Seemingly Simple, Yet So Very Big: Customer Experience Still Rules
Ok, so every year we roll up our sleeves and sort through the noise to pick out companies that are actually walking the walk. This year, it’s almost wild how much "customer focus" kept popping up — like, virtually every pitch was heavy with basslines around personalization, quick support, and genuine care. In a way, it just goes to show: being obsessed with your customer is not just trendy, it's pretty much mandatory if you want to stay relevant.
Brands like RideCo, Lexie Hearing, and Sunbound really showed that it's not about polished mission statements anymore. It’s about whether your customers feel it — every email, every call, every tiny interaction.
AI, Automation, and Slightly Fewer Humans (But Smarter Service)
Now, for instance, another thing that stood out — and this one’s a bit tricky to miss — is the way technology is weaving itself into customer service like it's trying to set up permanent camp there. AI, machine learning, and some fancy automation tricks aren't just buzzwords; they're the gears keeping customer experience engines humming along these days.
Companies like Talkdesk, Startek, and OnSIP are showing firsthand how winners aren't just using tech to replace people. They're letting tech do the boring heavy lifting so their human teams can show up in bigger, better ways. Honestly, that's the secret sauce — let the bots handle the "Did you turn it off and on again?" questions and free up your people to solve the real stuff. That’s a win everyone feels.
Real Solutions > Flashy Features
In some respects, this year's winners seem to have totally gotten the memo: nobody really cares about shiny widgets unless they solve an actual headache. Terms like "solutions," "tools," and "management" were tossed around a lot, but they weren’t empty promises — they were tied to tangible fixes that made people’s work easier.
For example, Serviap Global and Centrical were not about empty words. Instead, they focused on helping users in ways that actually mattered. Sort of like handing someone an umbrella before they even realize it’s raining.
Sunbound and ShipMonk were other standouts here, showing off how intuitive service and streamlined operations could make complex processes practically fade into the background.
Teams Make the Dream Slightly Less Nightmarish
Meanwhile, it’s kinda amazing how much love internal teams got from the winners. Words like "team," "clients," and "approach" were practically jumping off the page. In other words, building a customer-first culture starts inside your own house. Training, empowering, celebrating — it all matters more than ever.
Brands like SupportNinja, Broadvoice, and Foundever made it pretty clear that if your team isn't feeling respected, backed, and a little bit heroic, there’s no chance your customers are gonna feel anything different. Culture leaks — good or bad.
Speed, Scale, and Still Keeping It Personal
Now, clearly, scaling up while keeping things human is tough. Yet, that’s exactly what a lot of winners are pulling off. It’s not about growing at warp speed and hoping the pieces stay glued together — it's about methodically building systems that can handle a crush of new users without making them feel like just another number.
You’ve got folks like Sunbound, OnSIP, and Serviap Global focusing on operational excellence and scalability without sacrificing that neighborhood-grocery-store kind of vibe. That's, like, pure magic when you pull it off — and it’s something that’s gonna matter even more as customer expectations stay on a rocketship ride upwards.
Experience is the Name of the Whole Game
Honestly, if 2025 has a theme song, it’s probably something heavy on lyrics about "seamless experiences" and "being seen." Customers aren’t giving out loyalty points anymore just for being "good enough." They want to feel known, heard, and appreciated.
Brands that are thriving, like Foundever, ShipMonk, Lexie Hearing, and Talkdesk, are owning the whole journey — not just the flashy moments. It's like building a playlist: every song matters, not just the single.
If you're in marketing or PR and feeling that low-key stress about standing out, these are your marching orders. Focus on people. Help them faster. Build actual solutions. Celebrate your team. Stay human, even when you're scaling up. That's what winning looks like now.
By the way, if you're curious to see a bit more of what "winning" looks like right now, you can take a quick peek at this great piece on the future of customer experience from Harvard Business Review. It’s kinda like a crystal ball, except way less foggy.
Huge Thanks to Our 2025 Judges from the Big Brands 🎉
We absolutely couldn't have done it without some amazing judges. Massive thanks to: