Doing Customer eXperience Right‬ In The AI Era | Stacy Sherman

Hosted by Doing CX Right ℠

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Episodes

215

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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EN-US

About the show

The Doing CX Right Podcast is a resource for businesses striving to increase revenue, reduce costs, and achieve sustainable competitive differentiation. Companies often pursue these goals ineffectively. This podcast challenges conventional thinking through innovative customer experience (CX) strategies. Each episode offers expert advice, blending human-centric approaches with the latest technology to solve business challenges. The show emphasizes that everyone has a CX role, regardless of job title or function, and provides actionable tactics for a unified effort. Beyond business strategies, you'll hear inspiring life lessons and personal triumphs, transforming organizations by capturing customer hearts and wallets. This approach results in a win-win-win: delighted customers, empowered employees, and a thriving business.

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60 recent

June 16, 2026Episode 21626 min

216. How to Serve Customers Faster, Better, and Smarter at Scale | Alvin Stokes

Most companies are rushing to deploy AI faster than their competitors. Alvin Stokes of Princess Cruises says that is exactly the wrong instinct. Speed without emotional intelligence does not create better guest experiences. It creates tools your frontline team will not use, prototypes your customers will not trust, and revenue you will not recover. Alvin has spent two years inside one of the most guest-focused industries in the world, generating a nine-figure incremental revenue gain from AI programs by doing one thing most leaders skip: proving it works before scaling it. This episode is for any leader who wants to move fast with AI without breaking the customer relationship in the process. What You Will Learn About AI, Guest Experience, and Emotionally Intelligent CX: Why emotional intelligence is the missing ingredient in most AI deployments, and how Princess Cruises builds it into every tool before agents ever touch it The blueprint Alvin's team uses to prototype fast, pilot heavily, fail quickly, and scale only what actually works, producing a nine-figure revenue gain in 12 months How AI is changing what "listening to customers" means, from three-month-old NPS surveys to real-time sentiment analysis across every channel interaction Why the frontline agents who resist new tools are your most valuable source of feedback, and how to use their input to drive faster adoption across the team How Princess Cruises' Smooth Sailing Squad uses AI-generated daily reports to surface policy and process friction points before they damage the guest experience What new KPIs are replacing NPS as the primary measure of guest loyalty, and why tracking sentiment over 10, 50, or 200 interactions tells you things a single survey never can 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.

June 9, 2026Episode 21526 min

215. How to Orchestrate Better Customer Experiences with Agentic AI | Pierre Charchaflian

Most leaders think they are delivering a great customer experience. Pierre Charchaflian of IBM says they are delivering yesterday's version. The new standard is not fixing problems when customers report them. It is knowing about the problem before the customer does, and solving it before they have to ask. That shift, from reactive to anticipatory, is what separates the brands that customers stay loyal to from those they leave without explanation. The technology to do it exists right now. Most companies are not using it. Pierre has spent 25 years at the intersection of data, technology, and customer experience, and he says this transformation is unlike anything he has seen before. The window to act is open. It will not stay that way. What You Will Learn About Anticipating Customer Needs With AI: What agentic AI actually is in plain language, why it is fundamentally different from prior AI capabilities, and what it means for your CX strategy starting now Why IBM's research found that technology stack limitations, not budget or talent, are the number one barrier preventing CMOs from delivering the customer experience they already know they need to deliver How agentic search engines are becoming a direct threat to brand digital presence, and what leaders need to do before their customers' AI agents start bypassing them entirely Why anticipating a customer's need before they express it is now a measurable competitive advantage, and what separates the companies building that capability from the ones still reacting How AI can read sentiment, detect frustration signals across structured and unstructured data, and trigger a response before a customer decides to leave Why conversion is the metric that tells the truth about whether your customer experience is actually working, and what NPS and CSAT consistently miss Download IBM's Win the Moment report now: https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/en-us/report/customer-intent?utm_id=Stacy-Sherman-AdobeSummit-LinkedIn-IBVCMOStudy-04-16-26 #IBMPartner 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.

June 2, 2026Episode 21427 min

214. How To Make Every Employee Accountable For Customer Loyalty | Chris Morrissey

Your contact center agents are not the only people responsible for your customer experience. Every person in your company who touches a product, a process, or a decision is shaping how your customer feels about your brand, whether they realize it or not. Chris Morrissey, General Manager of Customer Experience at Zoom, calls this horizontal CX, and it starts with one question every leader should be asking every employee, every quarter: how did you use what you learned from customers to make a better decision? When that question becomes routine, "not my job" stops being an option. This episode covers what it takes to build that accountability across every role, every channel, and every technology decision your company is making right now. What You Will Learn Why measuring individual interactions instead of full customer journeys causes teams to celebrate outcomes that are actually failures Which voices of the customer most companies are collecting but never routing to the teams making product, marketing, and service decisions Why keeping customers is a bigger revenue lever than acquiring them at scale, and why most recognition and compensation structures have not caught up to that reality What it takes to make store staff, product owners, and agents show up as one brand to a customer who does not care about your org chart Why the pressure to adopt AI fast may be creating a problem worse than the one companies are trying to solve 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.

May 19, 2026Episode 21323 min

213. How To Build An Effective Customer Loyalty Program: Lessons From IKEA | Martin Villanueva

Most loyalty programs are designed around rewards: points and discounts that give customers a reason to return. That design produces a specific problem. When the incentive expires or another brand matches it, the customer accepts the offer and does not return. The companies that retain customers year over year treat loyalty as a relationship, not a transaction. Most companies have not made that shift yet. In this episode of Doing CX Right℠, Stacy Sherman examines that problem with Martin Villanueva, Global Head of Personalization and Loyalty at IKEA. They explain why most loyalty budgets stay underfunded, what that costs in long-term revenue, and the specific steps leaders need to take first. You will learn how to: Position loyalty as a growth engine, not a cost center, when making the financial case to the C-suite Use customer journey mapping to align CX, support, personalization, and marketing teams around a single experience Design a value exchange that gives customers a clear reason to share their data Apply AI to personalization in a way that increases relevance, not just message volume Measure customer loyalty through repeat purchase rate, active member rate, CLTV, and whether customers are sharing more data over time as a signal that they believe the brand delivers value Final Thoughts Customer acquisition costs rise every year. A loyal customer base reduces dependence on that spending. The leaders who make that investment first hold an advantage that competitors cannot easily replicate. 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.

May 5, 2026Episode 21214 min

212. How to Recover From a Customer Service Mistake the Right Way | Stacy Sherman

Imagine you are enjoying dinner at a high-end restaurant, almost finished with the appetizer, when you notice a long strand of hair mixed into the food. What would you expect the restaurant to do? Well, this really happened. In this solo episode of Doing CX Right, host Stacy Sherman shares that experience, plus a second restaurant mistake that led to a very different outcome. Both businesses had a chance to recover, but only one response made her feel taken care of and more willing to forgive. Stacy explains why the moments after a service issue can matter more than the issue itself, and why correcting the problem is not the same as making it right. She also connects both stories to Qualtrics XM Institute research, featured in episode 210 with Isabelle Zdatny, showing how customer emotion influences forgiveness, trust, recommendations, and loyalty. This episode helps leaders rethink service recovery as a customer retention strategy, not a simple correction. What You Will Learn Why correcting a mistake and making it right are two different actions. What Qualtrics research reveals about the business impact of emotion when an experience does not go as expected. Why the memory customers carry from a difficult moment can influence whether they return or choose a competitor. What generous recovery looks like in practice, and why one small gesture can influence the customer's next decision. How one phrase can shift the conversation from care to blame. How to assess whether employees are equipped to protect loyalty during difficult customer moments. 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.

April 28, 2026Episode 20931 min

211. Customer Loyalty From Impressed to Obsessed For ROI Growth | Jon Picoult (Replay)

Are you struggling to turn satisfied customers into brand loyalists? Discover how to shift from merely impressing to creating customer obsession in this episode of Doing CX Right. Join host Stacy Sherman and guest Jon Picoult as they reveal how crafting standout experiences can accelerate ROI growth. They explain innovative ways to build emotional connections that turn customers into vocal advocates. Plus, learn how prioritizing your current customer base can accelerate revenue growth and enhance your competitive advantage. Don't miss out. Listen now to learn how to transform customer satisfaction into deep brand commitment. Learn more at DoingCXRight.com and subscribe to the newsletter for more actionable strategies. Book time with Stacy Sherman here.

April 21, 2026Episode 21038 min

210. A Better Way to Predict and Boost Customer Loyalty That Most Leaders Overlook | Isabelle Zdatny

Most business leaders track traditional metrics such as NPS, Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), and average response time. They are, however, overlooking the single factor that reliably predicts customer return, referrals, increased spending, and the willingness to forgive a mistake: emotion. This episode focuses on proving the cost of this emotion gap and detailing the actions leaders must take now to achieve lasting success. Stacy Sherman spoke to Isabelle Zdatny at Qualtrics XM Institute about in-depth research that reveals what separates companies that earn customer loyalty from those that keep losing it without knowing why. Their conversation provides leaders with clear, actionable strategies for measuring and managing the emotional experience to drive measurable business outcomes. What you will learn: How to identify the one emotion your brand must stand for and turn it into a metric your leadership team will act on. Why customers with high emotion ratings are exponentially more likely to trust, forgive a mistake, and recommend your brand than any functional metric currently predicts. What a four-year longitudinal study of publicly traded companies reveals about the stock performance gap between emotion leaders and emotion laggards. Why AI deployed in customer service is eroding trust faster than it is creating efficiency, and what to do instead. How one company stopped measuring satisfaction entirely, created a proprietary metric tied to executive compensation, and changed how their entire organization operated. What behavioral signals inside your existing call recordings and chat transcripts are already telling you about how customers feel that post-transaction surveys will never capture. Learn more at DoingCXRight.com and subscribe to the newsletter for more actionable strategies. Book time with Stacy here.

April 15, 2026Episode 20919 min

209. Employee Burnout Is Ruining Customer Experience: 3 Proven Ways to Fix It Now | Stacy Sherman

Many leaders discover that an employee was on the verge of burnout only after the customer already felt it. By the time a resignation letter arrives or a negative review goes public, it has already cost you the revenue and the brand reputation you spent years building. The question is whether you can read the warning signs before that moment happens. This show is about Stacy Sherman's reflection on her conversation last week with Jennifer Lee, where they explored how to read stress indicators in real time and act on them before the damage occurs. What You Will Learn: How to identify signals that a team member is approaching the breaking point before it costs you a customer or a sale The one question to ask your managers this week that surfaces who on the team is struggling right now How a single bad interaction becomes a permanent online record that AI reads when your next prospect searches for a solution in your category What your digital empathy footprint is and one action you can take today to understand what it currently says about your company and prevent losing both customers and top talent. Learn more at DoingCXRight.com and subscribe to the newsletter for more actionable strategies. Book time with Stacy Sherman here.

April 7, 2026Episode 20828 min

208. Why Great Customer Experience Starts With Employee Well-Being | Jennifer Lee

Imagine if you could detect the early signs of burnout while there is still time to help a frontline employee, protect the customer experience, and avoid preventable attrition. This is not theoretical. Leaders can now monitor operational signals across the systems employees use every day, respond in real time, reduce compounding stress, and support employee wellbeing in ways that improve customer experience. That is exactly what you'll hear in this episode of Doing CX Right℠, where host Stacy Sherman and featured guest Jennifer Lee, President and Co-CEO of Intradiem, discuss why employee well-being is central to service quality, customer loyalty, and smarter leadership decisions. In this episode, you'll learn: Which employee behaviors can signal rising burnout Why short resets can improve the next interaction How real-time intervention affects business outcomes Where AI adds value inside the employee workflow What determines the right moment to escalate to a person Why frontline observation leads to better leadership decisions If your goal is to improve quality, retain valuable employees, and make smarter CX decisions, this episode will give you practical direction you can use right away. Learn more at DoingCXRight.com and subscribe to the newsletter for more actionable strategies. Book time with Stacy Sherman here.

March 31, 2026Episode 20716 min

207. Win New Customers By Appearing in AI Search Recommendations | Stacy Sherman

Did you know that AI is now reading your customer reviews, your public responses, and the sentiment around your brand to help buyers decide whether to trust your business? That means you need to pay attention to what customers are saying publicly and how your company responds, because those signals are shaping reputation, buying decisions, and future revenue before a prospect ever contacts you. In this solo episode of Doing CX Right®, Stacy Sherman shares 3 actionable lessons business leaders can use to protect revenue, avoid losing profitable customers, and improve the likelihood that their brand gets recommended by AI platforms. In this episode, you'll learn: How to use customer reviews more strategically What your public responses are really communicating Why review strategy now matters far beyond reputation What creates risk when your business has too many negative reviews or none at all How customer expectations and emotions shape public feedback What leaders need to do to strengthen how their brand is perceived online and by AI tools If your goal is to protect revenue, strengthen brand reputation, and know exactly where to focus, this episode will be very valuable and enable you to make an impact immediately wherever you work. Learn more at DoingCXRight.com and subscribe to the newsletter for more actionable strategies. Book time with Stacy here.