In the digital jungle, we’re all on a safari to spot the rarest of beasts: focus! 🌿👀 Amidst the wild thicket of information, we’ve tracked down the ‘Big Five’ of blogs, as voted by our tribe of savvy members. These blogs will help you tame the wilds of business busyness with wisdom, wit, and a few well-timed roars of insight! 🦁📚
They are Rated by ACX and CPP professionals for their content, objectivity and interesting articles/research into CX and Experience Management (XM).
The most popular blogs to bookmark
Customer Bliss: Jeanne Bliss is the maestro of CX, conducting a symphony of savvy advice and dynamic strategies that’ll have your business dancing to the rhythm of improvement. https://www.customerbliss.com/
Adrian Swinscoe: Tune into Adrian’s blog for a mixtape of interviews, reviews, and riffs on CX. The backstage pass to insights will have you cheering for an encore. https://www.adrianswinscoe.com/
Joseph Michelli: Michelli’s blog is a treasure trove of CX gems – it’s like the Swiss Army knife for customer experience aficionados! But wait, there’s more! He’s also the maestro behind a lineup of chart-topping books and the go-to guru for businesses eager to skyrocket their CX to stratospheric heights. 🚀📚 https://www.josephmichelli.com/blog/
CustomerThink: Join the global huddle of business MVPs at CustomerThink, where the playbook is all about scoring big with Customer Strategy, Leadership, and Innovation. https://customerthink.com/
Shep Hyken: Shep’s blog is like a power chord of customer service wisdom, strumming out amazing experiences with tips so actionable, that you’ll want to stage dive right into implementation. https://hyken.com/blog/
👉 Frequently Asked Questions related to this post
1. Criteria for Ranking: What criteria or metrics were used to determine the top five customer experience blog rankings?
The professional members of the BP Group (140K people in 137 countries) most often cite these blogs as the ones they visit most often.
Also during the annual survey (now 32 years) we specifically ask “who provides you with the best up to date and engaging information on the web?”
2. Reader Engagement: How do these blogs engage with their readership, and what kind of community interaction can one expect?
In addition to notices from the blogs, their owners also communicate with their LinkedIn followers. The information is usually directly helpful and upbeat, emphasizing the development of Customer and Experience Management.
3. Blog Updates: How frequently do these top-ranked blogs update their content, and what is their articles’ typical length or depth?
Usually, it is easy to read one-pager, and sometimes, it connects with more in-depth resources. Some blog posters are frequently posted on Linked In and other social platforms like Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and Facebook.
Steve Towers, an expert in customer experience, enjoys spreading his enthusiasm for this field through coaching, keynote speeches, books, and social media content.
He helps companies win the triple crown – the simultaneous ability to increase revenues, decrease costs, and enhance service – through the CEMMethod® now in version 15.
With over three decades of experience working with large enterprises worldwide, Steve has distilled the successful strategies of top-performing organizations into a proprietary methodology that can be easily imparted to CX teams and executives.
His forte lies in envisioning the future of customer-centricity, customer experience, process management and realizing long-term benefits from business transformation. Steve’s approach combines customer-focused thinking, cutting-edge technologies, and a human touch. Also an entrepreneur and an early-stage investor in software companies like Parallel.
Customer service and customer experience are often used interchangeably, but they differ.
Customer Service is providing support and assistance to your customers before, during, and after they purchase your products or services.
Customer Experience is the overall impression and perception that your customers have of your brand based on their interactions with you across all touchpoints and channels. Customer service is a part of the customer experience, but not the only one.
Why are customer service and customer experience important for your business?
Because they can make or break your relationship with your customers and, ultimately, your business results.
According to a report by PwC, 73% of consumers say that customer experience is a critical factor in their purchasing decisions, and 32% of consumers say they would stop doing business with a brand they loved after one bad experience.
On the other hand, 86% of consumers say they are willing to pay more for a great customer experience, and 65% of consumers say that a positive experience with a brand is more influential than great advertising.
So, how can you provide excellent customer service and customer experience to your customers, and reap the benefits of increased customer retention, loyalty, advocacy, and revenue? Here are some tips and best practices to help you:
1. Understand your customers’ needs, preferences, and emotions.
The first step to creating excellent customer service and experience is knowing who your customers are, what they want, how they feel, and what they expect from you. You can use various methods to gather customer insights, such as surveys, feedback forms, interviews, focus groups, social media, analytics, and customer journey mapping. Customer journey mapping is a powerful tool that helps you visualise and understand your customers’ journey from their first contact with your brand to their post-purchase behaviour and identify the pain points and opportunities along the way.
2. Design and deliver a seamless and personalised customer experience across all touchpoints and channels.
The next step is to use the customer insights you have gathered to design and deliver a customer experience that is consistent, convenient and customised for your customers across all touchpoints and channels, such as your website, mobile app, email, social media, phone, chat, in-store, etc. You can use various techniques to enhance your customer experience, such as user interface design, user experience design, content marketing, personalisation, omnichannel integration, etc.
3. Provide proactive and responsive customer service to your customers before, during, and after they purchase your products or services.
The third step is to provide customer service that is proactive and responsive, meaning that you anticipate and address your customers’ needs and issues before they arise, and respond to them quickly and effectively when they do. You can use various tools and platforms to improve your customer service, such as chatbots, live chat, self-service portals, knowledge bases, FAQs, social media, phone, email, etc.
4. Measure and improve your customer service and customer experience over time.
The final step is to measure and improve your customer service and customer experience over time by collecting and analysing customer feedback, satisfaction, loyalty, advocacy, and other metrics, such as Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), Customer Effort Score (CES), Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), etc. You can use various methods to collect and analyse customer data, such as surveys, feedback forms, reviews, ratings, testimonials, referrals, social media, analytics, etc. You can then use the data to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your customer service and customer experience and implement actions to improve them.
5. Customer service and customer experience are a marriage made in heaven
Because they aim to create a positive and lasting relationship with your customers and boost your business results. By following the tips and best practices above, you can provide excellent customer service and customer experience to your customers and enjoy the benefits of increased customer retention, loyalty, advocacy, and revenue. Customer service and customer experience are not optional but essential for your business’s success.
Start today and transform your customer service, customer experience, and business.
The BPGroup Accredited Customer Experience Masters® (ACXM) Programtakes BPM & CEM Training to an entirely new level.
Become an Accredited Customer Experience Master (ACX Master®) through learning and experiencing the most practical, successful and proven toolkit for customer-centric change
> New Case Studies > 60+ takeaway techniques > 90+ help videos > Fully revised CEMMethod (version 14) > CX Rating (4E’s) integration > All material provided > Dedicated Professional User Group > Ongoing webinars
The Accredited Customer Experience Professional/Master difference
This premier series is designed for those seeking advanced professional skills in customer experience and process management, CX improvement, CX alignment, customer centricity, and innovation. These are the Outside-In Customer Experience Management, BPM Methods, and Techniques that Deliver!
Uncover CX/Process Improvement opportunities in just hours
Identify Actions that will improve customer experience and associated processes by 15% to 40% within 20 days of deployment
Integrate and Evolve methods such as BPM, Lean, Six Sigma and Operational Excellence to Outside-In thinking and practice
Delight your Customers (making them your greatest advocates) through Successful Customer Outcomes and Customer Experience Management
Innovate to compete, set the market trend and even dominate your industry
Advance Net Promoter Score and Customer Satisfaction to the next level
Release significant costs, improve revenues and enhance service (win the Triple Crown) immediately
During our research into the application of ChatGPT into Customer Experiences, and as a prelude to the launch of the new qualification “Certified Journey Management Professional (CJMP),” we were amazed at how rapidly organizations are integrating AI capability into their core experiences.
I have included just three examples here of CX next practice, with references for those wishing to dive deep (hundreds of use cases),
And if you are interested in learning more about the three-day CJMP workshop, send us an email with the subject header CJMP, and we will get back to you.
ChatGPT can be deployed to create an automated customer service chatbot that offers speedy and precise solutions to frequently asked queries [1].
This can prove immensely beneficial for businesses that receive many inquiries, improving their efficiency and rapidity.
ChatGPT’s natural language processing abilities can be utilized to examine customer feedback, deriving useful conclusions about frequent criticisms, recommendations, and developments [2]. Businesses can consider this data to make informed decisions and enhance the overall customer experience.
ChatGPT can offer individualized customer support through a conversational interface, which renders resolving matters or answering questions more convenient and faster [3].
These are merely a few of the potential applications of this technology.
It’s important to note that the specific industry and company will depend on the customer types, organization maturity, and business needs. However, the impact of ChatGPT on customer experiences is significant, with 67% of consumers worldwide now using chatbots for customer support [4]
When Steve Jobs kicked off the Customer Experience (CX) movement in 1997 (video here), he crystallized the idea of understanding customer NEEDS before doing anything else.
At the same time, another CX genius, Jeff Bezos, was three years into creating the most profitable company on the planet and precisely understood Steve Jobs ‘working backwards’ imperative.
There is this Need (even though customers don’t know it yet), and I can create the desire and meet that Need now.
Upgrading your skills and delivery for 2023 will determine your success. Advance and Evolve beyond functional industrial age thinking to Outside-In customer-centric practices. Tried and tested this program has helped to create more than 140,000 professionals across 137 countries since its inception in 2006.
So if understanding and applying the techniques and methods deployed in Apple, Amazon, Zappos, Zara, Emirates and BMW compels you to adopt the ‘next practice’ approaches come and join us online next month or in a city near you through 2023.
Here’s someone who enjoyed the session:
The BPGroup Accredited Customer Experience Masters® (ACXM) Programtakes BPM & CEM Training to an entirely new level.
Become an Accredited Customer Experience Master (ACX Master®) through learning and experiencing the most practical, successful and proven toolkit for customer-centric change
For 2023…
> New Case Studies > 60+ takeaway techniques > 90+ help videos > Fully revised CEMMethod (version 15) > CX Rating (4E’s) integration > All material provided > Dedicated Professional User Group > Ongoing webinars
The Accredited Customer Experience Professional/Master difference
This premier series is designed for those seeking advanced professional skills in customer experience and process management, CX improvement, CX alignment, customer centricity, and innovation. These are the Outside-In Customer Experience Management, BPM Methods, and Techniques that Deliver!
Uncover CX/Process Improvement opportunities in just hours
Identify Actions that will improve customer experience and associated processes by 15% to 40% within 20 days of deployment
Integrate and Evolve methods such as BPM, Lean, Six Sigma and Operational Excellence to Outside-In thinking and practice
Delight your Customers (making them your greatest advocates) through Successful Customer Outcomes and Customer Experience Management
Innovate to compete, set the market trend and even dominate your industry
Advance Net Promoter Score and Customer Satisfaction to the next level
Release significant costs, improve revenues and enhance service (win the Triple Crown) immediately
THANK YOU so much for a really wonderful learning experience. This course provided a terrific holistic framework for how I can more richly think about MOTs . It’s a terrific program that I’d recommend and encourage others to consider strongly. Jim Lecinski, Professor of Marketing, Kellogg School of Management, USA (former SVP at Google where he invented the Z-MOT and Micro MOTs)
Thank you for being an amazing mentor, guru & inspiration. You truly have a way of bringing all principles, especially the divine principles, back into the workplace. Thank you for empowering me to see a different view. Nancy Moodley, Head of Customer Experience, Digital & CRM, Nissan Africa
What an incredible experience. We loved every minute and we’re super excited to up our game. Sarina de Beer, Managing Director at Ask Afrika
An excellent course enabling engineering of a great customer experience! Gavin Smith, Continuous Improvement Lead, Industrial Development Corporation, South Africa
Thank you, Steve, for the high quality & insightful training you delivered. Your innovative approach, critical thinking & up to date case studies facilitated this achievement 👍 Muath Al-Azzam, Principal Services & Operations Specialist, Dubai Municipality, United Arab Emirates
What an amazing journey to Accredited ACX Coach, this experience has completely transformed how we measure, collaborate, communicate and innovate with the customer in mind. Keen to guide the next willing souls on this journey. Durrel Ramrathan, Senior Analytics & AI Leader & ACX Mentor, Multichoice, South Africa
Thanks, Steve, for providing a great learning platform. It was inspiring to hear your experiences as they presented a great source of knowledge. Not only have you been a fantastic mentor to me but you have taught me how to mentor others. Thanks for being so supportive and getting me through. Chandan Chabbra, Head of Content, MX Live, MX Player, India
Thank you, the experience was enlightening, empowering, educating, encouraging and engaging. Natasha Doren, Eskom Pension and Provident Fund, South Africa
I have to say, every day since I left Denver, I have been able to apply some of my learning during the event into not only my job but my personal life as well. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done to advance the field of customer experience! Brett Gill, Regional Sales Manager, Morrison Container Solutions, United States
Another fantastic learning, personal and professional development experience with you! Lyall Shapiro, Head of Experience, Design & Fulfilment Transformation, Australia
Thank you Steve, very intense 4 days but amazing and already putting it into practice! Edwin De Lange, CX Principle, Immersion Group, South Africa
Thank you so much Steve.. this achievement means a lot to me & huge credit goes to you.. looking forward to my next learning Amal Shaira, Director– Head of Client Service Improvement, Business Planning & Strategy, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, UAE
An honour to work with you Steve. A fantastic course Kath Milne, Director & Chairperson, Equality Lawyers, Australia
What an amazing journey to Accredited ACX Coach, this experience has completely transformed how we measure, collaborate, communicate and innovate with the customer in mind. Keen to guide the next willing souls on this journey. Durrel Ramrathan, Senior Analytics & AI Leader & ACX Mentor, Multichoice, South Africa
Thanks very much for an amazing course! You are a fantastic facilitator and I’m truly blessed to have you share your wisdom with us. Jenny Simpson, Associate Director, National Australia Bank, Sydney, Australia
Learning by doing and exploring up to date real-life is what the program is all about. This is my third course with Steve, and I have witnessed tremendous improvements to its content and delivery, and have never failed to leave amazed by the power of the techniques. Saud Albuainain, Director Business Transformation, EY, Saudi Arabia
A year after training in London just wanted to shoot a note of my continued gratitude. Hope to remain involved in the events and work with you again.. that mentoring was beyond invaluable. Juliana Coates, Member Services, University of Albany, New York
I’m writing to endorse the program. It completely changed the way I think. Steve Towers taught us amazing secret techniques of improvement. The program allowed me to apply all the learnings immediately after the training. Very effective training with a wealth of knowledge to share. This is a must training for everyone who’s interested in making their lives better! Maria T Ferreira AVP, Client Experience Process Improvement Citi, New York
Steve has an amazing insight into some of my personal challenges and really helped through his mentoring for me to refocus my energies with immediate renewed personal and career success CIO, Telco, South Africa
Thanks for your time and the fantastic course, delivered in Auckland recently.
Looking forward to attending in June – will see if I can bring some colleagues!!
Neal Ross, Chief Technology Officer, Ricoh, Australia
The detail was very relevant and extremely well presented. Steve is a great communicator and spoke extremely well. Paul Botes, Senior Manager, Standard Bank, South Africa
Brilliant Workshop. The speaker was awesome and gave great guidance on matters I am finding in the workplace. Cindy-Lee Muller, Marketing Coordinator, TPN Credit Bureau, South Africa
The workshop is highly recommended for anyone who wishes to simplify and thereby enhancing satisfaction. The speaker is immensely knowledgeable and demonstrates vast experience in the subject. David Mulovhedzi, Senior Manager, DPSA, South Africa
I did the training 2 weeks ago and it completely changed my world. Since then things are going really fast within our organisation. The rest of the guys in our executive team are completely sold on the concepts. To be honest I did not think it would happen that quick. Nachiket Gole, Chief Information Officer, Cap Gemini, India
..You’ve fundamentally changed the way I think about every process. And inspired me to try Outside-In (OI) in all walks of life. The first two levels should be included in educational curriculums (yes, even at the junior levels). If everyone started applying OI, the world would be… where it should be. Mahesh Mirchandani, Group CTO, TruDoc HealthCare
If you are looking to improve your own professional life then I would recommend the program and Techniques Stephen Nicholson, Certified Process Professional Master, BPM Systems, Australia
Excellent presentation, clear and concise. Absolutely Gripping Devendra Maisnam, Business Analyst, National E-Health Transition Authority, Australia
Thanks to you for a fantastic mentoring programme … I am an Outside-In fan now ! Jimmy Cuadra, CIO, ICI Paints Asia Pacific, Singapore
I was struck with awe on the versatile yet practical experience that you shared. Thanks for the wonderful session on CPP this week Syed Raashid, Specialist, Qatar Energy, UAE
Thanks again for the fantastic course and insights you provided. Sean Schurmann, Consultant, e&e Solutions, Australia.
Just a short note to say thanks again for the course. It was a truly mind blowing experience and I will never think about process the same way again. Craig Reid, CEO & Founder, Professional Holiday Homes.
I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the book! It really helped tie together various concepts and practices I have been evolving towards over a number of years, crystallizing them into a simple but powerful framework. Steve Melville, Director, Oracle, USA.
Steve led the best training sessions I have ever taken in my 20+ years as a professional. After those sessions, I was able to have an immediate impact on my organization. Steve is a very sharp, personable, interesting individual and a real pleasure to work with. I continue to remain in regular contact with Steve and consider him an invaluable resource on BPM and on change management in general. Mark Barnett, Director of Global Process Practice, ACN, Inc. USA
I would like to thank you for a wonderful experience for me to know the nuances of ABPM. Taking us to a new level on how to view processes & implement by way of sharing your wealth of experience and enlightening us with the case studies & exercises. Director Quality Management Group, 3i Infotech Ltd., India
Exceptional and life-transforming. This training should be on every corporate agenda CIO, Apotex Pharmaceutical, Canada
Simple and different concepts which is path-breaking and easy to understand and deploy Director Business Consulting, Chennai, India
Excellent – he is a very good leader Senior Quality Analyst, AEC, Saudi Arabia
I want to thank you for the great content and coaching that you provided, the concepts resonated even more clearly when presented with your enthusiasm and experience. Director, H&R Block, USA
I really enjoyed last week and really learned a lot. I feel I had a Eureka moment yesterday when the whole process and CX diagnostics suddenly clicked into place. I remember you saying that once you grasp this then you will never look at processes in any other way. I am now actively evangelizing the CEM approach with our team. Senior Analyst, Investment Bank, London
Steve is an inspiring global thought leader. He is a creative visionary, working on the edge of breakthrough change. Kenneth Mortimer, Principal, MBA & Associates Ltd
You are the tops! Everyone in the field should be exposed to the techniques experienced in this course. Personnel Director, Business Management, Bank of America
…was so helpful. The ability to ask questions/having a discussion after the day’s end was extremely good. I really appreciated the professional approach Telco Director, CIO of CEU, Hungary
“This course provided a terrific holistic framework for how I can more richly think about how MOTs connect to Customer Experience and Customer Journey Management. It’s a terrific program that I’d recommend and encourage Professionals to strongly consider.”
Jim Lecinski, Professor, Kellogg School of Management
(Jim is the creator of ZMOTs and Micro MOTs as a VP at Google 2006-2018)
L.G. Lavengood Outstanding Professor of the Year Award (2022)
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:
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!
QUESTION 1: Why do so many organizations struggle to become truly customer-centric?
ANSWER: They are using an out-of-date mindset. The thinking is borrowed from the industrial age when optimizing production and throughput was the thing. That way of thinking is about production management, efficiency, effectiveness, and waste elimination. Does that sound familiar? The mindset is not exactly customer focussed.
Next
QUESTION 2: What is (probably) the biggest hurdle to becoming Outside-In and customer-focused?
ANSWER: It is getting passed this industrial age mindset and all the things that come with it. For instance, it is our reward structure. It’s the approach to employee empowerment. Another one is rigid out of date linear processes and systems. I think you get the picture.
Alright, one more concern.
QUESTION 3: If listening to the customer is so important, then what is ‘best practice’ and the emerging next practice?
ANSWER: Often times many companies try to drive forward by only looking in the rear-view mirror. That is by listening to subjective perceptual historic feedback rather than paying attention to every interaction 100% of the time.
The GOOD news is…
In the ACX Masters program, we show you step-by-step how to handle these challenges so you don’t have to Fall into the Bear Pit.
You can get the full scoop and preview here at the BP Group site.
Cheers for now!
There are always more questions than answers 😉 However, in the ACX Masters program, we cover all the bases and provide a set of tools and approaches that enable you to WIN THE TRIPLE CROWN in every CX initiative Join us soon!
SEEING THE WORLD AS IT IS CAN BE A CHALLENGE FOR SO MANY PEOPLE
The other day I was rewatching The Matrix – can you believe that was released in 1999?… but I digress.
One of the most interesting scenes is where Morpheus presents Neo with a choice of the red pill or the blue pill. What was Neo’s response to the offer?
As described by Morpheus: “You take the blue pill…the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill…you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” Neo chooses the red pill and joins the rebellion.
What will your choice be – Red or Blue?
Yes, he chose to see the world as it really is, not as it appeared to be….
That’s a lot like the choice companies face now. Do they carry on living in the blissful ignorance of a collective hallucination from the industrial age, or do they see the world as it really is now.
Maybe I’m geeking out on this a bit…
But when you’re as immersed as I am into Outside-In and Customer Centricity you just start seeing these little lessons everywhere… even in popular films.
We do a lot more about moving beyond the hallucination during the ACX Masters 4 day program.
Simple things can be very very effective and that is certainly the case with this ‘go-to’ template. Based on the Next Practice of some of the worlds leading companies completing this could change the way you think and do business forever.
It is my first interaction with Top Teams and Leaders and I use it as my first conversation with anyone who says they are tasked with helping transform their organisations (and themselves sometimes!)
