Marketing Insiders Group

The Ripple Effect of Customer Understanding Has Already Started. Across Europe, customer care is under pressure from all sides: higher expectations, faster channels, growing automation, and less tolerance for friction.

Early signals from the 2026 STUDY point out that:

📍Speed alone no longer earns trust.
📍Omnichannel maturity is still uneven across industries.
📍AI accelerates service, but does not replace judgment in emotionally charged moments.
📍Customers reward brands that understand them, not just solve needs.

This is the 𝗥𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗘𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧: small moments in customer interactions, response time, clarity, ownership, tone - all creating disproportionate impact on loyalty, reputation, and long-term growth.

The Marketing Insiders Group 2026 Benchmark is capturing these signals in real time by assessing critical KPIs spanning service efficiency and CX quality in 𝟯𝟮𝟴 organisations from 𝟰𝟭 industries in 𝟴 cities, across private and public sectors. The Research is implemented by Mystery Shopping Agency through 𝗛𝗬𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗗 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘: AI-powered analysis guided by expert human perspective.

📈What emerges goes beyond scorecards, shaping a 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗞𝗘𝗧 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥, showing where customer care is heading, where risks are forming, and where intentional experiences outperform old standards.

The study is ongoing, and the first insights are already leading strategic conversations. Explore what we’re measuring, why it matters, and how small insights create big business impact.

👇 Get an inside look and Secure Data Access to gear up for what’s next in customer experience via [email protected], the PRESENTATION link is in the comments below.

🎙️ : “Beyond Talent – Building an Empathy System” with George Popa, Psychotherapy Clinics Manager Regina Maria - Rețeaua de Sănătate, on how organizations can design environments where Care and Presence show up consistently.

Key Insights:
In business, empathy is not a personality trait, it’s an operational capability.
Patients don’t experience processes, they experience how they feel between processes.
KPI pressure can silently discourage presence, listening, and care.
Managers are not “the most empathetic people in the room,” but architects of context.

& Highlights:
Customer satisfaction is 35% higher when empathy is perceived in interactions.
Empathy increases trust even when problems aren’t fully resolved.
Systems that protect frontline teams (time, language, debriefing) enable better care.
AI and efficiency must collaborate with humans, not compete with them.

🧠 doesn’t always solve the problem, but it always changes the experience. And sometimes, that’s what keeps people coming back.