From Survey Scores to Service Wins: The CX Shift That Works

Welcome to the August 2025 edition of Success Strategies. Many companies claim to have a CX program, but what they often have is a steady stream of surveys. I get them from my dentist, my mechanic, even the dog groomer. But I can’t remember the last time a business followed up or made a change based on what I said.

I recently wrote a blog about the difference between collecting feedback and building an actual CX improvement program. If your organization is swimming in data but short on results, this might hit home, Do You Have a Survey Process or a CX Improvement Program?

I also just published a new client interview that brings this to life. I sat down with Annette Carroll from Okuma Americas—a global CNC machine tool company—and she shared how they use customer feedback to drive real change. Everything from product strategy to distributor performance is influenced by what customers are saying. Watch here.

If you’re looking for outside perspectives, I found this Harvard Business School blog, Understanding 3 Common Types of Customer Needs, helpful: This Forbes article also makes a strong case for using storytelling in B2B marketing—especially when you’re showing how your team has listened to customers and made real changes based on their experiences.

Both are worth a look if you’re serious about building something better than “just a survey program.”

Quick note before you go:
We’re already planning for our next Customer Experience Conference, tentatively set for October 2026. We emailed past attendees last week to get feedback on potential locations—Boston, Charlotte, Kansas City, or Las Vegas are in the mix. If you haven’t chimed in yet, we’d love your input. Just reply to this email with your location preference.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you find these insights valuable as you work to enhance your customer experience strategies.