November's CX News Roundup

Welcome to the November edition of The Official CX Newsletter!

Firstly, an important announcement – The Official CX Newsletter will be moving! After over two years on the IQPC Exchange page, the newsletter will now be moving to IQPC’s customer-experience focused page – the CX Exchange . Make sure to subscribe to the new newsletter to continue receiving the latest news, insights and analysis from across the world of CX. Subscribe on LinkedIn https://www.dhirubhai.net/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7259236601921245185

We’re going out with a bang though, as this month we are thrilled to announce the finalists for the second annual CX Exchange Awards UK – congratulations to all the finalists! We’re also taking a look back at everything that happened at the recent CX BFSI East Exchange in Miami. We also have an exclusive interview with Keith Richards from the Consumer Duty Alliance, who shares his insights on Consumer Duty and how this new regulation is driving enhanced customer experiences and outcomes in financial services. You'll also find a collection of the latest CX news from industries such as healthcare, retail and travel.

Thank you for your support over the last two years, and we hope you continue to enjoy the newsletter in its new home!

Finalists Announced for the CX Exchange Awards UK 2024??

Finalists for the 2024 CX Exchange Awards UK have been announced. Launched in 2023, the CX Exchange Awards UK are dedicated to honouring those who drive innovation, create exceptional customer experiences, and lead transformational change in CX. With categories spanning individual achievements, team-led innovations, and technology solutions, these awards celebrate those who go above and beyond in setting new standards for customer experience.

The full list of finalists for each category can be found below:?

CX Leader of the Year?

• Emma Loveday, Crown Relocations?

• Nyssa Packard, Skyscanner??

• Kruti Popat, Boehringer Ingelheim?

• Sean Hammerle, QSolve?

• Joely Garland, Golden Eagle Luxury Trains?

• Hannah Goodman, Sky?

Cutting Edge CX Innovator?

• Skyscanner??

• Tech Mahindra – Yantr . ai

• e&??

Best Customer Experience??

• CORPAY?

• Furniturebox??

• EXL Services – Next Process??

• QSolve??

• Betsson Group??

• Tech Mahindra?

Pay it Forward CX Inspirational Leader of the Year?

• Christopher Brooks, Lexden Group??

• Julian Darisse, M?venpick Hotels & Resorts, Accor Group?

• Sean Hammerle, QSolve??

CX Solution of the Year??

• WithSecure?

• TM Technology Services Sdn. Bhd.?

• Socar Turkey – Natural Gas Business Unit – Kayserigaz & Bursagaz??

• WNS??

Best in CX Collaboration?

• Mohd Iswadi bin Ahmad / Alinur Ain Binti Ali?

• Mohd Iswadi bin Ahmad / Zairee Ezham Bin Zahur?

• Alexander Reekie / Alex Black?

• CityFibre / TalkTalk?

Innovative AI in CX??

• EXL Services - Next Process?

• Skyscanner??

The CX Exchange Awards UK has assembled an impressive judging panel made up of 11 global CX leaders who have the difficult job of evaluating each submission and naming the winner. Among the expert judges are Dr David Weisman, Chief Experience Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals, Theresa Austin, Global Customer Engagement Director at Mo?t Hennessy, and Lloyd Marriott, Global Head of International Service & Onboarding at JPMorganChase.??

The awards evening promises to be a night of celebration, networking, and knowledge-sharing, set amidst the elegant surroundings of the Hilton Syon Park. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear insights from industry experts, engage in thought-provoking discussions, and celebrate the accomplishments of leaders shaping the future of CX.?

All winners will be announced during the CX Exchange Awards UK ceremony on 2nd December 2024 at the Hilton Syon Park in London. For information regarding tickets, visit the website here or get in touch with the team at [email protected]??

Check out last year’s highlights video for a sneak peek of what this year’s awards ceremony has in store:

Highlights from the CX BFSI East Exchange 2024

The 2024 edition of the CX BFSI East Exchange took place last month in Miami, uniting senior customer experience leaders from across banking, financial services and insurance for two days of learning, networking and collaboration.

With a speaker faculty of over 20 CX experts from leading BFSI organisations such as JPMorganChase, BMO Financial Group and TD Bank, the insights and best practices shared at the conference were game changing for the BFSI sector. While every single session showcased new and valuable perspectives on elevating customer experience in the financial services sector, one unforgettable highlight had to be the real Wolf of Wall Street Jordan Belfort’s sessions on profiting from your customers’ greatest wants, and improving communication with customers through creative pitching.

We’ve collated some other key learnings from the conference below:

• A poll revealed that lack of funding, implementing and leveraging AI, and data infrastructure and analytics were identified as the top challenges for CX leaders in 2025.

• Delegates were divided on whether a top-down or bottom-up strategy is the best approach for fostering excellent CX within BFSI institutions.

From Policy to Practice: Consumer Duty and What it Means for the Financial Services Sector

Consumer Duty was officially introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority on 31st July 2023. With the aim of elevating standards of customer protection across financial services, implementing Consumer Duty can mean significant procedural and cultural transformation on the part of retail financial services organisations.

The Consumer Duty Alliance (CDA) is an independent, not-for-profit professional body with the goal of sharing good practice and supporting members in the implementation of consumer duty.

Keith Richards, the CDA’s Chief Executive Officer, is a recognised leader within the financial services sector. The CX Exchange was excited to sit down with Keith ahead of his speaking engagement at the CX BFSI UK Exchange in March 2025 to discuss the introduction of Consumer Duty and what changes the retail financial services sector has experienced as a result. Three key takeaways from the interview were:

• Consumer Duty encourages collaboration to enhance customer outcomes: “In the past, many boards felt that the right thing to do was to delegate the responsibility to interpret the rules over to their risk and compliance teams. The regulator is now clearly indicating that they want everybody in an organisation, from product design to customer service, to own client outcomes and understand how their role contributes to those outcomes. […] Consumer Duty now empowers everyone within the organisation to be the leaders deciding how clients would better understand the products and services that the organisation delivers.”
• Consumer Duty is already changing how retail financial services firms are interacting with customers: “The regulator has highlighted that they are seeing evidence of business change to deliver better customer outcomes as a direct result of the introduction of Consumer Duty. Some firms have started paying more attention to metrics for call abandonment rates, conducted root cause analysis of complaints and sent out customer satisfaction surveys, using these insights to improve standards. We’ve also seen organisations introduce typographical changes to literature to make it more engaging and accessible, for example introducing things like brail, audio, larger text or different colours and fonts.”
• Consumer Duty is creating benefits for financial services firms as well as customers: “Initially, I think a lot of firms saw [Consumer Duty] as just another set of prescriptive regulations that didn’t apply to them. As with all regulatory reform, firms experienced the initial frustration of trying to get their heads around the interpretation of the rules and whether or not they’re applying them in the right way. […] However, by and large I think people are definitely getting into the spirit of it. Where firms are focusing on better customer outcomes, they’re seeing positive results for the business too. They’re seeing happier clients, more referrals coming in, customers feeling more confident to engage with them for other financial needs.”

Access the full interview on Consumer Duty with Keith Richards here.

CX News in Brief

John Lewis Unveils 2024 Christmas Ad

The John Lewis Christmas Ad has become somewhat of a tradition in the UK. This year’s offering, ‘The Gifting Hour’, sees a woman rushing into John Lewis’ Oxford Street shop to find a Christmas gift for her sister, before travelling back through time, revisiting family memories which give her inspiration for what to buy. However, this year’s advert also features an interactive twist – a competition to record the best cover version of the song featured in the advert (Richard Ashcroft’s Sonnet). The winner will be featured in a special version of the advert shown on Christmas Day, and will also win a professional recording session for their cover version to be released as a charity single, tickets to one of Richard Ashcroft’s shows, and a ￡3,000 John Lewis voucher.

The ad has received mixed reviews online – being labelled everything from a ‘disappointment’ to a ‘tearjerker.’ We’d love to know your thoughts – let us know what you thought in the comments!

Physical Stores are Making a Comeback in Europe

Although physical retail was hugely impacted by successive Covid-19 lockdowns and the rise in online shopping, there are signs that both customers and retailers are beginning to return to in-person stores, Reuters reports. In fact, selling space is up 1% in Europe from 2022, and is expected to have reached a 2.7% increase by 2028. What’s more, evidence shows that a physical presence can also bolster online sales within a 20-minute drive of the outlet by between 10% and 20% as customers increasingly make purchases over multiple channels.?

Driving this return to in-store retail is an increased tendency for “leisure shopping” among customers. Additionally, as more people return to the office, click and collect options offer convenience for shoppers who are no longer at home as often to accept deliveries.

American Airlines to Use Facial Recognition Technology to Streamline Security

American Airlines has announced a partnership with the Transport Security Administration that will allow American Airlines AAdvantage? members to move through security in certain airports without having to show a physical ID. Instead, the optional scheme will use facial recognition technology to compare a passenger’s image to their official passport photo.

A similar scheme was trialled in two airports in Italy over the summer as a way of reducing airport queues.?After registering either at kiosks at the airport or via an app, ‘FaceBoarding’ uses facial recognition technology to allow passengers to pass through various airport checkpoints simply by showing their face.??

AI-generated Patient Portal Messages More Popular Among Nurses than Medical Assistants and Physicians, Study Shows

A study run by researchers at University of Colorado Health showed that while AI-generated patient portal messages may improve workflow efficiency for nurses, the same is not necessarily true for medical assistants and physicians. The study used a GPT-4 chatbot to draft responses to patient portal messages across nine clinics over a period of six months. Key findings from the study include:

• 92% of nurses reported that the chatbot allowed them to reply to messages more quickly, compared to 50% of medical assistants and 46% of clinicians.
• 67% of nurses reported that the chatbot had a minimal risk of giving incorrect information, compared to 14% of medical assistants and 28% of clinicians.
• The LLM chatbot was given a net promoter score of 58 by nurses, compared to -29 and -43 from medical assistants and clinicians respectively.

Wishing all our North American readers a very happy Thanksgiving later this month!

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Have a story to tell? If you’re interested in contributing to a future newsletter, please contact editor Emma Pappenheim at [email protected]

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View Upcoming Exchanges

CX UK Exchange (2-3 December 2024 | Hilton Syon Park, London, UK)

The CX Exchange Awards UK (2 December 2024 | Hilton Syon Park, London, UK)

CX USA Exchange (24-25 February 2025 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida)

CX BFSI UK Exchange (17-18 March 2025 | Hilton Syon Park, London, UK

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