Discover the top 5 customer experience platforms of 2025 to enhance customer satisfaction and drive business growth. Plus best customer service tools.
In 2025, delivering exceptional customer experiences (CX) is more important than ever.
73% of consumers say CX influences their purchasing decisions, and 91% of dissatisfied customers will never return.
That means businesses with strong CX strategies can boost their revenue by 10-15%.
As companies strive to meet evolving customer expectations, CX software has become essential. This guide breaks down top CX platforms, with insights on their features, pricing, pros, and cons to help you choose the best onen for your business.
Customer experience (CX) software refers to tools and platforms that help businesses manage and improve every aspect of customer interaction. These tools focus on journey mapping and streamlining customer communications.
By pulling in data from all customer touchpoints, CX software gives businesses a bird-eye view of the customer, helping them personalize interactions, track pain points, and ultimately enhance the overall experience.
Often used interchangeably, it is important to understand the difference between customer experience software and customer service tools. While customer service is only one touchpoint within the broader customer journey, CX software like Viral CX maps and optimizes every touchpoint—from discovery to post-purchase interactions.
If you want to optimize the broader journey and not just customer support, CX platforms are the better choice.
In 2025, CX is more important than ever. Recent studies show that nearly 73% of consumers rank CX as a primary decision factor.
CX platforms are essential tools for businesses to optimize customer satisfaction, strengthen brand loyalty, and fuel long-term growth. They helps you create seamless, personalized, and responsive customer interactions, especially in industries like hospitality, e-commerce, and professional services.
A poor CX can drive customers away, and research shows that 91% of dissatisfied customers will not return. That’s why the right platform is critical—empowering brands to stay ahead of the competition by addressing customer pain points proactively.
Choosing a CX platform should align with your unique business goals and customer needs. Here are a few tips to guide your selection:
Define Your Objectives: Identify what you want to achieve with CX software, whether it’s enhancing customer loyalty, streamlining communication, or increasing customer lifetime value.
Business Size and Growth Needs: The platform you choose should be scalable to meet your business's future needs. Small to mid-sized businesses especially benefit from platforms that are flexible, easy to use, and capable of expanding with their growth.
Team’s Technical Expertise: If your team is not highly technical, look for a platform that’s intuitive and simple to use. If you have a dedicated tech team, you can choose platforms that offer more customization and advanced capabilities.
Long-Term Value: While cost is always important, consider the long-term value a platform offers. Opt for solutions that offer flexible pricing plans that can grow with your business, so you don't have to pay for unnecessary features upfront.
Industry-Specific Customization: Whether you're in retail, hospitality, or a service industry, choose a platform that understands the unique challenges your business faces and tailors its features to address them effectively.
Scalability and Flexibility: As your business grows, so should your CX platform. Look for a solution that allows you to map the entire customer journey and adjust it as needed. This is crucial for creating a seamless experience that meets customers’ needs as your business grows.
When evaluating CX platforms, here are some must-have features that reflect the latest trends and demands of 2025:
Journey Mapping: A platform that allows you to map and optimize the entire customer journey is crucial for identifying areas of improvement. With detailed mapping, you can pinpoint pain points and make targeted adjustments that lead to a better overall experience.
AI-Powered Insights: Platforms that offer AI-driven analytics help businesses understand customer pain points and predict future needs. This data-driven approach empowers you to make informed decisions.
Personalization: Personalization is key to building stronger customer relationships. Look for platforms that allow you to tailor interactions based on individual preferences and behaviors, enhancing engagement and loyalty.
Customer experience platforms are designed to optimize the entire customer journey, helping businesses analyze pain points, improve engagement, and foster loyalty. Here’s an overview of the top CX tools in 2025, including Viral CX, TheyDo, Smaply, and Miro:
|
Software |
Key features |
Best for |
| Viral CX |
|
Small to medium businesses, CX strategy for all teams |
| TheyDo |
|
Large enterprises, complex CX structure |
| Smaply |
|
Enterprises, research-heavy teams |
| Miro |
|
Team collaboration, brainstorming |
Viral CX is a straight-forward yet comprehensive customer journey mapping tool. It is an AI-powered platform designed to optimize customer experiences by identifying pain points and providing actionable insights. It leverages AI to create tailored content and enhance customer journey mapping, offering a detailed approach to improving every touchpoint of the customer experience.
Key Features
Dynamic journey mapping: Create ready-to-use maps that adapt as your business evolves in under a minute. Various customization options to make the journey works best for your needs.
Simple setup: Get started in minutes, not months. User-friendly interface and intuitive to use.
CX strategy alignment: Connect journeys to clear business goals and key results at every touchpoint.
Progress tracking: Monitor results and manage KPIs efficiently.
Collaboration: Add more team members to the platform to share a unified journey map view, add feedbacks and comments in real time.
Pricing: Free-forever plan available. Affordable paid plans with more advanced AI features start at €38/seat/month.
Pros:
Cons:
Best For: SMEs, teams of all industries looking for a CX platform that’s both strategic and actionable.
Viral CX is built to simplify customer experience management. It’s ideal for growing businesses that need fast, measurable results. Instead of overwhelming you with features, Viral CX combines dynamic journey mapping with clear goals and measurable outcomes. Sounds good? Sign up for free here.
Learn more: Digital Customer Experience Strategy for SMEs
TheyDo is tailored for larger teams managing complex customer journeys. It’s packed with great features but may feel overwhelming and become too expensive for smaller businesses.
Key Features
Journey orchestration: Align CX initiatives with business strategies.
AI insights: Use AI to convert data into actionable steps.
Opportunity prioritization: Highlight high-impact areas to improve.
Collaboration tools: Connects cross-functional teams.
Pricing: Starts at $35,000/year for paid plans. Free plan available with limitations.
Pros
AI-powered insights.
Great for large organizations with advanced needs.
Free plan available.
Cons
Expensive for small to medium-sized businesses.
Complex for teams unfamiliar with advanced CX tools.
Best For: Large enterprises and organizations with complex CX needs.
Smaply offers detailed tools for visualizing customer journeys, personas, and stakeholder maps. However, it requires effort to set up and can be challenging to navigate.
Key Features
Journey mapping: Build detailed customer journey maps.
Persona creation: Define customer profiles.
Stakeholder maps: Visualize key players in the CX process.
Pricing: Mid-range; pricing varies by features and team size. Free plan with limited features available. Paid plans start at 390€/user/month.
Pros
Great for detailed mapping.
Customizable templates.
Cons
Steep learning curve.
Limited action-oriented features.
Best For: Teams focused on research and planning over execution.
Miro is a collaborative platform primarily designed for teams to create and manage visual projects such as brainstorming, planning, and mapping. While not exclusively focused on customer journey mapping, Miro is also used for visualizing CX touchpoints.
Key Features
Templates: Extensive pre-made and generic templates for various uses
Collaboration tools: Real-time edit and feedback
Integration: Works with popular tools like Slack and data/customer insights tools like Looker.
Pricing: Starts at $8/user/month. Affordable for small teams.
Pros
Easy to use for brainstorming and whiteboarding
Cons
Not designed for CX management
No actionable insights or strategy alignment
Customer service tools are essential for delivering exceptional customer experiences. They empower businesses to respond quickly to customer needs, gather insights for continuous improvement, and foster lasting relationships. Check out our five picks for customer service tools that can enhance your overall CX strategy.
|
Software |
Key features |
Free plan |
Best for |
| Hubspot Service Hub |
|
Yes | Businesses using Hubspot CRM |
| Salesforce Service Cloud |
|
No | Large enterprises |
| Zendesk |
|
14 days trial | Businesses of all sizes |
| Freshdesk |
|
Yes | SMEs |
| Customer.io |
|
Yes | Enterprises focused on customer engagement |
Overview: HubSpot Service Hub is part of the broader HubSpot CRM ecosystem and provides a comprehensive set of tools for managing customer service and improving customer relationships.
Notable Features: Ticketing system, live chat, knowledge base, customer feedback surveys, and automated workflows.
Pricing: Starts with a free version; paid plans are available based on the number of users and features needed, with premium options starting at $45/month.
Best For: Businesses that already use HubSpot CRM or require an integrated, all-in-one service solution with a higher budget (pricing can get expensive at higher tiers).
Overview: Salesforce Service Cloud integrates with Salesforce’s CRM to offer a robust suite of customer service tools.
Notable Features: Case management, personalized service delivery, and AI-powered recommendations.
Pricing: Starts at $25/user/month, with various tiers based on features.
Best For: Larger businesses that already use Salesforce and need comprehensive service management capabilities.
Overview: Zendesk offers an intuitive interface for managing customer support across multiple channels.
Notable Features: Chat support, ticketing system, knowledge base, and automation.
Pricing: Starts at $55/month/user, with higher-tier plans providing advanced features.
Best For: Small to mid-sized businesses looking for a reliable customer service platform.
Overview: Freshdesk is another support-focused platform that simplifies help desk management with AI-driven ticketing.
Notable Features: Multi-channel support, automation, and self-service options.
Pricing: Free plan available, with paid plans starting at $15/month/user.
Best For: SMEs needing an affordable solution to manage customer service interactions.
Overview: Customer.io is an automation and messaging platform aimed at enhancing customer engagement through behavioral targeting and personalized messaging.
Notable Features: Behavioral triggers and customer segmentation for targeted messaging, advanced workflows for automating customer engagement, integrations with CRM tools.
Pricing: Paid plans begin at $100/month.
Best For: Suitable for medium to big companies that have large customer data and need to implement automated communication strategies across multiple channels.
Choosing the right customer experience tool is a vital decision that can shape how you interact with customers, build lasting loyalty, and differentiate yourself in the market. With platforms like Viral CX or HubSpot Service Hub, you have powerful tools at your disposal to create seamless and personalized experiences that drive business growth.
Whether you're a small business just starting out or a larger enterprise, there’s a CX platform that fits your needs. To see how Viral CX can help enhance your customer journey, consider signing up for a free today.
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