Interview Customer Experience expert

What kind of skills are companies looking for in relation to Martech and customer experience?

Within my area of expertise, the CX perspective, Martech is crucial for creating a world-class customer experience. More organizations are realizing the importance of taking a holistic approach to customer experience, which encompasses everything from customer acquisition and delivery to customer service and billing. This requires an understanding of CX tools, such as gathering customer insights and analyzing data, to gain deeper and more high-quality insights than surveys can offer. Skills for working with customer insights are increasingly in demand. It’s important for organizations to be able to step into the customer's shoes to be a top performer and stand out in an increasingly competitive market.

Other required skills include the ability to map the customer journey and service awareness to ensure optimal customer experience. This involves understanding behavioral psychology and customer needs throughout the customer journey. At the same time, digital skills are required in Marketing Automation, Machine Learning, AI, and platforms for various systems within the organization.

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How can the education sector ensure that the skills are available when the market needs them?

I think it’s important to work closely with the business community to ensure that we’re training the right skills. It’s also important to invite representatives from the business community to participate in the training programs, for example, through guest lectures and LIA (internships).

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What are students most curious to learn about? Which areas are most engaging?

It varies, but our “Customer Experience Management” course has attracted a lot of interest. We focus on internal change journeys that are customer-centric throughout the entire customer journey, using cross-functional collaboration. It’s aimed at people who are responsible for some part of the customer experience but have a clear mandate. “Head of Customer Experience” is relatively uncommon in Sweden, why other customer ambassadors are important to ensure a holistic perspective and to contribute to profitability.

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How difficult is it to find student literature within this field?

Nowadays, there’s a lot of literature about how to work with customer experiences, but very few books are for students and even fewer are in Swedish. I think there’s a lack of literature based on Swedish customer cases, working methods, and culture that my students can use. That's why I took on this project together with a publisher within student literature, and now there’s a book aimed at students and professionals in “Customer Experience Management”.

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Has Sweden been inspired by other countries' skill requirements within this area, and how do we compare to other countries?

There are private certifications and training courses from, for example, the UK and the US that cost students close to 100 000 SEK, but in my European network, I’m the only one who teaches at a state-funded vocational university. That’s unique.

Sweden can probably be considered a pioneer in CX education. There’s no equivalent in Europe, not even in Norway and Finland.

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Is the term Martech vague and confusing?

Yes, the term can be confusing and limiting. It can exclude important parts of the organization, such as HR. There’s a risk of thinking it’s a part of the marketing manager's responsibility, however, HR should be deeply involved – especially regarding "People" as organization and culture certainly are their responsibility. In extension, IT should be highly involved. The term Martech risks preserving silo thinking. The fusion of Martech, CX, and CRM can be confusing, and clarity is absolutely needed.