Cx Leader Podcast With Steve Walker

In the 250th episode of The CX Leader Podcast, we'll continue the series “CX Now - Eight Essential Themes Driving CX Evolution” by discussing adaptability: how companies should maintain an agile mindset in order to provide the best possible experience for customers. Host Steve Walker welcomes Drew Hall, a vice president and team lead from Walker, to discuss why companies need to move away from the old-world model of "make and sell" model and adopt a more "sense and respond" mentality. Find more episodes and blog articles in our CX Now series at https://walkerinfo.com/cxnow/ Find more episode of The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

There are lots of different ways to measure what a customer thinks about your company. But customer emotions can be pretty tricky. How a customer feels can affect other metrics – someone who’s happy with their service will likely provide a high NPS rating. Someone who is angry or frustrated will likely choose “very unsatisfied” in a CSAT survey. So it’s important to understand the emotions of a customer as context for other metrics. But what about more complicated relationships, like a B2B2C channel? On this episode, host Steve Walker welcomes Nancy Flowers, director of customer experience at Voya Financial* and featured in Jim Tincher's newest book, "Do B2B Better". Nancy discusses why CX pros needs to remember that emotions are important for B2C and B2B channels. Learn more about the book, "Do B2B Better" at https://heartofthecustomer.com/dob2bbetter/  Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ * Production note: We interviewed Nancy Flowers in

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 constructivley access their data to make better business decisions. Read more about the "CX Now" series here: https://walkerinfo.com/cxnow/  Find more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Many have experienced the dreaded "handoff" - that experience where someone calls into support and get transferred multiple times, to the point where frustration compels them to simply hang up. Continuing the series "CX Now: Eight Essential Themes Driving CX Evolution," host Steve Walker welcomes Diane Skirvin, vice president and team lead at Walker, to discuss the importance of making customer experiences seamless. Listen and read more about the CX Now series at https://walkerinfo.com/cxnow Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

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. Learn more about Qualtrics XM Discover at https://www.qualtrics.com/discover/ Listen to more podcasts and subscribe to the show at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Providing the tools and resources for employee success seems like a "no-brainer," but companies often overlook the systems and processes that can create friction in the customer experience. And if the employees struggle to provide seamless experiences, then you can bet that customers are feeling their pain as well. In the fourth episode of our "CX Now: Eight Essential Themes Driving CX Evolution," host Steve Walker welcomes expert Georgetta Parisi, Ph.D., for a discussion on employee enablement.  Listen to more podcasts or read blog articles in the "CX Now" series: https://walkerinfo.com/cxnow/ Listen and subscribe to The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/  Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/  

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. Find more episode and blog article in the "CX Now" series: https://walkerinfo.com/cxnow/ Find more episodes of The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

One toy that was, and continues to be a popular choice for both parents and kids is LEGO®. So named after the Danish phrase to “play well”, LEGO® bricks and playsets are still a best-selling product today. So you might be asking, “what does this have to do with customer experience?” Host Steve Walker welcomes Sirte Pihlaja, CEO and customer experience optimizer for Shirute, a customer experience research and strategy company, to discuss how she utilizes the LEGO® Serious Play® method to build better customer experiences. Learn more about Shirute at https://www.shirute.com/en/ Read more about the LEGO® Serious Play® method for CX professionals: https://www.shirute.fi/en/shirute-cxplay/ Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/     

Speed has always been an important factor in delivering a great experience to customers. And many times "fastest" is best. But there are some situations in which you could almost be too fast, so the trick is to find the right "now." Host Steve Walker welcomes Jay Baer, a keynote speaker and author on customer experience, to discuss his latest research in collaboration with StatsSocial, “Time to Win: the Consumer Patience Study." Download the study for free at https://www.thetimetowin.com/ Learn more about Jay Baer at https://www.jaybaer.com/  Find more episodes and subscribe to The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Designing ways to personalize the customer experience is essential. But there are different levels in which personalization can be executed: reactive, selected customer, and proactive. And customer experience programs that are not fully executing on personalized experience could be dropping the ball. In the second episode of our series "CX Now: Eight Essential Themes Driving CX Evolution," Steve Walker welcome Saari Gardner, vice president of advisory and managed services at Walker for a discussion on way companies can take their personalization efforts to the next level. Find more resources in our "CX Now" series at: https://walkerinfo.com/cxleader/cx-now/ Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

What would the world look like if customer experience simply... disappeared? How would anyone receive support? How would companies know what products work? How would you be able to hire someone to fix your dishwasher? In this special episode of The CX Leader Podcast, producer Chris Higgins assembles a panel of experts from Walker to perform a terrifying thought experiment worthy of an episode of The Twilight Zone: imagine a world without customer experience. Panelists include Walker experts Brett DeWitt, TJ O'Neil, Liz Wallshield, and Job Willman. Listen to more terrifying stories at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/series/cx-horror-stories/ Listen to more episodes and subscribe to The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

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. Learn more about SageSure at https://www.sagesure.com/ Listen to more episodes and subscribe to The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

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. Listen to more episodes and subscribe to The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/

Many companies use them: personality tests or evaluations - ways to help employees discover more about how they and their colleagues work with others. Some might roll their eyes at the mention of them yet others find them very useful in trying to connect to other people in their company. Regardless of how you feel about them, the goal is ultimately a better-working team. And employees working well together means there’s better potential for excellent customer experiences. Host Steve Walker welcome Dan Silvert, a partner and president of the Velocity Advisory Group, a strategic consulting company. Read more about Velocity Advisory Group: https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/ More about Dan's book, "The True Competitive Advantage: A Practical Guide to Achieving Extraordinary Success through Deep Relationships": https://www.amazon.com/True-Competitive-Advantage-Extraordinary-Relationships/dp/1619618567/ Listen to more episodes and subscribe to The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more ab

In a special CX Day Celebration episode and playing of this year's theme "CX Drives Success," host Steve Walker welcomes experts Sean Clayton, Sheila March, and Jack Walker for a fun panel discussion on how racing shares similar traits with customer experience. CX Day is held every first Tuesday in October by the Customer Experience Professionals Association as a global celebration of the customer experience profession. Learn more about CX Day: https://www.cxday.org/ More about the Customer Experience Professionals Association: http://www.cxpa.org/ Listen to more episodes and subscribe to The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/  Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

This episode features a more open-ended conversation on one of the host's favorite topics: the differences between B2B and B2C, but focusing on what it is like for a CX professional to transition from B2C to B2B, or vice-versa. Steve Walker welcomes guest Stuart Gilchriest, director of CX strategy at UKG, a technology company providing solutions for HR, payroll, and workforce management technology. Connect with Stuart on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartgilchriest/ Learn more about UKG here: https://www.ukg.com/  Listen to more episodes and subscribe to The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com

Data is important for customer experience. Providing a great experience is certainly a good thing, but it’s not enough to assume that your program is delivering. You must gather the data necessary to either confirm you’re doing it right, or find you need to make some changes in order to improve your CX. Host Steve Walker welcomes Tim Thoman, President and CEO of Performance Services, a company that designs and constructs high performance buildings, for a discussion on how they integrate customer data into their business' decision-making process. Connect with Tim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timthoman/ Learn more about Performance Services here: https://www.performanceservices.com/ Listen to more episodes and subscribe to The CX Leader Podcast at https://cxleaderpodcast.com Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com

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.  Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandaono/ Read the UC Berkley Study “The liberating role of conflict in group creativity: A cross cultural study” here: https://irle.berkeley.edu/files/2003/The-liberating-role

COVID required many companies to rethink how they do business. Come companies adapted well, others did not. But some unique challenges crop up when your business is highly regulated, like the aviation industry. Regardless of the pandemic, pilots still need to be trained, certified, and recertified, and if the training of pilots is the core services of your business, then some innovative thinking needed to happen in order to continue the important work of keeping people flying. Host Steve Walker welcomes Kara Gardner, global customer experience manager for CAE a manufacturer of simulation and modelling technologies.

A common subject on the show is the importance of cross-functional collaboration when executing good customer experience. Knowing how other departments and groups work within the company is vital, but not always easy. And yet, CX pros are often left with the task of getting everyone on-board and collaborating so the entire company can help provide the best possible customer experience. Guest Michelle Spaul is a customer experience consultant and leads the Customer Experience Professionals Association’s “Monograph Project”, a project aimed to help organizations "work better together by understanding the level of collaboration needed to deliver the desired customer experience."