If there was an easier road to customer-centricity, would you take it?

What if it was also more profitable, and fun?

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Are you getting full value from your customer-centric efforts?

  • Are all your teams focused on what matters to the customer?  
  • Is your business uniquely differentiated?
  • Can you stay ahead of changing customer expectations?
  • Are you fully monetising your customer efforts?
  • Are you leveraging the right technology for all the above?
  • Are you comfortable this will continue in the next 5 years? 

If so, you're clearly ahead of the pack. Congratulations!

If you think there's room for improvement, keep reading.
Together, we can unlock the full potential of customer-centricity for your business. Making the journey easier, more profitable, and yes, even fun."

I help leaders in large organisations make
​customer-centricity happen

Pragmatically: balancing big visions with simple, practical, and affordable wins. 
Profitably: by turning customer smiles into earned growth and profit.
At scale: by replacing abstract theories with organic movements for change.

The ultimate goal in customer-centricity?
It's in the company DNA.

Unfortunately, talk of Net Promoter Scores, AI Chatbots and journey maps distracted us from what really matters.
The vision and passion to make a difference to a customer's life.
The knowledge that a relentless customer focus drives growth and profit.
That deep customer understanding outweigh tinkering with touchpoints, scores and interfaces.

Hi, my name is Alain

I learned customer-centricity the hard way.
For over 30 years, my teams have affected the experience of over 500 million customers worldwide. We’ve worked with over 30 brands and reached over a million stakeholders. Creating hundreds of millions in value. And many more smiles 🙂.

This journey taught me an important lesson.  
Customer-centricity is not about the tools, systems or methodologies. It's about inspiring your people to genuinely care about the customer, and then empowering them act on this instinct.

Achieve this, and any customer programme becomes a success. Without it, even the most well-intentioned efforts fall short.

Testimonials

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With his collaborative, commercial and hands-on approach, Alain sparked a fire for customer experience across the company from the moment he started.

Alexandra de Greck

VP, Head of Global Operations & Customer Experience 
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Oriflame

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From our first interactions, I thought: Wow, this guy's sharp - super smart & also super honest. He exemplifies the concept of radical candour.

James Wallman

CEO
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World Experience Organisation

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Alain helped define and form our customer-centricity program. His extraordinary skill to listen, understand and bring everything into the context of his client is amazing.

Dominik Endler

VP Customer & Commercial Excellence and CMO
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Bekaert

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One of the most effective and brilliant sessions on customer-centricity I ever attended.

Roberta Callarà

Director of Sales & Marketing
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Hotel Savoy Rome

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Alain has worked with us on our CX agenda from the beginning. He brings clarity, relevance and a commercial mindset that helps to engage a diverse and international audience.

Paul English

Global Leader - Markets & Clients
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Grant Thornton International

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Alain’s unforgettable speech was a masterclass in presenting and truly one of the best talks I’ve ever attended.

Michael Lai

Dean of X Thinking Institute - SVP & Senior Partner 
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Tang Consulting

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For the first time in my life, I got a more structured way of thinking about customer experience and client satisfaction​​​

Nikolaas Tahon

Global Board Member
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​Deloitte

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​Alain was very inspirational. People love him and his stories. (With his team he) helped us make our story an attractive one for our peers and leaders. His presentations at the leadership conference had a very big impact.here to edit

Carmen Soare

Former CMO
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NN Romania

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Alain provided a perfect keynote opening to our global Design Forward event.

James Carter

Global Brand Manager
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Experian

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Why do leaders call me?

​Leaders call me if they want a straight-talking, hands-on advisor, interim executive, or speaker to co-create or accelerate:
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👉 A customer promise and experience that competitors struggle to match; 
👉 A customer culture driven by belief and passion, instead of compliance;
👉 Customer experience standards to ensure consistency and efficiency;
👉 A digital strategy driven by human needs rather than technology hype;
👉 Employee engagement and training driven by customer empathy;
👉 Methods to measure and monetise customer success;
👉 A next-level customer feedback programme that drives action;
👉 A future proof customer vision to guide today's investments.

Always tying back to the goal of achieving higher engagement, NPS, retention, revenue and profit.

My ideal client


My best work comes from partnering with:
Leaders passionate about customers;
Active in complex environments or multiple markets; 
with teams of +1,000 employees;
in a business generating over  €100M (EUR) in sales, or aspiring to;

Is this you? Then let's have a conversation about your next level of customer-centricity.
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My services

Does the above resonate with your situation? Then let's collaborate in one of these three ways:

Inspiration

Spark a fire under your leaders and teams with keynotes, workshops, and customer academies that help them reach for your next level of customer-centricity.

Acceleration

Let's collaborate in the Customer Transformation Accelerator where I help you  take shortcuts and avoid tricky pitfalls as you work towards your customer aspirations.

Hands-on advice

Let's roll up our sleeves by bringing me in as strategic advisor or operational guide on your journey to customer-centric excellence. Limited to a few clients per year.  

Real success stories

Wondering how this strategic talk turns into action? Dive into some real-world stories by clicking on the titles below.

For a more complete list, check out my about page. Would your business fit this list?
Luxury automotive
Since 2006 we have regularly helped Lexus reinvent the luxury automotive experience. The brand's programmes have raised the industry's bar in Europe, LATAM, the Middle East and Asia and drove continuous growth.

​In late 2021, we helped the company with a  Journey of Inspiration to start its next experiential design drive.
STEEL WIRE & COATING 
With a global leader in steel wires and coating we co-created and introduced an internationally aligned set of customer promises linked to their new brand identity.

In spite of a challenging economic climate, these will help the business differentiate by bringing to life its brand promise. 
INSURANCE
When the insurance giant Generali Group decided to establish new customer experience standards, they aimed for more than merely 'meeting expectations'.

So after reviewing global customer voice data and looking at key consumer trends we worked with a global, cross-functional team of experience champions to define a clear Generali difference at every stage of the customer relationship.

Thus creating a platform for short- and long-term differentiation.
BEAUTY & WELLNESS
To enter its next phase of growth and increase customer loyalty, we helped the global beauty and wellness company Oriflame create a set of customer promises that would truly differentiate it from any direct sales company on the planet.

We are currently assisting the different functions and markets to turn these promises into 'customer noticeable' activities.
EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
To increase employee engagement with a strategic change, we helped Toyota Motors Europe reconsider its work experience at every stage of the employee relationship.
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The final design balanced the employee's needs with the (behavioural) goals of the business.
WORK AS AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE
For a London based global HQ, we asked a team of architects, experience designers and neuroscientists to reimagine work as an immersive experience.

The resulting mix of spaces, stories and behaviours created an office concept that both attracts talent and encourages it to live the company values.
DEATH CARE
Triggered by a strong societal need, we dug deep into what Gen X consumer needs to reimagine the Western funeral for more meaning, sustainability and mental health.

The concept experience that ensued is currently developed into a series of micro-ventures that can transform key elements of death care. 
Electronics & medical company (Net promoter)
When Philips International pioneered the Net Promoter System in the electronics and medical industry, we helped them roll it out across 65 countries and multiple B2C and B2B segments. Being one of the first in the world to internationally turn recommendation feedback into profit.

Are you ready for customer-centric transformation?

Then let's have virtual coffee ☕️.
​Even if we don't do business, we're sure to have an interesting conversation.
​

​Frequently asked questions

To help you clarify whether we should talk, I'm including a few answers on questions I get frequently.
DO YOU PERSONALLY work on all projects?
YES. I tried the traditional consultancy route, in which I showed up as 'senior partner' and then disappeared to let teams do the work. But it left both my clients and myself wanting. So I decided to only work with a handful of clients at any given point in time.

Ocasionally, I work alone. Where needed, I involve associates who are specialised in one or more domains of relevance. But I am ALWAYS hands-on, in every project. And I will be there when it matters. 
How long will a project take
It all depends on your needs. For actual impact, I personally prefer sprints of ca. 100-120 days. This is long enough to avoid rushing, but short enough to fit the corporate desire for visible progress. Not to mention in a hundred days, the world can change twice over.

So, even if you're working on a multi-year transformation, I'll typically recommend focusing on getting a next tangible deliverable in the next 3-4 months. 
Which methodology do you use
A friend once called me 'method-agnostic' as I like to mix and match methodologies based on the organisational context and situation. As long as it achieves the result and moves the people in your business to action, I'm happy to work with anything. And if at some point we need that data science ninja or agile scaling expert, we'll get them.

how many employees have you got
Zero. While I can activate up to 100 associates in a wide variety of specialisations, I employ no one but myself.

This is a deliberate choice, as I learned the hard way that a fixed payroll gets in the way of doing what is right for the customer (i.e. do I sell you more consulting to pay someone's salary, or do I do what adds most value?). 

So I activate associates at variable cost, when they add project value. And deactivate them, when they stop adding value. Or when you can do the work yourself. 
Why should we choose you over another consultancy
Well, maybe you shouldn't. It depends on your needs.

If you seek a big words consultant who uses Gantt-charts, long workshops and lot's of PowerPoint graphs, I can recommend some people who are really good. 

I'm the guy you call if you want to play for results. People tell me I'm great at listening and aligning. At simplification. At getting people excited about implementation. At being a maverick, while staying politically correct. At not accepting mediocrity. And yes, if needed, we can make those Gantt-charts and PowerPoint presentations happen.

So get in touch if you want honesty and a no-nonsense approach that returns to the essence of customer-centricity and transformation.  I'm convinced that we'll get along just fine. 
WHO ARE THE TRANSFORMATION ARCHITECTS
It's my other business, which is the world's first transformative​ experience innovation studio. It helps organisations unlock opportunities for new growth and profit through transformative experience innovation. While I help you transform your business, The Transformation Architects help you transform your industry.  

You can find more information on: ​https://www.thetransformationarchitects.com/

Not yet ready to have a conversation?

​Then read my mind

Subscribe to my monthly newsletter with exclusive content or check out my blog and videos.

Shall we do this?

If you've made it this far down the page, we should probably talk.
​Let's have that virtual coffee! ☕️

“If your people want to be customer-centric, your business will be customer-centric.

​This makes your main task as a leader to inspire and empower.”