The Modern Customer Podcast

In this episode of The Modern Customer Podcast, I sit down with Bill Canady, CEO of OTC Industrial Technologies and Arrowhead Engineered Products, and author of From Panic to Profit, set to release on April 29th. With decades of experience leading billion-dollar companies, Bill shares how leaders can scale efficiently by prioritizing high-impact areas, optimizing processes, and leveraging AI to enhance—not replace—human roles. Under his leadership at OTC: 👉 Revenue grew by 43% 👉 Earnings increased over 80% 🎧 Listen now to hear Bill’s insights on scaling efficiently, prioritizing impact, and leveraging AI for smarter growth. Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of three books on customer experience. Her new book is called The 8 Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership: The New Rules for Building A Business Around Today’s Customer. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. 

Can AI actually improve customer experience while reducing costs? SAP Concur’s results say yes. This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, Michelle Lewis Miller, VP of Strategy & Transformation at SAP Concur, shares how her team leveraged AI-powered search and automation to scale support, enhance self-service, and deliver measurable business impact. The results speak for themselves: ✅ 90% fewer searches per session—faster resolutions with less effort. ✅ 30% drop in case submissions—reducing strain on support teams. ✅ 9% year-over-year decrease in case volumes—proving AI’s role in driving efficiency. Michelle breaks down how SAP Concur balances automation with human connection, ensuring AI enhances, rather than replaces, the customer experience. If you want to see how AI can drive real results in CX, this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss. Tune in now! Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of three books on customer experience. Her new book is called The 8 Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership: The New Rules for Building A Business Around Today’s Customer. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. 

87% of customers engage more with personalized emails—yet too much personalization can feel intrusive. This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, Malinda Sandman, Senior Director of Global Acquisition and Partner Marketing at Intuit Mailchimp, shares how brands can use AI responsibly to build trust, increase engagement, and drive results.   📢 Key takeaways from the episode: 🔹 07:44 | How to personalize marketing without losing customer trust 🔹 11:15 | The power of AI-driven segmentation and predictive insights 🔹 14:51 | Why first-party data is the key to long-term marketing success   🎧 Don’t miss this conversation—tune in now to learn how AI can make or break your marketing strategy. Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of three books on customer experience. Her new book is called The 8 Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership: The New Rules for Building A Business Around Today’s Customer. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. 

This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, I’m joined by Sheila Morin, CMO of Coveo, whose career spans L’Oréal, Danone, Cirque du Soleil, and now AI-driven CX at Coveo. Across industries, her focus has remained the same: creating seamless, customer-focused experiences that drive engagement and loyalty. We explore how Coveo helps leading brands like United Airlines, SAP, and Xero thrive with AI, the latest trends in generative AI, and what CX leaders need to know before implementing AI. AI has the power to transform customer experience—but only if it’s built on trusted data and delivers real results. Sheila shares insights on how top companies make AI work, the biggest misconceptions about AI adoption, and why businesses must act now. Tune in to discover how AI is reshaping CX and what it takes to create personalized, frictionless interactions at scale. Thanks to Coveo for sponsoring this episode! Key Takeaways from the Episode 05:25 | Clarifying AI’s Value: How Coveo Drives Relevance at Scale 08:34 | How Coveo’s GenAI Supports Industry Leaders Like United Airlines 17:54 | Businesses Want AI That Delivers Real Results 20:58 | How CX Leaders Can Make AI Work Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of three books on customer experience. Her new book is called The 8 Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership: The New Rules for Building A Business Around Today’s Customer. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. 

This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, Kimberly Wyman, VP of Customer Support at T-Mobile for Business, shares how operations and customer experience work hand in hand to create a customer-centric culture at scale. With nearly 20 years at T-Mobile—she’s seen firsthand how empowered employees and streamlined operations drive exceptional customer service. The conversation explores the balance between CX investments and business impact, the role of AI in enhancing human interactions, and how T-Mobile empowers employees at all levels to take ownership of the customer experience. Listen now for insights on building a scalable, customer-centric culture through smart operations and innovation. Top 5 Takeaways from the Episode 📌 2:27 | Customer-Centric Culture at T-Mobile 📌 5:28 | Operations as a CX Advantage 📌 7:02 | Customer-Centric vs. Business Impact 📌 9:08 | The Ultimate Problem-Solving Question 📌 16:45 | Using AI to Enhance Human-Centered Customer Support Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of three books on customer experience. Her new book is called The 8 Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership: The New Rules for Building A Business Around Today’s Customer. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. 

This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, speaker, author, and trainer Jeff Toister—creator of The Service Culture Guide and multiple LinkedIn Learning courses on customer service and leadership—shares insights on building a strong service culture. With years of experience studying what makes customer-focused teams thrive, Jeff offers practical strategies to improve service without overwhelming employees. The conversation covers his 5-5-5 training method, a simple yet effective framework that helps teams develop better service skills in just 15 minutes a week. Jeff also explains why clarity is essential to great customer service, how empowering frontline employees can cut escalations by 50%, and what sets top-performing CX organizations apart. 🎧 Tune in now to discover how small, consistent changes can drive big improvements in customer experience! 📍 Learn more about Jeff Toister’s 5-5-5 approach at https://www.toistersolutions.com/blog/5-5-5-approach Key Insights from the Conversation 01:13 – The Impact of One Customer Interaction 05:37 – Using Data to Enhance Training and Efficiency 06:50 – Why Clarity is the Foundation of Great Service 11:56 – The 5-5-5 Training Method: Small Steps, Big Impact 17:01 – How Small Adjustments Can Reduce Escalations by 50%   Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of three books on customer experience. Her new book is called The 8 Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership: The New Rules for Building A Business Around Today’s Customer. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. 

  This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, Kristi Faltorusso, Chief Customer Officer at ClientSuccess, joins me to discuss how she’s transforming customer success through personalization, relationships, and AI. With over a decade of experience, Kristi has helped SaaS companies build impactful customer success programs that drive results. Kristi shares how to design personalized customer journeys, leverage AI tools like ChatGPT to enhance workflows, and foster genuine connections that build trust and loyalty. She also dives into how leaders can create authentic content to connect with their audience and adapt to the challenges of a changing SaaS landscape. From balancing authenticity and professionalism to rethinking workflows for AI integration, this episode is packed with actionable insights. 🎧 Tune in now to learn how to elevate your customer success strategy and deliver better results for your clients! Key Highlights for Easy Listening: 03:35 What Makes Customer Success Different from Customer Service 08:02 Rethinking Workflows: Guiding Customers to Unlock AI’s True Potential 08:51 Actionable Tips for Creating Engaging Content 11:55 Balancing Authenticity and Professionalism in Personal Branding 14:14 SaaS Predictions: What’s Ahead for CX and Tech Companies Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of three books on customer experience. Her new book is called The 8 Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership: The New Rules for Building A Business Around Today’s Customer. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. 

This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, Megan Burns—a Fortune 500 advisor and keynote speaker with over 20 years of experience—joins me to share how she’s helped companies like Microsoft, Dow, Workday, FedEx, Akamai, DHL, Verizon, and AT&T build customer-centric cultures and deliver exceptional experiences at scale. Megan dives into the foundational role of trust in customer experience—and why it’s essential for building lasting relationships. She shares actionable strategies for simplifying complexity, breaking down silos, and fostering trust across organizations. Megan also explains how companies can tackle the operational challenges that come with growth and align their teams to better meet customer needs.  From measuring trust through transparency and reliability to creating a culture that prioritizes connection, this conversation is packed with practical insights.  🎧 Tune in now to learn how to make trust the cornerstone of your customer experience strategy—and empower your teams to deliver it! Key Highlights from the Conversation: 02:41 Customer Experience vs. Customer Trust 04:48 The Limits of Empathy  08:12 Consistently Good, Strategically Amazing 11:43 Creating a Customer-Centric Culture 14:57 What Companies Fear About Customer Feedback 17:57 Why Trust Drives Growth 19:51 Measuring Customer Trust    Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of three books on customer experience. Her new book is called The 8 Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership: The New Rules for Building A Business Around Today’s Customer. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. 

This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, Gadi Shamia—Co-founder and CEO of Replicant—shares his expertise on building a customer-centric AI strategy that delivers real results. From starting small with AI adoption to automating impactful call flows and scaling strategically, Gadi breaks down the steps leaders can take to unlock efficiency, empower agents, and improve customer experiences. He also highlights how AI is reshaping the contact center workforce, creating a future where agents handle high-value, complex interactions while automation tackles the rest.  Whether you're navigating AI adoption or looking to future-proof your CX strategy, this episode is packed with actionable insights for smarter, faster progress. 🎧 Tune in now to discover how to embrace AI’s potential and build a CX strategy that evolves with your business! This episode of The Modern Customer Podcast is sponsored by Replicant.  Key Highlights from the Conversation: 00:00 Introduction and Background 03:57 AI's Impact on Contact Centers 07:27 From Script to Spirit 09:36 A Strategic Approach to AI Adoption 11:57 Next-Gen QA with Conversation Intelligence 17:36 The Future Contact Center Workforce 25:24 Rapid Fire Questions with Gadi Shamia Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of three books on customer experience. Her new book is called The 8 Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership: The New Rules for Building A Business Around Today’s Customer. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. 

This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, Josh Linkner—globally recognized innovation expert, bestselling author, tech entrepreneur, and professional jazz guitarist—shares his insights on how leaders can unlock creativity, overcome fear-driven barriers, and build a culture where bold ideas thrive. From embracing AI as a co-pilot to applying frameworks like the 'To-Test List' and 'Judo Flip,' Josh shares actionable strategies for tackling challenges with creativity and adaptability. Whether leading teams or enhancing customer interactions, this conversation delivers practical insights to spark bold innovation. 🎧 Tune in now to start 2025 with a mindset of bold innovation and fearless creativity!  👉 Visit https://joshlinkner.com/ to learn more about Josh Linkner and his work.   Key Highlights for Easy Listening: 01:57 Balancing Automation with Human Compassion in Customer Service 03:28 Turning Challenges into Opportunities with Creative Problem-Solving 05:28 Using the 'To-Test List' and 'Judo Flip' to Drive Creative Problem-Solving 08:52 Driving Innovation Through Small, Manageable Steps 09:55 The Power of Empathy, Artistry, and Emotional Intelligence 11:25 Create Memorable, Human-Centered Customer Interactions 14:59 Cultivating a Creative Mindset for Problem-Solving 17:25 How Leaders Can Build a Culture of Safety, Creativity, and Bold Innovation 22:29 Rapid Fire Questions with Josh Linkner   Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of three books on customer experience. Her new book is called The 8 Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership: The New Rules for Building A Business Around Today’s Customer. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here.