25 Ways to Stay Inspired as a Customer Experience Professional

One thing I often hear is that fellow Customer Experience Professionals work hard. They’re focused on driving their customer-centric transformation, improving NPS and CES (or other customer metrics—but that’s a topic for another blog post?), and engaging the organization. You might also find that, even though you’re working hard, it can make you feel alone.

Yes, you are the only person responsible for CX within your company (or together with your team). You are the expert, and your non-CX colleagues expect you to inspire them when it comes to customers. So how do you stay inspired? You probably have your own “Go-To-Inspirational-Places,” and in this blog post, I’ll share mine: 25 suggestions for finding CX inspiration, stories, news, facts, and figures.

CX People to Follow on Twitter

I decided to copy their Twitter bios. Nice and to the point.

1. Colin Shaw: Customer Experience Thought Leader | Recognized by LinkedIn as One of the World’s Top Business Influencers | CEO, Beyond Philosophy CX Consultancy | Author | Podcast Host
2. Rik Vera: International Keynote Speaker. Agitator. Connector. Experimenter. Networkifier (if it wasn’t a word, it is now). Writer.
3. Blake Morgan: #CustomerExperience#futurist, author, speaker,@HarvardBiz,@Forbes columnist, podcast host, mom. Married to@JacobM. Visit me.

CX on YouTube—I promise you this will keep growing in the coming years

4. ShepTV by Shep Hyken. You're welcomed by the Cab Story—a classic when it comes to customer experience. He's the leading authority in the U.S. on customer experience and customer service.
5. Steven van Belleghem. My Belgian source of inspiration when it comes to customers the day after tomorrow and the author of the book *When Digital Becomes Human*. The channel focuses on customer-centricity in a digital world. It features updates on the latest trends in digital marketing, customer service, social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram…), conversation management, robotics, and more.
6. BrandLove by Chantel Botha. I haven't met her in person yet, but she's an inspiration in the field of CX from South Africa. I love her videos on journey mapping, so start following her YouTube channel

CX Podcasts

7. Rockstar CX by James Dodkins. I'm new to CX, but he really nails it! He hosts his own weekly Rockstar CX podcast and features all the big names in customer experience.
8. Online Marketing Made Easy. Amy Porterfield’s podcast, which I listen to every week. It’s not really about CX, but it’s all about online marketing—covering topics like how to use online tools, build email lists, and motivate yourself as an entrepreneur. She’s an inspiring woman with a voice I love to listen to.
9. Forrester is what it’s all about. For me, Forrester—along with the Temkin Group—is where I go for research information. And Forrester has a brilliant podcast, so start listening NOW. If you want to start anywhere, start with the December²⁰episode^wherethey discuss ROI and financial modeling. A very relevant topic!

CX Blogs

10. Experience Matters. The blog by Bruce Temkin and his colleagues. I love the combination of vision and facts. Visit this blog and sign up for their newsletter to stay inspired. Many of their visuals are free to use (but always with proper attribution, of course!)
11. My Customer. Brilliant articles—published much more often than once a week—on everything related to customers: customer journeys, sales, and loyalty. The WHOLE picture. Get a broader perspective and be inspired.
12. Take their breath away. In this post, Chip Bell and John Patterson discuss how customer service truly makes a difference when it comes to the customer experience. Read their December¹¹post,^wherethey suggest creating a great service exit. Spot on.

CX Books Featuring Best Practices

13. " The Ritz-Carlton and the New Gold Standard " by Joseph Michelli: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience, courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. It's a classic, but still very relevant. Go read it.

14. *Delivering Happiness* by Tony Hsieh. Yes, this one is mentioned all the time, but if for some reason you missed it, please read it. And I’m visiting Zappos in January, so I need to reread it myself.
15. *The Starbucks Experience* by Joseph Michelli: Five Principles for Turning the Ordinary into the Extraordinary, and, of course, the Starbucks story.

CX Books You Have to Read

16. *Would You Do That to Your Mother?* by Jeanne Bliss introduces the “Make Mom Proud” standard. I love her writing, her easy-to-understand situations, and her solutions. A very entertaining read.
17. *Customer What?* by Ian Golding. I could have included him among the people to follow on Twitter and the blogs, but I think his books deserve a mention here. They're practical and a good guide when it comes to CX.
18. *The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F#ck* by Mark Manson. It has NOTHING to do with CX, but it has EVERYTHING to do with CX. How can you be a happier CX leader and a better person? How can you avoid wasting your energy on people or tasks that aren’t important to you? I laughed and had many “aha” moments.

CX Events to Attend

19. International CX Awards. The second edition will take place on November^{21 in}Amsterdam. Register if you’d like to submit a case and compete against other CX professionals, teams, or initiatives—or join as a judge. It was a blast in 2018, so be prepared for 2019 ?
20. CXPA Meetings. Brilliant peer-to-peer knowledge sharing among CX professionals from around the world. We look forward to welcoming you in Amsterdam—the next meeting is on January^{17 in}Amsterdam, and the European Insight Exchange will take place on March^{13 and14 in}Dublin.
21. Customer Experience Event. The annual event hosted by N3wstrategy. The event is entirely in Dutch and offers a fantastic opportunity to be inspired and meet your local CX peers. This year, it will take place on March^{21 in} Rotterdam.

One CX Course I Recommend

22. CX Masterclass “This two-day masterclass is the bomb! ”—that’s what our participants say. It’s delivered in the Netherlands by Jaap Wilms and me (in English) and in Belgium (in Dutch) with Els Dhaeze. We’ll prepare you for the CCXP exam and help you become an even better CX leader. There are four dates in 2019, and the first session on March^{7 and8 has}only a few spots left.

People to follow or connect with on LinkedIn

(Yes, all four are women whose writing I love to read and with whom I love to work)

23. Evelien van Damme andKarolien van der Ouderaa: these ladies are energetic, fun, and experts in customer experience. Both are senior consultants at Kirkman Company and lead customer experience transformations. Keep an eye on their cacti.
24. Kathy van de Laar: As a partner at EarlyBirdge, she blogs and shares her colleagues' posts to bridge the gap between you and your customers. She was the first CCXP in the Netherlands and a fabulous source of inspiration.
25. Babs Asselbergs: She writes short blog posts on customer experience, opens your eyes, and aims to give you a different perspective. She is the co-founder of BlommaBerg and the Customer Experience Game, and I believe she is a regular contributor on LinkedIn.

So now you know how I stay inspired. In addition to these sources, I also draw a lot of inspiration from everyday life—where, as a customer, I let businesses surprise me with their brilliant—and, more often than not, terrible—customer experiences. My goodness, how many lessons can be learned from that?

And… this year I’m kicking things off with a bang. I’m traveling to the U.S. to take a course at the Disney Institute and continue my American CX adventure with a behind-the-scenes tour at Zappos and two interviews with executives. I’m really looking forward to broadening my horizons—to see with my own eyes how these two brilliant examples organize the customer experience. So, I have two calls to action for you.

1. If you want to follow me and my CX adventures, be sure to sign up for my weekly "CX Greetz by Nienke Bloem." Just register here.
2. Share your source, or your own blog, vlog, or profile. Where do you get your inspiration? Please share and add your source so we can all learn and stay inspired to make the customer experience work.

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often referred to as the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She is a global CX thought leader, educator, and keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She runs a speaking practice, a CX game company, and a training business; she lives and breathes Customer Experience and is the author of two books on CX.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for the CCXP, and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and achieve immediate results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she has been hosting a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helping leaders enhance their leadership skills and deliver an engaging CX story, including a solid CX strategy. In addition, she is a modern-day pilgrim and has drawn parallels between her journey and leading customer-centric transformations. 

With over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the language of business. Her keynote speeches and training programs on customer experience are inspiring and practical. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA, and her mission is to make customer experience work and help you achieve business results.