The Amdocs Studios research identified five core categories that systematically undermine customer experience efforts. Understanding these gaps is essential for companies looking to move beyond the illusion of good CX: The CX perception gap; The communication gap; The service gap; The personalization gap; and The feedback gap. The report outlines five strategic approaches for companies to move beyond the illusion of good CX and create authentic, value-driven customer experiences: 1. Relentlessly reveal reality: Organizations need to implement comprehensive voice-of-customer programs that penetrate beyond surface-level satisfaction metrics. This means collecting feedback across all touchpoints, analyzing patterns in customer behavior, regularly benchmarking against competitors, and critically examining the entire customer journey without corporate bias or filtered interpretations. 2) Understand CX is a perspective — not a set of projects” : As the AmDocs team suggests, improving the customer experience isn’t a project that needs completing, it’s the foundation of everything, emphasizing the need for companies to integrate customer-centric thinking into their organizational DNA. This requires aligning incentives, metrics, and priorities across departments, breaking down operational silos, and ensuring that every employee — regardless of their role — understands their impact on the customer experience. 3) Find the real gaps before chasing solutions: This approach requires companies to investigate customer pain points methodically, prioritize improvements based on customer impact rather than internal convenience, and validate solution concepts with real users before full implementation. By starting with clear problem definition rather than predetermined solutions, organizations can ensure their investments deliver meaningful customer value . 4) Give customers more to believe in — not just more to buy: With 85% of loyal customers considering alternatives after repeated bad experiences, companies need to focus on building connections, not just transactions. “Customers don’t stay for what you sell — they stay for how you make them feel,” the report states. This emotional dimension of customer experience often receives less attention than functional aspects, yet it frequently determines customer loyalty. Companies that excel at CX build relationships grounded in consistent value delivery, transparent communication, and demonstrated understanding of customer needs. 5) Build what solves, not just what sells: The best companies don’t chase features or flood the market with options — instead, they focus on building what actually matters to customers. This solution-oriented mindset requires ruthless prioritization, focusing development resources on addressing genuine customer needs rather than internal agendas or competitive feature parity. “Better CX starts with solving, not selling,” the report reads, pointing to the sustainability advantage companies gain when they align their offerings with customer problems worth solving.