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.

The Long and Winding Road

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Episode #222

Released: June 28, 2022

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.

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The Laws of Experience Management

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Episode #157

Released: March 16, 2021

There are certain truths within the practice of customer experience that CX pros often observe. But when something becomes a “law”, like the laws of nature, that has a much more fundamental connotation. Host Steve Walker welcomes Isabelle Zdatny, an XM Catalyst and certified customer experience professional at the Qualtrics XM Institute, to discuss “The Six Laws of Experience Management” which helps companies understand the realities of human behavior within the context of XM.

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The Journeys Within the Journey

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Episode #265

Released: May 2, 2023

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.

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The Innovative CX Leader

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Episode #221

Released: June 21, 2022

There are a number of ways to design experiences for your customers, but you're stuck. You find it hard to think beyond how things are currently done. And even if you had some sort of break-through idea, changing your current processes and getting others on board seems pretty daunting. And yet you constantly wonder, "what if?" Guest host Pat Gibbons welcomes Jonathan Shroyer, Chief Customer Experience Innovation Officer for Arise Virtual Solutions, for a discussion on driving innovation in your CX program.

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The Ingredients to Make an Impact

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Episode #177

Released: August 3, 2021

Customer experience professionals have an opportunity to help create a genuine and lasting impact on their companies. But like any other aspect of an organization, there are some key elements – or “ingredients” – they need to make the right impact. And each company’s needs will be different, so it's important to know what ingredients are needed for their specific situations. Host Steve Walker welcomes Stacey Nevel, director of voice of the customer at Prudential Financial and a member of the board of directors for the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA), for a discussion on what ingredients are needs to create an impactful CX program.

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The Inclusive Experience

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Episode #261

Released: April 4, 2023

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.

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The Importance of Personalization

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Episode #1

Released: January 9, 2018

Steve discusses the importance of personalization from the recently released Walker research, "Customers 2020: A Progress Report" with guest Brad Harmon, a certified customer experience professional and vice-president of consulting services for Walker Information.

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The Hyper-personalized Experience

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Episode #170

Released: June 15, 2021

Hyper-personalization is one of the newer buzz words out in the business world today – a practice that utilizes artificial intelligence to deliver highly personalized content and experiences in real-time at an individual level. It’s another way for brands to connect with their customers and a potential "tool in the box" for customer experience professionals. Host Steve Walker welcomes guest Melissa Drew, an associate partner at IBM, for a discussion on how A.I. can take personalization to the next level.

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The Human/Digital Balance

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Episode #238

Released: October 18, 2022

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.

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The Human Experience

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Episode #124

Released: July 7, 2020

Customer experience is quickly gaining world-wide adoption. Companies around the globe are realizing the importance of providing the best experience possible for their customers. Understanding and empathizing with customers is a critical component to CX, and that includes understanding cultural differences and expectations. Host Steve Walker welcomes guest Ian Golding, an influential consultant in CX with worldwide experience in several different industries to discuss CX across the globe.

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The Global State of XM

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Episode #125

Released: July 14, 2020

Experience management, or “XM”, is more than just a “buzzword.” It’s a holistic approach to experience across the organization that includes customers, employees, products, and brand. The Qualtrics XM Institute recently published a report on how XM is being adopted worldwide. Host Steve Walker welcomes Moira Dorsey, principle XM Catalyst at the Qualtrics XM Institute to discuss the findings of the report.

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The Evolution of CX

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Episode #51

Released: January 15, 2019

Pat Gibbons guest hosts this week’s episode on where the term “CX” originated. An interview with Bruce Temkin, head of the XM Institute, on how the Customer Experience Professionals Associate was formed and how customer experience has evolved.

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The Empowered Frontline

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Episode #204

Released: February 15, 2022

CX professionals know that the frontline employees can be a great source of customer insights. And customers often supply feedback in ways they often never realize. Having your employees recognize and communicate that feedback can provide valuable insights, and in some cases, warn you of potentially major problems. Host Steve Walker welcomes Stephanie McFarland from McFarland PR and Public Affairs, to discuss the importance of empowering employees to deliver good experiences.

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The Digital Patient Experience

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Episode #264

Released: April 25, 2023

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.”

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The Data Endgame

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Episode #248

Released: January 3, 2023

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 constructively access their data to make better business decisions.

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The CX Plus EX Recipe

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Episode #268

Released: May 23, 2023

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.

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The CX Juggernaut

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Episode #62

Released: April 2, 2019

Johnson Controls is a huge company, with over 100 brands in over 150 countries, and managing a global customer experience program is no small undertaking. Guest host Pat Gibbons interviews Johnson Control's Matt Inman on how the manufacturing industry maintains a CX program.

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The CX Iceberg

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Episode #262

Released: April 11, 2023

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.

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The CX Book of Knowledge

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Episode #226

Released: July 26, 2022

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.

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The Consistent Experience

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Episode #224

Released: July 12, 2022

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 consistent experiences across multiple locations.

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