digital analytics, customer feedback management, and contact center intelligence tools. 

By doing so, Contentsquare hopes to enable a deeper understanding of where customer journeys break and possible solutions. 

As Jonathan Cherki, CEO and Founder of Contentsquare, explained: 

CX is shifting fast, and conversations are becoming an essential part of how people interact with businesses. With Loris, we’re giving our customers the capabilities they need to lead this transformation – to understand and optimize conversations, and connect them to the broader digital journey.

Alongside this deeper understanding of where customer journeys break, Contentsquare is helping businesses prepare for a future where AI becomes evermore present across digital channels. 

That AI includes third-party conversational assistants, channels Gartner predicts will handle 70 percent of customer interactions, from start to finish, by 2028.  

As more interactions shift to these digital assistants, brands need to capture that conversational data and pool it. If not, they’ll only secure a partial view of how customers engage and where those AI-led interactions broke.  

By wrapping conversational analytics around live and AI agent conversations, Contentsquare can centralize that intelligence with broader journey context and derive new insights. 

Etie Hertz, CEO of Loris AI, shared his enthusiasm for joining Contentsquare’s mission. “AI agents and effortless brand engagement are unleashing a conversation revolution,” he said. “The companies that harness this conversational intelligence will win in this new world.

Combining Loris and Contentsquare connects digital interactions, AI responses, and customer conversations seamlessly with real business outcomes like satisfaction, retention, and lifetime value.

The combination also elevates Contentsquare’s vision to become a platform all customer-facing teams can plug into, not just a digital owner or contact center leader.   

Zeus Kerravala, Principal Analyst at ZK Research, applauds this approach.  

“I really appreciate organizations that think about CX holistically, the entire customer journey,” he said. “Traditionally, the contact center has been viewed as a cost center rather than a profit driver, since most customers only end up there when something goes wrong. Before that, they’re interacting on the website or in a store. 

That’s why platforms like ContentSquare are so valuable: they provide a complete view of the customer lifecycle.

“This acquisition of Loris signals a deeper focus on AI and analytics to capture and understand those interactions more comprehensively,” he summarized. “I’m excited to see how they build on this.”

However, Contentsquare is far from the only big brand to make an exciting, recent acquisition in the customer experience space.  

Most recently, private equity firm Thoma Bravo snapped up Verint, planning to merge the vendor with its workforce engagement management (WEM) rival Calabrio.  

Meanwhile, NiCE rolled up Cognigy to converge its Mpower CXone contact center platform with a leading conversational AI solution.  

Much like Contentsquare’s acquisition of Loris AI, these moves highlight a consolidation trend that may just reshape the customer experience landscape. 

 

 

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The Top VoC Solutions to Explore in 2025 https://www.cxtoday.com/uncategorized/the-top-voc-solutions-to-explore-in-2025/ Fri, 25 Jul 2025 20:23:47 +0000 https://www.cxtoday.com/?p=44710 The best way to stay ahead at a time when customer expectations are constantly changing? Start listening. Not just occasionally, or after a ticket closes. Truly great CX in 2025 begins with understanding customers in real time, what they say, what they feel, and what they need, often before they even say it. That’s where VOC solutions come in.

Voice of the Customer (VOC) platforms and tools empower companies to learn more about what their customers really want, need, and expect. These tools have evolved far beyond simple solutions for sending traditional post-interaction surveys to customers.

Today’s platforms are smart, AI-powered ecosystems that capture feedback across every channel: voice calls, live chat, emails, social media, and even silent signals like click patterns or customer behavior. So which tools are leading the way in 2025?

Here are some of the top vendors in the VOC space, and what they have to offer.


The Top VOC Solutions


The Top VOC Solutions for Deeper Customer Insights

This list highlights the most impactful Voice of the Customer (VOC) solutions in 2025. It’s built on a mix of trusted research and real-world insight, including the latest findings from the Gartner Magic Quadrant for VOC Platforms, Forrester Wave evaluations, recent product announcements, and internal analysis of emerging trends across the CX space.

Each solution in this list stands out for a different reason. Some lead with powerful AI, others with seamless integration or exceptional usability. All of them reflect where VOC technology is headed, and how businesses are using it to listen, learn, and lead in customer experience.


Qualtrics

Qualtrics won “Best VoC Solution” at the CX Awards 2025, thanks to the completeness of its vision, rapid feature release cadence, and its extensive base of global enterprise clients.

One notable new release within its XM for Customer Experience suite is its Experience Agents. These AI-driven assistants proactively resolve problems, personalize follow-up, and even tweak website interactions on the fly.

Another is its Conversational Feedback capability, which helps generate two times more detailed responses, enhancing insight quality without reducing completion rates.

Qualtrics also introduced various solutions for omnichannel insights, such as its Location Experience Hub (for frontline teams) and Qualtrics Assist for CX.

Plus, the company announced Qualtrics Edge, a market intelligence platform for blending AI, synthetic insights, market research data, and even expert advisory services.

Lastly, Qualtrics has developed strategic partnerships and co-innovations with major brands like KFC, which have driven measurable results.


Medallia

Medallia has further distinguished itself in the VoC space by adding 100+ AI-powered features since the beginning of 2024, turning omnichannel data, including contact center and digital customer interaction data, into real-time, actionable insights.

The vendor’s assistant, Athena, is a notable addition, delivering instant customer intelligence to key business stakeholders and reducing analytical workloads.

Meanwhile, Medallia helps aggregate feedback from 35+ systems, leveraging advanced text analytics and cohort tracking for deep personalized insight.

Interestingly, strategic acquisitions and a strong focus on unstructured data somewhat position Medallia as a system of record for customer signals, acting almost like a CRM or CDP platform.

By blurring the lines between VoC and these CX software categories, Medallia can differentiate not only via a focus on collecting richer data, but also by acting on it with layered workflow tools for dissatisfied customer follow-ups, front-line coaching recommendations, and more.


Sprinklr

Sprinklr benefits from its broader ecosystem of social media management, conversational AI, and contact center solutions. In tying these offerings with VoC solutions, the vendor enables capabilities that differentiate its Sprinklr Insights platform.

For instance, it doesn’t only track brand mentions on social media. Instead, it takes other actionable intelligence, such as trending topics on specific social channels, to help brands engage in more conversations that matter to their business and glean insight from them.

As a result, Sprinklr extends the scope of VoC and passes new insights across the business with proprietary AI and ML routing engines. These insights may then trigger campaigns, alerts, and support responses instantly.

In terms of its core VoC proposition, Sprinklr impresses with its conversational survey capabilities, AI-driven user interface, and customer community.

Yet, the integration of VoC capabilities within the Sprinklr Unified CXM platform, with cross-departmental workflow triggers, makes Sprinklr a standout VoC option.


PG Forsta

PG Forsta made a splash with its May 2025 acquisition of InMoment, bringing together two industry leaders to create a new VOC solution powerhouse.

With InMoment’s Experience Improvement (XI) Platform, PG Forsta secures advanced AI analytics features, including the ability to offer prescriptive recommendations on how to improve an individual’s experience based on their feedback.

Additionally, the VoC solutions vendor offers PG Forsta mature predictive analytics capabilities and a deep base of professional services partners, which can champion its brand.

Meanwhile, PG Forsta has many pre-existing strengths, likes its industry-specific innovation and expertise, which extends across highly-regulated sectors, including healthcare and financial services.

Meanwhile, the VoC provider can offer advanced market research, journey visualization, and front-line employee feedback solutions.


Chattermill

Chattermill offers a VoC solution leveraged by brands including Uber, Booking.com, and E.ON.

Its proprietary AI, Lyra, is a key platform capability, transforming unstructured data – from support chats to app reviews – into actionable insights that guide strategic decisions across the front office, product teams, and beyond.

Those actionable insights can underline specific pain points and growth opportunities, which funnel through to the relevant teams.

Real-world impact includes a 144 percent NPS increase in its work with E.ON, with the case study showcasing how Chattermill turns feedback into business transformation.

Yet, Chattermill typically only works with brands that seek experience-led growth, as they can ensure cross-functional buy-in that enables the provider’s platform to shine.


Alchemer

Recognized by both Gartner, and the Forrester Wave reports, Alchemer upgraded to a “Challenger” position in this year’s magic quadrant. This company’s easy-to-use platform offers a flexible survey builder and empowers businesses to gather feedback from the web, mobile, and in-app surveys

Alchemer provides an intuitive platform that centralizes flexible survey tools across web, mobile, and in-app channels.

A notable feature of its platform is Alchemer Pulse, which adds AI-powered text analytics for real-time sentiment, intent, and thematic insights, while integrations with CRMs and support systems drive action from feedback.

Its 2023 acquisition of Apptentive has also bolstered the platform, strengthening its mobile feedback. Meanwhile, its Chattermill partnership boosts its AI-driven text mining capability.

Across verified review sites and industry reports, Alchemer also differentiates via its free proof of concepts (POCs) and highly-rated customer experiences.


Verint

Verint remains a highly-regarded vendor across the contact center space, and its VoC solutions typically excel in equipping service leaders with new customer insight.

With its adjacent enterprise data hub, brands can consolidate that insight and align it with conversational analytics, workforce engagement management (WEM), and other key contact center data sources.

In terms of Verint’s more flashy features, unique capabilities like customer effort detection, advanced data mapping, and AI-led outreach triggers, based on social sentiment, stand out. These tools help expand Verint’s reach beyond the confines of the contact center, as does its rage detection functionality.

Nevertheless, it’s a provider best suited to businesses looking to primarily boost the performance of their customer service teams.


Concentrix

Though it slipped into the niche player quadrant for the 2025 Garter VOC Magic Quadrant, Concentrix still has a strong presence in the market.

Concentrix stands out for not only delivering a VoC platform but also having expert-led service teams work closely with customers to deploy its technology across their operations.

That said, its solution does boast several nifty capabilities. For instance, its AI Data Explorer empowers any team member, from the frontline to executives, to instantly extract insights from structured and unstructured data, with no data scientists necessary.

New AI tools also assist in crafting ad-hoc pulse surveys tailored to specific needs in minutes.

Alongside that, Concentrix claims to help brands unlock three to five times ROI within 12 months by taking on much of the logistics and enabling CX leaders to focus on what matters: driving change.


Caplena

Caplena uses a mix of generative AI and statistical methods in VoC solutions to analyze survey responses, reviews, and other unstructured text.

Yet, what sets it apart is its tools to keep users in the driver’s seat. For instance, they can fine-tune AI-generated topics in real time, with built-in quality scores providing confidence in the output. They can also select from 31+ languages and import data via CSVs and out-of-the-box APIs.

Dashboards with a native AI assistant also help teams explore and share results quickly, with unlimited user access across the organization. Indeed, anyone can engage with the data from frontline teams to leadership and uncover what matters most to customers.

Finally, Caplena partners with over 200 companies – including Lufthansa, Kia, and Bosch – to make sense of millions of pieces of feedback and drive better customer experiences.


SMG

SMG combines VOC solutions with insights into employee experience, and brand experience. SMG excels in specific industries, like retail and consumer goods, and also in how it combines VoC with VoE (voice of the employee) solutions to empower customer-facing teams.

Other notable features include its advanced mobile app, benchmarking, and intuitive report-building, all aiming to aid VoC analysts with deeper insights.

The vendor is also highly-regarded for its service-oriented approach, beyond the initial deployment, utilizing its market heritage to help brands deploy VoC platforms thoroughly and at maximum value. Via this last point, SMG reveals its true differentiator: market understanding and execution.


NICE

Nowadays, NICE primarily focuses on the CCaaS and WEM markets. Yet, it has heritage in this space with NiCE Satmetrix.

Now, that solution is named NICE Feedback Management Surveys, and it still boasts many advanced features, especially for brands seeking a contact-center-oriented VoC product.

For instance, its multichannel surveys include automations to boost response rates, its analytics features smart CSAT/NPS analysis, and its ecosystem comprises a roster of oven-ready CRM integrations and flexible APIs.

Plus, thanks to its contact center prowess, NICE can connect VoC data with WEM, conversational analytics, and other CCaaS data sources for a more comprehensive customer view.


SurveyMonkey

SurveyMonkey is firmly focused on VOC solutions for CX teams, with over 260K organizations using AI‑infused tools for survey building, feedback collection, and analytics.

SurveyMonkey isn’t just a survey creation tool for SMBs. Instead, it has an enterprise offering that harnesses AI‑infused tools for survey building, feedback collection, and analytics.

One standout feature is “Build with AI”, which lets teams draft surveys via voice commands or text. Another is “Connect”, a library of no-code quick actions to connect survey data with popular business applications.

In terms of its analytics, SurveyMonkey can offer multi-survey analysis, benchmark customer experience with industry-standard metrics, and enable TURF analysis to help determine the best combination of products, capabilities, or messages to reach more customers.

SurveyMonkey also offers a tight integration with Salesforce, embedding VoC capabilities directly into Salesforce workflows.


Pisano

According to verified customer reviews on Gartner Peer Insights, Pisano leads the VoC space in its integration and deployment experience (as of July 2025). It’s even above Qualtrics and Medallia!

In this regard, the platform benefits from its lightweight, plug-and-play VoC solutions. Yet, its robust AI-driven text analysis is also notable. Thanks to this capability, Pisano can identify sentiment, thematic trends, and predictive insights across mediums to help teams anticipate customer needs.

Built for mid-market organizations, Pisano combines simplicity with depth, with its dashboards delivering quick insight “without complexity”.

Pisano also offers a unified experience for capturing and acting on feedback, making it ideal for businesses that want fast deployment and advanced analytics in an accessible package.


Alida

Alida’s platform stands out for its “beyond customer experience” focus, as it pulls relevant customer insights for specific stakeholders, from researchers to user experience (UX) design teams.

In doing so, it offers differentiative VoC data collection tools, which support customer interviews, community panels, and even usability tests.

Moreover, it offers an array of integrations with CRM, ticketing, and BI systems, through which it can share discovery data from across the customer lifecycle.

Ultimately, Alida is more of a unique solution within this VoC solutions vendor mix, which may help teams from across the business contribute further in shaping next-generation customer experiences.


QuestionPro

QuestionPro is a VoC platform that is well-utilized within midmarket and growing businesses thanks to a survey-first design that enables fast, flexible feedback collection.

It’s also cost-effective and relatively simple to utilize, as teams may create, launch, and optimize their VoC programs while leveraging several advanced features.

Perhaps most notably, these features include journey tracking, generative AI assistants, and multi-channel distribution across the web, email, mobile apps, and social. Yet, there’s also geolocation logic and collaborative testing.

Lastly, while it may not match Qualtrics or Medallia for feature depth, it can deliver accessible, actionable insights with much of the power and polish of higher-end systems.


Dovetail

Leveraged by the likes of Amazon, Spotify, and Starbucks, Dovetail is a VoC vendor that’s quickly rising up the ranks, with its platform designed to help teams create more customer-friendly products and services.

How? By collecting feedback from a myriad of sources – user feedback, service tickets, sales calls, etc. – and funneling them into a customer insights hub. It then makes all that insight searchable, so critical stakeholders from across the business can unlock new knowledge via prompts.

The solution can also help create action plans based on stored insights, generate VoC reports “with one click”, and translate across 75 languages.

Lastly, Dovetail doesn’t rely only on large language models (LLMs) and natural language processing (NLP) for innovation. It even features trusty old AI tech like optical character recognition (OCR) to support various VoC activities.


XEBO.ai

XEBO.ai is a newcomer that earned a spot in Gartner’s 2025 VoC Magic Quadrant thanks to its pure AI-native approach.

Rather than bolting on AI as a feature, XEBO.ai embeds it at the platform’s core, analyzing direct and indirect feedback sources in real time to extract emotion, intent, and predictive insights.

Its platform is also designed for scale and flexibility, offering secure local hosting, video-to-text feedback, and customizable workflows.

With strong uptake in telecom and retail, XEBO.ai is already making waves as a new entrant, while its robust international support is also impressive, given how the company was only founded in 2018.

Other standout strengths include robust social listening and a go-to-market strategy that’s helped it outpace more established players.


CustomerGauge

CustomerGauge serves the B2B market, with powerful tools for combining customer insight with revenue data to identify churn risks, upsell opportunities, and loyalty drivers.

The Netherlands-based provider also offers market benchmarking, industry-specific scoring, and proactive outreach to help businesses use insights to actively retain customers, build better relationships, and upsell.

Additionally, the company is hands-on, offering playbooks to customers so they can run new VoC initiatives and bolster their broader strategies.

That serves its vibrant community, with the brand frequently running new educational activities to help keep its customers up to date with all its latest activities.


SurveySparrow

SurveySparrow offers a conversational, survey-first VoC solution, priding itself on the diversity of survey options, its platform ease of use, and ecosystem of 1,500+ integrations.

On the former, it can offer “chat-like” surveys to encourage participation, alongside classic, online, NPS, and various other templated surveys.

The vendor then applies its CogniVue analytics engine to dig into open-text responses, surfacing trends and key themes.

However, SurveySparrow’s range of customer survey tools sets it apart, enabling versatile tools for spot checks, pulse assessments, and more.


AskNicely

AskNicely takes a fresh, frontline-first approach to customer experience by focusing not just on measuring customer experience retrospectively, but improving it in real time.

Indeed, the company describes its solution as a pocket-sized coach for frontline employees, delivering instant feedback, recognition, and coaching after every customer interaction.

The mobile-first platform scales easily across customer-facing teams, taking the voice of the customer and making it instantly actionable.

Lastly, the vendor scores highest out of all experience management software providers on G2 in terms of ease of use (as of July 2025). That’s a big accolade for a relatively small brand.


Cresta

Cresta is boosting its presence in voice-based VOC solutions with innovations designed for contact centers. The Voice Virtual Agent is a conversational AI that handles complex calls 24/7, learning from humans and identifying upselling or retention opportunities.

It combines LLM flexibility with deterministic logic to ensure compliance and empathy. On the analytics side, Cresta’s Conversation Intelligence tracks human and AI interactions in real time, offering sentiment analysis, quality management cues, and coaching recommendations.

The new AI Analyst lets teams ask natural-language questions like “Why did CSAT dip last week?” and get evidence-based answers in minutes.

Companies can also dive deeper into factors that define agent authenticity, empathy, and human-like content production.


CallMiner

CallMiner holds a strong position in conversation intelligence for VOC, recently named a Leader in Forrester’s Q2 2025 Wave.

Its Eureka platform scored top marks for insight exploration, topic classification, signal extraction, and coaching tools. There are also tools for curated categorization, sentiment analysis, secure redaction, and predictive scoring.

The recent acquisition of VOCALLS adds voice, chat, messaging, and email AI to its existing analytics toolset.

The platform excels for mature contact centers aiming to turn every interaction into actionable feedback. It supports automated follow-up, agent coaching, and overarching CX improvements, helping businesses scale VOC solutions beyond individual teams and into strategic decision-making.


Observe.AI

Currently engaging in some strategic acquisitions, Observe.AI is doubling down on its position in VOC solutions with the latest GenAI Insights update.

The platform now analyzes 100% of customer interactions, voice, chat, email, and surfaces turn‑by‑turn sentiment shifts, key causes and top contact drivers instantly.

Every team can access these insights via “AskObserve,” a conversational AI that responds to natural-language queries like “Why are calls about billing trending up?” with structured, data‑backed insights.

There’s also a dedicated solution specifically designed for sales teams, to help them understand objections and churn metrics.

Observe.AI also includes built-in agent coaching tools such as real-time guidance, auto‑QA, next-best-action suggestions and instant call summarization, all powered by GenAI.


Invoca

Invoca takes a marketing-to-revenue approach to VOC solutions by pulling voice call data into its automated analytics engine.

Its Signal AI Studio uses unsupervised machine learning to tag conversation topics, outcomes, and conversion signals from phone calls automatically.

The platform then connects those results to marketing channels, CRM, and bid-management platforms, turning every call into a driver for marketing and sales decisions.

In June 2025, Invoca earned the “Strong Performer” designation in Forrester’s Conversation Intelligence Wave for bridging pre-call digital signals with post-call voice analysis. Users rave the platform’s ability to score calls for revenue-relevant outcomes.


Genesys

Genesys Cloud has seen fast adoption with its AI-powered Experience Orchestration and VOC analytics. The system analyzes empathy display, sentiment, and channel switches in real time across voice, chat, and digital.

Businesses can react instantly via alerts, training prompts, or automated workflows, thanks to in-depth contact center solutions for both outbound and inbound conversations.

During FY2025, Genesys added over 150 AI features, covering AI-driven virtual assistants, real-time sentiment analytics, and post-call summaries. The platform boasts deep CRM integrations through AppFoundry and supports broad orchestration via its AI copilot and routing layers.


The Top VOC Solutions in 2025

The market for VOC solutions in 2025 is more dynamic and powerful than ever. From AI-powered conversation intelligence to real-time action platforms that close the loop automatically, today’s VOC solutions go far beyond basic surveys. They tap into every customer touchpoint, whether it’s a phone call, chatbot, online review, or mobile app interaction, and turn raw feedback into strategic decisions.

Ready to learn more about the benefits of analyzing, tracking, and using the voice of the customer for enhanced CX? Check out this guide to what’s next in the VOC space.

Or dive into these resources for help planning your next move:

  • Download the research: Explore innovative reports exploring all of the latest trends and opportunities in VoC technology.
  • Join the Community: Connect with CX leaders, strategists, analysts, and thought leaders in the thriving CX community.
  • Meet the vendors: Visit upcoming events for an opportunity to test the tech, speak to the vendors, and learn about the latest trends.
  • Learn about the market: Discover everything enterprise leaders need to know about VoC solutions, and customer experience.

Today’s enterprise customers are more vocal than ever – sharing insights about their needs, priorities, and pain points. All business leaders need is the right way to listen.

 

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Top Feedback Management Software Vendors in 2025: Tools That Turn Voices into Value https://www.cxtoday.com/uncategorized/top-feedback-management-software-vendors-in-2025-tools-that-turn-voices-into-value/ Mon, 21 Jul 2025 14:20:50 +0000 https://www.cxtoday.com/?p=47662 Most companies collect feedback, but few know how to use it effectively. That’s starting to change, with the help of the top feedback management software. More teams are beginning to build feedback into their day-to-day workflows, taking a new approach to decision making.

The right software ensures businesses don’t just collect voice of the customer insights every once in a while, with the occasional survey. These systems pull in signals from different parts of the business, support tickets, call transcripts, reviews, web sessions, and help teams make sense of it all.

As the market for feedback software continues to accelerate, growing at a rate of 11.7% CAGR, it’s time for business leaders to evaluate which vendors can help them better understand their customers. Here are some of the top vendors offering feedback management software in the market today.


The Top Feedback Management Software Vendors


The Top Feedback Management Software Vendors in 2025

There are a lot of platforms in this space. Some are built for enterprise IT teams, others are more hands-on for marketing or CX leads. What they all try to do is solve the same problem: how to take a mess of incoming feedback and turn it into something useful.

The ones listed here stood out for different reasons. Some are stronger on real-time alerts. Some offer deeper integrations. Others are introducing cutting-edge AI. But each one brings something solid to the table, whether the goal is improving retention, closing the loop faster, or just getting clearer visibility into what customers are actually saying.


Medallia

Medallia doesn’t just helps companies build the infrastructure for turning feedback into action, and not just in the call center. Whether it’s a shopper tapping “unhappy” on a kiosk, a customer venting on social media, or a hotel guest filling out a mobile survey, Medallia pulls it all together in one place.

The Experience Cloud is at the center of that. It takes structured and unstructured feedback, from web, voice, video, messaging, and more, and gives teams the tools to actually do something with it. Managers get real-time alerts when things go sideways. AI models pick up on emotion, urgency, or recurring issues before they blow up. And case management tools help teams close the loop, quickly.

For big enterprises juggling global teams, Medallia keeps things flexible. It integrates cleanly with CRMs and service platforms, and offers native support for privacy and compliance across markets.


Qualtrics 

Qualtrics has become one of the first names that comes up when companies talk about experience data. It’s not just a feedback platform; it’s an entire system for understanding how people feel, why they feel that way, and what to do next.

The platform connects different pieces of data from across the customer journey. It brings together survey responses, support interactions, reviews, even operational data, then layers on natural language processing and predictive analytics to help teams make sense of it.

The full XM solution can introduce insights into employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and brand awareness, combining them into a central view. Qualtrics also puts a lot of focus on making feedback visible to the right people. There are tools to build custom dashboards, set up automated alerts, and even link feedback to frontline KPIs.


InMoment 

One of the top feedback management software vendors focusing on the full experience ecosystem, from employee, to customer experience, InMoment offers a powerful platform to business leaders. Named a major player in conversational intelligence and analytics by IDC, InMoment forms part of the Forsta ecosystem.

With the platform, companies can connect feedback from surveys, reviews, digital interactions, and support channels, all in one place. But where InMoment really stands out is in how it handles unstructured data. Its text analytics tools dig into comments, transcripts, and social mentions to pull out the stuff that actually matters, without burying teams in noise.

There’s also a strong focus on actionability. The platform doesn’t just flag issues, it guides users toward what to do about them. That might be a recommendation for a store manager to follow up with a customer, or an alert to the product team about a recurring issue.


Concentrix 

Concentrix takes a different angle on feedback. Instead of focusing just on surveys or scores, it’s more interested in how the entire customer journey feels, and where it breaks down. The iX product suite uses artificial intelligence to clarify every element that impacts experience.

Their platform, ConcentrixCX, pulls feedback from all the usual channels, web, email, messaging, in-store. But what stands out is how the data ties into the bigger picture. Companies don’t just see what went wrong. They see when it happened, where in the journey it started, and what team’s responsible for fixing it.

It’s built with operations in mind. There are tools to route issues, track resolutions, and flag repeat complaints early. Teams can zoom in on individual problems or step back and see trends across products, stores, or regions.


NICE 

NICE has been around long enough to know where feedback fits in a contact center. It’s not something you look at once a week. It’s something you act on in real time.

Their CXone Feedback platform is built to do exactly that. It pulls in survey responses across channels and connects them to what’s happening inside the operation. That might be call wait times, escalation rates, or agent notes.

Enlighten AI is where it starts to go deeper. It scans responses for urgency, flags issues with high emotional weight, and surfaces patterns before they show up in your metrics. It can even trigger follow-up workflows automatically, so teams aren’t stuck reacting after the fact.


Verint 

CX and contact center innovator Verint offers a comprehensive toolkit to businesses in search of feedback management solutions. The platform supports multichannel surveying, to help businesses capture input across a range of platforms. Businesses can develop multi-modal campaigns, and utilize conditional logic to boost the chances of receiving relevant insights.

One feature that stands out is Open Feedback. It gives companies a way to capture unsolicited input, things like chat logs, forum comments, or in-app messages, and blend it with formal surveys. It’s especially useful for teams that want more than NPS trends.

Verint’s tools also align with other components of the Verint toolkit, from the agent copilot system, to the platform for in-depth business analytics, workforce engagement, and knowledge management.


Forsta 

Forsta is a software company committed to helping organizations access and leverage the voice of the customer. The digital feedback platform allows brands to use their website and company apps to build real-time views of digital customer journeys.

Forsta’s solutions are now aligned with the tools offered by InMoment, but there are plenty of other features to explore too. Forsta can mix structured and unstructured data into enlightening reports, and visualize patterns across customer journey.

There’s a big emphasis on presentation too. Dashboards, journey maps, and reports can be tailored for different teams, from the C-suite to frontline ops. Forsta also integrates easily with a range of other systems through open APIs and pre-built connectors.


Alida 

VOC company Alida specializes in total experience management, giving businesses the tools they need to collect insights from both employees and customers at the same time. The all-in-one toolkit comes with access to survey creation tools, allowing businesses to build branded surveys which focus on collecting data about specific KPIs and CX metrics.

The core of the system is a mix of survey tools, digital intercepts, and always-on feedback channels. But what makes it different is how it connects that feedback to actions. Users can tag ideas, vote on priorities, or track the progress of their suggestions through a branded portal.

Alida offers solid analytics and reporting too. Teams can slice feedback by customer type, location, or product line, and push results into CRM or support tools through native integrations. For product teams, it’s a clean way to spot patterns. For CX leaders, it’s a fast read on what’s improving, and what’s not.


SMG 

Experience and feedback management software vendor, SMG gives brands the tools they need to track customer experiences, and map buyer journeys. The platform offers insights into everything from customer sentiment to pain points, ratings, and reviews across a variety of channels.

They system collects data through short, mobile-friendly surveys, usually triggered right after a visit or transaction. The goal is to keep response rates high and get results in quickly. Store managers and frontline teams get daily alerts, so they’re not waiting weeks for head office to flag an issue.

The SMG platform comes with a comprehensive reporting and analytics kit too, marrying CX data with business intelligence, benchmarking, and AI-native text analytics. Companies can utilize role-based reporting tools, sort through data using API-centric open architecture, and even leverage real-time views of metrics with a mobile reporting app.


Avaya

Avaya’s been known for decades as a leading contact center vendor. But in recent years, they’ve put more energy into customer experience, and feedback now plays a bigger part in that.

Their voice-of-the-customer tools are integrated into the broader Avaya ecosystem. That means companies using Avaya for customer service don’t need to bolt on separate survey tools, they can trigger feedback requests automatically based on call outcomes, chatbot conversations, or agent interactions.

The platform supports voice, SMS, and digital surveys, with basic analytics and response tracking. It’s not as advanced as some of the standalone tools, but it’s tightly connected to contact center workflows, and workforce management strategies.


Enghouse Interactive

Enghouse keeps things straightforward. Their survey management tools are designed to plug directly into the contact center, so companies can gather feedback without adding a new system or changing how agents work.

It supports surveys across voice, email, and web, and lets teams build rules around when and how those surveys go out. That might be after a resolved case, a missed SLA, or a completed call. The feedback flows into dashboards where supervisors can review trends and drill into individual interactions. Enghouse plays well with existing systems too.

It integrates with Microsoft Teams and other enterprise tools, making it easier for hybrid and remote teams to stay aligned. Plus, the company also offers a voice of the customer (VoC) tool that aims to take customer listening to the next level.


NiceReply 

Leading customer experience and feedback management software vendor NiceReply offers a simple way to collect, manage and understand customer feedback. The company’s platform delivers access to a range of survey templates designed to assist organizations in tracking customer satisfaction scores, NPS, and more.

Business leaders can use NiceReply to send post-resolution, and in-signature email surveys, survey links, and other requests for feedback to clients in various channels.Most teams use it to track things like CSAT or NPS inside their helpdesk. The big draw is how well it fits into tools like Zendesk, Intercom, or Freshdesk.

There are some great reporting tools for teams that want to track trends or filter by agent or team. Leaders can also get alerts when something goes off track, like a drop in satisfaction or a spike in negative comments.


HubSpot 

Software as a service company HubSpot produces various flexible solutions for marketing, sales and service teams. As part of the organization’s comprehensive Service Hub, business leaders can access simple customer feedback software.

The solution includes tools for creating customer feedback surveys and sending them to clients across numerous channels, such as web links and email. Teams can send out NPS, CSAT, or CES surveys by email or display them on a website. The setup is quick, and responses go straight into contact records, so reps can see a customer’s history and recent sentiment in one view.

HubSpot’s automation features are excellent too. Companies can trigger surveys after a ticket closes, or start a workflow when someone leaves a low score.


UserTesting 

UserTesting gives you something most platforms don’t: context businesses can actually see and hear. Instead of asking customers how they feel, it shows organizations what they do and what’s getting in their way.

Businesses can set up a task, like using a new feature or finding information on a site. Then they pick an audience, and within a few hours, they’ll have screen recordings of real people going through the process, talking out loud as they go.

Teams can learn fast what’s working, what’s confusing, and what’s just broken. It’s especially useful for product and UX teams trying to catch issues early, before they ship. The platform also works for things like onboarding flows, email tests, or internal tools.


UserVoice 

UserVoice is built for one specific job: helping product teams understand what customers actually want, and giving them a way to act on it. It’s not a generic survey tool. It’s more like a shared suggestion box for growing companies.

Users submit requests, vote on features, and leave comments. Teams can sort through it all, group similar ideas, and track what’s picking up steam. There’s a workflow for tagging requests by customer segment or priority, and a feedback status feature to show which ideas are being reviewed, planned, or already launched.

Companies can even leverage an in-app feedback widget for their existing SaaS solutions. Built-in analytics capabilities make converting raw data into actionable insights easier too.


Chattermill 

Chattermill helps companies make sense of unstructured feedback at scale. Instead of looking at one channel at a time, it brings together reviews, survey comments, support tickets, and social posts, then runs them through natural language models to surface themes and patterns.

Teams get alerts when a new issue starts trending, or when sentiment drops around a specific product or region. AI systems can also automatically surface common trends and pain points. Chattermill’s platform can pull various customer comments and survey responses into one environment.

The machine learning models categorize feedback automatically and provide suggestions based on insights. Plus, companies can leverage built-in translation features and intelligent filters to help them sort through data.


Sprinklr

Sprinklr isn’t just a feedback management software vendor. It’s more like a full-blown CX stack for companies with large digital footprints. But buried inside that stack is a solid set of feedback tools that help track what people are saying across dozens of public and private channels.

It’s especially strong on social and digital listening. Teams can monitor conversations across platforms, while also pulling in reviews and customer support transcripts. Feedback gets sorted by theme, urgency, and even emotion, using built-in AI models.

What sets Sprinklr apart is how feedback connects with everything else. You can link insights to marketing campaigns, sales initiatives, or support operations.


Usersnap 

Usersnap is a specialist feedback management software solution provider focused on helping businesses make better decisions for growth. It concentrates mainly on highlighting insights connected to how customers use digital products.

Mostly, this platform attracts product and engineering teams that need to spot bugs, flag usability issues, or gather quick input during development. When users click a feedback button, they can annotate the screen, leave a comment, and submit it, all without leaving the page.

Companies can build branded portals for beta testers of products, visualize data with graphs and charts, and use AI to prioritize fixes and updates by impact. The platform also integrates seamlessly with tools like Jira, Slack, and Microsoft Teams.


Listen360 

Customer engagement and feedback management software vendors, Listen360 support brands in capturing actionable feedback from consumers throughout the customer journey. The suite of tools helps companies to keep quality consistent across every branch, partner, or location.

The platform sends short, post-interaction surveys to users right after a customer visit or service. Results come in quickly, and managers get real-time alerts when someone leaves a negative score or mentions a specific issue.

What’s helpful is how the data rolls up. Local teams see their own results, while head office can monitor trends across the entire network. There are tools for flagging problem areas, benchmarking locations, and even triggering follow-ups when someone leaves a comment worth chasing.


Sogolytics 

Software vendors Sogolytics design a host of tools for companies across various industries, from government groups to financial services. To help organizations take advantage of the benefits the voice of the customer can offer, Sogolytics embeds a range of feedback management capabilities into its platform.

Brands can use the technology to collect customer feedback across multiple channels and then automate responses for quick follow-up and resolution. There’s a built-in engine for digging into patterns, so you’re not just looking at response rates, but what’s driving them.

The Sogolytics platform also has built-in ticket management functionality to help professionals pinpoint which customer conversations they need to follow up with faster. Plus, analytics and reporting tools are available to assist business leaders in tracking trends.


Simplesat 

Built to help companies track, monitor, and improve their customer satisfaction scores, Simplesat is a straightforward software solution for feedback management.

Most teams embed Simplesat surveys directly into emails or ticket signatures. Customers rate the experience with one click, and the feedback shows up instantly in dashboards. It works with tools like Zendesk, Help Scout, and Intercom, so there’s no complex integration work.

The reporting is straightforward. Businesses can filter by agent, customer, or team, and set alerts when scores drop below a certain level. There’s also a handy testimonial feature that lets you turn positive feedback into social proof.


Apptentive (Alchemer Mobile)

Alchemer Mobile—previously known as Apptentive, specializes in in-app feedback. The platform supports brands in capturing messages from customers across various mobile channels. Teams can gather insights from customers when they’re using a product, in real-time. Everything happens in context, with minimal friction for the user.

The platform includes targeting tools to make sure feedback prompts only show up when they’re relevant, based on behavior, location, or time in-app. On the backend, product and marketing teams get a clear view of sentiment trends and response rates.

The system also offers tools for quizzes, polls, exams, and questionnaires. Plus, the company promises end-to-end security and compliance with ISO 27001, SOC 2 type 2, and GDPR.


Outgrow 

Outgrow is a little different from most platforms on this top feedback management software list. It’s not strictly a feedback tool; it’s more of a content builder that helps businesses engage people through interactive experiences like quizzes, calculators, polls, and forms.

Companies create short, dynamic surveys that don’t feel like traditional feedback forms. Organizations can collect customer preferences, reactions, or satisfaction scores through personalised flows, and embed them directly on websites, landing pages, or in emails.

It’s especially popular with marketing teams that want to turn passive visitors into active participants, and get a bit of insight in the process. There’s built-in logic, so users get different questions based on how they respond, and results can be routed into CRM or analytics tools.


HappyOrNot 

Most people have seen HappyOrNot terminals before, four smiley-faced buttons at checkout counters, airports, or public service desks. Behind those buttons is a platform built to help businesses understand how customers feel in the moment, without needing them to fill out a full survey.

The system is built for high-traffic, in-person environments. Feedback is anonymous, fast, and easy for anyone to give. HappyOrNot transforms data into visual graphs and reports, which users can easily share with members of their team. The platform also supports a variety of use cases, allowing brands to embed feedback functionality into apps and websites, touchscreen displays, and terminals or kiosks.

Real-time notifications and alerts even help to keep staff members on the same page. Plus, data gets rolled up into dashboards with hourly and daily trends, so managers can see performance patterns and make staffing or operational adjustments on the fly.


AskNicely 

AskNicely is focused on frontline teams. The platform is built around one idea: happy employees make for happy customers, and feedback should flow both ways.

It starts with fast, simple surveys that are typically tied to specific service moments. Customers give a quick rating and a short comment, which shows up instantly in team dashboards. Those insights are surfaced in real time, with the option to recognize high performers or coach around recurring issues.

AskNicely also includes goal-tracking tools and workflows that help teams close the loop. Companies can trigger follow-ups, track improvement over time, and share wins across locations. The flexible platform can connect with more than 50 leading tools, such as Microsoft Dynamics and Freshdesk.


SurveyMonkey 

Focused on the area of survey software, SurveyMonkey supports businesses in asking more relevant questions of their target audience. The platform aims to streamline the quest for customer feedback by allowing teams to build surveys faster and more efficiently, using convenient templates with pre-written questions.

Depending on the package the business chooses, SurveyMonkey’s technology can also include access to collaboration tools for teams. Within all plans, the SurveyMonkey service helps brands to manage multiple users, gain insight into customer sentiment, and preserve confidential data.

Additionally, automation systems, APIs, and powerful integrations help to align crucial customer data in one easy-to-follow workflow. There’s also built-in AI to make finding trends and opportunities across marketing, HR, product, and CX easier.


TypeForm 

Typeform is a feedback management software solution built around conversational forms. It helps businesses gather insights one question at a time, with clean, straightforward and interactive experiences, and a focus on keeping users engaged from start to finish.

The platform is ideal for marketers, product teams, and UX researchers who want to collect feedback without losing people halfway through. Companies can customize the look and flow, embed surveys on your site, and route answers to existing tools. In fact, Typeform integrates with more than 300 business apps.

According to the company, 95% of their clients gather data more easily after integrating their tools, and 87% say they end up with better insights into their target audience.


SurveySparrow 

Supporting companies in building more human, conversational relationships with customers, SurveySparrow is an omnichannel experience management platform. The solution comes with a built-in Business Intelligence system where teams can track KPIs and metrics related to core goals and campaigns. Plus, users can also leverage case management tools in the same place.

With solutions for automating customer interactions across a variety of channels, SurveySparrow supports companies in better understanding their audience’s journey. Plus, with a convenient survey builder, teams can rapidly design forms for clients to fill in minutes without the need for any coding or design knowledge.

SurveySparrow’s platform also includes tools for unlocking insights with AI, building trust with reputation management, and even service ticket routing.


Zonka Feedback 

Omnichannel survey software vendor Zonka Feedback prioritizes helping companies to improve customer satisfaction scores. Powered by AI, Zonka transforms unstructured feedback form chats, tickets surveys and more into actionable intelligence.

Companies can analyze customer service themes, score sentiment, and even use agentic AI to resolve issues and improve interactions in real-time. There are also customizable dashboards which allow businesses to deliver role-based insights to each department.

Plus, the straightforward platform also allows staff to export and share data easily. Zonka Feedback also helps businesses with listening to the voice of the employee, with employee feedback monitoring and surveys for tracking eNPS.


Survicate 

Survey and NPS software vendor Survicate provides businesses the tools they need to create custom surveys and learn more about their target audience. There are no survey limits or time limits on any of the plans offered by the company, ensuring teams can get a comprehensive view of customer sentiment and perception.

The platform supports email, link, and in-app surveys, with a library of templates for CSAT, CES, NPS, and feature requests. Companies can also segment results by user data, which makes it easier to spot patterns across customer types.

The data visualization tools are excellent, allowing companies to break down results into comprehensive dashboards with color coded insights.


Unlocking Insights with the Top Feedback Management Software

Every platform in this guide solves a slightly different problem. Some are built for frontline teams, others for product managers or digital teams. A few try to cover everything. But all of these systems make feedback easier to collect, understand, and act on.

The right fit depends on what kind of feedback matters most to each enterprise. Some companies need real-time alerts when something goes wrong. Others need long-term trend data to guide product decisions. Some just want a clean way to capture input across multiple locations without drowning in noise.

There’s no perfect platform. But there are smart, focused tools that can help businesses get closer to your customers. For those still struggling to make the right decision, CX Today offers a range of resources to drive progress forward:

  • Dig into the data: Get exclusive insights from proprietary market research and reports, designed for CX leaders.
  • Join the conversation: Learn from peers and thought leaders in the dynamic CX Community environment, and discover new ways to solve complex problems.
  • See the tools live: Visit upcoming events and conferences where business leaders can put the latest software and systems to the test.
  • Prepare a purchasing plan: Use our CX Buyer’s Guide to map out the next steps for every CX-focused investment strategy.

For enterprises ready to unlock the full value of surveys, polls, audience and employee data, CX Today is here to make the process easier, more strategic, and more valuable, one step at a time.

 

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Is NPS Really BS? Another Study Suggests So https://www.cxtoday.com/uncategorized/is-nps-really-bs-another-study-suggests-so/ Thu, 26 Jun 2025 15:05:29 +0000 https://www.cxtoday.com/?p=71826 Since its inception in 2003, the Net Promoter Score (NPS) has been a constant fixture in many customer experience reports, internal and external.

However, lately, more and more customer experience leaders are questioning whether it’s still fit for purpose.

In particular, the long-held belief that NPS can predict long-term loyalty and future revenue growth has been called into question.

A recent study from the Journal of Empirical Generalisations in Marketing Science analyzed data across four industries (automotive, supermarkets, airlines, and fast-food restaurants) over a ten-year period. The results are on display below.

A graphic showing the NPS scores over times across industries
Source: LinkedIn

The research concluded that there is “no clear association between likelihood to recommend (positive or negative) scores for firms, and their future growth or decline across the four categories.

“The managerial implication is that firms should be wary of predicating growth on high or improving recommendation/NPS scores.”

In a LinkedIn post referencing the study, Vikkas Mittal, Faculty Director of the Center for Customer-Based Execution and Strategy at Rice University in Houston, questioned CEOs who are still championing the importance of NPS. He wrote:

It’s not strange that NPS doesn’t predict financial performance. It is strange that CEOs and senior executives using legacy strategy planning continue to defend NPS and cling to it!

Mittal believes that MBAs, CEOs, and senior executives need to take greater responsibility.

He implores them to take steps to fully understand the complexities and nuances of business research instead of rushing to oversimplified conclusions.

“They will benefit from becoming thoughtful users of science that improves strategy,” he explained.

Unsurprisingly, Mittal’s post caused a stir, with the majority of people seemingly agreeing with the Faculty Director’s broader point.

However, some people did step in to defend the metric.

Peter Verhoef, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Groningen, agreed that too much emphasis is given to the relationship between NPS and long-term value, but argued that NPS can still be useful when deployed as a metric to “observe if firms create sufficient value to customers.”

So, let’s take a closer look at why NPS is so popular amongst CEOs, why it is less popular amongst many CX professionals and analysts, and what organizations can use instead.

Is NPS Fit for Purpose?

In order to fully understand the pros, cons, and differences surrounding NPS, it’s important to first outline precisely what it is.

For such a prominent CX metric, NPS is surprisingly simple.

It is a single-question metric: “How likely are you to recommend this product or service to a friend or colleague?” Rated on a scale from one to ten.

For Justin Robbins, Founder and Principal Analyst at Metric Sherpa, it is this simplicity that makes NPS so popular.

Speaking on an episode of CX and Coffee, Robbins explained that NPS “has boardroom appeal. It’s flashy. It’s digestible. You can say, “We went from a 43 to a 67!” and that sounds like progress,” he explained.

Yet, Robbins has two main issues with NPS.

First, the question is too vague. While he concedes that some companies include an open-ended question that does allow customers to provide more details, in general, the feedback is too broad to help companies implement specific improvements.

Marty Shaughnessy, Robbins’ co-host, agrees. He believes that too many businesses use NPS to collect data, but don’t have the capabilities to transform the data into anything meaningful, as he explains:

“Without someone who can analyze it [NPS data] and make decisions like, ‘Here’s where we’re lacking – let’s A/B test this,’ it goes nowhere.

How do you analyze such a broad question? It’s so vague. Like, someone had a good or bad experience – then what?

This leads into Robbins’ second issue with NPS, the fact that it’s a lagging indicator.

The analyst sees it as a snapshot of how a customer felt in the moment, rather than a predictor of future actions and behavior.

Moreover, NPS inevitably invites sample bias. Like any voluntary survey, it naturally attracts responses from the extremes: very happy customers, or very unhappy customers.

Robbins explains how this means that “quiet, high-value customers might not participate at all.

“So not only is it lagging and non-predictive, it’s also potentially misaligned with actual behavior.

“A high score doesn’t mean someone will be loyal or spend more. Nothing’s guaranteed.”

But what other metrics can companies turn to instead of NPS?

What Do We Move to Instead of NPS?

It is, of course, far easier to pick holes in something than to come up with something better.

NPS has become the status quo, and because many companies do not believe that a superior alternative exists, they continue to place their stock in the tried and tested metric.

For Robbins, to move away from NPS and implement a system that can truly deliver value, organizations need to rethink what they’re measuring.

Is it actionable? Have you ever actually acted on it? And does it align with the outcomes your business cares about most?

If the answer is no, it’s time to rethink.

He also reiterated Shaughnessy’s point on data, highlighting the importance of training staff on what the information means and what can be done with it.

Leading on from this, the Analyst recommends that any metric deployed must be linked to real-world results.

If you can’t tie what you’re tracking to operational efficiency or financial performance, what’s the point?

While all of these suggestions will help, above all, Robbins wants customer service and experience teams to simply “ask better questions.

“Instead of, ‘Would you recommend us?’, try: ‘What is one thing we could have done better?’

That question opens the door for honest, constructive feedback. It also means being willing to hear that your baby might be ugly – and that’s okay.

For more insights from leading thinkers across the customer experience space, subscribe to the CX Today newsletter.

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Customer Experiences in the US Hit a Record Low (Again!), Forrester Says https://www.cxtoday.com/uncategorized/customer-experiences-in-the-us-hit-a-record-low-again-forrester-says/ Wed, 25 Jun 2025 15:20:33 +0000 https://www.cxtoday.com/?p=71793 A Forrester study has revealed that CX quality in the US and Canada is at an all-time low.

Indeed, consumer perceptions of the standard of CX being delivered across both countries slipped for a fourth consecutive year.

The findings are part of Forrester’s 2025 Customer Experience Index, which evaluates how a company’s customer experience impacts loyalty.

It assesses the “ease, effectiveness, and emotional components of customers’ interactions with a brand.”

For this year’s report, the research firm examined feedback from over 275,000 customers of 469 brands across 12 industries and 13 countries, with the findings highlighting the US’s continued CX struggles.

Indeed, a quarter of US brands in the evaluation experienced significant CX losses, while just seven percent improved.

Discussing why American companies failed to stop the CX rot in a blog post, Peter Jaques, Principal Analyst at Forrester, pointed to the “persistent gap between executives’ perception of the quality of their CX and how customers perceive their experiences.

This misalignment diminishes the focus that organizations need to maintain on delivering easy, effective, and emotionally positive experiences.

The disconnect has long plagued CX strategies, and its persistence suggests a deeper organizational issue.

Leaders are often over-reliant on internal metrics or curated feedback loops that paint an overly optimistic picture of the customer journey.

When these fail to reflect reality on the ground, teams miss critical friction points that define the real customer experience.

Away from the business-customer divide, Jaques believes other contributing factors include declining employee experience, waning customer-centricity, and underwhelming use of transformative technologies like AI.

The analyst also argued that some score declines can be attributed to this year’s unique challenges, such as customers finding it harder to see value amid economic uncertainty.

A CX Silver Lining

While Forrester’s 2025 Customer Index report made for tough reading for the US and Canada, there was good news for some regions.

Unfortunately, Asia Pacific was not one of them.

Across Australia, Singapore, and India, 37 percent of brands saw their CX quality scores fall, with just five percent seeing an improvement.

However, Europe did manage to deliver a CX silver lining as the only region to manage more score increases than decreases.

Although the continent still did not deliver huge improvements, its seven percent rise compared to just a two percent drop is still significantly better than the likes of the US and Asia Pacific.

Indeed, Matt Trickett, Experience Management Strategist at Qualtrics, warned European brands against becoming complacent.

“An unstable economic landscape means customer commitment to a set brand is more fickle than ever before,” he explained.

Customer loyalty still remains balanced on a precipice, as our recent research has found 66 percent of consumers are ready to walk if a brand breaks a promise, with half of UK consumers believing companies care less about keeping their promises than they used to.

In order to prevent this and build on the momentum of the CX Index, Trickett advocates for an “always-listening approach” so as to ensure that businesses are capturing and leveraging every aspect of the customer journey.

He said: “Building a picture of their frustration, happiness, upset, and all the emotions in between will help brands deliver a consistent CX that ensures promises are not broken, and greater trust and loyalty is built.”

For more insights from leading thinkers across the customer experience space, subscribe to the CX Today newsletter.

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The Apple iOS Updates You Might Have Missed, and How They Could Impact Enterprise Communications https://www.cxtoday.com/uncategorized/the-apple-ios-updates-you-might-have-missed-and-how-it-can-impact-your-business-communications-space/ Mon, 16 Jun 2025 12:30:07 +0000 https://www.cxtoday.com/?p=71390 With CCW and Infocomm dominating customer experience headlines over the last week, you’d be forgiven for missing out on some key iOS26 updates.

However, these missed updates could have a giant impact on the enterprise communications space.

The first of these is Call Screening enhancements.

Building on developments with Live Voicemail, this new feature actively screens incoming calls, providing the user with context before they decide whether or not to answer.

In doing so, Apple aims to protect customers from spam and scam calls.

An Apple Spokesperson explained: “Call Screening helps eliminate interruptions by gathering information from the caller and giving users the details they need to decide if they want to pick up or ignore the call.”

While providers like Hiya Inc. and First Orion enable branded calling through network integration, allowing businesses to convince consumers of the call’s validity, Apple is now disrupting the status quo with a native, consumer-centric screening approach that bypasses reliance on third-party enterprise tooling.

For legitimate businesses, the impact could be positive or negative.

On one hand, it offers a chance to provide recipients with clearer context; on the other hand, it could sharply lower connection rates for outbound calls, particularly cold outreach, if consumers are better equipped to filter or reject incoming calls.

Apple Innovates Around the On-Hold Experience

Hold Assist is another new feature announcement that has flown under the radar.

This feature notifies users when an agent is available.

Practically, this means customers are no longer required to wait on hold listening to that infuriating elevator music.

While callback systems exist, being stuck on hold remains the number one issue for people dealing with customer experience, and callback systems need active implementation.

This new update from Apple works from the customer’s POV and aims to remove pain points from the voice experience.

How Will Businesses Respond?

Apple’s latest call management features raise a critical question: How will big tech continue shifting the nature of contact center experiences, and how should businesses pivot?

For instance, if customer experience is enhanced by minimizing active wait times through improved call screening and transparency, traditional metrics like Average Speed of Answer (ASA) may lose relevance.

This disruption doesn’t happen in isolation. AI is already transforming inbound traffic through call deflection and self-service tools, steadily reducing the burden on human agents.

In that context, Apple’s timing is telling.

These features are launching at a moment when queue times should, theoretically, be trending downward anyway, fueled by smarter automation upstream in the journey.

What stands out here is Apple’s clear prioritization of the customer.

These features directly target enduring user frustrations, like unsolicited calls and prolonged waiting, creating a more empowered caller experience.

While Android has long offered similar capabilities, Apple’s decision to formally enter this space signals a strategic acknowledgment that the future of voice may depend less on volume and speed, and more on transparency, control, and trust.

Yet, it’s not the only big tech brand innovating around customer experience. Indeed, Google, via its search engine and on-device AI, is also looking to transform traditional contact center experiences.

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PG Forsta Acquires InMoment to Form a Voice of the Customer (VoC) Powerhouse https://www.cxtoday.com/uncategorized/pg-forsta-acquires-inmoment-to-form-a-voice-of-the-customer-voc-powerhouse/ Wed, 14 May 2025 18:30:16 +0000 https://www.cxtoday.com/?p=70603 PG Forsta has acquired InMoment to shake up the voice of the customer (VoC) market.

Both vendors are prominent players in the VoC market.

While the latest Gartner Magic Quadrant considers both “leaders”, Qualtrics and Medallia have historically dominated the space.

However, this move could elevate the “Big Two” of VoC – Qualtrics and Medallia – to a “Big Three.”

Of course, there’s a significant feature overlap between the two vendors. Yet, InMoment does bring several innovative capabilities to the PG Forsta portfolio.

For instance, InMoment’s Experience Improvement (XI) Platform boasts advanced AI analytics features that predict customer behaviors and offer prescriptive recommendations.

Many companies will value this capability as they look to their providers for strategic guidance.

The InMoment product team has also kept ahead of the curve regarding generative and agentic AI, launching Active Listening Agents in October.

Given this, InMoment may help PG Forsta bolster its roadmap and accelerate its innovation cycle.

InMoment also has a significant global footprint that will extend the PG Forsta brand.

Yet, Patrick T. Ryan, Chairman & CEO of PG Forsta, focused on creating a VoC powerhouse that leads on innovation.

“Press Ganey Forsta is committed to leading with innovation and partnering with clients to elevate the human experience across their organizations,” he said.

We’re excited to welcome the InMoment team and deliver unmatched capabilities to our combined client base.

Ryan’s company has surged in the VoC market since it, under its former name “Press Ganey”, acquired Forsta in 2022 to become “PG Forsta”.

Back then, Press Ganey primarily specialized in healthcare. However, it has since expanded its focus to deliver innovation across other highly-regulated industries, including financial services and insurance.

In doing so, it delivers sector-specific insights, templates, and journey visualizations to simplify feature adoption and accelerate time to value.

It also offers differentiating tools to solicit feedback from frontline employees and has a reputation for delivering comprehensive enterprise support services.

Now, John Lewis, Chairman & CEO of InMoment, is excited to help PG Forsta advance further.

“In joining Press Ganey Forsta, we become part of an organization that has a demonstrated track record of innovation and elevating both the consumer and employee voice,” he said.

Together, we have the resources to deliver even greater value to our clients—through faster insights, more advanced research tools, and expanded expertise.

Those “resources” will include a combined team of more than 3,000 employees, many of whom will work together to expand PG Forsta’s platform by augmenting InMoment’s portfolio.

That platform will come as more enterprises challenge vendors to show how VoC programs directly contribute to business results and ROI. Again, InMoment’s prescriptive recommendations and AI analytics tools could be big here.

The Expert Take: Two VoC Vendors with Complementary Strengths

For leading market analyst Jim Davies, Co-Founder and Executive Partner at Actionary, “powerhouse” is a bold word to use.

Yet, he acknowledged that Medallia and Qualtrics do need a third place setting at the competitive table – and PG Forsta could now be that company.

“To me, it brings together two vendors who haven’t quite reached their full potential but have complementary strengths,” he said.

Davies then noted that PG Forsta brings advanced market research capabilities and comprehensive support for complex hierarchies to the table.

Meanwhile, InMoment offers that core VoC component, industry experience, and professional services overlay.

If this all comes together, PG Forsta may well become a “powerhouse”. Yet, like all good things, it will likely take time to best marry the providers’ portfolios.

 

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