Customer Confidential: Untold Stories of Earned Growth-logo

Customer Confidential: Untold Stories of Earned Growth

Business & Economics Podcasts

The Customer Confidential Podcast unlocks a world of unparalleled customer and employee loyalty insights. Host Rob Markey, a Net Promoter System pioneer, uses his deep expertise and empathetic approach to challenge conventional wisdom, peel back layers of typical advice, and expose the real stories of industry transformation. Take a deep dive into discussions on CX, customer journey, customer insights, Net Promoter Score, and more. Every episode is a master class in loyalty. Guests include CMOs, CXOs, and heroes of customer-centric transformation, along with thought leaders who inspire them. Exploring organizational structures, operating models, goals, and metrics, Rob and his guests from companies such as Vanguard, American Express, and more bring to light practical marketing, product, customer experience, and technology strategies for earning customer-focused growth. This podcast is your source for untold stories of customer and employee loyalty. Challenging, insightful, and instructive—all in one place. Earned growth starts here.

Location:

United States

Description:

The Customer Confidential Podcast unlocks a world of unparalleled customer and employee loyalty insights. Host Rob Markey, a Net Promoter System pioneer, uses his deep expertise and empathetic approach to challenge conventional wisdom, peel back layers of typical advice, and expose the real stories of industry transformation. Take a deep dive into discussions on CX, customer journey, customer insights, Net Promoter Score, and more. Every episode is a master class in loyalty. Guests include CMOs, CXOs, and heroes of customer-centric transformation, along with thought leaders who inspire them. Exploring organizational structures, operating models, goals, and metrics, Rob and his guests from companies such as Vanguard, American Express, and more bring to light practical marketing, product, customer experience, and technology strategies for earning customer-focused growth. This podcast is your source for untold stories of customer and employee loyalty. Challenging, insightful, and instructive—all in one place. Earned growth starts here.

Language:

English


Episodes
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Ep 233: Eckhart Boehme | Uncovering Hidden Customer Needs: The Power of Jobs to Be Done

5/2/2024
What if the key to creating truly innovative products and solutions lies at least as much in uncovering the deep emotional and attitudinal needs of your customers as in mastering technology? Eckhart Boehme, founder and managing director of Unipro Solutions, shares his approach to putting Clayton Christensen’s Jobs to Be Done framework into practical use. Eckhart demonstrates how in-depth interviews with customers and their families can reveal the underlying personal experiences, emotions, and desires that truly motivate people to seek out and purchase products or services. With these insights in hand, companies often uncover fundamentally different needs than they first anticipated, sometimes even opening up new markets or uses for their products. We also discuss Eckhart’s Wheel of Progress model, which he designed to reveal the hidden layers of reasoning behind customer decisions. It provides a systematic way to deconstruct customer narratives and identify the jobs that are most likely to drive customer decisions along their cyclical journeys. Learn how this model segments the customer journey into phases of motivation, decision-making, and action. He brings this all to life with a compelling case study about finding a senior living place for an elderly loved one, revealing a hidden but critical job to be done: giving the elderly parent a sense of purpose. Our conversation also lays bare some common pitfalls when applying the Jobs to Be Done framework, such as focusing too narrowly on functional jobs while missing the bigger picture of the customer's overarching goals and emotional needs. Guest: Eckhart Boehme, Founder and Managing Director, Unipro Solutions Host: Rob Markey, Partner, Bain & Company Give Us Feedback: We’d love to hear from you. Help us enhance your podcast experience by providing feedback here in our listener survey. Want to get in touch? Send a note to host Rob Markey: https://www.robmarkey.com/contact-rob Time-stamped list of topics covered [1:19] How Jobs to Be Done goes deeper than traditional customer needs analysis [3:02] Clarifying what Jobs to Be Done entails and why it’s a game changer [6:08] The Wheel of Progress model and its role in dissecting customer decisions [10:41] Applying Jobs to Be Done in complex customer service scenarios [15:00] The practical steps and challenges in implementing this framework [20:14] Examples of transformative customer insights derived from in-depth interviews [22:10] Strategies for businesses to effectively harness Jobs to Be Done [30:54] Future trends and directions in customer experience research Time-stamped list of notable quotes: [6:26] “You want to understand where the story starts. What [event] triggered people [wanting to conduct] research and go through pain. Understanding what triggers people have is very valuable because then you can start building a relationship—even before people have started going to a search engine to look for a solution." [7:51] “When we look at the customer journey, we call it ‘the cycle of progress’ because we think that people make progress in cycles." [16:01] "We try to design our offerings and the marketing and sales processes to focus on helping customers make progress.” [24:23] “Jobs to Be Done helps you to do the right thing and design thinking helps you to do things right." Additional Resources: Learn more about Eckhart’s Wheel of Progress Learn more about HBS professor Clay Christensen’s Jobs to Be Done Theory and his famous story about how to improve milkshake sales

Duration:00:33:48

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Ep 232: Matt Harris | When AI Shifts the Balance of Power to Consumers: Preparing for a New Business Reality

4/18/2024
Matt Harris, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures, argues that generative AI will soon empower customers in unexpected ways. Consumers, he predicts, will soon use AI tools to continuously discover lower loan rates, higher-yield savings accounts, or more attractive insurance policies. As a result, Matt anticipates a shift in customer-company power dynamics. Imagine, for example, an AI agent able to continuously move your deposits to the highest-yielding savings accounts or refinance your loans to the best available rates with little intervention required from you. Imagine consumer tools for interpreting medical scans and providing a diagnosis to compare to your doctor's assessment. Generative AI could even transform the future of mental health therapy to be more effective, efficient, and streamlined. Join us as we discuss the present and future of consumers' newfound AI-driven power and analyze where organizations and their leaders should be pointed next to remain competitive. Guest: Matt Harris, Partner, Bain Capital Ventures Host: Rob Markey, Partner, Bain & Company Give Us Feedback: We’d love to hear from you. Help us enhance your podcast experience by providing feedback here in our listener survey. Want to get in touch? Send a note to host Rob Markey: https://www.robmarkey.com/contact-rob Time-stamped list of topics covered: [02:53] How businesses use generative AI for productivity and future innovation[09:23] Discussion on the Gartner Hype Cycle for generative AI[17:09] What it means for customers to be “superpowered” and an overview of a few generative AI applications in finance and medicine[22:28] AI's impact on society and the future of work[27:44] Adapting to a world with superpowered customers who now demand more from businesses, emphasizing the need for deepened customer relationships and greater levels of innovation Time-stamped list of notable quotes: [10:55] "Every new technology experiences [influx and they] disillusion the rest of the market because they have these spectacular failures.”[14:20] “[Generative AI] is a much more powerful tool for customers than it is for companies. And an equal or larger part of energy should be going in these boardrooms to imagining a world where customers have the power of generative AI and the implications for your entire business model.”[18:00] “I revere doctors. But how could we expect that a single human being would have all of the medical knowledge in their head? This is something computers will be better at.”[22:16] "I think I could make an argument that generative AI, combined with predictive machine learning, and being moved forward as fast as these technologies are advancing, will be better at almost everything.”[27:53] “We should be spending as much energy thinking and worrying and planning for a ‘superpowered’ customer world as we are thinking about how we use [technology] ourselves, and I’m just not seeing people doing that.” Additional Resources: Read Matt’s article for BCV, The Age of the Superpowered Customer The Age of AI and Our Human Futureby Henry A. Kissinger, Eric Schmidt, and Daniel Huttenlocher The AI Advantageby Thomas H. Davenport Prediction Machinesby Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, and Avi GoldfarbLearn about Bain’s spin-off, Bain Capital, which has operated as a separate company since 1984 Learn More About Our Guest and Host: Guest: Matt Harris LinkedIn ProfileHost: Rob Markey LinkedIn Profile

Duration:00:29:37

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Ep 231: Fred Reichheld | Unleashing Earned Growth: The Referral Spectrum

4/4/2024
Discover the engine of Earned Growth as Rob Markey and Fred Reichheld, Bain Fellow and "Winning On Purpose” author, hold a working session on how references and referrals significantly contribute to organic growth. Rob and Fred unearth the pivotal role that references and referrals play in propelling Earned Growth. They answer key questions such as: How would you characterize different referral types? What are the best mechanisms for measuring and attributing value to them? How do you navigate the tricky path of fostering genuine, organic referrals at scale? Together, they explore one of the thorniest issues in accounting for the value of referrals: How much of a new referred customer’s value should accrue to the referring customer versus the referred one? Guest: Fred Reichheld, Bain Fellow, founder of Bain's Loyalty Practice Host: Rob Markey, Partner, Bain & Company Give Us Feedback: We’d love to hear from you. Help us enhance your podcast experience by providing feedback here in our listener survey. Want to get in touch? Send a note to host Rob Markey: https://www.robmarkey.com/contact-rob Time-stamped list of topics covered: Time-stamped list of notable quotes: Additional Resources: Winning On Purpose by Fred Reichheld Bain & Company’s Insights on Earned Growth Guest and Host Bio Links: Fred Reichheld LinkedIn ProfileRob Markey LinkedIn Profile

Duration:00:35:40

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Ep 230: Tim Pernetti | A New Playbook: Reinventing the IMG Academy Experience

3/21/2024
Why would a world-class sports academy invest in a student center, rather than more coaches, fancy equipment, or dorms? IMG Academy, a Florida boarding school, turns out some of the most successful college and professional athletes around. Its president, Tim Pernetti, led a massive cultural shift toward customer loyalty. Tim says IMG Academy used to be highly focused on coaching and sports operations. To be clear, that emphasis on athletic excellence helped produce a large number of highly successful athletes. But Tim and the leadership team saw the potential to add something on top of this: a focus on serving a more comprehensive set of student-athlete needs. Today, IMG Academy leverages student-athlete input to refine its program and operations. New initiatives range from enhancing dining experiences to introducing flexible communal spaces. Tim shares how an emphasis on employee recognition combines regular student and parent feedback to instill deep, enduring culture change. Guest: Tim Pernetti, President, IMG Academy Host: Rob Markey, Partner, Bain & Company Give Us Feedback: Help us enhance your podcast experience by providing feedback here. Send a note to host Rob Markey: https://www.robmarkey.com/contact-rob Time-stamped list of topics covered: [00:09:17] Global influence and expansion[00:14:25] Culture shift toward experience[00:19:57] Response to student feedback[00:25:32] Investment in campus experience[00:30:01] Recognition's impact on staff[00:35:23] Challenges in universal buy-in[00:37:09] Commitment to improving IMG Academy Time-stamped list of notable quotes: [00:04:43] “Really, [our early] focus was on intense physical training, like total immersion in tennis. And the result was ten world number ones [were trained here].”[00:07:23] “This is an environment where you're bringing people in from all over the world. You want to have good people in the environment. We put a lot of weight into that, like getting to know kids, and getting to know their parents.”[00:23:17] “We went into meetings with data and said, ‘Here’s what the customer is saying.’”[00:29:16] “[At] a place like IMG Academy, we have everything from coaches, people that serve food every day, and our transportation drivers, [and people] who cut the grass at five o'clock in the morning. And I've shadowed all of them."[00:30:12] “We [recognized a tram driver] with a financial bonus and a gift card to take his wife out to dinner. This guy now is known as the friendliest, nicest, most outgoing person on campus.”[00:30:35] "The biggest tool you have in your toolkit right now is your personal and other leaders' acknowledgment and recognition when people do the right things.” Guest and Host Bio Links: Tim Pernetti's LinkedIn ProfileRob Markey LinkedIn Profile

Duration:00:38:11

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Ep 229: Stan Swinton | Redefining Customer Centricity: What is the NPSx Framework?

3/7/2024
How can businesses transcend traditional customer service boundaries to establish new customer experience benchmarks? Stan Swinton, Founder and General Manager of NPSx, Bain & Company, discusses how a comprehensive approach to customer experience extends beyond gathering feedback or managing customer journeys. Stan details Bain’s NPSx framework—comparable to a restaurant star rating, he says—which offers an extensive customer-centricity analysis via 60+ dimensions and eight pillars. Stan shares how this methodology motivates companies to strive for top-tier customer satisfaction. We also discuss the Customer Experience Roadmap and Accreditation (CXRA). Stan highlights CXRA's effectiveness in uncovering inefficiencies and enhancing customer-employee synergies. In addition, we explore why businesses frequently restrict their customer experience initiatives to areas such as feedback management, and discuss the essential role of Customer Experience Officers in achieving genuine customer centricity. Finally, we examine the constantly changing landscape of CX benchmarks and expectations, emphasizing the importance of a flexible and adaptive approach. Guest: Stan Swinton, Founder and General Manager of NPSx, Bain & Company Host: Rob Markey, Partner, Bain & Company Give Us Feedback: Help us enhance your podcast experience by providing feedback here. Send a note to host Rob Markey: https://www.robmarkey.com/contact-rob Time-stamped list of topics covered: [16:56] Role of CX: Stan highlights how the NPSx framework aids in defining company decision rights and categorizes 60 different jobs or dimensions to be coordinated.[17:50] Framework Pillars: Eight pillars provide a structured context for internal dialogue on improvement within organizations.[18:15] Framework applicability: The framework's relevance, even for companies that are just starting their CX journey or are less mature in their CX programs[19:19] Framework evolution and review: The living nature of the framework, with ongoing revisions and updates to standards and maturity scales to keep pace with current trends in customer centricity[20:10] Benchmarking and improvement: How clients sometimes feel dissatisfied with their initial ratings but are encouraged to view it as a journey toward improvement, similar to achieving restaurant rating stars in the culinary world[21:48] Identifying opportunities: How the framework allows organizations to identify their strengths and areas for improvement in customer experience Time-stamped list of notable quotes: [04:49] “We would generally work with a company first to define their taxonomy. One of the things we recognize is a lot of different industries and clients have different ways of defining their experiences. But there are standards and there are best practices that we can bring to the table to help shape that taxonomy and definitions.”[7:28] “One of the things that we recognize at Bain is that a lot of practitioners didn't come from a CX background. There aren't a lot of degree programs dedicated to CX. And when we were looking at the market, we’d say, well, how can you train yourself as a CX practitioner?”[12:31] “Our framework has eight pillars: purpose and leadership, proposition management, customer value and lifecycle management, customer journey management, customer service management, customer feedback management, customer data management, and employee experience.” Additional Resources: The Elements of Value: Understanding the 30 elements of value for consumers can help companies gain an edge.The Elements of Value: Measuring—and delivering—what consumers really want Guest and Host Bio Links: Stan’s LinkedIn profileRob Markey LinkedIn Profile

Duration:00:24:23

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Ep 228: Tony Ezell | Sustaining Success: How Customer Loyalty Drives Organizational Stability

2/22/2024
How does a global medical technology company maintain customer focus while managing operational challenges during a pandemic? In this episode, Tony Ezell, executive vice president of North America and chief marketing officer for Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD), explores how integrating customer feedback into your business strategy can maintain—and even enhance—customer loyalty by helping shape business strategies that are both robust and responsive to evolving customer needs. Tony outlines how customer loyalty and adaptability are essential strategic tools in healthcare innovation. Together, we explore how BD leveraged a customer-centric approach to skillfully navigate operational continuity and customer satisfaction. We also take a short trip down memory lane to connect the dots from our chat with Tony a decade ago, exploring the ongoing impact of customer experience and Net Promoter Systems on Tony's evolving career trajectory and leadership style. Guest: Tony Ezell, executive vice president of North America and chief marketing officer, Becton, Dickinson and Company Give Us Feedback: Help us enhance your podcast experience by providing feedback here. Send a note to host Rob Markey: https://www.robmarkey.com/contact-rob Episode Highlights Quotable Quotes: Additional Resources: “Breaking Down the ‘Invisible Fence’” Host: Rob Markey

Duration:00:28:03

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Ep 227: Richard Watts | “Would You Do That to Your Mum?” The Simple and Powerful CX Litmus Test

2/8/2024
How does an insurance industry leader integrate a simple yet profound question—Would you do that to your mom?—to transform customer service and decision making? In this episode, Richard Watts, board member at Farmers Insurance and former sales and service president at Progressive, discusses how asking this question improves business operations. He explores how this unique approach revolutionizes customer service and sets a new industry standard for empathy and customer focus. Richard also shares insights into how this philosophy transformed internal practices, significantly influenced customer satisfaction and loyalty, and how it continues to shape his leadership and strategic decisions. We'll also revisit Richard's journey from biology to computer science and his shift toward customer-centric innovations in insurance. Guest: Richard Watts, board member, Farmers Insurance Give Us Feedback: Help us enhance your podcast experience by providing feedback here. Send a note to host Rob Markey: https://www.robmarkey.com/contact-rob Episode Highlights: Quotable Quotes: “There isn't a single business initiative or change program that people don't say has to be CEO-led or have the CEO's blessing.” [21:19] “Having someone out there to take the machete and, hack through the jungle of all these processes, being able to go there and say, ‘Okay, we need real-time processing. We can't live with these batch systems anymore.” [22:30] Host: Rob Markey

Duration:00:34:39

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Ep 226: Ruth Veloria | Purpose-Driven Progress: Helping University of Phoenix Students Succeed

1/4/2024
How do the needs of students at for-profit, mostly online colleges differ from those of typical college students? They often require financial aid, schedule flexibility, and academic support that can go far beyond the norm of traditional higher education. In this segment, we explore why graduation rates have traditionally been quite low at these colleges due to all the challenges students face. How do schools like this strike an appropriate balance of flexibility, support, and rigorous academic programs that will help their students succeed in the workforce? Ruth Veloria is the chief strategy officer and customer officer at the University of Phoenix. She is on a mission to help more of the school’s students successfully overcome challenges so they can complete their studies and reap the rewards of their education. Ruth and the team at University of Phoenix have spent over a decade working to improve student retention and success rates. In this episode, roughly a decade after Ruth first joined Rob on the podcast, she shares how the University of Phoenix has achieved a remarkable increase in student retention rates, from 64% to 74%. They now graduate over a third more students than they did 10 years ago. Ruth discusses how the Net Promoter System helped fuel the university’s deep commitment to learning from and acting on student feedback. She describes academic policies that are empathetic versus unempathetic, and how data analysis and feedback have been used to enhance student experience and to support policy and process change. Give Us Feedback: Help us enhance your podcast experience by providing feedback here. Send a note to host Rob Markey: https://www.robmarkey.com/contact-rob Episode Highlights: Quotable Quotes: Guest: Ruth Veloria, chief strategy officer and customer officer, University of Phoenix Host: Rob Markey

Duration:00:31:44

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Ep. 225: Jason Barro | Trapped: The Hidden Forces Behind Counterintuitive NPS Results

12/21/2023
How do high-quality NPS benchmarks unlock strategic priorities and initiatives? What if your NPS data seems highly counterintuitive? For example, what if Detractors seem to be more loyal than Promoters? Host Rob Markey and Jason Barro, a partner at Bain & Company and the leader of Bain's NPS Prism benchmarking service, unpack this situation in the airline industry. It’s an illustration of how Net Promoter Score benchmark data might be misleading when not all customers have the freedom to choose, revealing the nuanced understanding required to transform raw data into strategic business insights. Jason and Rob use this example to explore some of the ways a sophisticated knowledge of how customers buy, the choices they have available, and how a market’s competitive dynamics inform the interpretation of customer loyalty benchmarks like NPS. Episode Highlights: Quotable Quotes: “The more captive you are, the more likely you are to give high share of wallet to somebody that you don't like very much.” [15:53] - Rob Markey “One of the effects we see in the Prism data for airlines more broadly is that high frequent travelers are happier than low frequent travelers.” [18:06] - Jason Barro “You can see this strategy of, ‘Earn the respect and happiness of your customers,’ is a path to profitable growth, and you can see…just how much it actually matters.” - Jason Barro [23:28] Additional Resources: NPS Prism by Bain & Company Net Promoter System Overview Listen to Jason’s earlier podcast, NPS Prism: The Source for True, Deep NPS Insights Bios Jason Barro Rob Markey Get in touch: Send us your podcast feedback here. Send Rob a note here. Give us feedback.

Duration:00:33:32

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Ep. 224: Conny Kalcher | Stackable Strategies: Adapting an Iconic Toymaker’s Customer-Centricity to Zurich Insurance

11/16/2023
From reshaping the playful culture of a global toy company to cracking the customer-centricity code at Zurich Insurance, how did Conny Kalcher manage the leap? Conny Kalcher, now the group chief customer officer at Zurich Insurance, has a rich history of pioneering customer-centric transformations. Conny introduced a swath of fresh perspectives and approaches to the more traditional environment of Zurich Insurance. She did this not long after retiring from a rewarding career at LEGO, where she helped a customer-centric transformation. Her influence transcends the boundaries of any one company, partly a result of her active participation in Bain's NPS Loyalty Forum, where she has made large contributions to the ongoing Net Promoter System movement. For context to today’s discussion, you might want to listen to her conversation with Rob Markey in episode 55, Brick by Brick. In this episode, Rob and Conny delve into her remarkable journey from the playful and imaginative domain of toys to the structured and staid sphere of the insurance business. Conny's customer engagement methodology breaks industry molds. She draws parallels and contrasts between her long career in an organization selling toys made of stackable bricks and her new role in a complex global behemoth selling insurance policies and managing financial and operational risk. Conny’s anecdotes reveal that most of the principles behind understanding and catering to customer needs are universal, regardless of the specific type of customer or product. As Conny reminisces about her time in the toy industry, she sheds light on how the lessons learned there acted as a catalyst for nurturing a customer-first culture at Zurich Insurance. It illustrates how a keen understanding of customer sentiments can be a game-changer in any industry. Topics covered: Quotable quotes: Additional resources: Zurich Insurance’s long-term strategy and near-term targetsEpisode 55 of Customer Confidential Podcast: Brick by Brick: Rebuilding the LEGO Group by Rediscovering Customer CentricityNet Promoter System overview Insurance industry reports by Bain & Company Bios: Conny Kalcher, group chief customer officer at Zurich InsuranceRob Markey

Duration:00:36:44

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Ep. 223: Mark Slatin | The Trust Equation: How to Build Intimate Customer Relationships

10/26/2023
Host Rob Markey welcomes Mark Slatin, CEO of EmpoweredCX, to dissect the intricate dynamics of trust within customer experiences. Drawing insights from real-world examples, they explore the role of product and service quality in establishing trust, the impact of reliability and consistency in decision making, and the potential pitfalls of self-orientation. Delving deeper into the Trust Equation and explaining its different facets, Mark underscores the necessity of understanding the customer’s journey and perspective. They address the challenges of reliability, targeted marketing implications, customer vs. company centricity, the art of meaningful recommendations, and more. And they explore how to balance customer needs with shareholder expectations. Mark also provides an analytical perspective on the integral components of trust in a business landscape. In this show, Rob and Mark discuss the Trust Equation, which you can learn more about here: https://trustedadvisor.com/why-trust-matters/understanding-trust/understanding-the-trust-equation https://modelthinkers.com/mental-model/trust-equation Guest: Mark Slatin, CEO of EmpoweredCX

Duration:00:32:05

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Ep. 222: Fred Reichheld | Measuring Customer Loyalty: The Journey from Retention to Net Promoter to Earned Growth

10/12/2023
In this episode, we launch our new show name: The Customer Confidential Podcast. We chose it after seeking lots of listener and guest input and believe that the new name better reflects the show’s mission—namely, to delve into untold stories of customer and industry transformations, sharing the journeys of both well-known and unsung heroes of customer centricity. We also seek out deep conversations with the thought leaders who inspire the best practitioners. Also, in this episode, which also marks our 10th anniversary, host Rob Markey welcomes back frequent guest (and Rob’s longtime mentor) Fred Reichheld, Bain fellow and founder of Bain's Loyalty practice. Rob and Fred trace the evolution of Fred’s earned growth rate concept from its roots in Fred’s early work on customer retention at Bain. They unravel the intricacies of customer-centric metrics and how they have changed. They note the impact of genuine referrals vs. those that are bought and differentiate between earned and purchased growth. Importantly, they acknowledge and explore challenges in quantifying earned growth and how some companies have begun to tackle them successfully. Guest: Fred Reichheld, Bain fellow, founder of Bain’s Loyalty practice, and author of Winning on Purpose: The Unbeatable Strategy of Loving Customers

Duration:00:34:34

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Ep. 221: Dr. Adrienne Boissy | Healthcare’s Empathy Factor: Capturing Real Patient Experiences

9/28/2023
How do you measure patient experience and empathy within the healthcare industry in a way that truly captures real emotion and real experiences? Dr. Adrienne Boissy, guest staff neurologist at Cleveland Clinic and chief medical officer at Qualtrics, sits down with Rob Markey to discuss the need for a more comprehensive approach to capturing the patient experience. She also shares how healthcare professionals and caregivers alike can leverage compassion and self-empathy to better manage the often hard-to-handle career moments such as helping colleagues, patients, and their families process challenges together. If you’d like to provide feedback on the show, please fill out our survey here. If you’d like to learn more about Adrienne, visit her LinkedIn.

Duration:00:28:15

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Ep. 220: Peter Gries | Nourishing Business Diversity: A Look into METRO’s Customer-Centric Evolution

9/14/2023
How can an organization’s passion for high-quality culinary delights forge unbreakable customer bonds? For food wholesaler METRO’s customers, buying food is a personal experience. It’s the art of witnessing, inhaling, savoring, and examining the produce, meat, and fish in the store—a sensory feast that leaves customers’ hearts full. Creating exceptional fresh-food buying experiences is METRO’s mission. In this episode, guest Peter Gries, customer and sales officer at METRO, and Rob Markey discuss why the company values its diverse customer segments. Peter also shares an insider’s perspective on the change journey transforming the company’s relationship with its customers. If you’d like to provide feedback on the show, please fill out our survey here. If you’d like to learn more about Peter, you can find him on LinkedIn.

Duration:00:32:37

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Ep. 219: David Kenny | The Transformation of Media Consumption and Loyalty in the Digital Era

8/31/2023
With an array of streaming platforms and the same amount of time in the day, getting an accurate read on where your customers spend their screen time has never been more important. And this shift in customer behavior has been particularly challenging for companies that rely on traditional ways to collect data on their customers. In this episode, guest David Kenny, chairman and CEO of Nielsen, and Rob Markey discuss the impact streaming has had on Nielsen’s business, how the company is evolving to meet new challenges, and how strategic innovation fosters customer trust. If you’d like to provide feedback on the show, please fill out our survey here. If you’d like to learn more about David, you can find him on LinkedIn.

Duration:00:34:44

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Ep. 218: Joe Wheeler | Agile, Digital, and Human: Eliminating Bad Customer Experiences

8/10/2023
In a digital-first environment, successful brands stay ahead of the curve by prioritizing agility and experimentation. Instead of merely solving problems, they drive innovative solutions to eliminate—not just mitigate—customer pain points to achieve a seamless and exceptional customer experience. In this episode, guest Joe Wheeler, CEO of CX/Digital, and Rob Markey discuss how successful brands bridge the gap between human and digital experiences and the significance of agility and experimentation as tools for achieving successful digital transformations. If you’d like to provide feedback on the show, please fill out our survey here. You can order Joe’s new book, The Digital-First Customer Experience, here. If you’d like to learn more about Joe, you can find him on LinkedIn.

Duration:00:25:39

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Ep. 217: Andy Cockburn | No Strings Attached: Genuine Referrals as the Secret to Earned Growth

7/20/2023
What makes people recommend your brand and services to others? Winning referrals are more than just a marketing channel; they’re a way to turn prospects into lifelong customers through word-of-mouth advocacy based on authenticity and trust. In this episode, guest Andy Cockburn, CEO and cofounder of Mention Me, and Rob Markey discuss the effectiveness of trust-based referrals, how to integrate advocacy into company culture to unlock the transformative potential of referrals, and how data-driven approaches can optimize referrals’ effectiveness. If you’d like to provide feedback on the show, please fill out our survey here. If you’d like to learn more about Andy, you can find him on LinkedIn.

Duration:00:24:47

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Ep. 216: Ben Reason | Humanizing Experiences: The Power of Design in Creating Meaningful Connections

6/29/2023
In this episode, Ben Reason, CEO and founder of Livework, and Rob Markey discuss how, by taking consumers’ needs and emotions into account, design can create products and services that are both functional and emotionally appealing, making consumer experiences more enjoyable. If you’d like to provide feedback on the show, please fill out our survey here. If you’d like to learn more about Ben, you can find him on LinkedIn.

Duration:00:27:11

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Ep. 215: Michael Mauboussin | Adjusting Your Aim: Forecast Better to Invest Better

6/8/2023
How can companies get revenue forecasting and value creation right? By slowing down. Michael Mauboussin, head of Consilient Research at Counterpoint Global, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, and Rob Markey discuss the metrics and methods businesses can use to grow their long-term value. Make sure to listen to part two. · Get your copy of Michael’s book, Expectations Investing, here. · Read Michael’s Harvard Business Review article “The True Measures of Success” here. · Read more from Michael about the economics of customer business here. If you’d like to learn more about Michael, you can find him on LinkedIn. To offer feedback or share ideas about the show, please fill out our survey here.

Duration:00:28:44

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Ep. 214: Michael Mauboussin | Beating Expectations: The Impact of Loyalty on Corporate Valuations

5/25/2023
Investing in customer happiness can be the surest way to high Net Promoter Scores. But how do you accomplish that while maintaining a healthy business? Michael Mauboussin, head of Consilient Research at Counterpoint Global, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, and Rob Markey discuss how expectations investing impacts valuations and business growth. The two also share insights on how companies can build a long-term investment strategy that can withstand changes in the market while attracting and retaining loyal customers. Get your copy of Michael’s book, Expectations Investing, here. If you’d like to learn more about Michael, you can find him on LinkedIn. If you’d like to offer feedback or share ideas about the show, please fill out our survey here.

Duration:00:19:02