Feature
The Gist
- Human experience is the foundation of customer experience. Colleen Lonsberry’s work consistently shows that CX failures and successes start with how people feel — not how systems perform.
- Storytelling bridges strategy and trust. Across her writing, Lonsberry argues that marketing and CX only resonate when leaders translate complexity into stories customers and employees recognize as real.
- AI must serve humanity, not replace it. As automation scales, Lonsberry warns that emotional intelligence, empathy and clarity are the true differentiators brands cannot outsource.
Some of the most effective customer experience insights don’t come from dashboards or frameworks — they come from real life. In 2025, Colleen Lonsberry brought that perspective to CMSWire with a voice rooted in lived experience, leadership reflection and a deep belief that business is, at its core, human.
With more than 20 years in marketing — spanning sales, strategy and senior B2B technology roles — and now working as an independent consultant, Lonsberry has seen how organizations succeed and fail up close. That vantage point shaped a standout year of CMSWire contributions that connected personal moments to professional lessons in ways that resonated deeply with readers.
Editor’s note: Colleen Lonsberry emerged quickly as one of CMSWire’s most impactful new contributors. Her writing stood out not for chasing trends, but for reminding CX and marketing leaders what’s at stake when empathy, clarity and trust are missing. She is one of our CMSWire Contributors of the Year for 2025.
Table of Contents
- Great Customer Experience Needs Human Experiences
- The Power — and Risk — of Storytelling in Business
- A Lesson in Empathy That Changed How She Leads
- Staying Human in an AI-Driven World
- 2026: Empathy, Clarity and Connection Will Still Win
Great Customer Experience Needs Human Experiences
Across her CMSWire columns, Lonsberry returns to a consistent idea: great customer experience is inseparable from human experience. Strategy, data and technology matter — but only when they are grounded in how people actually think, feel and behave.
Her background in both sales and marketing informs that stance. Having spent years “in front of customers,” she understands that buying decisions are never purely logical. “People are people and there’s emotion involved in buying,” she says. Treating B2B or enterprise buyers as somehow immune to that reality, she argues, is a fundamental mistake.
This belief highlights her writing style. Rather than abstract theory, Lonsberry uses moments from real life — conversations, missteps, personal challenges — to illuminate where organizations lose touch with the humans they aim to serve.
Related Article: No Updates, No Empathy, No Excuse: A Masterclass in Customer Experience Missteps
The Power — and Risk — of Storytelling in Business
One of Lonsberry’s most widely read CMSWire articles, “The Story Gap: What’s Missing From Your Marketing”, crystallized her core thesis. Too often, organizations communicate in features, jargon and internal logic — while customers are looking for meaning, relevance and clarity.
She recalls working with highly technical product leaders who could explain how something worked, but not why it mattered. The breakthrough came when she reframed the discussion around how customers should feel, not what they should technically understand. That shift — from mechanics to meaning — unlocked better messaging and stronger alignment.
For Lonsberry, storytelling isn’t about creativity for its own sake. It’s a strategic tool that builds customer trust, creates understanding and helps customers see themselves in the experience a brand is offering.
A Lesson in Empathy That Changed How She Leads
Perhaps Lonsberry’s most powerful CMSWire contribution came from a deeply personal place. In “Intentions Aren’t Enough”, she shared a moment with her special-needs son that became a lasting leadership lesson.
When her son proudly “did the dishes” — wiping them clean without soap or water — Lonsberry was faced with a familiar leadership dilemma: how to correct the outcome without crushing the intent. The experience forced her to pause, lead with empathy and coach with clarity.
That moment reshaped how she thinks about management and customer experience. Most people, she argues, want to do good work. When expectations aren’t met, the failure is often in communication and guidance — not motivation. Effective CX leadership, in her view, requires compassion paired with accountability.
Staying Human in an AI-Driven World
Looking ahead, Lonsberry sees artificial intelligence as both an opportunity and a risk. She readily acknowledges AI’s ability to improve efficiency and remove tactical friction. But she is equally concerned about what gets lost when automation replaces emotional intelligence.
As AI becomes more embedded in marketing and CX workflows, Lonsberry believes the real challenge will be preserving connection. “I worry that we lose the emotional intelligence. I worry that we lose the connection,” she says. In moments of transition, stress or vulnerability, people don’t want automation — they want understanding.
Her perspective is shaped by having lived through multiple waves of marketing transformation, from early digital to search, paid media and now AI. The tools change, she notes, but the need for human connection does not.
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Colleen Lonsberry’s 2025 CMSWire Contributions
These articles reflect the themes and CX leadership principles that defined Colleen Lonsberry’s contributions to CMSWire in 2025.
| Article | Core Thesis | What CX Leaders Need to Do |
|---|---|---|
| The Story Gap: What’s Missing From Your Marketing | Marketing fails when it explains products instead of telling stories customers relate to. | Translate features and complexity into human-centered narratives that build trust. |
| Navigating AI Hallucinations: A Personal Lesson in Digital Accuracy | Blind trust in AI outputs can damage credibility and decision-making. | Use AI as a support tool while maintaining human oversight and accountability. |
| Intentions Aren’t Enough: A Lesson in Customer Experience | Good intentions fall short without clear expectations and empathetic leadership. | Coach teams with compassion while reinforcing standards and accountability. |
| The CX Case for a Soft Voice and an Open Heart | Empathy is a strategic advantage in moments of friction and failure. | Lead CX interactions with emotional intelligence, not defensiveness. |
| Designing Customer Journeys With Heart — Even When Chatbots Are Involved | Automation should enhance, not replace, human connection. | Design chatbot and digital journeys that escalate empathy when it matters most. |
| Customer Trust Is the Currency of CX | Broken promises erode trust faster than any technical failure. | Align messaging, commitments and delivery to protect long-term credibility. |
| No Updates, No Empathy, No Excuse | Silence and indifference amplify CX failures. | Communicate early, often and with empathy during service disruptions. |
2026: Empathy, Clarity and Connection Will Still Win
As customer experience and marketing continue to absorb AI-driven change, Lonsberry believes the brands that win will be those that stay grounded in humanity. Tools will evolve. Channels will shift. But empathy, clarity and connection will remain the constants.
Her work challenges leaders to slow down just enough to ask a harder question: are we making this experience more efficient — or more meaningful? In a world racing toward automation, Lonsberry’s voice is a reminder that CX still begins and ends with people.
