The best thing to do with customer experience trends is ignore them.

By the time a trend is apparent you’re too late to profit from it (unless you started it), and following trends is - by very definition - not leading. Following these trends may shortcut the hard work of thinking, but it won’t differentiate you.

See these hot new things for what they are - generic ”me too” answers to a problem you probably don’t even have.

Do you need a chatbot? Probably not. Have you ever used one? They’re about as much help as a hole in a lifeboat.

Do you need an omni-channel, hyper-personalized customer journey? Not if you sell parking cones.

Understand this. Every CX trend is underpinned by the same universal psychological principles:

• The desire to express our identity and individuality.

• The drive to achieve our goals.

• The preference for effortlessness.

• Stress reduction.

• Sensory pleasure.

• Social pleasure (including status).

• Feeling in control.

Emotional gratification.

Master the underlying principles and you’ll innovate. Do the hard work of applying them to your business you’ll run rings around your creatively bankrupt rivals.

Focus on the trends of the day instead and you’ll always be a step behind — a sheep that’s easy prey for the wolf.

#customerexperience

See this post on LinkedIn