The future of customer experience: Less process, more impact
Customer experience (CX) isn’t just about making things look nice or adding another step to the process. It’s about creating real value for businesses, customers, and employees. That’s exactly what I dug into in my latest conversation on the Building Great Experiences podcast with Jake Heberlie, Chief Experience Officer at Rentvine.
Jake has spent years leading teams in design, CX, and strategy. He’s seen how trends in the industry come and go. And right now? He believes the future of CX isn’t about rigid processes, endless frameworks, or traditional UX methods. It’s about building high-impact teams that know when to break the rules to deliver real value.
Here’s what we unpacked:
1. Process isn’t the goal. Impact is.
Too many teams get stuck following a process instead of solving real problems. Jake pointed out that in many cases, UX and CX teams were built around rigid methodologies instead of being flexible problem solvers. This is why so many companies struggled to justify their investment in design. The process didn’t always lead to business impact.
How to shift your mindset today:
Stop doing “check-the-box” work. If a method isn’t adding value to a project, skip it.
Measure impact, not deliverables. Instead of tracking how many wireframes or personas you created, track how your work improves key business metrics like conversion rates or customer retention.
Be willing to adapt. Just because the plan was to run a workshop doesn’t mean you need to. If the meeting isn’t going in that direction, pivot.
2. The best teams break down silos and work across disciplines.
Jake and I talked about how CX, UX, product, and engineering roles are blending. The old playbook (where everyone had a rigidly defined role) is breaking down. The most effective teams are cross-functional, where people collaborate instead of worrying about job titles.
How to apply this in your team:
Forget job descriptions. Instead of defining who “owns” a task, focus on who’s best equipped to solve it.
Encourage skill overlap. Train designers to think like product managers, product managers to think like engineers, and engineers to think about the customer experience.
Bring people together early. The best work happens when teams collaborate from the start, not when CX is handed a project after all the key decisions have been made.
3. AI isn’t taking your job, but someone else using AI will.
We’re in the middle of a huge shift in how work gets done. AI is making it easier than ever to automate repetitive tasks, analyze data, and build things faster. The professionals who use AI as a force multiplier will be the ones who thrive.
How to get ahead:
Stop ignoring AI. If you’re not already experimenting with AI tools in your workflow, start today. Whether it’s using ChatGPT for brainstorming or automation tools like Zapier, find ways to free up your time.
Think like a systems designer. Your job isn’t just to do the work anymore. It’s to design how the work gets done.
Build a personal AI stack. Start collecting and testing the best AI tools for your role. The people who leverage AI the most effectively will have a serious advantage.
4. The future of CX is hyper-local and hyper-personal.
People don’t just want better digital experiences. They want experiences that feel tailored to them. Jake and I talked about how some of the best opportunities in CX today aren’t about going bigger. They’re about going more local, more personalized, and more human.
Where to invest:
Focus on the individual, not just the segment. AI is making hyper-personalization possible at scale. Companies that invest in personalizing their experiences will stand out.
Think about regional differences. Customers in Texas don’t behave the same way as customers in New York. Localized CX strategies can be a huge competitive advantage.
Build community. People trust real relationships more than they trust brands. Companies that invest in community-driven CX will build stronger loyalty than those that just push marketing campaigns.
5. The best CX professionals will be connectors, not just specialists.
Jake and I agreed that one of the most valuable skills in CX today isn’t just knowing design, UX, or product management. It’s being a connector. The people who can bridge teams, align stakeholders, and get things done across silos will be the ones who succeed.
How to develop this skill:
Be the person who makes introductions. Whether it’s in your company or your industry, the more you connect people, the more valuable you become.
Help teams align around business impact. The best CX professionals don’t just advocate for customers. They advocate for customer impact that drives business results.
Keep learning across disciplines. If you’re in CX, learn about product management. If you’re in product, learn about design. The more you know about how different teams work, the better you’ll be at driving results.
Wrapping up.
The best CX teams in the future won’t just follow playbooks. They’ll know when to break them. They’ll focus on impact over process, work across silos, and embrace new tools like AI to make their jobs easier. The companies that build agile, flexible, and customer-focused teams will win.
What should you do now?
Look at your current CX process and ask, where are we adding unnecessary steps? Cut the fluff.
Start using AI to automate tasks and free up time for deeper customer work.
Find ways to collaborate more closely with product, engineering, and marketing teams.
How is your company’s customer and employee experience evolving? Hit reply and let me know. I’d love to hear what’s working for you.
Onward,
Drew
P.S. If we haven’t met yet, hello. I’m Drew Burdick, Founder and Managing Partner at StealthX. We work with brands to design and build great customer experiences that win. I share ideas weekly through this newsletter and over on the Building Great Experiences podcast. Have a question? Feel free to contact us. I’d love to hear from you.