Over the past 15 years, The Verde Group has conducted hundreds of studies to identify friction points in customer journeys and their impact on business success. Truth told, friction in the complex world of customer experience (CX) is inevitable. However, are companies making progress in decreasing the amount of friction experienced by their customers?

Unfortunately, our data suggests that despite significant technological advancements and increased investments in CX resources, the percentage of customers experiencing a problem during their most recent interaction with a brand has largely remained unchanged.

Image: Verde Group Pulse Database

Why would this be the case? We believe there are multiple reasons why progress has remained elusive.

1. Customer Expectations Have Evolved. Today’s customers demand seamless, personalized, and immediate interactions. They borrow experiences from their day-to-day interactions with brands and expect immediate and frictionless experiences from both B2C and B2B brands. CX leaders may want to consider expanding their view of the “competition” and compare aspects of their experience to CX leaders, applying best practices appropriately for their business. Comparing your brand to your direct competitors may not be enough. Companies that fail to meet the rising expectations of customers often struggle, despite their investment in new CX strategies and technology.
2. Technology Alone Isn’t Enough. AI, automation, and other tools can streamline processes and reduce costs to serve. However, they cannot replace the human touch or the customer’s desire to resolve issues with a live person. CX is deeply rooted in empathy, active listening, and understanding customer behavior. Without focusing on the human aspects of the experience, even the most advanced technology can fall short.
3. Misguided CX Priorities. While CX improvement is often a stated goal, it’s rarely embedded into the company’s culture or operations. Moreover, legacy insight methods generate insights and priorities that are based on understanding customer attitudes and not the impact CX interactions have on their behaviors. The Verde Group sees this challenge time and time again. In most cases, frequently experienced CX friction points are not the most damaging to business performance. A company’s ability to separate noise from signal is critical to optimizing CX investments and implementing changes to operational procedures and marketing programs.

The Good News? There are many companies who excel in CX performance. A recent  CMSWire article suggests that there are three characteristics present with leading CX organizations:

• Customer experience improvements are viewed as a long-term investment strategy and a key to retaining and growing customer relationships.
• Achieving CX success requires a deep understanding, rapid iterations through continuous feedback loops, and effective issue resolution.
• Companies excelling in empathy-driven customer experience understand personal engagement with customers on an emotional level boosts brand loyalty.

Adobe. Adobe uses “Customer Listening Stations.” The stations allow employees to listen to customers virtually online or physically at an Adobe office, enabling employees to learn about their successes and challenges. By shortening the distance between employees and customers, managers empower employees to cultivate the customer understanding and empathy needed to identify and make CX improvements.  These listening opportunities also increase an employee’s sense of purpose and agency because they see the impact they make, which also leads to better customer experiences and could also positively impact employee retention.

FedEx. Viewed as one of the most trusted American B2B companies, FedEx takes pride in connecting people and possibilities through their services. This cannot happen without open and streamlined communication. They recently moved to a single customer-focused newsletter instead of multiple emails from various departments. They did so for multiple reasons, one of them being the need for more accurate and instantaneous information.

FedEx was honored with the Best Customer Support of the Year Award by the Japan Institute of Information Technology, selected from among nine companies for its high-quality customer support. They noted FedEx’s high-level objectives, such as enhancing customer engagement through a heightened focus on quality, responding more sensitively to customers’ feelings, and analyzing customer feedback via recorded conversations.

Jumbo. What people want out of their grocery shopping experience can vary wildly, and Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo understands that. For some, food shopping is just another task to check off their to-do list—they want to be in and out as quickly as possible. Others find pleasure in the task and see it as an enjoyable and social outing. In response, Jumbo introduced a new type of checkout lane to meet customers’ preferences: The “Kletskassa,” also known as the “Chatter Checkout” lane. The slower-paced checkout lane was originally designed for seniors who were grappling with isolation and loneliness during the pandemic. Today, it gives customers the option for some added socialization in their day, but only if they desire it. Jumbo’s focus on creating intentional experiences and offering customers more choices is a standard of excellent CX that every company should strive for.

In conclusion, as customer expectations evolve, businesses must adapt their approach to generating CX insights and avoid over-relying on technology to reduce CX friction. Success in this area requires more than tools and shiny objects — it demands a customer-centric culture, cross-functional collaboration, and a human approach that prioritizes empathy and connection. While many companies still struggle to address persistent CX challenges, those that get it right combine innovation with a deep commitment to understanding and serving their customers.