Traditional CX workshops struggle to change behavior. Immersive experiences force better decisions. Games make learning stick. In this episode, Angelina Gennis and Martin Gill discuss how they are using Forrester's own research to design immersive, game‑based CX experiences for our CX Forums that move leaders from theory to action. Drawing on real conference deployments, they explain how to use pressure, roles, props, and time limits to teach strategy, alignment, and prioritization in a way that sticks. They cover: How immersive experiences differ from workshops — and why they work How to design for different player types without losing focus How to teach CX strategy, brand experience, and prioritization in under an hour Why scripting, testing, and clear learning outcomes matter more than polish How to avoid cognitive overload while keeping momentum high

AI isn't killing design — but it is reshaping workflows, roles, and expectations. Principal Analyst Gina Bhawalkar joins the CX Cast to discuss her findings from interviews with design leaders.

Customer complaints are not noise. They are high‑fidelity signals of broken expectations, rising risk, and lost value. In this episode of CX Cast, Principal Analyst Riccardo Pasto joins Martin Gill to reframe how leaders should re-think about complaints from a compliance burden to a strategic CX asset. The conversation breaks down why low complaint volumes can be a warning sign, how complaint costs quietly multiply across churn, brand damage, and employee burnout, and what it really takes to turn complaint data into action across silos. We cover: Why complaints signal customer trust, not failure How to identify the true direct and indirect cost of poor complaint handling How broken ownership and siloed metrics block resolution How to use the "Four Rs" of complaint management value: Repair relationships. Redesign experiences. Reshape culture. Regulate risk. Where CX, service, compliance, and product teams must align to fix root causes

CX leaders are at an inflection point. AI can now do much of the work CX teams once defined themselves by, such as journey mapping, insight synthesis, and analysis. That creates an existential threat. Or a breakthrough moment. In this episode, Angelina Gennis and Martin Gill are joined by ex-Forresterite Kerry Bodine, co‑author of Outside In, to explore how CX leaders can move from defense to reinvention in the age of AI. We cover a range of pop culture influences, from Terminator‑level anxiety about the coming AI apocalypse to our "Avengers Assemble" moment, which uncovers how the diversity of CX leaders' backgrounds, roles, approaches, and definitions is a feature — not a bug. However, to apply this advantage, teams must stop hiding in echo chambers and start speaking the language of executives: risk, outcomes, and organizational impact.

Many CX teams say they are journey‑led. Fewer can prove the value of those journeys. In this episode, Angelina Gennis and Martin Gill speak with Maxie Schmidt, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester, about how to reboot journey measurement so it drives decisions, rather than populates dashboards.  We examine how to move beyond end‑of‑journey surveys and NPS to focus on measuring what actually matters: value for the customer and value for the business. We cover: Why end‑of‑journey surveys are lagging and often misleading The three levels of CX measurement: relationship, journey, and touchpoint How to define journey value using strength and stability The difference between success metrics and signal metrics How to design metrics around journey goals, not default scores Where benchmarking helps — and where it distracts

Uncertainty is no longer an exception. It is the operating environment. In this episode of CX Cast, Angelina Gennis and Martin Gill unpack why volatility, geopolitical risk, and rapid change are overwhelming CX teams, and explore what resilient leaders do differently. We connect macro‑level uncertainty to practical leadership choices CX executives must make now, and drawing on recent CX predictions, executive data, and real client examples, to explain: Why resilience is built through outcomes, not tools Why over‑reliance on methodologies can make teams brittle How decision rights and trust accelerate response in a crisis What it really means to make “change business as usual” This episode is essential listening for CX, EX, and transformation leaders navigating AI investment, economic pressure, and constant disruption.

Growth makes coordination of customer problems harder - whatever your product. If your product is physical, the journey is daily, and customers are forming new habits, the "coordination tax" can erode both customer and employee experiences. In this episode, CX Cast co-host Angelina Gennis speaks with Cassidy Grace, CX Manager at Ridepanda about what it takes to scale CX in a B2B2C model without losing warmth, clarity, or trust. Casidy explains why CX is where "strategy meets human messiness" and they both react to data provided by Front on coordination tax. Key takeaways include: Where to intentionally invest human time in customer experiences to reduce friction later How measuring coordination - not just tickets - unlocks better CX decisions How to avoid scaling inefficiency as you navigate growth in complex, cross-functional environments.

What if CX leaders could stop guessing what stakeholders want and instead ask a single structured prompt: “If you knew __ about customers, what would you do?” In this episode, we dig into the benefits of asking this question with Senior Analyst Colleen Fazio.

AI‑mediated search is rapidly becoming a primary entry point for financial decisions. Customers now start their banking journeys with LLM platforms, not branded sites — and they trust these tools enough to ask sophisticated, advice level questions. Solo host Martin Gill speaks with principal analyst Aurelie L’Hostis to break down this shift and what leaders must do now. Aurelie shares new data on how consumers use third‑party AI assistants for banking queries, why trust is shifting, and how AI‑powered search is reducing human traffic to brand websites. She also outlines the coming rise of agent‑to‑agent interactions and the backstage capabilities that banks must develop before conversational banking can scale.

Many CX leaders look at their org chart and wonder: Is this career path dead end or a launchpad? Co-hosts Martin Gill and Angelina Gennis sit down with Tina Lilje, former Head of Global Customer Experience at Philips Healthcare, to unpack what a sustainable, upward career in customer experience (CX) really looks like. We explore how to: Use a CX leadership role as a springboard into broader business leadership. Read job descriptions, org charts, budgets, and KPIs to spot which organizations are serious about CX – and which are doing “CX by rebranding.” Translate CX capabilities into transferable skills that HR, CFOs, and CEOs actually understand. Navigate metrics obsession so CX measurement, surveys, and NPS support your career instead of trapping you in metrics myopia. Stay credible on AI in CX without losing sight of the human experiences that still differentiate brands. Tina also shares practical advice for day‑one CX leaders: how to listen, build allies, and anchor every conversation in business outcomes, not tools or jargon.