Beyond NPS: Reimagining Customer Connection in the Age of AI
Brought to you by CallMiner
By Megan Keup, Product Marketing Manager
Have you ever felt that awkward disconnect after yet another customer satisfaction survey ends up in your inbox, asking the same predictable questions, rarely reflecting the nuance of your real experience? Many of us know this feeling – both as customers and as passionate professionals dedicated to building genuinely meaningful connections.
What if we could break free from stale feedback loops and redefine the way we listen, understand, and respond to customers?
Starting With Our Own Experience
I can’t count the number of times I’ve finished a transaction, only to be met a few hours later with a survey that feels just…off. Maybe it’s poorly timed, maybe it asks irrelevant questions, or maybe it’s just another “How would you rate us, on a scale of 1 to 10?” with no real space for or understanding of my actual experience. As leaders, practitioners, and advocates in the CX space – and as women often tasked with building bridges across departments and perspectives – we know that beneath each interaction lies an opportunity not just for metrics, but for genuine connection.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth: Even the most carefully crafted surveys are only reaching a small sliver of voices, often leaving out those with feedback that could make the biggest difference. And the push for high Net Promoter Scores or CSAT targets? Sometimes, it can feel like we’re chasing numbers, not capturing real insights.
The path to real customer understanding has never been more complex or more promising than it is right now. The question is: Are we truly listening, or are we just checking a box?
Exploring the Shift: From Surveys To Unsolicited Conversations
Recent insights from our latest whitepaper, The Future of Omnichannel CX, echo what many of us have experienced on the front lines. While traditional, solicited feedback mechanisms like surveys are still the dominant tool in our arsenal (primarily collected by 64% of organizations), they’re losing their edge. Survey fatigue is real – typical response rates are now languishing between 5% and 15%. Even more troubling, the majority of those who do respond are either extremely happy or deeply dissatisfied, leaving out the vast, silent middle ground of everyday customers whose experiences should guide our improvement.
What does that mean for us, as women who are often the voices advocating for customers and teams? It means we’re being challenged to rethink the very foundation of how we gather and act on feedback.
There’s good news on the horizon. More and more organizations are waking up to the opportunity that comes from unsolicited feedback – the candid, everyday conversations happening across calls, emails, chats, and even social media. This shift isn't about abandoning surveys but about combining them with real conversations – mining the authentic, unfiltered interactions for deeper truths alongside survey response.
Our annual CX Landscape Report shows this movement gaining momentum. The proportion of organizations collecting equal amounts of solicited and unsolicited feedback grew to 25% this year, up from 20% last year. This is more than just a trend – it’s a change that many of us have been advocating for in our own roles.
Bringing AI Into The Circle With Empathy And Purpose
I truly believe we’re entering a more hopeful future, where AI isn’t just a buzzword but a catalyst for more human, relevant engagement. Imagine a world where, after a frustrating product experience, the outreach you receive isn’t a one-size-fits-all email, but a personalized, timely response that acknowledges your exact challenge and offers real choices for resolution.
Consider this scenario – an internet provider who, after an outage, sends an SMS not only to check if service is restored (“Yes” or “No”), but immediately loops in support and delivers a proactive bill credit if expectations weren't met. Or the credit card provider who, noticing a customer struggled to redeem travel points online, sends a tailored survey that lets them choose how the brand can make it right – then follows up personally to solve the root issue and deliver on the customer’s preference.
Think about the impact on loyalty, satisfaction, and most importantly, trust. Now, with AI-powered tools, we can shift from reactively mending rifts to proactively nurturing genuine connections.
“Imagine a world where, after a frustrating product experience, the outreach you receive isn’t a one-size-fits-all email, but a personalized, timely response that acknowledges your exact challenge and offers real choices for resolution.”
A New Model: Listening With Intelligence, Acting With Purpose
What does this mean for us, as change-makers and champions of elevated experiences?
We build cross-departmental bridges: By sharing insights gleaned from both unsolicited and solicited feedback, we break down silos, empowering teams in product, marketing, and sales to act in concert, not isolation.
We advocate for context (not just scores): Numbers matter, but stories and root causes matter more. Understanding why someone gave a low CSAT or NPS is the key to fixing, not just monitoring, what’s broken.
We embrace personalization as a promise: Customers respond when we show we understand, not just when we ask more questions. The future of feedback is personal, timely, and meaningful, aligning with the strengths many of us bring as empathetic, detail-oriented leaders.
Reflection: The Power And Responsibility We Share
As women in CX, we’re no strangers to navigating complexity with grace, compassion, and resolve. Reimagining the role of feedback in our organizations is another challenge we’re uniquely suited to lead – not just because we’re empathetic listeners, but because we understand the human side of radical change.
We have a responsibility, and an incredible opportunity, to reshape how our organizations collect, interpret, and act on customer voices. Let’s champion approaches that put people – customers and teams – at the centre, using AI and omnichannel data to deepen our connection and shared understanding.
Curious to explore the practical details, see more examples, or understand how to bring these ideas to life in your own CX ecosystem?
Read the full CallMiner whitepaper, “The Future of Omnichannel CX in 2025 and Beyond”. It’s packed with real-world scenarios, actionable strategies, and more insights about how data-driven approaches and AI are empowering us all to design better, more intentional experiences.
Let’s keep leading the charge together. How are you thinking about and evolving feedback in your own role or organization? Share your stories in the comments below, and let’s inspire each other to keep raising the bar for our customers, our teams, and ourselves.