The CX Leader Podcast | A resource for customer experience leaders

We’ve all experienced it: that nagging, frustrating, and sometimes maddening feeling we get when something collides with our productivity. And while it can sometimes feel trivial, that type of friction adds up and affects our interactions with customers, thus affecting the customer experience. So how do we minimize those points of friction in the workplace? Host Pat Gibbons welcomes Christophe Martel, CEO and founder of FOUNT, a software platform designed to help reduce friction and improve productivity and employee experiences, for a discussion on reducing workplace friction and it's effect on customer experience.

Find a transcript of this episode on the show notes page: https://cxleaderpodcast.com/work-friction-less-is-more/

Learn more about FOUNT at https://getfount.com/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

Bonus content are audio clips of interviews that we couldn’t include in an episode but still contains great advice for our listeners, and this content is only available to those that follow the show through their favorite podcast provider.

In the episode " The Empathetic Frontline" (episode #307) released back in March, guest Victoria Stephens from Flywire discussed the importance of employee experience as it relates to providing the best possible customer experience. Host Sara Walker asks how Flywire balances the advantages of automation versus live interactions during support calls and how the data from those interactions helps improve the CX/EX balance.

Listen to the original episode at: https://cxleaderpodcast.com/the-empathetic-frontline/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

Producer's Note: This episode originally released on March 7, 2023. Natalie Onions discussed how she became a customer experience professional and offered some great advice for newer CX pros on how to grow their careers in customer experience. Please note that this was recorded back in March of 2023, so some parts of the discussion may be outdated.

There have been many guests on this show, each with unique stories and backgrounds about their path to becoming a customer experience professional. But we haven’t often discussed how YOU can develop your own professional life. So how is your career growth going? Are you new to the profession and need some tips, or are you a seasoned pro that could use some ways to spark new creativity? How do you keep your career batteries charged? Host Steve Walker welcomes Natalie Onions, vice president of customer experience at Customer.io, a marketing automation platform, to discuss way to help develop your career as a customer experience professional.

Find a transcript of this episode on the show notes page: https://cxleaderpodcast.com/your-cx-career/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

It's an often-misunderstood industry that exists between healthcare and hospitality and includes all the complexities of strict regulation and event management. And to add more complication, it includes an element of emotional support. Funeral homes and cemeteries walk a fine line of making the final arrangements of a loved one as frictionless as possible, all while knowing there are no second chances at delivering a positive experience. Host Sara Walker welcomes Walker expert Hannah Warren for a discussion on managing experiences within the death care industry.

For a transcript of this episode, visit the show notes page at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/the-death-care-experience/

To listen to more episodes, visit https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

To learn more about Walker, go to https://walkerinfo.com/

Just like any other business process, customer experience programs can sometimes get a little stale or outdated. As CX leaders, it’s our responsibility to pay attention to the customers’ needs and expectations, and adjust accordingly. But sometimes it’s best to take a step back and look at the entire customer journey and, if needed, redesign the journey from start to finish. Host Pat Gibbons welcomes Jaya Sudarshan, a customer experience manager for HP, the global technology company, for a discussion on building a differentiated experience from start to finish.

Find the transcript on the show notes page: https://cxleaderpodcast.com/redesigning-from-start-to-finish/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

What are some of the more common challenges you encounter with your CX program? Have you noticed a particular common problem among CX programs when you converse with fellow CX pros? Benchmarking is an often-tackled problem for customer experience professionals and is not as simple as comparing your numbers with another company's scores. This episode is the inaugural show of a new series we’re calling “CX Conundrums,” where we’ll address common CX challenges and possible ways CX leaders can address them. Host Troy Powell dives into this conundrum with two seasoned CX professionals that have a great deal of experience in benchmarking: Sean Clayton who has 20+ years working with a wide range of companies and James Bampos whose background includes CX at various tech firms as well as leadership on a recent benchmarking initiative with the XM Institute.

Find a transcript on the show notes page: https://cxleaderpodcast.com/the-cx-conundrum-of-benchmarking/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

There are many companies today that have embraced customer experience as a key strategic practice, working hard to put the customer first. But there’s often a part of the customer’s journey that is overlooked: when it’s time to pay the bill. Even in a recent episode, our host Pat Gibbons gave an example of a company dismissing customer feedback that identified invoicing as a pain point. So why do companies often adopt this mentality?  Host Pat Gibbons welcomes Philip Rürup, founder and CEO of troy, a customer experience focused collections company based in Germany, for a discussion on why CX professionals often overlook the payment process, and why it's worth their attention.

Find a transcript on the show notes page: https://cxleaderpodcast.com/dont-forget-your-invoice/ 

Learn more about troy at https://www.troy-bleiben.com/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Great customer experiences comes from great employee experiences. It’s something we’ve discussed in several past episodes of this podcast and you can listen to our CX plus EX episodes on cxleaderpodcast.com. But how can you improve employee engagement for a large group of front-line employees, say a call center or large customer support operation? Host Sara Walker welcomes Victoria Stephens, director of client and payment experience at Flywire, a global payment software company, and a CXPA 2023 Emerging Leader award winner, for a discussion on equipping frontline employees for customer experience success.

Find a transcript on the show notes page: https://cxleaderpodcast.com/the-empathetic-frontline/

Learn more about Flywire at https://www.flywire.com/

Listen to more podcasts at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Producer's Note:  March 8th, 2024 is International Women’s Day. This global event celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, and serves as a call to action for accelerating women’s equality. To join in this celebration, we’d like to encore an episode that originally aired back in August of 2022 when Sara Walker hosted to highlight the wisdom of women CX leaders that were guests on the show. If you’d like to know more about International Women’s Day, you can go to internationalwomensday.com. Some information in this episode might be out of date, but it’s a great way to celebrate the phenomenal women CX leaders that have been on the show, and those that continue to drive customer experience excellence in organizations across the globe.

Women's Equality Day is celebrated in the United States on August 26, commemorating the 1920 adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex. In honor of that event, and in honor of her great-grandmother Tommie Walker, who founded Walker in 1939, Sara Walker guests hosts to highlight words of wisdom from women who have been guests on The CX Leader Podcast.

Learn more about International Women's Day at https://internationalwomensday.com

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

If you're a CX professional then you've read your fair share of customer feedback comments. While most CX leaders love to read great comments from customers, there's always feedback that isn't so flattering, and your instinct may be to spring into action to fix whatever it was that caused the less than stellar review. Customer insights can be a powerful change agent, so leveraging feedback can be a great way to influence change within your company. What if we had some advice from someone on the operations side of the business; people who are responsible for implementing the changes that CX leaders suggest? Host Pat Gibbons welcomes Darren Byrne, vice president of global professional services at Wolters Kluwer, a global software solutions company, for a discussion on how CX feedback can be a driver of change within an organization.

Find a transcription on the show notes page: https://cxleaderpodcast.com/the-data-that-drives-change/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

It goes without saying that designing any kind of product is no easy task. And in the case of software, balancing the engineering needs versus customer expectations can be daunting. Simple things like moving a button from the place it’s been for several versions can cause confusion and frustration. So it’s important to understand customers’ needs and communicate those needs to product designers. Host Sara Walker welcomes Naina Tahnilramani, a senior customer experience manager at Intuit and winner of the 2023 CXPA Emerging Leaders Award, for a discussion on the customer experience when launching new or updated products.

Learn more about the CXPA Emerging Leaders Awards at: https://www.cxpa.org/advance-your-career/awards/emergingleaderawards

Listen to more episodes at: https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Ever see the old classic Alfred Hitchcock movie, “The Birds”? There’s a famous scene when a flock of crows attack a group of fleeing school children, swarming without mercy and terrifying everyone in their path. It sometimes feels like that with A.I. - people pecking and swarming at you to try and integrate it into your business in any way possible. And many CX pros are feeling pressure to find ways of incorporating artificial intelligence into their programs. So how can we approach this technology in a way to have it meaningfully contribute to our CX efforts? 

Host Pat Gibbons welcomes back Mike Miserendino, founder and president of GravityDrive, an experience design consultancy group, for a discussion on how customer experience professionals can take an objective approach in effectively incorporating A.I. into their CX programs.

Learn more about GravityDrive at https://www.gravitydrive.com/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

Bonus Content! We interview many great customer experience professionals and they have a ton of great advice to share. But sometimes we have leave some of the interview out of the final episode in order to keep our podcasts a reasonable length. So you're not left out of hearing all the wonderful content our guests provide, we'll occasionally release material that was left out of the final episode as bonus content. This content is only available to those that follow the show through their favorite podcast provider.

In our episode "Becoming Customer Obsessed" (episode #302), guest Marbue Brown discusses the importance of being creative when it comes to anticipating customer needs. During the interview with host Pat Gibbons, he told a touching story about a company that when above and beyond to help a customer in need. The story didn't make it in the original episode so we're releasing it as bonus content.

Listen to the original episode at: https://cxleaderpodcast.com/becoming-customer-obsessed/ 

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Chances are, if you're a regular listener to this show, you at the very least have a healthy respect for customer experience and the value it brings to your organization. But there are a few brands out there that have a following like none other brands like Apple, Costco, Trader Joe's, Chick-fil-A, and, one of our host's personal favorites: Chewy, the online pet supply retailer. These companies are obsessed with customer experience, but what does that mean? And how can you get your company to adopt that mindset? Host Pat Gibbons welcome Marbue Brown, founder of The Customer Obsession Advantage and author of “Blueprint for Customer Obsession,” for a discussion on his new book and why companies need to engage personally, deliver exceptionally, and connect emotionally to their customers.

Connect with Marbue at https://www.customerobsession.net/ 

Learn how to get Marbue's book, "Blueprint for Customer Obsession" at: https://www.customerobsession.net/resources/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Bonus Content!

We couldn't fit everything from this episode into the final edit but you can listen to bonus content by following our feed through your favorite podcast provider. Follow The CX Leader Podcast today to not miss out on a great story from Marbue on a customer obsessed company that anticipated their customer's needs and delivered a exceptional experience.

Producer's Note: This episode originally dropped on February 14, 2023. Steve Walker interviewed Justin Zalewski on how CX professionals can take an ordinary journey mapping process and do more than just find problems and build empathy - instead, Justin describes how to turn your journey mapping process up to "11". Please note that some details and situations described in the episode may not necessarily be the same as when it originally was released.

Most CX pros are familiar with customer journey mapping – the process that identifies the path customers take when interacting with your company. We’ve done a few episodes on it already and you can check those out on cxleaderpodcast.com. But what if we did a little more than just pinpoint problems and build empathy for our customers? What if we included the customer in the process and they help design improved experiences? In other words, we turn the journey mapping process up to eleven! Host Steve Walker welcomes Justin Zalewski for a discussion on service design.

Listen to more podcasts at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

That’s right - 300 episodes! Walker has been producing this podcast since January of 2018 and collected over 150 hours of content, discussed trends and events that included everything from COVID to artificial intelligence, and met some amazing customer experience professionals along the way. And at the beginning of each year we like to take a look at what to expect in CX over the next 12 months. Host Pat Gibbons welcomes Walker experts Sonya McAllister, Sean Clayton, and Tanner Smith, to reminisce on 2023 and make some predictions about trends moving into 2024.

Read more about Walker's experts at https://walkerinfo.com/who-we-are/our-people/

Listen to more podcast episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ 

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

The famous quantum theory thought experiment called "Schrodinger’s Cat" imagines a cat is placed in a box with a vial of poison. Schrodinger suggests that until you open the box and observe the fate of the poor animal, it is simultaneously alive and dead – its fate isn’t determined until you’ve observed its condition. Leaders in a company can sometimes feel that way about the benefits of customer experience, and the fault really doesn’t lie with them – as a CX pro, you need to open the box and prove the value to your organization. Host Troy Powell welcomes Topher Mitchell, manager of the value advisory group at Qualtrics, for a discussion on the importance of customer experience professionals proving the value of CX.

Connect with Topher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tophermitchell/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

Let’s face it: not every person is well-suited to be, quote, “customer-facing.” Whether it’s their personality, their specific job requirements, or just their preference or personal talents, some people do better on the “behind the scenes” aspects of the company. And it’s easy to assume a mentality that they don’t necessarily need a customer-centric focus in their work. But an organization’s employee experience can impact not only their perspective of why they do what they do for the company, but also the customer experience. Host Pat Gibbons welcomes AJ Schneider, president of Wheaton World Wide Moving, for a discussion on why it's important all employees - regardless of their interactions with customers - know they are important to CX.

Learn more about Wheaton at https://wheatonmoving.com/

Listen to more podcasts at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Most customer experience pros know about transactional and relational surveys, but did you know there's a third kind of survey you may need to use? Add the confusion of which surveys are best sent often or once a year, versus how long they should be, it can get frustrating for you - or your customer - on deciding what survey to use when. Walker expert Heather Koiro clears up the "survey confusion" with her Quick Tip Minicast!

Listen to more Quick Tips at http://cxleaderpodcast.com/quicktips/

Explore more episode of The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Think about a time when you visited someplace that’s meaningful to you: a special museum, the distillery of your favorite beverage, a presidential library – you walked away from that exhibit or tour with a heightened understanding and appreciation for that particular interest. Or possibly gained a deeper understanding of something new. That experience was likely designed to better connect you with the product, person, and/or brand. Host Troy Powell welcomes Christian Lachel, chief creative officer at BRC Imagination Arts, for a discussion of discovering the interests and needs of your audience and designing experiences that tell your brand story.

Read more about BRC Imagination Arts at https://www.brcweb.com/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

While there is some historical debate on this, Aristotle is widely recognized as one of the early inventors of the scientific method – the way in which we observe, hypothesize, experiment, and gather data. Experimentation is key to logically understanding our world. And just like any other business practice, experimenting with CX can help you gain insights on what works best for your organization in delivering an amazing experience. Host Pat Gibbons welcomes Gabs Dracopoulos, head of global customer success at Intuit, for a discussion on CX experimentation. 

Connect with Gabs on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielledracopoulos

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

It’s a subject on which we’ve dedicated several episodes: employee experience. And we’ve even covered how to effectively combine CX and EX, a subject for which Walker released a report that you can find on walkerinfo.com. But we haven’t really explored the value of combining employee and customer experience – is it even worth it, and what challenges can I expect? Host Steve Walker welcomes Suzanne Scharer, a product scientist at Qualtrics, for a discussion on why it's worth the effort to combine your customer and employee experience data. 

Learn more about Suzanne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzannescharer/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Companies often struggle with knowing their customer's needs and why they actually stay customers. Are they happy? Are they looking elsewhere for their needs? Why are they not happy? Segmenting these customers into a loyalty scale is common, but not necessarily actionable. On this episode of The CX Leader Quick Tips Minicast, Michelle Buretta, a vice president at Walker, shares how the Walker Loyalty Matrix™ provides businesses with a practical means to leverage the voice of the customer for improved business performance.

Learn more about Michelle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleburetta/

Read more about the Walker Loyalty Matrix™: https://walkerinfo.com/solutions/loyalty-matrix/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/quicktips/

According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, the majority of workers in the U.S. say that focusing on DEI in the workplace is “a good thing.” With so many organizations adopting ways to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion, it seems that we, as CX professionals, should explore ways we can incorporate this important work into our efforts of improving customer experiences. And my guest on this episode has already made progress in incorporating DEI into CX and EX programs. Host Sara Walker welcomes Victor Udoewa, service design lead at the CDC, for a discussion on diversity, equity, and inclusion in CX metrics and programs.

Learn more about Victor via his LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/udoewa/

Listen to more podcasts at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

There’s so much talk about artificial intelligence these days. With stories of how it is changing the world on so many fronts, customer experience professionals can’t help but explore its impact on their organization’s CX program. And when we think about another common struggle with CX – linking the work of customer experience back to revenue – a little bit of help from machine learning might offer a solution. Host Pat Gibbons welcomes Nikhil Nadiminti, senior program manager ISG for worldwide customer experience at Lenovo, for a discussion on proving CX's value through machine learning. 

Learn more about Lenovo at https://www.lenovo.com/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

There's an adage that implies designers and data scientists sometimes don't always see eye to eye. Designers look for esthetics and the functionality while developers and researchers lean towards the data. Why is that? We can all get along and there's no reason why we can't work together! You can use data to create usable and esthetic designs that support excellent customer experiences. Host Pat Gibbons welcomes Caroline Quinlan, digital CX manager for Electric Ireland, for a discussion on how data combined with design thinking can create amazing customer experiences.

Learn more about Electric Ireland at https://www.electricireland.ie/

Listen to more podcasts at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

We must warn you: the podcast episode you're about to listen to is filled with frightful tales of deliveries gone wrong, misdirected concert tickets, terrible website engineering, and rental cars that won't start. This can only mean one thing: it's another blood-curdling episode of CX Horror Stories! Hosted by Sara Walker and Gary Szeszycki, guests include Diane Skirvin (Walker), Bill Daughtery (Gibson Teldata), Tyler Morris (Walker), and Kerri Meyer (Qualtrics). 

Listen to more horror stoires (if you dare!) at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/series/cx-horror-stories/ 

Listen to other episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

In 1989, Evered and Selman put forward the idea that looking at managers as “coaches” creates a better culture for employees. They say, “coaching focuses on discovering actions that enable and empower people to contribute more fully, productively, and with less alienation than the control model entails.” We take the same view here at Walker, where our team leads take the role of coaches to develop CX teams. A lot of those skills translate to leading a CX team in a company – or guiding a whole organization to get onboard with CX initiatives. Host Pat Gibbons welcome Walker expert "Coach Drew" Hall for a discussion on the value of CX coaching. 

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

You're ready to get going on gathering customer feedback, but there's always that looming question: what will we ask them and how much is too much survey? On this edition of The CX Leader Quick Tips Minicast, Walker expert Molly Work gives helpful advice on how to determine the right amount of questions to ask in a survey. 

Listen to more Quick Tips at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/quicktips/ 

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Managing your money is already a stressful task, and it's sometimes difficult to intentionally think ahead about what happens when we retire. Luckily, there are some very smart people in the world of personal finance who can help with that aspect of life. But what does the customer experience look like in that field? Continuing our look into the winning programs at the 2023 US Customer Experience Awards, host Pat Gibbons welcomes Jenny Schmidt, vice president for strategic initiatives at Prudential Financial, to discuss their many awards from USACXA, including the 2023 CX Team of the Year.

Learn more about the Prudential Stages for Retirement at: https://stages.prudential.com/ 

Listen to more podcasts at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Here's a situation you might have heard about, or even experienced: you’re ready to get going on this CX “thing” – you’re going to revolutionize your company. But you don’t quite have executive buy-in, or you’ve got the buy-in but you just can’t get people to do what needs to be done. It’s a common problem with companies new to customer experience. Host Steve Walker welcomes back Megan Burns, CX pioneer, keynoter, and advisor, for a discussion on how to active customer experience in your organization.

Download Megan's Project Pyramid Worksheet: http://megan-burns.com/cxprojectpyramid 

Learn more about Megan at https://megan-burns.com/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Every first Tuesday of October, CX pros take a moment to celebrate their profession and bring awareness to the benefits of a great customer experience, and we hope you’re celebrating with us as well! Since 2011, the Customer Experience Professionals Association, or CXPA, has been dedicated to the advancement of the CX profession and continues to provide support for customer experience professionals throughout their career. Guest host Pat Gibbons welcomes Greg Melia, CEO of the CXPA, for a discussion on why we should take time to celebrate all things CX.

Learn more about the CXPA at https://www.cxpaglobal.org/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

You've planned a great program for gaining customer feedback, but there's just one problem: a low response rate. On this edition of The CX Leader Quick Tips Minicast, Walker expert Drew Hall has some advice on how to manage your lists to encourage a healthier response rate, therefore gathering a better quality of customer feedback.

Listen to more Quick Tips at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/quicktips/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

When did customer experience come into existence? If you’ve listened to this show for a while, you’ll know there was no definitive “big bang” event for CX. It evolved from various other disciplines into the “ethos” of customer centricity that it is today. And there’s no stopping it – customer experience is here to stay, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for the future. Host Steve Walker welcomes back Megan Burns, a world-renowned author, keynoter, and CX expert, for a discussion on the past, present, and future of customer experience. 

Learn more about Megan at https://megan-burns.com/ 

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

You’ve heard us promote the US Customer Experience Awards several times on this program. If you’re not familiar with them, we recommend you check them out at usacxa.com. In this episode, host Steve Walker had the privilege of welcoming a CX leader that helped earn their company the Overall Winner of the 2023 Customer Experience Awards, in addition to winning gold and silver awards in several other categories. Steve welcomes Riccardo Porta, the Global Director for CX at Dow, the materials and science company, for a discussion on their program and a look into the Advanced Manufacturing CX Consortium (AMCX).

Learn more about Dow at https://www.dow.com/

Learn more about the Advanced Manufacturing CX Consortium at https://corporate.dow.com/en-us/seek-together/cx-benchmarking-for-b2b.html 

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Respondents to your surveys are like notes in a symphony of data: if the right notes are played, you have a musical masterpiece. But if some are playing wrong notes, a dissonant chaos of sound can confuse the listeners. In the inaugural edition of The CX Leader Quick Tips Minicast, Walker expert Tanner Smith discusses how CX experts can make certain they're playing the right notes so they have clear insights into their customers. 

Listen to more Quick Tips at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/quicktips/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Data is flying everywhere and CX pros are always striving to gobble-up whatever insights they can get about their customers. It’s easy to look at an average support call time, or NPS scores to get an idea of how things are going. But what about the things that are more difficult to quantify? How do find a hard number for something like customer service? Host Steve Walker welcomes Nathan Bobay, director for Consumer Service at Delta Faucets, for a discussion on quantifying the value of service.

Learn more about Delta Faucets at https://www.deltafaucet.com/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Producer's Note: During the summer months we've been re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode originally dropped on November 6, 2018. Shep Hyken is an award-winning keynote speaker and renowned expert in customer experience. Shep discussed how he started in CX and how customers are no longer comparing you with competitors, but with “the best service they ever had, from anyone.”  Please note that some details and situations described in the episode may not neccessarily be the same as when it originally was released.

Continuing the “CX Luminary” series highlighting the “rock stars” of customer experience, Steve welcomes Shep Hyken to the podcast to discuss how he got his start in CX and how making convenience can bring your company a competitive edge.

Learn more about Shep at https://hyken.com/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode was originally on July 19, 2019. Guest Jay Baer has always been a fun guest to welcome onto the show. He is compelling, funny, and an engaging speaker. He’s also a world-renown expert in customer experience. We love this particular episode as he directly addressed the needs for companies to adapt to changing customer needs (e.g., a global pandemic!) Please note that some details and situations described in the episode may not neccessarily be the same as when it originally was released.

It’s been said a countless number of times on this show: customer experience has never been more important for companies today. The pandemic has changed not only how businesses operate, but how consumers are make purchasing decisions. This has provided CX programs an opportunity to make a huge impact on how companies navigate their way through new territory as we start to see the world emerge from the pandemic. Host Steve Walker welcomes back bestselling author and CX expert Jay Baer to discuss how CX has - or can - make an impact.

Learn more about Jay Baer at: https://www.jaybaer.com/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode was originally on July 19, 2019. Guest Roberta O'Keith did a great job describing how to start a CX program from scratch – it’s a great “CX 101” episode for anyone looking for ways to get a program off the ground. Please note that some details and situations described in the episode may not neccessarily be the same as when it originally was released.

It might sound like more work but sometimes building a CX program from the ground up has its advantages. Steve welcomes guest Roberta O’Keith of Murphy-Hoffman Company, a full-service truck dealership, to discuss how she started customer experience programs in companies that had no such efforts in place.

To listen to more episodes, go to https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

To learn more about Walker, go to https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Almost immediately after the first horseless carriages appeared on America's roads, motorists began organizing automobile clubs. AAA formed in 1902 with 1500 members. AAA continues to save the day after a breakdown and making dream vacations a reality for more than 63 million members. The logistics of that aren’t easy, but this episode's guest will provide a glimpse of how the AAA National Office coordinates a complex customer experience program. Host Steve Walker welcomes Bryan Sander, managing director of member experience at AAA and a member of the CXPA board of directors, for a discussion on getting CX work done in a complex environment.

Learn more about AAA at https://www.aaa.com/

Listen to more podcasts at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode was originally on November 10, 2020. Guest Seth Fritz, manager of the design futures team at the Delta Faucets Company, gave us just a glimpse into the practice of human-centered design, utilizing techniques that allow designers to discover how people will interact with objects, and how the CX program at Delta helps the creative team better design products. Please note that some details and situations described in the episode may not neccessarily be the same as when it originally was released.

Customer experience is about people: your customers or clients, your employees and colleagues, your business partners – people make the experience. So, it goes without saying that designing any experience should include the perspective of those involved, and human-centered design can help inform that process. Host Steve Walker welcomes Seth Fritz, the manager of the Design Futures team at the Delta Faucets Company, for a discussion on human-centered design.

Learn more about Delta Faucet Company at: https://www.deltafaucet.com/

Listen to more podcasts at: https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at: https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode was originally on October 19, 2021. Guests Jennifer Pursifull and Sharon Bislich did some wonderful work with the company Medxcel in tying customer and employee data together, which helped empower their employees to create better experiences. That’s why we loved this episode – it beautifully demonstrates the powerful advantage of putting your CX and EX data together.  Please note that some details and situations described in the episode may not neccessarily be the same as when it originally was released.

The advantage of experience management (or "XM") is the holistic view of experience across the company. By leveraging customer and employee data together, companies can take their experience programs to the next level. But what companies are applying this practice and how’s it working out for them? Host Steve Walker welcomes Jennefer Pursifull, VP of marketing and sales, and Sharon Bislich, director for marketing, communication, and engagement – both from Medxcel, a healthcare facilities management company - to discuss how they successfully built their program to empower their employees to create better experiences for their clients. 

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode was originally on August 24, 2021. We loved how our guest is passionate about connecting employees with the customers and brand through the use of storytelling. He and Steve discussed ways this can build empathy and understanding, which is vital to the overall culture of being a customer-centric organization.  Please note that some details and situations described in the episode may not neccessarily be the same as when it originally was released.

When we talk about “experiences” it’s often from a holistic point of view – through the lens of “experience management”, or “XM.” But how do you connect the customer with the employees, or the employees with the brand? One way is through the use of storytelling, which can be particularly effective in building empathy and understanding. Host Steve Walker welcomes Bruce Temkin, head of the Qualtrics XM Institute, for a discussion on how storytelling can build customer empathy and lead to better customer experience.

Learn more about the Qualtrics XM Institute at https://www.xminstitute.com/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

For some people, getting excited about a new project means diving right into the “fun stuff.” Working to fix up that cool classic car you just bought, or painting a landscape that inspired you. The temptation is to pick up the wrench or paint brush and dive in. But even artists and mechanics need a plan, and so do CX experts. And a critical area of planning for customer experience is communications. It’s important to know your audience and why you’re collecting data in the first place and planning your communications should be one of the first things you do. Host Steve Walker welcomes Molly Work, associate vice president in client services at Walker, for a discussion on the importance of communication - internally and externally - to improve customer experience.

Read more about this from a blog article co-authored by Molly, "Effective communication can elevate your CX program" at: https://walkerinfo.com/effective-communication-can-elevate-your-cx-program/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode was originally on December 8, 2020. We loved how our guest highlighted the importance of creating a “change mindset” throughout the company to move the customer experience team beyond the label of the ”survey people.” Please note that some details and situations described in the episode may not neccessarily be the same as when it originally was released.

The practice of customer experience must permeate the entire company. But that can be difficult, and CX pros are sometimes not take as seriously as they should. So how do you, as a CX pro, change that mindset - how do they move beyond the label of "the survey people?" Host Steve Walker welcomes guest Roxie Strohmenger, vice president of customer experience strategy at UKG, for a discussion on how customer experience professional should market themselves within their organization.

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode originally dropped on April 20, 2021. We really liked this episode because our guests highlighted how well some local, state, and federal government have embraced CX principles as a way to connect to communities and commercial businesses. Please note that some details and situations described in the episode may not neccessarily be the same as when it originally was released.

In the United States, people typically don’t think of themselves as “customers” to the government. However, governing bodies from the local, state, and federal levels have been embracing customer experience as a way to connect to the community, and commercial businesses can learn from their efforts. Host Steve Walker welcomes Qualtrics experts Chelsie Bright, global head of government, and Sydney Heimbrock, chief industry advisor for government, for a discussion on understanding how CX works in government at all levels.

Read the original episode's show notes page here: https://cxleaderpodcast.com/cx-for-the-people/

Listen to more podcasts at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode originally dropped on November 12, 2019, and we loved the creative way in which IU Health immersed themselves in the patient's journey. Please note that some details and situations described in the episode may not neccessarily be the same as when it originally was released.

Immersive experiences can be a powerful tool to demonstrate the customer experience, but for patients at a hospital, it can be impactful – and emotional – for the leadership of an organization. Guest host Pat Gibbons welcomes guest Karen Cernock from Indiana University Health to discuss how an immersive experience for their board developed into a program throughout the organization.

Read the original episode's show notes page here: https://cxleaderpodcast.com/wear-comfortable-shoes/

Listen to more podcasts at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

In the grand scheme of things, customer experience is still a newer practice. While it’s growing as companies and organizations realize its potential, there are still few options for formal education and training in CX. And that can make things difficult for CX pros trying to engage the entire company in customer experience efforts. So how do you raise the level of expertise across your organization? Host Steve Walker welcomes back Drew Hall, vice president and team lead for  advisory and managed services at Walker, for a discussion on expertise building.

Read the blog article by Drew Hall and Elliot Moran at: https://walkerinfo.com/explore-the-value-of-cx-expertise-building/

Listen to more podcasts at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

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Starting a CX program in any organization can be difficult. And one of the more challenging aspects of spinning up a new program is getting your company – especially leadership – to make it a priority. And to make things even more complicated: what areas of customer experience do you prioritize? Do you start with surveys? Closed loop feedback? Journey mapping? Host Steve Walker welcomes Adam Shapourian, associate vice president of experience at United Educators, for a discussion on how to determine your customer experience priorities. 

Learn more about United Educators at https://www.ue.org/

Listen to more podcasts and subscribe at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ 

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

We’ve mentioned the Customer Experience Professionals Association more than once on this podcast. The CXPA offers excellent resources and networking opportunities for CX professionals, and one of those opportunities includes the CX Leaders Advance Conference which was recently held in Orlando, Florida. The event offered CX pros an opportunity to discuss the most “pressing challenges faced by CX leaders.” Guest host Pat Gibbons welcomes back to the podcast Walker experts Sheila March and Dr. Troy Powell who participated in the conference and provides a recap of the events and the most pressing topics on the minds of CX professionals today.

Learn more about the Customer Experience Professionals Association at https://www.cxpa.org/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Producer's Note: this is an encore presentation of Episode 219, originally released on May 31, 2022.

One of the best institutions to learn leadership skills is the military. Veterans often become some of the best business leaders in their fields. So how does military life translate into becoming an effective customer experience leader? Host Steve Walker welcomes Michelle Buretta, a vice president and CX strategic advisor at Walker, for a discussion on how her service in the Army prepared her to be a customer experience leader..

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Combining your customer experience and employee experiences can have a tremendous impact on your overall experience efforts. But what does that look like from the data perspective – how do they link and why would it be advantageous? Host Steve Walker welcomes Tanner Smith, senior analyst at Walker, for a discussion on linking CX and EX data and how it benefits the organization's experience programs.

Download Walker's free report "Effectively Combining CX and EX": https://walkerinfo.com/cxleader/effectively-combining-cx-and-ex/

Listen to the episode "Effectively Combining CX and EX": https://cxleaderpodcast.com/effectively-combining-cx-and-ex/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

It's safe to say that most people are feeling the effects of today’s economy. Dealing with financial issues can create a great deal of stress. Families are penny-pinching and, in many cases, grappling with ways to help ease the burden. And many financial companies don’t make that process easy. But there are ways in which companies can make that experience better and promote what our guest refers to as “financial health.” Guest host Pat Gibbons welcomes Rochelle Gorey, co-founder and CEO of SpringFour, a Certified B social impact fintech company, for a discussion on ways to make it easier for people achieve financial health.

Learn more about SpringFour at https://springfour.com/

Listen to more podcasts at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

As our profession continues to mature and more organizations adopt customer-centric cultures, CX pros often need a way to maintain alignment between their customer experience programs and other company functions. A “hub”, if you will, of CX expertise that the entire company can look to for advice and ideas, so your customer experience efforts align with the company’s mission and vision – a CX Center of Excellence. Host Steve Walker welcomes Greg Chase, an XM catalyst from the Qualtrics XM Institute, for a discussion on how organizations can leverage a CX center of excellence to improve their customer experience.

Read Greg's blog post on "The Three Core Functions of a CX Center of Excellence": https://www.xminstitute.com/blog/three-core-functions-cx-coe/

Listen to more podcasts and subscribe at: https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at: https://walkerinfo.com/

Journey mapping: that tried-and-true exercise of discovering your strengths as a company and the places in your customer’s journey where things could be improved. It’s a great tool to identify pain points and create empathy for your customers. But what about employees? Seems like it would be a great practice to build some empathy for your own team, right? Host Steve Walker welcomes Dr. Cecelia Herbert, principal XM catalyst at the Qualtrics XM Institute for a discussion on mapping the employee's journey.

Learn more about the XM Institute at https://www.xminstitute.com/

Listen to more podcast episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/        

We’ve been talking more about the patient experience on this show and how CX practices can be applied in the healthcare industry. In fact, Walker just released a report on the subject: “PX: Designing Better Patient Experiences.” Host Steve Walker welcomes Nicole Richendollar, an associate video president, and Emily Chesnut, a senior project manager, both at Walker, for a discussion on how digital surveys can benefit closed-loop follow-up, or as it’s known in the healthcare space, “service recovery.”      

To download Walker's latest report, "PX: Designing Better Patient Experiences", visit https://walkerinfo.com/cxleader/px-designing-a-better-patient-experience/ 

To listen to more episodes, go to https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

To learn more about Walker, visit https://walkerinfo.com/ 

There are so many times on this show that our guests have described their customer experience efforts as living within their marketing department, and there are good reasons to practice CX in that structure. But what if we made the case that CX should exist on its own: an independent CX practice capable of working with all aspects of the organization, thus improving the customer experience at all levels? Host Steve Walker welcomes Amanda Flashner, Chief Experience Officer at LendingPoint, a financial technology platform, for a discussion on why their company invested in a separate CX function to improve the customer expeirence.

Learn more about LendingPoint at https://www.lendingpoint.com/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

Creating seamless experiences is one of many goals of CX pros. But what should be perceived by the customer as a smooth experience can sometimes create complicated processes for the company – like the hidden part of an iceberg. But if done right, it can benefit both the customer and employees, and we have a guest on the show who heads-up a unique program to make that happen. Host Steve Walker welcomes Andy Netzel, CCXP and the head of the Performance Innovation Lab at KeyBank, for a look at how they work to create seamless experiences for their customers. 

Learn more about Key Bank at https://www.key.com/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

People in general want to do good things for others. But it’s easy to assume that everyone sees the world with similar eyes. We live in a diverse world with people that have different needs, so it’s important that CX professionals plan and accommodate so the experience is accessible and meaningful for all their customers. Host Steve Walker welcomes Stacy Sherman, a customer experience and marketing keynote speaker, content creator, and host of the podcast "Doing CX Right", for a discussion on creating inclusive experiences for customers and employees with different needs and abilities. 

Read more about Stacy on her website: https://doingcxright.com/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Read more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

In early March of 2023, thousands of experience management professionals from across the globe gathered in Salt Lake City to take part in the 2023 Qualtrics X4 Summit. Featuring keynote speakers like Martha Stewart, Malala Yousafzai, and Chip and Joanna Gaines, the X4 Summit succeeded in creating a memorable experience, while providing opportunities for XM professionals to connect. Host Steve Walker invites Lauri Jones, Sarah Walker, and Pat Gibbons back to the show to recap what they experienced at this year's X4 Summit.

Learn more about the Qualtrics X4 Summit at https://www.qualtrics.com/x4summit/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

When it comes to your health or the health of a loved-one, it gets personal. That’s why it’s so important for healthcare providers to pay attention to the patient experience (PX). It can be different from customer experience, but there are similarities, and just like B2C experiences are influencing how B2B companies design and execute their programs, there are some things that patient experience pros can learn from the CX world. Host Steve Walker welcomes Kim Gerber, a patient experience professional, for a discussion on better understanding the difference and similarities between PX and CX.

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Attending concerts, sporting events, conferences, and other gatherings is a big part of our culture and could easily be considered the pinnacle of experience design. But there are so many elements that go into crafting the ideal event experience to make it truly memorable – how do you put it all together to exceed the high expectations of today’s consumers? And how do you plan and manage blockbuster events like the Super Bowls, NCAA Final Fours, Olympics, World Cup, concerts from the world’s biggest stars and the most important conferences and tradeshows on the planet? Host Steve Walker welcomes Alex Merchán, chief marketing officer at ASM Global, a leading venue management and services company who hosted the previously mentioned events, for a discussion on experience management for large events.

Learn more about ASM Global at https://www.asmglobal.com/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

There have been many guests on this show, each with unique stories and backgrounds about their path to becoming a customer experience professional. But we haven’t often discussed how YOU can develop your own professional life. So how is your career growth going? Are you new to the profession and need some tips, or are you a seasoned pro that could use some ways to spark new creativity? How do you keep your career batteries charged? Host Steve Walker welcomes Natalie Onions, vice president of customer experience at Customer.io, a marketing automation platform, to discuss way to help develop your career as a customer experience professional.

Learn more about Customer.io at https://customer.io/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

Healthcare in the United States is a complex, and often a divisive subject. With some healthcare companies focused on the bottom line, family practitioners can get overwhelmed and have little time to develop relationships with their patients. So when a company comes along and says that there IS a way for doctors to spend better time and provide better care – in other words, putting the humanity back into the experience – then it’s definitely worth exploring! Host Steve Walker welcomes Jamey Lutz, managing director of brand and service excellent at ChenMed, for a discussion on how their company puts the humanity back into patient experience.

Learn more about ChenMed at https://www.chenmed.com/

Learn more about Jamey at https://www.jameylutz.com/

Listen to more podcasts at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ or check out our blog at https://walkerinfo.com/blog/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Customer experience is a wonderful blend of listening and understanding our customers, while creating the right actions to deliver amazing experiences. But putting all those pieces together is a tall task. How do we set up the right processes to ensure the right information is delivered to right employees, resulting in great experiences for our customers? Host Steve Walker welcomes Jill Helmle, the senior manager for customer experience strategy at ServiceNow, for a discussion on how to equip employees for success. 

Learn more about ServiceNow at https://www.servicenow.com/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Most CX pros are familiar with customer journey mapping – the process that identifies the path customers take when interacting with your company. We’ve done a few episodes on it already and you can check those out on cxleaderpodcast.com. But what if we did a little more than just pinpoint problems and build empathy for our customers? What if we included the customer in the process and they help design improved experiences? In other words, we turn the journey mapping process up to eleven! Host Steve Walker welcomes Justin Zalewski, director of product design and strategy at Studio Science, for a discussion on service design.

Learn more about Studio Science at https://studioscience.com/

Listen to more podcasts at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Customer experience pros know that one of the many indicators of a successful CX program includes how many promoters you have among your customers – often measured using the Net Promoter Score. The more promoters you have, the more likely your customers will recommend you to others, right? And that’s it - we typically don’t think there’s something better than “promoters.” However, there are ways in which CX pros can create “superfans” – customers that not only recommend you to others, but become serious advocates for your business. Host Steve Walker welcomes Brittany Hodak, an award-winning entrepreneur, author, and customer experience speaker, to discuss her new book, “Creating Superfans: How to Turn Your Customers Into Lifelong Advocates.”

Learn more about Brittany's book, "Creating Superfans" here: https://brittanyhodak.com/book/

Listen to more episodes of The CX Leader Podcast here: https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker here: https://walkerinfo.com/ 

A common business adage states: “fast, cheap, or good – pick any two.” But in today’s world of same-day shipping and self-service technologies, customers are demanding speedy experiences and will not accept excuses for sacrificing quality or price. On the eighth and final episode of our series, “CX Now: Eight Essential Themes Driving CX Evolution,” host Steve Walker welcomes Sean Clayton for a discussion on why customer experience professionals should keep speed at the top of their list when optimizing their CX programs.

Read blogs and listen to more episodes in our CX Now series here: https://walkerinfo.com/cxnow/

Listen to more episodes of The CX Leader Podcast here: https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker here: https://walkerinfo.com/

It's no secret that most companies have different groups of customers with differing needs. And we, as CX leaders, naturally need to able to adapt our programs to account for those differences. Depending on your company, differences between your customer segments might be small. But for businesses where each segment’s needs are vastly different, more complex experience strategies might be necessary. So how does a CX pro design and execute for different customer segments? Host Steve Walker welcomes Leigh Redington, general manager at Potawatomi Carter Casino Hotel in Wabeno, Wisconsin, for a discussion on designing experiences for various customer segments.

Listen to more episodes of The CX Leader Podcast here: https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

In the 250th episode of The CX Leader Podcast, we'll continue the series “CX Now - Eight Essential Themes Driving CX Evolution” by discussing adaptability: how companies should maintain an agile mindset in order to provide the best possible experience for customers. Host Steve Walker welcomes Drew Hall, a vice president and team lead from Walker, to discuss why companies need to move away from the old-world model of "make and sell" model and adopt a more "sense and respond" mentality.

Find more episodes and blog articles in our CX Now series at https://walkerinfo.com/cxnow/

Find more episode of The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

There are lots of different ways to measure what a customer thinks about your company. But customer emotions can be pretty tricky. How a customer feels can affect other metrics – someone who’s happy with their service will likely provide a high NPS rating. Someone who is angry or frustrated will likely choose “very unsatisfied” in a CSAT survey. So it’s important to understand the emotions of a customer as context for other metrics. But what about more complicated relationships, like a B2B2C channel? On this episode, host Steve Walker welcomes Nancy Flowers, director of customer experience at Voya Financial* and featured in Jim Tincher's newest book, "Do B2B Better". Nancy discusses why CX pros needs to remember that emotions are important for B2C and B2B channels.

Learn more about the book, "Do B2B Better" at https://heartofthecustomer.com/dob2bbetter/ 

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

* Production note: We interviewed Nancy Flowers in November of 2022. At that time she was the vice president for insights and loyalty at Hagerty and discusses her experiences at that company. She has since accepted a position at Voya Financial, and while she no longer speaks officially for Hagerty, we have permission to release this episode since she was working for that company at the time of the interview. 

Some organizations collect very little data and some collect a ton of data. But like many other aspects of customer experience, CX pros should be thinking of the end goal when designing programs and integrating their data. A "data diet:" everything in moderation. As part of our continuing series "CX Now: Eight Essential Themes Driving CX Evolution," host Steve Walker welcomes Ashley Hicks for a discussion on how CX pros can organize, integrate, and constructivley access their data to make better business decisions.

Read more about the "CX Now" series here: https://walkerinfo.com/cxnow/ 

Find more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Many have experienced the dreaded "handoff" - that experience where someone calls into support and get transferred multiple times, to the point where frustration compels them to simply hang up. Continuing the series "CX Now: Eight Essential Themes Driving CX Evolution," host Steve Walker welcomes Diane Skirvin, vice president and team lead at Walker, to discuss the importance of making customer experiences seamless.

Listen and read more about the CX Now series at https://walkerinfo.com/cxnow

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Data is everywhere! And CX pros have structured ways to keep it all organized. But what about all the UNstructured data your customers provide? While there are some challenges in using unstructured data, it has the potential to bring a rich set of insights about your customer experience efforts. Host Steve Walker welcomes Ellen Loeshelle, director of product management, XM Discover at Qualtrics, for a discussion on how customer experience professionals can take advantage of the tools available to extract the value from unstructured data.

Learn more about Qualtrics XM Discover at https://www.qualtrics.com/discover/

Listen to more podcasts and subscribe to the show at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Providing the tools and resources for employee success seems like a "no-brainer," but companies often overlook the systems and processes that can create friction in the customer experience. And if the employees struggle to provide seamless experiences, then you can bet that customers are feeling their pain as well. In the fourth episode of our "CX Now: Eight Essential Themes Driving CX Evolution," host Steve Walker welcomes expert Georgetta Parisi, Ph.D., for a discussion on employee enablement. 

Listen to more podcasts or read blog articles in the "CX Now" series: https://walkerinfo.com/cxnow/

Listen and subscribe to The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ 

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/  

The data companies collect can be valuable in providing insights into the past and current behaviors of customers. But that data can also be useful in predicting trends and behaviors in the future. Continuing the series "CX Now: Eight Essential Themes Driving CX Evolution," host Steve Walker welcomes Dr. Troy Powell for a discussion on how companies can use their customer data to perform predictive analysis using A.I., natural language processing, and other tools to anticipate customer needs and actions.

Find more episode and blog article in the "CX Now" series: https://walkerinfo.com/cxnow/

Find more episodes of The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

One toy that was, and continues to be a popular choice for both parents and kids is LEGO®. So named after the Danish phrase to “play well”, LEGO® bricks and playsets are still a best-selling product today. So you might be asking, “what does this have to do with customer experience?” Host Steve Walker welcomes Sirte Pihlaja, CEO and customer experience optimizer for Shirute, a customer experience research and strategy company, to discuss how she utilizes the LEGO® Serious Play® method to build better customer experiences.

Learn more about Shirute at https://www.shirute.com/en/

Read more about the LEGO® Serious Play® method for CX professionals: https://www.shirute.fi/en/shirute-cxplay/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Speed has always been an important factor in delivering a great experience to customers. And many times "fastest" is best. But there are some situations in which you could almost be too fast, so the trick is to find the right "now." Host Steve Walker welcomes Jay Baer, a keynote speaker and author on customer experience, to discuss his latest research in collaboration with StatsSocial, “Time to Win: the Consumer Patience Study."

Download the study for free at https://www.thetimetowin.com/

Learn more about Jay Baer at https://www.jaybaer.com/ 

Find more episodes and subscribe to The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Designing ways to personalize the customer experience is essential. But there are different levels in which personalization can be executed: reactive, selected customer, and proactive. And customer experience programs that are not fully executing on personalized experience could be dropping the ball. In the second episode of our series "CX Now: Eight Essential Themes Driving CX Evolution," Steve Walker welcome Saari Gardner, vice president of advisory and managed services at Walker for a discussion on way companies can take their personalization efforts to the next level.

Find more resources in our "CX Now" series at: https://walkerinfo.com/cxleader/cx-now/

Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

What would the world look like if customer experience simply... disappeared? How would anyone receive support? How would companies know what products work? How would you be able to hire someone to fix your dishwasher? In this special episode of The CX Leader Podcast, producer Chris Higgins assembles a panel of experts from Walker to perform a terrifying thought experiment worthy of an episode of The Twilight Zone: imagine a world without customer experience. Panelists include Walker experts Brett DeWitt, TJ O'Neil, Liz Wallshield, and Job Willman.

Listen to more terrifying stories at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/series/cx-horror-stories/

Listen to more episodes and subscribe to The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

Closed-loop feedback is not a foreign subject on this podcast; we’ve covered it many times before and you can find those episodes on our website, cxleaderpodcast.com. But in this episode we look at a company that services a complicated insurance market, and how implementing a closed-loop follow-up early in the company’s life has impacted their growth. Host Steve Walker welcomes Stephanie-Marie Sullivan, a customer experience manager, and Kevin McEnery, AVP of customer experience at SageSure, a company that specializes in solving the complex insurance needs of homeowners and small businesses in challenged markets.

Learn more about SageSure at https://www.sagesure.com/

Listen to more episodes and subscribe to The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

Customers are demanding new ways to connect with companies, ranging from websites to apps, chat support to bots - the technological tools available to CX professionals is growing. In the inaugural episode in our series, "CX Now: Eight Essential Themes Driving CX Evolution," host Steve Walker welcomes Elliot Moran, associate vice president in our advisory and managed services at Walker, for a discussion on how digital interactions are driving CX evolution.

Listen to more episodes and subscribe to The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

Many companies use them: personality tests or evaluations - ways to help employees discover more about how they and their colleagues work with others. Some might roll their eyes at the mention of them yet others find them very useful in trying to connect to other people in their company. Regardless of how you feel about them, the goal is ultimately a better-working team. And employees working well together means there’s better potential for excellent customer experiences. Host Steve Walker welcome Dan Silvert, a partner and president of the Velocity Advisory Group, a strategic consulting company.

Read more about Velocity Advisory Group: https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/

More about Dan's book, "The True Competitive Advantage: A Practical Guide to Achieving Extraordinary Success through Deep Relationships": https://www.amazon.com/True-Competitive-Advantage-Extraordinary-Relationships/dp/1619618567/

Listen to more episodes and subscribe to The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

In a special CX Day Celebration episode and playing of this year's theme "CX Drives Success," host Steve Walker welcomes experts Sean Clayton, Sheila March, and Jack Walker for a fun panel discussion on how racing shares similar traits with customer experience. CX Day is held every first Tuesday in October by the Customer Experience Professionals Association as a global celebration of the customer experience profession.

Learn more about CX Day: https://www.cxday.org/

More about the Customer Experience Professionals Association: http://www.cxpa.org/

Listen to more episodes and subscribe to The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ 

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

This episode features a more open-ended conversation on one of the host's favorite topics: the differences between B2B and B2C, but focusing on what it is like for a CX professional to transition from B2C to B2B, or vice-versa. Steve Walker welcomes guest Stuart Gilchriest, director of CX strategy at UKG, a technology company providing solutions for HR, payroll, and workforce management technology.

Connect with Stuart on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartgilchriest/

Learn more about UKG here: https://www.ukg.com/ 

Listen to more episodes and subscribe to The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com

Data is important for customer experience. Providing a great experience is certainly a good thing, but it’s not enough to assume that your program is delivering. You must gather the data necessary to either confirm you’re doing it right, or find you need to make some changes in order to improve your CX. Host Steve Walker welcomes Tim Thoman, President and CEO of Performance Services, a company that designs and constructs high performance buildings, for a discussion on how they integrate customer data into their business' decision-making process.

Connect with Tim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timthoman/

Learn more about Performance Services here: https://www.performanceservices.com/

Listen to more episodes and subscribe to The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com

It's an easy tenet to accept that a lack of conflict translates to a productive workplace. The less H.R. puts out personality “fires” the more people can concentrate on their jobs. But a study published back in 2003 by the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at UC Berkeley found that if the traditional rules of brainstorming, which encourage people to not criticize any presented ideas, are replaced with instructions encouraging debate, and even criticism, productive and innovative thinking may improve. Host Steve Walker welcomes Amanda Ono, vice president for customer experience at Resolver, a risk intelligence platform, for a discussion on encouraging a healthy level of conflict in the workplace can increase production and collaboration within your organization. 

Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandaono/

Read the UC Berkley Study “The liberating role of conflict in group creativity: A cross cultural study” here: https://irle.berkeley.edu/files/2003/The-liberating-role-of-conflict-in-group-creativity.pdf

Learn more about Resolver here: https://www.resolver.com/

Listen to more episodes and subscribe to The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com

Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com

COVID required many companies to rethink how they do business. Come companies adapted well, others did not. But some unique challenges crop up when your business is highly regulated, like the aviation industry. Regardless of the pandemic, pilots still need to be trained, certified, and recertified, and if the training of pilots is the core services of your business, then some innovative thinking needed to happen in order to continue the important work of keeping people flying. Host Steve Walker welcomes Kara Gardner, global customer experience manager for CAE a manufacturer of simulation and modelling technologies.

A common subject on the show is the importance of cross-functional collaboration when executing good customer experience. Knowing how other departments and groups work within the company is vital, but not always easy. And yet, CX pros are often left with the task of getting everyone on-board and collaborating so the entire company can help provide the best possible customer experience. Guest Michelle Spaul is a customer experience consultant and leads the Customer Experience Professionals Association’s “Monograph Project”, a project aimed to help organizations "work better together by understanding the level of collaboration needed to deliver the desired customer experience."

Women's Equality Day is celebrated in the United States on August 26, commemorating the 1920 adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex. In honor of that event, and in honor of her great-grandmother Tommie Walker, who founded Walker in 1939, Sara Walker guests hosts to highlight words of wisdom from women who have been guests on The CX Leader Podcast.

People love origin stories. And for CX professionals, narratives of customer experience “newbies” growing from humble beginnings into “heroes” can be insightful. Continuing in our series of featuring winners from the Awards International 2022 US Customer Experience Awards, host Steve Walker welcomes Lee Kemp, operations, supply chain, and Customer Experience leader, and Sam Wegman, vice president for customer experience, at Univar Solutions, a global chemical and ingredient distributor. Lee and Sam describe how they built an award-winning program from scratch, having received three gold awards and one silver for Univar's customer experience efforts.

Change is not easy. It’s human instinct to become comfortable with “what you know.” But sometimes a change is necessary – when CX professionals notice a problem, or recognize a way to make the customer’s experience better, their instinct is to find solutions to improve how they interact with customers. And a large global technology company needs a CX leader who can bring people together into a common purpose and inspire them to do what’s best for their customers. Host Steve Walker welcomes Bob McDonald, vice president of global CRM experience for IBM, for a discussion on how Bob made the case to transform their customer experience. 

Building CX programs from scratch is never an easy task. And the endeavor usually starts with the vision of a single person that sees the benefits of CX and agrees – or is appointed – to spearhead the project. And that includes a lot: program planning, gaining support throughout the organization, putting convincing metrics in place, and a whole lot more. It’s a daunting task. Guest host Pat Gibbons welcomes Carol Tesarek from Equipment Depot to highlight how they put all the right pieces together to create an award-winning program.

Today’s technology allows for peer-driven collaboration on an unprecedented level. People from across the globe can create knowledge resources on Wikipedia, or develop software on GitHub and share it with the world. There are even ways to create art and music collaboratively online. So it only makes sense that a group of CX pros decided that the customer experience profession needed some sort of playbook that “documents CX terms, tactics, and approaches based on the CXPA CX Framework." Host Steve Walker welcomes Heather Gillbanks, CCXP and Director and Customer Experience & Customer Center of Excellence Lead at Cornerstone Building Brands, for a discussion on how she lead the effort to create this resources for CX pros.

Health is a deeply personal topic and these last few years have pushed healthcare institutions into making unprecedented changes in how they deliver that care. Naturally, this has had an impact on the patients’ experience. XM professionals in healthcare institutions must be mindful that patients are NOT customers, and design programs accordingly to improve the patient experience. Host Steve Walker welcomes Sarah Andrews, vice president for advisory services at Walker, and Sarah Gilstrap, a senior consultant for healthcare customer experience and an XM scientist at Qualtrics, for a discussion on trends in patient experience. 

If you’re a CX pro for small or medium size company, you already know the challenges in designing and delivering the best possible experience for your customers. But what about companies that have multiple locations? What about a company like Starbucks which has over 33 thousand locations? How do they deliver such a consistent experience across so many countries and cultures? Host Steve Walker welcomes Jim Hardeman, chief marketing officer and chief product evangelist for CMX, for a discussion on how larger companies create experiences consistent across multiple locations.

We’ve had some great guest on the show recently and the importance of the employee experience has started to emerge as a notable topic. Many guests emphasize the need for companies to empower and trust their employees to make decisions that improve the customer experience. In this episode of our “Turn Back Time” take home value series, producer Chris Higgins highlights some of the take home value offered from our guest in regards to employee experience.

Few if any of customer experience pros went to school to be a CX professional, and yet there are thousands in this flourishing profession. So what does it take to be a CX leader? What are the right skills and what is the best career path to take? How do you break into this and how do you determine whether your company will really support customer experience strategies? Guest host Pat Gibbons welcomes Shelly Chandler, a certified CX professional and as head of customer experience for Delaware North, for a discussion on what it takes to start and advance your career in CX.