“Customer experience is really the only durable or sustainable differentiator in our industry,” says Rodney Shepard, who was recently promoted to be Arvest Bank’s first-ever chief customer experience officer. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, Shepard discusses how he “champions the customer inside our organization,” focusing on the integrated digital, in-branch and call center experience — flagging potential pain points and learning from other industries that do customer experience well. Shepard also talks about the continued relevance of branches in Arvest’s strategy. “The more [an issue] goes up the complication scale, the more they want to visit with someone in person,” he says.