Experts of Experience

What if everything you thought you knew about customer experience was backwards? In this episode, JC Quintana—author, educator, and psychologist—reveals why most companies are approaching CX completely wrong. Instead of obsessing over touchpoints and metrics, JC argues we need to start with something much more fundamental: expectations. JC walks us through his Dialogue 7 framework, which identifies the seven critical conversations that must happen before you can even think about designing an experience. From defining value and understanding cultural influences to managing engagement levels and transparency expectations, these conversations form the foundation of every successful business relationship. We explore why employees are anxious about AI adoption (hint: it's not about the technology), why ChatGPT accidentally became the world's best communication teacher, and why saying your company is "like a family" might be doing more harm than good. If you're tired of CX strategies that look great on paper but fail in practice, this conversation will fundamentally shift how you think about customer relationships in 2026 and beyond. Chapters 00:00:00 Why Technology Vendors Broke Customer Experience 03:14 What's Really Broken: We've Lost the Human Component 10:00 Business Model First, Experience Second 16:35 Introducing the Dialogue 7 Framework 24:01 The Most Commonly Missed Expectations: Knowledge & Engagement 34:48 How to Actually Use the 7 Conversations in Practice 41:00 Why Employees Are Anxious About AI (And What to Do About It) 50:03 ChatGPT: The World's Best Communication Teacher 58:21 Lightning Round: Books, Trends, and What's Next 01:09:00 Connect with JC: Books, Resources, and Next Steps Experts of Experience is a Mission.org production. To discover more shows designed to educate, inspire, and entertain, go to mission.org.

What separates companies succeeding with AI from those struggling to see results? The answer isn't the AI itself-it's the data foundation underneath it. In this episode, we explore why the companies winning with AI today are the ones that spent years cleaning, structuring, and curating their data. Our guest is Mike Hutchinson, Chief Operating Officer at Teradata, bringing 35 years of customer experience expertise across three software companies. Mike breaks down the critical gap between structured and unstructured data, why vector stores and context engines are game-changers, and how real AI use cases come from solving business problems-not from hackathons. He shares examples from banking, airlines, and Teradata's own operations, including their fully autonomous account planning system. We also look ahead to 2026 and Mike's bold prediction: this will be the year companies build agents at scale - autonomous systems that monitor, decide, and act without human intervention. Chapters 00:00:00 Meet Mike Hutchinson, 35 Year CX Veteran 00:09:22 The Unstructured Data Problem 00:12:07 Marrying Structured & Unstructured Data 00:16:15 Why AI Use Cases Fail 00:19:32 Banking NPS Transformation Story 00:25:18 Security & Hallucination Concerns 00:30:32 Getting Started with Data Organization 00:37:33 Predictive Analytics & Weather Patterns Example 00:42:21 CX Skills for the Next Decade 00:48:52 The Expertise Debate in an AI World 00:56:49 2026 Prediction: The Year of Agents Watch Next: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enBE_5PQOb4 Experts of Experience is produced by the team at Mission.org.

How are customer expectations evolving when people are talking less, trusting less, and switching brands faster than ever? In this episode, we break down the four major shifts reshaping customer experience in 2026 and why traditional listening tactics are failing right when companies need them most. Our guest is Isabelle Zdatny, Head of Thought Leadership at the Qualtrics XM Institute and co-creator of one of the largest global CX studies in the world. With data from 20,000 consumers across 14 countries, Isabelle reveals the surprising trends leaders cannot afford to overlook and why trust has become the real driver of customer behavior. Chapters 00:00:00 Meet Isabel Zdatny, Head of Thought Leadership at Qualtrics XM Institute 00:04:43 The Surprising State of Customer Experience Heading Into 2026 00:10:44 Why AI-Powered Customer Service Is Failing Customers 00:15:07 How to Use AI to Enhance Rather Than Replace Human Experience 00:19:41 The Silent Customer Crisis: Why Feedback Has Dropped to All-Time Lows 00:25:03 Conversational Surveys and Predictive Models: The Future of Customer Listening 00:34:55 Why Value Alone Won't Keep Customers Loyal in 2026 00:38:18 The Trust Equation: How Economic Uncertainty Changes Customer Behavior 00:42:51 The Personalization Paradox: Consumers Want It But Don't Trust It 00:54:10 What Will Surprise Us Most About 2026: Two Wildly Different Predictions

Wondersauce CEO and Co-Founder John Sampogna breaks down what today’s customer really expects - and how brands can stand out when AI overviews and LLMs shape the journey long before anyone reaches your website. You’ll learn: How AI is rewriting customer behavior Why your website may no longer be the front door The two paths brands can take in 2026 How to design digital and in-person experiences people actually want How to stay relevant in an AI-first era (hint: it might mean LESS AI) Watch Next: https://youtu.be/rgNCaTYkXCE Chapters 00:00:00 Meet John Sampogna, Wondersauce CEO and Co-Founder 00:08:41 Why Brands Need an Outside Perspective to Stay Relevant 00:11:27 How AI Is Changing Customer Behavior 00:15:32 How to Stand Out When AI Summaries Flatten Every Brand 00:20:22 The Rise of Analog Experiences (and Why They Matter) 00:25:52 How to Choose Which AI Tools Are Worth Your Time 00:38:12 How to Prepare Your Team for an AI-Driven Future 00:43:07 The Honest Truth About “Vibe Coding” 00:45:42 The Return of Cool, Personalized Digital Experiences 00:48:02 What Personalization Will Look Like in 2026

How do brands create customers who stay for years or even decades?