CX Masterclass with Ian Golding

Ian is a well renowned Thought Leader, strategist, and delivery expert in the customer experience domain, and is CCXP qualified (and a recognised CCXP training provider). Ian works globally with a multitude of different sorts of businesses, from SME to global corporate. You can see more about Ian on LinkedIn here 

Our founder and Managing Director of Client Partnerships, Hannah Cox, has completed one of Ian’s CX Masterclass courses. Bringing deep business expertise as well as really engaging humour to the table, the CX Masterclass really demystifies customer experience, and supports from a leadership perspective around influence, gaining buy in, and building credibility. 

You can book on to one of Ian’s Masterclasses here 

Executive Summary – CX Masterclass 

CX as a Strategic Function

• CX vs HR: While CX has often emerged from HR or customer service teams, it must evolve into a strategic, enterprise-wide function.
• Legacy to Customer-Centric: True CX transformation typically takes 6-8 years. It requires cultural, structural, and operational shifts.
• Drivers of CX:
  • New demographics
  • New products
  • New standards
• The CFO is critical – as a key influencer, the CFO must see CX as tied to business performance and growth.

Culture, Leadership & Purpose

• Culture & Accountability: Businesses must embed CX into leadership accountability and cultural norms. Without this, improvements are not sustainable.
• Biggest barrier to success: A culture not aligned to delivering consistently excellent customer experiences.
• Purpose over Profit: Don’t exist “just to make money”; define a collective purpose to solve meaningful customer problems.
• Emotional vs Functional: Experiences must appeal to both rational and emotional needs of customers – especially in sectors like pharma and insurance.

Customer & Employee Alignment

• Ask:
  • “Who are my customers?”
  • “What do I do for them?”
• Align internal employee tools and processes to meet evolving customer needs across functions.
• Voice of the Employee (VoE): Employees are not just deliverers of CX; their own experience impacts how they deliver service.

Empathy as a Business Driver

• Empathy = Growth.
  • Case study: Cleveland Clinic – investing in emotional empathy training showed measurable impact on patient satisfaction and growth.
• CX should not be reactive, but a designed experience.

CX Metrics & Business Integration

• CX as Forecasting Tool:
  • Use CX maturity models to forecast performance.
  • CX is not a side activity — it should be embedded in business strategy and KPIs.
• Key Metrics:
  • CSAT (Customer Satisfaction)
  • NPS (Net Promoter Score)
    • Note: NPS is a score, not a percentage.
    • Can be manipulated or misinterpreted — must be used carefully.
  • Customer Effort Score
  • Metrics should capture:
    • Satisfaction
    • Ease of interaction
    • Likelihood to recommend
• Next-Gen VoC Metrics:
  • Traditional surveys are evolving.
  • Listen to customers who don’t buy – their feedback is often the most revealing.
  • Most important use of VoC is to diagnose and fix issues, not to chase vanity scores.

Journey Mapping & Touchpoint Management

“You can’t manage what you can’t measure.”

Journey Mapping Process:

• Break customer interactions into detailed phases.
• Measure emotional and functional reactions at each phase:

Touchpoint + Impression Level

End-to-End Process Performance

• Challenging Internal Processes:
  • “If a process doesn’t affect or benefit a customer, why is it being done?”
• CX performance can be impacted by external factors (weather, elections) – design must accommodate variability.
• End-to-end experience: Fix the basics before “sprinkling fairy dust” (e.g., unnecessary digital flair that doesn’t fix real pain points).

Prioritisation of CX Issues

• Two types of CX issues:
  • MACRO: High-level, strategic challenges (culture, leadership, system gaps)
  • MICRO: Tactical/operational (website form errors, phone wait times)
• Key Point:
  • MACRO fixes often solve multiple MICRO problems.
  • Too much time is typically spent firefighting micro issues.

CX Execution Frameworks

AGILE

• While declining, still relevant in iterative change management.

Lean

• Remove unnecessary activity.
• Improve value flow and reduce waste.

Design Thinking

• Focused on surfacing the real problem before rushing to solutions.
• Often reveals hidden or misdiagnosed issues in CX.

CX Implementation in Business

Sample B2B Business Process Journey

• Online presence — differentiate your offering.
• Personal business outreach — blend phone, email, LinkedIn.
• Negotiate T&Cs — avoid too much back and forth.
• Payment setup — needs to be fast and easy.
• Onboarding — highly polished, sets tone.
• Delivery & Aftercare — follow-up shows long-term commitment.

What Do Customers Really Want?

• Identify customer sentiment.
• Customers may want to feel:
  • Assured
  • Valued
  • Confident
• These emotional outcomes must be intentionally designed into the experience.
• CX should be a systemic practice, not dependent on “heroic effort.”

Summary Principles

Principle	Insight
Purpose-driven organisations win	Focus on customer problems, not internal politics
Empathy creates loyalty	Design emotionally intelligent touchpoints
Journey mapping is essential	Know every stage, remove friction
Culture is the foundation	Without SLT buy in, CX will not embed or scale
Measurement drives action	Focus on diagnosis, not vanity scoring
CX = Business Strategy	Not a side project — it shapes your commercial future

Conclusion

Ian Golding’s CX Masterclass delivers a comprehensive guide to turning CX into a strategic growth engine. Organisations that embed CX in culture, measurement, journey design, and employee alignment will unlock not only customer loyalty but also measurable business value.