Category: Certification

Discover 23 Must-Attend Top-Notch Customer Experience Conferences in 2023!

Overview of customer experience featuring 23 must attend conference in 2023

As a business leader, you know the importance of customer experience (CX) and its impact on your success. But do you know about the must-attend customer experience conferences for 2023?

Must-Attend Customer Experience Conferences in 2023

Now that you know the importance of customer experience, let’s take a look at the must-attend customer experience conferences in 2023:

January 2023

February 2023

March 2023

May 2023

June 2023

July 2023

August 2023

September 2023

October 2023

These conferences are great opportunities to learn the latest strategies in customer experience, network with other industry professionals, and gain invaluable insight into the customer experience industry.

Conclusion

Customer experience is an essential part of any business’s success. It involves understanding customer needs and developing strategies to meet those needs. It also involves creating customer-centric strategies, setting customer goals, and measuring customer satisfaction.

Attending customer experience conferences is a great way to learn the latest strategies in customer experience, network with other industry professionals, and gain invaluable insight into the customer experience industry.

Review these 23 top-rated CX Conferences for 2023 to start your journey to become a customer experience expert!

Connect with me: https://linktr.ee/stevetowers

Congratulations to Ridwan Gattoo ACX Mentor

Congratulations to a newly qualified ACX Mentor Ridwan Gattoo in South Africa! Having qualified through the ACX Professional, ACX Masters and now the ACX Mentor Ridwan has passed all the tests to be a qualified ACX Mentor.

Congratulations Ridwan!

Find out more about the Certification and Accreditation programs at the https://www.bpgroup.org – Online and Inclass, Customer Experience, Process Management, Outside-In and customised to your needs.

Connect with Ridwan at:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ridwan-gattoo-7ba8b883/

How much do you need to know to know you know you know enough?

Knowing what you don’t know is a great starting point

>> We start out not knowing what we don’t know

>> We then get a bit better and we know what we don’t know

>> It gets better, we then know what we know

>> And ultimately, we then don’t know what we know

Think about when you were learning to drive…

As kids traveling with Mum and Dad, they drive the car and we get there (eventually)

We then get to teenage and start to drive that same car – OMG – the gas pedal, the watching, friggin hell the other road users, the SPEED, the signals!

And then we settle into it, it starts to become second nature, until

We do the Route 66 road trip, enjoy the bars, the people, however we don’t remember much but arrived safe and well because there was no blood on the hood!

So what? The CEMMethod feels the same!!

And yes it is a helluva ride, but you will get there. It’s proven.

Join us soon in Denver, Washington DC, London, Dubai, Johannesburg or Melbourne.

Seriously, you gotta know this stuff to know you don’t (spooky eh?)

NEW Customer Experience Coaches

Increasingly enterprises are understanding the need to align everything they do with delivering Successful Customer Outcomes.
Disney refers to this as “True North” alignment.

As the science of delivering True North develops organizations are upskilling their leaders to mentor all employees, from the lunchroom to the boardroom.

In the vanguard of these new professionals are the trainers, coaches and mentors using proven tried and tested approaches from the world leading CX companies such as Zappos, Amazon, Emirates and Zara.

When you are tasked with delivering business change, whether that is through the Customer Experience or Process Transformation using the latest techniques (rather than outdated industrial age) will guide you to immediate success.
All BPG Coaches and mentors are qualified to implement the CEMMethod customised to the industry and challenges you face and with the objective of aligning everything to delivering Successful Customer Outcomes.

You can review some of the latest folks to become licensed to lead these CX and Process Transformations – link with them below and dig deeper.

http://www.bpgroup.org/licensed-coaches.html

Meet the Coaches & Mentors

Coaches licensed to consult, accredit and mentor.
There are 400+ additional coaches (under NDA) operating globally.
Steve Towers | Lizetter Akker | James Dodkins | Kerry Jackson | Morgan Jones | Chris Wix | Samir Asaf | Lyall Shapiro | Laxman Murugappan | Karen Feld | Fahad Altwijry | Kath Milne | Lucy Paddy | Chris Reeve | Meshan Morar | Cristian Matei | Molly Redenbaugh | Randy DeSpain | Susan Parker | Max Kochar | Wille Kraus | Alexandre Nevski | Veronique Roy |

http://www.bpgroup.org/licensed-coaches.html

Upcoming sessions in Johannesburg, Dubai, Washington DC, Denver, Sydney, London, Lake Como (Italy), Montreal, Brussels – see the latest dates and venues

Podcast with Roland Naidoo | Live stream – rockstar.cx | Business Awards…

Live broadcast with James Dodkins  Rockstar.cx


This was an interview across the continents
(I am currently in Colorado, James is in England)
https://www.facebook.com/JDODKINS/videos/1425739797553815/

Do get along to the link – James will be hosting CX Rockstars from all over the globe 🙂

Business Leader in South Africa provides his views on Customer Centricity

Roland Naidoo, Senior Executive, Multichoice
Roland Naidoo, Senior Executive, Multichoice

 

Roland Naidoo (ACX Master) is a highly respected senior executive in the global entertainments business. As part of a podcast hosted by Futurology…

https://itunes.apple.com/za/podcast/futurology/id1078860959?mt=2&i=1000397468049

You can reach Roland here to progress the discussion:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/roland-naidoo-b403a029/

Award won by yours truly!

I was deeply honoured by the PEX community at the annual conference in Florida last month and received the Global Community 2018 Award. Needless to say (but I will) this is as much down to you guys and your great transformational work, so I graciously excepted the Award on your behalf. Thank you so much :

See the snapshot here: https://buff.ly/2EEE9Im

Next time we will be reviewing highlights of the upcoming 2018 conferences…

The Shocking Truth about Customer Experience


The single biggest piece of advice I give to senior executives setting out on the Customer Experience journey is to STOP. Yes seriously, the vast majority of CX efforts are completely misaligned.

CX Efforts Misaligned

Don’t get me wrong the intentions are good. Unfortunately, it goes something like this:

  1. Top Team are listening and decide they need to get with this customer centricity/Outside-In/working backwards thinking.
  2. Senior Management makes noises that the customer is THE thing the business must focus on.
  3. The Executive engage the marketing and sales guys to get with it and start pushing the message.
  4. Functional leaders hear the noise and bluster. They start using the language, whilst thinking this is just more fluff and nonsense. They make the right noises for now but keep their heads down, because they know this will go the same way as so many other ‘strategic initiatives’.
  5. Fundamentally functional heads carry on working with the out of date reward system that promotes sub-optimal industrial age thinking and practice.
  6. The Executive see the usual inertia, results not coming through, apathy and indifference and decide their business isn’t really an Amazon.
  7. Top Team then reverts to just getting better at what we are doing, then when someone in ‘our industry’ proves it we will follow.
  8. Functional leaders breathe a sigh of relief and invest even more in industrial age systems and training. The illusion of doing something, in this case, is actually worse than doing nothing.
  9. The businesses failure is noted by customers who move to those who do understand and deliver Customer Experience success.
  10. The company becomes another footnote in the history books. Talked about at business schools and picked apart because of the failure to get the new Outside-In customer-centric mindset.

Making Customer Experience Successful everywhere all the time

This isn’t rocket science (unless you are NASA of course). Understanding that the structures and ways of working from the industrial age were NEVER designed to be customer-centric. They were established to make things faster by optimizing production lines.

And oh, don’t think because you are not in manufacturing you are OK. It is likely your complete ways of working will be making everything look like production management systems, with talk of leaning out, waste reduction, standardization, efficiency, productivity. Sound familiar?

Understanding this Customer Experience misalignment is fundamental.

I encourage doing three things before re-joining the CX road-march:

  1. Understand how big the gap is between what you are doing and what Successful Customer Outcomes you need to be delivering.
  2. Audit the current key performance indicators.
    Are they mostly about outputs?
    Usually, the balance will be 80% output metrics (like calls answered, Average Handle Times, Abandoned Rates, Projects completed on time to budget etc.).
    Meanwhile, the really important measures that tell you a Successful Customer Outcome is being achieved will only be a small proportion.
    What you measure is what you get and no amount of Customer Experience drum banging will work unless those measures of Outcomes become the most important.
  3. Create an awareness of what real CX success is all about.
    This isn’t just the stories. It is about the actual things on the ground that need to change. The WHY and the HOW go hand in hand. Often times upskilling a group of key players at all levels to make them Ambassadors for the Customer achieves way more than massive corporate investment in branding and image.

In conclusion, Customer Experience cannot be treated just like another corporate initiative. To achieve success requires a significant shift in mindsets, and when that is achieved the realignment of the Enterprise to Outside-In can really begin.

Want more guidance and tips like this?


☑ More Articles like this one – visit my CX Obsession resources

 ☑ Upskilling and mentoring – Every level from the boardroom to the lunch room – BP Group

☑ In person and virtual training – The ACXM™ program

 ☑ Executive briefings and keynotes – How to get your hands on me and other CXperts (see what I did there?)

The 7 most popular Customer Experience Articles

Google tells us that Customer Experience is a significant and trending topic, the graph below ably demonstrates that point. (See google trends)


However, given all the noise what are THE most popular articles on the theme?
Here we present the seven most popular of the last couple of years.
Read and share

7th: Putting customer experience at the heart of next-generation operating models

McKinsey

This one for is McK’s second in the top seven this time…

“Digital is reshaping customer experience in almost every sector. Digital first attackers are entering markets with radically new offers, disrupting the ways that companies and customers interact and setting a high bar for simplicity, personalization, and interactivity.”

Jump to the Full Article here.

6th: Internet Of Things Will Revolutionize Retail

Louis Columbus

Teaching MBA courses in international business, global competitive strategies, international market research, and capstone courses in strategic planning and market research gives Louis the opportunity to research mega trends. Add to his portfolio writing for Forbes establishes his credentials in the space of customer transformation. In this article, he reflects on the coming ‘Internet of Things’ everywhere, and the impact on business and customers.

“87% of retailers will deploy mobile point-of-sale (MPOS) devices by 2021, enabling them to scan and accept credit or debit payments anywhere in the store…”

Jump to the Full Article here.

5th: The expanding role of design in creating an end-to-end customer experience

McKinsey

The second of McK’s into the top seven this time. Lines between products, services, and user environments are blurring. The ability to craft an integrated customer experience will open enormous opportunities to build new businesses.

“As digitization drives more and faster disruptions—and as customers increasingly desire the immediacy, personalization, and convenience of dealing with digital-marketing leaders—the business landscape is undergoing an upheaval.”

Jump to the Full Article here.

4th: The Employee Experience Is the Future Of Work

Jeanne Meister 

Working at Future Workplace, (an HR Advisory and Research firm) Jeanne casts her glow over the changes to the employee role within business today. She is also the co-author of The Future Workplace Experience: 10 Rules For Mastering Disruption in Recruiting and Engaging Employees: 

“Today, almost every company is undergoing a digital transformation. Cloud and mobile computing, artificial intelligence, and increasing automation have created the potential to transform nearly every aspect of a business.”

Jump to the Full Article here.

3rd: United Airlines Changes Its Policy On Displacing Customers

Richard Gonzales
Correspondent, San Francisco, National Desk NPR. With an eclectic style ranging across diverse topics such as medical marijuana, gay marriage, drive-by shootings, the U.S. Ninth Circuit, the California State Supreme Court and any other legal, political, or social development he understands CX first hand. Here we see a well-accounted discussion of, yes again, United Airline’s trials and tribulations.

“United Airlines crew members will no longer be able to bump a passenger who is already seated in one of the airline’s planes…”

Jump to the Full Article here.

2nd: How to Gamify your Customer Experience and Win…

Mike Dillard
Proudly proclaiming himself as a disrupter and innovator Mike’s perspective on Customer Experience is refreshing and unique in a world of sameness. He writes with an entertaining AND well thought out logic.  

“I honestly can’t think of a more difficult industry to get into than candles. You have thousands of manufacturers who are all selling the same thing… A piece of wax with a string in the middle and the only way to differentiate yourself is by changing your label, along with the size, color, and smell of that wax.”

Jump to the Full Article here.

1st: Delivering exceptional customer experiences – an art and science

Luke Shave
Luke works on the Retail partner side of Microsoft and benefits from first-hand experience of the changes in and around Customer Experience.


“Interacting effectively with customers has traditionally been a form of art, especially in face-to-face settings. But now that customers are increasingly shopping on social media, mobile apps, and websites, a bit of science can help win their loyalty. How can retailers combine customer service expertize with advanced technology to create exceptional customer experiences?”

Jump to the Full Article here.

It will be interesting to note your favorite… more soon, meanwhile
Ciao, Steve

www.stevetowers.com

www.bpgroup.org (27 years young this year!)

Denver One Day ACXP – August 15th

Johanessburg ACX Masters September 9-12th

5. Breakpoints – The Five Steps for Reducing Costs

The Five Steps for Reducing Costs
Describe your Target – The target is the “area” we are seeking to improve. Most often this would be thought of in terms of a “process” but there is no restriction on how we define the target areas we are working on.

Identify Break Points – For the target area, all of the Break Points that exist need to be identified. They also need to be described well enough that we (and others) can easily recognize them at any time.

Describe your Actions – Describing your actions is the way you clearly identify the steps you could take to eliminate causes of work. By identifying Actions and the number of Break Points each Action will eliminate, the benefit from each Action becomes clear.

Do the Cost and Benefit Assessment – The Cost and Benefit assessment adds several items that are important in helping us build our Cost Reduction Plan. What we need to know is: How Much? How Long? How Beneficial?

Build your Cost Reduction Plan – Using the Cost and Benefit assessment we can now build our Cost Reduction Plan. We do this by choosing which Actions are to be taken, and the order they are taken in.

  
Let’s explore these Steps in more detail:

Step 1 – Describe your Target Area,

ideally in terms that are understandable to others in your organization. Your Target Area will often be a “process,” as this is one of the most common terms used in describing the work people do.

Step 2 – Identify Break Points.

For the target area, identify each of the Break Points that exist within it, then record them in a descriptive enough way that others (and you if you come back later) will immediately know what you mean.

Note – This may initially present a challenge as it is not something we commonly have done in the past. Persevere and do your best to identify the Break Points in your target area and enough information will be available for you to build your cost reduction plan.

Process Outside In – vidblog

The BP Group compiles a bi monthly update of all things process which gets listed on the blog and syndicated all over. The latest can be Process Performance Update. However one of my close colleagues suggested I should produce the update as a travelog, where ever I am, whatever I am doing – just say it! – so here it is. Depending on your point of view it is either an informative light hearted look at process, or eight minutes of relevant pertinent stuff for business professionals. You choose 😉