Richard Owen hosts a conversation on the future of the telecommunications industry with Marc Anné, Chair of the World Communication Awards judging panel, and Harry Baldock, Editor of Total Telecom. The discussion covers key industry trends, including the rise of 5G, the growing dominance of hyperscalers, and the challenge of telcos transforming into technology companies.

They address the persistent revenue struggles of telecom operators despite increasing data consumption, the role of AI in network optimization and customer experience, and the competitive pressures from China and US tech giants. Marc highlights AI-driven efficiency improvements in telcos, from predictive maintenance to hyper-personalized customer interactions, while Harry reflects on the sector’s identity crisis—caught between innovation and commoditization.

The conversation ends with predictions for the next five years, emphasizing AI-powered services, private 5G networks for B2B, and the telcos’ need for strategic partnerships to remain relevant.

Harry Baldock is the Editor at Total Telecom, writing daily news stories and feature articles on a broad randge of topics within the telecoms industry. He is also an experienced interviewer, having interviewed numerous executives from throughout the industry, including the CEO of Three and the UK Minister for Digital Infrastructure. Prior to his telecommunications role, Harry was an Editorial Assistant for the European Medical Journal.

Marc Anné has held a variety of executive global leadership positions in business development, M&A implementation, and customer experience leadership, mainly in the B2B telecommunications and software industries, notably at Orange Business, Equant, and SITA. He has been a judge for the World Communications Awards for a number of years. He is passionate about the subject and has extensive expertise in designing, orchestrating, implementing, and progress monitoring of global transformational programs to a variety of B2B and B2C telecommunications companies.

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In this podcast, Richard Owen and Brian Curry tackle the provocative question, “Is NPS dead?” While acknowledging the clickbait nature of the question, they argue that the traditional Net Promoter Score (NPS) program has become outdated—not because the metric itself is useless, but because the way companies implement it has failed to evolve. Surveys, once the backbone of customer experience (CX) programs, are increasingly unreliable due to response bias and their inability to provide real-time, comprehensive insights. Instead, Owen and Curry advocate for a new approach—leveraging AI and operational data to create “generative CX analytics” that provide a more accurate, always-on view of customer sentiment and behavior.

They emphasize that the shift isn’t about replacing NPS outright but transforming how CX programs function. Traditional survey-driven programs are losing credibility with executives, who see them as delivering little actionable value. AI-driven analytics, which integrate survey insights with broader customer data, offer a path forward by providing predictive, real-time intelligence. Owen and Curry predict that companies that embrace this transformation will gain a competitive edge, while those clinging to outdated NPS programs risk irrelevance. The key takeaway: it’s not about whether NPS is dead—it’s about whether your CX program is keeping up with the future.

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In this special 8-minute episode, Richard Owen, CEO of OCX Cognition, shares highlights from 2024's CX Iconoclast podcast series, showcasing how top companies are embracing customer-centric transformation to drive retention and loyalty.

Featured Guests:

Simon Paris (Finastra): Explores how open finance shifts focus from products to personalized customer journeys.

Chris Bishop (Conga): Explains how embedding customer success into every role drives growth and celebrates customer-focused achievements.

Chris Adlard (Author of The Customer Catalyst): Discusses his C-Change diagnostic tool, enabling organizations to assess and implement customer-centric strategies.

From rethinking banking services to fostering company-wide customer obsession, this episode is packed with actionable insights to inspire your business transformation.

Watch now and take the first step toward putting your customers at the center of your strategy!

👉 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more insights on CX innovation and transformation.

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Richard Owen and Amir Hartman explore the challenges companies face in adopting AI, particularly the high failure rates of AI projects. Owen compares the current AI landscape to previous technological waves, where early excitement led companies to invest in sandbox projects with little return. These projects are often ill-conceived or difficult to scale, resulting in wasted resources. Hartman agrees and points out that while most companies are investing in AI to "keep the lights on," few are focusing on truly innovative projects that could provide a competitive edge. The conversation touches on the disproportionate attention given to large language models like ChatGPT, which may overshadow more practical AI applications, such as embedding AI in physical assets like wind turbines and HVAC systems.

 
Hartman emphasizes that enterprise leaders face a tightrope walk between experimenting with AI and over-investing in unproven technology. While it’s essential to explore AI's potential, leaders must avoid waiting too long, as late adopters risk falling behind competitors. The key, according to Hartman, is finding a balance between innovation and practicality, ensuring that AI investments are thoughtful and focused on long-term value. Both speakers recognize the fast pace of AI development, driven by major tech players like Microsoft, Google, and Oracle, and agree that this wave of innovation presents both unique opportunities and significant risks for businesses.

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As President of Enterprise Solutions at Praxis AI, Amir drives market adoption and scales AI solutions for Praxis AI customers. He also leads AI strategy research with senior leaders at Dasteel Consulting, Experience Alliance and Fidere.ai. Previously, Amir was Managing Director of Customer Success at Oracle, enhancing digital strategies for cloud investments. Before Oracle, he co-founded Mainstay Company, improving sales and customer success for top tech firms. Earlier, Amir was a founding member at Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group, developing strategies for top customers.

Amir is passionate about building high-performance teams and fostering innovation. He is a keynote speaker and author of bestselling books “Net Ready,” “Competing for Customers,” and the upcoming “AI Ready”(2024). Amir has taught at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and Harvard Business School. 

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Richard Owen and Jean-Christophe Barland discussed the complexities facing the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in relation to healthcare delivery and the aging population. Barland emphasized the diversity among physicians in terms of their engagement with new technologies and their competence, which can lead to varying patient outcomes. A more data-driven, scientific approach could help address these inconsistencies. Internally, pharmaceutical companies must ensure a strong corporate culture to support a better external customer experience.

Barland used the "IKEA effect" as a metaphor, suggesting that when customers are actively involved in complex healthcare processes—just like when they are assembling furniture—they become more invested in the outcomes. This was particularly relevant in the context of cellular therapies, where the precision required is immense, especially in cultures like Japan, where expectations for flawless execution are high. Barland’s experience leading teams in Japan revealed the importance of framing healthcare challenges as collective efforts, fostering deeper customer engagement

 The conversation also touched on the economic and societal implications of an aging population. While older adults often become viewed as a financial burden on healthcare systems, Barland suggested that we need to rethink their potential contributions to the workforce. Shifting cultural attitudes, particularly in countries like France, where early retirement is deeply ingrained, is crucial for enabling older adults to remain economically active. Innovations in healthcare are exploding, with AI playing a significant role in accelerating progress. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the power of collaboration and transparency in driving vaccine development, showing the potential for similar approaches in the future. Both Owen and Barland expressed optimism about the future of healthcare, noting that the combination of technology and trust could lead to even greater advancements in improving quality of life, especially for aging populations.


Jean-Christophe Barland is a seasoned executive with over two decades of international experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Most recently, he served as the President and CEO of Bristol-Myers Squibb K.K. in Japan, where he played a pivotal role in the company’s strategic transformation and integration with Celgene. Known for his visionary leadership and commitment to innovation, Jean-Christophe has been instrumental in advancing immuno-oncology research and fostering industry-academia collaborations. His tenure at Bristol-Myers Squibb was marked by significant contributions to the company’s growth and its mission to develop life-saving therapies.

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In the latest CX Iconoclast conversation, Michel Claassens and Richard Owen dive into AkzoNobel's journey of digital transformation, demonstrating how a traditional paint company is innovating and continuing to grow in a rapidly changing landscape. Claassens shares insights on how AkzoNobel strategically targets specific business units to harness digital initiatives, driving both revenue growth and cost efficiency. One fascinating takeaway is the discovery that hybrid customers—those who engage both online and offline—generate the highest revenue, sparking a concerted effort to transition more offline customers to digital platforms, and vice-versa.

The discussion highlights the real challenge: transforming the organizational mindset to fully embrace digital tools and data-driven decision-making. As Claassens outlines the company’s vision for a future where service-oriented and data-rich product offerings redefine the paint industry, listeners will gain valuable perspectives on navigating their own digital journeys. This podcast is a must for anyone interested in how traditional industries can successfully adapt to the digital age and unlock new growth opportunities!

Michel Claassens is the Global Head of Digital at AkzoNobel, a leading global paints and coatings company. With a strong background in digital transformation and marketing, Michel has been instrumental in driving AkzoNobel’s digital initiatives and strategies

Before joining AkzoNobel, Michel held significant roles at Signify (formerly Philips Lighting), where he served as Vice President of Digital Marketing and E-commerce. His expertise in digital solutions and e-commerce has been pivotal in enhancing the company’s online presence and customer engagement.

At AkzoNobel, Michel leads the Global Digital Center of Excellence, managing projects that intersect technology and business impact. He has played a key role in harmonizing the company’s MarTech landscape and driving its global digital and e-commerce strategy. Michel’s work is characterized by a deep understanding of both the technological and business aspects of digital transformation, making him a valuable asset to AkzoNobel and a leader in the field of digital marketing.

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In this episode of the CX Iconoclast podcast, host Richard sits down with Bob Cooper, a leading expert in AI and business strategy, to explore the true impact of AI across various industries. Bob and Richard note the contrast between the highly visible, consumer-facing AI applications, such as robo taxis and smart devices, and the less glamorous but profoundly impactful uses of AI in engineering, product development, and back-office automation. Bob shares real-world examples from industries like pharmaceuticals and chemicals, where AI is being used to discover new molecules and drive innovation, highlighting the quiet yet transformative power of AI in these sectors.

The discussion also touches on the trend of "AI washing," where everyday products are labeled as AI-enabled for marketing purposes, often without any real technological innovation. Despite this, Bob remains optimistic about the future of AI in business, noting that while challenges exist, the potential benefits are significant for companies that implement AI correctly. He underscores the importance of learning from early adopters, avoiding common pitfalls, and applying best practices to ensure successful AI integration. The episode concludes with practical insights for businesses looking to harness AI's power effectively, making it a must-listen for anyone interested in the future of AI in the enterprise.

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Dr. Robert G. Cooper is ISBM Distinguished Research Fellow at Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business Administration, Professor Emeritus at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business (Canada), and a Crawford Fellow of the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA). 

Bob is the creator of the popular Stage-Gate® process model,  now the most popular idea-to-launch NPD process globally (for physical product firms). He also developed Stage-Gate-TD for internal technology projects, and co-developed the Agile-Stage-Gate process. In terms of project selection models, Cooper developed the original NewProd™ scoring model and the Value-Based Model for NPD projects.

 More recently Bob has been heavily engaged in research in to the field of AI adoption for NPD by firms in the USA and Germany, and its impact on NPD performance. He has published seven articles on AI in NPD in peer-reviewed journals in 2023-2024.

Over his career, Bob has published 12 books – including the “bible for NPD”, Winning at New Products, and more than 160 articles on the management of new products, most in refereed journals. He is noted as being the #2 cited Marketing Professor globally, after Dr. Phil Kotler, by Resarch.com. He has won the IRI’s (Innovation Research Interchange) prestigious Maurice Holland Award three times for “best article of the year”. Bob has also helped hundreds of firms over the years implement best practices in product innovation, including companies such as 3M, BASF, Bosche, Danfoss, Dow Chem, DuPont, ExxonMobil, Glaxo-Smith-Kleine, Guinness, HP, ITT Industries, LEGO, and P&G.

Cooper holds Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Chemical Engineering from McGill University in Canada; and a PhD in Business and an MBA from Western University, Canada. Website: www.bobcooper.ca 

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In this episode of the CX Iconoclast Podcast, Richard Owen hosts Joe Pine, thought leader, academic, and author of The Experience Economy and several other influential books including Mass Customization, Authenticity, and Infinite Possibility. The conversation with Joe Pine covers the evolution of The Experience Economy over the past 25 years, the impact of digital technology, the shift in consumer preferences, and the role of AI in creating transformative experiences. It also explores the challenges and opportunities for companies in embracing the experience philosophy and the importance of customer co-creation. Here are some of the main points they cover.

• The Experience Economy has evolved significantly over the past 25 years, with the rise of digital technology and the shift in consumer preferences towards meaningful and transformative experiences. They note how the recent pandemic accelerated the digital trend.
• AI plays a crucial role in the design and customization of experiences, but companies must be cautious not to dehumanize their offerings and instead focus on augmenting human skills and abilities. Effective leadership is crucial in leveraging technology to augment rather than automate human roles, ensuring that the transformation drives value creation rather than mere cost reduction.
• Experiences are not confined to premium markets. Joe illustrates that consumers across all income levels seek valuable experiences, tailored to their specific economic circumstances.
• Customer co-creation is essential for creating value and engaging the most valuable customers, allowing them to participate in the creation of products and experiences. Joe uses his new collaborative book-writing process as a great example of co-creation.
• Richard highlights that even in commodity markets, innovation in customer experience can differentiate a brand and create profit opportunities. He shares how Pine’s concept of the experience economy has influenced his career, emphasizing the importance of viewing products as experiences to unlock new value.

 Join Richard and Joe as they explore these themes and consider how businesses can strategically harness the power of experiences to thrive in today's economy.

About Joe Pine: Joseph Pine is an internationally acclaimed author, speaker, and management advisor known for his pioneering work on the experience economy. He co-authored the groundbreaking book The Experience Economy with James H. Gilmore, which introduced the idea that businesses should engage customers through memorable experiences rather than just providing goods and services. Pine's work has significantly influenced how companies approach customer engagement and value creation. He is a co-founder of Strategic Horizons LLP, a thinking studio dedicated to helping businesses conceive and design innovative experiences. Pine is also a frequent keynote speaker and has written several other influential books on mass customization and customer experiences.

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In this episode, Richard Owen speaks with Eric Tagliere, Chief Technology Officer at Humana, about the challenges and opportunities present in the healthcare industry. They emphasize the importance of a customer-focused approach and the convergence of technology and consumer expectations, highlighting the potential for significant progress in the industry over the next five to ten years. Additionally, they explore the influence of external companies like Amazon on shaping consumer expectations in healthcare and discuss the potential for consumer-driven change to act as a catalyst for industry transformation.

The interview also covered the impact of industry consolidation and market dynamics on the healthcare sector, the enduring impact of, the challenges of engaging and deploying the correct healthcare resources, as well as the impact of AI on the business. The conversation touched on the delicate balance between cost and service in healthcare, the need for high-quality data and effective governance in AI adoption, and the responsibility of preparing the next generation for leadership roles.

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In this episode, Richard Owen sits down with Don Peppers, a global authority on marketing and business competition, to discuss the intricacies of customer behavior, customer-centric companies, and the evolving landscape of customer experience (CX). Don, renowned in the world of CRM for co-authoring the landmark book "The One to One Future," shares his invaluable insights on the challenges and opportunities facing CX professionals today. Here are some of the main points they discussed:
 

• The challenge of communicating the importance of customer behavior to business leaders lies in the measurement of future customer value and the shift from short-term thinking to long-term value creation. In that context, Don and Richard discuss the financial concept of customer lifetime value and how CX and sales leaders should align with their CFO on how to measure it. , the shift from tangible to intangible assets, and the need for businesses to align with customer expectations.

• The impact of both the shift from tangible to intangible assets (“moving from atoms to bits”), and of technology on product customization and customer satisfaction is driving businesses to focus on individual customer interactions, leading to a shift in marketing and sales processes.

• The need for businesses to align with customer expectations and create lifetime customers is driving a shift in the way products are marketed and sold, emphasizing the importance of customer delight and long-term value creation. Customer expectations about things like speed of delivery are constantly rising, so some things that used to cause customer delight have become business basics.

Tune in to this episode to gain deep insights into the future of customer experience and learn practical strategies to align your business with long-term customer value. Don't miss out on the opportunity to hear from one of the pioneers of the CRM revolution, Don Peppers.

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This new edition of the CX Iconoclast podcast is a timely panel discussion on the evolution of language understanding. Richard Owen hosts three panelists: Brian Curry, Co-founder and Head of Engineering Customers at OCX Cognition; Maurice FitzGerald, Head of Content at OCX Cognition; and special guest Alyona Medelyan, CEO and co-founder of Thematic. Alyona, originally from Ukraine, holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence, making her even more highly qualified to discuss this quickly evolving area.

Originally referred to as Text Analytics by business users and Natural Language Processing by researchers, this field completely changed with the rise of Generative AI. You’ll learn how we no longer need to rely on pre-canned taxonomies or time-consuming training, thanks to the nuanced understanding of Large Language Models (LLMs). Brian Curry breaks down the game-changing potential of LLMs in solving complex language problems and customizing models for unique business needs. Listen as the panel explores the transformative applications of LLMs, from enhanced chatbots to natural language data queries. Alyona Medelyan shares invaluable tips on choosing the right AI solution—hint: it's all about testing with real data right away! 

There’s a lot of buzz and noise on this topic in the field of Customer Experience right now, but very few people who actually have the expertese. So let’s hear what they have to say on this topic.

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In this episode hosted by Richard Owen, Stanford professor Erik Brynjolfsson, an economist and a contributing author to the recent HAI report on the current state of AI on the planet, discusses the impact of AI on productivity. He highlights the rapid technological advances in AI and the significant productivity gains observed in various sectors. Erik emphasizes the importance of focusing on proven use cases and creating business value rather than getting distracted by the hype around AI.

Erik and Richard move on to discuss the risks of underregulating and overregulating AI, with Erik noting that both mistakes will likely be made simultaneously. He also mentions the potential dangers of deep fakes, especially in the context of elections.

The conversation then shifts to Workhelix, both as a company and a tool that Erik and his team developed to help companies systematically plan their AI strategies. Erik explains that Workhelix can analyze a company’s workforce and tasks, providing valuable insights for implementing AI. He expresses optimism about the future of AI and its potential to create shared prosperity. 

The interview concludes with Richard congratulating Erik on the launch of Workhelix and expressing hope for future discussions on the progress of AI. Erik thanks Richard for the engaging conversation and looks forward to future discussions.


Erik is the Director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, a Professor at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Brynjolfsson is among the most cited researchers in information and economics and his work has been recognized with Ten Best Paper awards and five patents.

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OCX Cognition founder Richard Owen hosts Simon Lyons in this latest conversion. Simon has had a long and varied career working in marketing, brand management, and strategic development across a variety of industries, including power generation, drinks, and even the Scottish Football Association. Richard and Simon discuss the challenges and opportunities in modern marketing, particularly as organizations shift from strategic principles to a heavy reliance on digital execution.

Simon suggests that many marketing teams focus on lead flow and performance metrics but lack the foundational skills to create long-term value. This misalignment often leads to inefficiencies, higher costs to serve, and lower retention when targeting poorly matched customers. He therefore emphasizes the importance of narrowing focus, deeply understanding target audiences, and realigning marketing philosophies across the organization. Additionally, while metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS) remain a reliable measure of customer satisfaction, Simon says there is a growing need for more nuanced KPIs, particularly in pricing strategies and assessing new product success.

Simon notes that AI is revolutionizing marketing by automating tactical execution, generating tailored content, and optimizing campaign efficiency. However, he says this shift raises concerns about the loss of marketing intellectual property, as platforms like Meta increasingly own the insights that drive campaign success. This transition challenges marketers to redefine their roles, focusing on strategic direction and customer insights rather than tactical implementation. Leadership and teams must adapt quickly, addressing skill gaps and mindset shifts to stay competitive.

As a notable aside, Simon shared observations on the whiskey industry, noting its changing dynamics due to rising prices, long production cycles, and evolving consumer preferences, which echo broader themes of adapting to market shifts.

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Join Richard Owen's discussion with Simon Paris, the visionary CEO of Finastra, a leading force in global enterprise software solutions tailored for the financial sector. Here’s a summary of their engaging conversation: 

Empowering Banking Evolution

Finastra, a powerhouse in enterprise software, caters primarily to banks and related entities worldwide. With a robust suite covering lending, payments, treasury, capital markets, and retail and digital banking, they serve clients across 130+ countries. Boasting an impressive workforce of 8,000 and nearing $2 billion in revenue, Finastra stands as a beacon of innovation in Europe's software landscape.

Open Finance Unveiled

Simon unveils the concept of open finance, urging a shift from product-centric to customer-centric financial services. Through an evocative anecdote, he champions the idea of unbundling banking services and reconstructing them around individual customer journeys, fostering a more personalized and impactful approach.

Generative AI Revolution

With palpable enthusiasm, Simon discusses the transformative potential of generative AI in financial services. From enterprise optimization to engineering marvels and enhanced customer experiences, he outlines a myriad of applications while acknowledging the looming specter of deep fakes and its implications.

Financial Inclusion Imperative

Simon underscores the importance of extending financial services to the unbanked and underbanked, viewing it as a cornerstone of open finance. By tackling poverty, fraud, violence, and tax evasion, he envisions a world where financial services unlock the potential of individuals, businesses, and communities worldwide.

A Vision for Tomorrow's Finance

In Simon's vision, the purpose of financial services transcends mere transactions, aiming to unleash the full potential of humanity. By embracing innovation, scalability, and security, he envisions a future where financial empowerment is synonymous with societal progress, creating a world where doing good and thriving go hand in hand.

Simon Paris is Chief Executive Officer of Finastra and leads their strategic direction and growth, championing open finance and industry-wide collaboration. He chairs the World Trade Board, advocates for financial inclusion, and serves on the Board of Directors for Everbridge and Thomson Reuters. With over 25 years of global leadership experience, Simon joined Finastra in 2015, became CEO in 2018, and has been recognized as a top fintech CEO and advocate for diversity and inclusion 

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In this episode of the CX Iconoclast, Richard Owen hosts Kevin O’Meara, a supply chain expert and head of business transformation at Shaw Industries. 

After discussing Kevin’s transition from military to commercial life, the conversation moves to supply chain logistics, where Kevin underscores its evolution from a cost-cutting focus to a competitive weapon for companies. He attributes this shift to technological advancements in inventory management and transportation management post-2000, spurred by the rise of e-commerce and direct-to-consumer shipping.

Kevin emphasizes that modern businesses are exposed directly to end consumers, necessitating efficient supply chains. The conversation touches on balancing efficient balance sheets with customer delight amidst evolving product complexities due to the addition of software to many products that used to be hardware-only.

COVID-19 is highlighted as a game-changer for globalized supply chains, introducing unprecedented disruptions and propelling scenario planning into prominence. Companies are now tasked with balancing risk mitigation costs against agility – the ability to swiftly adapt to unforeseen challenges.

Richard probes into manufacturers’ slow adaptation to direct consumer engagement, historically buffered by channels. Kevin agrees but notes an ongoing change where consumers are increasingly discerning about product origins and manufacturers’ roles. 

Kevin suggests that manufacturers must adapt at the same pace or faster than consumer expectations. He believes personalization will be a key focus for all manufacturers and supply chains, structuring their capabilities to provide new experiences for each individual.

The conversation shifts to business transformation at Shaw Industries. Kevin describes his role as taking a step back from daily operations to align with the company’s long-term strategic goals. He emphasizes the importance of optimizing business processes before digitizing them and eliminating outdated or unnecessary practices.

Richard and Kevin conclude their discussion focusing on customer expectations post-COVID-19. They agree that the pandemic accelerated existing trends in consumer behavior, with companies like Amazon raising expectations around efficiency and delivery speed. The challenge for manufacturers and distributors is to meet and exceed these heightened expectations while balancing efficiency with personalized service. This insightful conversation provides valuable perspectives on the future of supply chain, manufacturing, and customer expectations.

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In this episode of the CX Iconoclast Podcast, host Richard Owen welcomes guest Chris Gopal, a renowned global supply chain expert. Chris shares his insights on the challenges faced by companies in managing their supply chains and how AI and analytics can enhance predictability and mitigate risk.

Chris Gopal’s extensive experience in supply chain management includes leading the corporate transformation of Dell’s manufacturing logistics in the 1990s and holding key positions at Ernst & Young Consulting, SAIC, Tata, and IBM. He is also the author of the book “Breakthrough Supply Chains” and currently teaches at the University of California, San Diego, and USC.

The discussion covers the impact of recent global events, such as the pandemic and geopolitical conflicts, on supply chains. Chris highlights the compression of what has historically been a hundred-year cycle into a five-year cycle. He emphasizes the importance of placing the customer at the forefront of supply chain design and execution.

The conversation also explores the increasing significance of direct sales channels, even as customers have become accustomed to buying direct. Chris and Richard agree on how little has changed since the industrial revolution, suggesting that the core principles of supply chain management remain relevant.

Chris further discusses the evolution of supply chains, noting three major inflection points: the financialization of the supply chain, the recognition of the supply chain as a network with the customer as a critical component, and the external factors that significantly impact the supply chain, such as risk and sustainability issues.

The podcast concludes with a discussion on the changing face of manufacturing. Chris argues that manufacturers today sell more than just physical products; they also provide information and services across the customer lifecycle. This shift necessitates a new approach to cost, metrics, and priorities, with a focus on customer retention and segmentation.

All in all, great insights for all companies that manufacture or distribute physical goods.

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In this podcast, Joe Wheeler, Richard Owen, and Maurice FitzGerald discuss the evolution of customer experience. Wheeler, author of ‘The Digital-First Customer Experience’, highlights how AI and machine learning drive growth and scalability in companies like Spotify and Lemonade. The trio explores the economic implications of AI in businesses, balancing cost reduction and job creation, and the importance of understanding customer segments.

They discuss real-world examples like Budweiser and Cadillac to illustrate brand growth challenges and the importance of adapting to demographic shifts. Owen questions the relevance of surveys in a digital environment, suggesting that customer experience can be measured more effectively through digital behaviors.

The conversation moves on to customer lifetime value (CLV), exploring dynamic measures of engagement linked to spending behaviors. They discuss the role of engagement in the B2B SaaS industry, emphasizing that customers must derive tangible benefits from their interactions with brands.

Wheeler shares his thoughts on personalized pricing in the digital world and how AI is revolutionizing this space. As they wrap up, the conversation turns to Joe’s involvement with Blue Movement, a venture leveraging AI to analyze ocean data.

Tune into this podcast for a deep dive into customer experience, engagement metrics, personalized pricing models, and climate change initiatives. The dialogue emphasizes that technology should enhance customer experience, dictated by specific needs and expectations.

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Is customer success indeed dead? That’s just one of the questions answered during this discussion. (Spoiler alert: it may well be dying at your company.) Join host Richard Owen and Chris Adlard, co-author of ‘The Customer Catalyst’, as they discuss the essence of customer transformation. Chris introduces us to the ‘C-change diagnostic’, a tool that companies can use to evaluate their CX progress and receive extensive suggestions on the next actions each major function should take. Chris emphasizes the need for a company-wide customer obsession, arguing that customers are today’s growth engine, especially in the SaaS industry. He adds to this by arguing that isolated individual teams focusing on customers cannot possibly succeed on their own.

The conversation takes an intriguing turn as Chris and Richard dissect the nuanced difference between being profit-driven and genuinely customer-obsessed. They challenge businesses to transcend short-term gains and anchor their strategies on long-term customer loyalty – a pathway they argue is not just ethical but economically rewarding.

They spotlight iconic founders like Michael Dell and Charles Schwab, who defied contemporary profit-driven models with their long-term customer focus. The discussion extends to companies like Workday that have metamorphosed from being merely customer-focused to becoming pinnacles of innovation in the SaaS space.

Finally, they explore the role of ethics in business. Chris argues that greenwashing must be avoided and that it is far more ethical to give customers a great experience and get the company obsessed with the customer. They conclude by suggesting that the purpose of business is to create outstanding rewards for shareholders by creating outstanding results for customers.

Tune into this podcast for an entertaining conversation exploring how businesses can rewire their operational DNA from feature obsession to prioritizing exceptional customer experiences. It’s more than a discussion; it’s an invitation into a world where business ethics aligns with shareholder value creation by prioritizing outstanding results for customers. Your perspective on business operation will not remain the same!

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

In this podcast featuring Sean Albertson, a call center expert and author of '4ROCKS', host Richard Owen explores the dynamics of customer experience and business challenges. Sean's four metaphorical rocks—Sedimentary, Metamorphic, Igneous, and Meteoric—symbolize layers of complexity, organizational changes, unexpected events, and external factors affecting customer struggles.

The discussion unfolds as Sean emphasizes the need for action based on the results of research results, moving beyond measurement for its own sake. They then cover the evolving landscape of communication channels, where the challenge lies in the potential disconnection between channels, leading to customer frustration.

Sean then covers the details of the metaphorical rocks, each intended to simplify business challenges. Sedimentary rocks highlight silos and separation between teams, Metamorphic rocks address changes affecting customers, Igneous rocks deal with sudden major changes, and Meteoric rocks represent external factors like the impact of COVID-19.

Richard and Sean explore the role of technology in addressing these challenges. They discuss the entrenchment of obsolete structures and the need to look beyond cost reduction, focusing on how technology can bring people together. Sean presents an insightful example of using technology to streamline customer interactions, emphasizing the power of analyzing existing data for better outcomes.

The conversation touches on the human aspect in contact centers, emphasizing the need for people to handle fewer tasks to excel. Sean highlights the importance of providing choices for customers and shares examples of using data to anticipate and redirect customers who might otherwise find themselves on a bad support path.

Don't miss this engaging podcast as Sean and Richard discuss the rocks causing the most problems in the stream of customer experience, drawing from real-world examples. Join them on a journey to uncover actionable insights and strategies for enhancing CX in an evolving business landscape.

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

Das Narayandas is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. In this engaging podcast hosted by Richard Owen, Das reflects on their early connection and dives into decades of B2B client relationship expertise. Das shares insights from his groundbreaking marketing dissertation, emphasizing the nuances of long-term supplier-customer dynamics. The conversation seamlessly transitions to the critical aspects of customer selection, service, and the evolving landscape of customer lifetime value (CLV).

As the discussion unfolds, Das offers a unique perspective on strategy, advocating for its dynamic nature and continual alignment with the most attractive customer profiles. Their dialogue moves on to cover the new world of AI, with Das recounting his transformative journey during the pandemic, translating complex data science into practical business applications.

Richard and Das explore the intricacies of human-machine interaction in predictive analytics, navigating biases with a "healthy skepticism" approach. The podcast touches on the challenges faced by boardrooms in adapting to data-driven decisions, expressing optimism that analytics will bridge the gap between sales and marketing.

The conversation extends to organizational structures, proposing innovative approaches to team organization based on sales process operational stages. They uncover downstream effects of improper customer targeting, highlighting the growing trend of integrating support and customer success teams more strategically into the overall organization, rather than as an afterthought.

As the podcast wraps up, Das provides a glimpse into the future of analytics, introducing the concept of "augmented intelligence" and sharing a compelling "Aha Moment" that underscores the power of predictive analytics in shaping business strategies. Tune in for an enlightening discussion that promises valuable insights for both seasoned professionals and those navigating the evolving landscape of customeranalytics and AI.

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

In this insightful podcast with host Richard Owen, Joe Pinto reflects on his years at Cisco and the transition to his role as Chief Customer Experience Officer at Pure Storage. Moving from Cisco to Pure, Joe notes the significant size difference and praises Pure's CEO for championing Customer Success. Managing the challenge of maintaining high NPS during rapid growth, Joe highlights Pure's achievements in handling escalations efficiently and the seamless, "hitless" upgrade process. Customers attest to Pure's low cost of ownership compared to competitors.

Discussing the funding of training and education, Joe emphasizes the importance of separate budgets for technical courses, and their impact on rewards and promotions for customer-facing teams. As Joe puts it during the conversation: "We have to make sure that everyone who will be touching a customer is prepared for that moment."

The podcast explores Pure's 'evergreen' product concept, designed for perpetual functionality, with AI-driven proactive customer outreach. Joe and Richard cover the complexities of maintaining customer satisfaction as the company scales. Joe stresses the importance of simplicity, echoing Richard’s mention of a quote from Einstein about the three levels of intelligence: intelligent, genius, and simple.

Regarding AI, Joe sees it as a tool to enhance engineers' capabilities rather than replacing customer-facing staff. A survey stat reveals 52% of IT buyers plan to invest in AI, emphasizing its role in enriching customer and employee experiences without significant headcount growth.

Joe shares insights from his New York upbringing, acknowledging parental sacrifices for his success. The podcast concludes with a mutual agreement on the critical role of families in personal and professional achievements. Tune in for a compelling discussion on customer-centric strategies and the evolving landscape of technology in customer support.

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

CX Iconoclasts are people who break with tradition by bringing new ideas and new ways of doing things to our attention. These short extracts from the full discussions cover some great sales and marketing views on the future of customer experience strategies and tactics in the digital age. Richard Owen’s four guests in this short video are:

• Bill Binch - Former sales & marketing leader at Marketo and at Pendo, now an advisor at VC company Battery Ventures.
• Richard Watts - 33-year veteran of Progressive Insurance, where he led sales and service.
• Joe Wheeler - Innovator and thought leader in CX since the 1990s, when he started his focus on the CX profit chain.
• Martin White - Veteran financial services CMO who spent many years at Experian and at Amlin.

These short clips will get you familiar with their ways of thinking and their desire to break with past practices. You should be able to find the full versions of each of the four interviews wherever you get your podcasts.

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

CX Iconoclasts are people who break with tradition by bringing new ideas and new ways of doing things to our attention. These short extracts from the full discussions set out some fascinating marketing-centric views on the future of customer experience strategies and tactics. Richard Owen’s three guests in this video are the famous marketing cartoonist Tom Fishburne, marketing veteran Andy Lark, and Breeze Airways CMO Angela Vargo. The first extract is from Richard's discussion with Tom Fishburne, who is somewhat cynical about the traditional world of marketing, so it is fascinating to compare what he says with the modern and indeed iconoclastic views of Angela and Andy. You should be able to find the full versions of each of the three interviews wherever you get your podcasts.

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

In the second podcast of this two-part series, Mauricio Duarte and Richard Owen go deeper into the transformative role of AI in customer experience (CX). Richard highlights AI as a generational shift, resembling the advent of the internet in its ability to transform our work, and discusses its potential to revolutionize CX measurement and personalization. He emphasizes that while AI can enhance contact center operations and hyper-personalize digital experiences, it must be used thoughtfully to avoid alienating customers who still value human interaction.

Richard critiques traditional NPS surveys, pointing out their flaws, such as low response rates and bias toward Promoters. He explains how AI can predict customer behavior with high accuracy, eliminating the need for frequent surveys and providing real-time insights. By training AI models with operational data, companies can identify root causes of customer dissatisfaction and improve their CX strategies and actions.

The conversation shifts to lessons from the pandemic, where digital transformation became essential. Richard notes how industries like banking rapidly adopted digital tools, and customers of all ages (surprisingly) embraced digital experiences. He also discusses the increased value placed on experiences post-pandemic, as people sought to reconnect with the world after lockdowns.

In the B2B space, Richard highlights the challenges of traditional CX measurement and the potential of predictive analytics to address issues like contract-based forced loyalty and account-level insights. He stresses the importance of combining human judgment with data-driven insights to improve customer relationships and operational efficiency.

Finally, Richard shares advice on leveraging Promoters, emphasizing the need to understand why they are loyal, market to them effectively, and mobilize them for advocacy. He concludes by discussing OCX Cognition’s focus on predictive and prescriptive analytics, aiming to turn customer insights into actionable strategies for better CX outcomes.

Mauricio and Richard’s great discussion offers a forward-looking perspective on the future of CX, driven by AI and data-driven innovation.

Mauricio Duarte, is the Latin America CEO of OPINAT, a Spanish company that has been helping companies implement NPS and the Net Promoter System for over 15 years. He is a well-known international speaker and consultant in Customer Experience (CX), organizational transformation and business growth. He has worked with companies from various industries, helping them grow through strategies focused on customer loyalty, and winning by differentiating experience from the competition.

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

CX Iconoclasts are people who break with tradition by bringing new ideas and new ways of doing things to our attention. Join us in this captivating episode as we explore the remarkable journey of Chris Bishop, Chief Customer Officer at Conga, a trailblazer in revenue lifecycle management software.

 From Advocacy to Data Science Mastery: Conga's Evolution

Chris unfolds his five-year odyssey at Conga, illuminating the transformation of the Chief Customer Officer role. Discover how he shifted the paradigm from traditional advocacy to leveraging data science, actively steering Conga towards unprecedented growth. Chris shares insights into the Conga Way, a unique approach emphasizing values like Achieving Together. Hear about the extraordinary efforts of a CX Champion, epitomizing the commitment to customer success, even interrupting a vacation to salvage a crucial account.

Early Adopters of Customer AI: Navigating Success Amidst Change

 Uncover the secrets behind Conga's success as an early adopter of Customer AI. Chris recounts how this technology revolutionized support operations and then seamlessly integrated into various facets of the organization. Despite navigating a major merger during the onset of the pandemic, Conga's Customer AI continues to deliver exceptional results. You will learn how Customer AI harnesses operational data across all customer-touching IT systems at Conga. Chris shares how it predicts key metrics such as propensity to renew, NRR, and NPS, identifying operational factors driving positive and negative trends, and providing actionable strategies to enhance your financial performance and customer success.

Tune in now to unlock the secrets of Conga's success and gain invaluable insights for your own journey!

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

CX Iconoclasts are people who break with tradition by bringing new ideas and new ways of doing things to our attention. Where better to find such thinking than from major thought leaders and academics, who do not have to live with the restrictions imposed by quarterly business targets and results. These short extracts from the full discussions set out some fascinating views on the future of customer experience strategies and tactics. Richard Owen’s seven guests in this video are Peter Fader (Wharton) and Dan McCarthy (Emory), Erik Brynjolfsson (Stanford), Paul Marsden (Digital Wellbeing), Michael Schrage (M.I.T.), Liam Fahey (Leadership Forum L.L.C. and Ralph Oliva (Penn State). You should be able to find the full versions of each session wherever you get your podcasts.

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

2023 was a great year for our CX Iconoclast podcast Richard Owen interviewed many business leaders, and we have picked out some highlights in these short videos. You will get interesting and entertaining advice in these clips from Mark Templeton (Citrix), David Tudehope (Macquarie Telecom), Tom Monahan (CEB), and Steve Byrne (Travel Counsellors). Richard is of course a CX industry veteran and nevertheless felt he learned a lot from these discussions. You can of course find the full versions of each session wherever you get your podcasts.

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

Today, we sit down with Joe Wheeler, the author of the insightful book “The Digital First Customer Experience.” We dive deep into the design strategies used by top brands like NIKE, Amazon, and Starbucks, and how these strategies have evolved to meet the demands of an increasingly digital marketplace.

Highlights:

Insights from “The Digital First Customer Experience”:
1. Discussion about the book and its revelations on customer experience strategies.
2. Joe Wheeler shares his inspiration for writing the book.


Strategies of Leading Brands
1. An exploration of the design strategies from globally recognized brands.
2. How NIKE, Amazon, and Starbucks have set the bar for customer experience.

The Evolution of Customer Experience
1. Reflecting on the transformation of customer engagement through digital innovation.
2. A look at the future of customer experience in the tech-driven world.

Joe Wheeler’s Expertise
1. Joe discusses his time in executive roles at Bank of America and The Forum Corporation.
2, Insights into the corporate world's approach to customer experience.


Don't miss the insights and experiences shared by Joe that could redefine how you think about customer engagement in the digital era. Enjoy the conversation and walk away with actionable strategies for your business.

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

Today's conversation explores several key themes, including the intensely personal nature of B2B relationships, the impact of generative AI on the buying process, and the many changing roles in today's corporate landscape.

Richard Owen, Liam Fahey and Ralph Oliva delve into the evolving nature of B2B marketing within various industries, particularly those facing competition from innovative startups. It examines how risk-averse cultures can hinder growth and how some firms are investing heavily in technology upgrades to remain competitive.

Listeners gain valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities facing CX and B2B marketers in an ever-changing business environment. This conversation emphasizes the significance of cultivating purpose and culture within organizations while adapting to the rapidly evolving market dynamics.

Connect with Ralph: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralph-oliva-a805867/
Connect with Liam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liam-fahey-executive-director-leadership-forum-author-educator-consultant/
Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/
Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/
Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

Have you ever experienced something like “marketing funnel vision?” Been trapped in a “sub-silo?” Feared a case of “data-blindness?” What a relief to laugh at the challenges of business, which is what cartoonist Tom Fishburne helps us do. 

Tom Fishburne took an unconventional career path, which might be true of all cartoonists. He started cartooning as a child and continued through his time at Harvard Business School, where his cartoons were featured in the student newspaper. But for many years he earned a living from more conventional jobs, working in marketing leadership roles at General Mills, Nestle, and Method before striking out on his own. Now, as founder and CEO of the Marketoonist, he finds humor in the business world – and turns it into marketing value for brands including Google, SAP, and LinkedIn, as well as many startups. 

The conversation in this episode takes a look at Tom’s career and explores the care he takes with humor. As a keen observer of the business world – a prerequisite for humorists of any stripe -- Tom has a lot to say about both trends and ongoing themes in business. 

Some points to listen for: 

• Tools, including tech tools, can help us with productivity and focus, but they can get in the way of the core of the work we try to do – Tom gives the example of “marketing funnel vision,” but CX professionals face this challenge too. 
• Tom has observed that despite increasing talk about silos as a problem in business, in practice many disciplines have become even more siloed – all the way down to “sub-siloes” within departments. 
• Tom talked about the difficulty of being “data-driven” without being “data-blinded,” a common area of struggle. 
• And find out what Tom would do if he had a magic wand to make customers more customer centric. 

If you’ve ever enjoyed a cartoon about business, you’ll enjoy this interview. 

Find out more about Tom and subscribe to his newsletter for a weekly cartoon: https://marketoonist.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomfishburne/  

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

Why do only software companies and drug dealers call their customers “users”? Has “CX washing” diluted to overall impact of CX in the business world? Why do so many acquisitions fail to consider the customer experience? And could OCX Cognition really be in pursuit of the “holy grail” of CX? Just a few of the questions our guest, former Citrix CEO Mark Templeton, discusses in this episode.

Everybody’s career begins somewhere, but even so, you might be a little surprised to learn that Mark Templeton got his start in sheet metal. Listen to the conversation to learn the story of his career pivot, but suffice to say it turned out to be a pretty epic shift. Mark joined Citrix first as marketing VP, then as president, and then, for more than 14 years, president and CEO, departing after 20 years at the company. He led Citrix as it transformed from a $15 million business with a single product to a multinational software leader in multiple categories, worth more than $3 billion and with more than 100 million users around the world. Today, Mark serves on several boards and offers his very thoughtful mentorship and consulting to up and coming business leaders.

On some level, you have Mark to thank for your ability to work from home. Mark was a visionary when it came to virtualization, including mobility management, networking, collaboration, and security, and Citrix did a great deal to popularize and refine many of the technologies we take for granted today as we work from wherever we like these days. He’s also proud, as you’ll hear him discuss, of the design-thinking culture he engineered at Citrix, and of the company’s value-driven culture.

We kept the conversation focused on a few areas that have particular resonance in thinking about the customer experience – metrics, acquisitions, and company culture. Some points to listen for:

• How what Mark amusingly calls “CX washing” has diluted the overall impact of CX in the business world.
• The benefits and limitations culture change, based on Mark’s efforts to embed design thinking and customer-centricity in the Citrix culture. We include a discussion of complementing good intent with measurement.
• The human and business challenges of serving customers effectively through acquisitions. Mark oversaw about 50 acquisitions at Citrix, so he has quite a perspective.
• How it might not be a co-incidence that only the software industry and the drug industry call their customers “users.”

 Find Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markbtempleton/

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

Our guest Steve Byrne would almost certainly not have a business to run if it weren’t for the differential power of the customer experience. He’s the CEO of Travel Counsellors, a company that works hard to live by its own rules and to do right by every person involved in its value chain – customers, employees, and partners.  Steve had a lot to say about how he approaches these interconnected obligations, and about how the business is thriving despite what could be considered countervailing market trends.

At Travel Counsellors, vacationers (and business travelers) work with independent travel counsellors who personally plan and support their travel. Steve led the acquisition of Travel Counsellors from its founders in 2014, and today the company has a network of 2100 independent travel counsellors operating in five countries. The company enjoyed steady growth of 15 – 20% for more than 20 years, and though COVID decimated the business, its bounce-back was impressive. This year, it expects to have about a billion pounds in transactions – that’s $1.2 dollars.

It must be said that this is all the more impressive given the massive shift toward self-service and automation in travel. Steve chalks it up to the fundamental differentiator of the company: delivering a customer experience that people deeply value. At the same time, he and also emphasized the importance of adapting to a changing world. 

A few points to listen for in the conversation:

• For Steve, the ultimate success metric is the lifetime value of the customer. Travel Counsellors explicitly includes referrals in that valuation. And the business supports its efforts to maximize customer lifetime value outcome by tracking and acting on several measures along the way.
• There’s entrepreneurial value in working with the data that you’ve got, Steve says, rather than waiting for a perfect data set. Embrace being a work in progress.
• Travel Counsellors is incredibly adept at using technology and data in service of its strategic competitive advantage. In the case of Travel Counsellors, that advantage comes from the value of ongoing human relationships, so it’s a fascinating alchemy.

Learn more about Steve: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-byrne-a8451b23/

Learn about Travel Counsellors: https://www.travelcounsellors.co.uk/our-story/

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

Our guests today are business partners and academic collaborators: Peter Fader and Daniel McCarthy. Their entrepreneurial and academic pursuits are intertwined in interesting ways. On the entrepreneurial side, they co-founded a predictive analytics firm, called Zodiac, that they sold to Nike in 2018, and now they are co-founders and directors of Theta, a predictive customer value analytics company. 

Theta’s work draws heavily on customer lifetime value, along with an output of Peter and Dan’s academic collaboration – a research-driven framework called Customer-Based Corporate Valuation. 

That co-invention is just a part of their academic work. Peter is the Frances and Pei-Yuan Chia professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he pursues his academic expertise and passion for using behavioral data to forecast customer behavior. Peter is also considered to be one of the world’s top experts in customer lifetime value – and that’s in addition to the corporate valuation model he developed with Dan. Peter works with companies in many industries, ranging from gaming to pharma, has published widely, including three books.

Daniel McCarthy is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Emory University's Goizueta School of Business. Dan’s a statistician by training and his research applies leading-edge statistical methodology to marketing problems. Particular areas of interest include customer lifetime value, data privacy, and how marketing and finance intersect. Like Peter, he publishes widely in both academic and business publications.

The common ground between OCX Cognition and these two thinkers is a conviction that customers are a key driving force in value creation for businesses. In this conversation, the two collaborators and partners talk about the ins and outs of how customers drive value and what businesses should do to maximize that value. Some areas to listen for:

• Fundamentally, customers are assets that can be measured and managed, so a true embrace of customer behavioral data and the insights it offers will lead to a sea change for companies.
• Finding the set of metrics that provide a clear, fair valuation of companies is critical, but complicated, with a balance between internally and externally disclosed measures.
• Customer acquisition gets a lot of hype, but it might not be entirely good.
• B2B companies often feel like B2C companies are the cool kids on the block, but in many ways B2B companies are ahead of the curve.

Theta Equity Partners https://thetaclv.com  

Find Peter Fader on LinkedIn

Learn more about his work at Wharton https://marketing.wharton.upenn.edu/profile/faderp/

Find Daniel McCarthy on LinkedIn

Learn more about his work at Emory https://goizueta.emory.edu/faculty/profiles/daniel-mccarthy

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

When the customer experience is poor, should the sales team take the blame for failing to consider the long-term health of customer relationships? Not so fast, says our guest Bill Binch, a sales leader at some of the tech industries fast-growing companies. It’s a bit more complicated than that, and if you’re a leader whose role include ensuring that customers either get value from your solution or deliver value to your bottom line, you’ll learn a lot from this episode.

Bill is an operating partner at Battery, an investment firm focused on tech companies, where he coaches and advises sales leadership in portfolio companies. Before that, he was chief revenue officer at Pendo, where he helped drive the annual recurring revenue to $100M in just three years. He spent nine years at Marketo, leading sales as the company grew from its infancy to its IPO, and beyond. And he held sales leadership roles at other heavy hitters like Oracle, PeopleSoft, and BEA.

So it was great to get Bill talking about how sales fits into the organization, its role in thinking about the ideal customer profile, and its use of metrics. A few of Bill’s points to listen for:

• Sales should be invested in renewals as well as new business, because that’s critical for company success, so it’s critical to align incentives and work hard to cross the internal gaps that can form in companies.
• Collaboration between sales and other departments -- like marketing, customer experience, or customer success -- rests on a shared understanding of the metrics and markers of progress, so clarity is key.
• As a sales leader and an executive, more is better when it comes to data about the customer experience, and the urgency around frequent updates only grows in an era of big data.

Find Bill on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-binch-302a4a2/
Learn more about Bill’s role at Battery: https://www.battery.com/people/bill-binch/  

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

In this first of a series of two podcasts, Mauricio Duarte, CEO of Opinat, interviews Richard Owen, CEO of OCX Cognition, about the evolution of customer experience (CX) and the future of AI as a way of improving customer retention and growth. Richard shares his own CX journey, starting at Dell Computer, where he recognized customer experience as a key differentiator. He later joined Satmetrix as CEO, where he and his team were top contributors to worldwide adoption of the Net Promoter Score (NPS) methodology, helping companies shift from product-centric to more customer-centric business models.

Richard emphasizes the importance of leadership commitment to NPS, treating it as a core business metric rather than just a survey tool. He highlights the need for robust diagnostics to understand the "why" behind NPS scores and integrate them into business processes for actionable insights. The discussion also covers the challenges of linking CX metrics to financial outcomes, stressing the importance of data quality and clear economic connections.

Looking ahead, Richard discusses the transformative potential of AI in CX, enabling real-time customer behavior predictions and hyper-personalization. He also reflects on lessons from the pandemic, noting the accelerated digital transformation and the increased value placed on customer experiences. Finally, Richard shares insights on B2B CX, the importance of Promoters, and OCX Cognition’s focus on predictive and prescriptive analytics to drive better customer outcomes.

This conversation offers valuable insights for CX leaders who want to get in front of their competitors in the quickly-evolving world of customer experience, retention, and growth.

Mauricio Duarte, is the Latin America CEO of OPINAT, a Spanish company that has been helping companies implement NPS and the Net Promoter System for over 15 years. He is a well-known international speaker and consultant in Customer Experience (CX), organizational transformation and business growth. He has worked with companies from various industries, helping them grow through strategies focused on customer loyalty, and winning by differentiating experience from the competition.

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

In any successful industry, leaders must answer an existential question: How do you evolve and adapt as the world around you changes? Our guest David Tudehope, CEO of Australia’s Macquarie Telecom Group, looks to customers to as the ultimate guide. In doing so, he takes a very unusual approach in an industry known for its poor customer experience. 

David explained that Macquarie Telecom Group strives to be what he calls “un-telco.” The company was founded just as the telecommunications market in Australia was deregulating, with the purpose of making a difference to underserved, overcharged telco markets in Australia. David has led Macquarie through some notable successes. Over the past decade, for example, the company’s market capitalization has grown 10 times, driven by its profitability increasing by 400%. Constant innovation has been key to this growth – Macquarie has entered new business areas and rebalanced its profit mix from 80% telco and 20% cloud a decade ago to the inverse proportion today. 

Macquarie relies on three key ingredients for its success: Customer experience through complete transparency, continuous product and service innovation, and an executive team that harnesses innovation.

A few of David’s points to listen for:

• In David’s industry, as in others, companies that don’t innovate may not be around in a decade. He’s very clear that the customer perspective is the most effective guide for innovation. 
• A lot of companies pay lip-service to “the customer experience,” but Macquarie has been concrete and focused about using its superior customer experience as a differentiator.
• David credits measurement key to aligning the company around the customer experience – he regrets not moving faster to get clear, company-wide metrics in place to drive the delivery of customer experience.

Learn more about David: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-tudehope-3217b214/

Macquarie Telecom Group: https://macquarietelecomgroup.com/

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

How do you know you’re getting value from your investments in innovation? Our guest Michael Schrage got that same urgent question from his students and clients: In response, he’s become laser focused on measurement, and his thinking has deep applicability to CX.

Michael is a researcher at MIT’s Media Lab and a Visiting Fellow in the Imperial College Department of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He has served as an advisor on innovation issues and investments to major firms, including Google, Intel, IBM, Procter & Gamble, and many more. He’s also advised on cyberconflict and cybersecurity issues. He has presented workshops on design experimentation and innovation risk, and has published widely.

After the conversation recording, Michael said that he retracted his use of the word “idiot” in favor of another i-word, “inertia.” Companies get comfortable or stuck with the way things are, he said, and they fail to evolve. But companies that have evolved have one thing in common: They treat their data as an asset. 

During this provocative conversation, Michael raised a number of issues that deserve careful consideration. For example:

• Do we think customer experience actually has a causal connection to growth and retention? If so, he says, we need to do a better job of defining exactly what the customer experience is, and therefore how to measure it and act on our insights.
• It’s a vexing but persistent problem that most organizations are not clear about which department owns customer lifetime value. Listen for thoughts on how to decide.
• Is it possible to definitively determine how companies should balance customer lifetime value and churn?  To Michael, that debate is crucial, because it helps guide investment and focus.
• What’s the most important advance related to KPIs? Michael’s answer: KPI data sets are increasingly being used to train machine learning algorithms, making predictive analytics possible. 

About Michael Schrage: https://ide.mit.edu/people/michael-schrage/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mschrage/

“Leading with Next-Generation Performance Indicators,” with co-author David Kiron in the MIT Sloan Management Review: https://sloanreview.mit.edu/projects/leading-with-next-generation-key-performance-indicators/

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

What on earth makes your customers tick? That’s easy, according to our guest Paul Marsden, because it’s the same for everyone. And CX leaders would do well to keep the three core needs of fellow humans.

Paul Marsden, CPsycol, is a consumer psychologist who helps businesses understand consumers. The conversation in this episode covered a lot of ground based on his unusual specialization. Paul shares many opinions, but – perhaps unusually – they’re grounded in data, research, and analytics.

Paul has his fingers in many pies. He’s a lecturer at the University of the Arts London, a consumer psychology researcher and consultant through Syzygy and Brand Genetics, and is featured in an award-winning documentary film, I Am Gen Z. In this episode, Richard Owen gets Paul talking about the research and ideas that captivate him. He offers a lot of counterintuitive perspectives on the underlying concepts and principles behind customer experience.

Just some of what the conversation covered:

• Paul shared some thoughts on myths about Gen Z – the most diverse generation ever and the second generation of digital natives -- as well as a look at what their values of honesty, kindness, and fairness mean for businesses.
• The possible oxymoron of “digital well-being,” drawing on his deep understanding of the data behind this issue.
• How businesses should think about using technology to respond to the three core needs of humans: Autonomy, relatedness, and competence.

Find out more about Paul Marsden: https://digitalwellbeing.org/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulsmarsden/

I Am Gen Z: https://iamgenzfilm.com/

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

Does your company mourn the loss of customers as much as it celebrates their acquisition? It should, and it should back up that grief with resources to stop a repeat, says our guest Richard Watts.

Richard Watts serves on several boards, including the board of Farmers Insurance, where he’s on the audit committee. It’s a sensible follow-on to his 33 years at Progressive Insurance. From the time Richard joined in 1977 to his retirement in 2010, Progressive grew from a relatively small insurer writing just 70 million dollars in annual sales and with 460 employees, to Fortune Global 500 insurer with 35 billion in annual sales. 

When he left Progressive, as Group President of Sales and Service, Richard oversaw more than 60 million customer interactions, six call centers with about 9000 FTEs, and the overall customer experience. Now, as part of his board service, Richard continues to focus on the customer experience as one of the key aspects of oversight and guidance. So Richard Owen sat down to get Richard Watts’s perspective on CX, since his career encompasses the birth of the discipline, the introduction of the Net Promoter Score, and a great deal of evolution in the space.

As a devoted and thoughtful steward of the customer experience, who guided many changes and enhancements to the customer experience while at Progressive, Richard is well aware of the shortfalls in the field and the CX challenges facing both incumbent and start-up companies.

Some areas of the conversation you might especially focus on:

• In answer to the question you may have asked yourself during a dark night of the soul – yes, boards do care about the customer experience. 
• Richard talked about a key shift at Progressive in response to customer churn, from not just celebrating acquisitions, but also mourning losses and exploring their causes in depth.
• Legacy firms certainly benefit from their longevity and size, but in Richard’s view their ability to improve the customer experience is also hampered by their outdated technology and the thinking that comes with it.

Humans and machines will likely have a happy future together after all.

Find Richard Watts on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-watts-6326059/

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

Feeling threatened by an upstart competitor -- or the looming possibility of one? Don't fight back using the same CX practices that got you where you are, urges our guest Martin White. 

Before he founded his consulting firm Blackwood86, Martin White was CMO at MS Amlin, and before that he held executive and leadership roles in the financial services space at Experian, Morgan Stanley, GE Money, American Express, MBNA, and more. Customer experience was often part of his remit in those roles, so we wanted to get his thoughts on where CX should fit within organizations, and the special challenges facing marketers and CX leaders at B2B companies.

Martin and Richard also talked about the interplay between incumbent businesses and their challengers. The changes within financial services in recent years are familiar to Martin, and offer lessons for CX leaders in any industry where incumbency both confers a benefit and puts companies at risk of disruption – in other words, almost all industries.

As you listen, some of Martin’s thoughts you might listen for and consider:

•  There should by rights be a strong alignment between the customers’ interests and those of the company, so marketing provides a good home for CX. 
• In B2B, Martin says, marketers and CX leaders get pushed and pulled in many directions, given the difficulty of getting meaningful CX insights in a B2B environment coupled with customer expectations shaped by consumer experiences.
• Companies threatened by upstart competitors are unwise to try to defend their incumbency using the same techniques and approaches they were using when they lost their dominant position. CX insights are unique, Martin says, in their ability to guide innovative responses to turmoil.

Find Martin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-r-white/

Blackwood86: https://blackwood86.com/

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

Sometimes, it’s unexpectedly good news for all involved when technology limits the role of people play in the customer experience. But during times of unavoidable glitches in the customer experience, humans are critical, says our guest, Angela Vargo, VP of Marketing at Breeze Airways.

Breeze calls itself America’s newest and nicest airline. With a focus on leisure travel, Breeze offers affordable, nonstop flights to underserved routes. A start-up airline is, of course, rare enough that it’s probably worth a conversation for that reason alone, but it’s especially true here because Breeze took a “technology-first approach.” As you’ll hear, Breeze’s approach provides an instructive example of what experience-driven disruption can look like, even in long-established industries.

Angela stepped into lead Breeze’s marketing as the country emerged from the most restrictive phases of pandemic – and displayed a great deal of eagerness for travel. She was well suited to the job, drawing on more than two decades of experience in aviation and other industries. 

Richard Owen and Angela talked about some areas specific to Breeze, like the controversial decision to use chat in place of a traditional telephone-based call center, and some of the challenges faced in a heavily regulated space like airlines. But there’s lots to learn from our conversation no matter your industry. Some areas of discussion to listen for: 

• The effects of technology can reverberate in unexpected ways – at Breeze, technology radically changed the role people play in providing the customer experience. 
• Fundamentally, the pandemic shifted how people spend and value their time, and that means businesses are operating in a new environment.
• Information is the coin of the realm. It’s critical to know the difference between the situations people will forgive or overlook, and those that create intractable dissatisfaction, so you can head them off.
• It’s when a company can’t solve a problem that the human element of experience becomes critical.

Find Angela on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/avargo99/

Angela on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AngelaVargo

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

Will AI put CX leaders out of work? Nope, but it should prompt a fundamental reimagining of the discipline, says our guest Erik Brynjolfsson. What’s at stake? “The companies within each industry that are using digital assets effectively are pulling away from their competitors,” he explains.

 Erik is a professor at Stanford as well as a Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, the Director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, the Ralph Landau Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.  He’s also a co-founder of WorkHelix, a new company that provides a data-driven compensation platform for the rapidly changing work world. He’s a best-selling author and speaks around the world.

Erik’s research and thinking focuses on data-driven decisions, how AI works in business, and the intangible or digital assets of companies. Importantly, he makes useful distinctions between augmentation and automation in his work on AI. His insights offer guidance to CX professionals and other business leaders thinking about how to augment their work with machine learning and automation without automating themselves out of a job.

In this episode especially listen for: 

• A discussion of how as business leaders we need to push ourselves in our thinking about the power conferred by data-driven strategy, 
• The importance of being creative about how machine learning and AI can augment our human decisions, rather than just replicating existing processes, and 
• How early adopters stand to gain from the ongoing explosion in the volume of data available to business. 

Erik makes the case that there’s no shortage of engaging work for humans even as AI becomes more powerful.

Find out more about Erik at https://www.brynjolfsson.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikbrynjolfsson/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/erikbryn

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

Should you be worried about loving your customers? Or working to make your customers love you? Our guest Andy Lark has a simple answer: No.

Andy Lark, a CMO and chief customer officer several times over, thinks critically and creatively about brand, customer experience, and the trends affecting business today. Today, Andy is CMO at Dubber, world's leading provider of cloud-based call recording and voice AI, but he’s had executive leadership positions at Dell, Sun Microsystems, Nortel, Commonwealth Bank, and Foxtel, while he was chief marketing an revenue officer at Xero, the company was named the world’s most innovative growth company by Forbes.

In this conversation, Andy made a number of claims that deeply challenge traditional thinking about CX – he’s arguing against customer love as an organizing principle. See what you think about what he has to say. If you agree with any of his points, consider how your company should approach CX as a result of your agreement. Listen for:

• Andy’s claims that capitalism’s weak link is with the customer.
•  A discussion of the “buried truth” that customers are fundamentally indifferent to most business.
• A passionate case that it’s critical that business become fanatical about aligning CX with the P&L – but not for the reason you might think.
• A provocative claim: Customer loyalty is a fiction.

Find out more about Andy at https://thedailylark.com/about/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/andylark/
Twitter https://twitter.com/kiwilark

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

Most companies today don’t have any tangible value, points out our guest Tom Monahan. It’s all concentrated in relationships with customers and the experiences companies provide. 

Tom Monahan led CEB for decades, developing a compelling suite of research, benchmarks, and decision-support tools and services and eventually selling the company to Gartner. His work at CEB included the development of the Customer Effort Score, at the time a revolutionary way of thinking about the customer experience in terms of friction and ease, and a metric still in widespread use. 

Since selling CEB to Gartner, Tom has served on a number of boards, and had been President and CEO of DeVry University for several years at the time of this recording. DeVry is a place where adult, working students further their careers. Tom thinks of his DeVry students the way CX professionals should think about their customers – in terms of data, insights, and metrics that predict outcomes.

Listen for Tom’s great points about:

• How companies have shifted so that today, most of their value is in customer relationships and experiences,
• How investors want what business leaders want – rich insights that help pinpoint effective action,
• The natural alignment between CX and the CFO, and
• His plans to endow the Museum of False Precision, and why you should strive not to become an exhibit

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

If you’re exhausted by traditional approaches to CX, impatient with the stunning lack of progress in the field, and done re-hashing the “best practices” that don’t change anything, you’ve found your podcast.  

Here’s what we know: Companies gain competitive advantage through exceptional customer experience, and customer insights are the best decision-making tool there is. But traditional CX approaches have run their course and it’s time for the next revolution in CX.  

Tune in with host Richard Owen every two weeks for conversations and interviews with business leaders, academics, and thinkers whose ideas can guide the CX profession to think in new ways about what success looks like. Most of them aren’t CX professionals, but all of them have something to teach us about CX. We’ll take a clear-eyed look at the problems that have hampered the discipline and explore the compelling ideas behind a re-engineering CX for a modern world. Come disgruntled, leave inspired.

Subscribe to The CX Iconoclast wherever you get your podcasts.

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

In this episode, Richard Owen speaks with Joe Pine and Dr. Louis-Etienne Dubois about Starbucks’ journey of rediscovering its core identity as a "third place" — a welcoming environment between work and home. They explore how Starbucks' focus on retail efficiency and loss of employee-customer connection led to its decline, while highlighting the brand’s unique strengths that competitors haven’t been able to replicate. With the new CEO aiming to return to the company’s roots, there’s optimism for Starbucks to reclaim its position in the market. 

The discussion emphasizes the vital role employees play in creating memorable customer experiences. Once renowned for treating employees well, Starbucks has seen unionization efforts arise as a sign of declining satisfaction. The speakers stress that investing in employees is essential to reviving the human connections that define Starbucks’ brand.

Finally, they tackle the role of AI in business, warning against over-automation. While AI can optimize operations and augment employee abilities, misapplying technology risks stripping away the human touch that makes Starbucks unique. The key lesson? Authenticity, employee experience, and strategic technology use are critical for businesses aiming to create lasting customer loyalty and meaningful experiences.

Joseph Pine is an internationally acclaimed author, speaker, and management advisor. He co-authored the groundbreaking book The Experience Economy with James H. Gilmore, which introduced the idea that businesses should engage customers through memorable experiences rather than just providing goods and services. 

Pine's work has significantly influenced how companies approach customer engagement and value creation. He is a co-founder of Strategic Horizons LLP, a thinking studio dedicated to helping businesses conceive and design innovative experiences. Pine is also a frequent keynote speaker and has written several other influential books on mass customization and customer experiences.

Dr. Louis-Etienne Dubois is an Associate Professor of creative industries management at Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Creative Industries. He holds a Ph.D. (Management) and a M.Sc. (Organizational Development) from HEC Montreal, as well as a Doctorate from MINES ParisTech. 

His research activities focus on business models and innovative management practices in creative organizations. Over the years, Dr. Dubois has also consulted with a range of organizations in advertising, arts and culture, video games, sports and entertainment, and aerospace, as well as delivered executive education training.

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

2024 was a great year for the CX Iconoclast, thanks to the amazing guests we were able to host. It may be no surprise to you that one of the topics that came up repeatedly was the value of long term customer relationships. Long term CLV and customer retention are now vital metrics in B2B success, focusing on relationship management beyond the immediate sale.

What makes long-term customer relationships so crucial in the B2B space? In this highlight from the CX Iconoclast podcast series, Richard Owen speaks with Das Narayandas of Harvard Business School about the profound impact of managing strategic accounts effectively over the long term.

Discover the benefits and challenges of serving large customers, the role of strategy in shaping your business trajectory, and how customer selection impacts your future capabilities. Das offers unique insights from his research and decades of experience, providing actionable advice for companies navigating the complexities of long-term customer value.

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share for more transformative insights from the CX Iconoclast!

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

2024 was a great year for the CX Iconoclast, thanks to the amazing guests we had. One of the topics that came up was the nature of technology-driven CX enhancements. As you might imagine, technology, especially automation and AI driven support tools, has enabled companies to offer streamlined, consistent, and highly proactive customer experience.

In this 'Best of' episode of The CX Iconoclast, Richard Owen highlights great insights from two leading voices in customer experience innovation: Joe Pinto of Pure Storage and Sean Albertson, author of 4ROCKS. They explain how cutting-edge technology and automation are reshaping the CX landscape, enabling businesses to deliver seamless, proactive, and customer-focused solutions.

From Pure Storage's evergreen approach that minimizes disruptions and maximizes value, to the critical importance of simplifying customer interactions in a mobile-first world, this video suggests practical strategies for driving CX excellence through technology.

Watch to learn how these advancements can position your business to anticipate customer needs and consistently exceed expectations.

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

2024 was a great year for the CX iconoclast due to the amazing guests we had. In this recap, we look at the topic of operational resilience and flexibility, especially in supply chains.

Discover how leading experts Chris Gopal and Kevin O'Meara are reshaping supply chain strategies to prioritize resilience and flexibility in response to today's complex challenges. From balancing risk and agility to leveraging supply chains as competitive assets, this 'best of' episode highlights the transformative power of operational innovation.

- Chris Gopal highlights the shift from selling products to delivering integrated customer-centric services, drawing insights from top players like Amazon and Walmart.

- Kevin O'Meara describes the strategic evolution of supply chains—investing in technology, scenario planning, and balancing agility with cost control for long-term success.

Don't miss this great recap from the CX Iconoclast podcast!

Get in touch to learn how OCX Cognition's predictive CX analytics can future-proof your operations:

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

In this 7-minute highlight reel, Richard Owen, CEO of OCX Cognition, explores how AI and predictive analytics are transforming B2B customer experience by providing actionable insights, improving operational efficiency, and personalizing customer engagement.

Featured Guests:

• Chris Bishop (Conga): Shares how predictive analytics moves businesses from reactive problem-solving to proactive growth.
• Sean Albertson (Call center expert and author of 4ROCKS): Discusses leveraging AI to preemptively identify and resolve customer issues, improving both satisfaction and efficiency.
• Das Naryandas (Harvard Business School): Highlights the importance of ethical considerations and blending human expertise with AI.
• Joe Pinto (Pure Storage): Explains how AI serves as a "copilot," augmenting human decision-making to create personalized, richer customer experiences.

With insights from academia, enterprise leaders, and technology innovators, this episode highlights the potential of AI to revolutionize customer experience.

Watch now to see how your business can harness AI for customer-centric growth!

Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more thought leadership on CX innovation.

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/

Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3