For many companies the call center (or "contact center") is the frontline of their customer experience. And the past couple of decades have seen the channels in which customers can interact with your company explode beyond the simple phone call: email, live chat, social media... But are we failing to recognize the true value and potential of the contact center? Host Steve Walker welcomes Bruce Temkin of the Qualtrics XM Institute to discuss the newest technologies that help companies utilize the full potential of their contact centers.
A resource for customer experience (CX) and experience management (XM) professionals. 
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As more companies realize the potential of a customer-centric culture, the discussion around how your employees’ experiences can affect your customers' experiences is becoming more prevalent. Employee experience – or “EX” – has often been siloed in human resources, but how can you connect the customers’ and employees’ experiences? What data do we collect? And how do we activate a CX plus EX culture to make the best use of what we discover? Guest host Pat Gibbons welcome Kevin Campbell, an employee experience scientist at Qualtrics, to discuss how to connect CX and EX data.
In a world that generates thousands of terabytes of data every single day, it's important to be a little picky on what type of data to gather. Customer experience professionals rely on data to understand their customer’s needs. But what data do you collect? How does a CX leader determine what information is meaningful and what is simply noise? Host Steve Walker welcomes Azlan Raj, chief marketing officer of the EMEA at Merkle, for a discussion on how a CX pro determines what kind of data to gather.
Special Episode: Live with CXPA – Communication Strategies for CX Leaders
Released:
Steve Walker hosts another Live with CXPA event with guests Mark Slatin, senior vice president and director of CX at Sandy Springs Bank, and Ann Schrader, CX strategist at Farm Credit Service of America, for a discussion on ways for CX leaders to improve their CX program’s visibility and build a reputation as a valuable part of their company’s strategy.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Building a CX program from the ground up can be a challenge, especially in a field such as healthcare. Where do you start? What’s most important to customers? How do we develop a customer – or “member” – centric culture? Host Steve Walker welcomes Gratia Carver, vice president and chief experience officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City, or “Blue KC”, for why measurement is such a crucial practice to building a customer-centric culture.
The customer experience profession is evolving to recognize the importance of going beyond the customer. If a company’s culture doesn’t include employee experiences then it will be difficult to mature a CX program. Host Steve Walker welcomes Karyn Furstman, vice president and Head of CX Strategy & Solutions at Designit, for a discussion on building a customer-focused culture through employee experience.