Most companies understand the importance of their frontline workers interacting with customers daily. But how many will build a customer experience strategy around them?

At JetBlue Travel Products, the contact center is in the middle of everything the company does--literally and figuratively. 

Imagine having an expert makeup artist available whenever you have a question. That's the reality for customers of some of the world's leading beauty brands, thanks to an innovative digital strategy that combines technology and the human touch. 

Salima Popatia is the Chief Digital Officer at Orveon Global, the company behind some of the world’s most recognizable beauty brands: Laura Mercier, Bare Minerals, and Buxom.

Customers frequently read reviews from other customers, but how often do companies get involved? Customer reviews abound online but are often overlooked by brands. 

Liz Carter, CMO of experience management company Reputation, says customer reviews have incredible power.

This episode is sponsored by Reputation.

Most customer experience data strategies include two types of insights: qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative data tells the stories behind the customers, and quantitative data shares trackable metrics of customers’ actions and a brand’s performance.

But according to Jim Kalbach, author of The Jobs To Be Done Playbook, modern CX teams have an over-reliance on quantitative data, which can distract from building strong customer relationships.

Between stress from the pandemic and the economy, rude customers, and changing technology, many customer-facing employees are burnt out. Mental health is crucial to everyone’s well-being, especially frontline workers and contact center agents who face challenges and difficult conversations every day.

Amy Smith, Chief Impact Officer at TOMS, says we need to talk about our mental health like we would talk about a broken arm, cold, or sprained ankle.

This episode is sponsored by Thinkific.

How does a company founded in 1911 stay relevant and a leader in the tech space today? Continual evolution and a willingness to disrupt.

IBM has long been a leader in the technology industry because of its willingness to experiment and challenge the status quo. Chief Communications and Chief Marketing Officer Jonathan Adashek attributes that to staying on top of advancements and being willing to adapt and find creative solutions.

This episode is sponsored by IBM.

The biggest challenge for customer experience teams often isn’t learning new technology, staying on top of trends, or connecting with customers--it’s getting buy-in from executives and proving the ROI of their efforts.

Bryan Sanders, Head of CX, Market Research, Digital at AAA, recommends that customer experience practitioners take a unique approach: do CX on the leaders they’re trying to engage with. 

Internal insights and customer feedback are essential to building an effective customer-focused leadership strategy. But it requires continually listening to customers, measuring what matters, and ensuring data is passed to the right teams to make changes and improvements.  

Diana Brown, SVP of Sales Operations and Customer Experience at XPO, involves leaders with the data through feedback loops. Leaders know the importance of data and see it first-hand by talking to employees about what is and isn’t working and the tools they need to deliver a great customer experience. 

This episode is sponsored by Thinkific.

The abundance of data available to companies today presents incredible opportunities to personalize their experiences and serve customers like never before. Today’s customer experience teams have the power to know so much more about customers, their preferences, and their history than ever. 

But with technology advancements, privacy challenges, and cookie changes, it’s also never been harder to be in marketing and advertising than it is today, according to Bill Bruno, CEO of customer data company Celebrus.

This episode is sponsored by Celebrus.

It takes a lot to stand out in the competitive DTC food delivery market.

But ButcherBox built a competitive advantage by staying true to one of its core values: being customer obsessed. Chief Product & Experience Officer Lesley Mottla says the value isn’t just words on the wall—it’s something leaders and employees are constantly talking about and living.

Morgan Stanley CMO Alice Milligan is tasked with balancing legacy and innovation for a company founded nearly 90 years ago that has become one of the biggest names in finance.

It’s a common dilemma for companies: how do you balance holding on to the brand legacy while embracing the future?

This episode is sponsored by Thinkific.

The foundation of delivering a fantastic experience to customers is listening to them. How can you provide relevant and personalized experiences without understanding your customers and hearing their feedback?

Nationwide Insurance is known for its customer-centricity, largely because of its company-wide focus on listening to customers and using their feedback to continually improve the experience. EVP and Chief Customer Officer Amy Shore says Nationwide’s dedication to offering extraordinary care to its customers starts by listening to their feedback and ideas. 

What does it take to build a disruptive, customer-centric company?

It starts with customer-centric leaders.

Digital investment company Betterment was on my list of the 100 most customer-centric companies in 2022 because of its innovative platform that combines the convenience of digital tools with the personalization of human agents. Aside from a strong digital experience, what sets Betterment apart is its customer-centric leadership.

This episode is sponsored by Thinkific.

What’s one of the biggest challenges of securing a sale? It’s not rejection--it’s indecisive customers.

Customer indecision is everywhere, from B2B buyers making big purchases to customers shopping for clothes online. And it’s become even more evident as global and economic conditions become more uncertain. According to best-selling sales author Matthew Dixon, 40-60% of a salesperson’s qualified pipeline will ultimately be lost to no decision. That’s a significant loss of revenue and customer relationships.

*Sponsored by Thinkific

How do you reinvigorate a 135-year-old brand to connect with new and changing customers?

That’s the question faced by Bibie Wu, CMO of Del Monte Foods.

Customers have changed drastically in the last few years, especially in the food industry. Even with changing trends, Del Monte stays grounded in the goodness of fruits and vegetables. In fact, with more people eating at home, managing their household budgets, and trying to put great food on the table, Del Monte has never been more relevant.

Looking at the consumer industry, it’s clear that things are changing. But what does that mean for businesses, and how can they navigate these uncharted waters?

Kasey Lobaugh, Chief Innovation Officer for Deloitte’s Consumer Industry, discusses 100 topics the six forces critical to navigating the next decade of change in retail.

Millions of customers, thousands of employees, and more than 1,500 stores mean that Petco has a myriad of data and metrics to pull from to track its business growth and success. 

The challenge, like many other companies, is knowing which metrics to prioritize and measure.

Chief Customer Officer Darren MacDonald believes that what gets measured gets managed. It’s impossible to track and analyze every piece of data, so the company has to be strategic in its CX metrics. 

At the heart of customer experience is building relationships with our customers.

But the business side also means tracking those relationships and not lying about them. We can't expect to have a healthy and productive relationship with customers, employees, and investors if we aren't honest about what it's like for our customers.

Build-A-Bear Workshop is known for its unique and immersive in-store experience. As the name implies, customers get to build their own bear or fuzzy friend from start to finish, even filling it with stuffing, adding a heart, and giving it a name.

That great experience doesn’t happen by accident and isn’t something the CEO takes for granted.

To people in the trenches every day, the impact a positive customer experience has on the bottom line is clear. But proving that business case to executives and other teams is a common challenge for CX teams. 

Diane O’Hara, SVP of Customer Advocacy and Insights at CVS Health, represents the consumer at the table of a Fortune 4 company by collecting customer data, analyzing operational data, and working with business units to find the biggest opportunities to deliver a top-tier customer experience.

Most customers don’t come into the car buying process knowing exactly what they want. In fact, many customers find the experience overwhelming and nerve-wracking.

Easing those fears and delivering a personalized and convenient experience starts with knowing where customers are on their journey.

That’s where detailed customer journey mapping comes in to help brands understand the unique needs of their customers and provide relevant, empathetic service. Beth Mach, Chief Consumer Officer at TrueCar Inc., says it’s crucial to understand the highs and lows of the entire customer experience.

Cybersecurity and fraud have long been a part of the modern online experience. Every time a customer interacts or transacts with a brand online, they share sensitive data that has the potential to fall into the wrong hands.

But the last few years have taken fraud to the next level, meaning that every company needs to prioritize protecting their customers.

The customer of the future is here. Is your company ready?

The last few years have caused consumers to re-evaluate their purpose and what they value in life. With new priorities, many customers are changing brands and thinking differently about their relationships with brands. 

Customer experience is a decision everyone in your company needs to make every day. When you invest in making your customers’ lives easier and better, you set your company up for long-term success and loyalty.

Creating a customer-centric mindset means deciding every day to put customers first. There are four ways to do that, which follow my WAYS framework.

If a company wants to be customer-centric and operate in the experience economy, they have to succeed in two areas; psychological and technological. If a company has the right culture, then investing in the technology that empowers employees is a no brainer. But when a founder-CEO who has the vision leaves the company and passes it on to an accountant - that loss of vision can hurt the company. Gary Kelly is arguably to blame for lacking Southwest Airlines’ runway vision - and it has culminated in a very public PR nightmare.