A resource for customer experience (CX) and experience management (XM) professionals.
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Full Episode Listing

A complete list of episodes from The CX Leader Podcast.

Dashboards everywhere!

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Episode #127

Released: July 28, 2020

The concept of dashboards is probably nothing new to customer experience pros. We use them to help communicate data like NPS and Loyalty. But is your dashboard up to snuff? Is it showing you the data you really need and is it organized in a way that your employees or colleagues can glean from it the right information? Host Steve Walker welcomes data reporting expert Katie Hatch from Walker to discuss some key best practices in making certain your dashboards communicate the data you need.

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CX Through Partner Channels

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Episode #211

Released: April 5, 2022

Many companies rely on partners to deliver the best results for their customers – we here at Walker enjoy the benefits of being a member of the Qualtrics Partner Network. But any CX pro will know that it may not be particularly easy to manage the experience when it’s in another organization’s hands, and it’s natural to want to ensure that any experience your customers have with you or your partner reflects your brand promise. So how do you manage the experience beyond your own walls? Host Steve Walker welcomes Andrew Carothers, senior manager of digital experience at Cisco, for a discussion on delivering exceptional experience to and through your partner channels.

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CX in Healthcare

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Episode #154

Released: February 23, 2021

Arguably, healthcare is a unique industry in which lives literally are on the line. So how do healthcare companies and providers plan and execute customer – or in this case, “patient” – experience? Host Steve Walker welcomes guest Patty Riskind, head of global healthcare at Qualtrics, an experience management company, to discuss the importance of gathering feedback to help both the patients and the front-line of the healthcare workforce.

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CX Horror Stories VI

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Episode #291

Released: October 31, 2023

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).

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CX Horror Stories V: The CX Apocalypse

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Episode #240

Released: October 31, 2022

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.

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CX Horror Stories IV

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Episode #189

Released: October 26, 2021

Co-hosts Steve Walker and Pat Gibbons take listeners on a frightful journey of terrible customer experiences with plumbing, restaurants, baby supply stores, hospitals, and even vampires in blood banks! Guests include Jeannie Walters, Christine Trippi, Mike Grindstaff, and Drew Hall. Listen, if you dare!

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CX Horror Stories III

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Episode #139

Released: October 27, 2020

It's another edition of The CX Leader Podcast's annual CX Horror Stories! Hosts Steve Walker and Pat Gibbons endure frightening tales of bad hotel service, poor rental management, ghoulish social media responses, and spine-chilling encounters with government agencies. Guests include Sandra Mathis (HCL Technologies), Brandi Dale (Walker), Johnathan Ruchman (Brookdale Senior Living) and Amy Brown (Authenticx).

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CX Horror Stories II

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Episode #90

Released: October 29, 2019

Hosts Steve Walker and Pat Gibbons present another frightful episode of CX Horror Stories - tales of customer experience gone bad. This year's scary offerings include healthcare, travel, and automotive repair.

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CX Horror Stories

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Episode #42

Released: October 31, 2018

It's a spooky edition of the CX Leader Podcast as Steve welcomes back Pat Gibbons, SVP and principal of Walker Information, to listen to scary stories of customer experience failures and discuss how they could have been avoided.

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CX for the People

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Episode #162

Released: April 20, 2021

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.

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CX For Start-ups, Part 2

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Episode #214

Released: April 26, 2022

In Part 1 of "CX for Start-ups" guest Jen Batley discussed why it’s so important for new companies to really be in-tune with their customers. Knowing their needs while providing a product or service that disrupts the field is critical for start-ups. But what if you’ve been around for a while and are looking to scale-up? Are you providing what you promised to your customers? How are you listening to your customers while you grow your company? Host Steve Walker welcomes back Jen Batley of Batley Advisory to discuss companies looking to scale-up their business.

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CX For Start-ups, Part 1

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Episode #213

Released: April 19, 2022

New business owners have a lot to think about when trying to get their company off the ground, and hopefully one of the many things in their mental "to-do" list is customer experience. We’ve always maintained that a strong CX program and customer-centric culture is vital in today’s business environment, and that’s just as true for new companies. But how do you get started? What insights should you gather first? And what about scalability? In the two-episode series, Steve Walker welcomes Jen Batley, founder and executive consultant for Batley Advisory, for a discussion on what starts-ups should know regarding customer experience when getting their company off the ground.

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CX for Small Businesses

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Episode #195

Released: December 7, 2021

It can be argued that small businesses make the backbone of the U.S. economy. According to a study conducted by the Small Business Administration released in 2019, small businesses generated 44% of the U.S economic activity and created two-thirds of net new jobs. Granted those numbers would likely look different given the reality of the COVID pandemic, but it still underscores the importance of small businesses in the U.S. But how does customer experience work in small business environments and given limited resources within small businesses how can they make certain the customer’s journey is as frictionless as possible? Guest host Pat Gibbons welcomes Rebecca Grimes, chief revenue officer at Ruby, to discuss how small businesses can still have great customer experience.

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CX Day Celebration!

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Episode #39

Released: October 2, 2018

CX Day is celebration of all things CX and Steve invited five CX professionals from various business to discuss their work and what makes customer experience a rewarding profession.

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CX Champions

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Episode #67

Released: May 7, 2019

An organization's culture is critical to making customer experience work. Steve welcomes Ann Schrader and Denise Hinkeldey from Farm Credit Services to discuss their CX program and how the culture helps motivate employees to keep the customer experience a priority within their company.

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CX Center of Excellence

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Episode #266

Released: May 9, 2023

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.

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Cutting Through the Digital Noise

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Episode #203

Released: February 8, 2022

If your company is not providing a digital experience at some level then you’ve already missed the boat. If you consider the possibilities of personalizing a digital experience, then you have a potentially powerful tool that can differentiate your company from competitors. So, how do you personalize the digital experience? Host Steve Walker welcomes Michael Scharff, CEO at Evolv Technologies, for a discussion on personalizing digital experiences.

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Customer-focused Training

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Episode #47

Released: December 4, 2018

Continuing in our User series, Steve welcomes Sharon Bislich and Carolyn Bodkin to discuss how Medxcel, a medical facilities management company, incorporates customer experience into their training programs.

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Customer Success

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Episode #48

Released: December 7, 2018

Exploring another topic on intersections with customer experience, Steve welcomes Dave Duke, an expert in customer success management and is the co-founder and chief customer officer of MetaCX, for a discussion on customer success and its relevance in customer experience.

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Culture Starts with You

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Episode #178

Released: August 10, 2021

Companies regularly hire experienced professionals from outside their organization. But they can’t tell from a resume how good of a culture fit the new leaders will be. And employees frequently find that to grow their skills, they need to go to another company – often leaving a company that is a good fit for them. So how can you solve both problems at once? Host Steve Walker welcomes Jeff Epstein, founder of Onboard.io, for a discussion on creating the right culture for employees which ultimately creates better customer experiences.

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