The CX Leader Podcast | A resource for customer experience leaders

Here's a situation you might have heard about, or even experienced: you're ready to get going on this CX "thing" – you're going to revolutionize your company. But you don't quite have executive buy-in, or you've got the buy-in but you just can't get people to do what needs to be done. It's a common problem with companies new to customer experience. Host Steve Walker welcomes back Megan Burns, CX p...

Every first Tuesday of October, CX pros take a moment to celebrate their profession and bring awareness to the benefits of a great customer experience, and we hope you're celebrating with us as well! Since 2011, the Customer Experience Professionals Association, or CXPA, has been dedicated to the advancement of the CX profession and continues to provide support for customer experience professional...

You've planned a great program for gaining customer feedback, but there's just one problem: a low response rate. On this edition of The CX Leader Quick Tips Minicast, Walker expert Drew Hall has some advice on how to manage your lists to encourage a healthier response rate, therefore gathering a better quality of customer feedback. Listen to more Quick Tips at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/quicktips...

When did customer experience come into existence? If you've listened to this show for a while, you'll know there was no definitive "big bang" event for CX. It evolved from various other disciplines into the "ethos" of customer centricity that it is today. And there's no stopping it – customer experience is here to stay, and we can't wait to see what's in store for the future. Host Steve Walker wel...

You've heard us promote the US Customer Experience Awards several times on this program. If you're not familiar with them, we recommend you check them out at usacxa.com . In this episode, host Steve Walker had the privilege of welcoming a CX leader that helped earn their company the Overall Winner of the 2023 Customer Experience Awards, in addition to winning gold and silver awards in several othe...

Respondents to your surveys are like notes in a symphony of data: if the right notes are played, you have a musical masterpiece. But if some are playing wrong notes, a dissonant chaos of sound can confuse the listeners. In the inaugural edition of The CX Leader Quick Tips Minicast, Walker expert Tanner Smith discusses how CX experts can make certain they're playing the right notes so they have cle...

Data is flying everywhere and CX pros are always striving to gobble-up whatever insights they can get about their customers. It's easy to look at an average support call time, or NPS scores to get an idea of how things are going. But what about the things that are more difficult to quantify? How do find a hard number for something like customer service? Host Steve Walker welcomes Nathan Bobay, dir...

Producer's Note: During the summer months we've been re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode originally dropped on November 6, 2018. Shep Hyken is an award-winning keynote speaker and renowned expert in customer experience. Shep discussed how he started in CX and how customers are no longer comparing you with competitors, but with "the best service t...

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode was originally on July 19, 2019. Guest Jay Baer has always been a fun guest to welcome onto the show. He is compelling, funny, and an engaging speaker. He's also a world-renown expert in customer experience. We love this particular episode as he directly addres...

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode was originally on July 19, 2019. Guest Roberta O'Keith did a great job describing how to start a CX program from scratch – it's a great "CX 101" episode for anyone looking for ways to get a program off the ground. Please note that some details and situations de...

Almost immediately after the first horseless carriages appeared on America's roads, motorists began organizing automobile clubs. AAA formed in 1902 with 1500 members. AAA continues to save the day after a breakdown and making dream vacations a reality for more than 63 million members. The logistics of that aren't easy, but this episode's guest will provide a glimpse of how the AAA National Office...

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode was originally on November 10, 2020. Guest Seth Fritz, manager of the design futures team at the Delta Faucets Company, gave us just a glimpse into the practice of human-centered design, utilizing techniques that allow designers to discover how people will inte...

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode was originally on October 19, 2021. Guests Jennifer Pursifull and Sharon Bislich did some wonderful work with the company Medxcel in tying customer and employee data together, which helped empower their employees to create better experiences. That's why we love...

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode was originally on August 24, 2021. We loved how our guest is passionate about connecting employees with the customers and brand through the use of storytelling. He and Steve discussed ways this can build empathy and understanding, which is vital to the overall...

For some people, getting excited about a new project means diving right into the "fun stuff." Working to fix up that cool classic car you just bought, or painting a landscape that inspired you. The temptation is to pick up the wrench or paint brush and dive in. But even artists and mechanics need a plan, and so do CX experts. And a critical area of planning for customer experience is communication...

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode was originally on December 8, 2020. We loved how our guest highlighted the importance of creating a "change mindset" throughout the company to move the customer experience team beyond the label of the "survey people." Please note that some details and situation...

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode originally dropped on April 20, 2021. We really liked this episode because our guests highlighted how well some local, state, and federal government have embraced CX principles as a way to connect to communities and commercial businesses. Please note that some...

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode originally dropped on November 12, 2019, and we loved the creative way in which IU Health immersed themselves in the patient's journey. Please note that some details and situations described in the episode may not neccessarily be the same as when it originally...

In the grand scheme of things, customer experience is still a newer practice. While it's growing as companies and organizations realize its potential, there are still few options for formal education and training in CX. And that can make things difficult for CX pros trying to engage the entire company in customer experience efforts. So how do you raise the level of expertise across your organizati...

Starting a CX program in any organization can be difficult. And one of the more challenging aspects of spinning up a new program is getting your company – especially leadership – to make it a priority. And to make things even more complicated: what areas of customer experience do you prioritize? Do you start with surveys? Closed loop feedback? Journey mapping? Host Steve Walker welcomes Adam Shapo...

We've mentioned the Customer Experience Professionals Association more than once on this podcast. The CXPA offers excellent resources and networking opportunities for CX professionals, and one of those opportunities includes the CX Leaders Advance Conference which was recently held in Orlando, Florida. The event offered CX pros an opportunity to discuss the most "pressing challenges faced by CX le...

Producer's Note: this is an encore presentation of Episode 219, originally released on May 31, 2022. One of the best institutions to learn leadership skills is the military. Veterans often become some of the best business leaders in their fields. So how does military life translate into becoming an effective customer experience leader? Host Steve Walker welcomes Michelle Buretta, a vice president...

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 program...

It's safe to say that most people are feeling the effects of today's economy. Dealing with financial issues can create a great deal of stress. Families are penny-pinching and, in many cases, grappling with ways to help ease the burden. And many financial companies don't make that process easy. But there are ways in which companies can make that experience better and promote what our guest refers t...

As our profession continues to mature and more organizations adopt customer-centric cultures, CX pros often need a way to maintain alignment between their customer experience programs and other company functions. A "hub", if you will, of CX expertise that the entire company can look to for advice and ideas, so your customer experience efforts align with the company's mission and vision – a CX Cent...