The most dangerous number in customer experience isn’t low—it’s shiny. In this CX Pulse Check, we unpack why a single score can seduce teams into storytelling that investors love and customers don’t feel, and we make a case for the harder, more honest work of proving value creation by cohort, not by kudos. With Rob Markey of Bain & Company and Harvard Business School, we discuss whether customer metrics predict growth or distract from it, and we separate real loyalty from repeat purchase.

We go straight at the NPS debate: what the score can predict, where it fails, and how it becomes powerful only as part of a system that links feedback to actions that change renewal, cross-sell, referrals, and cost-to-serve. We talk airlines, captive markets, and the language games behind “loyalty” programs that purchase repetition without building emotional commitment. Then we get practical. You’ll hear a little about how to read interaction telemetry for risk signals, and build models that translate service performance—wait times, abandon rates, repeat contacts—into forward revenue forecasts your CFO will respect.

This is a great listen for leaders who want both heart and proof: real-time feedback to understand emotion and expectation shifts, behavioral data to see what customers actually do, and investor-ready visuals like tenure curves and revenue per customer by acquisition year. If you’ve ever wondered how to tell a CX story that earns budget because it earns returns, tune in to this conversation.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with your team, and leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Then send in a question you want us to tackle next at askJeannie.vip.

About Rob Markey
Advisory Partner, Bain & Company
Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School

Rob Markey (https://robmarkey.com) is a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School and an advisory partner at Bain & Company. The creator of the Net Promoter System, he has spent more than three decades helping companies grow by earning customer loyalty and increasing the value of their customer relationships.

He teaches Managing Service Operations in the MBA program at HBS and hosts the Customer Confidential podcast, where he speaks with leaders building customer-centric businesses.

He is the co-author of The Ultimate Question 2.0 and a leading voice in the movement toward Customer Capitalism.

Follow Rob on...
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robmarkey/


Articles Mentioned:
- The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI): Quarter 3, 2025 - A Threat Potentially More Damaging Than the Great Recession (American Customer Satisfaction Index) -- https://theacsi.org/news-and-resources/press-releases/2025/11/13/press-release-national-acsi-q3-2025/
- CoStar (CSGP) Q3 2025 Earnings Call Transcript (The Motley Fool) -- https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2025/10/28/costar-csgp-q3-2025-earnings-call-transcript/

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)

What if the next 90–180 days could lock in measurable customer loyalty? In this episode, we break down a practical, no-fluff playbook for building a retention strategy that customers actually value—whether you’re serving consumers or complex B2B accounts.

We focus on intentional success and segmentation, identifying high-value customers and the signals that predict renewal, frequency, and advocacy. Then we narrow in on the KPIs that matter most and design loyalty mechanics that make sense: points, tiers, access, bonuses, and earned surprise moments. You’ll learn why swag rarely drives loyalty, how to reduce early friction with smart onboarding, and where re-engagement triggers fit when momentum slows.

We compare B2C and B2B loyalty without clichés. For B2C, convenience, delight, and timely nudges win. For B2B, loyalty must support the whole account through shared benefits like premium support, admin training, success reviews, and milestone-based usage credits. Throughout, we lean on behavioral analytics, automation that enhances relevance, and a communication cadence that drives action without fatigue.

To keep programs fresh, we champion co-creation and experiential innovation—inviting customers into pilots, iterating on perks, and retiring low-impact rewards fast. Ask the Disruption Day question: what will customers need tomorrow, and how can you start building it today? This mindset turns loyalty from a cost center into a growth engine. If this resonates, subscribe, share with a teammate, and leave a quick review.

Resources Mentioned:
Learn more about CXI Membership™ and apply -- http://CXIMembership.com
Order your copy of Experience Is Everything -- http://experienceiseverythingbook.com
Experience Investigators Website -- https://experienceinvestigators.com

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)

When surveys fall flat, the real story still lives in customer conversations, behaviors, and signals. In this episode, we explore how to move from survey programs to real feedback strategies—ones that capture those signals, connect them to outcomes, and drive action leaders can feel.

You’ll hear how to combine quick, purposeful interviews, observational studies, and analytics for a full picture of what customers think, feel, and do. We also unpack where AI fits in—how NLP, speech analytics, and social listening reveal patterns at scale, while humans still guide the questions and actions.

From frontline insights to early warnings of silent churn, we cover practical ways to detect issues, act fast, and close the loop. You’ll leave with five essentials for building a connected feedback ecosystem and turning listening into lasting improvement.

Resources Mentioned:
Learn more about CXI Membership™ and apply -- http://CXIMembership.com
Experience Investigators Website -- https://experienceinvestigators.com

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)

Want customers to talk about your brand without being asked? In this CX Pulse Check, we bring on Brooke Sellas, founder of B Squared Media and a leader in social customer care, to unpack how emotion—not content volume—creates durable connection, retention, and revenue. Together we push past vanity metrics and dig into signals that actually matter: the unsolicited thank-yous, the screenshots, the stitches, and the small moments of care customers can’t help but share.

Our conversation moves from principle to practice. We map out how to define success for customers and for the business, then build joy loops that reward participation and make advocacy feel like a feature. We talk candidly about creator care—how high-velocity social teams face relentless expectations and why, in the age of AI, creative risk is the differentiator. We also look inside modern support: when bots deflect FAQs, humans inherit the complex, emotional problems.

We also break down Salesforce’s decision to replace a lightly used help search with AI and the community backlash that followed. The lesson is clear: internal metrics don’t equal external sentiment. Listening publicly, restoring a dedicated search capability, and co-creating with power users can turn friction into fuel.

If you care about customer experience, social strategy, or contact center leadership, you’ll leave with insights for measuring emotion, protecting the people who power your brand, and taking smart risks that cut through AI’s sea of sameness.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a teammate, and leave a quick review.

About Brooke Sellas:
Brooke Sellas is shaping the future of digital marketing one conversation at a time. As an award-winning CEO, she leads B Squared Media, a boutique agency redefining 'social care' for brands like Brother International, Miele, and BCU. You can dive into her insights through her book Conversations That Connect, her thought leadership on CMSWire, or her expert-led courses—among them, three digital marketing courses at the University of California, Irvine (one focused on AI & Marketing) and a LinkedIn Learning course on Social Care.

Learn More About B Squared Media at https://bsquared.media/

Follow Brooke on...
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brookebsellas/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HelloBSquared/podcasts


Articles Mentioned:
- To Set Your Brand Apart, Create Moments of Shareable Joy (Harvard Business Review) -- https://hbr.org/2025/09/to-set-your-brand-apart-create-moments-of-shareable-joy
- Duolingo’s Departing Social Media Manager Talks Virality, Anxiety and Mental Health (The Wall Street Journal) -- https://www.wsj.com/articles/duolingos-departing-social-media-manager-talks-virality-anxiety-and-mental-health-63d36f40
- Salesforce Responds to User Backlash Over Replacing Help Search with Agentforce (CX Today) -- https://www.cxtoday.com/crm/salesforce-responds-to-user-backlash-over-replacing-help-search-with-agentforce/

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)

Personalization in B2B shouldn’t feel invasive—it should feel helpful, timely, and trustworthy. In this episode, we share a practical framework for getting personal the right way: focus on professional goals, public signals, and clear boundaries. Skip the birthday messages and small talk; instead, pay attention to milestones that matter—team expansions, product launches, and regulatory shifts that shape your clients’ priorities.

We dive into tactics for adding warmth to cold communications, from simple follow-ups to plain-language summaries that turn compliance into clarity. You’ll learn how to time outreach, tailor messages by maturity level, and link value to outcomes leaders care about—adoption, risk reduction, and ROI.

Finally, we explore the guardrails that protect trust: respect boundaries, avoid private data, and apply the “leadership test” for tone. Rethink your B2B playbook and build personalization that scales—with relevance, respect, and humanity.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a teammate, and leave a quick review so others can find it.

Don’t forget to register for our upcoming webinar, From Assessment to Action: Building Your CX Roadmap, on November 4th via bit.ly/CXAction

Resources Mentioned:
Experience Investigators Website -- https://experienceinvestigators.com

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)

In this episode, we explore one of the toughest CX challenges: balancing company policies with the flexibility needed to deliver exceptional experiences.

Policies should guide and protect, not block great service. We share how to design rules that empower teams, use exceptions as insights for improvement, and align every decision with your customer experience mission. Plus, we discuss how rethinking outdated policies — like libraries eliminating overdue fines — can strengthen trust and deepen customer relationships.

Tune in to learn how to turn rigid rules into opportunities for better customer experiences — and don’t forget to register for our upcoming webinar, From Assessment to Action: Building Your CX Roadmap, on November 4th via bit.ly/CXAction.

Resources Mentioned:
Experience Investigators Website -- https://experienceinvestigators.com

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)

Why do leaders hesitate to green-light customer interviews even when everyone agrees they matter? In this episode, we share a fast path to buy-in: lead with business outcomes, start with a small pilot, and turn qualitative insights into measurable ROI. Instead of pitching interviews as an activity, we frame them as a strategic move to reduce churn, fix onboarding friction, and prioritize work that grows loyalty and revenue.

Most importantly, we show how to speak leadership’s language — tying interviews to metrics like time-to-value, adoption, cancellations, and expansion revenue — and how to keep executives engaged with quick updates and short video clips that make customer emotion impossible to ignore. Clear ask, clear scope, clear outcomes. Then scale once the foundation is in place.

Liked what you heard? Subscribe, share with a teammate who needs a pilot plan, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. Got a question for a future episode? Leave a voicemail at askjeannie.vip.

Resources Mentioned:
Get our Customer Interview Guidebook -- bit.ly/ciguidebook
Experience Investigators Website -- experienceinvestigators.com

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)

Customers don’t just want answers. They want action! That’s why agentic AI, the kind that doesn’t just recommend but actually does the work, is reshaping how teams analyze experiences, resolve issues, and connect systems.

In this CX Pulse Check, Jeannie talks with Medallia’s Chief Strategy Officer, Sid Banerjee, about today’s clearest CX use cases and the pitfalls leaders should avoid as agentic AI adoption accelerates across industries like banking, healthcare, retail, and hospitality.

We explore three big patterns:

• AI that speeds up insight generation across calls, chats, and surveys
• Assistive tools that help agents find and deliver answers in real time
• Orchestration that lets AI schedule, submit, and update without piling on handoffs

Voice is making a comeback too, from car dealerships booking recall appointments to restaurants taking phone orders with flawless recall. The key isn’t “more bots,” but better design, continuous coaching, and a balance of speed with trust.

We also cover empathy, accountability, and practical guardrails (like building feedback loops, retraining models, and giving customers clear choices so they never feel trapped by tech).
If you’re evaluating where to deploy AI next or whether your pilots are effective, this conversation provides examples, cautions, and a pragmatic perspective.


About Sid Banerjee, Chief Strategy Officer, Medallia:
Over a nearly 30-year career, Sid has amassed deep skills building companies and solutions based on customer experience, business intelligence, and AI-powered technologies. Sid was the Founder and served as CEO, Chairman, and Chief Strategy Officer at Clarabridge. He most recently served as Chief XM Strategy Officer at Qualtrics. He presently serves as Chairman at Prolific, a high-growth technology company that provides a platform for high-quality, human-derived AI and research models. He was a founding employee of MicroStrategy and founder/CEO of Claraview. He also held executive and management positions at Ernst & Young and Sprint. He holds a BS/MS in Electrical Engineering from MIT.

Learn More About Medallia at https://www.medallia.com/

Follow Sid on...
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sidbanerjeewdc/


Articles Mentioned:
- Marriott checks out AI agents amid technology transformation (CIO Dive) -- https://www.ciodive.com/news/marriott-international-AI-strategy-agentic-cloud-cybersecurity/758922/
- Red Lobster Turns to AI to Power Phone Ordering (Hospitality Technology) -- https://hospitalitytech.com/news-briefs/2025-09-22?article=red-lobster-turns-ai-power-phone-ordering
- Long Island pizzeria goes viral with saucy videos giving bad diners a taste of their own medicine: ‘Go sit down’ (New York Post) -- https://nypost.com/2025/09/22/us-news/long-island-pizzeria-goes-viral-with-saucy-videos-giving-bad-diners-a-taste-of-their-own-medicine-go-sit-down/

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)