#25 Four ways to organize CX in the most effective ways, with Jim Tincher

CX Leadership Talks

In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, host Nienke Bloem engages in a interesting conversation with customer experience expert Jim Tincher, CEO of Heart of the Customer. They delve into the complexities of customer experience and leadership, emphasizing the importance of understanding and addressing the needs of both customers and business executives.

Jim shares key insights from his research on different CX team structures, highlighting their strengths, weaknesses, and real-world examples. The conversation also delves into the significance of data in driving business outcomes, staying energized through learning and community involvement, as well as the need for aligning CX strategies with the priorities and initiatives of CEOs.

Throughout the episode, Nienke and Jim provide practical advice, share captivating examples, and discuss the impact of powerful storytelling on CX leadership. This insightful and engaging episode is a must-listen for CX professionals and leaders seeking to enhance their understanding of customer experience and effective leadership.

About Jim Tincher (visit his LinkedIn profile here)

How is it that some leaders are able to navigate corporate silos to create an amazing customer experience, while others muddle along with mediocrity? Jim has dedicated his professional life to understanding the correlation between satisfied, loyal customers and sustainable business growth. He founded Heart of the Customer to help organizations create amazing experiences with a solid ROI through customer empathy and change management practices.
Prior to starting Heart of the Customer, he led customer experience efforts at Best Buy and UnitedHealth Group, two very complex (and very different) organizations, and learned the importance of change management to ensure the new behaviors stick. he also learned the power of directly connecting employees and customers – a fundamental component of how we do journey mapping and customer experience improvements at organizations as complex as Dow, Avery Products, and Ultimate Software, to name a few of his clients. All his clients and the companies he worked for share a common goal: to differentiate themselves through a superior customer experience – which is not easy.

Jim is the author of “Do B2B Better” and co-author of “How Hard Is It to Be Your Customer? Using Journey Mapping to Drive Customer-Focused Change” with Nicole Newton.

Timestamped overview

00:00 Passionate about customer experience since early days.

05:36 Changed approach by hearing from customers directly.

07:45 Leaders should interact more with customers for growth.

10:37 Rijksmuseum customer experience manager engages with visitors.

14:46 Leading customer experience requires understanding, empathy, adaptation.

19:55 Centralized teams work well with primary or multiple units. Distributed and federated are options too.

23:30 Federated model: individuals report into business unit.

25:14 Centralized surveying, change management, and experience design.

28:14 Federated vs centralized model for business units.

33:13 Connect data to KPIs for stakeholder success.

35:06 Help organization by addressing what's important. Leaders are sensitive to awards, value others' contributions.

38:13 Empower organization with dedicated relationship managers for success.

43:05 Turn each phase into data, build dashboard.

48:19 Books of Dan & Chip Heath are practical, applicable in various situations.

49:21 Gratitude for expertise shared.

Jim’s recommendations

Book Switch – How to change things when change is hard – Chip & Dan Heath

Whitepaper on Building your CX Dream Team: https://heartofthecustomer.com/building-your-cx-dream-team/

And, of course, Jim’s books

Do B2B Better https://heartofthecustomer.com/dob2bbetter/

How hard is it to be your customer? Using Journey Mapping to Drive Customer-Focused Change (with Nicole Newton) https://heartofthecustomer.com/howhardisittobeyourcustomer/