by Annette Franz | Aug 5, 2026 | customer experience, customer-centric, customer-centric culture, data, employee experience, insights, leadership, Uncategorized
I originally wrote today’s post for MarTech. It appeared on their site on August 1, 2025. In far too many organizations, decisions are made in boardrooms, far removed from the reality of the customer. Metrics are dissected. Dashboards are studied. Yet somehow,...
by Annette Franz | Mar 18, 2026 | culture, employee experience, insights, leadership, listening, Uncategorized
Every once in a while, someone declares that “Gemba walks don’t work.” The claim usually comes wrapped in frustration: leaders tried it, nothing changed, and everyone went back to business as usual. The conclusion that it doesn’t work is convenient –...
by Annette Franz | Feb 4, 2026 | action, culture, data, decision making, golden thread, insights, leadership, Uncategorized, voice of customer, voice of employee
Organizations don’t stall because they lack insight. They stall because they mistake insight for the answer. There’s this expectation that insight should/will arrive already translated into a decision. Shocking news: It doesn’t. And it shouldn’t. Insight...
by Annette Franz | Jul 23, 2025 | action, closed-loop process, customer experience, customer understanding, customer-centric, customer-centric culture, data, feedback, insights, journey mapping, operationalize, personas, Uncategorized
I still see people using the term “customer-centric” incorrectly. What does it truly mean to be customer-centric? It looks like this: There are no discussions, no decisions, no designs without bringing in the customer and her voice, without asking how it...
by Annette Franz | Apr 6, 2022 | customer experience, CX profession, data, insights, Uncategorized, voice of customer
I’m always curious about the latest research on the state of all things customer experience. A few days ago, UserTesting’s 2022 CX Industry Report came across my desk, and I took a run through what they uncovered. The following three topics were touted as...
by Annette Franz | Feb 23, 2022 | culture, customer experience, customer feedback, customer-centric culture, insights, listening, Uncategorized, voice of customer
I’m pleased to share a guest post by Uma Bhat of Clootrack. Note: I’m one of the 102 customer experience experts included in Clootrack’s report. What are the biggest challenges that brands face when they want to implement an exceptional customer...
