What if negative customer experiences matter more than you think—impacting your bottom line far beyond any single complaint or glowing review?

In the latest episode of the Delighted Customers podcast, we dive into why negative experiences carry outsized influence on customer loyalty and business revenue. Many leaders mistakenly chase the most frequent irritants, but as our guest explains, it’s not about quantity—it’s about which problems have the greatest financial impact. If you're a CX leader struggling to prove the ROI of your work, you’ll want to tune in for innovative strategies that bridge the gap between customer insights and business results.

Why listen to this episode? Paula Courtney, President of the Verde Group, is a global authority on customer retention and quantifying the financial risk of customer experience missteps. With over 30 years of research published in BusinessWeek, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review, Paula brings a unique, science-backed approach to identifying the most consequential pain points in your customer journey. Her team’s methods have helped organizations around the world—across 35 countries—focus investments where they count and avoid common CX measurement pitfalls.

Here are three engaging questions Paula answers on this episode:

• Why do negative experiences have a disproportionate effect on customer behavior—and what psychological principles drive this phenomenon?

• What critical missteps do organizations make by relying on “applause meter” surveys and chasing the wrong metrics?

• How can leaders accurately quantify the financial risk of negative experiences and build a rock-solid business case for CX investment in the boardroom?

Don’t miss this essential conversation for anyone seeking to transform their customer experience—and get buy-in from the C-suite. Listen to the episode now and subscribe so you never miss insights from top industry leaders.

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Meet Paula Courtney

Paula Courtney is the President of the Verde Group, a global market research consultancy specializing in customer retention and the quantification of customer experience ROI. For over three decades, she has led the development of research methods that help organizations not only identify but truly measure the economic impact of customer experiences—especially the negative ones most likely to drive churn. Paula’s expertise has been featured in prominent outlets such as BusinessWeek, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review. Her work is rooted in psychology, utilizing principles like negativity bias and loss aversion, and grounded in data science to separate “noise” from actionable insights. An international leader, Paula and her team have supported customer-centric transformation in over 35 countries, providing business leaders with tools to prioritize investments and foster real, financially measurable change.

Learn more about Paula and the Verde Group at https://verdegroup.com
Connect with Paula Courtney on LinkedIn: Paula Courtney LinkedIn

Show Notes & References

• Verde Group: Website and Resources

• Monthly newsletter, research blogs, and case studies: Available on Verde Group’s website

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What’s the secret to building unshakeable trust with your customers—especially when you’re not face-to-face and your product passes through layers before it ever reaches the end user?

That question has been top of mind for me, and it’s exactly why I was so excited to sit down with Lisa Schwartz, Chief Operating Officer of Mathematica, on the latest episode of the Delighted Customers podcast. If you’ve ever wondered how trust really forms—not just in simple transactions, but in complex relationships where intermediaries stand between your company and your customers—you’re not going to want to miss this conversation. The little things we do, and the way we handle nuanced moments, can echo throughout an entire organization and set the tone for customer loyalty and business success.

I invite you to join me and Lisa as we explore the real-world power of trust. Lisa brings together an incredible mix of deep research, operational leadership, and street-smart experience (from her PhD in Developmental Psychology to her days as a bartender, practicing personalization long before it was a business buzzword). I learned so much from her perspective—she simply “gets it,” blending science, practical application, and genuine emotional intelligence in a way that makes it easy to apply to any customer relationship, no matter your industry or selling channel.

Here are three powerful questions we tackle together on the show:

• How can you demonstrate credibility and reliability when you don’t actually control the front-line customer interactions?

• What are best practices for creating intimacy and lowering self-orientation in situations where direct access to the end user isn’t possible?

• What kinds of small gestures truly move the needle in building lasting customer partnerships and loyalty?

If these are questions you wrestle with—or you want to elevate trust inside and outside your organization—I hope you’ll listen in. Subscribe to Delighted Customers on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or find us on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback and support mean the world to me, and I can’t wait for you to experience what Lisa has to share!

Meet Lisa Schwartz

Lisa Schwartz, Ph.D., is the Chief Operating Officer of Mathematica, a leading research and data consulting firm committed to improving public well-being through evidence-based solutions. With academic roots in developmental psychology (PhD, University of Maryland, College Park), Lisa spent years progressing from project leadership to executive management at Mathematica. Since 2019, she has driven the company’s customer experience strategy across all divisions, spearheading initiatives that blend data-driven objectivity with a client-centric approach. Lisa’s expertise lies in translating academic research into actionable, scalable business practices, all while championing relational trust as the cornerstone of every client journey.

Catch Part 2 of 2 with Lisa on Episode #139!

Connect with Lisa Schwartz on LinkedIn.

Show Notes and References

• Learn more about Mathematica: mathematica.org

• Explore the Gottman Institute’s work on emotional bank accounts: gottman.com

• Read about the Trust Equation from “The Trusted Advisor”: trustedadvisor.com

Meet Lisa

Lisa Schwartz brings 20 years of research and leadership experience to her role as COO at Mathematica, where she guides operational strategy and advances customer experience initiatives. A passionate proponent of evidence-based solutions, Lisa is recognized for blending the objectivity of research with the empathy required for impactful client relationships.

Note: This is Part 1 of a 2-part series

What does it take to create an onboarding experience so powerful that clients can’t imagine working with anyone else?

For executives and customer experience leaders, the onboarding process is much more than an administrative formality—it's the first date, the pivotal moment when a client decides whether to pursue a deeper relationship or walk away. In this episode of the Delighted Customers podcast, Mark Slatin sits down with Lisa Schwartz, COO of Mathematica, to unpack the psychology and structure behind onboarding experiences that build trust, foster loyalty, and drive business results. Lisa draws from her unique blend of research expertise and executive experience to reveal why onboarding is critical for long-term client engagement and how intentional, personal touches can transform a standard process into lasting advocacy.

Why listen to Lisa Schwartz? With a PhD in psychology from the University of Maryland and two decades at Mathematica, Lisa bridges academic rigor with operational excellence. She’s led the company’s customer experience transformation since 2019, skillfully adapting evidence-based practices to real-world client relationships. Lisa's passion for humanizing business, her practical analogies, and her research-backed strategies ensure takeaways for leaders seeking meaningful change in their organizations.

Here are three provocative questions Lisa addresses in this insightful conversation:

• Why does the typical “welcome email” fall drastically short of what true onboarding should accomplish?

• What are the most common myths and pitfalls organizations fall into when designing onboarding experiences?

• How can customer experience leaders use psychological principles—like trust building and emotional “deposits”—to foster client relationships that last for years?

Don’t miss out! Listen to Lisa’s episode of the Delighted Customers podcast and subscribe to get every new insight. Find the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or on any of your favorite podcast platforms.

Meet Lisa Schwartz

Lisa Schwartz, Ph.D., is the Chief Operating Officer of Mathematica, a leading research and data consulting firm committed to improving public well-being through evidence-based solutions. With academic roots in developmental psychology (PhD, University of Maryland, College Park), Lisa spent years progressing from project leadership to executive management at Mathematica. Since 2019, she has driven the company’s customer experience strategy across all divisions, spearheading initiatives that blend data-driven objectivity with a client-centric approach. Lisa’s expertise lies in translating academic research into actionable, scalable business practices, all while championing relational trust as the cornerstone of every client journey.

Catch Part 2 of 2 with Lisa on Episode #139!

Connect with Lisa Schwartz on LinkedIn.

Show Notes and References

• Learn more about Mathematica: mathematica.org

• Explore the Gottman Institute’s work on emotional bank accounts: gottman.com

• Read about the Trust Equation from “The Trusted Advisor”: trustedadvisor.com

Meet Lisa

Lisa Schwartz brings 20 years of research and leadership experience to her role as COO at Mathematica, where she guides operational strategy and advances customer experience initiatives. A passionate proponent of evidence-based solutions, Lisa is recognized for blending the objectivity of research with the empathy required for impactful client relationships.