Hi Sandra, tell us about yourself and your background.
Hi, I’m Sandra. Thank you so much for inviting me to this interview. I have worked in the CX space in SaaS for the last three years. It has been three years of fun and a lot of learning. The CS and CX community are fantastic at helping to share their knowledge, so the hard part has been prioritizing areas to immerse.
In my three years of CX+CS experience, I have worked as a Customer Success Manager, CS Operation Manager, and Head of Customer Experience.
Over the next few weeks, I will start as the Partner Account Manager at Moment Team, one of Norway’s leading providers of administration systems for project-based businesses. With Monterro on the owner’s side, we will expand to the European market, and I look forward to contributing to this journey.
I live near Oslo, Norway, with two boys and my better half.
How did you start working in the customer experience space?
I started working in Talentech three years ago in a newly created CS department as a Customer Success Manager. Talentech wanted to become a more customer-centric organization thanks to my leader and mentor, Nina Lagesen, our CCO, and passionate about CX. So, my entrance into the CX space was a bit by coincidence. I have always loved working with customers, giving them value, and understanding their behavior and needs, so it was a good match.
How can companies better listen and understand their customer base?
Often, we do things we assume the customer will appreciate. Do not make assumptions. Start asking, collect the data, analyze it, and share it with the whole organization. Everyone must take ownership of customer feedback and work for the same goal: happy customers. That is what customer-centricity is all about.
What are some companies that you think are doing an excellent job at customer experience, and why?
Netflix. I spend far more time on Netflix than I should, unfortunately. I look at films and series I probably wouldn’t know of if it wasn’t for Netflix and their algorithms.
But I also see some exciting things happening in the car market. One example is the car manufacturer Nio, which builds a community and wants to be more than just a car producer for the customer. I think that building communities for customers is something we will see more of in 2022.
Many companies are currently undergoing digital transformation processes – what are your tips on a successful digital transformation?
Start with the things that give the most value and use data to find the parts that can help out the most. Dare to think new and do things differently than before. Nina Lagesen, my former leader, often said: you should not use old medicine for new diseases. Use the facts and data you have access to, not your gut feeling or experience alone. The game has changed.
What are some CX solutions or tools that you’re keeping your eyes on right now?
I have worked with the setup and implementation of Planhat for the last few years, so this is at the top of my mind. If you want to be more data-driven and work proactively with your customers, I highly recommend investing in a tool that can measure and help predict outcomes.
Did you read any interesting books that you’d like to recommend?
Right now, I’m reading Thinking Fast and Slow, a book on psychology and behavioral economics by Daniel Kahneman. We think that our decisions are well-considered, but in reality, our minds are riddled with biases leading to poor decision making.
What is your favorite CX metric?
Right now, it must be Customer Health Score. It is an important metric to give quick insight rather than analyze data one by one. The Health Score can help you understand what you do right and improve on that. I talk a lot about working proactively with the customers – that is important in CS, but to do so, you need some helping tools, and Health Score is one of them.
