How is your CX health, wealth, and luck? It’s time to hiss at all the bad energy and set your CX back on the right track in the Year of the Snake.

Thriving in the Year of the Snake involves embracing transformation and navigating the twists and turns of technological changes. For brands that have already been on a CX transformation journey, 2025 is about doubling down on efforts to adapt to evolving customer expectations and embrace innovative strategies to sustain growth in a rapidly altering terrain.

To help you make agility and change the motifs of the new year, we've put together eight predictions about the months ahead and the actions you can take to capitalize on new openings.

Prediction 1: Reap an abundance of customer insights with unified data

Based on Forrester's research, there is currently a significant data gap between marketing and loyalty practices in the US. 8 out of 10 B2C marketing executives are reported to be using distinct data assets for loyalty and marketing technologies.

Takeaway: This highlights the need for brands to develop plans to consolidate their data while identifying suitable solutions to automate data collection, enrichment, and activation across traditionally siloed data bases. To avoid disruptions, it also critical to ensure the tech stack and its constituent systems can handle the resultant spike in data volume.

Prediction 2: While brand loyalty falters, loyalty programs are prospering

By 2025, consumers are anticipated to show diminished brand loyalty overall yet display stronger commitment to brands offering hassle-free value. Forrester's research reveals that loyalty program members prioritize "instant discounts" and "loyalty currency" (e.g., points and miles), with over two-thirds of US online adults considering these features crucial in loyalty programs.

Takeaway: It will be important for brands to be able to capture traffic from diverse sources (e.g., digital ads, web, email campaigns, billboards, print media) and drive membership growth with communications that emphasize preferred loyalty formats. At the same time, they also need to devise an omnichannel strategy to build awareness of new loyalty program rewards among existing members—one that dynamically aligns with individual channel, time, and content preferences.

Prediction 3: AI is expected to enhance CX

By 2025, approximately 85% of customer interactions are projected to be automated, further reducing the need for human intervention. Gartner predicts that AI will play a pivotal role in business differentiation by then, with companies that integrate AI into their CX strategies expected to observe a 25% surge in customer satisfaction.

Takeaway: Brands can further enhance customer experience and operational efficiency by refining and incorporating AI tools such as chatbots, predictive analytics, and automated personalization.

Prediction 4: Omnichannel engagement continues to rise, every step of the way

According to Harvard Business Review, omnichannel customers tend to spend 10% more online and 4% more in-store than customers who stick to a single channel.

Takeaway: It is vital to guarantee a unified and seamless experience across all channels, spanning from web and mobile phones to in-store experiences and IoT devices. Brands that excel in omnichannel integration, like Sephora, offer a consistent experience that fosters customer engagement and loyalty.

Prediction 5: Brand vitality is dependent on evolving creative processes

The demand for profitability has prompted the separation of creative ideation and production processes, leading to the breakdown of end-to-end creative development services. Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) is revolutionizing advertising tactics through the amalgamation of real-time analytics and AI-powered content creation.

Takeaway: In 2025, CMOs seeking new creative agency partnerships and martech vendors should prioritize providers with integrated AI-driven content generation and execution capabilities.

Forecast 6: Explore sharper, biometric-driven personalization

Studies by Accenture indicate that biometric-driven personalization could enhance conversion rates by 30%, given that customers exhibit higher engagement with experiences tailored to their individual preferences. Biometric-driven personalization utilizes biometric data like facial recognition, fingerprints, or even heartbeat patterns to customize customer experiences on a profoundly personal basis.

Takeaway: Brands lagging in customer personalization should start now. Seek tools that enable real-time personalization, providing customized product suggestions and notifications on a large scale.

Prediction 7: Tackle dark social media thoughtfully

Past estimates suggest that dark social sharing accounts for as much as 84% of all referral traffic. However, pinpointing the exact impact today remains elusive. By definition, dark social media makes it difficult for brands to track social engagement and web traffic, significantly limiting the customer behavioral insights that can be gained.

Takeaway: Tapping into dark social channels can open up new ways to drive word-of-mouth marketing and build stronger, more authentic connections with those that wish to evade the eyes of brands. While tactics like updating share buttons and user experiences can help, it is just as important to invest in word-of-mouth campaigns (e.g., micro influencer-led content) and, when possible, cultivate intimate digital communities that can translate to lasting, valuable customer loyalty.

Predication 8: Digital assistants can reduce customer churn in some industries

According to Gartner's projection, by 2025, advanced digital assistants could potentially reduce customer churn by 25% in industries such as telecommunications and banking, where customer dissatisfaction tends to be prevalent. Digital assistants not only execute tasks but also offer emotional support, resulting in more human-like customer interactions.

Takeaway: Legacy brands in the aforementioned sectors interested in digital assistants can start by determining the gaps in their current customer experiences and how these devices can address the issues and create value. Solutions already compatible with digital assistants can greatly simplify the process and minimize the resources required to weave the devices into a brand’s channel mix.

Want to know how Resulticks can power your top-line growth with digital transformation in 2025?