Full Episode Listing

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.

Listen to this episode

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.

Listen to this episode

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.

Listen to this episode

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.

Listen to this episode

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.

Listen to this episode

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.

Listen to this episode

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.

Listen to this episode

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.

Listen to this episode

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.

Listen to this episode

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."

Listen to this episode

Businesses and organizations are facing a new operational reality that affects customers and employees, and as a CX professional, you and your company need to be prepared to effectively manage crisis situations. Host Steve Walker welcomes Jennifer Dzwonar, a partner at Borshoff, a PR agency known for their work in crisis and community relations, and discuss how CX professionals can help communicate with customers during difficult times.

Listen to this episode

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.

Listen to this episode

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.

Listen to this episode

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.

Listen to this episode

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.

Listen to this episode

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.

Listen to this episode

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.

Listen to this episode

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.

Listen to this episode

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.

Listen to this episode

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.

Listen to this episode