Full Episode Listing

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.

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Companies often get stuck between the data gathering and discovering meaningful insights into how they can better their customer’s experience. Especially when you’re talking about qualitative data – conversational, open-ended data that can be difficult to quantify. But there are tools that will allow a CX pros to utilize the vast amounts of "conversational data" that companies collect. Host Steve Walker welcomes Matt Dixon, chief product and research officer, and Ted McKenna, SVP for product at Tethr for a discussion on how customer experience leaders can take advantage of the vast amounts of qualitative data typically collected by companies.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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In the third of the series "10 Traits of Effective CX Leaders," Steve welcomes guest Kristina Kittle, a consultant at Walker Information, to help explain the importance of communication skills as a trait for effective CX leaders.

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It's a common practice in customer experience, and a vital one: closed-loop response to customer feedback. Simply put: you need to make sure you respond to customers in a timely and appropriate way. But, like all things in life, it’s not that simple and if not done well it can actually create poor experiences for your customers. This is why it’s critical to get front line employees engaged in CX and understand the processes set in place that provide the best possible experiences for customers. Guest host Pat Gibbons welcomes Greg Chase, an XM catalyst with the Qualtrics XM Institute, for a discussion on closed-loop feedback response.

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Have you ever been at a business meeting with a client or colleagues and wondered, “should I order wine? What wine do I get? How many should I drink?” Mixing business with alcohol can be tricky and sometimes an awkward subject. Host Steve Walker welcomes guest Jim Schleckser, author of the new book Professional Drinking: A Spirited Guide to Wine, Cocktails, and Business Entertaining," for helpful advice on how to keep it fun AND professional.

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Like most professions, CX pros enjoy the benefits and support of an organization that provides resources and ways to network with other professionals. Steve welcomes the new CEO of the Customer Experience Professionals Association - or CXPA - Greg Melia for a discussion on the organization's benefits and future.

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In a regular "check-in" with the Customer Experience Professionals Association, or CXPA, host Steve Walker welcomes Barbie Fink, current chair of the CXPA board, and recent board chair Annette Franz to discuss the organizations accomplishments and challenges during 2020 and what to expect in 2021.

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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.

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There's never been a better time to be a CX professional, and today's episode explores the best the profession has to offer and why customer experience and experience management is critical to a businesses success. Host Steve Walker welcomes guests Sandy Mathis, Rosa Carbajal, and Johnathan Ruchman to discuss why they believe customer experience is such a great profession and how CX can be one of the best investments for a company.

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Senior living is much more than simply providing a service to a customer. Families depend on the care and attention living facilities provide to their loved ones. Steve welcomes Jonathan Ruchman and David Pruett of Brookdale Senior Living to discuss how they manage a CX program that includes over 800 living facilities across 45 states.

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Relationships are an important part of our lives. Humans are social creatures and it’s important to understand that fact when leading a CX program. But companies sometimes miss the mark on ensuring employees and leaders throughout the company understand how to build and maintain relationships with customers, and each other. Host Steve Walker welcomes John Dijulius, chief revolution officer and president of the Dijulius Group, or a discussion on the importance of building relationships with customers and colleagues.

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We'll bet you've heard this one: you call customer support and encounter an automated system. Despite your best efforts to speak clearly, the voice on the other end of the line can’t understand you. Or, how about when you’ve finally reached someone and they need to transfer you to another agent. After waiting on hold for a while, the second agent finally answers the phone but asks you to explain the problem all over again. That is s a particularly frustrating experience, and you’re not alone according to a recent study by RingCentral and Opinium Research. Host Sara Walker welcomes Jim Payne, director of product marketing at RingCentral, a provider of AI-first cloud-based communication and collaboration solutions, for a discussion about the report's findings and how AI can help ease those customer support pain points.

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There can be many cogs in the machine that is customer experience, and making certain they all align is important if that “machine” is to function correctly. Host Steve Walker and guest Ted Bernard, a managing principal at Invantage Group, discuss how making certain the many pieces of CX, like customer support, align with your overall customer experience strategy.

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A discussion on the importance of executive support and for your CX program and how the organization’s culture can make or break your CX efforts. Steve welcomes customer experience leaders Brian Daniell and Chris Lawton from Deltek to discuss how they developed and continue to maintain a successful customer experience program.

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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.

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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.

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