During mergers and acquisitions (M&A), customer experience (CX) often takes a back seat to legal, financial, and operational work, leading to customer dissatisfaction and destroying value, experts say.

The reason is that customer experience is rarely incorporated into the planning process.

"They don't think about customer experience until customers are already feeling the chaos," said Jeannie Walters, founder and chief experience investigator at Experience Investigators. "They completely overlook it because CX has no seat at the decision-making table. So, customers are left to face all the chaos."

When companies face pressure to integrate quickly, they often underestimate the complexity of consolidating customer data, technology, and operations. At the same time, they make assumptions about what matters most to customers without proper assessment.

Therefore, companies should adopt an "experience-first" approach to ensure integration decisions are grounded in customer priorities, said J. Neely, global lead for M&A at Accenture.

"Brands should avoid assuming that what works for one business will automatically work for another. Even if products or services appear similar, customer expectations, service specifications, and emotional connections to the brand can differ significantly," Neely said.

But experts point out that the biggest mistake is starting the integration process only after the deal closes.

"The strongest acquirers begin thinking about integration when evaluating a deal, because early decisions affect everything that follows," said Daniel Friedman, managing director and partner in the transaction and integration practice at Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Poor planning can also hurt profits. According to BCG, more than half of M&A dealsdestroy value. This is largely attributed to employee resistance and, in many cases, a surge in service costs at customer service centers handling calls from dissatisfied customers.

Loyalty Program and Account Integration

Experts say loyalty programs are the most common point of failure. This is because loyalty program integration is inherently complex and directly impacts customer value and trust.

"Integrating loyalty programs means merging different customer databases, points systems, membership tiers, benefits, technology platforms, and policies, while ensuring customers clearly understand the changes and don't feel they are losing value," Neely said.

Walters noted that Marriott's acquisition of Starwood Hotels is a classic case of failed loyalty integration. After the deal closed in 2016, members had to use two loyalty programs and track points separately for nearly two years, often unclear about which program to use at each hotel.

"It was crazy," Walters said.

In contrast, when Hilton acquired Graduate Hotels, it quickly integrated new members into Hilton Honors but largely allowed Graduate to maintain its original operations, ensuring customers continued to receive the expected experience while enjoying a broader rewards program.

Other account issues, such as changes to service plans, also present challenges.

"Customers may need to migrate accounts, navigate loyalty program updates, or interact with new support teams and service channels," Neely said. "Therefore, it's crucial to minimize disruption through clear communication, careful planning, and a deep understanding of what matters most to customers."

Optimizing Operations Around the Customer Journey

M&A teams typically identify redundant departments to streamline the newly combined organization, but rarely conduct similar analysis on customer communications or policies, leading to countless headaches.

"These challenges are difficult to overcome because they involve multiple parts of the business simultaneously," Neely said. "Changes aimed at streamlining operations can easily create friction for customers if the impact on the customer journey is not fully understood."

Therefore, companies must closely monitor customer feedback during the transition. But many companies freeze their "voice of the customer" programs during integration, blinding themselves at the highest-risk time.

"That's exactly when you need it most," Walters said.

Organizations that successfully navigate M&A first identify the moments that matter most to customers and design integration plans to maintain trust and minimize disruption.

"They use customer data and insights to anticipate pain points, test changes before rollout, communicate clearly and transparently, and adopt a phased approach where appropriate," Neely said. "This helps ensure customers experience the benefits of the merger rather than the complexity behind it."

People and Culture Integration

Integrating people and culture is often the most challenging part of M&A, as emotions can run high.

"M&A leaders have an enormous amount to manage. They must integrate operations, systems, finance, customers, and talent—often under tight timelines," Friedman said. "As a result, the people side of integration may not receive the attention it deserves, even though it is one of the biggest drivers of long-term success."

While this affects everyone in the organization, smooth integration is especially important forfrontline employees, because their frustration can seep into the way they serve customers.

Culture is particularly tricky because seemingly similar brands can feel very different.

"Even when a deal makes complete strategic and financial sense, differences in decision-making styles, communication approaches, and work methods can create unnecessary friction if not addressed," Friedman said. "Companies that handle it well don't assume culture will sort itself out—they make culture an explicit part of the integration plan from the start."

Taking a one-size-fits-all approach is another common pitfall, as employee experiences can vary by role and organization. Therefore, both integration strategies and communications must be tailored.

"Winning employee support is just as important as executing the operational plan," Friedman said. "People need more than timelines and milestones—they need to understand what the change means for them personally."

Ultimately, it's important not to lose sight of the fact that M&A should deliver an improved, unified customer experience.

"The key is maintaining customer confidence during the transition and ensuring customers view the merger as an improvement to their experience, not a source of disruption," Neely said.