A new survey from Forrester suggests that many B2C CMOs are planning to make the customer experience (CX) their top priority in 2026 — a notable shift from last year, when CX didn’t even crack the top five priorities in the same survey.
According to Mike Proulx, VP and Research Director at Forrester, the finding from the company’s Q3 2025 CMO Pulse Survey of 128 U.S.-based B2B marketing executives doesn’t reflect a shift in how CMOs are thinking about CX. Rather, it represents a rejiggering of priorities in response to the uncertain economic climate.
“In the past, we’ve heard that CMOs might not make CX a top priority due to resource constraints, budgets and other priorities that they feel may trump that,” Proulx says. “Time after time, research shows that when you improve CX, you’re improving retention, increasing revenue and all sorts of other halo effects that come with it.”
Beyond CX, CMOs are also focused on generative AI initiatives and improving customer loyalty. As a whole, they’re less interested in influencer marketing than they’ve been in recent years.
The survey presented respondents with a list of 18 initiatives and asked them to select up to three that were top priorities in 2026. The following were the most commonly selected:
- Improve our customer experience.
- Advance our gen AI capabilities.
- Mature how we measure marketing effectiveness.
- Deploy or update our loyalty platform.
- Increase/optimize marketing personalization use cases.
Gen AI Is Still Front and Center
Forrester’s survey found that generative AI is the second-highest priority for CMOs, down a notch from last year. While Proulx says it’s imperative that marketing teams embrace gen AI, he cautions against losing sight of their audiences.
“It’s vital that as AI and gen AI continue to advance and become operationalized within the marketing function that we don’t lose sight of the humanity behind what makes marketing great,” Proulx continues. “Our data shows that whenever AI is used in actual creative assets, especially when it comes to video content, it causes consumer backlash because people are sensitive about the replacement of human jobs.”
Proulx suggests that CMOs should look to use AI to bring more efficiency and cost savings to internal operations first while also encouraging team members to use the technology to help with the creative process (the key word being help).
Customer Loyalty Comes Into Focus
The majority of CMOs surveyed agree that economic volatility will continue into next year. With just 37% of U.S. shoppers saying they’d pay more for a brand they love than switch to a lower-priced substitute — according to a 2025 Forrester consumer survey — marketing teams need to do everything they can to strengthen customer loyalty.
“Loyalty has always been important, but when we’re moving into a situation where price becomes a top issue and consumers are going to feel even more price-pinched heading into 2026, it’s important for brands to create the type of environment and experience that will engender loyalty,” he explains. “Ultimately, a better customer experience creates customer loyalty.”
Influencer Marketing Takes a Back Seat
Last year, influencer marketing was the second-highest priority for CMOs. This year, it dropped to 16th place. While Proulx says that many Forrester clients are still “doubling down on creator marketing,” he attributes the decline to a shift in focus.
“CMOs are going to have to focus on table-stakes issues in 2026,” he says. “It’s not that [influencer marketing] has become unimportant within the marketing mix. The items at the top of the priority list are foundational to marketing, and CMOs want to make sure they get those right first.”
