July 2025 | VOL. 36

"Instead of getting customers to say, 'You exceeded my expectations,'

we really ought to be trying to get customers to say, 'You made that easy.'"

-The Effortless Experience

Welcome to the July Verde Edition newsletter. Each month, we aim to bring you practical, forward-thinking insights to help you navigate the ever-evolving world of customer experience. In this edition, we turn our attention to the challenges and opportunities associated with omni-channel success.

A well-executed omni-channel strategy can be a powerful driver of revenue growth and customer loyalty. Across industries, organizations aim to meet customers where they are—delivering consistent messaging, seamless support, and a unified brand experience that enhances financial performance, loyalty, and operational efficiency.

Despite significant investments in digital transformation, many industries continue to struggle with optimizing their omni-channel strategies. According to a 2024 Deloitte study, only 35% of retail executives believe their organization delivers a truly seamless omni-channel experience—and just 29% of retail consumers agree. In the financial services sector, McKinsey reports that while 85% of customers use digital channels, nearly 60% still prefer human assistance for complex tasks—highlighting the persistent disconnect between digital offerings and customer expectations.

Healthcare and telecommunications fare no better. According to Accenture, 62% of patients experience friction when transitioning between in-person care and digital portals. In telecom, 70% of customers point to inconsistent service across channels as a key driver of churn. These findings highlight a common challenge across industries: it's not enough to be present on multiple channels—companies must make those channels work together to align with how customers actually want to engage.

One of the most critical—and often overlooked—factors undermining omni-channel success is customer experience (CX) friction. Friction occurs when customers encounter obstacles, confusion, or inefficiencies that make interacting with a brand more difficult than it should be. Whether it's having to repeat information when switching from online chat to a live agent, navigating unclear self-service tools, or being pushed toward a digital channel they’re uncomfortable with, these moments can quickly lead to frustration and defection. More importantly, not all friction is equally damaging—some issues disproportionately drive negative customer behavior, which is why prioritization is essential.

This Verde Edition explores ways companies can improve their omni-channel strategy and highlights how the Verde Group helps companies identify and quantify the specific friction points that represent the greatest risk to revenue, loyalty, and omni-channel success. Through its proven Revenue@Risk methodology, the Verde Group pinpoints not only what’s going wrong, but how those experiences influence customer behavior—including their willingness to adopt a company’s preferred channels for sales, service, and support. By understanding both the friction and the motivations behind channel choices, organizations can design smarter, customer-led omni-channel strategies that reduce cost, increase satisfaction, and unlock new growth opportunities.

As always, we thank you for your support and welcome your input.

Cheers!

The Verde Group

Are You Listening—or Just Collecting Data?

This month’s Fast Five reveals a disconnect between what customers expect and how organizations deliver. From fragmented data to inconsistent experiences, companies are struggling to turn insights into action. Here are five CX stats that might make you rethink your customer strategy.

July 2025's Question:

Question: Dear Verde Group,

We’ve invested heavily in building an omni-channel experience, but our results have been underwhelming. Customer adoption of our digital channels is lower than expected, and we continue to see friction in areas we thought we had addressed. Our CX data gives us general satisfaction metrics, but it hasn’t been helpful in telling us why customers are abandoning channels or what specific experiences are driving negative behavior. How can we better use CX insights to guide our omni-channel strategy and drive measurable improvement?

Sincerely, A Frustrated CX Leader

Answer: Dear Frustrated CX Leader,

You’re not alone—many organizations face similar challenges. The core issue often lies not in a lack of data, but in the type of data and how it's used. Traditional CX metrics (e.g., NPS, CSAT) are useful for tracking sentiment, but they rarely identify the specific friction points that are influencing customer behavior and channel adoption. At the Verde Group, we specialize in uncovering the hidden drivers of disloyalty and frustration through our Revenue@Risk® methodology.

By linking specific customer experience breakdowns to actual behavioral and financial outcomes, we help organizations like yours identify which moments in the journey are creating the greatest economic and strategic risk. More importantly, we uncover what’s preventing customers from adopting preferred digital channels—and which groups are most resistant. This gives you the clarity and prioritization needed to redesign your omni-channel experience in a way that is both customer-led and operationally effective. We’d be happy to show you how this approach has helped companies in retail, financial services, and healthcare achieve significant improvements in both channel adoption and customer retention.

Sincerely,

The Verde Group

READY TO TALK? Book an intro session with Dennis Armbruster, Verde Group Executive VP, to discover how you can enhance the impact of your CX program. We want to help you find methods to anchor your customer insights firmly within your business framework, driving stronger ROI and increasing executive buy-in. We want to learn more about your current challenges.

At The Verde Group, we’ve built a growing library of free customer experience resources designed to inspire smarter decisions and strategic action. Whether you're making a business case, challenging internal thinking, or staying current on CX trends, our resource hub has you covered.

From quick-hit blogs and insight-rich newsletters to in-depth white papers and proprietary research (including our Revenue@Risk® framework), there’s something for every CX leader—or any change-maker ready to think differently.

We’re passionate about helping organizations rethink customer experience through data, strategy, and decades of real-world insight. Dive in, explore, and see what ideas rise to the surface when you challenge the status quo.

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