CX in Crisis? What Brands Must Do Now

Forrester released its 2024 Customer Experience Index (CX Index) scores of 223 brands across 13 industries, and the results are sobering.[1] For the third year in a row, CX quality declined, hitting the lowest levels among US consumers since the index was first introduced; all three core dimensions of CX (effectiveness, ease, and emotion) also saw measurable declines. Overall, an unprecedented 39% of brands and 10 industry averages dropped.

Critical Key Findings
Before we dive deeper, it’s important to recognize what the latest CX Index results reflect: a dramatic shift in how customers perceive their interactions with brands. The growing gap between expectations and delivery is highlighted in the following key findings:

• Brand-level declines were broader and steeper. A staggering 39% of brands experienced significant drops in CX quality, which is more than double last year. The average decline also worsened, dropping 3.9 points compared to 3.6 points in 2023.
• Industry-level performance followed suit. Setting a record, 10 industry averages significantly declined, with only the airline industry showing improvement.
• Effectiveness and ease both hit record lows, dropping to 64% and 66%, respectively. Brands also continued to struggle with emotional connection, a critical component of meaningful experiences.
• Even elite brands weren’t immune. Of the top 5% of brands, six remained flat and four experienced significant declines, highlighting the growing challenge of sustaining CX excellence.

A Call to Action
These results signal the clear need for a renewed focus on CX. As expectations evolve and economic pressures mount, brands must find new ways to deliver meaningful, emotionally resonant interactions. Focusing on the status quo is no longer an option.

So, let’s get to work. CX leaders own the mandate to transform, improve, and sustain memorable and profitable customer and employee experiences. If decreasing performance, shrinking budgets, or uncertainty about how to implement the latest technology is challenging your brand, it’s time for a kickstart. The following table provides some initial ideas about ways to improve each dimension the study measured:

Dimension	Ideas for Improvement
	People	Process	Technology
Effectiveness	Train staff on active listening, situational awareness, and solution-oriented service Arm, empower, and measure frontline teams on quick and effective resolutions	Standardize service workflows to reduce errors and variability Increase QA checks to ensure consistency, considering AI assistance	Implement AI and next-generation IVRs for intelligent routing Use analytics to monitor first contact resolution and task completion
Ease	Reset clear communication and expectations with employees Focus hiring and retention on individuals who demonstrate emotional intelligence and a customer-first mindset	Simplify customer journeys and eliminate friction points, starting with top contact drivers Seek out and automate as many repetitive tasks as feasible	Increase the use of self-service tools like next-generation IVRs, chatbots, and generative/agentic agents Use unified platforms to reduce channel switching
Emotion	Build emotional intelligence through empathy and de-escalation training Celebrate moments that matter to customers to increase connections and deepen relationships	Personalize interactions based on context Follow up after critical experiences to show care and concern, particularly if the experience did not meet the standard	Use sentiment analysis to identify and respond to emotion in real time, helping to monetize delighters and eliminate detractors Mine and expose data to agents to support personalized experiences

These solutions are not one size fits all, but they may resonate with you or inspire you. The first step in CX transformation is assessing your environment, either on your own or with the help of a trusted partner. It is important to understand how innovation tolerant and change minded your organization is before embarking on any transformative initiatives. A sound approach is to start small, test and learn, show forward progress, and expand from there. Positive results can quiet the loudest naysayers!

Index studies turn raw data into strategic insight, revealing not just where a brand stands, but where it needs to go to meet changing customer expectations. Using data as a guide, brands need to create an action plan, assign accountable team members, and get started. With a sharp focus and dedicated effort, positive outcomes are not out of reach.

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[1] https://www.forrester.com/report/the-us-customer-experience-index-rankings-2024/RES181020