Episodes

This CX Mini Masterclass defines the concept of the Customer Promise and explores why it’s important for organizations to define “What is Great Experience” in the context of their brand. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, dissects an example customer promise and shares tips on how to develop your own. If you’ve been looking for clarity on yet another popular CX buzzword and would like to learn about why it’s so important to create a customer promise in the first place, the...

This CX Mini Masterclass explores employee reward and recognition programs as an important driver of team culture. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, explains the different types of recognition programs and how these can help rally teams around customer excellence. If you’ve been looking for some ideas about how to leverage rewards and recognition to encourage customer-centric attitudes and behavior in your organization, then this episode is for you. An important piece of...

This CX Mini Masterclass explores the importance of marketing customer experience, both externally to customers, as well internally to employees. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, shares some practical tips and ideas for how you can leverage your customer promise as a marketing draw card, and how to foster awareness of customer experience within your organization. If you’ve been looking for some ideas about internal and external marketing of customer experience in your or...

This CX Mini Masterclass explains why HR strategy underpins culture and how CX professionals can engage HR to foster a unified customer experience culture. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, explains the basics of HR strategy and shares some practical approaches for linking this – the bedrock of company culture – to CX objectives. If you’re looking for clarity on exactly how HR strategy underpins customer-centric culture, then this episode is for you. The power of unified...

CEO of Ivoclar Vivadent, Diego Gabathuler, shares his perspective on what it means to lead a customer-centric business. Diego and show host, Julia, discuss why he’s become such an ardent supporter of customer experience, how he’s moving the business from CX strategy to action and what CX professionals need to do to win over senior business leaders. If you’d like to know what drives an authentically customer-centric mindset at the highest levels of business leadership, then this episode is for yo...

This CX Mini Masterclass provides an overview of artificial intelligence and its emerging role in CX management. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, shares some of the highlights from her 2019 keynotes talks on the topic of AI and customer experience, including the history of this technology and the 3 main applications in CX. If you’re looking for a practical overview of a not-so practical topic and some food for thought about how AI can help your team’s customer journey im...

This CX Mini Masterclass explores some of the most pervasive missteps that organizations make with their CX metrics. Special guest and CX thought leader Stephanie Thum shares 4 of the most common pitfalls and their consequences. She also provides practical tips on how CX teams can turn things around. If you’re looking for some excellent food for thought on how to launch or fine-tune your approach to CX metrics, then this episode is for you. Insights from a special guest Stephanie has amassed d...

This CX Mini Masterclass explores the importance of human experience and why brands need to ensure that their promise is delivered to all stakeholders, not just customers. Special guest and CX thought leader, Pierre Daems, shares insights about why an ecosystem of human experiences is key to a brand’s success. If you’re looking for inspiration on how the essence of brand promise extends beyond the customer experience, and why this is something CX professionals should care about, then this episod...

User experience design expert, Jacques Oberholzer, shares his insights on UX and how businesses are dealing with today’s digitally savvy customers. Jacques and show host, Julia, discuss the evolution of the field of user experience, the relationship between UX and CX and the latest trends in digital customer experiences. If you’re looking to stay abreast of the latest trends, capabilities and what’s on the horizon with digital customer experiences, then this episode is for you. UX and CX As mo...

This CX Mini Masterclass explores the key components of a successful CX program. There might not be a one-size-fits-all approach for CX management, but there are common threads among global best practices. Special guest Ben Motteram takes listeners through the 7 foundational components of a best in class CX program. If you are setting up, reshaping or refining a CX program in your organization, then this episode is for you. Insights from a special guest Ben Motteram is a customer experience sp...

This CX Mini Masterclass provides step by step instructions for how to develop a service blueprint, a key tool for any CX team embarking on service design. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, explains what a service blueprint is, how you build one and – most importantly – how to use it. If you’re looking for a practical explanation of how to build and use a service blueprint, then this episode is for you. The next step in service design Episode 58 looked at service design...

This CX Mini Masterclass provides an overview of service design and why this is important for teams that are working on customer journey improvement. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, explains how most brands these days provide a mix of goods and services and why service design plays a critical role in bringing customer journeys to life. If you want to learn about service design and its place in a CX professional’s toolkit, then this episode is for you. Goods vs. service...

This CX Mini Masterclass provides an overview of design thinking and how this methodology can be used to craft new experiences, refine journeys or build solutions around the needs of other stakeholders. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, explains the 5 key phases of the design thinking approach and how CX professionals can incorporate this into their repertoire. If you want to learn about the relationship between design thinking and CX management, then this episode is for ...

This CX Mini Masterclass provides clarity on the difference between user experience (UX) and customer experience (CX). Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, provides a definition of each and then explains the roles of CX vs. UX teams and how their work can complement one another. If you are looking to understand the distinction between UX and CX, then this episode is for you. Navigating the buzzwords User experience (UX) is a buzzword in the business world. It’s sometimes c...

This CX Mini Masterclass explores how leaders can champion the customer mandate. Great customer experience starts with the goals, data and a vision. Special guest and CX thought leader Stephanie Thum shares practical tips on on how to kick start CX alignment and how leaders can be prepared for the most common hurdles along the way. If you’ve been looking for some fresh ideas on fostering alignment, or some food for thought that you can send to your business’s leadership team, then this episode i...

This CX Mini Masterclass provides a simple and straightforward approach to prioritizing customer journey improvements. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, explains why this is an important step for fostering organizational alignment. Julia then takes you through her prioritization methodology and discusses some key considerations. If you are looking to make sense of your laundry list of journey fixes, then this episode is for you. Starting customer journey improvement wise...

This CX Mini Masterclass provides an overview of customer experience KPIs and how these can be used to foster organizational alignment. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, explains the role of KPIs in driving accountability, which types of KPIs are the most effective, and some common pitfalls. If you want to quickly understand the role and the importance of KPIs in customer experience management, then this episode is for you. Blog post coming soon! Hi there listener! Plea...

Energy industry expert, Chris Ahlfeldt, shares his insights on how the energy industry is handling customer-centricity and the world of empowered consumers. Chris and show host, Julia, discuss how the electricity industry is changing, what this means for consumers, and how organizations are evolving (or not!). If you’re looking to understand how CX is playing out in the energy industry and other highly regulated markets, or want a window into how non-CXers are facing customer-centric change, the...

This CX Mini Masterclass provides an overview of what makes experience management unique for organizations in the business to business space. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, explains the fundamentals of B2B CX, how this differs from B2C experience management and what approaches are applicable to both. If you are keen for a snappy summary of B2B CX, then this episode is for you. A growing focus on B2B CX Episode 49 covered how the field of CX is growing and evolving, s...

This CX Mini Masterclass explores 3 trends that are on the rise with how governments are embracing CX practices. Special guest and CX thought leader Stephanie Thum speaks about how this trend is gaining global momentum, the importance of adapting government experiences for the modern world, and the growing influence of oversight bodies to ensure that governments are doing right by consumers. If you’re wondering how CX is being applied beyond the private sector, then this episode is for you. Ins...

This CX Mini Masterclass explains customer success within the context of customer experience. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, explains the typical function of B2B customer success teams, clarifies how this differs from traditional customer service in the B2C world, and then explores the role of customer success in CX. If you are keen to learn more about the heart and soul of the customer journey in B2B CX, then this episode is for you. What is customer success? Custom...

This CX Mini Masterclass demonstrates what CX change looks like in action. Special guest and CX thought leader Nate Brown makes the case for why CX professionals must become proficient in change management methodologies. He then takes a practical look at one of the most popular change management models, John Kotter’s 8-step approach, outlining ideas and recommendations for CX professionals at each step of the way. Insights from a special guest I can’t think of a better guide for this immersive...

Matt Prowse, director of Customer Experience at IAG, Australia’s largest insurer, shares his experience leveraging positivity to rally teams around the customer. Matt (aka “the happiest man in insurance”) and show host, Julia Ahlfeldt discuss the power of positivity, what it takes to get leadership support and how shifting a team’s mindset can gear an organization to deliver exceptional customer experience. If you’re seeking inspiration about how team positivity, customer insights and good news ...

This CX Mini Masterclass explains customer “Moments of Truth”. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, shares where the concept came from, and how you can use your understanding of Moments of Truth to improve customer journeys and foster loyalty. These moments can make or break a customer journey, so if you’ve heard this term used as a buzzword, but want to learn how to translate jargon into business results, then this episode is for you. Moments of Truth Just like the term “...