CX Leadership Talks

#66 The future of relationships: Redesigning Customer Experience for lasting impact

Welcome to a new episode of CX Leadership Talks! The podcast for CX leaders who want to spice up their leadership. 

In this episode, your host Nienke Bloem CCXP connects with Cairo Marsh, founder of Relativ, an experience agency based in Tokyo. Together, they explore why branding alone isn’t enough in today’s world and introduce the powerful concept of “brand being”: how a brand shows up in every experience, online and offline. 

Cairo Marsh shares practical strategies for aligning different departments around shared customer goals, the importance of employee incentives and culture, and how CX leaders can leverage moments of belonging to drive loyalty and connection. You’ll also hear insights on balancing quantitative and qualitative research, the necessity of customer experience strategy, and lessons from global and Japanese brands. 

Grab your favorite drink and get ready for inspiration and actionable tips to elevate your CX leadership! 

Timestamped overview: 
00:00 Brand being and belonging 
05:33 Branding agencies and broken promises 
06:57 Marketing for today and tomorrow 
10:57 Thin slicing customer experience 
13:47 Overcoming Fragmentation in Teams 
18:37 Unified customer engagement platform design 
21:58 Prioritizing customers to align goals 
25:47 Balancing data and insight 
30:00 Defining strategy to stand out 
33:47 Authentic leadership and expectations 
36:16 Japan's experience design challenge 
39:08 Belonging over basic needs 
40:50 Building belonging through connection 
45:38 Unreasonable hospitality insights 

Extra information:  
Connect with Cairo on LinkedIn  
You can find the information about relativ* here   
You can find Cairo's book recommendation here

About Nienke:   

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.    

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.   

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.    

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

#65 Are leaders really as Customer Centric as they think?

Welcome to a new episode of CX Leadership Talks!

In this episode, Nienke Bloem CCXP takes you to the International CX Awards in London, where she hosted an evening with more than 450 CX professionals from over 50 countries. Across all those conversations, one theme stood out: the real challenge in CX is leadership engagement.

Not tools.
Not dashboards.
But leadership behavior.

Nienke shares why so many leaders believe they are customer centric while their behavior tells a different story, explains the confronting Bain 80–20 gap, and shows how the Aha moment becomes the starting point for real transformation.
She also shares a powerful example of a Dutch energy company where leaders personally solve customer complaints and what happens when leaders actually meet customers.

In this episode you’ll learn:
• Why leadership behavior is the true engine of customer centricity
• How the Dunning Kruger effect and the 80–20 gap show blind spots in leadership
• What happens when leaders step in, meet customers, and make customer centricity a habit

Nienke closes with insights from her new keynote We only win when everyone is in, where customer centric leadership becomes a real team sport.

 

Timestamped overview:

00:00 Leadership Drives Customer Experience Success

03:56 Customer Centricity: Challenging Perceptions

09:45 Customer-Centric Leadership Insights

12:19 Leaders Solving Complaints Personally

14:49 Leadership Growth Through Story Sharing

19:50 "True Customer-Centric Leadership"

24:07 "Leadership Behavior Shapes Impact"

25:26 "Greetings from CX Awards"

 

Explore working together:
If you want to find out whether Nienke’s new keynote We only win when everyone is in is the right fit for your leadership event or 2026 plans, send an email to nienke@nienkebloem.nl to plan an exploration call. Or look her up at nienkebloem.com

About Nienke:
Nienke Bloem CSP CCXP is known as the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. She is a global CX thought leader, keynote speaker and educator with over 20 years of corporate experience. She is author of two CX books, creator of the CX Game and a Recognized Training Partner of the CXPA. Nienke is on a mission to make Customer Experience work through strategy, behavior and leadership. And helping you spice up your CX 😊

#64 Lead your leaders: From judging to joining in CX

Welcome to a brand new episode of CX Leadership Talks! 

In this episode, Nienke Bloem CCXP shares a personal story from her time at KPN that completely changed how she looked at leadership. A Valentine’s Day blog, a bold email to the CEO, and one big aha moment led her to realise that real CX leadership starts when we stop judging and start joining. 

Too often, CX leaders complain that management “doesn’t get it.” But our job isn’t to criticize leaders, it’s to help them lead. Nienke talks about how to bridge that leadership gap and become a trusted partner instead of a frustrated observer. 

You’ll learn three practical ways to lead your leaders: 
• Help them make decisions by bringing options, not just problems 
• Help them connect with customers by organising and guiding their first experiences 
• Help them as humans by showing care and curiosity 

Timestamped overview: 

00:00 Valentine's Day customer service story 

04:13 Leaders ignoring customer stories 

10:03 Mindset shift for better leadership 

11:50 Elevating CX leadership mindset 

14:56 Facilitating decisions through preparation 

18:48 Practical planning for board visits 

22:53 Connecting leaders with customers 

25:19 CX Leadership masterminds 2026 

Listen now and discover how to lead your leaders, build bridges instead of walls, and make Customer Experience work through true collaboration. 

Don’t just manage CX. Lead it. 

About Nienke:    

If this episode hits home, there are two ways to go further. 
Book Nienke’s new keynote We only win when everyone is in for your next leadership event. 
Or, if you’re Dutch and ready to grow as a CX leader, join the CX Leadership Masterminds 2026, the eight-month journey to strengthen your CX strategy, story, and impact. 

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.     

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.    

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.  

#63 What if CX leadership was more about heart than KPIs? Five fun CX lessons from Ted Lasso

Welcome to a brand new episode of CX Leadership Talks! 

What if CX leadership was more about heart than KPIs? In this fresh, feel-good episode, your host Nienke Bloem CCXP explores what happens when we swap frameworks and dashboards for belief, curiosity and connection, inspired by none other than Ted Lasso. 

From her sunny spot in the south of France, Nienke shares how a cheerful TV coach can teach us five timeless lessons about leadership, culture and courage. Because let’s be honest, too many CX leaders focus on metrics when what really moves people is meaning. 

In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, Nienke breaks down five Ted Lasso leadership lessons that every CX leader can use to bring more heart into their work: 

1. Be a goldfish, let go faster and lead lighter. 
2. Believe in your team, courage grows from trust.
3. Be curious, not judgmental, curiosity opens doors.
4. Find your biscuits, build connection through consistency and care.
5. Laugh at yourself, authenticity beats perfection every time. 

This episode is about leading with heart, humour and humanity. Nienke invites you to bring a little more Lasso energy into your CX leadership, to believe before you measure, to connect before you control, and to make customer experience work with joy. 

🎧 Listen now and discover which of the five Ted Lasso lessons will spice up your leadership next. 

 

Timestamped overview: 

00:00 Ted Lasso leadership insights 
05:42 Customer Experience lessons from Ted 
08:13 Be a goldfish 
11:34 Believe in your team 
14:30 Be curious, not judgmental 
18:05 Building loyalty through gestures 
20:54 Learn from mistakes 
23:39 Building Customer-Centric leadership 

 

About Nienke:   

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.    

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.   

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.    

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned. 

#62 The FIVE safe zones every cx leader should break out of

Welcome to a brand new episode of CX Leadership Talks!

Too many CX leaders are hired to create change… yet end up playing it safe. Organizations reward dashboards, quick wins, and staying in the background. But as your host: Nienke Bloem reminds her listeners, CX is not about management, it is about leadership. 

In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, Nienke shares the five areas where CX leaders play it too safe, and the bold leadership shifts they need to make instead. She explains how leaders can move from being reporters to becoming strategic business partners, from project explainers to storytellers with one strong CX narrative, from short-term fixers to transformational leaders, from the soft zone to technology-driven impact, and from being invisible to becoming visible strategic connectors. 

This episode is about stepping out of the slippers of the expert or manager and into the shoes of a true CX leader. Nienke invites her audience to spice up their leadership, follow their joy, and ride the wave of awesomeness. 

In this episode you will learn: 

• Why playing it safe is the biggest trap for CX leaders 

• The 5 safe zones that keep leaders small 

• What it looks like to shift from management to true leadership 

• Why joy, courage and visibility matter more than ever 

Nienke makes it clear: CX is too important to play it safe. It is time to stop limiting yourself, step into your leadership shoes, and lead like you mean it. 

🎧 Listen now and discover which of the five areas resonates most with you. 

Timestamped overview: 
 
00:00 CX Leadership podcast challenges 
05:06 Step out of safe leadership 
08:40 From reporter to strategic partner 
12:41 From projects to transformation 
14:05 Tech-driven impact with AI & data 
18:02 Becoming a strategic connector 
21:18 Join secret email list 

About Nienke:  

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.   

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.  

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.   

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

#61 Thin Slicing: How small moments reveal BIG truths in CX and leadership

In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, Nienke Bloem CCXP MBA explores the fascinating concept of thin slicing,  the psychological phenomenon that shows how just a few seconds of behavior can reveal the bigger truth.

From leaders canceling contact center visits to technicians arriving late, from the reviews customers leave online to the culture that lives inside organizations, thin slices are everywhere. And they matter.

Drawing on research by Nalini Ambady, Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink, and her own stories from corporate life, Nienke shows how thin slicing can be used in two powerful ways:

1. Driving culture change and leadership interventions, making behavior visible and discussable.
2. Understanding customer feedback and VOC data, treating reviews and complaints as slices of the bigger customer experience.

You’ll learn:

• Why behavior is the real evidence of your strategy.
• How small slices of action build or break trust.
• Practical tips for using thin slicing as a CX leader.

Because in the end, behavior is the evidence. Every thin slice reveals what’s really important, far louder than any strategy document or polished story.

🎧 Tune in for stories, science, and practical actions you can take to grow your CX leadership.

Timestamped overview:

00:00 Thin slicing and tech issues

05:51 Accuracy of thin-slice judgments

09:25 Unseen importance: Plankton effect

11:38 Thin slicing: Judging whole from parts

13:50 Customers are evaluating companies

18:24 Aligning internal culture with CX

21:02 Leadership by example in CX

25:13 Cultural reflection in Customer feedback

27:06 Distrust and control realization

31:03 Strategy webinar dates correction

Free learning opportunity:
Join one of Nienke’s upcoming Strategy on a Page webinars:

• English: Friday, October 3 at 10:00 AM (Amsterdam time)
• Dutch: Monday, October 6 at 12:00 noon (Amsterdam time)

Both sessions will be recorded, but attending live gives you the chance to ask your own questions and interact. Plus, if you attend live, you’ll get a practical AI prompt so you can start building your SOAP right away.

Register here

About Nienke: 

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.  

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books. 

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.  

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

#60 Staying relevant in CX: Life Trends 2025 by Bart Verouden CCXP

The future of customer experience isn’t 10 years away, it’s happening right now.
In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, your host Nienke Bloem CCXP sits down with Bart Verouden, CCXP, Senior Manager Innovation & Business Development at Accenture, Lean Black Belt, and lifelong learner.

Bart is part of the team behind Accenture Song’s Life Trends Report, a yearly study that combines global research, expert insights, and real human stories. Normally, Nienke is a little skeptical of “trend reports,” but when she first saw Bart present this one, she was blown away. It’s sharp, relevant, and deeply practical for CX leaders.

Together, we dive into the five Life Trends for 2025:

1. The cost of hesitation – how online mistrust is shaping customer behavior
2. The parent trap – why raising kids in a digital world is now a shared responsibility
3. The impatience economy – speed, trust, and the rise of bite-sized influence
4. The dignity of work – why employee experience directly defines customer experience
5. Social media rewilding – finding balance between digital convenience and real-life connection

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why these trends matter for CX leaders right now
• How to recognize them inside your own organization
• Practical examples of companies getting it right (and wrong)
• The simple but powerful role of empathy and trust in staying relevant

If you want to understand how customer expectations are shifting, and what you can do as a leader to prepare, this episode is for you.

Timestamped overview:

00:00 Future of CX & Employee Experience
06:04 Career journey in Customer Experience
07:43 Dutch CX professional collaboration
12:57 Online hesitation due to misinformation
17:04 Ecosystem collaboration for digital trust
17:41 Dutch lab cyber hack exposes data
23:27 Limited access for young users
24:08 Gaming ethics vs. Functionality
30:24 Importance of speed in service delivery
34:16 Restaurant choice and experience
35:44 Empowering employee autonomy
39:50 Blending digital and in-store experiences
42:50 Building a chatbot: A personal journey
44:25 DIY multilingual chatbot success
47:57 Global trends insights

Extra information: 

Connect with Bart on LinkedIn 
You can find the five life trends of Accenture Song here. 
Book recommendation: Beyond Employee Engagement by Kristina G. Vaneva 

About Nienke:  

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.   

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.  

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.   

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

#59 Why every CX Leader needs a CX Strategy on a page

Too many CX strategies are either far too complex… or don’t exist at all. That’s why in this episode, your host Nienke Bloem, CX educator and speaker, takes you on a journey into one of the most powerful tools you can have as a CX leader: your Strategy on a Page (SOAP).

Your Strategy on a Page is the bridge between vision and execution. Without it, your CX story risks staying a dream. With it, you have a clear, shareable, actionable plan that guides your team and inspires your organization.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
✅ Why SOAP is the third essential element of your CX Story.
✅ The 5 research-backed advantages of having a one-page strategy.
✅ Real examples of SOAP setups, from 2 pillars to 5 must-win battles.
✅ 10 possible elements you can include in your own SOAP.
✅ A challenge: how to make sure your strategy drives direct customer impact, not just internal alignment.

You’ll also hear stories from Nienke’s own leadership journey and client cases that bring SOAP to life, plus practical tips to make your strategy visual, memorable, and usable every single day.

Timestamped overview:
00:00 Podcast introduction
05:05 Webinar announcement
09:39 Executive strategy and CX alignment
13:19 Strategic execution through visual simplicity
16:02 Clarity drives action
20:04 DIY CX Story framework
22:36 Building customer-centric mindsets
27:20 Strategic vision through self-thinking
30:17 Visualize your strategic path
31:20 Strategy as bridge to success

Free learning opportunity:
Want to create your own Strategy on a Page? Join one of Nienke’s upcoming Strategy on a Page webinars:

• English: Friday, October 3 at 10:00 AM (Amsterdam time)
• Dutch: Monday, October 6 at 12:00 noon (Amsterdam time)

Both sessions will be recorded, but attending live gives you the chance to ask your own questions and interact. Plus, if you attend live, you’ll get a practical AI prompt so you can start building your SOAP right away.

👉 Register here

About Nienke:  

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.   

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.  

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.   

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.