Employee Liberation for Successful Customer Outcomes!

I am happy to invite you to the #VIIICongresoDEC, a reference event in CX in which I will be participating as a keynote speaker.  

This year it is about Employee Experience and its relationship with Customer Experience. October 5th. Do not miss it! 
https://asociaciondec.org/eventos/congreso/congreso-2021/ 

Employee Engagement


It should stand to reason that great Customer Experiences are born with fantastic Employee Engagement. Why is this so often not the case? There are three attitudes that top teams can apply to help their people provide the ultimate experiences – both engineered and free-flowing.

It is perhaps simpler than most people think…

Successful Customer Outcomes

A concept not well understood comes from Apple’s playbook of crafting Successful Customer Outcomes. One of Steve Jobs most famous quotes highlighted a different starting point to craft truly successful customer outcomes. For many leaders, the stark contrast between Industrial Age thinking and Customer Age/’Outside-In’ practice provided a platform to liberate their employees from scripts, tasks, and outputs. The best of these examples shows us all a better way.

Simple truth often misunderstood – do you get it? Really?

Measurement Systems

How are you currently measuring success? Is it by the number of jobs done, tasks completed, and outputs achieved? If those things represent your major Key Performance Indicators, or the more fashionable Objectives and Key Results then you may need to think again.

Why so? Liberating employees from the shackles of these measures will produce better customer experiences, improved bottom lines, and enhanced shareholder value from the get-go. Creating Results-Oriented Communication (Jim Sinur) is a quantum leap from the industrial era praxis. We will review those next practices and layout a plan to deliver immediate and sustained results.

Here’s a piece on flawed measurement systems: https://www.cxobsession.com/2020/07/27/call-canters-fail/

Are you employees like caged birds?

So please join me on CX day 2021 in Spain and we will demonstrate a better way!
https://asociaciondec.org/eventos/congreso/congreso-2021/ 

Congreso 2021

Do you want to embrace advanced Customer-Centric thinking and become Outside-In?

https://lnkd.in/djWxB8m

👉 Step #1 – Review the upskilling options to become an ACX Professional & ACX Master: https://lnkd.in/dANgYX59

👉 Step #2 – Get The Book: Outside-In The Secret *FREE*  https://bit.ly/OI2021now

👉 Step #3 – Connect With The Community: https://linktr.ee/SteveTowers

👉 Step #4 – Keep Pace with Change: Recent Keynote – The Hard Benefits of XM | https://cemnext.com/xmroi2023

👉 Step #5 – Review the Testimonials Accredited Customer Experience Professional – BPG (bpgroup.org)

Do you want to embrace advanced Customer-Centric thinking and become Outside-In?

https://lnkd.in/djWxB8m

👉 Step #1 – Review the upskilling options to become an ACX Professional & ACX Master: https://lnkd.in/dANgYX59

👉 Step #2 – Get The Book: Outside-In The Secret *FREE*  https://bit.ly/OI2021now

👉 Step #3 – Connect With The Community: https://linktr.ee/SteveTowers

👉 Step #4 – Keep Pace with Change: Recent Keynote – The Hard Benefits of XM | https://cemnext.com/xmroi2023

👉 Step #5 – Review the Testimonials Accredited Customer Experience Professional – BPG (bpgroup.org)

What Rests, Rusts. Step Up to the Bright, Shiny New Accredited Customer Experience® Program

Delivered by Been There and Done It Professionals for Professionals

Australia & Oceania | Americas | South Africa | Europe | GCC – Middle East

The ACX Program features the Accredited Customer Experience Professional®
(ACXP® 2 day x 5 hours per day)
LIVE online INTERACTIVE

The ACX Professional & ACX Master program

Australia & Oceania | Americas | South Africa | Europe | GCC – Middle East

The ACX Program also includes Accredited Customer Experience Master®
(ACXM® 4 day x 5 hours per day)
LIVE online INTERACTIVE

Australia & Oceania | Americas | South Africa | Europe | GCC – Middle East

Australia & Oceania | Americas | South Africa | Europe | GCC – Middle East

Australia & Oceania | Americas | South Africa | Europe | GCC – Middle East

Australia & Oceania | Americas | South Africa | Europe | GCC – Middle East

Australia & Oceania | Americas | South Africa | Europe | GCC – Middle East


Testimonials… hear what others say…

It’s been an honour and privilege to participate and attend the ACX-M course, It was an eye-opener and quite a revelation for me, I became conscious of these important concepts and aspects of customer experience, Thank you for showing us the way.
Product Specialist at Laerdal Medical, India

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 at Dubai Municipality

I have to say, every day since I left Denver, I have been able to apply some bit of learning that I got during the ACXM event into not only my job, but my personal life as well. Thank you so much for everything that you’ve done to advance the field of customer experience!
Brett Gill, United States

Thank you Steve for another enlightening and engaging course that just keeps challenging the way we do things®
Edwin De Lange, South Africa

Thanks again for four great and inspiring days.
Christian Becker, Germany


It’s been great training with lots of new tools that we will be able to implement soon I hope. Super interesting information, I am looking forward to reading your book as well. I really appreciated your energy and enthusiasm throughout the training.
Silvia Fernandez Calvo, Spain

Let me take this opportunity to thank Mr. Steve. Your teachings are timeless and they stick perfectly and forever in our minds. We shall never forget you wherever we find ourselves on this planet. Thank you so much, Steve 🙏
Benignus Otmar, Tanzania

Thank you, the experience was enlightening, empowering, educating, encouraging, and engaging.
Natasha Doren, South Africa

Thank you, Steve, I have never enjoyed anything more than the CX course, The weight of knowledge I gained and the enlightenment that I got is indescribable.
Reem Elsadig, Sudan

Thanks, Steve for such an excellent program, the dedicated manner you use to share with us your wonderful knowledge and wisdom in CX, and the time to respond to all our questions! God bless you, thanks a lot!
Yanese Angeles, Dominican Republic

You started me out on this journey my friend. Thanks for letting me live out my passion!
Molly Redenbaugh, Iowa, United States

Thank you! It’s been an amazing journey and you have been a great mentor.
It was an honor taking your class, I am now a confident CPP Master🙏🏾
Masele Masudi Msita, Tanzania

Thank you Steve for your high-quality wonderful Master. I thought the course was brilliant. Thank you for everything.
Ashraf Mohamed, Philadelphia, USA

Thanks again, Steve. 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 Chhabra, Delhi, India

Another fantastic learning, personal and professional development experience with you!
Lyall Shapiro, Australia


Do you want to embrace advanced Customer-Centric thinking and become Outside-In?

https://lnkd.in/djWxB8m

👉 Step #1 – Review the upskilling options to become an ACX Professional & ACX Master: https://lnkd.in/dANgYX59

👉 Step #2 – Get The Book: Outside-In The Secret *FREE*  https://bit.ly/OI2021now

👉 Step #3 – Connect With The Community: https://linktr.ee/SteveTowers

👉 Step #4 – Keep Pace with Change: Recent Keynote – The Hard Benefits of XM | https://cemnext.com/xmroi2023

👉 Step #5 – Review the Testimonials Accredited Customer Experience Professional – BPG (bpgroup.org)

BP Group Annual Survey 2021: FIVE significant CX Challenges and the emerging Next Practices

Introduction and Background
The BP Groups 30th Annual Survey focuses specifically on developing challenges facing the adoption of Customer Experience and Customer Centric practices.

The survey contributors are senior people Accredited in Customer Experience for a minimum of two year and the questions asked through 2020 and 2021 (during the pandemic).

Contributors identified 50+ challenges and from these, we distilled them down to five with subsequent deeper dives to explore how people were meeting and overcoming the challenges.

Over the next six weeks, we will review each of the main challenges and the emergent Next Practices to overcome.

The Five CX Challenges (and Next Practices)

Here is a summary of the major findings:

Customers Have Changed Forever
https://bit.ly/BPGSurveyW1

CX Metrics Are Just Not Good Enough
https://bit.ly/BPGSurveyW2

Mindsets Are Getting In The Way
https://bit.ly/BPGSurveyW3

Too Much Theory, too Little Delivery
https://bit.ly/BPGSurveyW4

Communication is an Enormous Problem
https://bit.ly/BPGSurvey_W5


Watch the Complete Webinar and
Download the Resources:

Join ‘Five Challenges (and Next Practices)’: https://cemnext.com/cx5registration

Review the LIVE Program that codifies the ‘Next Practices’: https://bit.ly/COIM21


Do you want to embrace advanced Customer-Centric thinking and become Outside-In?

https://lnkd.in/djWxB8m

👉 Step #1 – Review the upskilling options to become an ACX Professional & ACX Master: https://lnkd.in/dANgYX59

👉 Step #2 – Get The Book: Outside-In The Secret *FREE*  https://bit.ly/OI2021now

👉 Step #3 – Connect With The Community: https://linktr.ee/SteveTowers

👉 Step #4 – Keep Pace with Change: Recent Keynote – The Hard Benefits of XM | https://cemnext.com/xmroi2023

👉 Step #5 – Review the Testimonials Accredited Customer Experience Professional – BPG (bpgroup.org)

FIVE significant CX Challenges – “Effective Communication is An Enormous Problem ”(Pt. 5)


Last week we reviewed the 4th of the five main CX Challenges -Metrics Are Just Not Good Enough (link). This week, in the final segment, we asked the question “Are CX Communicatons working well?”

The BP Groups 30th Annual Survey focused specifically on developing challenges facing the adoption of Customer Experience and Customer Centric practices.

The Five CX Challenges (and Next Practices)

This week we ask the question “Are Your CX Communications working well?”

Here is the Video from the recent webinar:

Summary of Customer Experience Metrics Are Just Not Good Enough


Additional Resources:

Join The Webinar and FULL Five Challenges (and Next Practices): https://cemnext.com/cx5registration

Review the LIVE Program that codifies the ‘Next Practices’: https://bit.ly/COIM21


Do you want to embrace advanced Customer-Centric thinking and become Outside-In?

https://lnkd.in/djWxB8m

👉 Step #1 – Review the upskilling options to become an ACX Professional & ACX Master: https://lnkd.in/dANgYX59

👉 Step #2 – Get The Book: Outside-In The Secret *FREE*  https://bit.ly/OI2021now

👉 Step #3 – Connect With The Community: https://linktr.ee/SteveTowers

👉 Step #4 – Keep Pace with Change: Recent Keynote – The Hard Benefits of XM | https://cemnext.com/xmroi2023

👉 Step #5 – Review the Testimonials Accredited Customer Experience Professional – BPG (bpgroup.org)

FIVE significant CX Challenges – “Too Much Theory, not Enough Delivery”(Pt. 4)


Last week we reviewed the third of the five main CX Challenges -Mindsets Are Getting In Way (link).

The BP Groups 30th Annual Survey focuses specifically on developing challenges facing the adoption of Customer Experience and Customer Centric practices.

We have now reviewed 3 of the 5 challenges, let’s see how industrial era metrics prevent a customer-centric evolution

The Five CX Challenges (and Next Practices)

This week we ask the question “Is Your CX Measurement system working well?”

Here is the 12 minute Video from the recent webinar:

Summary of Customer Experience Metrics Are Just Not Good Enough


Additional Resources:

Join The Webinar and FULL Five Challenges (and Next Practices): https://cemnext.com/cx5registration

Review the LIVE Program that codifies the ‘Next Practices’: https://bit.ly/COIM21

Next week we will review CX Challenge:
“Communication Is An Enormous Problem”


Do you want to embrace advanced Customer-Centric thinking and become Outside-In?

https://lnkd.in/djWxB8m

👉 Step #1 – Review the upskilling options to become an ACX Professional & ACX Master: https://lnkd.in/dANgYX59

👉 Step #2 – Get The Book: Outside-In The Secret *FREE*  https://bit.ly/OI2021now

👉 Step #3 – Connect With The Community: https://linktr.ee/SteveTowers

👉 Step #4 – Keep Pace with Change: Recent Keynote – The Hard Benefits of XM | https://cemnext.com/xmroi2023

👉 Step #5 – Review the Testimonials Accredited Customer Experience Professional – BPG (bpgroup.org)

FIVE significant CX Challenges – “Is Your organization fully attuned to YOUR customer?”(Part 3)


Last week we reviewed the second of the five main CX Challenges – Customers Have Changed Forever (link).

The BP Groups 30th Annual Survey focuses specifically on developing challenges facing the adoption of Customer Experience and Customer Centric practices.

Over the next few weeks, we will review each of the main challenges and the emergent Next Practices to overcome.

The Five CX Challenges (and Next Practices)

This week we ask the question “Is Your organization fully attuned to YOUR customer?”

Here is the 12 minute Video from the recent webinar:

Summary of Customers have Changed Forever Challenge 1 of 5


Additional Resources:

Join The Webinar and FULL Five Challenges (and Next Practices): https://cemnext.com/cx5registration

Review the LIVE Program that codifies the ‘Next Practices’: https://bit.ly/COIM21

Next week we will review CX Challenge:
“There is Too Much Theory!”


Do you want to embrace advanced Customer-Centric thinking and become Outside-In?

https://lnkd.in/djWxB8m

👉 Step #1 – Review the upskilling options to become an ACX Professional & ACX Master: https://lnkd.in/dANgYX59

👉 Step #2 – Get The Book: Outside-In The Secret *FREE*  https://bit.ly/OI2021now

👉 Step #3 – Connect With The Community: https://linktr.ee/SteveTowers

👉 Step #4 – Keep Pace with Change: Recent Keynote – The Hard Benefits of XM | https://cemnext.com/xmroi2023

👉 Step #5 – Review the Testimonials Accredited Customer Experience Professional – BPG (bpgroup.org)

FIVE significant CX Challenges – “Does Your CX Measurement System Work Well?”(Part 2)

The BP Groups 30th Annual Survey focuses specifically on developing challenges facing the adoption of Customer Experience and Customer Centric practices.

Last week we reviewed the first of the five main CX Challenges – Customers Have Changed Forever (link).

Over the next six weeks, we will review each of the main challenges and the emergent Next Practices to overcome.

The Five CX Challenges (and Next Practices)

This week we ask the question “Does Your CX Measurement System Work Well?”

Here is the 10 minute Video from the recent webinar:

Summary of Customers have Changed Forever Challenge 1 of 5


Additional Resources:

Join The Webinar and FULL Five Challenges (and Next Practices): https://cemnext.com/cx5registration

Review the LIVE Program that codifies the ‘Next Practices’: https://bit.ly/COIM21

Next week we will review CX Challenge:
Customers Have Changed Forever


Do you want to embrace advanced Customer-Centric thinking and become Outside-In?

https://lnkd.in/djWxB8m

👉 Step #1 – Review the upskilling options to become an ACX Professional & ACX Master: https://lnkd.in/dANgYX59

👉 Step #2 – Get The Book: Outside-In The Secret *FREE*  https://bit.ly/OI2021now

👉 Step #3 – Connect With The Community: https://linktr.ee/SteveTowers

👉 Step #4 – Keep Pace with Change: Recent Keynote – The Hard Benefits of XM | https://cemnext.com/xmroi2023

👉 Step #5 – Review the Testimonials Accredited Customer Experience Professional – BPG (bpgroup.org)

FIVE significant CX Challenges and the emerging Next Practices (Part 1)

Introduction and Background
The BP Groups 30th Annual Survey focuses specifically on developing challenges facing the adoption of Customer Experience and Customer Centric practices.

The survey contributors are senior people Accredited in Customer Experience for a minimum of two year and the questions asked through 2020 and 2021 (during the pandemic).

Contributors identified 50+ challenges and from these, we distilled them down to five with subsequent deeper dives to explore how people were meeting and overcoming the challenges.

Over the next six weeks, we will review each of the main challenges and the emergent Next Practices to overcome.

The Five CX Challenges (and Next Practices)

This week we ask the question “Does Your Organisation Understand Its Customers?”

Here is the 10 minute Video from the recent webinar:

Segment from the recent CX5 Challenge session
Summary of Customers have Changed Forever Challenge 1 of 5


Additional Resources:

Join The Webinar and FULL Five Challenges (and Next Practices): https://cemnext.com/cx5registration

Review the LIVE Program that codifies the ‘Next Practices’: https://bit.ly/COIM21

Next week we will review CX Challenge:
Existing CX Metrics are Just Not Good Enough.


Do you want to embrace advanced Customer-Centric thinking and become Outside-In?

https://lnkd.in/djWxB8m

👉 Step #1 – Review the upskilling options to become an ACX Professional & ACX Master: https://lnkd.in/dANgYX59

👉 Step #2 – Get The Book: Outside-In The Secret *FREE*  https://bit.ly/OI2021now

👉 Step #3 – Connect With The Community: https://linktr.ee/SteveTowers

👉 Step #4 – Keep Pace with Change: Recent Keynote – The Hard Benefits of XM | https://cemnext.com/xmroi2023

👉 Step #5 – Review the Testimonials Accredited Customer Experience Professional – BPG (bpgroup.org)

6 Steps to Customer Obsession (and Why)

Disruption Rules…
For more than eleven decades, Gillette ruled the world of shaving. In 2010 it had a 70% market share, now today (2021) it is around 54%. The emergent market leaders are a pair of start-ups, Harry’s and Dollar Shave Club.

Gillette’s market share is being cut…

The newcomers’ secret includes understanding changing customer needs, a narrow product line, incisive data analytics coupled with social media savvy, no middlemen, right sourced manufacturing, and lower prices than Gillette.

It is happening everywhere, with previous industrial giants being displaced across many business categories, including Casper in mattresses, Barnabas in men’s clothing, Allbirds shoes and trainers, and Warby Parker in eyeglasses.

Direct to consumer brands captured an estimated 20% of all online retail sales in the US in 2020. Established brands, consumer or industrial, are under more significant attack than ever. New entrants face lower entry barriers and have no baggage of past business models and industrial age thinking. 

Enlightened Customers

Customers have become enlightened…

Customers have become ‘enlightened’ through social media and learn about new trends and better products and experiences at lightning speed. Through the pandemic, customers expectations rose, they have become more choosey and rebellious. In fact, you could say customers have become prosumers.

Coupling these trends and increasing aspirations necessitates companies to become progressively Customer Obsessed if they wish to stay in the game. This requires an unending exploration and understanding of customer needs (even when customers themselves may not be aware of them) and an ability to act on those needs. The objective is to actively listen to 100% of interactions 100% of the time to understand micro trends and undertake next level research to deliver increased personalization.

Customers reject the one size fits all industrial age companies in favor of agile, immediate, and empathetic organizations. Mass customization is now achievable at a decreasing cost, allowing companies to offer specific personalized experiences and stay connected at every customer journey stage.

Extreme Alignment

Business alignment concept, strategy and planning, white arrow on road background, vintage and retro


This extreme alignment of everyone and everything towards successful customer outcomes is the hallmark of companies like Adidas. They have established speed factory facilities in Europe and the US, with an ability to measure each individual customers stride, speed, and gait. From that information, use 3D printing, AI, and automated manufacturing to compact the time from order to delivery. This hyper-personalization is welcome so much that customers are prepared to pay significantly more for their unique product.

Adidas is just one example. Cast your eyes over all industry sectors’ leaders, and you will see customer obsession in every aspect of their systems, processes, and experiences right across the complete supply chain.

How aligned is your company?

1. How personalized are your services and products?

2. Do you enable customer co-creation of the products and services they consume?

3. What is your company doing to continually innovate across all aspects of the business?

4. Where are the pinch points in existing operations that prevent rapid execution of change?

5. Is there an established culture of customer obsession?

6. Are the dots connected and lines drawn between strategy, leadership, and execution?

Time is short

Time Is Short…

Those companies that are unable or unwilling to make the changes necessary to move from industrial silo thinking to customer obsession face an imminent existential crisis brought about by these shifting business models. If they cannot evolve quickly, they will go the way of the Blockbusters, Kodaks, Nokia, Circuit City, Borders, and so many others.


Put the theory into practice and join us for the online, the live and interactive Certified Outside-In Master® program.

Review the content and register at: https://cemnext.com/oi2020

The launch of the program in 2020 qualified 20 people as Certified Outside-In Masters.