Maxime Blachard is a French former pro-football player who played as defender and defensive midfielder for various teams. Today, though, he's more on the offensive -- in the technology space, where, as South African territory manager for Zendesk, he is passionate about customer experience (CX).

Zendesk recently completed a research report on the South African market, looking at what local companies are doing in terms of CX projects, and where they're excelling and where they aren't.

In this podcast interview with TechCentral, Blanchard unpacks key questions such as:

* What is CX and why is it important?

* What are the key takeways from the Zendesk report?

* What are the building blocks of a good CX plan?

* Why is it obvious to customers when companies do CX right?

* How closely tied is CX to profitable business success?

* Are there specific things peculiar to the South African market when it comes to CX, and what does it take to be a CX champion in South Africa?

* How does one measure success in CX?

* Which South African companies are getting it right?

Blanchard also touches on the compatibility between sport and the business world and muses on whether pro sports is a good place to learn about business.

Don't miss the discussion!