Episodes

This CX Mini Masterclass makes the case for why CX practitioners need to help flip the script on how organizations think about customers. Special guest and CX thought leader Stephanie Thum provides practical tips on how to influence the way that teams regard customers. Insights from a special guest Stephanie has amassed deep expertise through her diverse professional background in the field of customer experience. While she’s often best known for her experience as one of the US federal governm...

This CX Mini Masterclass explains the role of change management in customer-centric business transformation, and why CX practitioners need to hone their skills in this competency. Special guest and CX thought leader Diane Magers provides an overview of change management and some of the most popular frameworks. Julia shares her plans for future topics and more guest experts. Insights from a special guest Diane has been part of the CX movement since the get-go. She was one of the founding member...

CMO of TymeBank, Luisa Mazinter shares insights on how her organization is shaking up consumer banking. Luisa and show host, Julia Ahlfeldt discuss how TymeBank is looking at customer needs differently, what it means to build a value proposition that appeals to attitudes rather than demographic market segments, and how passion and purpose have been the leadership team’s guiding light. If you’re seeking inspiration about the power of looking at customer-centricity with fresh eyes, then this episo...

This CX Mini Masterclass explains what it means to close the customer feedback loop. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, shares strategies for closing the loop and teaches you how this can augment your VOC program and fortify relationships with customers. Julia shares her plans for a short hiatus during June, but will be back with more great episodes in July! If you’ve been gathering feedback, but are looking for a way to immediately turn this into a tangible CX improvement...

This CX Mini Masterclass explains how to leverage employees to bolster your VOC (Voice of Customer) efforts. Employees often have a unique perspective into the lives and experiences of customers. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, teaches listeners how different employee groups can add value to VOC and research programs, as well as how to engage with these teams to gather insights. If you’ve been looking for a way to super charge your customer insight efforts and engage te...

This CX Mini Masterclass explains how to put your Voice of Customer (VOC) insights to work through personas. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, teaches listeners how to build a persona and shares ideas on how organizations can leverage personas to foster customer-centric change. If you’ve been looking for a way to maximize the value from your customer insight efforts and would like to help teams empathize with customers, this episode is for you. A versatile CX tool Episo...

This CX Mini Masterclass explains the Voice of Customer (VOC), how this differs from CX metrics and measures and why understanding customers is key to business success. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, shares an overview of the most popular VOC methodologies and approaches, as well as some practical ideas on how insights can be used to improve CX. If you’ve been looking for clarity on how to shape an effective program for customer insights, this episode is for you. Dist...

Troy Smith, the owner and managing director of True Africa, shares his perspective on understanding customer needs and delivering compelling experiences to upmarket customers in the safari travel industry. Troy sheds light on the reality of delivering 5-star in the remote African bush and brings the discussion to life through some unforgettable real life experiences. Troy and show host Julia discuss how the travel industry has been disrupted and how to harness digital as a CX enabler. Julia shar...

This CX Mini Masterclass explains how an organization’s recruiting practices set the stage for its customer experience culture. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, shares ideas and practical tips on how to align your organization’s hiring practices to its CX strategy. If you’ve been pulling hard on that employee training lever and aren’t seeing the results that you want to see in terms of culture change, this episode is for you. Not just a strategy for tough times For the...

This CX Mini Masterclass explains investigates how to find the balance between mitigating business risk without derailing your customer strategy. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, takes you through a practical approach for evaluating customer impact and shares ways that you can engage with business teams to realize this. If you’ve ever found yourself pulling your hair out trying to get a compliance or legal team to “think customer”, this episode is for you. A tough envir...

This CX Mini Masterclass explains how to fortify your organization’s service culture through the concept of customer service without subservience. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, explains this concept and its role in helping organizations address team morale, especially in challenging business environments. If you’ve been pondering how to re-frame or re-ignite the service culture in your organization, this episode is for you. Turning the focus to customer service In e...

Ilenia Vidili, founder of the Smarter Crew, shares her insights on emerging consumer trends, including how mobile devices are transforming customer journeys, the importance of experience personalization and the role of tech in experience innovation. Ilenia and show host Julia discuss the balance between knowing your customer and not getting “creepy”, how to use purpose to connect with consumers and tips for a winning mobile customer experience. Julia shares her theme for April’s CX Mini Mastercl...

This CX Mini Masterclass provides in-depth insight about Net Promoter Score (NPS). Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, sheds light on why this metric receives so much heat, explains some common pitfalls with its use, and share her perspective how it can be applied correctly. If you’re looking to learn more about the CX industry’s most loved and hated metric, this episode is for you. Understanding Net Promoter Score I covered an overview of Net Promoter Score (NPS) along w...

This CX Mini Masterclass explains how leading and lagging indicators in customer experience measurement give you a more complete and actionable view of CX performance. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, shares examples for how you can build a balanced view of customer experience with the right mix of CX metrics and measures. If you are wondering how to move beyond a one-metric view of CX, this episode is for you. How to Measure Customer Experience Holistically: A Balanced...

This CX Mini Masterclass provides an overview of 3 of the most common customer experience metrics currently in use among businesses: Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Customer Effort Score (CES). Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, explains what these metrics are and how they are measured and used. If you are looking to cut through the confusion of metric acronyms, this episode is for you. A heightened focus on metrics Nothing gets the CX communit...

Bill McDonald, CEO of the Arvida Group, shares his insights on translating customer value into business value within the context of the retirement community industry. Bill and show host Julia discuss how consumer needs evolve with generations, the complexities of managing multiple types of buyers, and how Arvida’s purpose of “transforming the aging experience” defines the organization’s goals. Julia shares her plan for March’s CX Mini Masterclass episodes, which will focus in CX metrics and meas...

This CX Mini Masterclass provides an overview of customer experience strategy. What may seem like an abstract concept is actually rooted in tangible fundamentals. Special guest Ben Motteram clarifies CX strategy, takes listeners through the key components and outlines how you can turn this into an actionable framework. Insights from a special guest Ben Motteram is a customer experience specialist based in Melbourne with over 20 years experience developing and implementing customer acquisition ...

This CX Mini Masterclass explains the difference between CX measures and metrics, as well as how these can be leveraged to demonstrate CX business value. Special guest and CX thought leader Diane Magers clarifies these concepts and their role in customer-centric business practices. Insights from a special guest Diane has been part of the CX movement since the get-go. She was one of the founding members of the CXPA, and is currently serving as the association’s interim CEO, along with her role ...

This CX Mini Masterclass explains the relationship between employee experience and customer experience. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, shares 3 examples of the tangible links between EX and CX. If you are looking to understand employee experience as the foundation for customer-centric culture, this episode is for you. A heightened focus on employee experience Employee Experience is getting increasing amounts of attention from the CX professional community, and with g...

Adrian Swinscoe, customer experience thought leader, Forbes contributor, and business advisor provides his perspective on finding the balance between humans and tech in delivering CX. Adrian and Julia discuss what it takes to achieve customer delight in our increasingly digital world and why the tag line “powered by humans” is becoming a thing that brands now tout. Julia shares her plan for February’s CX Mini Masterclass episodes, which will feature other CX thought leaders. Customer delight an...

This CX Mini Masterclass includes actionable tips for influencing customer centric change from show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt. Customer experience strategy must be supported by the business in order to take hold. CX professionals must carefully navigate how to affect change within their organization, and in this episode Julia takes listeners through her top 3 recommendations for how to effectively influence change. A CX leader and a diplomat Customer experience leader...

This edition of Julia’s CX Mini Masterclass series explores best practices for evaluating customer impact when making major business decisions. Building on the concept of customer journey on-ramps/off-ramps, show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt explains how you can leverage your knowledge of the customer journey to prioritize business initiatives, create a CX roadmap, and guide your organization towards making customer-centric decisions which will ultimately drive profitabili...

This CX Mini Masterclass explains how you can use your customer journey map and understanding of when customers engage or disengage with a brand to demonstrate customer experience ROI. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, will teach you about the power of customer on-ramps and off-ramps, and how you can use these to develop the business case for customer experience management. The circular journey At the end of the day consumers have many ongoing needs in their lives. Whet...

This CX Mini Masterclass covers the concept of Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), how to calculate this, and why it’s an important metric for the CX profession. Show host and customer experience expert, Julia Ahlfeldt, will help you understand how to leverage CLV to demonstrate the ROI of customer experience and foster buy-in for customer-centric strategy. Understanding Customer Lifetime Value Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is the monetary value – often measured in contribution to profit – that is ...