We live extraordinary times. A world that changes at the speed of an algorithm, where general technologies – like generative artificial intelligence, robotics or augmented reality – are transforming the way we live, work and, of course, we consume. In this context, it seems increasingly difficult for companies to keep up. Every day a new platform, a new channel, or a new metric arises. Innovating pressure is constant. But while we all focus on the new, we run the risk of forgetting the essential. Because yes, technology changes and expectations change, but there is something that never changes: the human need to be understood, valued and respected. In other words: the need to have a good experience.
During my 25 years advising global companies in issues of marketing, innovation and business transformation, I have worked with luxury brands, retail giants, technological startups and industrial groups. And if there is something that I have learned, it is that the best client experiences are not built with technology, but with a correct interpretation of a human need or desire. In my experience, there are three universal principles that every company should always keep in mind – especially in times of change -, if you aspire to design a superior client experience. Three principles that can evolve, adapt, update, but never disappear and are: devotion, empathy and trust.
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Devotion: when the client becomes a personal cause
Devotion is not simply “customer service.” It is not about responding quickly or being educated. Devotion is an emotional, almost romantic attitude. Think of a couple in love. The devout person does not expect his partner to tell him what he needs. He advances, observes, listening, intuits and wants to surprise, please, take care of. In the business world, a devout brand acts the same. Does not launch campaigns to meet the calendar. It does not send a discount because “touches.” A devout brand studies, understands and anticipates.
Amazon does not ask you if you want your order the next day, simply give it to you. Its obsessive culture by the client is not a marketing strategy: it is an operational devotion. And as in every human relationship, when someone is devoted to you, you notice.
Empathy: Really understanding, without filters
Empathy is fashionable, but it is also misunderstood. It’s not about making a Focus Group. Nor have a customer journey Map. Empathy is the ability to read the emotion of the other without judging or translating it to an Excel document.
A good CX leader has to be able to see the world as his client sees. Not as I would like to see it and that demands humility. A restaurant can have an excellent reservations app and still fail if the waiter ignores that the client came alone and is uncomfortable. Empathy is not programmed: it is practiced. The brands that develop empathy are the ones that learn the most, because they listen to what others ignore.
Trust: the most difficult result to achieve (and the easiest to lose)
When a brand demonstrates devotion and practices empathy consistently, the natural result is trust. But care: trust is not an “intangible active.” It is a living process and is built with facts, not with words. For me, trust is the sum of devotion and empathy, multiplied by coherence, and also built on two pillars: loyalty, which is a consequence of the value delivered, and fidelity, which is born from an emotional or ethical affinity with the brand. When an airline treats you as a number, even if you have 50 flights a year with them, they lose your loyalty. But when they call you by your name, remember your favorite seat and offer you help before you ask for it, desire fidelity.
Devotion, empathy and confidence can be synthesized in the acronym DEC, name of an association founded in Spain in 2014 and with presence in several countries in Latin America, including Mexico, Argentina and Chile, where last May he organized an inspiring conference and I had the honor of participating as Keynote Speaker. That event was a revealing experience. During my days in Santiago, I talked with dozens of business leaders. What I found was a region in full boiling: with obvious challenges, yes, but also with a huge appetite of transformation. These are some of the most interesting trends I observed:
1. Opticanality instead of omnichannel
Many brands are stopping to “be everywhere” and are starting to strategically select the channels where they really provide value. They are understanding that the effort should not focus on being omnipresent, but on optimally present.
They are realizing that, although the logic behind omnichannel is valid, in many cases trying to be in all contact points is economically unsustainable. In this sense, optichannel arises as an intelligent solution to the unsustainability of omnipresence.
2. Automation with human touch
Companies are adopting artificial intelligence and automation, but with a special sensitivity not to lose human tone. What they are looking for is not to replace, but to enhance. The technology is coolbut people are warm. On the one hand, we gain efficiency and scalability; on the other, uniqueness and human warmth.
In the coming years, brands around the world must adapt their value proposition by taking a clear position: what processes delegate to technology and which to keep in human hands. And depending on that decision, all the strategic decisions of the brand will change.
3. Customer -centered culture, not departments
Customer experience is the sum of all interactions between a brand and its audience. And, as such, it cannot be the exclusive responsibility of the marketing area. It must become an organizational attitude, with concrete implications and shared responsibility, from the call center to logistics, from operations to the finance area. The customer experience It is not what you design in a session of service designIt is what your customers feel and live at each point of contact.
Technologies evolve. The metrics change. The tools become obsolete. But the essence of a good client experience remains the same: make the other that matters. Devotion, empathy and trust are not slogans, they are decisions, practices and principles, and when those principles are lived coherence, technology ceases to be a threat and becomes what should always be: an ally to serve better.
The author has served as CEO of three international marketing firms, collaborating with more than 300 companies globally. In addition, he is a marketing professor, lecturer and advisor in corporate innovation, leadership and marketing. Recognized by Thinkers50 as one of the main thought leaders worldwide, he has co -written three business books with Philip Kotler.
This article was originally published in the Printed Edition of Forbes Mexico of the month of July 2025.
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