Customer Success Playbook Podcast S3 E70 - Adrian Swinscoe - Data and Customer Storytelling

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Ready to shake up your customer experience approach with some no-fluff, straight-to-the-point wisdom? In this episode, Adrian Swinscoe – author of *Punk CX* and *How to Wow* – joins Roman Trebon to deliver a masterclass on how real, actionable data combined with firsthand customer stories can transform your CX from good to unforgettable. Learn why "going to the gemba" (that’s Japanese for “go see where the work happens”) can be the secret weapon in your customer success playbook, and why less complexity often results in more memorable experiences.Adrian Swinscoe dives deep into a pragmatic, almost punk rock philosophy of customer experience that’s anything but conventional. His call to action? Don’t get lost in the sea of binary data points and over-engineered solutions. Yes, data is king – but raw numbers alone often feel like a monochrome sketch. True customer success leaders bring color and context by blending quantitative insights with rich, qualitative stories. It’s these narratives that move teams to act and innovate, bridging the gap between cold metrics and vibrant human emotion.Swinscoe invokes the Toyota-inspired practice of “going to the gemba,” encouraging CX leaders to ditch conference rooms and dashboards for direct observation—whether it’s sitting with frontline agents or experiencing the product as a customer would. This boots-on-the-ground approach fosters empathy, reveals friction points invisible in reports, and catalyzes meaningful change.Echoing his punk ethos, Adrian warns against the natural tendency to keep piling on features and processes under the guise of “improvement.” Instead, simplicity should be your compass. If you add one new element to a process, critique what two things you can eliminate. Complexity is easy; elegance and clarity require discipline—and they pay dividends in customer loyalty.Roman’s illustrated comic example highlights the paradox: an overcomplicated onboarding and an overly simplified offboarding process reveal where brands lose customers—not because of lack of effort, but too much of the wrong kind of effort.For anyone seeking practical, actionable guidance on staying ahead in the crowded CX arena, this conversation is a treasure trove. Tune in, challenge your assumptions, and enrich your customer success playbook with these hard-earned lessons on observation, storytelling, and ruthless simplicity.Now you can interact with us directly by leaving a voice message at https://www.speakpipe.com/CustomerSuccessPlaybook

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