The CX Leader Podcast | A resource for customer experience leaders

It's a great time to be a CX leader and we here at Walker have had a fun time producing this podcast. But after over 330 episodes speaking with fantastic people from across the globe, covering topics to help you get the most from customer experience, it's time to put away the microphones. This is the last episode of The CX Leader Podcast, at least for now. And the reason is not complicated: we her...

Change is hard. And that's not the first time we've said those words on this podcast. When it involves breaking through entrenched practices within a company, it can be especially difficult - but not impossible. With a little buy-in, some quick wins to demonstrate the possibilities, and some awareness to the importance of customer centricity, you can create a culture that views CX as a game-winnin...

While it might not seem significant at first, securing a place to park your car is an important event. Sure, it's not life or death, but during large events it can be time sensitive. Sometimes it's the first experience people have when attending a concert or a large conference, so when the logistics are not working efficiently, it creates a frustrating experience for someone just looking for a saf...

Today's marketing playbooks put social media at the top of many strategies, but regardless of its prevalence, your website is still your business hub and a vital extension of your brand. But when your customers say your site is not friendly or functional, it's time to rethink your online experience. And in once such case we're exploring on this episode, the result was award winning. Host Sara Walk...

Think of some of the best experiences you have had as a customer. What made it great? Did you feel like the experience matched the company's identity? Did any of it feel like it wasn't meeting the company's brand promise? Great experiences are consistent: you know what to expect when you interact with an organization that reflects their brand through their CX efforts. Host Sara Walker welcomes Che...

It's not easy changing people's minds. But we're approaching a season in which customer experience professionals are working hard to convince executives and peers on the value of adopting a customer-centric mindset. WE as CX pros know the value of our efforts, but sometimes we have to convince others of its advantages. And sometimes data isn't enough. We have to balance the data with storytelling...

Listening to your customers is the "window" to knowing how well your organization is performing in its customer experience efforts. Whether it's an online support chat, a voice of the customer through employee program, or a CSAT survey, each of these touchpoints provide a metric to how your customers view your company. But HOW you create these listening opportunities matters, and keeping them cons...

Producer's note: this episode originally dropped on October 11, 2022. While some details may have changed since it's original publication, we think Dan Silvert's insights on the importance of healthy relationships between employees is a great example of create excellent employee experiences.  Many companies use them: personality tests or evaluations - ways to help employees discover more about how...

As consumers we've all interacted in different ways with companies. Sometimes an automated system, online chat, an app on our phones, or even a live human being. But as customer experience professionals, how do we know which channel is the best option and the most preferred by consumers? And how will AI fit into all this? Host Sara Walker welcomes James Scutt, a principle XM strategist at the Qual...

What's the first thing you think of when asked, "how well do you listen?" Many CX professionals might think of their listening systems: surveys, close-loop feedback, listening architectures. Some may say they interact with clients on a regular basis. But what about actively listening? Talking less and letting others express themselves, and then reassuring them that the conversation was worth it. H...

It's human nature to compare what we do professionally – and even personally – with others and CX leaders are no different. So Walker, along with the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA), launched The CX Leader Pulse as a way to give customer experience professionals a look into what companies are, and are not, doing within their CX programs. The results of the first study are in a...

CX leaders have become increasingly effective at taking action on customer feedback. Today many organizations have effective closed-loop programs that efficiently route insights to the right person for timely action. However, there's a blind spot – the vast majority of customers never provide their feedback. Actually that's more than a blind spot. It's a black hole! This episode's guest has built...

In today's consumer world, we are inundated with advertising from countless online and offline mediums, and too often companies think that's what really drives their brand. But if you're a customer experience leader, you know experience has possibly become the most prominent ingredient in a company's brand. So how do we make it work? How do CX leaders ensure an experience that influences the brand...

If you go back in time 10 or 15 years you'll find it was common for a market research function within a company to send out a single survey each year to all customers asking about their satisfaction with the products and services they interacted with. The field has since greatly evolved as what we now call customer experience regularly receives customer feedback from multiple surveys and unstructu...

Producer's Note: This podcast was originally released on April 4, 2023. As always with our encore episodes, please note that some details might be different, but the advice from Stacy Sherman regarding inclusiveness in CX and EX is still valuable.  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...

We'll bet you've heard this one: you call customer support and encounter an automated system. Despite your best efforts to speak clearly, the voice on the other end of the line can't understand you. Or, how about when you've finally reached someone and they need to transfer you to another agent. After waiting on hold for a while, the second agent finally answers the phone but asks you to explain t...

In this bonus episode, Pat Gibbons describes his experiences at the Qualtrics X4 event in Salt Lake City, Utah, on May 1-3. With thousands of experience management professionals in attendance, Pat had an opportunity to discuss the top challenges facing XM professionals within their own organizations. Hosted at the Walker exhibit booth, professionals were asked to participate in an unique exercise...

It's common today that, as consumers, we receive a survey after all kinds of experiences – shopping, travel, home repair – you name it. You fill out a survey with the hope that it might change the next outcome to be better. But what about the here and now?  As experience management improves consumers are demanding action during the experience. Now think of yourself not only as a consumer, but as a...

Maybe it's a concert headlining Beyonce, U2, or Taylor Swift? Or perhaps your favorite NFL team is playing their rivals this weekend? Perhaps you prefer events that allow for some more personal creative expression like GenCon or Comic-Con? While we have our personal preferences, few things compare to meeting up with thousands of like-minded people or fans for live events. But those gatherings don'...

Conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusiveness have been happening in many companies in the U.S., and healthcare is no exception, especially when it comes to the care patients receive. And listening to patients' needs and concerns is vital to providing doctors, nurses, administrative staff, and leadership with the insights required to providing equitable care for all their patients. But...

We've all experienced it: that nagging, frustrating, and sometimes maddening feeling we get when something collides with our productivity. And while it can sometimes feel trivial, that type of friction adds up and affects our interactions with customers, thus affecting the customer experience. So how do we minimize those points of friction in the workplace? Host Pat Gibbons welcomes Christophe Mar...

Bonus content are audio clips of interviews that we couldn't include in an episode but still contains great advice for our listeners, and this content is only available to those that follow the show through their favorite podcast provider. In the episode " The Empathetic Frontline" (episode #307) released back in March, guest Victoria Stephens from Flywire discussed the importance of employee expe...

Producer's Note: This episode originally released on March 7, 2023. Natalie Onions discussed how she became a customer experience professional and offered some great advice for newer CX pros on how to grow their careers in customer experience. Please note that this was recorded back in March of 2023, so some parts of the discussion may be outdated. There have been many guests on this show, each wi...

It's an often-misunderstood industry that exists between healthcare and hospitality and includes all the complexities of strict regulation and event management. And to add more complication, it includes an element of emotional support. Funeral homes and cemeteries walk a fine line of making the final arrangements of a loved one as frictionless as possible, all while knowing there are no second cha...

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 welco...