From a cancer patient: “I had to change insurance in the middle of my eight-month treatment plan. Now I’m waiting to see if my oncologist and current chemotherapy drugs are covered. If they aren’t, I don’t know what I’m going to do. The approval and appeal process are overwhelming.” From an OB-GYN: “I had a... Read more »| Walker
Improving Access and Outcomes Using Success, Effort, Emotion, and Trust Metrics A nurse enters a hospital room for a routine blood draw. She greets the patient, explains why she is there, and begins the task. Once finished, she asks if there is anything else she can do and swiftly exits. From the provider’s perspective, the... Read more »| Walker
Value can be defined in various ways when analyzing organizational programs and initiatives. But make no mistake when it comes to assessing customer experience (CX) efforts – value is the ability to impact the bottom line in a tangible way. The post Taking the Steps Needed to Demonstrate CX Value appeared first on Walker.| Walker
A strong and effective omnichannel strategy – offering fast, personalized, and uninterrupted customer experience across multiple platforms – is an essential tool to meet customer needs and continue to grow your organization. The post Making the Needed Connections With Omnichannel CX appeared first on Walker.| Walker
There is no shortage of current conversations about artificial intelligence (AI) – both its advantages as well as potential concerns. There are also many more unknowns than definites when it comes to the world of developing computer systems capable of performing tasks typically associated with human intelligence. The post Enter the AI World – or Be Left Behind appeared first on Walker.| Walker
What are your top experience management challenges? We conducted a non-scientific, fun exercise at the 2024 Qualtrics X4 Summit to find out. The post Top XM Challenges – Results From X4 appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Customer experience (CX) comprises every interaction a consumer has with a business, from product discovery to post-purchase support. Everything a company does influences how the customer perceives the brand, if they feel satisfied, and whether they keep coming back. Building a strong CX program across an organization contributes to better brand loyalty, more repeat business,... Read more » The post What Is Customer Experience (CX)? Your Complete Guide appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Your Experience Management team, and the organization as a whole, has adopted the XM Operating Framework. You have embraced the competencies and utilized the skills. You have combined monitoring, discovery, visioning, design and much more. Now is the time for the all-crucial Experience Integration. In one sense, it could be the payoff for all the work the CX team has done. In another, it is the beginning of an entirely new adventure of implementation, evaluation and adjustment. It is importan...| Walker
Service design begins with, and is fully dependent on, developing a deep understanding of the customer experience within your organization – plus what your customer is experiencing in life outside of their interactions with your company. It goes well beyond the transactional phase. It depends on utilizing your operational data to define the demographics that are representative of segments of your customer base. Even more importantly, it takes building empathy and an emotional connection wit...| Walker
Organizations must continue to “put out the daily fires” and execute the short-term adjustments that are required. But if that same organization wants to be best-in-class five or 10 years down the road, it must look beyond tomorrow – or next month, or next year – to which technological and societal changes will influence the way the world will work in the future. The post Experience Visioning: Planning Today To Help Ensure Future Success appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Many elements of the Experience Management (XM) Operating Framework contribute to gaining insights on ways to improve the customer experience. One of the methods of taking action on those insights is through Process Integration. Process integration can take place in many shapes and forms. It can address direct problems that customers have told you about.... Read more » The post Process Integration: Making the Changes to Benefit Your Customers and Your Business appeared first on Walker.| Walker
What if we started to think of problems as strategic opportunities? When reframed from “challenge to solve” into “chance to change,” problems create a valuable time to capture diverse data and put new processes or systems in place. The higher-level thinking makes the business better long-term—and contributes to its vision and goals for the future. The post Strategic Decision-Making: Transforming Insights Into Action appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Most organizations assert that they are in search of continuous improvement. The question is how many are effective in their efforts. The continuous improvement process includes key performance indicators (KPIs), planning, accountability, communication, recognition of achievements, and more. The post The CX Playbook: Incorporating the Necessary Elements appeared first on Walker.| Walker
How do you respond when a customer has an emergency? The way you handle it can help the customer believe your organization cares and is committed to providing a good experience. The post The Importance of Immediate Response appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Organizations know far more about their customers than ever before. It’s picking out those actionable items – sometimes only two or three nuggets out of a treasure trove of information – and successfully communicating them to various audiences that will yield ultimate success. The post Insights Distribution: Effectively Communicating Key Action Items appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Insights Discovery is a critical component of the Experience Management (XM) process. Proper pre-planning, execution of the analysis (Insights Discovery), and distribution of the results will help produce actionable outcomes. The post Insights Discovery: Your Gateway to CX Storytelling appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Whether you’ve been in business for one year or have decades of experience in your industry, one thing is true for everyone: Nothing is the same as when you started. Your products and services have changed to meet the needs of an ever-changing customer base. And the rapid pace of technological advancement has compelled you to stay current and deliver an ever-evolving digital experience. The post Monitoring Customer Experience: Moving Past “Same Old Same Old” appeared first on Walker.| Walker
As today’s businesses look for the best ways to get and stay ahead, meaningful integration of experience and operational data is fast becoming a “must-do.” When done right, X- and O-data integration offers tremendous value, especially as the integration matures to render more personalized customer experiences and opportunities to establish a true return on investment of customer experience (CX) initiatives. The post X- and O-Data Integration: Know These Two Essential Starting Points app...| Walker
Simply saying “customers first” does little to make the words a reality. How employees understand, embrace, and apply this mentality to their jobs moves companies from aspirational thinking to actual practice. That is why role-based enablement is a key part of managing the customer experience (CX). The post Understanding Role-Based Enablement for Your Team appeared first on Walker.| Walker
To accelerate customer-focused strategies, today’s CX leaders are interested in building expertise related to data interpretation and action planning. The post Explore the Value of CX Expertise-Building appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Speed was found to be an essential factor of CX in Walker’s 2013 report, Customers 2020 – and it’s only become more important since. The seven themes we’ve discussed in our CX Now series so far have all been building up to this critical aspect of customer experience. The post Speed: Increasing Operational Efficiency to Deliver Experiences at the Pace Customers Demand appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Patient experience is not just an opportunity, but a key priority, in today’s competitive healthcare environment. Improving patient experience scores through value-based care should be at the top of every health system’s to-do list. The post 21 Tips for How to Improve the Patient Experience appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Patient experience matters—to people’s lives and the performance of healthcare providers. Organizations focusing on and investing in patient-centered care stand to improve both. The post The Ultimate Guide to Understanding What Patient Experience Is and Why It’s Important appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Today the customer is in charge. Companies spend significant resources to understand their needs, desires, wants, and preferences. We have transitioned from a “make-and-sell” model to a highly sophisticated “sense-and-respond” model. What’s more, customers expect companies to keep up with their shifting demands month by month, day by day, and minute by minute. The post Adaptability: The Ability to Quickly Adjust to Shifting Environments and Customer Needs appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Hidden messages exist across your company. They are full of valuable customer information. Ready to decrypt them? It’s time to talk about text analytics. The post Text Analytics Consulting Services: Transform Data Within Your Business appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Culture is part of an organization’s DNA. Every company has a culture driven by its mission, vision, and values. These principles guide how team members behave inside the workplace. A business’s expectations, experiences, and operating philosophy all stem from its culture. The post How To Build a Customer-Centric Culture Within Your Business appeared first on Walker.| Walker
As a CX professional, one way you can improve your program is by making certain you can access, integrate, analyze and use all your data to make better informed decisions about how you deliver experiences to customers and employees. Sounds easy, right? But with silos and tech platforms that don’t connect, accessing and using all your data can be tougher than you’d expect. The post Data Integration: Integration and Accessibility of all Customer Data Sources to Understand Their Needs and Gu...| Walker
Because of the negative impact such experiences can have on an organization’s brand and reputation, it’s clear that creating seamless experiences for customers is more important than ever, which is why we consider this topic to be one of the themes driving the evolution of CX. The post Seamless Experiences: Delivering Intentional, Unified Experiences for Customers appeared first on Walker.| Walker
The world generates 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every single day. That’s 18 zeros! Where is all this data coming from? Well, us. The challenge is managing this volume of information. Luckily, text analytics assists companies in capturing and executing on the data customers generate to improve their experience—and ultimately gain a greater share of wallet. The post What is Text Analytics? A Beginner’s Guide appeared first on Walker.| Walker
It may be a broad generalization, but it’s probably fair to say that most employees want to do a good job. This is particularly true if they are hired to regularly interact with customers. Typically someone in such a role likes to interact with people and wants to help. They enjoy solving customer problems and they want to help them succeed. And yet, if you are a customer experience (CX) leader, the leader of a contact center, or anyone who has a hand in customer relationships you can likel...| Walker
“Humans are obsessed with predicting the future – and we are absolutely horrible at it.”– Troy Powell, PhD Wouldn’t it be awesome if we had a crystal ball to look into the future and know what we need to do to be successful? Well, it’s not magic, but customer experience leaders do have some pretty... Read more » The post Predictive Analytics: Your Data-Driven Crystal Ball appeared first on Walker.| Walker
It’s been said that the best gifts are those made especially for you. This bit of wisdom is excellent advice for today’s leaders of experience management. Customers are tired of being treated as one of a mass of consumers, and companies that treat all their customers the same are losing out to the those who have developed methods to make experiences more personal. The post Personalization: Designing and Delivering a Holistic Experience, Tailored for Each Customer appeared first on Walker.| Walker
The most basic objective of any digital strategy is to create digital interactions that adjust and adapt to customer needs and intent in real time – they serve up the right content to the right customers at the right time on the right device to ensure they can effortlessly and effectively achieve their objectives. The post Digital Interactions: Achieving the ideal human/digital balance for serving your customers appeared first on Walker.| Walker
It’s not just talk. Good communication is essential to executing a successful customer experience (CX) program. In fact, a comprehensive communications plan, developed well before your first survey is ever deployed, can propel your CX program from “just OK” to a level that enables you to motivate change, accelerate action, and achieve desired results. The post Effective communication can elevate your CX program appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Tracking your time helps set benchmarks and determine personal bests but does little to win a race without knowing the times of everyone else. The same is true when it comes to customer experience (CX). The post Metrics Management: Driving Operational Priorities with Data appeared first on Walker.| Walker
The job of a customer experience (CX) professional can be described as mastering the art of “sensing” and “seizing.” The sensing part of the equation is the gathering of information to gain a deeper understanding of the customer. Among other things, sensing reveals customers’ concerns, their needs, and where opportunities and risks lie within the customer relationship. The post Seize Opportunities To Deliver Value With Your CX Program appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Launching any new initiative usually starts with three questions: Why are we doing this? Why is now the right time? What do we want to achieve? Consider a recent business project or a personal plan. Asking these questions defines the need, the urgency, and the end goal. The answers illustrate what is possible and why those opportunities are important right now. The post Value Planning: The Connection Between CX Outcomes and Business Objectives appeared first on Walker.| Walker
"Let's do a survey!" For many companies, this statement marks the beginning of their customer experience (CX) program. However, thinking only about the survey and questions to ask has businesses jumping in at the end of the planning process. The post Governance: Building the Foundation of All Great CX Programs appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Customer experience professionals need to embrace a new way of thinking. Today, customers expect personalized service, the ability to customize products and services to serve their unique needs, and immediate gratification. The post 26 Actionable Steps to Improve Customer Satisfaction appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Customer experience and employee experience are inextricably linked. Every customer experience has an associated employee experience. World-class experiences don’t just happen. They need to be intentionally managed – crafted, executed, and refined over the long term. The post What is Employee Experience (EX) Management? appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Who doesn’t appreciate a good roadmap? Through its evolution from accordion-folded paper the size of a poster to interactive app on a handheld device, a roadmap shows the way from where you are to where you want to go. Great, right? And whether you’re talking about a cross-country road trip or the journey to building a goal-oriented experience management (XM) program, a roadmap is an essential tool to help you get there. The post Drive business success with a custom XM program roadmap app...| Walker
In this age of information overload, there is opportunity to seek out a few more "alligators" in our customer data. One method that could help is instituting a more formalized and managed follow-up process with our key accounts. In other cases, there are opportunities to learn more from the commentary provided by customers in surveys or in other feedback forums. The post Customer Feedback: Why It’s Important + 6 Ways to Collect It appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Companies that lead in customer experience acknowledge the reality that to sustain high business performance over time, they must pay close attention to what’s happening externally and use that intelligence to drive a customer-focused strategy. If this sounds logical, you may be surprised to learn just how many companies spend most of their time looking inward, basing their business strategy on internal data and functions. The post What does CX leadership look like? appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Developing a survey that addresses business questions may seem easy. However, careful thought and planning must go into each survey element for the results to be useful and actionable. Consider these 25 best practice tips for creating a valuable customer satisfaction survey that helps you measure customer satisfaction and understand your customers better. The post 25 Excellent Customer Satisfaction Survey Examples (plus Templates) appeared first on Walker.| Walker
The presence and power of the digital experience are undeniable. Consumers have come to expect the simplified experience of the one-click digital transaction. The post Digital Customer Experience Strategy: 6 Key Areas to Focus your Efforts appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Many different metrics and methodologies for measuring customer satisfaction exist. No one piece of customer feedback tells the full story. Combining metrics to paint a picture of what happens when customers interact with your business is vital. The post How to Measure Customer Satisfaction: Metrics you should be Tracking appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Customer satisfaction and retention go together. After all, happy customers stick around. Positive interactions develop loyalty—and that allegiance equals dollar signs. The post How are Customer Satisfaction & Retention Linked & How do you Improve Them? appeared first on Walker.| Walker
The boss calls a meeting and starts with something like, “We need to reduce churn among our customer base,” or “We’re lagging on our quarterly revenue projections,” and maybe, “It’s time to roll out the new product line.” Then your boss asks the most important question, “What are we doing to do about it?” The answer: develop a customer experience strategy. The post What is Customer Experience Strategy? appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Voice of the customer, or VoC, has become mainstream – a common, or even essential strategy for many businesses. But what is VoC, and what is the benefit of establishing a VoC strategy? The post What is Voice of The Customer (VoC)? – Questions, Templates & Methodologies appeared first on Walker.| Walker
About 73% of consumers rely on experience first when making purchase decisions (PwC). Research also shows that more than two-thirds of customers will pay more for a better experience (Salesforce). The data illustrates a key point: a customer experience strategy is not a “nice-to-have,” but a “must-have” for company success. The post What’s the Most Effective Customer Experience Measurement for Your Business? appeared first on Walker.| Walker
You’d be hard pressed to find a viable company that isn’t interested in customer satisfaction. In essence, acquiring satisfied customers—and keeping customers happy—is the lifeblood of any successful business. The post Why Customer Satisfaction Is Important appeared first on Walker.| Walker
The customer journey map is a valuable qualitative tool for understanding customer needs and expectations at each phase of the customer lifecycle. Holistic, visual and tangible, a journey map is an integral part of a comprehensive customer experience program. The post What is Customer Journey Mapping & Why is it Important? appeared first on Walker.| Walker
In today’s business environment, we hear a lot about the voice of the customer. And with good reason. More than ever, listening to your customers makes sense. And that is what voice of the customer or “VOC” programs are all about - listening to your customers to hear about their experiences, learn their likes and dislikes, understand their perspective, and anticipate their needs. The post How to Build Voice of the Customer Survey Questions appeared first on Walker.| Walker
For organizations looking to thrive—not just survive—in today’s diversified global market, customer experience management may be just the brand strategy they need. The post Customer Experience Management – What It Is and Why It Matters appeared first on Walker.| Walker
To get a deep understanding of customer needs and expectations, a robust and meaningful Voice of the Customer (VoC) program needs to be in place to collect the insights needed to drive CX strategy. But, just as a builder wouldn’t build a home without a blueprint, you shouldn’t build a VoC system without a plan. The post 4 Steps to Designing a Listening Architecture appeared first on Walker.| Walker
A roadmap is only beneficial if it helps you get to where you want to go. If streets are omitted or mismarked, the map impedes your ability to reach your destination. In essence, it loses its value. The same principles apply to a customer journey map. The post Getting the Most out of Customer Journey Maps appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Without enough outside perspective journey maps can easily become nothing more than process maps that document steps with little emotional insight into customer pain points, frustrations, gaps in service or moments of truth. The post Is your journey map all process and no emotion? appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Mapping the customer journey is not complete—or valuable—without the customer. It’s true that journey maps are the product of internal, cross-functional teams joining together to think and act like customers, but all too often companies stop short of validating their journey map with actual customer input. The post Put the customer in your customer journey map appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Customer experience has come of age. It is now commonly accepted as a key differentiator right alongside product innovation, service and price. A lot has been written on the challenges and failures of CX. In this post, we focus on where CX works best with a goal of sharing a couple ideas that we can all use. The post Customer Experience: What It Looks Like When It Works appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Just as if you were looking to design a new home for your family, we see the need for architects in CX. People who will take the time to understand your needs, preferences and intentions on how you plan to use the space – or, in the case of CX, use the insights. The post Who is your CX Architect? appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Culture can make or break a CX program, especially a new one. In a perfect world, every company would start right out of the gate with a customer-centric culture. In the real world, this is not the case. The post Make it real, and other pro tips for developing a customer-centric culture appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Thick Data provides insight into people’s emotions, motivations and ways of thinking. For our organizations to have a realistic view of the marketplace and our customers, CX leaders need to provide and advocate the use of Thick Data to supplement operational Big Data insights. This allows companies to challenge the status quo and reveal game-changing opportunities... Read more » The post The Analytical Leader: Understanding Customer Experience Requires Thick Data appeared first on Walker.| Walker
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but as Steve Walker says in our bonus 10 Traits Recap podcast episode, “it would take a pretty special brand of unicorn.” At a Qualtrics X4 event, we took a group of about 40 B2B CX professionals through a self-evaluation exercise. And guess what? Not a... Read more » The post Why you’ll never be <del>a unicorn</del> great at all 10 CX traits appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Don’t you wish you could be a fly on the wall after one of your presentations? It’s common after a presentation that people will tell you, “Nice job” or “Good stuff.” But what did they really think? Did they find it valuable? More importantly, did you have the desired impact to effectively transform the way they think and the way they act? The post CX Storytelling: Transforming Thought and Action appeared first on Walker.| Walker
As Customer Experience (CX) professionals, we all have some of the same tools at our disposal – journey mapping, surveys, design thinking, etc. But some CX pros just seem to be able to get more out of them. They are better able to connect the dots between customer needs and changes the organization needs to make or set in motion the plan to get things done. The post The business-savvy CX leader appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Let’s just be honest. C-level leaders don’t take a lot of web surveys. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t NEED their feedback. It also doesn’t mean they don’t WANT to share feedback. Without it, sometimes we’re looking at a very incomplete picture of the customer experience. The post Execs Don’t Take Surveys appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Like most business professionals, customer experience leaders are commonly called upon to deliver presentations. When we’re preparing, we often think about what we want to say. However, sometimes it helps to take a step back and ask, “What is this really all about?” In other words, what type of presentation is this going to be and what are you really trying to achieve? The post CX Storytelling: Context Can Make a Big Difference appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Customer experience is currently a great industry to be a part of. Why? Executives are increasingly pointing to customer experience as the primary way they intend to differentiate in the marketplace. Like never before, CX leaders are in demand. The post Looking to Increase CX Visibility with Executives? Try a Journey Map. appeared first on Walker.| Walker
None of us is in CX to track and trend metrics. Sure, we will all celebrate a significant increase in our customer loyalty or advocacy metric but that isn’t really our ultimate goal. As CX professionals, we are looking to make a difference, engage our organizations and drive meaningful change on behalf of the customer. The post Being a Catalyst for CX Change appeared first on Walker.| Walker
A fundamental element of good storytelling is knowing your audience. Too often we plan a presentation primarily based on what we want to say without really considering the perspective of the audience. Who are they? Are they familiar with the topic? Do they even want to be there? These are just a few criteria that should influence how we deliver a presentation. The post CX storytelling: Eight criteria for profiling your audience appeared first on Walker.| Walker
CX leaders typically deliver lots of presentations and how you show up makes a big difference. Without question, if you are fearful or anxious, it will limit your effectiveness in the way you present your material. However, this isn’t just about being confident. In fact, confidence can lead to the wrong attitude. Consider these two: The post CX Storytelling – Bring the Right Attitude to Your Next Presentation appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Is storytelling listed in your job description? Probably not. But maybe it should be. Storytelling makes an emotional connection that helps us better understand a situation or problem. CX professionals can use storytelling as one of their most effective tools. The post Are you a CX Storyteller? appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Much of the CX conversation has shifted to focus on organizational culture. Sure, we have great customer listening efforts in place. Sure, we are asking the right questions of the right customers. Sure, we have people who want to do the right thing. Even with all of that, we don’t really feel that our organizations have truly embraced CX or that we are truly operating as customer-centric organizations. The post Changing Culture Through CX Rituals appeared first on Walker.| Walker
One highly recommended skill for effective leaders is persuasion – the ability to move others toward a position they don’t currently hold. Persuading others is a critical skill in all aspects of one’s life, but great leaders must also be persuadable – actively seeking alternative perspectives and evidence. The post The Analytical Leader: The Importance of Being Persuadable appeared first on Walker.| Walker
“Do me a favor.” Keep that phrase in mind when thinking about how to get people to do what you want (without them even realizing it).That’s what being influential is all about – and that’s what so many CX leaders need. The post Do Me a Favor appeared first on Walker.| Walker
The advantages of teamwork are widely heralded, so it’s no surprise that the underlying skill that makes teamwork work, collaboration, is one of the traits that the best CX leaders share. These leaders know that every team, every employee, every system and process plays a role in determining how customers experience a company. The post Teamwork makes the dream work: Why the best CX leaders are collaborative, and how you can be too appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Communication is such a cliché topic. We know what we need to do to be good communicators, right? Tailor our messages for different audiences, be clear and concise, don’t pollute messages with filler words or unnecessary information. The post 5 Tips to Effective CX Communication appeared first on Walker.| Walker
What makes an effective CX leader? What skills do they possess? What do they do differently? Based on input we’ve gathered and Walker’s own experience, we’ve developed an inventory of key skills. One of those skills is knowledge. The post Experience Is Knowledge appeared first on Walker.| Walker
It’s hard to believe the easy button has been around for more than 12 years. Introduced in August 2005, Staples set the expectation for ease as its competitive advantage – and the company was not alone. The post Infographic: Customer Expectations for Ease appeared first on Walker.| Walker
Unlike the topic of personalization, it’s hard to have a conversation with customer experience professionals and not talk about speed. Companies are being challenged daily to “hurry up.” In the original Customers 2020 report, we predicted that immediate gratification won’t be fast enough; backed up by our latest Customers 2020 research, this prediction couldn’t be more true. Customers want companies who can resolve their issues and anticipate future challenges. The post Infographi...| Walker
The initial title for this post was “Customers expect a personalized experience,” but doesn’t that sound like ‘us versus them’? It sounds like customers want this, but I don’t. The reality is, we all want to be treated like an individual. We want the companies we do business with to value us as a person, not a number. And, it doesn’t just apply to customers. It’s also about employees, partners, investors, our community, etc.| Walker
Next-Level CX for B2B Companies is focused on helping business-to-business companies rise to the next level of CX excellence.| Walker
Walker report: how engaged employees create engaged customers and that considering both customers and employees leads to the best results.| Walker
The truth is, everyone wants an amazing experience and, while B2B companies lag in delivering this, there is a great opportunity for businesses who invest in developing high-impact customer experience programs.| Walker
Our latest reports Since Customers 2020: A Progress Report, Walker has released three new resources to help customer experience leaders in their efforts to take their CX programs to the next level. Be sure to check out our Resources page for the latest content from Walker. More Info More Info More Info More insight for... Read more »| Walker
