The Digital-First Customer Experience - by Joe Wheeler (Paperback)

About the Book

Create a digital experience that not only exceeds your customers' expectations but turns them into advocates who won't stop promoting your brand.

Book Synopsis

The definitive guide to designing digital-first experiences customers love.

In his third book on the topic of customer experience, bestselling author and consultant Joe Wheeler tackles the challenges many organizations are facing as they attempt to design compelling experiences in a digital-first world. It features case studies of leading brands including Lemonade, Spotify, CEMEX, VMware, Starbucks, NIKE and Amazon.

Part One introduces the new "3 Cs", key trends associated with technology convergence, competition and culture change in a post-pandemic world. Part Two takes a deep dive into seven design strategies, from designing emotional peaks across channels to empowering customers through immersive experiences that merge physical and digital assets. Part Three provides a playbook for how to design digital-first experiences, including how to solve the right problems, develop a measurable business case, design digital-first experiences customers love and execute the new design at scale.

Review Quotes

"The Digital-First Customer Experience provides a peek into how successful companies across different industries deliver a personalized path to engage customers throughout their journey. Key AI/ML tech enablers serve as a backdrop while the design principles framework provides structure to innovate an engaging CX-driven solution."-- "Sherri Dorfman, Chief Executive Officer, Stepping Stone Partners"

"Joe Wheeler continues to innovate as the global market leader in customer experience strategy. Through digital-first, Joe has created the digital roadmap that customer-centric leaders can execute to grow their business."-- "Michael Crosby, Chief Executive Officer, AquOm Incorporated"

"Joe Wheeler is a long-time friend and colleague who I respect and admire. I highly recommend reading his new book, The Digital-First Customer Experience. The fusion of digital and its impact on looking at holistic experiences vs. fragmentation is essential for the success of CX and employee experiences in the future. The time has come, if not long past, for CX and EX professionals to be well versed in the essential shift from the Industrial Age perspectives to the Age of Transformative Experience. Value creation has been with us for a while, yet CX perspectives seem siloed and fragmented. A recipe for ineffectiveness."-- "Lou Carbone, Chief Executive Officer, Experience Engineering, Inc."

"Joe Wheeler is my 'go-to' for anything related to customer insights and customer experience. There is no one better. This new book shares the wisdom of a true master."-- "Robert C. Wolcott, Co-Founder & Chair, TWIN Global"

"Joe Wheeler's book is a gift to those who work to take up the cause which I love and have made my own life's work: to improve lives. I know you will find his book an outstanding arrow in your quiver of resources to elevate your company to one that is admired and loved."-- "Jeanne Bliss, Author of Chief Customer Officer 2.0' and 'Would You Do that to Your Mother?'"

"Joe Wheeler's latest book hits a lot of my hot buttons: immersive experiences, customization at scale, flywheels of learning and of course digital technology. Get your highlighter out before you open it up and let Joe's principles and case studies lead you in developing your own playbook for thriving in today's Experience Economy."-- "B. Joseph Pine II, co-author of 'The Experience Economy: Competing for Customer Time, Attention, and Money'"

"Joe Wheeler's new book succinctly describes the 'digital tsunami' that is changing the way all companies will deliver customer experiences in the future. His advice? Instead of just adapting to it, put it to your advantage. I couldn't agree more, and this book shows you how."-- "Diane Hessan, Founder and Chairman, C Spa"

"The Digital-First Customer Experience provides actionable strategies to design next-generation experiences, move AI from the back office to the customer and to help you make the right choices in a digital-first world."-- "Geoffrey Parker, Charles E. Hutchinson '68A Professor of Engineering Innovation, Dartmouth College; co-author of 'Platform Revolution'"

"A focused manifesto for companies looking to leverage digital technologies to deliver a highly valued customer experience. Joe's ability to boil this down to seven intuitive strategies with carefully chosen examples to bring these to life with actionable playbooks make this a must-read for multiple departments."-- "Abhi Ingle, Chief Operating Officer, Revenue Operations Qualtrics"

"A hallmark of Joe Wheeler's work has always been his clear-eyed understanding that it's not enough merely to design a great product or service. You also have to be able to deliver it consistently, at reasonable cost and in a sustainable manner. This practical perspective permeates The Digital First Customer Experience. Joe outlines an approach that is both simple and sophisticated, both immediately impactful and enduring. And he does it through a series of engaging and enjoyable stories, making it as accessible as it is essential."-- "Rob Markey Partner, Bain & Company, and co-author of 'The Ultimate Question 2.0'"

"A must-read for managers looking to stay current on this rapidly changing topic. The book could not be more timely or useful!"-- "Leonard A. Schlesinger, Baker Foundation Professor, Harvard Business School"

"A timely treasure for those who wonder whether, why and how 'digital' fundamentally changes the customer experience, with an added bonus 'playbook' for designing business models up to the task."-- "Susan Fournier Allen, Questrom Professor and Dean, Boston University, Questrom School of Business"

"Creating a best-in-class digital experience requires a design that resonates with your consumers. This book focuses on the role of design and the importance it plays in creating the deepest relationship with your consumer and the impact that is possible for your business."-- "Chris McCann, Chief Executive Officer, 1-800-FLOWERS.Com"

"I deeply admire Joe's passion for creating enduring customer experiences. He is relentless in seeking to understand how human centered design can improve the digital experience to create shared value for the customer, employee and enterprise."-- "Brad Warner, Board Member, Capital One"

"I love this book. If you are operating a business in 2023 and beyond, it's critical you understand and master the CX Digital space. The Digital-First Customer Experience by Joe Wheeler tells you how you do it."-- "Brad Smith, Founder President of Vector Business Navigation, Inc; CXPA Board member alumni"

"I've seen first-hand the perils and promise of digital-first strategies. Wheeler's playbook ensures the former is avoided and latter is achieved. I highly recommend it."-- "Dana Stalder, Partner, Matrix"

"Joe's book reminds us that in a digital-first world, our people have never been more important. That the brands customers love understand how to design experiences that create enduring value for employees, customers and shareholders. I highly recommend it."-- "Maxine Clark, Founder, Build-A-Bear Workshop; CEO, Clark-Fox Family Foundation"

"What Joe's book Managing the Customer Experience did for the experience economy, so his latest book will do for the digital economy. If you want to understand how to create leading edge CX, this book is for you."-- "Shaun Smith, Founder, Smith+Co"

About the Author

Joe Wheeler is a bestselling author, speaker and consultant. He is the CEO of CX/Digital, a subsidiary of The Service Profit Chain Institute (SPCI), a Boston-based consulting firm. Before launching The Service Profit Chain Institute, he was the Quality and Productivity Executive for Bank of America. Prior to this, he was Executive Vice President with The Forum Corporation, where he managed the firm's Customer Experience Consulting Practice.

He earned his MBA from Edinburgh Business School and lives in Hingham, Massachusetts.