Every week, I read dozens of articles on customer service and customer experience from a wide range of sources. Below are my top five picks from last week, along with my takeaways. I’d love to hear your thoughts as well. 18 Customer Experience Predictions for 2026 by Adrian Swinscoe (CustomerThink) This is the seventh year […]
Every week, I read dozens of articles on customer service and customer experience from a wide range of sources. Below are my top five picks from last week, along with my takeaways. I’d love to hear your thoughts as well.
(CustomerThink) This is the seventh year that I’ve compiled a set of customer experience-related predictions for the coming year.
My Comment: We kick off this week’s Top Five roundup with 18 CX predictions for 2016. I’ve written my own CX predictions, but here’s where Adrian Swinscoe’s article differs. While Adrian is a respected authority in the CX world, rather than share his own predictions, he surveyed other experts and CX leaders for theirs and received excellent submissions. In addition, Adrian offers further comments.
(Forbes) Consumers will go where they get the best value. It’s now up to Southwest to leverage its enormous assets into being a one-on-one competitor that delivers a more attractive consumer experience.
My Comment: This is more than an article about how Southwest Airlines is moving from its reputation as a low-cost carrier to competing head-to-head with the traditional airlines (American, United, and Delta) using traditional models. The first part of the article provides background on the changes Southwest is making. It’s interesting, but if you want a lesson on how leadership is driving big CX changes, jump to the sub-headline “The Future Strategy: Consumer Value, Not Cheap Fares.”
(CX Network) Amory Somers Vine, director of CX for Expereo explains how to make the switch from product-first to customer-first and how to weigh up investments in CX tech.
My Comment: This article features an interview with Amory Somers Vine, director of CX at Expereo, a technology company that provides internet cloud and connectivity solutions for its customers. What Expereo does isn’t as important as its decision to shift from a product-first to a customer-first approach. At Expereo, CX is not a value-added proposition; it is deeply embedded in its products and services.
(CX Today) As 2026 rolls around the corner, a new wave of customer experience predictions is coming in, with experts and analysts from across the CX industry keen to forecast their 2026 expectations.
My Comment: I always enjoy and learn from Forrester’s research. In this article, Forrester’s VP and principal analyst Maxie Schmidt shares her comments about six CX predictions. I was especially interested in the commentary on “The Metrics Death Spiral” and on “AI Self-Service: The Overconfidence Crisis.
(CX Today) A comprehensive guide for CX leaders who want to get ahead in the year ahead. This is a 10-20 min read, but if you’re serious about building a customer experience strategy that actually works in 2026, it’s worth your time.
My Comment: We close this week’s Top Five with a deep dive (as in a long article) into, as the title implies, winning CX strategies. The focus is on contact centers, with topics including hyper-personalization, trust, agentic AI, data use, and more. This is what modern customer experience looks like in 2026.
Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.
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