This podcast was previously recorded in March 2023. The actionable recommendations apply even more today!

Customer experience teams are deploying chatbots and AI assistants earlier in the service journey because leadership wants faster resolution and lower cost per contact. That shifts more first interactions to automated flows. Customers are encountering decision-tree prompts instead of human conversation. That produces frustration and forgettable moments instead of loyalty-building moments. This episode addresses that operating pattern with a clear alternative: design AI around emotion and memory, not just efficiency.

The conversation features Brian Solis, VP of Global Innovation at Salesforce, a digital anthropologist and futurist who has advised thousands of startups and enterprise organizations on innovation and transformation. He brings a human-centered lens to AI, automation, and the future of work, and he shares how leaders can use technology to build better relationships, better experiences, and better business models without losing the human element.

• Replace "cheap automation" with human-centered design by mapping each AI touchpoint to an intended emotional reaction and a memorable moment.
• Close the skills gap for the jobs of the future by investing in soft skills such as creativity, listening, critical thinking, empathy, and leadership.
• Use AI to reimagine the customer journey and touchpoints, not just to cut cost, so relationships deepen instead of thinning out.
• Protect creativity and deep work by rewiring daily habits to reduce distraction and restore flow.
• Run an "undercover boss" moment to feel the customer and employee experience, then adjust processes so people feel understood and valued.

Have a question or thoughts to share? Leave a voice message: https://www.speakpipe.com/StacySherman

Learn more at DoingCXRight.com and subscribe to the newsletter for more actionable strategies.

This podcast was previously recorded in Aug 2022. The actionable recommendations apply even more today!

Have you heard about CX Day? Every October, people worldwide celebrate with their employees, agents, and clients. It reminds me of "Mother's Day" or "Father's Day." It's a time to intentionally celebrate and express gratitude to the people who matter in our lives. It doesn't mean we stop appreciating people on all other days of the year. It's a time to pause, reflect, and take extra purposeful action. CX Day falls in the same week as National Customer Service Week (NCSW) and has a similar meaning, yet not the same.

CX Day was established ten years ago by the Customer Experience Professionals Organization (CXPA) to empower and unite companies, CX networks, and all people around the world to come together annually on the first Tuesday of October. Though there are benefits to being a CXPA member, you are not required to be one to take part in the festivities.

Customer Service Week was created in 1991. The U.S. Congress signed a proclamation in 1992 establishing Customer Service Week as a nationally recognized event. The goal is to emphasize the importance of customer satisfaction (though Stacy Sherman would say "delight," as satisfaction isn't good enough anymore) and listening to customers as critical components of building a successful business. Since then, the commemoration has spread across the United States and internationally to more than 60 countries.

By the end of this podcast episode, you'll learn how to celebrate CX Day and Customer Service Week at your company with significant impact and minimal budget.

• What CX Day / Customer Service Week is about. How and when it all began.
• Debates about CX Day being one day a year. Is that enough?
• The link between Inclusion and CX.
• Why purpose-driven companies attract better talent and customers.
• The best leadership advice received and given.
• One key takeaway for companies of all sizes to apply now for better outcomes.

Contact Stacy Sherman now.

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Most leaders assume their customers won't leave as long as the price is fair and the service works. Michelle Musgrove of Washington Gas and I agree that is a dangerous assumption. A customer with no other option is not the same as a loyal one. Confuse the two: the process keeps serving the company instead of the customer, nobody follows up directly, and the first real alternative wins them over. So what separates the companies that retain customers for years from those that lose them as soon as a competitor enters the market? This episode is for leaders in both situations: those already competing for customers, and those whose industry has never had them until now.

What You Will Learn:

• Why adding more AI to the customer experience problem is not the answer, even when your technology budget is growing
• What the difference between customer experience and customer service actually means in practice, and why companies that confuse the two stay in a reactive cycle
• How to get CX right the first time by identifying which issues repeat, what drives them, and where the process breaks before a customer ever contacts you
• Why progress on first-contact resolution matters more than waiting for a perfect solution, and how to build on incremental gains
• How to build a business case for CX investment in a regulated environment where every dollar requires justification
• Why CSAT alone does not give an accurate picture of the customer experience, and what NPS open-ended responses, customer effort score, and third-party benchmarks reveal that a satisfaction score cannot
• How to get every employee across every role to take accountability for the customer experience, regardless of whether they interact with customers directly
• Where AI helps frontline teams serve customers faster by handling routine work, and where leaders are confusing automation with culture change

Have a question or thoughts to share? Leave a voice message: https://www.speakpipe.com/StacySherman

Learn more at DoingCXRight.com and subscribe to the newsletter for more actionable strategies.