The CX Cast

This week, we talk about the demands on the user experience role and speculate about the future of the profession. We continue our conversation from last week with Meena Kothandaraman, Experience Strategist at Twig + Fish and an esteemed professor in the Bentley University Human Factors and Information Design (HFID) graduate program.

Listeners, we'd love to get to know you! Whether you just want to say hi or share a CX story, send us an email.

Relevant Forrester research:

"The Six Key Steps To Instituting Good Customer Research"

"The Power Of Storytelling For Experience Design"

This week, we welcome Meena Kothandaraman, Experience Strategist at  Twig + Fish and an esteemed professor in the Bentley University Human Factors and Information Design (HFID) graduate program. In this episode, Meena shares an effective approach to customer research and explains how to share insights with colleagues so that they, too, can experience epiphany moments.

Listeners, we'd love to get to know you! Whether you just want to say hi or share a CX story, send us an email.

Relevant links:

Kate Ivey-Williams' speech at Amuse: From Front-End to Full Service – Design in the UK Government

"The Power Of Storytelling For Experience Design"

A tidal wave of digital tech has engulfed the theory and practice of breakaway CX. Automated platforms like bots, animated by AI and machine learning, promise powerful, personalized customer experiences. But in our rush to embrace these innovative customer experiences on digital channels, are CX professionals losing touch with the core driver of CX excellence: authentic human connections?

In this week's episode, we discuss how technology is changing the ways humans work and subsequently, how we can humanize machines: two core themes of Forrester's CXSF 2017 forum.

Listeners, we'd love to get to know you! Whether you just want to say hi or share a CX story, send us an email.

Relevant Forrester research:

"AI Will Revolutionize Digital Experiences"

"Humanize Your Conversational Bot"

Since their introduction nearly 20 years ago, personas have become one of the most popular tools in the customer experience (CX) pro's arsenal. But as their use has spread, so has the confusion about them. As a result, many firms are no longer reaping the numerous benefits good personas provide. In this episode, we speak with Forrester analyst Kelly Price about barriers to success with personas — and how to overcome them.

Listeners, we'd love to get to know you! Whether you just want to say hi or share a CX story, send us an email.

Relevant Forrester research:

"Persona Pitfalls: Seven Missteps And How To Avoid Them"

This week, we discuss what it means to foster empathy for employees and create the right conditions for creativity.

Relevant reading:

"Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration" - a book by Ed Catmull.

"Drive Creativity And CX Innovation With Employee Empathy" - a Forrester blog post by Jennifer Wise.

 

Listeners, we'd love to get to know you! Whether you just want to say hi or share a CX story, send us an email.

Journey analytics is a hot topic because it can help firms move the needle on customer obsession. But misconceptions about what journey analytics is and how it's done get in the way. Forrester defines journey analytics as a practice that combines quantitative and qualitative data to analyze customer behaviors and motivations across touchpoints and over time to optimize customer interactions and predict future behavior. In this episode, we answer some of the top questions about journey analytics and when to apply the technology.

Listeners, we'd love to get to know you! Whether you just want to say hi or share a CX story, send us an email.

Relevant Forrester research:

"The Forrester Wave™: Customer Journey Analytics Orchestration Platforms, Q3 2017"

"The Forrester Wave™: Customer Journey Analytics Visioning Platforms, Q3 2017"

"The Seven Top Questions About Journey Analytics" 

This week, we welcome back Trays O'Reilly, VP of Customer Experience at Comcast, to discuss how Comcast has been tactically transforming its customer experience (CX). In this episode, you'll hear one of our favorite examples of how to remove barriers from employees in a way that fosters their confidence and support in a CX transformation, while enabling better CX.

Listeners, we'd love to get to know you! Whether you just want to say hi or share a CX story, send us an email.

Relevant Forrester research:

"Remove Barriers And Add Enablers For A Customer-Centric Culture"

"Why And How To Lead A CX Transformation"

This week, we're joined by Trays O'Reilly, current VP of Customer Experience at Comcast. Before we get into lessons learned from Comcast (which we'll share next week), Trays walks us through how her former team at Rogers Communications developed a business case for CX and implemented their CX strategy in just 18 weeks.

If you're interested to learn more, see the "Case Study: Rogers Communications Pilots A New Customer Experience Strategy" Forrester report.

Listeners, we'd love to get to know you! Whether you just want to say hi or share a CX story, send us an email.

How well a company communicates with its customers has a surprisingly large impact on the brand's overall customer experience. In turn, this outsized influence translates into a revenue impact that can be a game-changer for the company's bottom line. Forrester analyst, Faith Adams, joins us in this episode to discuss how improvements in communication boost CX Index scores and increase revenue by creating a better experience for customers.

Listeners, we'd love to get to know you! Whether you just want to say hi or share a CX story, send us an email.

Referenced Forrester research:

"Read My Lips: Clear Communication Can Mean Billions In Revenue"

Alphabet's Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook set customers' expectations for customer experience (CX) because they hold a prominent place in people's lives. CX professionals need to understand what those expectations are and how to use the tools these tech giants provide to meet them. Forrester analyst TJ Keitt joins us in this episode to discuss what the big four teach us about CX and how CX leaders can help their businesses profit from this insight.

Listeners, we'd love to get to know you! Whether you just want to say hi or share a CX story, send us an email.

Referenced Forrester research:

"Four Tech Giants Dominate Your Customer Experience"