A resource for customer experience (CX) and experience management (XM) professionals.
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Full Episode Listing

A complete list of episodes from The CX Leader Podcast.

Service Design

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Episode #254

Released: February 14, 2023

Most CX pros are familiar with customer journey mapping – the process that identifies the path customers take when interacting with your company. We’ve done a few episodes on it already and you can check those out on cxleaderpodcast.com. But what if we did a little more than just pinpoint problems and build empathy for our customers? What if we included the customer in the process and they help design improved experiences? In other words, we turn the journey mapping process up to eleven! Host Steve Walker welcomes Justin Zalewski, director of product design and strategy at Studio Science, for a discussion on service design.

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Creating Superfans

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Episode #253

Released: February 7, 2023

Customer experience pros know that one of the many indicators of a successful CX program includes how many promoters you have among your customers – often measured using the Net Promoter Score. The more promoters you have, the more likely your customers will recommend you to others, right? And that’s it - we typically don’t think there’s something better than “promoters.” However, there are ways in which CX pros can create “superfans” – customers that not only recommend you to others, but become serious advocates for your business. Host Steve Walker welcomes Brittany Hodak, an award-winning entrepreneur, author, and customer experience speaker, to discuss her new book, "Creating Superfans: How to Turn Your Customers Into Lifelong Advocates."

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Life in the Fast Lane

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Episode #252

Released: January 31, 2023

A common business adage states: “fast, cheap, or good – pick any two.” But in today’s world of same-day shipping and self-service technologies, customers are demanding speedy experiences and will not accept excuses for sacrificing quality or price. On the eighth and final episode of our series, “CX Now: Eight Essential Themes Driving CX Evolution,” host Steve Walker welcomes Sean Clayton for a discussion on why customer experience professionals should keep speed at the top of their list when optimizing their CX programs.

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Anticipate and Elevate

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Episode #251

Released: January 24, 2023

It's no secret that most companies have different groups of customers with differing needs. And we, as CX leaders, naturally need to able to adapt our programs to account for those differences. Depending on your company, differences between your customer segments might be small. But for businesses where each segment’s needs are vastly different, more complex experience strategies might be necessary. So how does a CX pro design and execute for different customer segments? Host Steve Walker welcomes Leigh Redington, general manager at the Potawatomi Carter Casino and Hotel in Wabeno, Wisconsin, for a discussion on designing experiences for various customer segments.

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Sense and Respond

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Episode #250

Released: January 17, 2023

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.

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Emotions Matter

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Episode #249

Released: January 10, 2023

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.

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The Data Endgame

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Episode #248

Released: January 3, 2023

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 constructively access their data to make better business decisions.

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It’s Gotta Be Seamless

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Episode #247

Released: December 20, 2022

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.

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Creating Structure out of Unstructured Data

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Episode #246

Released: December 13, 2022

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.

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Enable Your Employees

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Episode #245

Released: December 6, 2022

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.

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Predicting the Future

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Episode #244

Released: November 29, 2022

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.

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Let’s Play!

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Episode #243

Released: November 22, 2022

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.

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The Right “Now”

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Episode #242

Released: November 15, 2022

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."

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The Three Levels of Personalization

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Episode #241

Released: November 8, 2022

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.

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CX Horror Stories V: The CX Apocalypse

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Episode #240

Released: October 31, 2022

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.

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Right from the Start

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Episode #239

Released: October 25, 2022

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.

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The Human/Digital Balance

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Episode #238

Released: October 18, 2022

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.

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Eagles, Parrots, Doves, and Owls

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Episode #237

Released: October 11, 2022

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, partner and president of the Velocity Advisory Group, a strategic consulting company.

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Start Your Engines!

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Episode #236

Released: October 4, 2022

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.

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From B2C to B2B

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Episode #235

Released: September 27, 2022

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.

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