Tricks and treats: The sweet and scary in the customer experience landscape

Halloween is the perfect time to dwell on the sweet and scary in the customer experience (CX) landscape. Some CX trends are helping customers resolve issues quicker and get a more customized experience, whereas others are downright creepy. Check out the CX Network's list of tricks, the pitfalls that frustrate customers, and treats, the trends that delight people.  

Tricks of the customer experience landscape

The creepiness of over-personalization

Only 37 percent of customers trust companies with their personal data, according to Segment. Yet, consumers continue to expect personalized calls to action, customer support, and marketing communication. Ads triggered by geofacing, which might make people feel like they are being watched in real time, and anything that brings up an embarrassing personal fact, such as a breakup, step over the line.

Sometimes, even the promotions that surface after someone has been searching for a particular product can be invasive. CX leaders must be strategic and sensitive simultaneously to ensure their efforts do not come off as creepy. People want convenience and recognition of their interests and needs, but they do not want companies to seem like stalkers. CX leaders must learn how to skillfully walk the fine line between customization and creepiness. 

Automation without emotion

The number one customer behavior to impact CX planning is the demand for immediate response or delivery, according to the latest CX Network Global State of CX report. As a result, many companies are looking for ways to automate parts of CX. While this can be effective, customers can get frustrated if a chatbot does not recognize their frustration and does not escalate the issue to a human.

Automation without the empathy that people can bring is a strong case for keeping humans in the loop. Taking the "feels" out of CX could cost companies. Balancing the convenience factor of automation with the human touch will give companies an edge with customers. 

Data hoarding and privacy breaches

When Disney first introduced the Magic Bands, electronic devices worn on the wrist that tracked people's locations, spending, and activities in the company's theme parks, people felt icky. On the one hand, Disney could use this technolgy to deliver a visitor's name to a character she was meeting. On the other hand, a mammoth corporation was watching every step each visitor took - and has all that data saved and stored. 

With all this information about purchase preferences, spending habits, and all the rest, customers might feel like their privacy is being invaded. In addition, the many high-profile data breaches that have impacted consumers make people fret over the details they share with companies. Home Depot, Marriott, and Yahoo had attacks that put people on defense.

For example, the Equifax breach of 2017 revealed the personal information, including social security numbers of 147 million Americans and 15 million Britons, according to CSO. Protecting people's personal information and adhering to artificial intelligence (AI) governance are ways to win customer loyalty in the new world. 

AI hallucinations and misinformation

As more people use AI, they are recognizing that hallucinations are real. Sometimes, the AI does not provide accurate information. Companies must ensure that the tools they are using are advanced and trained on clean, solid, and accurate data. Otherwise, as the famous saying goes, "Garbage in, garbage out." 

The treats of the customer experience landscape

Personalization done the right way

Personalization is a priority for companies. Now that AI can help companies customize support with ease, people expect it. But personalization is more than just emails with the right name inserted.

It requires omnichannel strategy, so people only have to tell their story once and it is visible to agents across departments. They can pick up where they left off. They get product referrals based on their preferences and purchase history. They experience personalized interactions with staff. Truly, companies are building relationships with individuals. People feel seen and heard, so they return to the company that gives them that positive feeling.  

AI agents and predictive analytics

When used appropriately and strategically AI agents, which are sophisticated enough to work autonomously, can speed up support and allow for self-service. For routine queries and frequently asked questions, this is a no brainer. However, the next-generation of AI agents can do far more. They can handle more complex interactions, even providing context and appropriate recognition of emotion. They can learn and adapt. 

With this technology, comes a slew of data that can help CX leaders predict problems, issues, and questions before they arise. It allows companies to take a proactive, as opposed to the traditional reactive, approach to CX. Essentially, they can solve problems before customers even notice them. 

Human-centered CX

One of the sweetest treats in this era of AI is the opportunity for human-centered CX. The idea is for AI and automation to make customer support easier, which gives the human agents the chance to focus on empathy and creativity. Beyond that, it is a way for CX leaders to make people the center of their work.

Human-centered CX translates into prioritizing real-world needs of the people using a company's products or services. Those who truly adhere to a human-centered approach to CX will consider how people use their products and services from the point of inception, when they are desingning products and services through the post-purchase support and engagement period. 

How to transform fright to delight

The advancement of technology like AI has transformed CX. As a result, there are many tricks and treats among the offerings, approaches, and trends. The good news is that, with the resources available, turning the frights into delights is more than possible. For instance, using common sense to avoid creepiness when personalizing interactions is an easy fix. Here are some smart moves:

• Invest in ethical AI.
• Design for empathy.
• Prioritize consistency in the customer journey.
• Continuously improve by getting feedback from customers - and acting on it!
• Communicate well and be transparent.

The idea is to avoid spooking customers and instead lure them with your sweetness. 

Quick links: 

• The top 10 CX podcasts to listen to in 2026
• CX Isn’t a Platform. It’s a Philosophy
• Is NPS to blame for the decline in customer experience?