The Experience Edge
The Experience Edge
Podcast Description
Hosted by Jochem van der Veer, customer-obsessed founder of TheyDo, this weekly podcast dives into conversations with senior professionals, pioneers, and industry leaders at the forefront of CX. Guests openly share their experiences on customer journeys, voice of the customer, customer-centric transformation, journey management, and best practices for lasting impact.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast covers a wide range of topics within customer experience, including customer journey management, voice of the customer, and innovative business strategies. Notable episodes tackle subjects like the shift from product-centric to customer-centric approaches, the impact of AI on CX, and the importance of eliminating friction in customer interactions.
Hosted by Jochem van der Veer, customer-obsessed founder of TheyDo, this weekly podcast dives into conversations with senior professionals, pioneers, and industry leaders at the forefront of CX. Guests openly share their experiences on customer journeys, voice of the customer, customer-centric transformation, journey management, and best practices for lasting impact.
From redefining empathy at scale to structuring strategy around shared goals, Steven Smart brings a pragmatic and people-first approach to digital transformation in financial services. As a Digital and CX Lead at DLL, Steven shares how streamlining customer journeys—down to a handful of critical interactions—creates clarity and consistency across complex, siloed organizations.
In this episode, Steven unpacks the operational power of aligning internal priorities with customer goals, the evolving role of empathy in both design and leadership, and why frictionless experiences start with cross-functional collaboration. He also shares powerful lessons from personal journeys—both triumphant and trying—that shaped his view of what truly great customer experience looks like.
Guest Bio
Steven Smart is a digital and customer experience leader at DLL, where he has spent the past three years driving transformation through customer-centric innovation, organizational change, and strategic partnerships. With over eight years of experience reshaping customer journeys, Steven is known for aligning technology, business goals, and customer needs into cohesive, impactful solutions.
His approach blends empathy with structured problem-solving, helping teams navigate complexity while keeping the customer at the centre. Passionate about creating lasting impressions, Steven is deeply committed to guiding organisations on the path to meaningful, experience-led growth.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Steven Smart and his CX transformation work at DLL
03:42 Rethinking the customer journey in financial services
09:36 Balancing frictionless design with human connection
12:26 Breaking silos and aligning strategy across teams
20:34 Operationalizing empathy and embedding it into culture
28:57 One vision, one roadmap: Structuring for CX at scale
35:25 AI in CX: Augmenting, not replacing human insight
50:42 Clean data, APIs, and preparing for an AI-powered future
57:28 Personal journeys: First, worst, best, and last CX moments
01:03:01 Final reflections and Steven’s CX magic wand wish
Jochem’s Profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jochemvanderveer/
Steven Smart – https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-smart-b612b45a/
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