Contact Center Pipeline February 2026 | Page 22

The goals of PX are to guide onboarding and initial usage, establish patterns of usage, enable feature discovery, produce support and education, and anticipate common problems before they happen.

OVERCOMING PX CHALLENGES

The difficulty with PX is that traditional marketing and support tools aren’ t designed to guide and support customers in their product use. Thus leaving brands with critical post-sale connections gaps. The missing piece is creating this connection in a way that enhances customer engagement and satisfaction.

Let’ s take a closer look at each of the challenges of PX and how brands can overcome them.

1. Some companies try to piece together solutions using the systems they already have. The problem is that most of those applications weren’ t built to respond in real time to customer interactions.

That’ s why many are now turning to AI-based platforms that can learn from each exchange and adjust automatically.

For instance, if the system recognizes that someone is new to a skin care line, it might share simple tips to help them build good habits and make application easier. If it sees that a customer already has an established routine, it can suggest adding a serum for better results.

Even though the intelligence behind a PX platform is complex, the delivery to customers can be simple. It might be as easy as a text message with a link to helpful content or a short video showing exactly how to get started.

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The goal is to make it effortless and enjoyable for customers to get the most out of your product or service.

2. There are very few tools that collect zero-party data( data your brand collects directly from customers and can be used to drive future interactions with them). But when brands gather insights directly from a product’ s usage, the benefits can be game-changing.

Zero-party data, collected passively through customer interactions rather than impersonal surveys, provides real-time visibility into customer behavior: without interrupting their experience.

The challenge lies in earning that data. This data depends on customer trust and voluntary participation; people share information when they believe it will improve their experience.

For example, sending texts asking how the initial experience has been can build on the relationship, not just the transaction. Along with providing additional resources, next steps, and / or connecting them to a community via social media or forums.

3. PX strategy should be designed to provide visibility into individual customer issues that can be resolved before the customer has to escalate them or worse, before a customer is lost.

The key is leveraging a responsive system that properly responds to customer queries, thanking the customers who are doing great( and maybe asking for a review). And then simultaneously funneling and supporting those customers who are struggling.

The best applications utilize AI to direct customers down the path to support that they need to be successful.

4. Most brands still operate in silos, where marketing, CRM, support, and product data don’ t connect in real time. As a result, brands may deliver a suboptimal experience or miss

PERSONALIZATION

opportunities to cross-sell or upsell happy customers.

The solution is to connect these systems through integration points that allow information to flow freely. This approach doesn’ t just improve CX: it also makes marketing campaigns more targeted and effective.

At the same time, by addressing issues proactively and streamlining interactions, brands can reduce support costs, freeing resources for growth and innovation.

WHY A PX STRATEGY?

A solid PX strategy can help brands identify and resolve issues faster, inform product roadmaps based on real-world usage, and develop smarter cross-sell and retention strategies. It can engage with customers in a way that builds loyalty and trust and expands word-ofmouth and review opportunities.

When brands connect with customers through personalized interactions, guided usage experiences, and predictive support, retention and loyalty are built.

And, when customers feel supported throughout their product journeys, they, in turn, develop long-term usage habits that turn them into lifelong advocates.

McKinsey’ s research shows that contextual, personalized cross-selling can lift revenues by 15 %– 20 % and that companies excelling at personalization generate significantly higher loyalty and growth.

In practice, when customers feel seen and valued, they’ re far more likely to renew their subscriptions or make those all-important second purchases.

Ken Rapp is CEO of BluStream, the leader in after-sale product ownership experiences. He is a dynamic entrepreneur and commercialization leader. He’ s founded businesses, created markets, and provided significant returns to shareholders. Ken is passionate about marrying unmet needs with practical solutions and specializes in enterprise value creation through commercialization.