All Things Experience: Edition 37

Welcome back to All Things Experience, the newsletter that keeps you up to date on the most recent happenings in the world of experience.?

For this week’s edition, we’ve caught up on the best of CX Today , Forrester ’s The CX Cast podcast, CMSWire , and CUSTOMERTHINK CORPORATION , along with the latest insights from Brittany Hodak , ?Shep Hyken , Greg Kihlstrom , Simonetta Turek , Howard Lax, PhD , and Andrew Custage to give you:

• A preview of this year’s expected holiday shopping and travel trends
• Resources for enhancing EX for maximum CX outcomes
• Expert findings on the power of predictive capabilities, why feedback is a critical touchpoint, and GenAI’s influence on staffing in the contact center

Get the Report | Medallia’s Early Pulse on Holiday Shopping and Travel

Andrew Custage , Head of Insights at Medallia Market Research, shares the scoop on consumers’ intended purchases and vacation plans for the November-December holiday period. Download the report to find out:

• How this year’s holiday travel trends will compare to 2023
• The top factors affecting planned holiday shopping spend in 2024
• How optimistic consumers feel about gift shopping and participating in Black Friday and Cyber Monday
• …and more

Read the report.?

Add to Your Playlist | The CX Cast: Feedback Is a Touchpoint, Too

Each week, Forrester analysts dive into the latest research on CX, and in one of the most recent episodes of The CX Cast podcast, Forrester VP, Principal Analyst Dr. Maxie Schmidt ???????????? t joins to chat about:?

• Why customer feedback should be considered a touchpoint
• What types of questions should brands ask customers —?and which should they avoid?
• What customers actually want out of surveys and how brands can design better surveys

Listen now.

Worth a Listen | Customer Service Week Conversations

For this year’s Customer Service Week - CSWeek.com, customer service, experience, and loyalty experts Brittany Hodak and ?Shep Hyken teamed up to host daily conversations all about driving employee engagement among customer service professionals. They shared their expert insights into:

• Addressing high employee turnover in customer service
• The best ways to make customer service employees feel special
• Sharing praise with customer service team members
• …and more

Worth a Read | Why Companies Need to Prioritize Prediction

Medallia’s Chief Product Officer, Simonetta Turek , knows about the power of prediction. She’s been at the forefront of predictive capabilities for 20+ years and has seen firsthand how organizations that embrace being predictive are able to gain a competitive advantage.?

In her latest for the Medallia blog, she writes about:?

• How best-selling author, creator of The Agile Brand podcast, and CX thought leader Greg Kihlstrom ’s newly released book Priority is Prediction: Seven Principles for Better Strategies, Decisions, and Outcomes lays the foundation for what organizations need to do to embrace the power of prediction
• The risks of not being predictive
• Major trends that are accelerating the need for predictive capabilities

Keep reading to find out why companies need to prioritize prediction.?

Quick Hits | Notable News & Notes

Before you go, here are a few more insights you might find interesting:

• To maximize EX outcomes for optimal CX outcomes, organizations need to do more than simply treat their people well, writes CX leader and president of the CX and employee engagement consulting firm The Lax Group for CUSTOMERTHINK CORPORATION . Howard Lax, PhD shares five concrete steps companies should take to improve employee hiring, training, and development to ensure superior customer experiences.?

• Are accessibility and digital inclusivity part of your CX strategy? Check out CMSWire ’s on-demand webinar for inspiration from companies leading the charge and to learn from their winning strategies.

• Many feared the rise of GenAI would mean a loss of jobs for frontline employees, but CX Today explains why companies still need agents even in a world of GenAI.?

Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you in a couple of weeks!

- Madeline Buyers , Content Marketing & Social Media Senior Specialist at Medallia