X4 London 2023 - new (and blue) CX perspectives

It's a week today that Sam Wooller and I attended the X4 London event at the InterContinental at the O2, hosted by Qualtrics - those 7 days went quick!

I came away from a very polished CX event with pages full of notes and reflections, some new ideas that I can integrate into current projects right away and a smile on my face thanks to Dara O'Briain's set that closed out the day (the blue lights of the stage hadn't really bothered me until Dara pointed out quite how blue they were!).

Having attended a handful of events like this before, X4 London was definitely on a different scale. I was well aware of Qualtrics and their work, but I must say even my previous idea of this leading CX solution provider was enhanced after hearing from their wide range of global clients and getting a hands-on demo of the new XM Dscvr platform. The InterContinental London - The O2 was a great setting for the day too.

The theme of the day was human experiences - about the importance of omnichannel approaches, personalisation and using empathy to connect with customers. Right from the start there was an idea from the Qualtrics team themselves that the three main stages of the customer journey are to acquire, engage and support. We've already begun thinking about our own customer journey and strategies with this in mind.

There were lots of references to the dangers of leaving your experience to chance, and what can happen when that experience goes south. 8% of revenue at risk read one stat, billions of pounds said another. Nothing surprising to the many CX professionals in the audience no doubt, but many might have wished a wider range of industries and roles would take more notice.

Plenty was said, as a recurring theme throughout the day, about the importance of listening to frontline staff. Indeed the XM Dscvr tool does this using AI transcription and analysis - another theme of the day and an inevitable talking point in the CX landscape now it seems (more on AI shortly).

Auditing was a surprise subject during one keynote, in relation to the valuable insight it can bring to customer experience. I reflected how well placed we are in our team on this front with my colleague Mia Bowman CXAC (Cert) having lead on our call listening programme for many years, which gets real frontline calls in front of seniors and decisionmakers to ask them what improvements they might make in their area based on what they've heard.

After the keynotes I attended the CX breakout - and very much enjoyed insight from Louise Williams, CCXP of TUI and Florian G?ng of Bayer. Florian's definition of empathy being the gap between curiosity and action struck a chord, and it's not hard to see why TUI have been so successful with their programme - I particularly love their Solve on the Spot initiative.

There were interesting reflections throughout the day about human and digital delivery, with the human workforce and AI at seemingly natural loggerheads and yet their integration/realisation of hybrid delivery being touted as the optimum strategy for many.

I can't help but feel as CX professionals, who talk about the customer, the personal, the human experience - we can never lose our human grasp over our insights and analysis. With human experiences being the theme of the day it did seem a little ironic that so many of our innovations remove the human from the other end of the equation. Putting yourself in the customer's shoes is so often touted as the way to embrace true empathy, but can this truly be done by AI?

Whilst it will undoubtedly speed up data gathering and recent developments are clearly impressive, I'm yet to be fully convinced by any machine learning tool (How does text, voice or facial analysis cope with sarcasm? How does AI relate by sharing an experience it has had itself?) and do fear that the main benefits speak loudest to non-customer centric leaders and businesses who will hear only cost savings. We all know how truly awful some chatbots are, and yet some of the biggest brands around still persevere with the shoddy experience, seemingly content that they've saved some frontline resource.

I believe CX professionals are so vital to keeping one hand on the wheel and not losing sight of why we do what we do, and why the insight and CX industry is so important. Humans get humans, and nothing will ever do it better.

I got a lot out of X4 and certainly plan on visiting again next year. I was happy to contribute too to 5 for the Fight after hearing the amazing work they are doing and wish them all the best. Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock was a fantastic addition to the line-up too with a wonderfully uplifting story of her career (my dream team request should have been to ask for a get well soon message from her for my poorly daughter at home with chicken pox!).

So until next year I'm off to go and see if the rest of my team can read out numbers, clap their hands and stamp their feet - you had to be at X4, or a RADA associate, to get that one.