To improve brand and reputation, 36% of insurance business and tech professionals report that their organization is prioritizing increasing trust in the organization/brand; 30% are prioritizing improving the digital brand experience; and 27% are prioritizing increasing investments in their brand and communications programs (see Figure 3).

Forrester’s Brand Experience Index (BX Index™) measures perceptions of 16 US health insurer brands among customers and noncustomers. In 2026, the industry improved, posting statistically significant gains among both groups. Ten of the 16 brands increased their BX Index scores year over year, while only one brand had a lower BX Index score.

Resources to help diagnose misalignment, understand which drivers will have the most impact on growth, and prioritize investments:Forrester’s Global Total Experience Score Rankings, 2026 Forrester’s Global Customer Experience Index Rankings, 2026 Forrester’s Global Employee Experience Index Rankings, 2026 North American Brands Improved Relative To Brands From Other Regions A consumer’s perception of a brand determines the extent to which they will engage with it.

ESG Reporting Ranks Highly Among Key Actions To Improve Brand And Reputation Organizations are focusing on several key actions to enhance their brand and reputation. According to Forrester’s Priorities Survey, 2024, the top priorities include aligning the brand experience with customer experience (32%), improving overall brand experiences (29%), and increasing budget investments in brand and communications programs (27%).

This report introduces Forrester’s Brand Experience Index (BX Index™), a key component, along with Forrester’s Customer Experience Index (CX Index™), of Forrester’s new Total Experience Score. The BX Index, which evaluates and quantifies brand perception, reveals a significant disparity in scores between customers and noncustomers across industries and countries. This report and its underlying methodology offer brands a data-driven approach to win and serve customers.

B2C marketers who must adapt to this hybrid go-to-market model face a host of unique challenges, including managing multiple audiences, brand experiences, and commercial interests. Among these many priorities, two stand out as most important: having a consistent brand and an aligned measurement system. This is a snapshot of Forrester’s data on the strategic priorities of B2C marketing decision-makers.

According to Forrester’s State Of Customer Obsession Survey, 2023, 67% of enterprise director or above level decision-makers at B2B organizations agree that their customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX) are aligned with their brand promise. The thread of brand experience (BX) permeates EX and fortifies CX, which is vital to building that desired trust with the company. Brand has a place at every touchpoint. Brand experiences aren’t just about moving people through a buying cycle.

How US Consumers Feel About GenAI In Brand Experiences A graph showing if US online adults who have heard of genAI disapprove, are neutral, or approve of genAI use for different types of brand experiences. This graphic has an associated spreadsheet that includes all data presented. Please access the spreadsheet for details. Figure 1

Multichannel banks that try to entice customers away from hybrid experiences, such as to digital-only channels, could hurt brand loyalty. Among the brands we studied, the industry average CX Index score for hybrid CX (a combination of physical and digital interactions) was 65.9, compared to 64.5 for purely physical CX (e.g., in-branch, live phone call, postal mail), and 62.6 for purely digital CX (e.g., mobile app, automated phone system).

Hybrid CX outperformed physical-only and digital-only CX. In 2025, the digital-only and physical-only experiences that Indian banks were less compelling than their hybrid experiences. Among the brands we studied, the industry average CX Index score for purely physical CX (e.g., in-branch, live phone call, postal mail) was 67.8, compared with 67.4 for purely digital CX (e.g., mobile app, automated phone system) and 70.6 for hybrid CX (a combination of physical and digital interactions).