PART THREE The Road Ahead Although we’re seeing early signs of progress, there are no guarantees that it will follow through to success. If this is the dawn of a new era of CX, we see only the palest blue light on the horizon. Differentiation and growth still elude many brands. And excellence eludes all. The Increasing Role Of Technology As companies dig out of technical and clear communication and satisfied data debt, there is an inherent pause customers. We will see traction for more in CX performance. Fixing foundational creative and productive uses of AI, issues takes time and may not (or, often, automation, the internet of things, and will not) convert to immediate gains. voice tech that will allow brands to fit We see that drag in the 2019 CX Index more effortlessly into customers’ lives. results; it also explains the gap between But this comes with a couple caveats. the promise of technology and the 2019 Ecosystems such as Alexa could reality. become gatekeepers between Next-gen CX will use technology to brands and audiences. And tech can deliver human-centric experiences. User alienate your customers (take “creepy” experience will continue to move to the personalization and overzealous push forefront and will increasingly include notifications, for instance). Tech only copywriting and content strategy as improves CX when it’s employed to help brands see the connection between customers achieve their goals. © 2019 Forrester Research, Inc.