Over the past decade, firms have poured significant resources into the digitization of their operations and the creation of new digital experience platforms to win, serve, and retain increasingly fickle customers. The result? Digital sameness for the most part.

According to Forrester’s Customer Experience Index (CX Index™) — a study of 100,000 consumers and 300 brands that has been around for more than a decade and acts as a barometer for CX performance — CX quality has been flat for years. Most brands are stuck in the mediocre category and fail to differentiate from the competition. In other words, despite the investments in tech, we have commoditized the brand, homogenized experiences, and failed to deliver differentiated value to our customers.

What is the remedy for this digital sameness? The past 18 months gave us a hint on what the answer might be: human creativity. During this highly challenging period, firms that unleashed the creativity of their teams to quickly meet their customer needs and deliver emotionally pleasing experiences were able to strengthen the trust and loyalty of their customers. In fact, our research shows that firms that leverage creativity as an enterprisewide way of thinking supercharge their individual and collective problem-solving, making them better able to develop potent products, services, processes, and experiences.

On October 19, at Forrester’s Technology & Innovation APAC, I will have the chance to speak to Michael Gorriz, Standard Chartered’s group CIO, on how the bank is building a diverse and creative workforce that responds quickly to its evolving client needs. From intrapreneurship to skills training to employee experiences that foster collaboration and innovation, Michael and I will discuss practical insights on how the bank is developing the right environment for its team to drive the bank’s future fit ambitions. 

I look forward to seeing you in October! If you haven’t already, please register here.