What does it mean to be customer-centric in a world where expectations are shifting, technology is accelerating, and transformation is unfolding at national scale?

For Matt Watkinson, it starts with something more elemental: what it means to be human.

Ahead of his keynote at EXP KSA and a series of speaking engagements across the GCC, we sat down with Matt: award-winning author, designer, and one of the most influential voices in customer experience today.

In this conversation, he reflects on how his definition of CX has evolved, what genuine human-centricity demands from leaders, and why building motorcycles at 200 km/h might be the best metaphor for strategic clarity.

You’ve worked with organizations around the world. How do you define customer experience today and how has that changed?

That’s a great question, because over the last fifteen years or so I have changed my mind a fair amount on that as my working practice has developed.

I used to think of the customer experience as the sum of all the interactions a customer has with a brand, and in quite a literal sense that is true. But this definition doesn’t really lend itself that well to pragmatic action.

Nowadays I tend to think of customer experience as taking a longitudinal view vs the typical vertical departmental one and considering how things may be better integrated.

To explain what I mean, most organizations have many vertical disciplines: sales, marketing, training, product development, IT, operations, customer service, etc. We cannot reinvent those structures, nor should we aspire to or try to “take ownership” of all these things — that’s been shown to be a disastrous approach.

Instead, we should be looking at how we can marry these things up, integrate them better, facilitate conversations, make sure the brand image corresponds to the brand reality, and shield customers from the complexity of the org chart, rather than forcing them to navigate it themselves.

You’re speaking at EXP KSA on your first book, The Ten Principles Behind Great Customer Experiences. Why does that still resonate so strongly, especially in a market like the GCC?

That’s a great question, because over the last fifteen years or so I have changed my mind a fair amount on that as my working practice has developed.

I used to think of the customer experience as the sum of all the interactions a customer has with a brand, and in quite a literal sense that is true. But this definition doesn’t really lend itself that well to pragmatic action.

Nowadays I tend to think of customer experience as taking a longitudinal view vs the typical vertical departmental one and considering how things may be better integrated.

To explain what I mean, most organizations have many vertical disciplines: sales, marketing, training, product development, IT, operations, customer service, etc. We cannot reinvent those structures, nor should we aspire to or try to “take ownership” of all these things — that’s been shown to be a disastrous approach.

Instead, we should be looking at how we can marry these things up, integrate them better, facilitate conversations, make sure the brand image corresponds to the brand reality, and shield customers from the complexity of the org chart, rather than forcing them to navigate it themselves.

Human-centricity is a buzzword in many strategies. What does it actually mean to you?

It is not my preferred term, because I like to think of a business or organization holistically, where we are constantly making trade-offs between desirability for the customer, profitability for the owners, and longevity of the entity or brand. In this sense an organization doesn’t really have “centricity” around any one thing.

But the spirit of the term is easy to explain, in fact I recently explained it to my six-year-old son who didn’t understand why if I own my business, I can’t just do whatever I want. Well, I told him, I still have a boss and that is the customer, and they can fire me any day they like.

The point is that the long-term prosperity of a business requires constantly creating value for the customer amid changing expectations and competitive threats. Without customers you have no business. Putting the customer’s wants, needs and expectations at the fore when making decisions is just good sense.

What challenges do you see in making that shift inside organizations?

There are many challenges. It’s easy to say but remarkably hard to do. Some of it is operational and political, some of it is cultural antibodies protesting. Some of it is just human nature. Some of it is incentives, rewards and leadership. Some of it is the nebulous nature of the term “customer experience” which can mean a million things to a million people. I look forward to exploring these challenges with your audiences and suggesting some answers!

You’ve delivered keynotes globally and worked with clients from Microsoft and Vodafone to Jumeirah and Bupa. What excites you about being part of the CX conversation in the GCC now?

We have been very fortunate to expand our presence as a design agency and CX consultancy within the region and have attracted some enviable clients already. It is very exciting to be in such a dynamic, fast-paced environment where there is so much change underway and opportunity for all concerned. Ultimately what makes this job rewarding is that we help organizations to thrive by creating more value for their customers. It is always a win: win if you get it right, and there is tremendous scope to do that here, in a place where people have the ambition and spirit to really get things done.

Outside of work, you’re known for some pretty creative passions from music to motorcycles. Do those interests shape the way you think about experience?

They shape the way I think about my work in many ways, but I think the overarching themes are that I remain stubbornly pragmatic and committed to quality.

If you are building a racing motorcycle that can do 200 km/h in second gear, you need to know that you’ve put it together correctly. You need to have tested it. You need to be sure that the brakes will stop you at the end of the straight. You can’t just talk about it in slides or point at it on a plan. You have to do things properly or you get hurt. Things have to work.

The sort of attention to detail, pragmatism and focus on the big picture you learn from these sorts of projects is invaluable in my work.

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