Dan Gingiss: Great CX Equals Great Places to Work

More and more brands are offering unique experiences for their customers. As a result, customer expectations are rising faster than ever, making it difficult for companies to keep up with their changing demands. I recently had the pleasure of speaking to Dan Gingiss, CEO of The Experience Marker, LLC. Together, we discussed the current CX landscape, the challenges organisations are facing, and how leaders can cultivate a customer-centric culture.

HI DAN, PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND YOUR CURRENT ROLE.

Hi, my name is Dan Gingiss and I’m a keynote speaker at The Experience Maker, LLC. I teach audiences how to create remarkable customer experiences that lead to word-of-mouth marketing.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE CURRENT CX LANDSCAPE? WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES THAT ORGANISATIONS ARE FACING TODAY?

CX is getting better albeit very slowly. Too many companies are still looking at it as a multi-year, multi-million-pound transformational project vs. a series of little things. The little things really add up and are sometimes the most memorable, and any employee can engage in Little CX Things.

IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT IS THE LINK BETWEEN EMPLOYEE AND CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT?

I think of them as being on the same continuum, like the infinity symbol (∞). When employees are happy, they better serve customers, thereby making those customers happy. When customers are happy, it makes employees’ jobs more fun and satisfying, thereby making them happy too. It’s a continuous process that can build on itself, which is why companies known for a great customer experience are also known as being great places to work. Unfortunately, the inverse is also true. We can’t expect employees to provide a great experience for customers if they don’t know what makes a great experience. And there’s no question that difficult customers make employees’ jobs harder and more frustrating.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO LEADERS WHO WISH TO CULTIVATE A CUSTOMER-CENTRIC CULTURE AND ELEVATE THEIR CX IN 2023?

Focus on the Little CX Things and empower every employee to do right by the customer. No employee should ever get in trouble for trying to make things right with a customer. If we think about every business problem through the lens of the customer, we will also make better business decisions. 

FINALLY, WHAT DO YOU THINK THE FUTURE OF THE INDUSTRY LOOKS LIKE?

Customer expectations are continuing to rise as they have remarkable experiences with certain brands, so the laggards are going to need to catch up quickly or risk losing customers. AI will start to play a bigger role, but it won't replace the human interaction that most customers still crave. 

Interested in learning what other CX leaders think? Find more interviews here