The Next Evolution of Customer Experience: Q&A with Shep Hyken

Celebrated CX luminary Shep Hyken shares his views on the next evolution of customer experience, from the expanding omnichannel journey to AI, personalization, and more.

Shep Hyken has been a fixture in the customer experience world for decades. As a best-selling author, keynote speaker, and noted expert, he’s passionate about helping companies improve how they deliver customer experiences.

Hyken, the Chief Amazement Officer of Shepard Presentations, has had a front-row seat to the evolution of the industry. But from the customer perspective, he says, customer experience hasn’t really changed.

At its core, he says, the fundamentals are the same:

• A customer has an issue and wants it resolved.
• They have a question and need an answer.
• They have a problem and need help.
• At the end of the interaction, they want to be happy with the outcome.

What has changed, though, is the omnichannel customer journey and how companies now approach understanding it and delivering seamless customer experiences. I recently caught up with Hyken and had the chance to ask him about how the industry has changed and the next evolution of customer experience.

How has the way companies manage customer experience changed through the years?

There used to be a saying: “Customer service is what happens when customer experience fails.” I think that’s a myth. Customer experience isn’t a department — it’s a philosophy that should be embraced by the entire organization. Everyone contributes to the experience, whether they’re dealing directly with customers, supporting someone who is, or handling behind-the-scenes processes.

For example, someone working in a warehouse who incorrectly packs a product can create a bad experience. The customer then has to return the item, request a replacement, and deal with the inconvenience. The company, in turn, has to manage the return, process a new order, and absorb the cost. It’s all interconnected.

Today, we’re much better at understanding the customer journey. We realize customers don’t just compare us to competitors — they compare us to the best experience they’ve ever had with any brand, in any industry. That raises the stakes. Even if you’re a B2B company selling parts to a manufacturer, customers might still expect you to match the seamless experience of Amazon.

Is AI making that easier today?

AI is transforming customer experience in ways we never imagined. AI helps customers interact with businesses more effectively, but it also helps companies learn about customers and tailor experiences. I recently spoke to a CMO in Las Vegas. He told me they send email campaigns to half a million people — and not a single email is identical.

That level of personalization is only possible because AI can analyze customer data and create one-to-one experiences at scale. Imagine receiving an email that references your honeymoon stay last June and suggests celebrating your first anniversary at the same resort. That kind of hyper-personalization builds strong customer relationships, and it’s all powered by AI.

Surveys have been the primary method for collecting feedback, but as consumer behavior has changed, are there ways companies can understand customers without asking?

Surveys are great if done properly. But today, companies can either ask customers for feedback or pay attention to customer behavior.

With digital tools, we can track customer interactions. Of course, there are privacy laws, but we can analyze behavior — how long they stay on a page, where they drop off, patterns in their journey.

For example, if every customer slows down at a certain step, is it because they’re interested or because they’re confused? Are they bouncing back and forth? That’s a red flag. AI helps analyze these patterns in ways we couldn’t before.

The contact center is also a critical part of the customer journey. But traditionally, it has been viewed as a cost center. Do you see it becoming a more strategic focus for organizations?

The contact center used to be seen as the complaint department — where customer service happened only when the experience broke. But smart leaders recognize that contact centers are about customer retention.

If a customer’s complaint is resolved but with friction — arguments, delays, hassles — they may not return, even if they get what they want. The best organizations now view their contact centers as customer retention centers.

Everything tied to customer support — self-service, chatbots, live agents — should be designed to reassure customers: If you have a problem, we’ve got your back. That’s how you drive loyalty.

The next big development in the contact center is feeding relevant data to agents in real time. For example, if you called me in the contact center, I could see your customer profile: you’ve been a customer for 10 years, called about the same issue multiple times in the past few months, and bought specific products. If I can see all this in real time, I know what your next question is going to be, and I know what the next product you’re going to buy is.

If I have that kind of information, and can ethically use it, I can enhance the experience for you by solving your problem proactively or cross-selling you a product you didn’t even know you needed. 

This personal approach is powerful.

Speaking of loyalty, we recently conducted a consumer research study and found consumer loyalty is not an either/or proposition. It usually falls somewhere on a continuum and there are varying degrees of loyalty. How do you think about consumer loyalty and the impact CX can have on it? 

Every customer interaction is an opportunity to bring them back next time. Loyalty isn’t just a lifetime concept — it’s about ensuring they choose you the next time they need your product or service. Creating loyalty is always thinking about the next time. If you’re always focused on getting them to come back that next time, and they do, that’s loyalty.  

Customer experience is now one of the most powerful marketing tools. Traditional marketing gets people to a website or a sales call. But from the moment they interact with your company, the experience determines whether they’ll return.

Loyalty isn’t just about one big moment — it’s about creating an experience that makes customers think: Why would I go anywhere else? 

There is little doubt AI will play a major role in the next generation of customer experience. Find out what’s really going on with AI in the CX space in Beyond the Hype: What CX Practitioners Really Think of AI.