CX professional Krista Roseberry joins Steve to discuss what she learned from binge-watching the Olympics: leaders need to be focused.
A resource for customer experience (CX) and experience management (XM) professionals. 
Full Episode Listing
A complete list of episodes from The CX Leader Podcast.
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 XM Institute, for a discussion on how storytelling can build customer empathy and lead to better customer experience.
Customers today have so many touchpoints available to them when interacting with companies: websites, social media, text messaging, call centers… it can be dizzying just thinking about it. However, all that complexity can still come together to create a seamless customer experience and understanding how an omnichannel CX strategy can work for your organization. Host Steve Walker welcomes guest Gabe Larsen, VP for Growth at Kustomer and host of the Customer Service Secrets Podcast.
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.
With supply chain shortages throughout the globe CX pros are reminded how operational logistics can affect the customer experience. All companies have some sort of operational processes – shipping, legal work, graphics design, as a few examples - so it’s important to consider how the efficiency of your operations impacts the customer experience. Host Steve Walker welcomes Dr. John Olson, professor of operations and supply chain management and program director of the masters of business analytics at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for a discussion on why CX leaders should drive the move towards operational excellence.
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.
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.
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.
How do you gain the support for customer experience from stakeholders? By proving the value of customer experience. Host Steve Walker welcomes Bob Thompson, CEO of Customer Think, , a global online community of business leaders. They discuss the findings in their recent report on “Best Practices to Prove the Business Value of Customer Experience” which highlights how CX professionals can, “show that improving experience will deliver value to the customer and the business.”
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.
It's easy for companies to look at data and make assumptions about their customers’ needs, but truly placing the customer central to your business means considering them in all business decisions. Host Steve Walker welcomes back to the podcast the founder and CEO of CX Journey Annette Franz to discuss her new book "Customer Understanding: Three Ways to Put the 'Customer' in Customer Experience (and at the Heart of Your Business).”
Many businesses today use a customer relationship management platform, or “CRM” to help organize how they interact with their customers and prospects. But how customer-centric are these platforms, and do they truly help put the customer at the heart of your business? Host Steve Walker welcomes guest Jake Sorofman, president of MetaCX, to discuss how his company plans to put the “customer” back into “CRM.”
Putting the Humanity Back Into Patient Experience
More detailsEpisode #256
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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.
How does the customer experience practice work with other disciplines? In the inaugural episode of a new series, Steve explores the intersection of CX and UX (user experience) with guests Mike Miserendino and Suzi Shapiro from GravityDrive, a user experience consulting services company in Indianapolis.
Steve Walker and Pat Gibbons discuss the importance of customer experience certification through the Customer Experience Professionals Association and how CXPA will play a role in the future of CX.
CX professionals from across the globe met in New Orleans to exchange ideas and learn more about what's happening in the realm of customer experience. Steve welcomes Pat Gibbons back to the podcast to share what Walker associates learned was on the minds of CX pros.
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.
CX leaders are often tasked with managing change throughout the company in order to create an exceptional customer experience, and building relationships is key to helping manage that change. But when life is disrupted on a global scale, it's critical that everyone in the company trusts each other to make certain the customer's experience is not sidelined. Host Steve Walker welcomes guest Stuart Gilchriest, a certified customer experience professional with Hertz, the global car rental company, for a discussion on how taking the time to building relationships within the company can help in times of crisis.
Allison Grayson, a certified customer experience professional and vice president at Walker, joins Steve to talk about the importance of an effective listening architecture and how careful planning will benefit your CX program.
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.