2022 is already moving fast. So many possibilities. But what does the year ahead look like for the Customer Experience? Read on to find out. While some trends from 2021 will remain. There will be some changes in the road ahead. Over the past year, Customers' points of reference and point of view have shifted. Here are 7 predictions based on my analysis and study of the fallout of the pandemic and the CX Environment to come. 

When technology is available to virtually everyone all the time, each customer becomes their own ‘world’ of unique satellites and experience gravitational pull in the ‘digital universe’.

• Customer-to-Customer (think Amazon user reviews)

• Business-to-Customer (yep, Amazon again - have you gotten a buying behavior message yet?)

• Enterprize-to-Customer (the growing metaverse of Facebook and Apple’s increasing impact on our lives through devices, data tracking, entertainment, and health are just two examples) 

• Influencer-to-Customer (where the world of Instagram and YouTube has moved marketing dollars to sponsorships)

More employees, companies, and consumers are changing how they operate in this brave new world. Will you be ready? Let's look at these trends and understand how they will impact you.

1. Customers expect more, faster

Things already feel they are moving fast, but the change will speed up significantly in 2022. This will be seen in the push and pull of sales and in the drive to build a tighter supply change with customers initiating just-in-time order execution. And related to this, customer service level expectations are higher than ever - what google calls micro-moments - the seconds you have to deliver what the customer wants.

92% of users expect to find answers in 10 minutes or less, indicating that they have high standards and low patience when it comes to troubleshooting problems.

- Frost & Sullivan, company survey

To meet these expectations, companies, their organizations, and the projects they run will all be more customer centric in 2022. One report from Forbes indicates companies will be investing in technology and service improvements focused on improving their customers experience across all parts of the organization. This will push the speed of marketing engagement, sales and services to an even fast pace.

73% of businesses stated that CX is becoming their first concern, while 38% of the firms believe that CX investments will be huge this year's key priority of the businesses. 

- Mopinion's State of Customer Experience, 2021 

2. Tech-charged change is coming

Driven by 5G speeds, Artificial Intelligence and augmented reality. The user experience will become more virtual and more connected in 2022. The companies will completely win the coming year by providing the user experience that their clients want and need. AI will start to show up more in every aspect of the CX cycle, moving from the back office to the front office. Companies are now only a text away, 24/7, and the trend will continue to grow.

To create value, AI in CX must be viewed as long-term assets requiring investment to scale. The more you invest now in AI to deliver a meaningful and memorable CX, the more customer engagement you will have.

- Greg Cross, Co-founder, and chief business officer at Soul Machines

Tech driven CX is already with us, but the mindset and toolsets will shift into every area of the Customer Experience cycle.

A study says that 31% of organizations have already invested in technology like AI to outpace the competition.

- Accenture, 2018

As we know, we are in an era of big data and process digitization across every aspect of the user experience. So, the user's expectation has become the real-time fulfillment of the requirements. Hence, measurement instruments also need to pace up now. Today, businesses will have to move towards regular feedback and reviews through different online mediums. Everything will be on the clients' devices, just a few touches away. This is not when brands can use feedback from focus groups and surveys or questionnaires. They need to move towards real-time feedback from post-experience metrics.

Without question, agile, adaptive CX change will be sustained and, in fact, is likely to continue becoming more and more significant. The key is that agile is seen as an approach to ALL change – behavioral and process – not just technological change.

- Ian Golding, CX Specialist

3. But the humans are fighting back

The effort to Humanize the digital has begun. Bots may be helpful, but boy, are they boring (and annoying). The urge to speak with a real person is getting strong. Aren't we all starting to feel like "these are not the droids we are looking for." 

Digital technology is consistent and accurate. But even as digital becomes more embedded in every aspect of consumer life. We will start to consider the importance of the human aspect of service, support, and product value. This is why we are starting to see a substantial uptick in the number of YouTube influencer sales, affiliate marketing, amazon stores, and corporate sponsorships.

There is a 5 to 10 X increase in revenue available to online influencers. 

- Jonas Muthoni, What YouTube pays Influenceers

The Customer Experience loves the speed of tech, but you can see consumers shifting to the human touch at a time when we need more information (since we haven't been able to regularly visit brick and mortar stories much). And when life gets weird, we seek community, empathy, and connection. We all still need humans for that.

The empathy expectation will continue in 2022, with he brands who focus on the human factor expected to outperform those companies who don’t work to understand and adapt to the needs of their customers.

4. Curation goes mainstream

As part of a combination of the above trends - lowered consumer confidence, a drive to have less, and more options to choose from. We will continue to see growth in personalized selling and curated products. Businesses will drive this pull by customers to push many more opportunities to curate and deliver more to their clients.

For example, companies are focusing on innovations in design and living, such as tiny and 3-D printed homes. As we yearn for travel, but face restrictions, more virtually travel and experience-based content are curated just for us (or people like us), so we can find our happy place among like-minded people. With less time and money, we can focus on what we find most important.

More than 1,110 consumers surveyed said they bought 45% said they bought most of their gifts online. 

- Kaleigh Moore

5. Locations and Channels lose relevance 

Do you know where I wrote this article from? Does it matter? Work, life, and relaxation have all changed for us. It used to be people who looked forward to Facetime calls. But having been on video overload for two years has changed our fascination with some forms of communication. However, we are overall much freer to work when, where and how we want. And that goes for how we engage with the products and services we want and need. Flexibility and speed are important, but the globalization of shipping has meant you can sit in Australia and send a product from China to Canada (nice, eh?).  This also impacts our customers, who are more and more becoming channel-agnostic.

However, understanding how all these channels work together from a journey-centric perspective is much more important. Not for the sake of the channels but for the sake of the bottom-line and the consistent customer experience. That's what a single customer view is really about: not about just having it but about making the customer experience a truly channel-agnostic one.

- iScoop, Customer Centric Thinking

So focus on what your customers want by building a direct and deep relationship with them (think youtube creator level of deep). Then curate the product and solutions for them as individuals. Build on channel neutrality by allowing for more choices and possible options. And above all, keep it simple.

6. Consumers may be in for a bumpy ride

While business are ramping up for improved Customer engagement, issues are on the horizon. Problems with a supply chain, available workforce, and inflation will cause companies to think carefully about long term strategies. In addition, consumers are facing the long term impact of lockdowns and work loss during the past two years. As issues grow, confidence will shrink. This will drive a potential economic ‘rollercoaster ride’ ahead.

Facing snarled supply chains and inflation, severe labor shortages in many areas, and new viral variants, CEOs are significantly less sanguine than they were earlier this year, when the pandemic seemed all but over.

-  Roger W. Ferguson

However, not everyone sees a scary future ahead. Analysts are looking forward to record breaking years in multiple sectors including housing, tech and more. Improved work cultures where organizations have embraced a hybrid workforce will also allow more flexibility and work/life balance for many office workers. If this trend continues social and mental pressures could be reduced, leading to improved optimism in 2022.

Additionally, both support for unions and strikes for better pay and working conditions have been on the rise.

- Investor Watch

7. The Consumer and Companies can both be winners

Companies that plan for the future and make the right bets on how to please their customers can become the biggest winners across most sectors. As the pandemic either loses its grip, or the world just gets used to the new normal, those that adapt and adopt customer centric thinking can come out of these last two years with a loyal and engaged customer that they understand. And that is a win for consumers as well.

In 2022, consumers will turn to uplifting, pleasing products and experiences that offer reprieve from the fatigue of ongoing uncertainty.” ... Customers definitely have little patience for anything less than stellar experiences.

- Forrester researcher

The Future of CX is here

Digitization has changed our way of living and working altogether. But as these CX trends and consumer behavior come to the fore, companies are ready to deliver the best experiences through their services to their users in 2022. Think about the possibilities. Will these trends change CX forever? I plan to look back and see how much (or little) the world of CX changed in 2023.

So what do you think? What CX Trends will impact your industry, employer, or buying behavior. Let me know in the comments below. And I hope to see you again soon at ProjectSkillsMentor.

Thanks for showing up and sharing!