Customer Experience Leadership Training

 I've met over 500 founders, and the ones I admire most are those who: 1️⃣ Build Great Products: They don't just know their products; they create solutions that make a real difference. Their expertise is not just in features but in how those features solve real-world problems. 2️⃣ Solve Real Problems: They look beyond the surface, identifying and addressing the core issues their customers face. Their drive is to create impactful and meaningful solutions. 3️⃣ Understand Customers in Their Circumstances: They dive deep into the world of their customers, understanding their challenges, aspirations, and daily lives. This empathy drives every decision and innovation. 🌟 As founders, our mission is multi-layered and vital: ➡ Product Innovation: It's not just about knowing your product; it's about evolving it. Understand its impact, adapt to emerging needs, and always aim for excellence. ➡ Customer-Centric Design: Build with the customer in mind. From their struggles to their successes, your product should be a key player in their story. ✅ The Dos: 1. Engage Deeply with Product Innovation: - Stay ahead in innovation, ensuring your product leads the market in solving real problems. - Regularly use and challenge your product to understand and improve the user experience. 2. Prioritize Customer-Centric Solutions: - Maintain open, empathetic communication channels with customers. - Use customer feedback as a cornerstone for development, not just an afterthought. 3. Lead with Empathy and Insight: - Anticipate and address customer needs proactively. - Foster a culture where every team member values customer satisfaction and understands their role in achieving it. 4. Continuously Adapt and Innovate: - Encourage innovation focused on real-world problem-solving and customer needs. - Regularly assess and evolve your product, staying in tune with market dynamics and customer preferences. ❌ The Don'ts: - Never Ignore Customer Feedback - Avoid Complacency in Product Development - Do Not Underestimate the Value of Team Collaboration - Do Not Neglect Market and Competitive Analysis We must be innovators, driven by a passion for solving real problems. We must be empathetic listeners and insightful observers, understanding not just the market's current state, but its potential and direction. What do you think defines a truly impactful founder? #entrepreneur #founder #startup #business

Paul and Sasha were customer-focused managers working for the same company. Both wanted their teams to follow the company's service standards and deliver exceptional service. They tried two different approaches. Paul focused on games and rewards. He created a contest where employees were placed on teams. Each team got "points" when someone on the team was observed following the company's service standards. The team with the most points at the end of the month got a bonus. The first month went well. Service quality went up. The contest encouraged Paul to be more visible so he could observe his employees and give feedback. The second month didn't go well. Some teams quickly realized they couldn't win and stopped trying. Service declined. The third month was a disaster. Paul tried to change up the teams to even things out. Employees got upset about the new groupings. Some that previously did well now did worse. Service declined even more. Sasha took a different approach. She used recognition. She spent a lot of time observing employees and giving feedback. Sasha was always quick to tell an employee they did a good job when they used the service standards with a customer. She also gave constructive feedback when an employee fell short. Soon, employees began encouraging each other. They saw how the service standards helped the team keep customers happier. It felt good when everyone did a great job. Month after month, service quality increased. Paul and Sasha had a lot in common. They worked for the same company. Had access to the same systems and training. Both were customer-focused and wanted to do well. The difference was their approach. Rewards didn't work. Recognition did. PS. Paul was eager to learn. He scrapped the contest and adopted Sasha's recognition-based approach. It took awhile, but his employees eventually bought in and service steadily increased.

I get this question all the time from customer executives: “What do other customers do with you that we’re not doing yet?” It’s a good question,but here’s the hard truth 👇 Too many CS teams are afraid to answer it honestly. We dance around the gaps. We soften the message. We try not to make the customer uncomfortable. Because we’ve built a culture where Customer Success has gotten too nice. We confuse: 🤝 Being helpful with being effective 💬 Building relationships with avoiding hard truths 💙 Customer-centric with customer-comfortable CS grew out of service and advocacy, and empathy built trust. But somewhere along the way, we decided that keeping customers happy was more important than helping them succeed. And that’s the problem. 💡 Here’s the truth ✅ Customers don’t need another cheerleader. They need a coach. ✅ Leadership doesn’t need more happiness metrics. It needs impact metrics. ✅ The best CS teams don’t aim to please. They aim to perform. When a customer asks, “What are others doing that we’re not?” The answer should be clear, direct, and data-backed. Not diplomatic. That takes: 💪 Courage 🧭 Conviction 🔥 And a culture that values truth over comfort ⚙️ The Challenge for Every CS Leader 🔥 When was the last time your team told a customer, “You’re underutilizing us, and here’s what needs to change”? 🔥 When was the last time you challenged assumptions instead of validating them? 🔥 When was the last time you said no, because it wasn’t right for the customer or the business? If that question makes you uncomfortable… good. Because that’s where growth starts. 🧭 Here's a simple Action Plan for us all to consider: From “Nice” ➡️ “Necessary” 1️⃣ Redefine success ❌ “Did the customer like the meeting?” ✅ “Did the customer make progress?” 2️⃣ Train for courage 🗣️ Role-play tough conversations 🎯 Coach your team to challenge with confidence and care 3️⃣ Balance empathy with outcomes 💙 Empathy builds connection 📈 Accountability builds results Your customers deserve both 4️⃣ Reward truth-telling 🏆 Recognize the people who ask hard questions and say the right “no” At DISQO, we’re building a culture of Courageous Customer Success. We listen deeply. We care deeply. But we lead boldly, because customers deserve partners who push them, not just please them. The future of Customer Success won’t belong to the teams that stay nice. It’ll belong to the teams that stay real. 💥 #Leadership #CustomerSuccess #BoldMoves #Growth #CreateTheFuture #DISQO

There’s a difference between customer advocacy and collecting logos. Too many early stage SaaS companies still think the game is: ☑ Get a big name logo ☑ Put it on your homepage ☑ Job done (Dare I even say one of our competitors' site has quite a few logos that aren't their customers, some are even ours 🤷 ) ...and I think buyers are wising up to this... Same goes for influencers. If they’re not using the product or if they’re not mentioning you without being paid to, you’re not building brand. You’re renting inauthentic attention. At trumpet 🎺 we’ve started leaning heavily into real advocacy. The kind that isn’t bought, briefed or branded. What it looks like: → Users looping in colleagues offering great case studies → Our Slack channels getting DMs oh how users are getting results and telling us excitedly → Prospects mentioning us before we’ve even reached out → Champions posting about us unprompted on LinkedIn → Customers recording walkthroughs for their wider team → Referrals landing in our inbox with a one-line intro That’s the gold. It doesn’t just drive pipeline. It compounds. If you want to actually use advocacy beyond a throwaway customer quote on your site, here’s what we’ve found works: 🔁 Give them a reason to share. Make the product so damn useful (or delightful) they want to talk about it. Most advocacy is a reflection of product quality, not just marketing effort. 🧠 Involve them early. Co-create features, roadmap check-ins, share sneak previews. People advocate for what they help shape. 📦 Re-Package the advocacy. Turn casual quotes into killer social proof. That Slack comment? It can become a slide. That LinkedIn post? It can become an ad. But only if it’s genuine. 🙋 Celebrate the humans, not the logos. Spotlight your champions. Not the company they work for, but the person who took a bet on you. They’re the ones who’ll take you into their next company. We're not perfect at this yet - but it’s the main kind of “marketing” that doesn't need large budgets and that everyone can do. Logos are easy. Advocacy is earned.

For the past ten years I have been inside companies running workshops, coaching executives, and helping teams shift towards customer centricity. After hundreds of rooms and thousands of conversations, one truth keeps repeating itself. ▶︎ Customer experience is never just about customers. It is always about leadership and culture. Here is what I keep noticing: 1. Customers often feel what employees feel.  ↳ The internal atmosphere becomes the external experience. When teams feel respected, customers tend to feel respected. When employees are unsupported, customers sense it. 2. Leadership behaviour shapes how teams behave with customers.  ↳ People copy what leaders do, not what leaders say. Teams rarely offer kindness, patience, and empathy if those qualities are absent at the top. 3. Culture often influences customer outcomes faster than strategy.  ↳ Culture lives in everyday behaviour and it shows up immediately in the next decision, the next message, the next moment of pressure. If the culture is not there, the strategy lives in documents. 4. Customer centricity grows when everyone shares ownership.  ↳ When teams stop thinking in narrow roles and start acting as one system, customers finally experience a company that feels coherent rather than fragmented. ✶ Customer experience is a mirror. It reflects whatever the culture and its leadership shows. What else would you add? #cx #customerexperience #customerrelations

Everyone says people are the heart of their business. Starbucks makes it real. Their first Global Barista Championship (84,000 baristas, 1 global winner) put the spotlight where it belongs: on employees delivering customer excellence. The winner, Nobuki Shimode from Japan, was recognized not just for technical skill, but for bringing Starbucks' core values to life through craft, care, and connection.⁣ ⁣ Here are 3 lessons every business leader can apply:⁣ ⁣ ① Starbucks made emotional connection part of performance.⁣ Baristas weren't judged only on drink quality. They were scored on how well they connected with customers, told the story behind the coffee, and created memorable moments.⁣ ⁣✓The lesson: If you want customers to return and refer, design for emotional impact—not just efficiency. Experience isn't what people receive. It's what they feel.⁣ ⁣ ② Starbucks turned recognition into real influence.⁣ The winner didn't get a generic prize. He earned the chance to help create a drink that will appear in stores worldwide. The message: you're not just part of the brand—you directly impact what customers experience.⁣ ⁣✓The lesson: When employees contribute to what customers receive, they care more, perform better, and stay longer. That translates to higher retention on both sides of the counter.⁣ ⁣ ③ Starbucks tied individual wins to shared meaning.⁣ Every finalist received a $10,000 grant for their local community. Starbucks made it clear this wasn't just about rewarding talent—it was about amplifying the ripple effect of everyday work.⁣ ✓The lesson: Recognition drives deeper commitment when it reflects something bigger than the job. Purpose is a performance driver. Invest in what your people care about, and they'll invest more in you.⁣ ⁣ This is what Doing CX Right® looks like in action. I'm talking about turning values into action—and letting your people lead the way. Remember: to achieve better customer outcomes, start by recognizing the employees who create them. Then give them a real role in where your brand goes next. That's how you gain a competitive advantage. I know this works because I’ve experienced it firsthand. Subscribe to my newsletter for more helpful strategies and insights. Got questions? Message me. #DoingCXRight #customerexperience #employeeexperience Link to Starbucks story in comments.

Community-Led Growth, a New Gear for Business In a crowded market, simply having a great product is no longer enough. The most successful and fastest-growing companies today are building more than just solutions; they are building communities around their users. This shift lift customers from cheque writers to advocates, shareholders and supporters. CLG is not a side project. It’s a core business engine that leverages a community to drive outcomes like customer acquisition, retention, and engagement. Unlike models that build from the solution, CLG starts with the user. A business utilising a strong community-led growth strategy is defined by several key features: The Community Flywheel: A powerful, compounding cycle where growth in the community directly fuels business growth, which in turn attracts even more members. User-Centric Feedback: Feedback is not just collected; it's shared organically among members, allowing the company to capture valuable, unfiltered insights that inform product, marketing, and sales teams. Cross-Functional Ownership: The responsibility for community engagement is shared across the entire organisation from product and marketing to sales and customer success not just siloed in one department. Champion Advocacy: The strategy intentionally identifies and empowers "champions" or prolific contributors, who become powerful brand advocates through their active participation and peer-to-peer support. Focus on Member-to-Member Interaction: The primary value of the community is designed to be the connections between members, not just their relationship with the company. This self-sustaining network drives deeper loyalty and a sense of shared value. Ultimately, CLG helps businesses build a durable competitive advantage. By putting the needs of the community first, companies can transform users into advocates, improve key business metrics, and build a lasting, authentic relationship with their customers. If you are building a more open investment landscape, where community, access and strong brand stories drive momentum, you can subscribe to my newsletter here on LinkedIn. It is where I share what we are learning as more people get the chance to back the businesses they believe in.

"Tough leaders don't need empathy." Really? Science disagrees. Ever notice how the "abrasive high-performers" in leadership positions often flame out spectacularly? Despite the persistent myth that effective leaders must be ruthless and unemotional, research tells a completely different story. A comprehensive 2021 study by Development Dimensions International found that empathy is the single strongest predictor of leadership performance, explaining 40% of variance in key outcomes—yet only 40% of leaders score high on empathy assessments. The neuroscience is fascinating. When leaders demonstrate empathy, it activates neural synchrony between people through mirror neuron networks. fMRI studies reveal that the anterior insular cortex and anterior cingulate cortex—regions crucial for both understanding others' emotions and regulating our own—show heightened activity during empathic exchanges. These regions help us "feel with" others while maintaining enough cognitive separation to make sound decisions. In a landmark study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, researchers found that empathic leadership was positively associated with team psychological safety and creativity. Teams with leaders who displayed genuine empathy reported significantly higher levels of trust and were more willing to take interpersonal risks, leading to enhanced problem-solving capabilities and innovation. What does this mean for you? 👉 Personally: Practicing empathic listening—focusing fully on understanding before responding—activates these neural networks and strengthens them over time, much like building a muscle. 👉 Professionally: According to Gallup research, employees who feel their manager cares about them as a person are significantly more engaged, productive, and likely to stay with their organization. Regular check-ins focused on understanding team members' perspectives create the psychological safety needed for high performance. 👉 Organisationally: Research from the Center for Creative Leadership shows that empathy positively correlates with job performance. Leaders who score higher on empathy are viewed as better performers by their supervisors and lead teams with lower turnover rates. The transformation is measurable. Companies prioritising empathic leadership practices report stronger employee engagement, higher retention rates, and improved customer experiences. Microsoft's cultural transformation under Satya Nadella, with its explicit focus on empathy, has been credited as a key factor in the company's remarkable business turnaround and market growth. What one small empathy practice could you implement with your team this week, and how might you measure its impact?

#CustomerExperience leaders need to split their strategies into deliberate bottom-up and top-down approaches. Many get the bottom-up right, but they struggle with the top-down. Bottom-up strategies focus on improving customer-centric employee behaviors at scale. These approaches include #CX or empathy training for front-line workers, using Voice of Customer feedback to set touchpoint expectations based on customer feedback, and building customer-centric KPIs into individual performance appraisals. But where many CX leaders struggle is often with engaging senior leaders to influence their customer-centric behaviors. It's difficult to influence C-suite behavior, but if you're expected to improve customer-centric culture in the organization, then you cannot avoid this. Top-down strategies start with showing senior leaders how customer satisfaction impacts growth, retention, margin, and lifetime value. It also includes improving CX and VoC reporting to provide more recommendations and actions, not just findings and data. Having discussions with leaders about the importance of financial and non-financial rewards for customer-centric behaviors is another tool in the top-down toolkit. And using personas and journey maps is a vital way to convert customer and touchpoint data into a compelling story of necessary change. Don't rely on dashboards and reports to do the job of top-down CX engagement. Don't count on a couple of positive customer-centric comments from leaders as a sign of meaningful, irreversible support. And do not assume that the fact your CX job exists is evidence of senior leaders' commitment to customer experience. Part of the job for a successful CX leader is to constantly prove the value of customer-centric strategies, influence senior leader priorities, and arm decision-makers with the insight they need to make customer-centric decisions. Don't just empower your frontline workers and assume the job is done. If you aren't building a consistent dialog with executives, you're not only missing an opportunity to make the most significant customer impact but also seeding future problems that can lead to declining support, budget, and resources for customer experience initiatives. Take a comment today to identify or define your top-down and bottom-up CX strategies for 2024. If there's an imbalance, solving that now can lead to better outcomes by the end of this year.

Your product or service doesn't become a brand just because you have a fancy logo or a celebrity endorser. It becomes a brand when you create an emotional connection with your customers. A logo is a symbol, and endorsements may draw attention but don't create loyalty. Real branding happens when people feel something about your product - when they connect with it on a personal level. Think about the brands you trust the most. Is it their logo that keeps you coming back? Or is it the experience, the feeling, and the value they consistently deliver? Doing this is not a rocket science. All it takes is intent and action. Here's how you can go about it: 1. Listen Pay attention to what your customers care about. Understand their problems and needs so you can respond in ways that matter to them. 2. Empathize Show that you understand their feelings. Address their problems and share in their successes. When customers feel understood, they feel connected. 3. Engage Have real conversations with your customers. Be present where they are—whether on social media, email, or in person. Building a relationship means interacting, not just talking to them. 4. Be Authentic Be honest and genuine about who you are. Share your brand's story and values openly. People connect with brands that feel genuine and trustworthy. If you screw up—that's fine as long as you accept and show willingness to improve that. 5. Be Consistent Keep your promises. When customers know they can count on you every time, they'll stick around. And repeat everything again and again. A brand is built when customers feel connected to you. Focus on creating those emotional ties, and that's when your product becomes a brand.