The CX Cast

Luis Angel-Lalanne, VP of Customer Voice at American Express, shares his organization's journey from survey fundamentals to a robust feedback program that continuously engages stakeholders in CX understanding and drives action.

Angelina describes the frameworks of two different Forrester reports - The Four Characteristics Of Organizational Culture and Make Culture An Agent Of Change. She gives examples of purpose, behavioral norms, rituals, and artifacts so CX and EX leaders can observe their cultures, as well as harness cultural strengths during organizational change.

Meet Colleen Fazio, Senior Analyst, who leads Forrester research on voice of the customer (VoC). In this episode, Colleen highlights today's biggest topics in VoC management, including how the convergence between the contact center and CX is an opportunity to leverage data, engage employees, and improve the customer experience.

Learn more about Colleen and her upcoming research on Forrester.com

Do your diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts extend to the customer? Forrester Principal Analyst Gina Bhawalkar and UX Researcher Senem Guler Biyikli point out that most organizations lack a formal, rigorous practice for building inclusion into the design process. They offer examples of language that we may not realize is problematic, and dive into tactics to consider all dimensions of diversity when designing.

See the Forrester report for expert guidance on this topic:

Words Matter: Inclusive Experiences Start With Inclusive Language

Co-hosted by Angelina Gennis and Andrew Hogan

Produced by Wesley Patterson

Introducing our new co-host, Principal Analyst Andrew Hogan, who brings design expertise, as well as curiosity for general CX management. Andrew talks about how he applies design thinking to everything he interacts with, and how this always-on perspective helps in solving business problems. He introduces the breadth of his research coverage. Love the preview? Let us know where you'd like Andrew to go in-depth by emailing [email protected] - we love hearing from our listeners!

To learn more from Andrew:

The $162 Billion Design Industry Won't Stop Growing (Public blog)

Designing For Confidence In 2021 (Public blog)

Must Employees Keep Enduring Bad UX? (Public blog)

Forrester VP and Research Director Martin Gill explains how customer preferences in Europe are different than in the US, how European organizations may have different objectives, but CX management best practices remain consistent, globally.

To learn more, check out Martin's blog:

European Organizations Are Underinvesting In Customer Experience (public)

VP, Principal Analyst David Truog returns to offer more basic knowledge on designing chatbots, including conversational design best practices. Most chatbots disappoint, often because organizations focus too heavily on the technology and not enough on the design work. But this miniseries can help you direct efforts to build the right chatbot (or improve an existing one) with appropriate scope.

Click the titles below for more on this topic:

Most Chatbots Disappoint - Here's How To Make Them Better (public blog)

Design Better Chatbots (Forrester report)

Design Who Your Chatbot Is (Forrester report)

Design What Your Chatbot Does (Forrester report)

In 2022, brands will look to their customer experience (CX) teams to help them navigate their way through the pandemic by adjusting to a new normal and managing customer expectations and emotions around impending and ongoing product shortages. This doesn’t mean that CX teams’ responsibility will grow across the board. Instead, companies and their CX teams will target their efforts, focusing on specific areas where they can have the most impact: accessibility and privacy.

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Predictions 2022: Customer Experience

Forrester's full Predictions 2022

Improving employee performance is a critical goal for execs, yet many still rely on traditional HR-led practices of performance management that are rarely fit for purpose for today’s workforce. While leaders realize they can’t “command and control” their employees into better performance, they seldom change the process central to the problem: the way they manage and reward performance (including customer-centric behaviors). In this episode we're joined by Principal Analyst Betsy Summers to discuss how leaders must create a practice that reflects their organizational values, culture, and KPIs..

Read Betsy's full report here: A Performance Management Evolution Is Critical For Employee And Employer Success

Customer experience (CX) is a CMO imperative because CMOs who champion CX can ensure that brand is infused throughout the customer lifecycle. But championing CX requires understanding the relationship between CX and brand, as well as an understanding of CX management to play an effective role in improving the customer experience. In this episode, we're joined by co-host and Senior Analyst Angelina Gennis to discuss the opportunity for aligning CX and brand and how CMOs should take a leadership role to ensure that the customer experience is rooted in the brand promise, values, and personality.

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Research Overview: Championing CX

Five Ways To Ensure Deep Collaboration Between Marketing And Customer Experience