Building CX Momentum Across Yorkshire
Since launching the CX Yorkshire community, we’ve been inspired by members’ commitment to improving customer outcomes. Steve Dale, a CX consultant at Lexden, has been instrumental in leading the community. Over the past few months, he’s met business owners and CX leaders at various events across Yorkshire.
These conversations revealed a common theme: businesses wanted to see real-life examples of customer experience (CX) success they could relate to.
To meet this need, we organised a breakfast event in York to showcase three Yorkshire-based case studies that highlight CX excellence.
A Historic Setting for a Contemporary Challenge
The event took place at The Refectory at York Minster, a historic school building in the heart of York, now home to an elegant restaurant and meeting facilities. Its central location and charm made it an ideal venue for our first in-person event.
Attendees travelled from across the county, representing diverse industries such as accounting, IT services, procurement, communications, and charities.
‘Creating Value from Customer Experience’
The event, titled “Creating Value from Customer Experience,” opened with Steve Dale sharing Lexden’s award-winning CX Transformation case study for Syngenta.
Steve outlined the three phases of transformation: discovery, design, and delivery. He emphasised the importance of strong governance when implementing CX across 25+ countries. Paul Lidbetter, Syngenta’s former global lead for customer centricity, attended and added that stakeholder management was crucial to success.
Steve also highlighted the strategic role of Syngenta’s Huddersfield site in shaping the programme. The transformation delivered measurable results: increased productivity, customer commitment, and incremental sales over four years.
Yorkshire CX Success Stories
1. CAE Technology Services: Driving Retention Through CX
Matt Hinds, head of customer assurance at CAE Technology Services, demonstrated how a customer-centric approach helped CAE achieve client retention and satisfaction.
As a provider of major IT solutions like Cisco, CAE recognised the need to deliver value beyond products and basic service. Matt showed how even a small team can embed CX into an organisation, turning it into a differentiator that clients actively seek.
Matt also shared a personal example: applying CX principles to grow Whitby Kiln Pottery Studio. By understanding customers and adjusting the customer journey, he created an engaging experience that kept visitors returning. This example illustrated that CX strategies can be just as impactful for small businesses.
2. NHS Blood and Transplant: Designing Local Experiences
Neil Greenwood, head of service ownership at NHS Blood and Transplant, discussed how localising the donor experience drives engagement.
By understanding customers on a street-by-street basis, Neil’s team created vibrant, modern donor centres tailored to local communities. He explained that designing seamless “pre” and “post” donation experiences is just as critical as the physical environment in ensuring donor satisfaction.
Drawing on his experience as head of customer journey mapping at Yorkshire Building Society, Neil highlighted the power of insights to create meaningful CX designs.
3. Driving CX Value Across Sectors
In the final session, I demonstrated how CX can deliver value for businesses of all sizes.
To counter the perception that CX is only for large enterprises, I presented a “lite” customer-centric operating model. I shared three practical strategies to help businesses transition from being “order takers” to “memory makers.”
Attendees learned how to organise customer feedback effectively without investing in expensive platforms or visualisation software. I also shared tools to generate deeper insights, guide strategic decisions, and improve CX design.
Key Takeaways and Audience Feedback
The event concluded with a lively Q&A, including a debate on the suitability of NPS for measuring CX. Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive:
- “It was a great event worth taking time out from the office. Speakers were excellent.”
- “Some great ideas and looking forward to future events!”
- “Fantastic day with some fantastic people. Look forward to seeing you all again soon.”
What’s Next for Customer Experience in Yorkshire?
The success of this event has inspired us to plan another ‘CX Yorkshire’ gathering later this year.
In the meantime, join the CX Yorkshire Community on LinkedIn to stay connected. You’ll find updates on upcoming events, online webinars with CX experts, and a space to share ideas and insights with like-minded professionals.
