All Things Considered CX with Bob Azman

CX of M Radio

All Things Considered CX, is a lively discussion about the challenges and opportunities facing organizations as they strive to improve their overall customer and employee experiences. Whether you are a well-seasoned executive or a new convert to the world of CX, our show addresses how to break through all the noise and focus on what matters in achieving better customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention. In listening to our show you can expect discussions on timely topics, with guests across a wide spectrum of experience and industry knowledge coupled with provocative questions and actions you can utilize in your organization. Join us for All things considered, CX, and expect the unexpected. read less

Our Editor's Take

All Things Considered CX with Bob Azman is a business podcast. The host is the founder of Innovative CX Solutions, a consulting firm.

CX, or customer experience, has existed as long as people have been doing business. Understanding the importance of customer experience, though, is a recent development. Today, companies understand that people are willing to pay more for a better experience. Poor CX drives away customers and does it fast. Measuring CX for one's own business can be a challenge. That is where the All Things Considered CX podcast can help.

Host Bob invites a guest to the show in every episode of the podcast. Some of his guests work in the field and have advice for listeners. Kevin Bollom of Trane talks about the "say-do ratio." He thinks that part of Trane's success is due to its attention to follow-through. Bryan Clayton is the CEO of GreenPal. This app connects lawn care companies with customers. GreenPal calls customers back within one hour, a testament to its commitment to CX. Emily Gray is the Chief Customer Officer at PlayVox. She has the unique challenge of managing CX for a company that offers CX solutions.

Bob also talks to authors and other podcasters. John Goodman is the author of Strategic Customer Service. His research is well known in the field. He tells listeners about the National Customer Rage Survey he created in 1976. It measures overall customer satisfaction. Joe Wheeler is the coauthor of The Digital-First Customer Experience. In his book, he explores the evolution of CX into the digital realm. Kevin Wilde is a professor and expert on coachability. He has tips for CX professionals wanting to move forward in their careers.

All Things Considered CX with Bob Azman may be a great listen for small business owners who want to improve their customer experience. The podcast contains advice and bits of wisdom from experts. Bob's guests are leaders in their field and have much to teach.

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Neal is a teacher, coach, author, and speaker who is a determined believer in putting people first as the key to better business. His vision is a world where workplaces and customer spaces are focused on people helping people succeed. His background includes decades of experience in a variety of industries. He has written over 500 blog posts and two amazing books. His latest, recently released book, Giving a $#!+: How A Willingness to Be Inconvenienced Can Transform Your Business, Work, and Life, offers readers a plan for making businesses more human.

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Neal is a teacher, coach, author, and speaker who is a determined believer in putting people first as the key to better business. His vision is a world where workplaces and customer spaces are focused on people helping people succeed. His background includes decades of experience in a variety of industries. He has written over 500 blog posts and two amazing books. His latest, recently released book, Giving a $#!+: How A Willingness to Be Inconvenienced Can Transform Your Business, Work, and Life, offers readers a plan for making businesses more human.

Eryc Eyl is a speaker, coach, and consultant with more than 30 years of experience in making work more human in a variety of industries and organizations. He believes in a world in which work is more than just a four-letter word, but part of path to greater satisfaction, fulfillment, self-actualization, and flourishing. Eryc is also a storyteller, playwright, and DJ. His first book, Stop Engaging Employees: Start Making Work More Human, was published in January 2024.

Carol Kaemmerer

Carol Kaemmerer

Is 2024 the year of Great Uncertainty? Are you concerned about your current role, your career, your personal brand, your LinkedIn profile? Then take a listen to our guest on the All Things Considered CX Podcast with Bob Azman. Carol Kaemmerer took what seemed like shockingly bad news and turned it into an amazing opportunity. After a surprise downsizing in the Fortune 500 company she served as a consultant, Carol found that her 20 years of marketing communications experience provided the perfect set-up for helping professionals build their online brand. LinkedIn, she recognized, is an integral part of that brand-building. But many brilliant leaders, are unable to articulate their brand effectively on LinkedIn, and that is a weak link in their online reputation. Since 2011, Carol has focused her communications expertise on helping C-suite executives and senior leaders use LinkedIn powerfully, creating positioning and messaging that reflects their business passion with authenticity. She is a #1 Best-Selling author of the award-winning book, LinkedIn for the Savvy Executive, now in its Second Edition. Carol is a professional member of the National Speakers Association, a Certified Virtual Presenter, an Advisor to the C-Suite Network, and an Esteemed Faculty member of its Thought Council and Women’s Coaching and Consulting Council.

Rhonda L. Bowen, Global Strategic Communication Guide

Rhonda L. Bowen, Global Strategic Communication Guide

Rhonda L. Bowen is a global strategic communication guide with over 40 years of experience. An American living in Germany since 1983, she has worked with people from more than 70 countries. Since 1988 she has brought insights and support to thousands of BEST professionals (business, engineering, science, and technology). Through improved communication, her clients save resources and enhance their success. Her programs and services include online and offline facilitation, individual and team coaching, and programs for professional services providers and organizations. She supports others through her interactive sessions called Success Swarms, building on the idea of swarm intelligence in nature. These are based on the principle of wispiration in action, a combination of wisdom and inspiration shared in the group to provide options for finding practical ways to apply what has been learned.

Jeanne Bliss, Founder CustomerBliss

Jeanne Bliss, Founder CustomerBliss

A Pioneer. A Legend. A Passionate Leader. I am so pleased to welcome Jeanne Bliss to the 100th episode of the All Things Considered CX Podcast with Bob Azman. Jeanne, CEO and Founder of Customer Bliss, guides companies to the achievement of business growth through leadership bravery and elevated business practices. She is known globally for transforming business to earn customer-driven growth. A 5-time Chief Customer Officer and coach to over 20,000 leaders, her practices are field-tested and proven. Bliss' 5-Competencies for customer-driven growth have been adopted around the world, and her 4 best-selling books on customer experience and leadership are the guidebooks of the CX Profession. Jeanne Bliss has delivered over 1,500 transformative keynotes globally, has coached over 20,000 leaders on leading to elevate their company in the marketplace, with sustainable growth. Jeanne Bliss is the cofounder of the Customer Experience Professionals Association and is fondly known as the “godmother” of customer experience. What a great way to celebrate this milestone event!

Kevin Bollom, VP Quality and Customer Experience, Trane

Kevin Bollom, VP Quality and Customer Experience, Trane

Do you know what your “Say – Do” ratio is? Fascinating conversation about service management with practitioner, Kevin Bollom. Kevin is vice president of Quality and Customer Experience for Trane Technologies’ Commercial HVAC Americas business – which goes to market as Trane®. Kevin is responsible for transforming customer experience to achieve a new level of customer satisfaction. His team is responsible for Trane’s customer satisfaction program, quality improvement efforts across all business processes and the technical support teams. A more than 20-year veteran of the company, Kevin most recently led Trane’s Services business, delivering growth and new technology across North America. Before joining Trane, Kevin worked for Medtronic, Inc. within the medical device field and with Kimberly-Clark within the consumer products field.

Bryan Clayton, CEO, GreenPal

Bryan Clayton, CEO, GreenPal

Bryan Clayton isn't just another CEO; he's a visionary and a groundbreaker. As the mastermind behind GreenPal, an innovative online marketplace dubbed the "Uber for lawn care" by Entrepreneur magazine, he's revolutionizing the way homeowners connect with local lawn care pros. Boasting over 200,000 active users, GreenPal pulses with thousands of transactions daily, a testament to Bryan's knack for understanding market needs. But here's the twist: GreenPal isn’t Bryan’s first rodeo. Before this digital marvel, he birthed Peachtree Inc., transforming it into one of Tennessee's landscaping giants. Under his leadership, it soared to an impressive $10 million in annual revenue, ultimately catching the eye of Lusa Holdings which acquired it in 2013. Diving deeper into Bryan's passion, you'll find a fervor for entrepreneurialism, marketing, and the art of bootstrapping businesses from humble beginnings to soaring success. His journey from zero to profitability, and then to a grand exit, offers invaluable insights for budding entrepreneurs and seasoned business veterans alike.

Kevin Wilde, University of Minnesota, Leadership Development, Author

Kevin Wilde, University of Minnesota, Leadership Development, Author

Coachability. “The goal is to regain that early-career habit to learn more, to be more coachable and to expand your leadership effectiveness and career potential”, according to our guest on the All Things Considered CX Podcast with Bob Azman. Kevin D. Wilde currently serves as an Executive Leadership Fellow at the @Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. He teaches applied leadership in several graduate courses. His current research topics include leadership coachability, executive derailment, and contemporary talent development. In 2015, he concluded a thirty-four-year corporate career in leadership and talent development at General Electric and General Mills. In this episodeWe talk at length about a variety of ways to improve your coachability and leadership development as well as discuss his new book, Coachability, The Leadership Superpower. A must-listen for CX professionals seeking to advance their careers!

Joe Wheeler, Author, The Digital First Customer Experience

Joe Wheeler, Author, The Digital First Customer Experience

Joe Wheeler is an internationally recognized best-selling author, speaker, and consultant. He is the CEO of CX/Digital a subsidiary of The Service Profit Chain Institute (SPCI), a Boston-based consulting firm he co-founded with Professors Len Schlesinger, James Heskett, and W. Earl Sasser of the Harvard Business School. In 2002, he and Shaun Smith co-authored the best-seller: Managing the Customer Experience. He followed it up in 2008 with The Ownership Quotient, co-authored with James Hesket and Earl Sasser, Jr. His latest book, The Digital-First Customer Experience was released in July of 2023 and describes the design strategies of leading brands including Nike, Amazon, CEMEX, Starbucks, and others. Prior to co-founding The Service Profit Chain Institute, he held executive roles at Bank of America, and The Forum Corporation and earned an MBA from Edinburgh Business School.

Matt Watkinson, Author: Mastering Uncertainty

Matt Watkinson, Author: Mastering Uncertainty

Matt is an internationally renowned business author and speaker. He won the CMI's Management Book of the Year for his first book, The Ten Principles Behind Great Customer Experiences, considered by many to be the definitive book on the subject. His second book - The Grid: The Decision-making Tool for Every Business (Including Yours) was published by Random House to critical acclaim. His third book — Mastering Uncertainty — co-authored with the investor and entrepreneur Csaba Konkoly —was released in April 2023. As a speaker has addressed industry leaders at every kind of organization imaginable, from Microsoft to the FBI. He is the co-founder of Methodical, a customer experience and strategy consultancy; a Senior Visiting Fellow at Bayes Business School (Formerly Cass), City University London; and a venture partner at Tiller Partners, a Los Angeles based VC fund. He lives in Santa Monica, California.

Best of Summer Replay Series - John Goodman (from May 15)

Best of Summer Replay Series - John Goodman (from May 15)

Best of Summer Replay Series! Mr. Goodman is Vice Chairman of Customer Care Measurement and Consulting (CCMC). The universal adages, “It costs five times as much to win a new customer as to keep an existing one.” and “Twice as many people hear about a bad experience as a good one.” are both based on his research. He assisted in the analysis of the latest National Customer Rage Study, on American consumers’ complaining behavior, service expectations and word of mouth. Harper Collins published the second edition of his book, “Strategic Customer Service”, in March, 2019. He has also published, “Customer Experience 3.0”, with the American Management Association in July, 2014. Over the past 40 years, Mr. Goodman has managed more than 1,000 separate customer experience studies for 45 of the Fortune 100 as well as dozens of non-profit and government entities.

Best of Summer Replay Series - Don Peppers (from April 3)

Best of Summer Replay Series - Don Peppers (from April 3)

Building better customer relationships, one customer at a time. Joining me on the All Things Considered CX podcast for this episode is Don Peppers. Don is one of the world’s most prolific experts when it comes to how businesses should deal with their customers and, with over 325,000 LinkedIn followers, he is recognized as one of the world’s most authoritative experts on the topic of “customer experience.” With business partner and co-author Dr. Martha Rogers, Peppers has authored or co-authored eleven business books, including their international best-seller The One to One Future: Building Relationships One Customer at a Time (Doubleday, 1993) and Customer Experience: What, How and Why Now (BookBaby, 2016).

Best of Summer Replay Series- Carol Kaemmerer (from Jan 9)

Best of Summer Replay Series- Carol Kaemmerer (from Jan 9)

Best of Summer Replay Series! Named one of the 6 top personal branding experts in 2022 by The American Reporter, Carol Kaemmerer is also a professional speaker and author of the award-winning book: LinkedIn for the Savvy Executive: Promote Your Brand with Authenticity, Tact and Power. Published in it’s 2nd Edition in 2021, Carol’s book has won multiple awards including BookAuthority’s Best LinkedIn Books of All Time award, two awards from International Book Awards, and has been selected by The C-Suite Network as one of the top 100+ Best Business Books. Carol specializes in strategies for using LinkedIn as a personal branding and business development tool. In addition to her one-on-one executive branding work with senior leaders, Carol is a popular speaker and member of the National Speakers Association.

Uku Tomikas, Messente

Uku Tomikas, Messente

Uku Tomikas is the CEO of Messente Communications. He is an advocate for honest entrepreneurship and an expert in telecommunications with extensive knowledge of fraud, global markets and business messaging. Besides being the leader of Messente, he is also a father, a high-school teacher and a yoga instructor with a military background. He enjoys an active lifestyle filled with sports, literature and creative challenges.

Stacy Sherman joins me on my latest podcast episode. She’s the host of her own podcast DoingCXRight. Known for her Heart & ScienceTM framework that produces profitable clients and brand loyalty--fueled by an empowered and valued workforce. Stacy Sherman’s been walking the talk for 25 years as a strategist and practitioner at companies of all sizes and industries. Her Why: To Influence and cultivate deeper connections and authentic relationships so that people have more fulfilling experiences in business and life.

John Goodman, National Customer Rage Survey Discussion of Results

John Goodman, National Customer Rage Survey Discussion of Results

Mr. Goodman is Vice Chairman of Customer Care Measurement and Consulting (CCMC). The universal adages, “It costs five times as much to win a new customer as to keep an existing one.” and “Twice as many people hear about a bad experience as a good one.” are both based on his research. He assisted in the analysis of the latest National Customer Rage Study, on American consumers’ complaining behavior, service expectations and word of mouth. Harper Collins published the second edition of his book, “Strategic Customer Service”, in March, 2019. He has also published, “Customer Experience 3.0”, with the American Management Association in July, 2014. Over the past 40 years, Mr. Goodman has managed more than 1,000 separate customer experience studies for 45 of the Fortune 100 as well as dozens of non-profit and government entities.

Emily Gray, PlayVox

Emily Gray, PlayVox

As Chief Customer Officer for Playvox, Emily Gray is focused on creating extraordinary experiences for customers at every touchpoint and interaction. Emily leads the CX teams including Technical Support, Solutions Consulting, Services and Delivery, Onboarding, and Customer Success Management. Before Playvox, she served in several senior customer success and digital experience roles with for a variety of organizations, including Interactions LLC, LifeLock, and New World Restaurant Group. Emily has spoken on the topic of CX and is a frequent speaker on digital transformation, customer experience, training and workforce management optimization, and customer engagement topics. Emily earned a M.B.A. from the University of Arizona, Eller College of Management, and a B.A. in Spanish from Arizona State University. She resides in Orlando, Florida with her husband and three children.

Valentin Radu, OmniConvert CVO Academy

Valentin Radu, OmniConvert CVO Academy

Valentin Radu is the CEO & Founder of Omniconvert. He leverages his industry expertise at Omniconvert — his SaaS company that provides growth solutions to mid-size eCommerce websites looking to become customer-centric. Omniconvert helps eCommerce companies find hidden gems in their data, improve Customer Lifetime Value and Customer Retention & deliver personalized customer experiences across all channels. Before anything else — Valentin Radu is a persevering experimenter. He has gone through various jobs, companies, and entrepreneurial ventures before identifying customers' real needs and defining the perfect go-to-market strategy. Nowadays, he is a Customer Value Optimization evangelist and international speaker, defining a new category and helping retailers grow.

Don Peppers, Peppers and Rogers

Don Peppers, Peppers and Rogers

Building better customer relationships, one customer at a time. Joining me on the All Things Considered CX podcast for this episode is Don Peppers. Don is one of the world’s most prolific experts when it comes to how businesses should deal with their customers and, with over 325,000 LinkedIn followers, he is recognized as one of the world’s most authoritative experts on the topic of “customer experience.” With business partner and co-author Dr. Martha Rogers, Peppers has authored or co-authored eleven business books, including their international best-seller The One to One Future: Building Relationships One Customer at a Time (Doubleday, 1993) and Customer Experience: What, How and Why Now (BookBaby, 2016).

Brittain Brown, President Givex

Brittain Brown, President Givex

Since joining Givex in 2003, Brittain Brown has held various managerial roles in the National Accounts and Operations divisions and has been responsible for some of the company’s largest client successes. As President, Brown has driven Givex’s international expansion efforts and overseen the successful acquisition of new additions to the Givex family of companies. Givex is integrated with 1000+ technology partners, creating a fully end-to-end solution that delivers powerful customer insights. His leadership and passion for people have been instrumental in the company’s explosive growth. Brown graduated from Queen’s University with a B.A. in Economics.