Een nieuwe auto kopen, moet een klein feestje zijn. Deze auto was niet zomaar een auto, het was zelfs een hele dure auto. Dus als klant verwachtte ik ook meer dan alleen een ‘normale levering’.

Wat kun je hiervan leren als Customer Experience Professional? Voor mij zijn er 4 belangrijke lessen te leren.

  1. Communiceer over het proces
    Ik begreep heel goed dat de levering van de auto onder druk stond vanwege leveringsproblemen. We kennen allemaal de chiptekorten, de problemen met transport en de schaarste aan materialen. Maar als je eenmaal weet dat je niet op de beloofde datum kunt leveren, zorg er dan voor dat je eerlijk en proactief bent. Er moeten richtlijnen zijn binnen organisaties, wat te doen en wanneer. De verkoper had me moeten bellen en me op de hoogte moeten houden van de leveringsdatum. Bovendien had hij mij het gevoel moeten geven dat mijn auto en ik (als klant) belangrijk voor hem waren.
  2. Stem af op de verwachtingen
    Of je nu in een premium business zit of als CX-professional bij de overheid werkt. Je klanten hebben bepaalde verwachtingen. Zorg dat je die kent en dat je er in ieder geval aan voldoet. Als je een echte baas bent in CX, probeer je natuurlijk de verwachtingen te overtreffen ?. Dit zou het uitgangspunt van je levering moeten zijn. Train collega’s in verwachtingen en zorg ervoor dat ze begrijpen hoe ze hieraan kunnen voldoen. Als je een premium bedrijf of merk bent, ligt de lat hoger. Bij mijn nieuwe Volvo verwachtte ik in ieder geval een bos bloemen of een goede fles wijn. Maar het bedrijf zat vast in haar eigen processen en verloor mij (en mijn verwachtingen) als klant uit het oog.
  3. Geen excuses
    Het feit dat tijdens het hele bezorgproces het covid-excuus meer dan 10 keer werd gebruikt, I kid you not, betekent dat dit een algemeen excuus is geworden. Het was hun excuus om het rustig aan te doen. Als je excuses om je heen hoort (of het nu Covid, management, of wat dan ook is), zorg dan dat al je rode vlaggen omhooggaan. Of, zoals Steven Covey zou zeggen, dat je de zaag scherp houdt, binnen je organisatie. Blijf focussen op de gewenste klantervaring. Ik weet zeker dat de eigenaar van de Volvogarage deze levering op deze manier niet had gewild. Maar op de een of andere manier werkte dit, vanwege de drukte en beperkingen, verlammend en deden ze niet dat extra stapje. Zorg dat je regelmatig op de werkvloer loopt, zodat je deze ‘rode vlaggen’ zelf hoort of dat je ze uit de Voice of the Customer haalt.
  4. Maak het goed
    Als je een fout maakt bij je klant – zoals de Volvogarage deed bij het afleveren van mijn auto – maak het dan goed. Je hebt altijd een tweede kans. Zoals een oud-collega van mij ooit zei: “Eerste keer goed, tweede keer perfect.” Daar hou ik van. Ik belde de verkoper van de garage en vertelde hem over mijn teleurstelling bij de aflevering. Hij schaamde zich, bood telefonisch zijn excuses aan en zei dat hij het goed zou maken. Het enige is, dat we inmiddels vier weken verder zijn en ik nog altijd niets heb gehoord. Zorg ervoor dat wanneer dit in jouw organisatie gebeurt, dat je daadwerkelijk checkt of deze toegezegde acties daadwerkelijk worden ondernomen. Dat je ervoor zorgt dat mensen hun beloftes nakomen.

Genoeg gezegd over deze ervaring. Het is triest dat ze deze kans hebben laten lopen en er valt veel te verbeteren! Zorg dat je deze elementen in je organisatie gaat fixen. Volgende maand deel ik weer een klantervaring met je, inclusief CX-lessen die je kunt leren. Ik hoop je je dan weer terug te zien.

Wil je zeker weten dat je geen CX-lessen meer mist? Schrijf je dan in voor mijn maandelijkse CX Greetz, waarin ik veel CX-ervaringen, -inspiratie en -lessen met je deel.

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

Ik heb een nieuwe auto gekocht. Echt waar. Mijn allereerste splinternieuwe auto. Zelf bij elkaar gewerkt. Na lang wikken en wegen, hakte ik de knoop door. Er kwam een elektrische auto. Een prachtige Volvo XC40. Ik verheugde me al weken op de aflevering op 5 januari.

Door corona kon er helaas niks leuks qua aflevering, werd me telefonisch verteld. Ik nam de trein en wachtte achter het station op de verkoper. Het regende hard. Daar kwam mijn auto aan. Van alles schoot er door me heen: wat een gave auto, wat een bak, wat had ik een goede beslissing genomen. De verkoper stapte uit, ik liep op hem af en hij overhandigde mij de sleutel. Mijn hart maakte een dansje.

Of ik nog even het formulier wilde tekenen voor aflevering. Was het okay als ik dat in de auto deed, gezien de stromende regen? Tuurlijk, alleen mocht hij er niet naast komen zitten. Corona, hè?! Tuurlijk. Ik tekende, gaf hem het formulier en hij wilde weglopen.

Ho, ho. Wil je me een paar dingen uitleggen? Want ik zat ineens in een soort cockpit met een groot scherm en had geen idee. Ja, dat kon. Maar hij moest wel buiten blijven staan. Corona, hè?!

Hij wees op het scherm. Liet me op het touchscreen wat functies onderzoeken en vijf minuten later stapte hij bij zijn collega in de auto en reed het parkeerterrein af.

Daar zat ik dan. Voor het eerst in een elektrische auto. Totaal overrompeld door alle toeters en bellen. Dus heb ik eerst maar een half uur functionaliteiten onderzocht via de boardcomputer. Ineens realiseerde ik me: dit is niet hoe ik deze aflevering had bedacht. Natuurlijk verwachtte ik geen spannende onthulling met een groot laken (door corona en regen), maar gewoon een sleutel overhandigen en je dan uit de voeten maken?! Misschien lag er in de achterbak een cadeautje; had ik vast over het hoofd gezien.

Eerst op zoek naar de knop om de achterbak te openen. Door de regen rende ik snel naar de achterkant van de auto om daar… een oplaadsnoer en gevarendriehoek te vinden.

Alles functioneel. Niks leuks.

Tuurlijk: door corona mocht er weinig. Maar aan deze aflevering was helemaal niets feestelijks. Ik zette de auto in Drive en reed de tochtige parkeerplaats af.

Wat jij hiermee kan? Ik heb de slogan ‘door corona kunnen x en y natuurlijk niet’ iets te veel gehoord. Laat corona geen excuus zijn om er niets van te maken naar je klanten. Maak een feestje van dat wat wél kan. Doe een beroep op je creativiteit en geloof me; DAT onthouden je klanten.

Uit dit blog heb ik een aantal CX-lessen gedestilleerd. Nieuwsgierig? Lees ze hier!

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

The last months I spoke to over twenty CX leaders and most of them were just.. ehm, how to say it…. tired. They were tired of the back to back online team meetings. The lack of seeing team members in person.

So I asked them: “How do you stay inspired?” Most of them had no answer. They did not plan anything for inspiration in their agenda’s. Yes, they were longing for holidays, but that is not what holidays are for.

I think, staying inspired is part of your JOB! That’s why I give you 12 non-CX ideas how to do that.

Books

Oh, The Places You’ll Go – Dr. Seuss
A client gave me this book as a present. And I love it. It’s packed with lots of insights and wit (and Dr. Seuss had plenty of both). With his lively illustrations, inimitable verse, and boundless optimism, Dr. Seuss reassures us that we’re not alone in the maze of life — and that we’ll reach where we need to be eventually! If you need a quick and wonderfully uplifting pick-me-up, this is your book!

Big Magic, Creative Living Beyond Fear – Elisabeth Gilbert
Everyone can unlock Big Magic. Big Magic is about drawing out your inner creative whenever you need. This book is a love letter to the artist inside everyone of us, written in Gilbert’s conversational, no-frills, no-BS style. Whether your goal is to write a book, make a painting, or create music, Big Magic will help you accomplish it. Funny, honest, illuminating, and encouraging, it is a celebration of art on every level.

The 5 second rule – Mel Robbins
The 5 Second Rule promises to teach you how to become confident, break the habit of procrastination and self-doubt, beat fear and uncertainty, and be happier. As big of an ask as that might sound, Robbins more than delivers in this self-help book, which is built on the titular 5 second rule: the five seconds you should take every time you need to push yourself. You might enjoy her TEDx Talk on this subject as well!

Podcasts

Happier with Gretchen Rubin
She is the best-selling author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before, wants you to embrace happiness—and she’s got the tools and strategies to help you do it. This engaging podcast, which she cohosts with her younger sister, Elizabeth Craft, is full of practical advice on building habits for happiness into your daily life. Down-to-earth, insightful, and humorous, this podcast will have you on your way to a happier existence in no time: https://gretchenrubin.com/podcasts/

The Life School Podcast with Brooke Castillo
She is very American, but I love her way of thinking and speaking out loud. In this podcast she takes life’s topics, opportunities and struggles and helps making sense of it all. For example, episode 375, where she challenges her listeners to do hard things. Just wat Customer Experience Management is all about… https://thelifecoachschool.com/podcast/

CX Travel Guide met Nienke Bloem
Ja, deze podcast is een Nederlandse versie en net voor de zomervakantie hebben we de 10e editie opgenomen met Kees Klink. Hoe is CX georganiseerd bij PostNL? Alle afleveringen hebben iets speciaals, dus luisteren maar. Je krijgt een kijkje achter de schermen in CX-land. https://kirkmancompany.com/podcasts/

Movies & documentaries

Forrest Gump
A golden oldie, but my all-time favorite movie. A story about a boy that would never succeeds in life. But gets the support and belief by his surroundings and just goes out to life a full and big life. The theme song “Feather Theme song” composed by Alan Silvestri still gives me goose bumps. A feel-good movie, you just want to watch to stop having ‘bad thoughts’ and get out there and do what you have to do.

Inside Out
A 2015 American computer-animated film by Pixar. A great film to learn about emotions. The film is set in the mind of a young girl named Riley, where five personified emotions—Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust—try to lead her through life as she and her parents adjust to their new surroundings after moving from Minnesota to San Francisco.Maybe something to watch with your team or management colleagues. And to later ask “what emotions are our customers having at what moment in the customer journey?”

Seven days out
A documentary series on Netflix, where they film event seven days before they take place. From a Chanel fashion show to a dog show. Where I recommend you watch the episode Eleven Madison Park. As I always say “great customer experiences don’t happen by accident”, that is exactly what this business owner of the best restaurant of the world breaths. Watch is and be inspired, because it will question your vision on CX and will inspire you to spice it up.

Three things to go do

Museum
Yes. Go to a museum. Just as I did; you could see this in the video. Be inspired by great exhibitions, paintings, sculptures. By the way museums make you feel, the way they present stories. Buy artifacts in the museum shop and use these in your CX practice. Go with a leader or your team. Have a discussion later of what can be used in your CX practice or in your story telling. Don’t forget to take pictures of what inspired you: always good to use in presentations later.

Library
Every city has a library. You know that great building full of books? In the city of Utrecht they just opened a new central library and it is just gorgeous. The atmosphere makes me feel calm instantly and I just like to take books out of shelves. Sometimes having a question in mind and having fate answer it. I once did a Random Book Club session with Marieke van Dam and was amazed what inspiration you can get out of ANY book. Yes, you can search for business, management or CX books. But also try soul searching, biology, or even children’s books. So much fun to just spend an hour or two in your library. Or one in a different city ?. I promise you, inspiration guaranteed!

Take a guided walking tour in any city
It is fabulous to go to a city and book a guided walking tour. I remember a walking tour I did in 2020 in Amsterdam. My tour guide was one of the best bakers of the Netherlands. He told me so much about the city, the buildings, but also his life. He even took me behind the scenes in the Waldorf Astoria and told me how to make the best croquets. What a fabulous experience! A guided tour always brings you new insights. And never forget to listen how guides share their stories. They know their facts, but the really good ones know how to deliver their stories and make them stick. They make sure you see the city through their eyes and you will remember elements of their stories, because they framed them. Just like a good CX Story should be. Like I can never pass the Vijzelgracht, without going for a croquet and saying hi! to Cees.

I went out on a 3-day inspiration adventure myself. I recorded a video in which I tell you about this inspiration adventure and in which I give you ideas how to stay inspired. My best suggestion is to plan inspiration time in your agenda. REALLY! Enjoy the ideas and let me know what worked for you.

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

You might think, this is weird; what does speed have to do with CX?! Let me explain and start by sharing my personal story of last month in Italy. Most of you know that I am walking a pilgrimage. The Via Francigena is my path for the next year. 1,000 kilometers by foot. A challenge that I have to take bit by bit, day by day. It will take time, but as I continue walking, putting one foot in front of the other, believing I can, dealing with all kinds of hurdles; I will get there. I call this my Slow and at this moment Strategic fundamental track. To think of life’s choices, find energy, challenge the fundamentals and grow stronger.

Besides my pilgrimage, I also had the chance to join the MilleMiglia in June. The 1,000 mile race from Brescia to Rome and back. Classic cars travel this journey in 4 days. They need a fast pace, a dedicated crew that helps if the cars break down and, of course, some encouragement along the way (that was me ?). Roads are blocked off and a whole group of Italian carabinieri guides the group of 350 exclusive cars towards the finish. I call this the Result Driven Innovation track.

Both tracks require travel and are 1,000 kilometers or miles. But both have a different purpose. Just like we should approach customer experience management!

Tracks with different purpose and speed

Most Customer Experience Managers struggle to deliver results. Which might even result in losing CX ground in reorganization plans, or a decrease in budgets. I am not talking of proving your ROI, but in showing the organization that CX is making THAT impact, that it is lined up for. For really improving the situation of the customer in a direct way.

That is also why these two speeds are needed. Because what I see is that many CX professionals are focusing on the What and the How, the strategic fundamentals. The What: customer promises, brand promises, guiding behavior, defining design principles. The How: the way design thinking is done, building an architecture of listening through insights, creating training and guiding the organization to a consistent customer centric way of working. Yes, these are both needed! But know that Walker sees also a disconnect when it comes to what organizations and the C-Suite expect of you and customer experience management.

CEO’s want you to deliver competitive advantage and growth and profitability. Recognizing what CEOs value and what ultimately drives competitive advantage, CX professionals must do three things:

  1. Align efforts with the business outcomes CEOs want. CX professionals must connect the dots and show how CX initiatives result in concrete outcomes.
  2. Build an engaged customer-focused workforce by helping employees identify with the customer and have a voice in the customer experience.
  3. Lead innovation, coupling customary break fix activities with breakthrough initiatives.

Strategic Fundamental track

When I am looking at my theory on two speeds of Customer Experience Management, I suggest you build your CX practice around these two tracks:

  1. The Strategic Fundamental track
  2. The Result Driven innovation track

In the Strategic fundamental track, you are focusing on the long term. You define the What and the How and guide the organization towards the customer centric future. Guiding principles, storytelling, culture. Let me give you a couple of examples. In this track, you build your CX strategy (actually most of the elements out of the first discipline of the CX framework is in the strategic fundamental track). You define the future state of CX. You define the way you listen to customers and systematically engage the organization around the voice of the customer, also using metrics. You build business cases based on ROI and prove the value of CX. You define the principles of customer centric innovation, define how to prioritize best and build a customer centric culture program. You see? All elements in the What and the How, are guiding towards the customer centric transformation.

But this is not enough, you should also shift gear!

Result Driven innovation track

The Result Driven innovation track is where you show the organization that you really work on improving the lives of your customers and improve the customer experience. So, not just facilitating design thinking sprints, but also delivering prototypes, scaling up those experiments that have proven their worth. Working on closing the loops. Really calling back customers, fixing those customer issues that are broken and actually measuring the impact.

This my dear CX friend, is what most CX professionals are not doing (enough). We need to hammer on improving and delivering those results that are needed and once we do, we need to communicate our customer successes with the organization.

As Bruce Temkin so eloquently said “While CX teams need ongoing support from their executives, senior leaders are prone to doubt. CX leaders need to keep communicating the progress and success of CX efforts and demonstrate that resources are being well used and any risks are effectively managed”. What I love about this quote, is that he brings two elements together. Communicating the progress and demonstrate that resources are well used.

By only focusing on the Strategic Fundamental track, chances are you don’t have enough results to show. So, consider adding that second Result Driven innovation track to your CX portfolio. By adding specific CX projects, getting your hands dirty on these customer issues that need to be fixed.

Project #99

A great example is “Project #99” where Clint Payne CCXP won the title International Customer Experience Professional of the year in 2018. In Multichoice, a South African Telecom and Television provider, he identified 99 common customer complaints. Together with his team he created a bottom-up approach, where employees and leaders in the company were encouraged and helped to solve these often long time known issues. Feel free to read more on his approach and the campaign. What were the results? Escalated customer complaints dropped from 733 in November 2015 to 476 in Feb 2017, client churn dropped by 1.8% and self-service went up from 55% to 65%.

So, the three most important questions you have to ask yourself:

  1. Be honest to yourself, are you delivering enough direct customer results?(If no, or in doubt, continue with question number 2)
  2. What percentage of your activities is in the Strategic and what percentage is in the Result Driven track? (Are you happy with these numbers?)
  3. What can you do to improve your CX results that customers are facing and shift gear to the Result Driven track?

Enough food for the mind. In August 2021 I will continue my pilgrimage and the Strategic Fundamental track I am on. The MilleMiglia was this great adrenaline kick, and I will definitely be back in 2022 to support these fab cars and their drivers.

But for now: I am curious for your thoughts on my theory on the Two Speeds of Customer Experience Managent that are needed. Do you recognize the disconnect and the need for both speeds?

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

 

We begeven ons op een camping, in een huisje. En dat is niet zomaar een camping, maar zo-een die hip is en daarmee snel uitverkocht is. Het boeken vond vorig jaar november al plaats, met in het achterhoofd dat ik de hele maand juni in het buitenland zou zijn voor prachtige spreekopdrachten en CX-masterclasses. Maar ja… Daar was ineens corona. En net als iedereen, ben ik sinds half maart permanent in ons mooie Nederland.

Het goede nieuws was dat we een geweldig vakantieadres hadden gevonden. Deze camping werd door velen aanbevolen: misschien wat groot, maar supertof. Dichtbij het strand, tegen de duinen aan. Veel speelmogelijkheden voor kinderen met zand en water. De recensies waren bijna té lovend. Ik moet eerlijk zijn: ik word dan sceptisch. Ik wil eerst met eigen ogen zien of de beloftes worden waargemaakt. En hoe is het dan met de klantbeleving? Ook dat wil ik zelf aan den lijve ondervinden.

Dus. Daar gingen we. De eerste week van de bouwvak. De drukste week van het hoogseizoen in 2020. Ik moest eerst nog maar eens zien hoe deze camping die geweldige klantbeleving ging waarmaken.

We werden perfect ontvangen. Snel, vriendelijk en duidelijk. We kwamen aan in het huisje, zo mooi dat het onze verwachtingen overtrof. Met goede bedden en een perfecte ligging: tussen de duinen, met een eigen veranda en zo’n mooi tentdoek als overkapping. We waren er beduusd van.

De eerste fles wijn ging open, de kleine vertrok richting speelplek met veel zand en wij zaten vorstelijk in de relaxmodus. Eerst maar eens het boekje doornemen, met plattegrond en tips, inclusief activiteitenplanning.

De dagen daarna hadden we de leukste gesprekken met personeelsleden van de camping. Zij reden regelmatig voorbij in elektrische karretjes. We werden vrolijk begroet, we wisten dat ze Luuk, Gerard of Daan heetten en er werden kleine wensen ingelost. Zo was ik mijn yogamat vergeten en binnen een halve dag had ik er eentje in ons huisje. Elke ochtend ontvingen we een krant, begeleid door een vrolijk ‘Goedemorgen!’. In zo’n geval lukt het me niet meer om alleen ‘gast’ te zijn. Direct steekt ook mijn beroepsdeformatie de kop op. Hoe is dit geregeld? Welke processen en afspraken worden er met het personeel gemaakt? Ik kon mijn nieuwsgierigheid niet bedwingen en vroeg het Daan. Hij legde gelijk hun concept uit. Hoe zij samen, met al het personeel de laatste pagina van de brochure inkleuren. De pagina die je niet kan beschrijven, maar die je moet ervaren.

Hoe wow is dat? Niet alleen het bedenken ervan, maar dat je dit ook waarmaakt midden in het hoogseizoen. Met processen, afspraken en vooral: in concreet gedrag. Mij hebben ze als klant ingepakt. Verwend met een hele fijne vakantieklantbeleving. Chapeau camping. Chapeau personeel. Wij hebben alvast geboekt voor 2021.

 

Dit blog werd geschreven voor CustomerFirst en gepubliceerd op 22 september 2020

Geen blog meer missen? Schrijf je in voor mijn maandelijkse CX Greetz!

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

Ik ga trouwen. Ja, het is me nogal wat. Voor sommigen is dit de mooiste dag van hun leven, maar wij zien het – en dat komt misschien door onze leeftijd en Nederlandse achtergrond – iets praktischer. Wij wonen niet samen, dus voor ons is het een dag van de liefde. Een moment waarop we alles voor elkaar goed regelen. En dat regelen, daar gaat deze blog over. Want het vergt heel wat geregel om dit voor elkaar te krijgen.

Het begon al bij de online verkenning. Gratis trouwen kan op maandagochtend. Wist je trouwens dat daar een behoorlijke wachtrij voor is? Negen maanden maar liefst. Als ik deze wachttijd zie denk ik meer aan de duur van een gemiddelde zwangerschap, maar misschien zijn deze twee aan elkaar gerelateerd. Dit noemen ze ‘eenvoudig trouwen’. Dit kan op maandag, dinsdag, woensdag en vrijdag. De donderdag heeft er denk ik iemand vrij. Haha. Sorry, ik draaf wat door. En dit kan alleen in de ochtend. Blijkbaar is goedkoop, gratis en eenvoudig trouwen ook iets wat je ’s morgens doet.

Natuurlijk kun je ook ‘gewoon’ trouwen. Dit is dan wel weer aan de prijs, maar dan mag je bijvoorbeeld in de oude raadszaal van het stadhuis trouwen. Een stuk sfeervoller dan op het moderne stadskantoor op Utrecht Centraal. Maar de locatie daargelaten, het gaat natuurlijk allemaal om de liefde.

En die liefde moet je wel echt voor elkaar voelen als je dit proces ingaat. Het begint met het registreren van je voorgenomen huwelijk. Dit is een nieuw woord voor ondertrouw. Persoonlijk vind ik dat erg jammer. Ondertrouw klinkt een stuk gezelliger, maar ja, al het leuke is er wel vanaf gegaan. Want je vult alles online in, het is een proces. Je voert jouw gegevens en die van alle getuigen in en hopsa: je drukt op verzenden. Na een paar dagen kwam de gemeente in de lucht. We moesten met zijn tweeën en alle legitimaties naar het stadskantoor komen, voor het finaliseren van ons voorgenomen huwelijk.

Nu ben ik er wel van om ergens ‘een momentje van te maken’. Dus we planden een vrije dag en togen samen romantisch richting het stadskantoor. Daar kregen we in de grote hal een nummertje uit een apparaat. We mochten naar afdeling C, de roltrap op en rechtsaf. We werden opgeroepen. Alle documenten werden nog een keertje gecontroleerd, we betaalden € 627 (je leest het goed, trouwen is niet goedkoop) en stonden na vijf minuten weer buiten. Niks niet feestelijk. Nog geen felicitatie. Gewoon een procedure. Ligt het aan mij, of is dit een gemiste kans? 15 mei kunnen ze het goedmaken.

 

Dit blog werd geschreven voor CustomerFirst en gepubliceerd op 15 april 2020

Geen blog meer missen? Schrijf je in voor mijn maandelijkse CX Greetz!

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

Emotions you really need to recognize when interacting with customers and employees. For all in in customer experience, marketing, sales and operations.

The last couple of days my feelings are deeper than a month ago. I feel sad when I see awful images on ICU’s and when I hear stories of loss. I feel disgust of companies that just keep sending their stupid sales newsletters through email, like nothing is going on. I experienced fear while my fiance had corona. I experienced anger seeing people that were just out in the streets, pretending the world was still normal and they could go to the beach or the park, putting lives in danger. But also, I experience joy while watching funny video’s, that I receive through WhatsApp. I felt relieved my fiance recovered from corona. I felt surprised when receiving a thoughtful handwritten card with caring words in my mailbox.

Somehow, my emotions are deeper. Are more on the surface and are more intense. Which actually not only happens in my emotional world. It also happens also in yours, your family, community, actually in the world of most humans that are now affected by corona. This requires that we, Customer Experience Professionals, people working in marketing, sales and operations, need to be aware of the intensity of emotions of our employees and customers.

We definitely need to recognize and learn how to deal with emotions to help our customers and employees in the best way.

To help you out to understand emotions and the range of emotions, I share the knowledge by Professor Robert Plutchick and his wheel of emotions. If you understand this, please use it in scripts, customer journeys, emails, campaigns, conversations, and probably many more situations. So, here we go….

The basics:

Plutchik considers there are eight primary emotions; anger, fear, sadness, disgust, surprise, anticipaation, trust and joy. Plutchik argues for the primacy of these emotions by showing each to be the trigger of behaviour with high survival value, such as the way fear inspires the fight or flight response (info wikipedia).

How are the eight emotions related:

As you can see in the emotion wheel, each primary emotion has an opposite; joy is the opposite of sadness, trust is the opposite of distrust, fear the opposite of anger, surprise is the opposite of anticipation

The emotions in between the eight basic emotions, are the combined emotions. So disgust plus anger, gives the emotion contempt. Or fear plus surprise, gives awe. As emotions are complex, this way of looking at emotions helps to understand where these emotions come from.

The intensity of emotions:

The emotions I feel in these times of corona, feel deeper, like they are more intense. That is what Plutchik visualizes by the brightness of the colors in the wheel. The deeper the color, the more intense the motion is felt. When looking in the yellow column, the lightest emotion is serenity, more deeper is joy and the emotion in the most intense way is ecstasy.

Plutchik’s wheel of emotions provides a perfect framework for understanding emotions

Now what?

It is important for all of us, to dive deeper in emotions of our customers and employees. To understand what the emotions are they are experiencing. Because these emotions need to be taken seriously. As I learned on a mindfulness course, you can compare not taking your emotions seriously, like pushing a cork underwater deeper and deeper. In the end it will pop out faster than ever before. Remember my example of the company that just keeps sending me sales-oriented newsletters, that are in my view, not appropriate right now. I canceled their newsletter. As I explained the reason for my un-subscription, they reacted; “thank you so much. We value your opinion” Which I know for certain is a standardized email, so they are not listening at all. Now I am really done with them, since I will remember this for a long time.

Three suggestions how to apply the knowledge of emotions:

1. In customer contact – Acknowledge emotions when you have conversations with customers. Or train your staff to acknowledge emotions. It is proven, that the more you ignore the more red/purple emotions, the more they will intensify. This also means that in these uncertain times, customer contact with regards to health, money and other uncertain topics, will take more time. So take that into account in average handle times.

2. In customer / employee communication – Examine what your customer or employee is feeling and experiencing right know. Describe and acknowledge these situations and emotions, so people will read/watch on. Make sure that when you show video’s, that the person in the video, is honest and also shows emotion. A best practice, is the video of Arne Sorenson CEO of Marriott, who explains the impact of covid-19 on Marriott for the associates.

3. In Customer journey mapping sessions – Too often I see that Happy, Neutral and Unhappy are used to map emotions. You just read there are many more emotions and it will help you to diversify the emotions of customers. What are they really feeling right now and also, how do you want them to feel in the To-Be journey. Use the wheel in your design thinking processes. This more detailed wheel with described emotions might come in handy. It shows the diversity of emotions. Praise given to Danny Peters that uses this wheel in his customer journey mapping teaching sessions.

I hope this knowledge helps you to understand your customers and employees emotions better. Maybe even the emotions of yourself and the people close to you. Our emotions have deepened, maybe we even feel different emotions. So it is now even more important to be aware and pay the right attention.

Let’s get active; share your thoughts in the comments.

Was this article useful? Please let me know. And even more important, how could you apply or have your applied this knowledge? Please share in the comments. Let’s grow our understanding of emotions and the impact on our CX work even more. Thank you and since it is important for all of us, a little personal note; stay safe.

 

Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz.

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

“De klantervaring verbeteren, daar zijn wij mee bezig.” Ik heb een gesprek met een CX-collega bij een overheidsinstelling. Bij een grote brown paper legt ze mij uit wat ik hierop zie. Een mooie klantreis, vol ups en downs in emoties en heel, maar dan ook héél veel post-its. Helaas niet van hele goede kwaliteit, want er liggen er ook heel wat op de grond. Maar daar gaat deze blog niet over.

Nu ben ik zelf ook een groot fan van de post-it. Superhandig bij al je klantreissessies, workshops, verbetersessies en wat niet nog meer. Maar ik heb me ook wel eens afgevraagd hoe anderen mij en mijn CX-collega’s zien. Of we nu customer journey manager, service designer of customer experience-expert als functietitel hebben.

Laten we eens in de schoenen van onze collega’s stappen. Wat zien zij en wat zullen ze denken? Zou het zoiets kunnen zijn van: ‘Hé, daar loopt ze weer. Altijd maar in de weer met die brown papers en allerlei gekleurde zelfklevende kleine papiertjes. Waar gaat die post-it ninja nu weer heen? En wat gebeurt er met die brown paper? Haalt ze die nu van de muur en gebeurt er iets mee? Of hangt deze klantreis straks als prachtige kantoorkunst aan de muur en is het een herinnering aan een prachtsessie?’

Ja, dat kan zomaar het beeld zijn. En als dat zo is, dan hebben we dat zelf veroorzaakt. Het is aan ons om te laten zien dat er echt iets mee gebeurt. Want waar zijn we anders mee bezig? Natuurlijk is één van onze rollen het klantbewustzijn van collega’s vergroten. Maar we zijn pas succesvol als de klant er iets van merkt. Ik weet echt wel dat we soms gezien worden als die post-it ninja’s. Als die luitjes met de grootste plannen en mooiste sessies, maar met te weinig impact. En daar zijn we zelf verantwoordelijk voor. Ook om dat te veranderen, want van dat imago moeten we echt af.

Wij zijn het aan onze CX-stand verplicht dat we klantimpact hebben. Dat we daar zijn waar de klant is. Dat wij die klantreis écht weten te verbeteren. Dat we leiders verleiden om mee te draaien in het contactcenter. Dat we soms met brute kracht de grote klantissues onder de aandacht brengen. Dat we af en toe heel subtiel door wat gesprekken te laten horen, iedereen laten beseffen dat het zo echt niet kan. Soms met post-its en veel vaker met de ‘voice of the customer’. Maar altijd met het eerlijke klantverhaal en veel doe-kracht. Wij als CX-professionals zijn verantwoordelijk voor onze eigen impact. Weg met kantoorkunst, hallo klantsucces. Van post-it ninja naar klantheld; laat dát ons streven zijn.

 

Dit blog werd geschreven voor CustomerFirst en gepubliceerd op 11 maart 2020

Geen blog meer missen? Schrijf je in voor mijn maandelijkse CX Greetz!

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

The latest years I have seen many organizations that worked with CX Ambassadors. So many roles, and so many variations of domain of impact. For example, to implement customer improvements, or to be NPS ambassadors from all teams to make sure the metric and the thought behind it stays alive, or to build a culture of customer centric behavior, or to translate the brand values into daily work. As I have seen so many and some were a success and some just died a silent death (yes, that is a risk), I decided to deduct the nine elements of success.

1. Have common goals that link to the strategy of the organization

When people join an ambassador program, they want to understand how they contribute and what is the WHY of the program. It is the role from the CX team to give clarity on this element of belonging and contribution. Especially the strategy element is important, as people will be asked in their teams and their surroundings what their role as an ambassador is. Also make sure they can translate their work into the strategy and the goals of the Ambassador program. As a CX team you have to be able to answer the question: “When is our CX Ambassador program a success and how does it contribute to the success of the organization?” Because if you can’t, your ambassadors most definitely can’t either.

2. Make sure the ambassadors have time to act

It depends whether Ambassadors are chosen by management or whether they can volunteer to join your CX Ambassador program. One of the hurdles I often see, is that of time. People get their ambassador role on top of their daily work. Especially when working in the frontline, with operational roles, you need to be aware that chances are they promise a lot but are more likely to be scheduled to be doing their regular job. I have seen programs where people got 20 percent of their time to work in the ambassador program; make sure this is planned in the WFM and help your ambassadors to own this new role. Enable them to have conversations with their team members and management. But also, you have to have conversations with the leadership, to emphasize the importance of the Ambassador program and the time people need.

3. Choose ambassadors wisely

Who should be the ambassadors? A very interesting question. Should they be picked by management, is that the modus operandi in your organization? Or could you have a kind of an audition program, where employees get to do interviews and really show why they are a good match? I hope you get to have a say in the selection process and have a diverse group of ambassadors. Especially at the start, make sure you get colleagues that have belief in Customer Experience, that have the right energy, that are curious and that are at crucial positions in the company. Later in time, you can choose to also engage the opponents. Especially when you have the first results in, this will convince them, and it gives you the authority that you can engage all. And of course, make the Ambassador team a diverse one, both on background, gender, roles and global footprint (when applicable).

4. Give guidance and build a system of support and clear governance

Ambassadors need support to fulfill their role. Often their roles have an evangelist and activist element which has impact on the organizational status quo. This means they have to work on customer change and different behavior. That isn’t easy, so help your ambassadors with the resistance they will encounter. Create FAQ’s with the most asked questions and answers they might give. Help them with tools and interventions so they can really act on their role. It is also important that you help them telling the story, especially when the evangelist element is fundamental. Practice the change story together. Give them customer stories, video clips, customer verbatims, that they can use in their change roles. I often see communities with a shared platform, where all resources can be found. Make sure you are the activator and stimulator of this platform.

5. Share and reward success

Some ambassadors hit the jackpot and some won’t. It is very important to deep dive the elements that enhance success. What really works is to put the people in the spotlight that are nailing it. That are really creating customer impact, that raise metrics, that change the customer status quo. I have seen Awards for the CX Ambassador of the year, which is kind of formal. But I have also seen stories highlighted on the intranet and Yammer communities where CX heroes were celebrated. Make sure you put the spotlight on their success, but also on the journey towards success. Share the honest truth and give them the praise they deserve. And… if your ambassador program is a true success, give yourself the right platform and go for a CX award yourself or with the team. Whether at the Global Insights Exchange of the CXPA or the International CX Awards. This can give you the internal authority, praise of colleagues and often an internal leadership boost.

6. Get together in real life

This might be difficult in global programs, but it is of true importance that Ambassadors know each other. So they know their peers, so they can have conversations when stuck, or to build on capabilities. I often see Zoom calls, Skype meetings and yes, these are practical. But when you really want success, claim budget for real life get togethers. Enhance learning, networking and a real foundation of CX belief when you see each other. What I have also seen, is that when Ambassadors have to make a real effort to travel, they are even more connected to the program later. When you finish a person to person event, make sure you give the colleagues shiny certificates or other status symbols they can take to their offices. To show off and have a physical reminder of their ambassador status.

7. Involve leaders

Somehow, I have seen most CX Ambassador programs that only have team members from operational roles. Where are the leaders, where is the management? It can’t be that they are too busy… So, when you start and choose the ambassador team, make sure you have the option to also pick leaders. If that is not the case, make sure you engage leaders in a different way. Communicate regularly about the Ambassador program and mention their teams when they deliver results. But also have conversations when the Ambassadors fall short and they indicate they don’t get the time they need. These conversations might be tricky, but this is the only road to go. Especially when you feel some leaders don’t support the program. If I can give you one most important suggestion it is: include the CEO. Make sure he/she expresses the importance, shows up in a real life meetup, or in a Zoom. That he/she asks questions in meetings how the participation of the Ambassador program is going.

8. Have ‘who takes over’ conversations and an on-boarding program

People will leave teams, get new roles, get sick or might even leave the company. To have continuity, you need to think of this at the beginning. Especially when people are selected and start: be honest and ask what will happen when they eventually are not there. For whatever reason. Do they have somebody that can replace them, do they have a next in line idea? It is a good conversation to have, since this also shows your sincerity and serious approach to the Ambassador program. When they stop, give them a fond farewell, a big thank you. Also give the new ambassadors a warm welcome. Make sure you have a welcome/onboarding procedure. That is crystal clear on expectations. That helps you and the ambassador to start of in the best way.

9. When the vibe is down, stop or show stamina and refresh

The good thing at the start of a CX Ambassador program is that everybody is fully energized. Starting new things just has a good vibe. The lights are all green, the program has power, maybe even an own logo. You have somebody who is responsible for the selection, communication and the meetups. And then… after a year the vibe might be down. The participation is less. Other priorities might come up. What to do? This should already have been taken care of in the startup. To raise the ‘what if questions’ and the mitigating actions. But it will happen. This is the moment where you have two choices. Either you stop the program. With a real celebration of the success, a big thank you to all participants. Or this is the moment your endurance comes in. Where you show stamina. Continuity is key and you have to stick to the rhythm of communication. Make time in your agenda to prepare meetings, to tape video’s, to share stories. And when the vibe is really down: refresh. Give the program a boost with a new logo. With a new story line, maybe even a new face of the CX team.

When to start an CX Ambassador program

Ambassador programs are just tha bomb. Yes, I am an enthusiast and I have seen some great examples where the organization was engaged by the success of the program. You don’t start an Ambassador program when you just started the CX team. It is something to start when you have grown a little more mature. When the fundamentals are there: a CX team, a clear CX Strategy and of course the budget.

Your learnings

I am so curious for your learnings. I have two questions:

  1. What are fundamentals that you have encountered in your CX Ambassador program that really created success, that are your success factors?
  2. Please be in contact when you have a great Ambassador story. As I am writing the CX Travel Guide in English, I am looking for international stories and I would love to learn from yours and share your story.

So, please share your insights and comments and of course, feel free to like, love and share this post.

 

** Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz. **

 

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. 

 

Look at this photo. Isn’t it a brilliant moment of fame? These are the winners of the International CX Award 2019 for Best Customer Experience Team: the CX team of KCB Bank. This bank is located in Kenya and their CX team nailed it when it comes to CX. What can you learn from them? I will share my insights, as I was one of the judges of this category and the host of the Awards.

1. Name of your CX team

When you are in the profession of Customer Experience Management, you want to differ from other teams within your company. You are responsible for the customer and the change within the company into customer centric behavior. You are there to elevate these KPI’s that matter. It could be NPS or CSAT, but that is what you are there for. So, what is your team name? The CX Team of KCB, named themselves Team Possibilitarians. To propel the customer experience agenda, they have made the KCB Customer Experience Team a fun place to be, as they believed that offering delightful customer experiences can only be natural and seamless in a fun, but yet an official setting. Smart!

2. Business rationale

Customer Experience Management is a business profession. That means – as CX professionals – we are there for a business reason. To deliver business value: to customers and therefore to the company. To create a competitive advantage, to help innovation, to boost a customer centric culture. That is also what CEO’s expect of the CX profession. Within KCB, the team is led by Job Njiru. The banking industry in Kenya, faced homogeneity and a dynamic environment created by Customers. The CX team had to look for clear paths to help remaining the market leader in a very competitive market. Customers demanded personalized and differentiated experiences. They required products initiated by their requests and the products to meet their expectation of reliability, speed, efficiency, low cost and convenience. KCB thought of a plan to ensure that their customer needs are met. In 2018 a Customer Experience Division was created within the bank as an independent division, reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, “to eat, think, dream and sleep as the customer”. To align that, they created a business metric that really measures CX support across all staff, named Rate My Support (RMS). The team has grown in score and helped building a customer centric culture across the business, helped meeting customer service level agreements by reducing TAT on complaint resolution from 72 hrs in 2017 to 24 hrs in 2019, improving NPS by 5 points up, making them the market leaders in the Kenyan banking industry. So, the question is: what is your business rationale and how can you show your success?

3. The CX Story for change

How do you engage the organization? Do others understand what you are doing with your team? Do they know what to do and how? What I love about the CX team of KCB Bank, is that for 2019, they decided to focus on the 4E’s of customer experience which for them are Emotion, Expectation, Effort and Execution. This has helped building customer trust, enhancing customer understanding and building a community of believers who advocate KCB globally. What is your acronym? Your list of 4E’s (or other elements) that creates engagement and that are memorable elements?

Congratulations to all members of the CX #TeamPossibilitarians of KCB Bank with your win. It was a fierce competition in this category within the awards, but you so much deserve it. And for all readers of this blog: will you also compete in this year’s International CX Awards? It will help you within your company as an authority and it will give you the praise you deserve.  I certainly hope to meet you and challenge you to compete on the Elite Podium of CX!

 

** Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz. **

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results.