Leading the Customer Experience - by Brad Cleveland (Paperback)

About the Book

Lead your organization with a customer experience vision that captures the voice of the customer and empowers employees to improve how they develop, market and sell your products and services.

Book Synopsis

Many organizations and leaders struggle to respond effectively to fast-evolving customer expectations driven by innovations in products, services and technologies such as AI and mobile. Failing to build the necessary strategy, culture and processes, they suffer from high costs, dissatisfied customers and brand damage.

The mandate to get customer experience right is real and urgent. Leading the Customer Experience is a guide to shaping experiences that win loyalty and deliver outstanding business results. It provides a bold, step-by-step approach that will get you and your team pointed in the right direction. And equipped to make sound decisions along the way.

Leading the Customer Experience is easy to understand and imminently practical. It is based on the author's extensive experience both as a founding partner of one of the world's most influential customer management organizations, and his work with B2B and B2C organizations in the private and public sectors.

The author's down-to-earth explanations cut through jargon and clutter, while stories and examples bring important principles to life. Leading the Customer Experience is relatable to anyone leading, managing or aspiring to better understand customer experience.

Review Quotes

"Leading the Customer Experience is a thorough analysis of how culture and values determine results. The directives in the book are very clear and based on a deep understanding of worst or best practices that lead to either dysfunction or sustainable success."-- "Blair Clark, President, Canyon Bicycles USA, Inc."

"Brad Cleveland has spent decades traveling the globe witnessing the upside and downside of customer experience first-hand. This book captures not only his most valuable insights, but also provides a roadmap for customer experience leaders on how to approach strategy, planning and operations more effectively. Brad's voice is accessible, informed and practical. You'll be referencing this business-critical guide for years to come!"-- "Tara Gibb, Group Portfolio Director, ICMI and HDI, parts of Informa"

"An amazing customer experience doesn't just happen. It takes work and involves everyone in the organization. Brad's book provides an easily digestible foundation for anyone in any role or industry to remove barriers and elevate the customer experience while continuing to adjust to ever evolving customer needs."-- "Jenny Dempsey, Consumer Experience Manager, Apeel Sciences"

"Brad applied his vast, multi-industry experience and expertise to the intimately connected and burgeoning realm of customer experience. Today, the stakes for any company looking to survive, compete and grow in an ever-increasing customer expectations environment are higher than ever. By devouring and applying the concepts, strategies and tactics meticulously outlined in Leading the Customer Experience, CX leaders have a fighting chance of coming out on top."-- "Dominick J Keenaghan, President, INSIGHTS Middle East, Dubai"

"Brad is an industry expert and amazing at breaking down the keys to successful customer engagement, retention and expansion. He establishes a clear pathway towards effective customer experience that can be exercised at every stage of a company's maturation."-- "Hasan Ali, Founder and CEO, Air Tutors"

"Brad's book is the work of an experienced and trusted consultant who clearly knows how to explore the many facets of customer experience. I enjoyed the case studies and many key recommendations in this well-crafted instructional manual accessible to all level of professionals. The structure of ideas and approach of implementation are creating a thread of continuity that keeps you focused on strategic CX objectives. It's also a great source of immediate takeaways."-- "Pierre Marc Jasmin MBA, Co-founder, Services Triad, Board, SOCAP Canada Chapter"

"Brad's new book is perfect for new leaders as well as veterans who want to be sure they're current on best practices. The book is an easy read and provides tons of new ideas for packaging and delivering the voice of the customer upward, and the nature of the customer's needs and journey to the front line. I came away with five new ideas I can apply with my clients tomorrow."-- "John Goodman, author of Customer Experience 3.0"

"I will use Leading the Customer Experience as a textbook for my teams by assigning reading, crafting study questions, then facilitating discussions on the assignments. It will allow us to further our goals of improving knowledge, enhancing the team dynamics and finding actionable strategies to incorporate into our business practices. The book is a low-cost, high-yield, must-have addition to any customer experience professional's library."-- "Dr Debra Bentson, Senior Workforce Management Manager, Kaiser Permanente"

"In his book, Brad Cleveland generously gives his considerable years of experience in leadership and methodology to his readers. Read it, swallow it up and use it to advance your course!"-- "Jeanne Bliss, Author, Chief Customer Officer 2.0; Cofounder, Customer Experience Professionals Association"

"In this new book, Brad Cleveland provides insightful and powerful knowledge in a very clear format. I recommend it for students and experienced professionals."-- "Professor KJ Cheong, President, CIRC, Korea"

"In this time of significant change, this book can help you and your team chart a successful course to the future. Everyone has a role in delivering a great customer experience, and it makes relevant principles clear, and easy-to-understand and apply."-- "Anna Toikka, Head of Customer Center and External Sales, Odd Magnus Barstad; Head of Claims, If P&C Insurance Ltd (Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway)"

"Now, more than ever, every organization must innovate to stay relevant, to stay on top. This book outlines a step-by-step approach to listening to your customers, engaging your employees, and delivering products and services they love."-- "Robert Pasin, CEO (Chief Wagon Officer), Radio Flyer"

"Our city is going through an explosive growth period as many people look for the small town, outdoor recreational, experience. It could be easy to lose focus on our customers: our citizens, visitors and business owners. Brad's book comes just in time to reemphasize our dedication to the customer experience. It will be a valuable tool in thinking about and implementing our strategic planning, our organizational structure and our continual evaluation of success."-- "Peter Hendricks, Mayor, Sun Valley, Idaho"

"Sooner or later, every successful business realizes that customer experience is the experience that really matters. Brad's book lays out the road map for any leader who wants to make a difference for the customers they serve."-- "Seth Godin, author of This is Marketing"

"There are many books about the customer experience, but few as good as this one. Written by an accomplished practitioner with a depth of expertise, you'll learn everything you need to lead the customer experience if you read it and apply the lessons. Highly recommended."-- "Mark Sanborn, President, Sanborn & Associates, Inc.; author of The Fred Factor and You Don't Need a Title to be a Leader"

"You know customer experience is important, but where do you start? Brad Cleveland answers that question in Leading the Customer Experience. The book is an essential guide to the broad steps needed to lead a successful customer experience initiative."-- "Jeff Toister, CPLP, PHR, Toister Performance Solutions, Inc."

About the Author

Brad Cleveland is known globally as one of today's foremost experts in customer strategy and management. He has worked across 45 states and 60 countries for clients as diverse as American Express, Apple, USAA, the University of California and the federal governments of Australia, Canada and the U.S. His books, articles and LinkedIn Learning courses have been translated into a dozen languages. He was a founding partner and former CEO of the International Customer Management Institute. Today, he is a sought-after consultant and speaker. He divides his time between Sun Valley, Idaho and San Diego, California.