A conversation with Calvin Cheng, Partner at West Monroe
Customer acquisition and retention have never been simple tasks – but today, they’re being tested in new ways. With economic pressures mounting and buyer expectations in flux, many organizations are rethinking how they engage, support, and retain customers. Calvin Cheng, a Partner at West Monroe, believes that making meaningful improvements to customer experience (CX) requires a deeper understanding of how people actually make decisions – not just what they buy or when, but why.
In a recent conversation, Cheng shared a framework that moves beyond standard segmentation models and toward a more emotionally intelligent, operationally grounded approach to customer engagement. His key message: The biggest gains don’t necessarily come from new technology – they come from seeing your customer more clearly and designing experiences that reflect that understanding.
Demographics Aren’t Enough
For decades, marketers and CX professionals have relied on demographic segmentation – household income, age, zip code, purchase history – as the foundation for personalization. These inputs remain useful, but as Cheng points out, they tell only part of the story.
“Two people with the exact same profile – same income, same household structure, same location – can behave in totally different ways,” Cheng says. “The difference is often psychological. It’s about how they were raised, the values they were taught, the way they see the world.”
This insight isn’t just academic. When companies treat customers as data points rather than as humans with complex motivations, the result is often generic messaging, clumsy personalization, and missed opportunities to build loyalty. What’s needed instead is a way to integrate behavioral and emotional drivers into how we think about customers – not just their transactions, but their underlying decision logic.
Fixing the Funnel You Already Have
In times of economic uncertainty, companies tend to focus inward – tightening budgets, delaying big investments, and aiming for operational efficiency. Cheng believes this creates a strategic window to address what he calls “the leaky bucket.”
“Most organizations don’t need to chase the next big thing,” he explains. “They need to stop losing what they already have – whether that’s leads falling through cracks in the funnel, or existing customers drifting away because of inconsistent experiences.”
Rather than racing to implement new platforms or data tools, Cheng suggests looking closely at conversion gaps. Where do people drop off in the journey? What moments create friction? Are current systems – marketing, sales, service – aligned around a shared view of the customer?
That shared view, Cheng argues, is often missing because of internal data silos. Sales may see one version of the customer, while marketing sees another – and customer service a third. “Bringing those pieces together gives you the full story,” he says. “It’s the foundation for smarter decisions and better experiences.”
Inside-Out Meets Outside-In
West Monroe’s methodology is built around an “inside-out and outside-in” model for customer engagement. The inside-out perspective focuses on what companies already know: internal data, operational capabilities, and performance metrics. This helps reveal where opportunities exist within the current system – what’s working, what’s breaking down, and where friction can be reduced.
The outside-in view complements this by pushing organizations to anticipate – not just react. What do customers expect tomorrow that they didn’t expect yesterday? What are competitors doing that might reset the bar for experience? What external trends are shaping perception and demand?
“Inside-out tells you where you are. Outside-in tells you where you need to go,” Cheng explains. “Without both, you’re either stuck optimizing yesterday’s model or chasing the wrong signals.”
Where AI Fits – and Where It Doesn’t
As generative AI and agentic models become more accessible, companies are exploring ways to integrate them into front-office operations – especially in marketing and service functions. Cheng sees real promise here, particularly in AI’s ability to personalize content and automate responses at scale.
But he also offers a measured perspective. “Generative AI can write, analyze, and decide – but it can’t always be trusted to do those things well without oversight,” he says. “That’s why we advocate for a human-in-the-loop model.”
In practice, this means humans are involved in training, reviewing, and refining what AI systems produce. It’s not just about catching errors – though that’s important – but also about building a system that learns responsibly over time. This approach helps mitigate risk, especially as regulatory scrutiny grows and as consumers become more sensitive to how their data is used.
Cheng points to a recent incident involving Air Canada’s chatbot, which made promises the company couldn’t honor, resulting in legal and reputational fallout. “That kind of breakdown isn’t just a tech failure – it’s a trust failure,” he says. “And once trust is broken, it’s hard to repair.”
Designing for the Full Journey
Ultimately, Cheng argues for a more human-centered view of the entire customer experience – not just the moments that drive purchase, but the ones that sustain loyalty. This includes employee experience as well, since internal misalignment or burnout often shows up in the customer’s journey.
The goal isn’t to create perfection at every touchpoint. It’s to design a system that’s coherent, intentional, and emotionally resonant – one that reflects how people actually make decisions, and how they want to be treated along the way.
“Customer engagement today is less about getting attention and more about earning it,” Cheng says. “That means designing systems that make sense – for the business, yes, but also for the person on the other end.”
Final Thought
Understanding emotional drivers isn’t a soft skill. It’s a strategic one. By recognizing that customer behavior is shaped by psychology as much as data – and by combining operational insight with foresight—businesses can create experiences that not only convert, but connect.
And in today’s environment, that’s what gives companies an edge.
