We were recently invited along to the recent Customer Experience Exchange down in Berlin as one of the Media partners, and could not turn down the chance to meet and talk with some of the biggest and brightest names working with Customer Experience.
The venue was kept at nhow Hotel located on the banks of the River Spree in the heart of the city’s most vibrant neighborhood nhow Berlin fuses music, art and architecture into a dynamic, multi-sensory experience. In other words, a perfect setting for discussing Customer Experience in new and innovative ways.
A large crowd of delegates and solution providers ensured an animated and dynamic atmosphere with room for discussions, asking questions and networking.
Rather than being a normal ”conference” the Customer Experience Exchange has a slightly different take on things. The itinerary consisted of things such as standard conference sessions, one-to-one meetings, Think Tank discussions and of course the networking. The fluid structure of the 3 days, along with the well thought out networking sessions throughout allowed for a productive and interactive time away from the office.
What really makes the Customer Experience Exchange different from other events as previously mentioned is the ”exchange” format. Rather than having a jumble of providers and customers jostling to speak to one and other, a team within IQPC sits down before each event and evaluates each of the different customers and matches them with potential providers. With 6-8 set meetings at 30 minutes each, this quickly becomes a great way to determine your ROI.
For providers, it’s a great way to meet prospective clients. Each attendee must be ’qualified’ or invited in order to get a ticket, with some tough criteria on the table, having being able to answer yes to any two of the following statements –
- My company’s annual turnover is €1billion or above
- I sit in the C-suite or report directly to the C-suite
- I control or directly influence where customer experience budget is spent
- I control of directly influence corporate strategy at regional, divisional or group level
- I have a personal annual budget of €1m or above
For attendees, what this means is that you do not have to continually discuss with providers what your plans are for the next year, but are now able to discuss the topics around customer experience with similar peers going through the same problems. All attendees are also profiled prior to the event – this allows you to really get to know each other even before walking into a room. Even the small talk here can be facilitated. Its highly refreshing to be somewhere so organized.
Speakers from around the world came along to impart with their wisdom – from Forrester through to Facebook, all the large names were there to help guide you through 2012 and beyond.
All in all, Customer Experience Exchange was a great event. Now in the 4th edition, it has grown leaps and bounds since its first outing – learning from past mistakes and improving year on year. After all, is that not what Customer Experience Management is all about?
