Marketing and growth leaders’ agenda

The new mandate for data-driven marketing and growth leaders: frictionless, personalized experiences to anticipate and deliver what customers need.

Powering next-gen services with AI in regulated industries

EY and MIT Technology Review examine how agentic AI might transform customer experience in regulated industries like pharma and finance.

Download

Companies have a new mandate around the customer journey and rapid acceleration of digital transformation. You need the right growth strategy and the right customer experience now, next and beyond. Here are three priorities:

Reimagine and redesign your growth strategy by establishing a future-back vision around customer-centric growth, enabling your business to optimize customer lifetime value focus and invest in the most valuable customers and customer touchpoints including considerations on organic growth, M&A, geographic expansion and segmentation.
Empowered to shop wherever and however they want, customer preferences around the world are increasingly evolving e.g. toward products and services that are local, authentic, transparent, traceable, and ethical. This is forcing brands to continuously re-imagine and optimize their offering strategy and portfolio, and even develop and implement new business models and concepts, both in the current core functions or in peripheral functions to meet the evolving needs of consumers now, next and beyond.
Building a strong understanding of customer needs, behavior, emotions and satisfaction and being able to quickly translate these insights through effective use of data and technology into business actions on all levels of operations and realize smart customer journeys that increase acquisition, retention, and growth is an important value driver in this time of disruption. This includes:

Implementing customer experience (CX) measurement models and understanding customer engagement with novel methods that complement traditional ones such as net promoter scores (NPS) and customer satisfaction scores (CSAT).
Using “design thinking”, automated orchestration of customer journeys, and personalization to deliver the best and most relevant experiences that are closely connected to customer needs.
Designing and implementing customer-centric operating models and CX technology stacks using scaled, agile frameworks and methods.
Shifting the business model and customer experience to digital and direct to consumer (eCommerce)

To realize a customer data-driven strategy that drives value and operational efficiency, growth leaders need to look beyond just braving the headwinds of technological debt to:

Growth and customer leaders need a significantly larger budget to pay for an effective data-driven strategy and customer experience, and they need to make stronger business cases and forecast return on investment (ROI) in a way that is satisfactory for the chief financial officer (CFO). 61% of marketing leaders in a recent EY survey said that they wanted to increase their spending in data and analytics.

This includes:

Quantifying the right way to measure ROI
Focusing on customer lifetime value
Driving financial performance through smart and effective pricing
Balancing short- and long-term investments and better leveraging existing investments
The new market realities and evolving growth strategies are forcing marketing, sales and customer care leaders to re-evaluate how they think about their respective functions and how they need to work to drive top- and bottom-line results. Commercial excellence addresses such key issues as:

Landing on the most efficient, effective and agile operating model, including inhouse/outsource strategies
Structuring and incentivizing organizations correctly to drive effectiveness, productivity and cross functional collaboration, and developing the right skills and talent
Identifying the right ecosystem of technologies to support the front lines, such as market intelligence, performance management, enterprise resource planning (ERP), CPQ, CRM
Optimizing sales channels across field, inside, and digital sales
Using customer care to drive revenue through better upsell/cross-sell

From AI to AX: Empathy demand in the next generation of AI-powered services

In the latest edition of Human Signals, we reveal how understanding biases for human interaction can shape the future of customer service. Discover insights on co-creating AI models that address consumer empathy demands, like transparency and control, when stakes are high.

Download report

Women is working in laptop

Jennifer Baziuk

Partner, EY Canada Insurance Leader and Studio+ Leader

Proven transformation leader. Passionate about unlocking customers’ true potential. Dedicated mother and wife. Committed to empowering women in the workplace and enhancing life experiences.

Toronto, Canada

Kelly Yewer

National Studio+ Operations Director, EY Canada

Director with 20 years in consulting, focused on digital transformation and experience design. Strategic thinker with sector knowledge, a team-first mindset who enjoys skiing, hiking and the outdoors.

Toronto, Canada

EY Studio+ helps you deliver unique customer experience (CX), using empathy and purpose and adding lasting value to customers, your business and society.
Read more
EY Studio+ transforms marketing to boost growth, engage customers, optimize investments and blend human knowledge with technology for lasting value.
Read more
EY’s Direct to Consumer for Consumer Products, can help your business meet the changing needs of consumers. Find out how.
Read more
EY Studio+ accelerates product and service innovation, creating new value for customers and advancing your journey to a sustainable future.
Read more
EY Studio+ teams transform sales for sustainable growth, boosting seller productivity and experience via strategy, enablement and technology.
Read more
EY Studio+ teams help deliver better customer and commercial outcomes by becoming insight led, responsive and agile. Learn more.
Read more

Our latest thinking

Rethink customer experience as human experience

Technology is defining customer experience but differentiation comes from connecting to what is essentially human. Read more on studio.ey.com.

Laurence Buchanan + 1

EY Future Consumer Index: when talk turns into action, be set for change

Climate change is becoming a growing reality for people around the world, and disrupting ingrained consumption habits. Learn more.

On the agenda (6)

Skip

west

Technology sector

Featured: Top 10 opportunities for technology companies in 2025

Innovation

Innovation

Consumer Products

Featured: Agentic commerce is here. The question is whether you’re designed for it.

Consulting

Featured: How can the moments that threaten your transformation define its success?

Retail

Featured: Why consumers are wise to holiday sales and tracking more lasting value

Customer

Customer

east

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.