Crack the Customer Code

Crack the Customer Code is back on the air! It's the start of a new season, and Jeannie and Adam are ready to help you solve your latest CX conundrums and bring a host of guests to share their valuable insights. The show has been on for so long, but the CX world never rests and never stops improving, so neither can CTCC. Tune in to learn about the new things you'll be getting this season, the new guests that will be joining us, and the new sponsor Crack the Customer Code now has. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeannie and Adam are recording together for the season finale of Crack the Customer Code because it's another bourbon summit and bourbon is best drank in company. We've had a lot of guests this season and learned a lot of fascinating lessons on the future of CX, but more importantly, on what won't change in our industry. So, tune in to get a quick recap of what happened in this season and, of course, to learn about the bourbons Adam and Jeannie are drinking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it mean to be authentic and transparent in customer and employee experience? More importantly, how does that work in practice? That's precisely what we are talking about with our guest David Sakamoto. Transparency is not as simple as many companies think. You need to be open about your inner processes and plans to your employees, and you need to show everything about your product or service to the customer. David has a lot of fascinating ideas behind all of this and a few recommendations you should hear about as they have already worked for him and his company GitLab. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we will talk a little bit about empathy and its importance in business. It's all because empathy plays a crucial role in improving your organization. There are specific connections between empathy and business results, and that's precisely what we are here to unravel. Catalyst's report on the Power of Empathy in Times of Crisis and Beyond has given us a couple of interesting findings and data that shows the importance of leaders leading their teams with empathy. Employees become more productive and innovative, but they also decide to stay in the company, another growing worry businesses face today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Keeping employees motivated and having a sense of purpose is crucial in keeping them happy. It's even more crucial today in the era of the Great Resignation. Thankfully, Donna Cutting has some interesting suggestions in her upcoming book, but she'll also share some thoughts in our talk today. Even if your company doesn't sell a life-changing product, there are still ways to give every team member a sense of purpose. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We don't really think that customer experience and the government ever go together, but that doesn't negate the fact that we, the people of the United States, deserve better experience when dealing with the government. The government sees areas of improvement, which is likely why President Biden made his executive order dealing with CX in government institutions. The order is interesting, and it deals with a lot of commitments the government is making and changes it's likely to implement, so Jeannie and Adam are here to discuss some of them. Tune in to learn how your dealings with the administration or the IRS might get better in the near future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Annette Franz has some exciting ideas to share about the customer-centric mindset all companies need to have. Many of them are already widely believed by organizations, but they are not adopted in the way they need to be. What's more, many companies keep delaying this to increase profits, but they need to understand that genuinely implementing the employee and customer-centric model is the way to go to drive more value. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you think that we at Crack the Customer Code innovate enough? Whatever the case may be, innovation is the key subject today. It's also vital in business in general as everyone wants to see it. Customers want companies to innovate, and companies themselves want to innovate. However, it's clear that not every business knows how to innovate adequately. Many do it for the sake of innovation and, in doing so, often fail to truly grasp what the customers want to get. It can be a big problem, which is why this entire episode is dedicated to innovation and the examples of how companies are innovating in the right way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recommendations are essential, and so is customer loyalty. Today's guest of Crack the Customer Code, Fred Reichheld, knows that well. He is the creator of the Net Promoter System of management, founder of Bain & Company's Loyalty practice, and author of five books, including a New York Times bestseller – The Ultimate Question 2.0. He is a frequent speaker at major business forums, and his work on customer loyalty has been covered in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Financial Times, The Economist, and Businessweek.  When Fred developed his Net Promoter System, he had no idea that it would end up being used by the majority of companies today. But times have changed, and so has CX, which is why he has had to make changes and updates to that system. He has a lot of intriguing things to say about the things he's been working on lately, so tune in to learn all about them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The right to repair is a big discussion right now. Many feel that companies have gone too far in making their products hard to repair, and users now want to be able to fix the products they buy. Naturally, this doesn't always work for organizations, which is precisely why we are where we are. But shouldn't that change? It's clear that companies make more profit when they limit the ability of customers to repair their products. However, couldn't it be better to give them the ability to repair and reap the rewards of more loyal customers? Jeannie and Adam will talk about that in more detail and tell you all about CX, the right to repair, and how they go together, so make sure you tune in to the latest episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Bartlett has a lot of interesting and, frankly, very unique ideas on customer experience. He'll discuss how he connects other fields to CX, all in an effort to improve it and help CX professionals become better at their jobs. You can find all of that in his new book as well, so tune in to hear why it will be a great and useful read. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Customer experience and banking – an old topic, but one that needs to be discussed. Some would say that they go together and have to go together, and they point to many trends that might be able to prove this point. Others would say quite the opposite, and you can already guess where Adam and Jeannie stand.   "These trends are absolutely important, but they still involve customer experience." This is actually a big topic, and it goes as far as the difference between customer service and customer experience. But one thing is sure, people care about their bank experience, and they especially care when they can get more modern tools that will pretty much automate a big chunk of the banking experience. The good news is that Jeannie and Adam are here to discuss all of that in detail, so tune in as soon as you can. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some might not believe it, but there is still a debate between customer experience and customer service, even though the former includes the latter. The first guest of the new season, Brad Cleveland, has a lot to say about the role of customer service in CX.  Customer service is often mistreated and not given the respect it deserves. In this episode, we try to change that and Brad has enough great examples and options from his work and his book that are bound to give you something to think about.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Crack the Customer Code! With so many changes in the world of customer experience, expect the upcoming season to be jam-packed with important knowledge, insights, and opinions you'll want to hear.  "We are all facing change like we never have before." Tune in for this brief introduction to the new season of the show where Jeannie and Adam will tell you what to expect. And don't worry, the first interview is coming soon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is one of the longest Bourbon Summits in the show's history, and Jeannie and Adam survived, don't worry! But more importantly, it was one of the longest as so many things had to be covered. From the changes to the world of CX to a recapitulation of what the show's guests covered, there's so much to hear, so crack open a bottle of your favorite drink and tune in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's incredibly challenging being the CX leader, especially when you're always looking for support from the rest of the organization. That's why the advice Marlanges Simar has is so powerful and energizing. More importantly, it's bound to help any CX leader out there. Marlanges collaborates with stakeholders and leads a team with the clear purpose of solving customer problems and helping them achieve their goals. More importantly, she runs programs that get employees to think of customers as the organization's central focus. Currently, she is working as the Director of Customer Experience at Prime Therapeutics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recently, there have been so many changes with the rapidly evolving technology and the pandemic, but something hasn't been included – the frontline workers. This always leads to problems as your frontline workers are the ones customers contact, and if they are not in the loop, you'll only create a bad customer experience. It's crucial now more than ever to keep your employees in the loop not only for the customers but also for the workers' morale. You can only create more problems for the entire company if you don't, which is why Jeannie and Adam will discuss how to solve this widespread issue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan wants you to create a memorable experience for your customers, as that will turn you into an experience maker, which always leads to success. He has a lot of advice to give you on achieving this goal, how the pandemic has influenced a greater need for change, and so much more. You'll see that all of this is possible, no matter the type of company you're in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frictionless vs. memorable. Do you have to choose either, or can your business manage both? It's a tricky question to answer, especially since so few brands are successful at being both memorable and frictionless at the same time. The research shows that at a certain point, you'll have to choose whether to be increasingly frictionless or increasingly memorable. You need to understand when these two go together and when they have to split. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The way we view the payment part of the customer journey needs to change, and it needs to become another important part of what we look into in the customer experience segment. Greg Lisiewski from PayPal has a lot of useful advice he can give you on why payments matter, what PayPal is doing to improve this segment, and so much more. If you want to make this as simple and unobtrusive for the customer and subsequently increase conversions, then this episode has the insights you are hoping to get. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes, customers can't reach a location, or they don't find the physical store attractive enough. Unfortunately, these problems that businesses face have reached new levels during the pandemic, so companies need to rethink their physical stores to attract their customers and improve their experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special sponsored episode, we're talking with Noa Danon, Co-Founder and CEO at EverAfter.ai. Thank you to EverAfter for sponsoring this episode. We've talked a lot about Artificial Intelligence (AI) on this podcast. But often we're talking about it in a consumer-facing context. Our conversation with Noa Danon explores concepts that apply beyond the typical Business-to-Consumer (B2C) relationship. What's really interesting is how EverAfter uses the data they have to strengthen the relationship with Business-to-Business (B2B) customers, which can be really challenging. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A term we use a lot in business and customer experience is 'confidence', but where does that confidence come from? It comes from trust. It's easy to forget how fundamental trust is to any relationship, including economic relationships. When we talk about the whole customer experience journey, we need trust to move forward with all elements of the customer experience. This is such an interesting topic to unpack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The worst of the pandemic is behind us, but a big question arises: How tolerant are customers now? Or better said, are they more or less tolerant than they were before the pandemic? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The customer journey needs to be integrated into customers' lives and the notion of what they want to get from it. It's just one of the things we need to truly understand to improve the overall experience for the customer. Our guest, Theodora (Theo) Lau, is here to talk about that and how AI plays and will play a part in the future of customer experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Customer service agents are getting better at referring to people using gender-neutral pronouns, but this can always improve, and it should improve. Leaders need to take action and work on this so every customer can feel at ease when dealing with your company.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shep Hyken talks about a couple of essential things from his book in greater detail. You'll get vital knowledge on why customers terminate their business with you and what you can do to increase your retention rates. And those rates are the ones every business needs to grow. So, tune in to learn it all; you never know how much this knowledge can improve your business! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's a big difference between customer experience and customer experience management, which is another central point that will be elaborated on in this episode. It's a distinction that should interest every leader and anyone working in the customer experience sector. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alison has a lot of exciting advice to give to all types of leaders looking to improve their companies' customer experience. She particularly has a bit of advice for leaders of companies that haven't had customers in the past but suddenly need to change to a more customer-centric model. All in all, a lot of interesting information awaits you in this episode, so make sure you tune in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your two favorite hosts are here to tell you about the new topics they'll cover in the episodes to come. This is a quick intro to the new season, but tune in to learn what you can expect to get in the weeks and months to come. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Adam and Jeannie recap everything they've learned from the amazing guests this season has witnessed. Moreover, they talk about all the bumper stickers of the season, including their own, the ones they've saved for this very episode. And yes, bourbon will be consumed, so pour yourself a glass and tune in! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2020 has been a hectic year for everyone, but some companies have managed to come out on top thanks to great strategies, care for their customers, and top-notch leadership. Tom Karinshak and Comcast, have managed to do just that in several ways, and he shares all about that and how you can lead your company to a better customer experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI is everywhere, and it influences every life in one way or another, yet people rarely understand it. But Ovetta Sampson has a lot of interesting advice to give leaders who are not yet familiar enough with AI and data. If you want to learn more, you’ll have to listen to this data-driven episode of Crack the Customer Code. The insights you’ll gain afterward are more than worth the time spent listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI is beneficial to some, but a complete mystery to most. It’s a problem that should be remedied as AI can be incredibly helpful to a lot of companies, as long as they implement it correctly. Riaz Raihan and his company Alida know that well, so he is here to talk about how to use it in customer experience, how to deal with the problems that that many experience with AI, and so much more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The tension between customer service and efficiency creates many problems, and you'll hear about some interesting examples in this episode. What's more, Jeannie and Adam will discuss the possible solutions, so tune in if this age-old problem has been bothering you as well, so you can finally get rid of it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chip looks at customer experience differently than many do today. He is interested in the human stories and the service customers truly want to see, even if they don't ask for it. If you want to learn more about this compelling way of improving customer experience, and get a lot of practical advice, tune in, as this is not an episode you want to miss! In order to reap the benefits of CX (while simultaneously managing limited budgets and external expectations), the pros need to learn to prioritize. In this report from Forrester, you will learn how to prioritize CX efforts based on three categories: business, customer, and feasibility. Get the free report from our sponsor Alida just for our listeners here: https://www.alida.com/ctcc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2021 Customer Expectations Report by Gladly is out, and Adam and Jeannie talk about some of the more interesting findings from it. These numbers are bound to influence your business, especially since the findings are significantly different than before, and yes, they are partly affected by the global pandemic. In order to reap the benefits of CX (while simultaneously managing limited budgets and external expectations), the pros need to learn to prioritize. In this report from Forrester, you will learn how to prioritize CX efforts based on three categories: business, customer, and feasibility. Get the free report from our sponsor Alida just for our listeners here: https://www.alida.com/ctcc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ramon Ray talks to us about how important customer experience is for small businesses and why technology is the biggest part of improving the experience today. Ramon explains how to determine which technology you need and gives you some advice he’s learned as a small business owner himself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you know how valuable the insights gained from active communities can be? If you don't, then this is certainly the episode for you! Jeannie and Adam will discuss things that haven't been covered before yet are extremely important for CX, especially today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Managing cultural change is always challenging. Ross Wainwright discusses the processes and hard decisions behind the transformation from Vision Critical to Alida, including the cultural, branding, tech, and product & service changes - all during the pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many business leaders are worried that things won’t go back to normal, so Adam and Jeannie have a few interesting stats and opinions that could help you. This episode should have enough useful information to help you gain some valuable insights into the future of CX in the upcoming post-pandemic world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thinking globally but acting locally is an idea that’s rarely discussed in customer experience. This is what we talk about, among other things, with our guest, Steven Van Belleghem. Steven understands the nuances of customer experience and the small details many others tend to miss. He also knows how smaller companies can improve their customer experiences, so there's a lot of value you can gain from his words. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI and machine learning are changing the game, and we are bound to see more benefits for the world of customer experience very soon. The current goal is to automate routine interactions and leave humans open to deal with the more complex ones. But there’s so much more to come. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2020 changed a lot of things for both customers and customer experience leaders. Christine Rimer works with customer experience leaders and knows exactly what troubles them and how to help them. Christine leads SurveyMonkey’s customer experience program, community, and thought leadership to drive growth and innovation. Before SurveyMonkey, she held various CX leadership roles but began her career in enterprise business systems and data management, where she aligned cross-functional teams to deliver measurable business outcomes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crack the Customer Code is back! Jeannie and Adam are back with us again after a long pause since October 2020. However, they weren’t idle, and they bring with them a lot of changes and improvements to the show you’re bound to love! "We are moving to a seasonal model. We'll try being on and off for a while, and this is the beginning of a new season.“ The show is all about helping leaders be better, offer better customer service, and grow together with their customers. The new and improved Crack the Customer Code should help you with all of that, especially with anything new in the world that can affect you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s time for another one of Adam and Jeannie’s famous bourbon summits! What's more, this will also be a very special episode. That's because a significant change is coming for Crack The Customer Code, and this episode will tell you all you need to know before they hit the ground running. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The specific words and phrases you use can be received quite poorly. That's why companies should prepare training for their employees, and leaders should learn in advance what works and what doesn't. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James is here to talk about proactive experience recovery and how being proactive in CX matters more than merely fixing the issues your customers have. The results you can provide for your customers by being proactive are astonishing, and James is here to tell us how that can work, and what the exact ROI on this unique form of problem-solving can be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are we ready to come back to the office? Or do most of us still want to stay working from home for the time being? You will hear a lot about what the research says and some advice for companies and leaders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Very few of us went to kindergarten, saying, “I want to be a CX professional!” That's why it's fascinating to delve into how some of us went into this business. Clare Muscutt has one of those stories you'll want to know about for its sheer distinctiveness. She is recognized as one of the most prominent and valued millennial voices in CX. She is an international consultant, keynote speaker, and soon to be the author of the book ‘How to be Awesome at CX’’. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, you'll learn how to improve your focus. There are plenty of things that can help you as much as they have helped others, even though you might think they can't. The key is to try and stay persistent for a while, and you could see the benefits very soon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices