Why Most Customer Journey Mapping Efforts Fail in Organizations: Dave Seaton

Why do so many customer journey mapping efforts fall flat—and what can we do about it? In this episode of The CX and Culture Connection, host Matt Egol, CCXP, sits down with Dave Seaton, CEO of Seaton CX, to explore the evolving role of journey mapping, the impact of organizational culture, and a fresh methodology that’s helping companies move from insight to action.

Dave shares the story behind launching his consultancy during the pandemic, driven by a desire to work across industries and improve both customer experience and business outcomes. From B2B to nonprofits and beyond, Dave’s work has shown that journey mapping isn’t just about visuals—it’s about alignment, emotion, and actionable insight.

Plus, hear more about Matt and Dave’s collaboration through the new CX on the Rocks Collective, a community designed for CX leaders seeking peer support, expert insights, and career growth in a rapidly changing landscape.

Whether you’re new to journey mapping or looking to revive a stalled initiative, this episode offers practical takeaways and strategic frameworks to help your team move beyond static diagrams and into real, lasting customer impact.

🎧 Watch or listen to the full episode here: https://youtu.be/DMRUAXlH-GU

🌐 Learn more about Dave’s Journey Map Jumpstart: https://seatoncx.com

📣 Join the CX on the Rocks community: https://cxontherocks.com

#CXStrategy #CustomerExperience #JourneyMapping #Leadership #CultureChange #EmployeeExperience #AIinCX #DARMAMethod #CXandCulture #MattEgol #DaveSeaton #SetonCX #CXonTheRocks #VoiceOfTheCustomer #CXTransformation #CustomerInsight #DigitalExperience

00:00 The Future of Customer Journey Mapping

03:01 Entrepreneurship and the Birth of Seaton CX

05:50 Challenges in Journey Mapping

09:13 The Importance of Actionable Insights

12:05 Aligning Customer Experience with Company Culture

14:53 The Darma Method for Journey Mapping

17:47 Leveraging AI in Customer Journey Mapping

21:01 Building a Community for CX Professionals

23:48 The Role of AI in Enhancing Customer Experience

27:08 Closing Thoughts and Future Directions

📌Podcast Website: https://www.cxandcultureconnection.com

📌Linkedin Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewegol/

📌Linkedin Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/journeysparkconsulting/📌Website: https://www.journeysparkconsulting.com/

📌Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094736604400

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More about Matt Egol and JourneySpark Consulting:

Matthew Egol, Host, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of JourneySpark Consulting

A partner at PwC Strategy for more than 15 years, Matt is a recognized thought leader in the experience management space. Matt has worked across a broad set of industries, from retail to consumer goods to healthcare to financial services to technology to industrials. Matt helps companies enhance their organizational effectiveness and build capabilities that fuse human-centered design with analytics, evolving their culture to be more customer-driven.

Matt is a regular speaker and author on customer experience, enterprise agility, and culture topics. He has authored more than 25 articles in leading publications and is a subject matter expert with MMA Global. Matt graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth and received his MBA from Columbia, where he received the Abe Shuchman Memorial Award in marketing.