Why economic uncertainty is a problem for CX in 2023

David Hicks, founder and CEO of TribeCX and facilitator of our CX Masterclass, spoke with CX expert Michelle Martinez to hear her thoughts on the CX trends practitioners should look out for in 2023.

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Martinez, head of post-order customer experience strategy at online furniture retailer Wayfair, boasts a tenure of more than 10 years in CX strategy and operations and says that in 2023 there is major concern and uncertainty around the economic future.

“[A key trend] is the concern around economic future and uncertainty. What I am seeing is a knee jerk response, which is to cut costs. In my experience, you can never really save your way to profitability. [This does present an opportunity] for CX leaders to really come to the table and demonstrate the financial value of CX programs.”

Martinez notes that so often in cost cutting times, there is a drive to cut costs for marketing and customer acquisition. CX practitioners need to make stakeholders understand that if you tick customers off through poor marketing, the cost to acquire them can increase significantly. In light of this, it makes financial sense to ensure that marketing and acquisition investment is sufficient to avoid blowing up acquisition costs down the line.

Convincing stakeholders to invest in CX initiatives is not always easy however, and Martinez notes that practitioners will need to first define the capabilities of a CX tool and then demonstrate how you can apply that to your business. She uses the example of ChatGPT, noting that traditional automated chatbots are not particularly eloquent. Chat GPT enables brands to deliver more eloquent, conversational responses to customer queries, which will free up time for contact center agents.

This interview is part of a mini-series with CX Network's Masterclass graduates. Click here to watch insights from our graduates who work for Zappos and TUI.

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