Matt Watkinson (US)

Matt Watkinson is a writer, designer, consultant and expert on customer experience. Having worked with some of the world’s biggest brands, he offers meaningful, practical advice on how any organisation should and can put the customer at the heart of what they do.

Matt started his career designing websites and quickly became interested in how people interact with businesses and technology. He realised how many businesses forget what customers ultimately want from both the organisation and from their interaction with them. Whilst still in his twenties Matt distilled his thoughts into his first book. Commissioned by the Financial Times, The Ten Principles Behind Great Customer Experiences became a hit in the business world, winning the CMI’s prestigious Management Book of the Year. His second book, The Grid: The Decision-making Tool for Every Business brings clarity to business decision-making.

In his book and in his presentations Matt delivers practical, jargon-free advice on how any organisation in any sector can improve by understanding, relating to, and impressing their customer. In an approachable, down-to-earth style Matt considers how people live through experiences – not brands or products, and how a company needs to make realistic, believable promises and why traditional research isn't always necessary to answer the question 'what does a customer want from us?.

As both a designer and consultant Matt has worked with leading global brands in automotive, banking, FMCG, healthcare, luxury goods, management consultancy, retail, technology, and even a wheelchair startup. Matt has also written on innovation and entrepreneurship for Wired magazine and the Guardian.