Who should I follow to learn about Customer experience (CX) strategy?

If your goal is to learn **CX strategy** - not just customer service tactics - I’d build your feed around a handful of complementary thinkers rather than follow dozens of “CX influencers.” ### My top 7 1. **Jeanne Bliss** - **Start here.** Best for understanding CX as a **business strategy and leadership discipline**: customer-driven growth, organizational accountability, and the role of the Chief Customer Officer. She has 35+ years of experience and developed a five-competency framework around customer-driven growth. [Customer Bliss by Jeanne Bliss | Customer Experience | Chief Customer Officer](https://www.customerbliss.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) 2. **Annette Franz** - **Best for CX design.** Follow her for journey mapping, customer-centric culture, research/insight, and translating customer understanding into organizational action. She is particularly useful if you want a more structured, practitioner-oriented approach. 3. **Shep Hyken** - **Best for practical execution.** His material connects CX strategy to friction reduction, employee culture, loyalty, service, and increasingly AI. His 2026 research is especially useful for seeing what customers currently value. [Customer Service & CX Research - Shep Hyken | Customer Service Expert](https://hyken.com/research/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) 4. **Bruce Temkin** - **Best for CX maturity and measurement.** Worth following if you're interested in how organizations actually build and manage CX capabilities at scale. 5. **Natalie Petouhoff** - **Best for the economics of CX.** Particularly valuable if you need to answer the executive question: **“How does improving CX create business value?”** She focuses heavily on linking CX investments to financial outcomes. 6. **Augie Ray** - **Best for strategic trends.** Good for understanding where the CX profession is heading, particularly customer understanding, AI, and the changing role of CX leaders. Gartner's 2026 research highlights exactly these shifts. [CX Jobs in 2026: Broader Leaders, More AI, and Greater Focus on Customer Understanding](https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/7411930?utm_source=chatgpt.com) 7. **Forrester** - **Follow the research, not just individuals.** Forrester is particularly useful for frameworks, benchmarks, CX measurement, and connecting CX to growth. Its 2026 work is increasingly looking at **Total Experience** - the interaction between customer, brand, and employee experience. [Forrester Reveals The Top 10 Highest-Performing Brands In Its 2026 Global Total Experience Score Rankings​ At Its CX Events - Forrester](https://www.forrester.com/press-newsroom/forrester-reveals-the-top-10-highest-performing-brands-in-its-2026-global-total-experience-score-rankings-at-its-cx-events/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### If you only have time for 3 I'd choose: **Jeanne Bliss → Annette Franz → Forrester** That combination gives you: **Leadership & strategy → CX design & execution → research & benchmarks** And I'd add **Shep Hyken** if your role is closer to customer service/operations. One important shift I'd make in your learning: **don't define CX strategy as “making customers happier.”** The more mature view is to connect customer needs, employee capabilities, operating processes, technology, and business outcomes. Gartner's current research, for example, emphasizes executive accountability and measuring the revenue/business impact of CX - not simply customer satisfaction scores. [Adopt the Strategies of CX Leaders to Outperform the Competition](https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/8089565?utm_source=chatgpt.com) If you tell me **your role (e.g., product, marketing, strategy, operations, founder, CX leader)** and whether you're **beginner/intermediate/advanced**, I can give you a much tighter **“10 people + 10 books/articles + 30-day CX strategy learning plan.”**

**If you want to learn about Customer Experience (CX) strategy, follow globally recognized thought leaders like Jeanne Bliss, Ian Golding, Steven Van Belleghem, Blake Morgan, Jay Baer, and Jeannie Walters. These experts consistently share frameworks, case studies, and insights that connect CX strategy to measurable business outcomes.** ## 🌟 Top CX Strategy Leaders to Follow Leader| Focus Area| Why Follow Them ---|---|--- **Jeanne Bliss** (Customer Bliss)| CX transformation, leadership| Pioneer of CX as a discipline; author of _Chief Customer Officer_; practical frameworks for embedding CX in culture.[Top 50 CX leaders 2026](https://www.cxnetwork.com/cx-experience/articles/top-50-customer-experience-leaders-to-follow-in-2026) **Ian Golding** (AmplifyXM)| CX governance, certification| One of the first CCXPs; teaches structured CX strategy and measurement.[Top 50 CX leaders 2026](https://www.cxnetwork.com/cx-experience/articles/top-50-customer-experience-leaders-to-follow-in-2026) **Steven Van Belleghem**| AI & CX integration| Explains how technology and human empathy combine in modern CX; bestselling author.[The Global Top 100 – CX Hall of Fame](https://cxhalloffame.com/the-global-top-100/) **Blake Morgan**| CX for executives| Forbes columnist, podcast host; translates CX into boardroom strategy.[The Global Top 100 – CX Hall of Fame](https://cxhalloffame.com/the-global-top-100/) **Jay Baer**| Digital CX & customer service| Researcher, keynote speaker; focuses on balancing automation with human-first CX.[Future of CX leaders - CX Network](https://www.cxnetwork.com/future-of-cx/articles/top-40-future-of-cx-leaders-to-follow-in-2026) **Jeannie Walters** (Experience Investigators)| CX education & training| Known for practical CX toolkits and workshops.[Top 50 CX leaders 2026](https://www.cxnetwork.com/cx-experience/articles/top-50-customer-experience-leaders-to-follow-in-2026) **Dennis Wakabayashi**| Global CX voice| Shares CX trends across industries and regions; emphasizes omnichannel strategy.[CX Network's Top 50 Customer Experience Leaders to Follow in 2026 | CX Network posted on the topic | LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:7467597355752599552/) **Adrian Swinscoe** (Punk CX)| CX innovation| Challenges traditional CX thinking; author of _Punk CX_.[Future of CX leaders - CX Network](https://www.cxnetwork.com/future-of-cx/articles/top-40-future-of-cx-leaders-to-follow-in-2026) ## 📌 How to Engage With Them * **Books & Articles**: Bliss, Van Belleghem, and Morgan have published widely read books on CX strategy. * **Podcasts & Media**: Jay Baer (_Experience This!_), Blake Morgan (_The Modern Customer_), and Jeannie Walters share regular insights. * **LinkedIn & Social Media**: Most of these leaders are highly active on LinkedIn, posting case studies, frameworks, and commentary. * **Workshops & Keynotes**: Golding and Walters run CX training programs; Van Belleghem and Baer are frequent keynote speakers at global conferences. ## ⚠️ Risks & Considerations * **Overemphasis on AI**: Many CX leaders now focus heavily on AI. While valuable, balance this with human-centered CX insights. * **Industry Bias**: Some experts lean toward specific industries (e.g., retail, airlines). Diversify your sources to avoid a narrow perspective. * **Thought Leadership vs. Practice**: Not all influencers are practitioners. Pair their insights with case studies from companies actively implementing CX strategies. 👉 To get the most value, I recommend following **a mix of strategic thinkers (Bliss, Morgan, Van Belleghem)** and **practical educators (Golding, Walters, Wakabayashi)**. This way, you’ll learn both the _vision_ and the _execution_ of CX strategy. Would you like me to curate a **“starter list” of their best books, podcasts, and LinkedIn profiles** so you can begin following them right away?

* **Jeanne Bliss** - Co-founder of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA) and author of influential books like _Chief Customer Officer_ and _Would You Do That to Your Mother?_. She focuses heavily on human-centric leadership and building a customer-driven corporate culture. * **Annette Franz** - Founder and CEO of CX Journey Inc., author of _Customer Understanding_ and _Built to Win_. She is a master at breaking down the foundational mechanics of listening to customers and turning insights into operational strategy. * **Blake Morgan** - A prominent keynote speaker, futurist, and author of _The Customer of the Future_. She frequently shares sharp, highly actionable insights on how companies are integrating new technologies with human empathy to redesign the modern customer journey. * **Shep Hyken** - A customer service and experience expert, Hall of Fame speaker, and author of numerous bestsellers including _The Amazement Revolution_. His content is exceptionally practical, focusing on everyday touchpoints that drive customer loyalty. * **Esteban Kolsky** - Founder of ThinkJar and a veteran analyst of enterprise software and customer strategies. He is known for cutting through industry hype with hard data, customer service metrics, and realistic technology roadmaps. * **Colin Shaw** - Founder and CEO of Beyond Philosophy, named by LinkedIn as one of the world's top 150 business influencers. He specializes in the behavioral science side of CX - specifically how human emotions drive customer decisions. Which specific area of CX are you hoping to focus on first - building a program from scratch, mastering customer data and journey mapping, or improving frontline service?

Learning a comprehensive **Customer Experience (CX) strategy** requires a mix of foundational design thinkers, operational execution experts, and digital/AI-forward strategists. The top experts and thought leaders to follow (primarily active on LinkedIn, via newsletters, and podcasts) are organized by their specific areas of expertise below: Strategic Vision & Culture-Building * * * _Jeanne Bliss_ : Often called the "Godmother of Customer Experience", Jeanne focuses heavily on customer-driven growth, leadership accountability, and embedding empathy into corporate culture. * * * _Blake Morgan_ : A brilliant modern voice on how future-focused enterprises design customer-centric cultures and leverage technology. She writes great practical newsletters and interviews top CCOs. * * * _Shep Hyken_ : Chief Amazement Officer at Shepard Presentations and a legendary keynote speaker. His content centers around everyday service culture and practical benchmarks for customer loyalty. Practical Execution & ROI * _Dan Gingiss_ : Author of _The Experience Maker_ , Dan specializes in actionable, bite-sized strategies that prove how great CX can double as your best marketing. * _Bill Staikos_ : A Chief Customer Officer who focuses deeply on growth, retention, scaling customer value, and tying CX directly to business outcomes and transformation. [Top LinkedIn Content on Customer Experience Strategy](https://www.linkedin.com/top-content/business-strategy/customer-experience-strategy/) * Ian Golding: A global CX specialist and the first-ever Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP) master. His focus is heavily on mapping customer journeys and the heavy operational architecture of CX. Behavioral Science & Experience Design * * * _Colin Shaw_ : Founder of Beyond Philosophy, Colin focuses on the behavioral science and human psychology behind what drives customer loyalty and purchasing decisions. Are you looking to focus on a **specific industry** (like B2B SaaS, retail, or healthcare), or are you more interested in the **technical/AI side** of modern CX strategy?