How Leading Brands Are Changing the Customer Experience in 2025

 There have been some notable changes in consumer behavior over the past year (2024). People have become more engaged with brands, started shopping on social media, and have shown both a tendency to spend more and save more.

What do these patterns and trends have in common? By observing them, we can draw the following conclusion: buyers are no longer satisfied with the existing methods of interacting with brands. Instead, they want a hyper-focused customer experience that is centered on their needs and solves their problems as effectively as possible.

This is a huge opportunity for any brand that is ready to try new tactics in 2025. According to a study by McKinsey, a third of online consumers say that in the last three months, they have purchased products from brands they were not familiar with before. Therefore, if you can update and improve the customer experience and show that you put your customers first, you will definitely outperform your competitors.

Recognizing the need for updates in customer relations is just the first step. The key is knowing how to start this process.

Below are some tactics that leading brands use to successfully enhance the customer experience:

1. They Are Taking AI Capabilities to the Next Level

Although chatbots have become common in customer service across various industries, today's customers expect a more personalized experience. To attract such demanding consumers, businesses must fully leverage new AI technologies and innovations.

A great example of AI-driven customer experience improvement is Impel’s partnership with FordDirect. FordDirect has implemented Impel, a conversational automotive AI, on its FordDirect Customer Journey platform.

What does this mean? Every customer interaction is personalized, allowing Ford to better understand individual needs and preferences. Impel AI uses this insight to create tailored communications—from scheduling dealership appointments to booking service visits—delivering information through chat, messages, or email in a way that feels highly relevant to each customer. This creates a continuous cycle of improved customer relationships, fostering long-term brand loyalty.

It’s important to note that AI is constantly evolving, offering new opportunities to businesses. Implementing AI does not mean the process is complete—it requires ongoing adaptation, integration, and testing of new capabilities. To remain competitive, companies must stay up to date with AI innovations and industry advancements.

2. They Allow Consumers to Control Their Own Experience

People naturally desire control. Thanks to modern technology, consumers now have the ability to shape their own purchasing experiences. Before making a purchase, they research products across multiple platforms, compare brand offerings, and ultimately choose the shopping experience that best suits their needs.

This does not mean that brands should relinquish control over the customer journey. Instead, they must identify the most relevant pathways for their audience and provide options that are highly tailored to individual preferences.

3. They Constantly Integrate Processes

Market trends indicate that the customer experience will continue to evolve, especially as younger generations become more adept at online shopping.

To stay ahead, brands should take an integrated approach to improving customer experience rather than making isolated enhancements year after year.

A prime example of this strategy is Netflix, which has built its customer experience model around continuous integration. The streaming giant openly embraces experimentation, using A/B testing to refine its algorithms and partnering with other companies to explore new innovations.

It’s also important to recognize that improving customer experience is a complex and ongoing task. Success requires fostering a company culture that embraces change as a natural and exciting part of progress, rather than something disruptive or uncomfortable.

4. They Stay Grounded in Reality

For customer experience improvements to be effective, they must be realistic and actionable. Brand management teams must be willing to reassess traditional processes and adapt to faster yet controlled implementation strategies. In some cases, this may mean breaking away from outdated rules and frameworks to develop more agile customer service solutions.

Conclusion

Customers will always love brands, and brands will always love customers. However, the rules of engagement are changing. To succeed in 2025, businesses must focus on enhancing the customer experience and adapting to shifting consumer expectations in an increasingly dynamic market.