Podcast ¦ Punk CX: Why you need the I4JM in your life – Interview with Mark Smith and Ray Gerber

Key Take Aways

1. Customer journeys are inherently organic and non-prescriptive; organisations should focus on enabling rather than controlling these paths.
2. Effective journey management requires a clear understanding of the customer’s real needs, wants, and expectations across all touchpoints.
3. Visualisation tools, akin to traffic navigation systems, help organisations understand friction points and optimise customer flows.
4. The space of customer journey technology is fragmented, with confusion caused by overlapping terms and multiple vendors claiming ownership; standardisation is crucial.
5. Defining common industry standards and terminology for customer journeys can reduce organisational confusion and improve alignment.
6. Journey management is a cross-organisational practice that necessitates collaboration across silos, such as marketing, customer experience, and operational teams.
7. Success in journey management depends on adequate organisational investment, including processes, technology, and long-term strategic commitment.
8. The introduction of generative AI offers new opportunities for personalised, real-time customer interactions, but traditional predictive analytics remain foundational.
9. AI and automation should be integrated into journey management frameworks to enhance efficiency without compromising understanding of customer context.
10. The Institute for Journey Management aims to foster industry-wide standards, education, and proof of value to accelerate adoption.
11. Broadening the ecosystem of thought leaders and practitioners, including influential organisations and consultants, is central to the Institute’s strategy.
12. A long-term, customer-centric perspective and organisational investment are key to unlocking the immense value that journey management can deliver, especially in regulated environments like financial services.

Key Statistics

• Mark Smith has over 30 years of experience in customer technology, with his previous company Kite Wheel integrated into CSG after acquisition in 2021.
• The Institute for Journey Management was founded in response to only 1-2% of companies actively adopting journey management practices.
• The first Founders’ meeting in Amsterdam involved leading solution providers and analytics companies, highlighting a collaborative industry effort.
• Ray Gerber emphasizes internal AI uses in organisations, with an example of journey atlases built during his time at Qualtrics, indicating significant productivity gains.
• The Institute’s community platform is built on Circle, supporting ongoing engagement and education.
• Their initial foundation group comprises around 50 senior executives, with plans for regular meetings and a future annual conference.

Key Discussion Points

• Customer journeys should be perceived as organic, customer-led experiences rather than tightly controlled business processes.
• The importance of visualising customer journeys in a way that helps brands find detours around friction points.
• The risk organisations face when they attempt to overly control or rigidly define customer journeys, leading to misalignment with actual customer behaviour.
• How AI, especially generative and agentic AI, enhances real-time personalisation without replacing predictive analytics.
• The challenge of integrating AI into journey orchestration frameworks for automation that remains contextually relevant.
• The fragmentation of the journey technology space, creating confusion over terminology and ownership; standardisation is key to progress.
• The Institute’s role in educational efforts, standard setting, and industry validation of journey management’s tangible business value.
• The necessity for organisations to move beyond short-term gains and adopt a long-term view on customer centricity, especially in regulated sectors.
• The critical role of organisational investment in processes, technology, and culture to realise journey management benefits.
• The importance of breaking down silos across the organisation, including CX, marketing, and operational functions, for effective journey implementation.
• The Institute’s focus on creating a community of influencers and practitioners to foster industry augmentation.
• The real-world example of inspiring brands that leverage unique, experiential approaches—such as a craft brewery controlling distribution, and a German utilities provider delivering seamless service via teamwork.

Podcast Description

This podcast features high-level conversations with leading experts about the evolving landscape of customer journey management. It explores the strategic, technological, and organisational dimensions needed to deliver consistent, customer-centric experiences. Hosted by Adrian Swissco, it emphasises industry industry standardisation, the role of AI, and long-term value creation within sectors such as financial services. The episode also introduces the Institute for Journey Management as a catalyst for industry collaboration, education, and validating tangible benefits of journey-centric approaches. Through practitioner insights and real-world examples, it aims to equip senior leaders with the knowledge to foster transformative customer experience initiatives.