Under the spotlight: Three strategic focus areas for CX leaders in 2025

Customer experience (CX) leaders are going to need to get used to the spotlight. As wider economic challenges persist, CX programs are a defiant source of optimism. This year, C-suites will be watching closely, scrutinizing CX programs and counting on them to win customer loyalty in the moments that matter.

But before we get into that, we have to look at the market context. Only 13% of CX leaders described the state of their business as “Growing Quickly” for calendar year 2024, down from 21% the year prior — according to the 2025 CX Leaders Trends & Insights report from Execs In The Know, sponsored by TELUS Digital. Conversely, 18% reported “Shrinking Moderately” in 2024, a figure that leaped up from 12% the previous year. Prompted to adapt, nearly half (46%) of all respondents said that they had already taken modest action in response to the uncertain economic conditions. It is clear that there is mounting pressure.

And yet, despite this challenging context, CX represents an enduring silver lining. In 2024, 76% of respondents said that their company’s customer experience improved relative to the previous year — according to a TELUS Digital report on digital customer experience priorities for 2025, which includes survey results from 250 enterprise leaders in the U.S. This optimism dovetails with Execs In The Know’s findings that show KPI performance is on the rise: Over two-thirds (68%) of survey respondents shared that their critical KPIs improved in 2024, with 17% of that group citing significant improvement.

This juxtaposition puts CX leaders in a spotlight they may not have anticipated. As organizations take a hard look at the overall business context and their own operations, the demonstrated success of CX initiatives in 2024 paradoxically intensifies the pressure on CX leaders going forward. To stand up to this heightened scrutiny, CX leaders must prove ROI consistently and prioritize decisively. This will require that they focus their energy and investment where it matters most — optimizing for quality, agent performance and speed.

Execs In The Know: 2025 CX Leaders Trends & Insights

Access the latest survey results and stay on top of CX developments in 2025 with this new report by Execs In The Know, sponsored by TELUS Digital.

Access the report

A backdrop of increased scrutiny and budget pressures

When Execs In The Know asked about the actions leaders have taken in response to the current economic conditions, the most common answer (64%) was “Increased Focus on ROI/Financials.” In 2025, for many CX leaders, no project or program is likely to go unchecked.

Despite increased scrutiny, however, there are reasons to be positive. The survey data shows a decrease in the number of organizations responding to the business environment by reducing budget for new programs, down to 27% from 46% in just one year. Similarly, there was a marked drop in the cancellation of programs and projects, with only 13% of respondents seeing this course of action — in contrast to 34% the year prior. This shows that organizations are opting to scrutinize and optimize CX investment, rather than dialing it back.

But even if budgets aren’t being reduced, that doesn’t mean they’re sufficient. In fact, “inadequate budget” was cited by leaders as the main barrier to enabling a more dynamic digital strategy. No matter your budget, whether it is growing, shrinking or staying the same, if it feels inadequate relative to what you must achieve, prioritization is paramount. The spotlight is upon you. Rather than a time to speculate, now is the time to concentrate investments and efforts on what matters most.

Strategic focus areas that stand up to scrutiny

After looking at the data visualized in the Execs In The Know report, as well as additional research from TELUS Digital, three clear areas of focus emerge for CX leaders in 2025. To put it simply: Leaders must optimize for quality, agent performance and speed.

Some might argue that these have always been priorities in CX — and they’d be right. However, the level of scrutiny we’re seeing today gives cause to return to, and truly deliver on, the fundamentals of great customer experience. These aren’t arbitrary choices — they represent the intersection of what customers demand, what technology enables and what drives business results in today’s environment.

Quality

Despite budgets that might feel inadequate, customer experience leaders are demonstrating their unwillingness to sacrifice quality across the entire customer journey.

In the aforementioned TELUS Digital survey, 84% of our respondents said that improving the quality of customer service delivery was a critical priority, making it the most pressing objective for leaders in 2025. Along similar lines, customer satisfaction (CSAT) was the clear frontrunner in terms of how leaders are measuring the effectiveness of their efforts, with 54% of respondents singling out the metric.

Meanwhile, in the Execs In The Know report, nearly three-quarters (74%) of respondents selected CSAT as the KPI that is most critical and garners the most attention in the management of their CX operations.

But what does this all mean for how you lead in 2025?

Quality extends beyond individual interactions or specific channels, and should be a defining characteristic of every touchpoint in the customer journey — from initial brand awareness through purchase, usage and ongoing support. This holistic approach to quality can have a lasting effect on customer loyalty, a relationship that warrants comprehensive measurement and strategic thought.

Surprisingly, according to Execs In The Know data, only 40% of organizations measure the impact of their overall CX operations on customer loyalty, with just 31% feeling they do a good job using CX to drive loyalty. Addressing this gap is crucial for CX leaders, especially given the backdrop of heightened scrutiny and expectations for demonstrable ROI across all customer touchpoints. One compelling reason for this is that a clear understanding of the quality-loyalty connection is fundamental to reducing churn. In an uncertain environment, this potential can’t be overlooked, particularly if you subscribe to the notion that retaining customers is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones.

Beyond customer retention, quality across all touchpoints contributes to operational efficiency, which is especially important if you consider your budget to be inadequate. For example, well-designed self-service channels can reduce the volume of human support interactions, while clear product information can prevent returns or complaints. This comprehensive approach to quality not only enhances customer satisfaction, but also optimizes resource allocation across the entire CX ecosystem.

Agent performance

Execs In The Know data shows that 63% of leaders identify problem solving ability and product knowledge as the primary aspects of agent performance they aim to improve over the next 12 months.

It’s a timely focus that reflects an ongoing shift. As more and more routine customer inquiries are solved via self-service channels like customer-facing chatbots fueled by AI, it is the most nuanced questions and concerns that will be put to frontline team members. When customers escalate to human interaction, it’s often their final attempt at resolution — making the agent’s ability to navigate complexity with both expertise and empathy crucial to maintaining CSAT and preventing churn.

While leaders express a preference for digital channel adoption, voice remains a critical escalation path. These are high-stakes interactions capable of building, or breaking, customer loyalty. Fortunately, across all channels, 79% of respondents to the Execs In The Know survey said their organization excels at phone support. And while the report also suggests that leaders would like to see more customers having their needs addressed by other channels, the fact of the matter is that customers still expect to be able to speak with a human agent. If your focus is truly on customer satisfaction, you need to be prepared to meet this expectation with empathetic and knowledgeable agents.

To meet evolving expectations, both from customers and from the C-suite, leaders should be thinking about the ways AI can be used to enhance problem solving ability and product knowledge among their agents. While agents are actively supporting customers, agent-facing AI can surface relevant information, enabling agents to offer correct and comprehensive solutions without the need for additional touchpoints. Execs In The Know survey data shows 71% of leaders see generative AI (GenAI) as key to improving service delivery, and that 75% are already using AI for agent support.

Of course, we can’t have a conversation about AI in CX without talking about speed.

Speed

Speed is a critical focus area that complements, rather than compromises, the drive for quality and agent effectiveness. “Time to resolution/AHT” was the second most critical KPI among those surveyed for the Execs In The Know report (after CSAT, as mentioned previously). In fact, the metric was selected by 47% of respondents, a 7% jump from the previous year. It’s no surprise, really. So long as expectations for quality are met, customers want answers quickly.

The challenge, of course, is in delivering both quality and speed consistently. AI, particularly generative AI represents a transformative opportunity. The TELUS Digital survey I’ve referenced a few times found that 36% of respondents plan to allocate over $4 million to GenAI in 2025, and 71% see GenAI as a key driver for improving customer service delivery. When trained, managed and implemented effectively, GenAI models can excel in a range of use cases, significantly upgrading self-service channels, chatbots (both customer- and agent-facing) and more. In the business environment we find ourselves in, this technology can drive tangible improvements in speed without sacrificing quality.

Right now, it’s clear that brands haven’t quite managed to unlock the technology’s full potential. Remember when I pointed out that 79% of those surveyed for the Execs In The Know report said they excel at phone support? That number is just 11% for chatbots. And yet, as you’ll see in the report, when asked about which channel leaders would prefer their customers use, 27% said chatbots — the leading answer by 10%. This gap between aspiration and current capability is telling: According to the TELUS Digital report, only 10% of organizations consider themselves in a “steady state” with GenAI, highlighting both the opportunity and the complexity of the journey ahead.

Achieving excellence across quality, agent performance and speed — particularly through the strategic implementation of AI — requires expertise that many organizations are finding through strategic partnerships.

Addressing your focus areas with strategic partnerships

The data suggests that CX leaders are increasingly turning to strategic partnerships to deliver on these focus areas. According to TELUS Digital’s report on digital CX priorities for 2025, 82% of organizations are either working with or planning to work with outsourcing partners this year. Meanwhile, in the Execs In The Know report, you can see external agent head count increasing to 67%, up from 56% the previous year.

When you consider the backdrop of increased scrutiny and budget pressure, a partnership approach makes sense. Rather than making bets, CX leaders need to be making informed decisions, and outsourcing with a partner that can stand behind their expertise and solutions is a sensible way to move forward. Quality management requires expertise and proven processes, agent performance demands access to skilled talent and ongoing development, and AI implementation calls for specialized technical knowledge. TELUS Digital research shows that organizations are seeking partners for AI-driven customer interactions (44%), data analytics (43%) and AI-driven agent tools (36%).

The most successful CX leaders will be those who can leverage these partnerships to not just meet current expectations, but to anticipate and shape the future of customer experience. As you consider your CX strategy, ask yourself: Are you currently positioned to deliver the quality, performance and innovation that will stand up to scrutiny and drive your business forward?

If you’re looking for an outsourcing partner capable of helping you stand up to increased scrutiny, it’s time you speak with one of our experts. Reach out today.