In this episode of the Product Thinking Podcast, host Melissa Perri sits down with Blake Morgan, a seasoned expert in customer experience, best-selling author, and someone with a career spanning major companies like Coca-Cola and AT&T.  Blake dives deep into the evolution of customer experience, sharing insights from her 18-year journey in the field and offering a fresh perspective on what it means to truly prioritize the customer.

Tune in to discover how Blake's book, "The Eight Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership," provides a roadmap for becoming a transformative leader who puts customers first. She discusses practical strategies for integrating customer feedback into your organization, avoiding common pitfalls in measuring success, and the role of leadership in driving a unified customer experience.

Throughout the episode, Blake highlights the importance of breaking down silos, engaging directly with customers, and fostering a culture where every employee takes ownership of the customer experience. Whether you're a product manager, UX designer, or leader in any industry, this conversation will inspire you to rethink how you approach customer-centricity and drive meaningful change within your organization.

Blake starts by delving into the core principles of customer-focused leadership, as outlined in her book, "Eight Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership." She explains that being customer-focused starts with the leader's mindset, and it’s crucial for executives to wake up every day excited to serve both customers and employees. The modern customer-focused leader needs to be deeply involved in the trenches, just like Lindsay Snyder, the President of In-N-Out, who frequently works alongside her team members in the stores. Blake points out that this hands-on leadership approach not only builds a strong connection with employees but also helps leaders stay attuned to the reality of day-to-day operations.

Blake highlights the critical mistake companies make when they prioritize profit over customer care. She points to T-Mobile’s "Un-Carrier" strategy, led by former CEO John Legere, as a model for customer-centric transformation. In 2012, T-Mobile shifted the telecom industry by eliminating hidden fees and complex contracts that frustrated customers. This approach helped them rise from a lesser-known player to a major industry leader. John Legere's leadership style evolved alongside the company’s philosophy—he embraced a more relatable and bold persona, which resonated with both employees and customers. As Blake explains, his consistent focus on creating a customer-friendly brand was instrumental in T-Mobile's growth.

Blake recounts the case of Air Canada’s chatbot failure as an example of how poor AI implementation can lead to severe customer dissatisfaction. A customer was misinformed by the airline's chatbot about a bereavement reimbursement policy, leading to a legal case when the customer followed incorrect advice and was denied compensation. Air Canada’s failure to take responsibility for the chatbot’s error worsened the situation, resulting in negative PR. Blake criticizes companies that release faulty chatbots without adequate testing or fail to uphold their customer promise when mistakes happen.

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Previous guests include: Shruti Patel of US Bank, Steve Wilson of Contrast Security, Bethany Lyons of KAWA Analytics, Tanya Johnson Chief Product Officer at Auror, Tom Eisenmann of Harvard Business School, Stephanie Leue of Doodle, Jason Fried of 37signals, Hubert Palan of Productboard, Blake Samic of Stripe and Uber, Quincy Hunte of Amazon Web Services

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