Customer engagement
As the newest addition to the CX Network Advisory board, Bruce Temkin, head of the Qualtrics XM Institute, shares the story of his successful CX career so far, highlighting the key lessons he has picked up along the way.
CX Network: Firstly, can you tell us about your customer experience (CX) career journey so far
Bruce Temkin: “I started my career as an engineer in a US Navy laboratory designing submarine missile systems. I then moved to a submarine supplier where I led a $20m business sector, focusing on engineering and manufacturing programs. A lot of my current CX focus grew out of those early experiences. I am always an engineer at heart, trying to understand how things work, but my focus switched from submarines to people and operations. I realized that I was not interested in traditional roles like engineering, finance or HR, but I really liked the things that seemed to fall across organizational boundaries. This interest intensified through several side projects that I undertook, implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and leading quality circles.”
“I then went to business school and after completing my MBA, I got an amazing opportunity as an internal consultant at multinational conglomerate GE, where I ran the first set of Six Sigma programs and reengineered multi-billion dollar businesses. After GE, I moved into the tech space, leading product management and development organizations and eventually co-founding a couple of startups that turned out to be way ahead of their time. These experiences were critical in further developing my understanding of how businesses operate and also in honing my communications skills.”
“Later I joined Forrester Research as an analyst and became a vice president and research director. Since I did not view myself as a researcher, just a businessperson who gets to explore interesting topics, I was also adept at identifying popular research topics. As a result, I was the most-read analyst for 13 consecutive quarters. I believe that these communications skills stand as one of my key strengths.”
“As my research in the CX space grew in popularity, my wife Karen and I decided to start our own research and advisory business, Temkin Group. We were extremely lucky to have a thriving business for eight years, during which time we helped many of the world’s largest brands engage the hearts and minds of their customers, employees and partners.”
“I also recognized that the field of CX needed a community. Too many CX practitioners were doing similar work in their own organizations, yet did not have the ability to learn from each other. It was a very ‘cottage’ industry. My wife and I designed the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA) and brought in Jeanne Bliss to be a co-founder. I was the chair and CEO of the CXPA for its first five years, and am extremely proud of all that we accomplished. That experience matured my thinking in two areas: the power of community and the wonderfulness of CX professionals.”
“In 2018, we sold our business to Qualtrics in order to create the XM Institute. We saw the opportunity to expand the practice of CX into adjacent areas of employee experience, product experience, and brand experience and it has been a great move for us. The growth of experience management (XM) opens up even more opportunities for CX professionals and Qualtrics has allowed us to share our thought leadership more broadly.”
CX Network: What is the biggest CX lesson your career has taught you?
BT: “I have learned countless CX lessons over the years, so this is a tough question. However, since I need to pick one, I would say the lesson is that CX is all about people. Organizations focus on many different things and talk about CX in many different ways, but at the end of the day CX is about human beings. I like to describe my expertise as being able to understand and affect how human beings think and behave given whatever context they are in, whether they are a customer, front line employee, or senior executive. Every strategy or decision needs to be focused on influencing how some individuals think or behave. Otherwise, there ends up being a lot of extraneous, wasted effort.”
CX Network: Finally, what is your golden rule for brands looking to provide loyalty winning customer experiences in 2021?
BT: “Prepare for more change! As the effects of the pandemic hopefully subside, customers will be adjusting and readjusting their expectations for companies and, equally, employees will be adjusting and readjusting their attitudes towards work.
“To address these shifts, organizations need to remain nimble. They need to keep a heightened focus on actionable insights, not on repetitive metrics. In some cases, companies will need to adjust fundamental elements such as their value propositions and segmentation models. Companies need to keep an active pulse on all constituents, be prepared to make significant decisions, and use good design practices to create and update experiences.”
To hear more of Bruce Temkin’s thoughts and advice, sign up for this CX Network webinar where he explores how NPS fits into a modern experience management strategy.