EP 8 - Brenda Wensil: How Customer Experience Strategies and Methodologies Improved the Experience of Borrowers in the Federal Student Aid Program

In this episode of The CX Tipping Point Podcast, Brenda Wensil shares her experience coming into the government as the first Chief Customer Officer at the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid during the banking crisis in the US.  Brenda came into the government from the financial services industry to put a focus on borrowers as customers by making the process simpler throughout the journey - from beginning to end  at a time when student loans were Brenda shares the importance of a Chief Customer Officer having a seat at the table with the budget and finance people, with the information technology people and the risk officers to have everyone in one place solving customer issues.  She shares the importance of knowing when to fund something separately versus integrating your efforts into existing funded initiatives.  Due to the lack of credible data in one place to make decisions, her first hire was for a customer data analytics expert. The role of data became really important and drove many important decisions to be made that would have been impossible without it.  Other topics included the creation of a social media platform, the role of communications to the borrowers throughout their journey, how qualitative and quantitative data were used to make decisions and understand the borrowers, and how communications and marketing can improve the adoption of government programs. Learn her final recommendation for what makes a difference when problems arise that need to be escalated.Thank you for listening to this episode of The CX Tipping Point Podcast! If you enjoyed it, please consider subscribing, rating, and leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners!Stay Connected:Follow us on social media:LinkedIn: @DorrisConsultingInternationalTwitter: @DorrisConsultngFacebook: @DCInternationalResources Mentioned:Citizen Services Newsletter2024 Service to the Citizen Awards Nomination Form