Customer Confidential: Untold Stories of Earned Growth
Rob Markey, Bain & Company partner and customer experience expert
The Customer Confidential Podcast unlocks a world of unparalleled customer and employee loyalty insights. Host Rob Markey, a Net Promoter System pioneer, uses his deep expertise and empathetic approach to challenge conventional wisdom, peel back layers of typical advice, and expose the real stories of industry transformation. Take a deep dive into discussions on CX, customer journey, customer insights, Net Promoter Score, and more. Every episode is a master class in loyalty. Guests include CMOs, CXOs, and heroes of customer-centric transformation, along with thought leaders who inspire them. Exploring organizational structures, operating models, goals, and metrics, Rob and his guests from companies such as Vanguard, American Express, and more bring to light practical marketing, product, customer experience, and technology strategies for earning customer-focused growth. This podcast is your source for untold stories of customer and employee loyalty. Challenging, insightful, and instructive—all in one place. Earned growth starts here.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 26, 2017 • 4min
Ep. 102: Shorts | The Outer Loop of the Net Promoter System
The Net Promoter System's "outer loop" is used to prioritize and address problems that can't be resolved by individuals or small teams. Rob Markey discusses why a robust, rigorous and transparent "outer loop" is essential to a solid Net Promoter System in this short episode. Read more: The Net Promoter System's Outer Loop
Jan 19, 2017 • 43min
Ep. 101: Eric Almquist | Tapping into Customers' Deepest Aspirations
A lot of companies find themselves a situation in which their competitors are increasingly adding value to their products, while they're struggling to figure out which features and services might move the needle with customers. The leaders of these companies aren't sure what level of service will capture more of their market—or if they should even focus on service. It's the classic "how to play/where to win" question. Companies can't invest in everything. To succeed, they must distinguish themselves from competitors. Often this means meeting customers' deepest needs—aspirations they might not even be aware of. Bain Partner Eric Almquist has spent much of his career researching these questions. In this episode, he discusses the 30 elements of value that draw customers most to a product or service. Companies that fulfill more of these needs have customers who are more loyal.
Jan 6, 2017 • 19min
Ep. 100: Who Makes the Follow-Up Call? Rob Markey Answers More Listener Questions
Does the Net Promoter Score gauge a customer's broader relationship with a company or just the customer's most recent experience? Or both? Who should make follow-up calls to customers? Rob Markey addresses these questions and more in this episode.
Dec 15, 2016 • 13min
Ep. 99: What's in a Scale? Rob Markey Answers Listeners' Questions
Why does the Net Promoter scale go from zero to 10? Why is passive not the same as neutral? Rob Markey answers these questions and others in this episode. Recommended reading: The Benefits of a Competitive Benchmark Net Promoter Score Creating a Reliable Metric
Dec 8, 2016 • 42min
Ep. 98: The 33 Qualities of Inspiring Leaders
The goal of the Net Promoter System is to create a culture that encourages employees to bring energy and creativity to their jobs. Developing that kind of culture requires inspiring leaders. We've all seen those people who seem born to be leaders. They have an uncanny knack for motivating the people around them. They show gratitude and connect with people in authentic ways. You might chalk it up to charisma or a rare innate gift. While that might be true, it's possible that they studied their own behavior and learned how to mobilize the best qualities of their personality. In this episode, Rob Markey talks to Bain Partner Mark Horwitch, who has been studying what makes a leader inspiring. He says it comes down to 33 qualities. Most of us have some of them, but none of us have all of them. He says that when we know our strengths, we can develop them into true leadership assets. Learn more: How Leaders Inspire: Cracking the Code
Dec 2, 2016 • 3min
Ep. 97: Shorts - Huddles in the Net Promoter System
The team huddle is the part of the Net Promoter System that connects the inner loop to the outer loop. Rob Markey discusses why regular get-togethers—often daily or weekly—are a critical element of the system. Read more: The Net Promoter System's "Huddle": How Employees Come Together to Focus on Customers and Teamwork
Nov 18, 2016 • 39min
Ep. 96: What Really Motivates People
It's a question just about every manager wrestles with: How do I get my employees to do what I want them to do? How do I get them to be more empathetic to customers? To take feedback and make meaningful changes? Obviously, fair pay is essential, but there's far more to it. After all, motivating people requires tapping into deep emotional needs for autonomy, purpose and affiliation. In this episode, Rob Markey talks to Daniel Pink, author of the 2011 best-seller Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. In the book, Daniel breaks down the scientific research on motivation and explains why simple carrot-and-stick approaches rarely result in the behaviors that companies want. Recommended reading: Your Best Employees Work for Love, Not Money
Nov 10, 2016 • 20min
Ep. 95: Rob Markey Answers Listeners' Net Promoter System Questions
The Net Promoter Score is a simple measure, but building a process and culture that results in deep customer relationships can be very complex. In this episode, Rob Markey answers listeners' questions on everything from competitive benchmarks to best practices for following up with customers. Do you have a question for Rob? Feel free to tweet your question to @rgmarkey on Twitter or write it in the comments field on any post on the Net Promoter System blog.
Oct 20, 2016 • 4min
Ep. 94: Shorts - The Inner Loop of the Net Promoter System
The Net Promoter System has a mechanism called the inner loop that helps employees of all kinds get real-time feedback directly from customers. The feedback is usually positive—most employees do their job pretty well—so people typically become more engaged and enthusiastic. The occasional criticism or complaint about a specific interaction or decision can help individual employees and the organization learn to do their jobs better. The challenge is to set up the inner loop in the right way, so that it reinforces learning rather than undermining it. In this short episode, Rob Markey discusses how the inner loop speeds learning. Learn more: The Net Promoter System's "Inner Loop": The Secret to Individual Learning and Connections with Customers
Oct 13, 2016 • 42min
Ep. 93: What Does It Really Take to Become an Expert?
The best companies--loyalty leaders that grow profitably--do things to teach their employees to do their jobs better. In fact, the Net Promoter System was designed to help companies facilitate and accelerate that individual learning. The system's inner loop and huddle play important roles in encouraging feedback and coaching so that employees can serve customers better and contribute to the mission of the organization. Some people think that developing deep expertise simply requires time and practice, but there's more to it. Anders Ericsson, coauthor of the new book Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise, and his team have deconstructed what it takes to become a true expert in a variety of fields. What they've discovered has direct application to any company.
