Outcomes That Should Shape Your CX Tech Strategy in 2025

Route 101 explores how CX leaders can use the latest Forrester TEI study as a practical blueprint to evaluate their technology, prioritise outcomes, and build a smarter, more strategic approach to customer experience.

As discussed recently at the CCMA Strategy Summit, the contact centre is no longer just a cost centre – it’s a strategic growth driver.

The 2025 Forrester Total Economic Impact (TEI) study of Zendesk offers a timely and data-rich perspective on what modern customer experience technology can deliver, and the impact it can make.

But this report isn’t just about Zendesk. It’s a blueprint for how CX leaders can evaluate their current capabilities, prioritise outcomes, and make smarter technology decisions.

Route 101 see this as a powerful framework; one that aligns perfectly with their mission to deliver real business impact as a leading CX technology systems integrator.

What the TEI Report Tells Us to Evaluate

The study identifies the most pressing challenges facing CX leaders today – and the areas that demand attention:

• Scalability: Can your technology ecosystem support operations growth without growing costs?
• Automation Readiness: Are you equipped to handle high-volume, low-complexity enquiries with AI?
• Agent Enablement: Are your teams empowered with the right tools, knowledge, and workflows?
• Customer Visibility: Do you have the data to understand and anticipate customer needs?
• Omnichannel Maturity: Can you deliver consistent, seamless support across every channel?

What Technology Should Enable – and the Outcomes to Prioritise

The report outlines the capabilities that matter most in a modern CX technology estate.

Beyond financial wins; they’re strategic outcomes that align with and can be applied to any CX transformation.

These metrics are strategic signals. They tell you where to look to determine:

• If your operation is efficient (or not)
• How well your technology is supporting your people
• Whether your CX is truly moving the needle for the business

Turning Insight into Actionable Strategy

The table below distils the key outcomes from the TEI study into a strategic framework. Each row links a measurable outcome to a capability, a strategic question, and its relevance to your broader CX goals.

Use it to assess where your organisation stands – and where to focus next.

Strategic Question	Outcomes Reported in the TEI	Technology Capability	Why it Matters?	Relevance to CX Strategy	Example Outcome
Can we demonstrate the business value of our CX investments?	ROI	Strategic Value Realisation	Demonstrating ROI helps secure budget, justify transformation programmes, and align CX with broader business goals.	Validates CX as a growth enabler and helps secure future investment.	301% ROI and £23.2M NPV over three years
Do we understand what’s driving contact volume – and how to reduce it?	Contact Rate	Insight-driven-self-service.	This is a sign of a more proactive, insight-let approach to service design.	Reduces cost-to-service and improves upstream customer experience.	25% reduction in contact rate (worth £10.3M)
Are we using automation to handle repetitive enquiries at scale?	Number of Enquiries Resolved Through AI	AI-Powered automation	Frees agents for complex work and improves speed and consistency.	It’s a clear indicator of digital maturity and operational scalability.	30% of enquiries resolved via AI (Worth £6.5M)
Are our tools and culture supporting agent wellbeing and performance?	Agent Attrition	Employee experience & enablement	It’s a sign that your tools, culture, and onboarding are working – and that your people feel supported.	Reduces turnover costs and improves service quality	65% decrease in agent attrition
Can we onboard and upskill agents quickly and effectively?	Onboarding Time	AI-Assisted training	It shows that your systems are intuitive, your knowledge is accessible, and your training is effective.	Accelerates time to value and improves consistency.	67% faster onboarding
Are we using CX to drive loyalty, retention and revenue?	Revenue Generated	Proactive CX & personalisation	The holy grail – proof that CX drives growth, not just satisfaction.	Connects CX to commercial outcomes and growth	1% increase in revenue from improved CX
Are our systems and workflows helping agents resolve issues quickly?	Average Handling Time	Unified Agent Workspace & Knowledge Management	It reflects how well systems, knowledge, and workflows are supporting agents.	Improves productivity and reduces customer effort	3-minute reduction in handling time (worth £6.6M)

Using TEI Metrics to Build Your CX Business Case

The report doesn’t just highlight what’s possible, it provides a language CX leaders can use to influence stakeholders and secure investment.

Whether you’re building a case for AI, omnichannel, or workforce tools, these metrics offer a credible benchmark for expected outcomes.

Use them to:

• Benchmark your current performance
• Quantify the value of proposed improvements
• Align CX goals with commercial priorities

What the Numbers Don’t Show – Why Execution Matters

While the report provides compelling evidence of the potential ROI from platforms, it’s important to remember that technology alone doesn’t deliver outcomes, people and process do.

This is where systems integrators play a critical role.

A good systems integrator will act as a CX transformation partner, bridging the gap between platform and performance. They will ensure that the technology is not only implemented correctly, but embedded into your organisation in a way that drives sustainable value.

• Assess current-state capabilities across systems, teams, and channels
• Prioritise outcomes that align with business goals – from cost reduction to revenue growth. We tailor deployments to your business model, customer journeys, and operational goals
• Design and implement the right tech stack- whether that’s voice, digital, AI WEM, QA, or bespoke integrations.. We help teams adopt new tools and workflows with confidence, reducing friction and accelerating time to value.
• Optimise continuously with data-driven insights, automation, and AI enablement. We don’t stop at go-live. We work with you to refine, adapt, and evolve your CX ecosystem as your business grows.

The TEI numbers are powerful – but they’re only achievable with the right strategy, support, and execution. That’s the difference a good systems integrator makes.

A Smarter Way to Evaluate and Evolve CX

This report shows what’s possible when the right technology is aligned with the right outcomes. For CX leaders, it’s a reminder that the future of customer experience is:

• Automated, but human
• Data-rich, but insight-driven
• Scalable, but personal

This blog post has been re-published by kind permission of Route 101 – View the Original Article

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Call Centre Helper is not responsible for the content of these guest blog posts. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of Call Centre Helper.

Author: Route 101
Reviewed by: Rachael Trickey