Crack the Customer Code
509 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 38 ratingsCrack the Customer Code is dedicated to helping business professionals, small business owners, and customer-facing professionals learn the ins and outs of creating great customer experiences. With interviews and insights from a wide range of experts in the field, Crack the Customer Code will explore both timely and timeless topics, from how to increase customer loyalty through social media to why customers are more prone to lose control with companies nowadays. Crack the Customer Code provides a peek behind the curtain of what customer experience professionals really know about customers and how to make them happy and keep them loyal.
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Episodes
003: Experience Action Podcast - Customer Experience Training
December 20, 2022 12:00 - 14 minutes"Is customer experience training a one time process or is it ongoing?" Sounds like this one will have a pretty simple answer, right? As with all things in business, ongoing training is always beneficial. For customer experience (CX) training, this sometimes isn't as straightforward as other types of on-the-job training. We talk about CX and our goals, but we don't take the time to connect those with other departments, which can leave our CX programs feeling disjointed. In this week's episode...
002: Experience Action Podcast - Sponsorship Initiatives
December 13, 2022 12:00 - 11 minutes"How do we get leadership or executive sponsorship initiatives that we want to tackle?" This is an AMAZING QUESTION! And a Jeannie favorite. The key to this answer is leadership buy-in. As a Customer Experience Leader, we know that investing in and executing customer experience is a winning strategy for business goals and objectives. But if company leadership isn't invested, all of our efforts can seem like they aren't working. In this week's episode, Jeannie talks about actionable ways that ...
New Podcast Introduction: Experience Action with Jeannie Walters
December 12, 2022 12:00 - 4 minutesWelcome everyone to our very first episode of Experience Action! A customer experience podcast where we turn ideas into action. We hope that you are as excited to be here as Jeannie is! With over 20 years investigating the best and worst in customer experience, Jeannie Walters has heard A LOT of questions. In DMs, emails and voicemails, Jeannie has heard it all... and now she's here to give you the answers you need! So... how do we do this CX thing anyway? Join Jeannie as she gives real answe...
500: Bourbon Summit
November 29, 2022 12:00 - 29 minutesThis episode is special in so many ways. First, it’s the 500th episode of Crack the Customer Code! That in itself is an incredible thing, but this is also the season's finale and another bourbon summit. Unfortunately, this is also the last episode of the whole show. If you're not aware, Jeannie and Adam have mentioned several times that they are ending the podcast. However, they will still end it on a high! Even though it's the end, Adam and Jeannie have much to discuss. They'll tell you abou...
499: The Present and Future of CX
November 22, 2022 12:00 - 22 minutesAs we sail off into the sunset of the Crack The Customer Code podcast, Adam and Jeannie reflect back to 2014 (when they started this podcast) on what they, their guests, and Forrester's predicted for customer experience trends in 2022. Adam and Jeannie delve into Forrester's 2014 article on predictions for the future of customer experience, and highlight several predictions of particular interest, including omni-channel service, mobile-first mindset, proactive engagement, and customer service...
498: Jay Baer, The Need for Speed
November 15, 2022 12:00 - 33 minutesSpeed and responsiveness matter today, and even though the pandemic has changed the rules, some things are still carved in stone. Jay, Jeannie, and Adam will delve deep into this, and they'll touch upon how values are not just words but things that companies need to act upon. You'll also learn about Jay's interesting views on the future of CX and how AI and other modern technologies can improve the industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
497: Looking Back on CX
November 08, 2022 12:00 - 21 minutesNearing the end of the podcast, we are sure you can agree that it’s time to take a look at the past. That’s why this episode is dedicated to the history of Crack the Customer Code and CX in general. Customer experience has gone through a lot since the start of the podcast, especially when that came as a result of changes in things like technology, AI, and the internet. Even though you’ve been with them for a long time, you still have a lot you don’t know about Jeannie and Adam. That’s why th...
496: Jeff Toister, The Guaranteed Experience
November 01, 2022 11:32 - 29 minutesJeff Toister’s first customer service interaction ended in a service failure. Vowing to learn from that experience, he became obsessed with customer service. Today, he guides organizations that want to build and grow a customer-focused culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
495: Common CX Mistakes
October 25, 2022 11:00 - 25 minutesThere’s no such thing as perfection in customer experience, but there is perfect execution. And to reach that, you need to eliminate mistakes, especially the more common ones. To help you with that, Jeannie and Adam have decided to dedicate an entire episode to addressing these and how to avoid them. Companies tend to make many strategic mistakes that hurt their customer experience. They also make numerous other mistakes, and Jeannie and Adam aim to talk about all the crucial ones. By the end...
494: Jen Bailin, The Bright, Big Future of CX
October 18, 2022 11:00 - 27 minutesThe future is for the optimists! There's a lot to be optimistic about in the future of CX, and that's precisely what we discuss here today with our guest, Jen Bailin. She is the Chief Revenue Officer at SAP Customer Experience (CX), one of the leading drivers of SAP growth. Jen Bailin has a lot of experience in CX, but she also has a lot of visions for the future. She shares exciting thoughts about the Metaverse and how important it will be in the future. CX will change, and we are already se...
493: Special Announcement
October 11, 2022 11:00 - 13 minutesCrack the Customer Code has been with you for countless years, but all good things must end. After meticulous consideration, Jeannie and Adam have decided that the podcast will end with this season. It's been around for almost a decade, but it has become hard for both Jeannie and Adam to get enough time to serve you, the listeners, in the best way they know how. However, this is certainly not the end. Adam and Jeannie are not going anywhere; they will remain in the CX sphere, and we still ha...
492: Zhecho Dobrev, The Value of Emotions
October 04, 2022 11:00 - 26 minutesWhat is the power of relationships? Our guest, Zhecho Dobrev really gets into how we can understand the emotions of our customers better. And not only that, but what does that do for the value of an organization? Business leaders in general are overlooking emotions, and that's been a challenge for a really long time. So much has to be data driven, and of course, nobody looks at emotions as data. Zhecho shares how he has conversations with data driven leaders to convince them that investing in...
491: Answer to Abusive Customers: Shut Down Support?
September 27, 2022 11:00 - 15 minutesCustomer service isn't easy. This isn't breaking news to CX people, and it might not be breaking news to many of our listeners, but it should be discussed. Agents don't have it easy, especially when encountering problematic customers. Is there a point when they should stop dealing with a specific customer? Should the entire customer support do the same with all customers when it gets too bad? There certainly are instances where things get so bad that the only solution seems to be shutting dow...
490: Deon Nicholas, Human-Centered AI
September 20, 2022 11:00 - 24 minutesWe've mentioned our sponsor, Forethought, several times this season, but they're finally with us in person. Specifically, the CEO of Forethought, Deon Nicholas, is here to talk with Jeannie and Adam about his company's human-centered AI. Forethought is the "AI for Customer Support" company and the 2018 TechCrunch Disrupt winner. Their AI is customer support software that works with your team while the company supports your agents. Forbes listed Forethought among the next few billion-dollar st...
489: Customer Health Score
September 13, 2022 11:00 - 14 minutesKnowing how your customers are doing is the bare minimum of what companies can do with customer experience, but so many don’t succeed in that as they are focusing on bigger metrics. However, this knowledge is crucial in improving user experience, which is why the customer health score metric is an important figure to follow. We spend so much time and energy talking about, but we don’t do much about the people in the middle. These are the people who want to yell at us and they are thinking abo...
488: Dr. Shirley Davis, Inclusive Leadership
September 06, 2022 11:00 - 27 minutesDr. Shirley Davis has a lot of fascinating insight to bring to you on how HR should work today, how cultural change can happen in a company, and much more. Most importantly, she has an interesting way of implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion into any organization. She talks about that in her new book, but you can also get some of those insights if you tune into this episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
487: Season Intro
September 05, 2022 11:00 - 4 minutesCrack the Customer Code is back on the air! It's the start of a new season, and Jeannie and Adam are ready to help you solve your latest CX conundrums and bring a host of guests to share their valuable insights. The show has been on for so long, but the CX world never rests and never stops improving, so neither can CTCC. Tune in to learn about the new things you'll be getting this season, the new guests that will be joining us, and the new sponsor Crack the Customer Code now has. Learn more a...
486: Bourbon Summit, Season Finale
April 19, 2022 11:00 - 11 minutesJeannie and Adam are recording together for the season finale of Crack the Customer Code because it’s another bourbon summit and bourbon is best drank in company. We've had a lot of guests this season and learned a lot of fascinating lessons on the future of CX, but more importantly, on what won't change in our industry. So, tune in to get a quick recap of what happened in this season and, of course, to learn about the bourbons Adam and Jeannie are drinking. Learn more about your ad choices. ...
485: David Sakamoto, The Power of Transparency
April 12, 2022 11:00 - 23 minutesWhat does it mean to be authentic and transparent in customer and employee experience? More importantly, how does that work in practice? That's precisely what we are talking about with our guest David Sakamoto. Transparency is not as simple as many companies think. You need to be open about your inner processes and plans to your employees, and you need to show everything about your product or service to the customer. David has a lot of fascinating ideas behind all of this and a few recommenda...
484: Empathy and Leadership
April 05, 2022 11:00 - 12 minutesIn this episode, we will talk a little bit about empathy and its importance in business. It’s all because empathy plays a crucial role in improving your organization. There are specific connections between empathy and business results, and that’s precisely what we are here to unravel. Catalyst’s report on the Power of Empathy in Times of Crisis and Beyond has given us a couple of interesting findings and data that shows the importance of leaders leading their teams with empathy. Employees bec...
483: Donna Cutting, Employees First!
March 29, 2022 11:00 - 28 minutesKeeping employees motivated and having a sense of purpose is crucial in keeping them happy. It's even more crucial today in the era of the Great Resignation. Thankfully, Donna Cutting has some interesting suggestions in her upcoming book, but she'll also share some thoughts in our talk today. Even if your company doesn't sell a life-changing product, there are still ways to give every team member a sense of purpose. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
482: Focus on Government CX
March 22, 2022 12:00 - 15 minutesWe don’t really think that customer experience and the government ever go together, but that doesn’t negate the fact that we, the people of the United States, deserve better experience when dealing with the government. The government sees areas of improvement, which is likely why President Biden made his executive order dealing with CX in government institutions. The order is interesting, and it deals with a lot of commitments the government is making and changes it's likely to implement, so ...
481: Annette Franz, Built to Win
March 15, 2022 11:00 - 25 minutesAnnette Franz has some exciting ideas to share about the customer-centric mindset all companies need to have. Many of them are already widely believed by organizations, but they are not adopted in the way they need to be. What's more, many companies keep delaying this to increase profits, but they need to understand that genuinely implementing the employee and customer-centric model is the way to go to drive more value. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
480: Innovate or Fail
March 08, 2022 12:00 - 14 minutesDo you think that we at Crack the Customer Code innovate enough? Whatever the case may be, innovation is the key subject today. It's also vital in business in general as everyone wants to see it. Customers want companies to innovate, and companies themselves want to innovate. However, it's clear that not every business knows how to innovate adequately. Many do it for the sake of innovation and, in doing so, often fail to truly grasp what the customers want to get. It can be a big problem, whi...
479: Fred Reichheld, Winning on Purpose
March 01, 2022 12:30 - 33 minutesRecommendations are essential, and so is customer loyalty. Today's guest of Crack the Customer Code, Fred Reichheld, knows that well. He is the creator of the Net Promoter System of management, founder of Bain & Company's Loyalty practice, and author of five books, including a New York Times bestseller – The Ultimate Question 2.0. He is a frequent speaker at major business forums, and his work on customer loyalty has been covered in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Financial ...
478: The CX of Right to Repair
February 22, 2022 12:00 - 12 minutesThe right to repair is a big discussion right now. Many feel that companies have gone too far in making their products hard to repair, and users now want to be able to fix the products they buy. Naturally, this doesn't always work for organizations, which is precisely why we are where we are. But shouldn't that change? It's clear that companies make more profit when they limit the ability of customers to repair their products. However, couldn't it be better to give them the ability to repair ...
477: Michael Bartlett, The Dark Side of CX
February 15, 2022 12:00 - 21 minutesMichael Bartlett has a lot of interesting and, frankly, very unique ideas on customer experience. He’ll discuss how he connects other fields to CX, all in an effort to improve it and help CX professionals become better at their jobs. You can find all of that in his new book as well, so tune in to hear why it will be a great and useful read. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
476: Is CX Dead in Banking?
February 08, 2022 12:00 - 16 minutesCustomer experience and banking – an old topic, but one that needs to be discussed. Some would say that they go together and have to go together, and they point to many trends that might be able to prove this point. Others would say quite the opposite, and you can already guess where Adam and Jeannie stand. "These trends are absolutely important, but they still involve customer experience." This is actually a big topic, and it goes as far as the difference between customer service and custo...
475: Brad Cleveland, Leading the Customer Experience
February 01, 2022 13:00 - 25 minutesSome might not believe it, but there is still a debate between customer experience and customer service, even though the former includes the latter. The first guest of the new season, Brad Cleveland, has a lot to say about the role of customer service in CX. Customer service is often mistreated and not given the respect it deserves. In this episode, we try to change that and Brad has enough great examples and options from his work and his book that are bound to give you something to think ab...
474: Season Intro
January 31, 2022 13:00 - 5 minutesWelcome back to Crack the Customer Code! With so many changes in the world of customer experience, expect the upcoming season to be jam-packed with important knowledge, insights, and opinions you’ll want to hear. "We are all facing change like we never have before." Tune in for this brief introduction to the new season of the show where Jeannie and Adam will tell you what to expect. And don’t worry, the first interview is coming soon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adc...
473: Bourbon Summit, Season Finale
November 02, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutesThis is one of the longest Bourbon Summits in the show's history, and Jeannie and Adam survived, don't worry! But more importantly, it was one of the longest as so many things had to be covered. From the changes to the world of CX to a recapitulation of what the show's guests covered, there's so much to hear, so crack open a bottle of your favorite drink and tune in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
472: Marlanges Simar, Prime Therapeutics
October 26, 2021 11:00 - 26 minutesIt's incredibly challenging being the CX leader, especially when you're always looking for support from the rest of the organization. That's why the advice Marlanges Simar has is so powerful and energizing. More importantly, it's bound to help any CX leader out there. Marlanges collaborates with stakeholders and leads a team with the clear purpose of solving customer problems and helping them achieve their goals. More importantly, she runs programs that get employees to think of customers as ...
471: When the Frontline is the Last to Know
October 19, 2021 11:00 - 12 minutesRecently, there have been so many changes with the rapidly evolving technology and the pandemic, but something hasn't been included – the frontline workers. This always leads to problems as your frontline workers are the ones customers contact, and if they are not in the loop, you'll only create a bad customer experience. It's crucial now more than ever to keep your employees in the loop not only for the customers but also for the workers' morale. You can only create more problems for the ent...
470: Dan Gingiss, The Experience Maker
October 12, 2021 11:00 - 27 minutesDan wants you to create a memorable experience for your customers, as that will turn you into an experience maker, which always leads to success. He has a lot of advice to give you on achieving this goal, how the pandemic has influenced a greater need for change, and so much more. You’ll see that all of this is possible, no matter the type of company you’re in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
469: Frictionless vs. Memorable CX
October 05, 2021 11:00 - 11 minutesFrictionless vs. memorable. Do you have to choose either, or can your business manage both? It's a tricky question to answer, especially since so few brands are successful at being both memorable and frictionless at the same time. The research shows that at a certain point, you'll have to choose whether to be increasingly frictionless or increasingly memorable. You need to understand when these two go together and when they have to split. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...
468: Greg Lisiewski
September 28, 2021 11:00 - 27 minutesThe way we view the payment part of the customer journey needs to change, and it needs to become another important part of what we look into in the customer experience segment. Greg Lisiewski from PayPal has a lot of useful advice he can give you on why payments matter, what PayPal is doing to improve this segment, and so much more. If you want to make this as simple and unobtrusive for the customer and subsequently increase conversions, then this episode has the insights you are hoping to ge...
467: How Location and Design Impact CX
September 22, 2021 11:00 - 11 minutesSometimes, customers can't reach a location, or they don't find the physical store attractive enough. Unfortunately, these problems that businesses face have reached new levels during the pandemic, so companies need to rethink their physical stores to attract their customers and improve their experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Bonus Episode: Noa Danon
September 20, 2021 11:00 - 24 minutesIn this special sponsored episode, we’re talking with Noa Danon, Co-Founder and CEO at EverAfter.ai. Thank you to EverAfter for sponsoring this episode. We’ve talked a lot about Artificial Intelligence (AI) on this podcast. But often we’re talking about it in a consumer-facing context. Our conversation with Noa Danon explores concepts that apply beyond the typical Business-to-Consumer (B2C) relationship. What's really interesting is how EverAfter uses the data they have to strengthen the rel...
466: David Horsager
September 14, 2021 11:00 - 28 minutesA term we use a lot in business and customer experience is 'confidence', but where does that confidence come from? It comes from trust. It's easy to forget how fundamental trust is to any relationship, including economic relationships. When we talk about the whole customer experience journey, we need trust to move forward with all elements of the customer experience. This is such an interesting topic to unpack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
465: Customer Effort 2.0
September 07, 2021 11:00 - 12 minutesThe worst of the pandemic is behind us, but a big question arises: How tolerant are customers now? Or better said, are they more or less tolerant than they were before the pandemic? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
464: Theodora Lau
August 31, 2021 11:00 - 25 minutesThe customer journey needs to be integrated into customers' lives and the notion of what they want to get from it. It's just one of the things we need to truly understand to improve the overall experience for the customer. Our guest, Theodora (Theo) Lau, is here to talk about that and how AI plays and will play a part in the future of customer experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
463: Pronouns and How to Use Them
August 24, 2021 11:00 - 12 minutesCustomer service agents are getting better at referring to people using gender-neutral pronouns, but this can always improve, and it should improve. Leaders need to take action and work on this so every customer can feel at ease when dealing with your company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
462: Shep Hyken
August 17, 2021 11:06 - 27 minutesShep Hyken talks about a couple of essential things from his book in greater detail. You'll get vital knowledge on why customers terminate their business with you and what you can do to increase your retention rates. And those rates are the ones every business needs to grow. So, tune in to learn it all; you never know how much this knowledge can improve your business! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
461: How Customer Experience Management Has Changed
August 10, 2021 11:00 - 12 minutesThere’s a big difference between customer experience and customer experience management, which is another central point that will be elaborated on in this episode. It's a distinction that should interest every leader and anyone working in the customer experience sector. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
460: Alison Lichtenstein, Who Is the Media's Customer? CX at Dow Jones
August 03, 2021 11:00 - 28 minutesAlison has a lot of exciting advice to give to all types of leaders looking to improve their companies' customer experience. She particularly has a bit of advice for leaders of companies that haven't had customers in the past but suddenly need to change to a more customer-centric model. All in all, a lot of interesting information awaits you in this episode, so make sure you tune in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
459: Season Intro
August 02, 2021 11:00 - 2 minutesYour two favorite hosts are here to tell you about the new topics they’ll cover in the episodes to come. This is a quick intro to the new season, but tune in to learn what you can expect to get in the weeks and months to come. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
458: Bourbon Summit, Season Finale
April 30, 2021 11:06 - 23 minutesIn this episode, Adam and Jeannie recap everything they've learned from the amazing guests this season has witnessed. Moreover, they talk about all the bumper stickers of the season, including their own, the ones they've saved for this very episode. And yes, bourbon will be consumed, so pour yourself a glass and tune in! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
457: Tom Karinshak, Navigating Change at Comcast
April 27, 2021 13:05 - 25 minutes2020 has been a hectic year for everyone, but some companies have managed to come out on top thanks to great strategies, care for their customers, and top-notch leadership. Tom Karinshak and Comcast, have managed to do just that in several ways, and he shares all about that and how you can lead your company to a better customer experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
456: Ovetta Sampson, Empowerment Through Design
April 20, 2021 11:00 - 29 minutesAI is everywhere, and it influences every life in one way or another, yet people rarely understand it. But Ovetta Sampson has a lot of interesting advice to give leaders who are not yet familiar enough with AI and data. If you want to learn more, you’ll have to listen to this data-driven episode of Crack the Customer Code. The insights you’ll gain afterward are more than worth the time spent listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
455: Riaz Raihan, Improving CX with AI
April 13, 2021 10:55 - 27 minutesAI is beneficial to some, but a complete mystery to most. It’s a problem that should be remedied as AI can be incredibly helpful to a lot of companies, as long as they implement it correctly. Riaz Raihan and his company Alida know that well, so he is here to talk about how to use it in customer experience, how to deal with the problems that that many experience with AI, and so much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices