Ep. 1 - Why Care About CX (Client Experience)?

Unlock the secrets to outperforming your competition in financial services by prioritizing client experience (CX)—a strategy that’s proven to drive real results and customer loyalty. In this inaugural episode of Competitive CX, host Melanie Aimer is joined by Hamish Taylor—an award-winning former CEO renowned for championing customer-focused change—and Adam Grainger, founder of Accomplish and a leader in measuring CX impact. Together, they delve into the pressing question of why CX should be at the top of every financial organization’s agenda, sharing compelling examples from across industries such as Apple, Uber, and Disney.

They explore why product alone isn’t enough to win in today's market, how client expectations are evolving rapidly, and how strategic investment in CX delivers measurable improvements in sales, client retention, and brand reputation. Plus, you’ll hear actionable insights on managing client risk, the growing influence of technology and AI, and practical steps to embed CX into your organization’s culture and KPIs. Tune in to learn why caring about CX isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s essential for survival and future growth.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• Competitive advantage through client experience
• Customer expectations in financial services
• Impact of AI on client experience
• Board-level focus on client risk
• Differentiation in oversupplied financial markets

Timestamps:

00:00 Enhancing Client Experience in Finance

03:36 Customer Experience Drives Success

08:39 "Importance of Client Experience (CX)"

10:34 Standing Out Through Client Relationships

13:05 "Priority of CX in Finance"

16:45 "Client Experience Revolution"

19:25 Shift in Communication Dynamics

 

About the Competitive CX Hosts

Hamish Taylor

Hamish Taylor is a world leader in Customer-led Transformations.  A multi-award winning CEO, his career has taken him from Brand Management at Procter and Gamble, Consultancy at PWC and Head of Brands at BA to become CEO of channel tunnel railway Eurostar and CEO of Sainsbury’s Bank – all before he was 40. In each case he left a record of significant growth by challenging the established way of operating and, in particular, by enabling the organisation to place its customers at the core of all activities. More recently, he has taken his “Customer-led Transformation” approach to hundreds of organisations and teams in 48 different countries.   He has also been dubbed the “MasterThief” for his ability to take ideas from one industry or discipline to another.

 

Melanie Aimer

Melanie has over 20 years of financial services experience spanning Capital Markets, Corporate & Investment Banking, Asset Management, Private Bank & Wealth Management with Citibank, BNP Paribas and Barclays.  With her vast multinational corporate Board and Exco level experience, Melanie has an award-winning record of delivering innovative client transformation across the full client and customer value-chain delivering best-in-class services in complex global organizations in a cost-effective agile manner and simplifying front to back processes spanning across people, marketing, data, and digital. 

 

Adam Grainger

After a career leading client experience (CX) transformations for large and medium-sized asset management firms, Adam established Accomplish to translate CX for asset managers into a tangible and measurable discipline. Between 2018 and 2021, Adam chaired the global Asset Management CX Forum. This was an industry-wide innovation initiative that resulted in Accomplish’s Client Behavior Benchmark that lets as