Almost immediately after the first horseless carriages appeared on America's roads, motorists began organizing automobile clubs. AAA formed in 1902 with 1500 members. AAA continues to save the day after a breakdown and making dream vacations a reality for more than 63 million members. The logistics of that aren’t easy, but this episode's guest will provide a glimpse of how the AAA National Office coordinates a complex customer experience program. Host Steve Walker welcomes Bryan Sander, managing director of member experience at AAA and a member of the CXPA board of directors, for a discussion on getting CX work done in a complex environment. Learn more about AAA at https://www.aaa.com/ Listen to more podcasts at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode was originally on November 10, 2020. Guest Seth Fritz, manager of the design futures team at the Delta Faucets Company, gave us just a glimpse into the practice of human-centered design, utilizing techniques that allow designers to discover how people will interact with objects, and how the CX program at Delta helps the creative team better design products. Please note that some details and situations described in the episode may not neccessarily be the same as when it originally was released. Customer experience is about people: your customers or clients, your employees and colleagues, your business partners – people make the experience. So, it goes without saying that designing any experience should include the perspective of those involved, and human-centered design can help inform that process. Host Steve Walker welcomes Seth Fritz, the manager of the Design Futures team at the Delta Faucets Company, for a discussion on human-centered design. Learn more about Delta Faucet Company at: https://www.deltafaucet.com/ Listen to more podcasts at: https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at: https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode was originally on October 19, 2021. Guests Jennifer Pursifull and Sharon Bislich did some wonderful work with the company Medxcel in tying customer and employee data together, which helped empower their employees to create better experiences. That’s why we loved this episode – it beautifully demonstrates the powerful advantage of putting your CX and EX data together.  Please note that some details and situations described in the episode may not neccessarily be the same as when it originally was released. The advantage of experience management (or "XM") is the holistic view of experience across the company. By leveraging customer and employee data together, companies can take their experience programs to the next level. But what companies are applying this practice and how’s it working out for them? Host Steve Walker welcomes Jennefer Pursifull, VP of marketing and sales, and Sharon Bislich, director for marketing, communication, and engagement – both from Medxcel, a healthcare facilities management company - to discuss how they successfully built their program to empower their employees to create better experiences for their clients.  Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode was originally on August 24, 2021. We loved how our guest is passionate about connecting employees with the customers and brand through the use of storytelling. He and Steve discussed ways this can build empathy and understanding, which is vital to the overall culture of being a customer-centric organization.  Please note that some details and situations described in the episode may not neccessarily be the same as when it originally was released. When we talk about “experiences” it’s often from a holistic point of view – through the lens of “experience management”, or “XM.” But how do you connect the customer with the employees, or the employees with the brand? One way is through the use of storytelling, which can be particularly effective in building empathy and understanding. Host Steve Walker welcomes Bruce Temkin, head of the Qualtrics XM Institute, for a discussion on how storytelling can build customer empathy and lead to better customer experience. Learn more about the Qualtrics XM Institute at https://www.xminstitute.com/ Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

For some people, getting excited about a new project means diving right into the “fun stuff.” Working to fix up that cool classic car you just bought, or painting a landscape that inspired you. The temptation is to pick up the wrench or paint brush and dive in. But even artists and mechanics need a plan, and so do CX experts. And a critical area of planning for customer experience is communications. It’s important to know your audience and why you’re collecting data in the first place and planning your communications should be one of the first things you do. Host Steve Walker welcomes Molly Work, associate vice president in client services at Walker, for a discussion on the importance of communication - internally and externally - to improve customer experience. Read more about this from a blog article co-authored by Molly, "Effective communication can elevate your CX program" at: https://walkerinfo.com/effective-communication-can-elevate-your-cx-program/ Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode was originally on December 8, 2020. We loved how our guest highlighted the importance of creating a “change mindset” throughout the company to move the customer experience team beyond the label of the ”survey people.” Please note that some details and situations described in the episode may not neccessarily be the same as when it originally was released. The practice of customer experience must permeate the entire company. But that can be difficult, and CX pros are sometimes not take as seriously as they should. So how do you, as a CX pro, change that mindset - how do they move beyond the label of "the survey people?" Host Steve Walker welcomes guest Roxie Strohmenger, vice president of customer experience strategy at UKG, for a discussion on how customer experience professional should market themselves within their organization. Listen to more episodes at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode originally dropped on April 20, 2021. We really liked this episode because our guests highlighted how well some local, state, and federal government have embraced CX principles as a way to connect to communities and commercial businesses. Please note that some details and situations described in the episode may not neccessarily be the same as when it originally was released. In the United States, people typically don’t think of themselves as “customers” to the government. However, governing bodies from the local, state, and federal levels have been embracing customer experience as a way to connect to the community, and commercial businesses can learn from their efforts. Host Steve Walker welcomes Qualtrics experts Chelsie Bright, global head of government, and Sydney Heimbrock, chief industry advisor for government, for a discussion on understanding how CX works in government at all levels. Read the original episode's show notes page here: https://cxleaderpodcast.com/cx-for-the-people/ Listen to more podcasts at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

Producer's Note: During the summer months we'll be re-releasing some of our favorite episodes for our "Summer Encore Series." This episode originally dropped on November 12, 2019, and we loved the creative way in which IU Health immersed themselves in the patient's journey. Please note that some details and situations described in the episode may not neccessarily be the same as when it originally was released. Immersive experiences can be a powerful tool to demonstrate the customer experience, but for patients at a hospital, it can be impactful – and emotional – for the leadership of an organization. Guest host Pat Gibbons welcomes guest Karen Cernock from Indiana University Health to discuss how an immersive experience for their board developed into a program throughout the organization. Read the original episode's show notes page here: https://cxleaderpodcast.com/wear-comfortable-shoes/ Listen to more podcasts at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/ 

In the grand scheme of things, customer experience is still a newer practice. While it’s growing as companies and organizations realize its potential, there are still few options for formal education and training in CX. And that can make things difficult for CX pros trying to engage the entire company in customer experience efforts. So how do you raise the level of expertise across your organization? Host Steve Walker welcomes back Drew Hall, vice president and team lead for  advisory and managed services at Walker, for a discussion on expertise building. Read the blog article by Drew Hall and Elliot Moran at: https://walkerinfo.com/explore-the-value-of-cx-expertise-building/ Listen to more podcasts at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/ Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/   

Starting a CX program in any organization can be difficult. And one of the more challenging aspects of spinning up a new program is getting your company – especially leadership – to make it a priority. And to make things even more complicated: what areas of customer experience do you prioritize? Do you start with surveys? Closed loop feedback? Journey mapping? Host Steve Walker welcomes Adam Shapourian, associate vice president of experience at United Educators, for a discussion on how to determine your customer experience priorities.  Learn more about United Educators at https://www.ue.org/ Listen to more podcasts and subscribe at https://cxleaderpodcast.com/  Learn more about Walker at https://walkerinfo.com/