October 15, 2025

Medallia’s Mike Debnar says it is Time to Take Action in the Moment

By David Dungay

At the recent Experience KSA event, the New Metrics experience managment event held with Medallia, CXM spoke to Mike Debnar, VP Retail Executive Advisor, at Medallia, to explore how CX transformation is evolving in the age of real-time data, empowered employees, and connected technology.

Speaking with CXM’s David Dungay shortly after his keynote, Mike shared his insights on why the next generation of customer experience is all about turning insights into immediate action.

From Listening to Acting

According to Debnar, the CX industry has long focused on gathering customer feedback — but that approach is rapidly changing.

“For the longest time, we’ve been in the business of collecting feedback from customers and then reacting to that feedback — often well after the experience happened,” he said. “Now, what we’re trying to do is actually take more action in the moment, so it’s becoming much more action-oriented.”

He explained how new technologies and data systems are enabling brands to respond in real time, creating experiences that feel personal, relevant, and dynamic.

“Imagine you and I are walking through a retailer looking for a product, but we’re on the wrong aisle,” he continued. “We want to use the data and signals about that experience to take action right then — to shape your journey so you can find what you’re looking for. It’s like turning all the analog spaces into websites: data-rich and personalized.”

Four Pillars of CX Success  

In his presentation, Debnar broke down a successful customer experience strategy into four essential pillars that define CX maturity:

• Listening and Understanding Customers – “We’ve largely solved the challenge of listening,” he said. “We’re everywhere customers are.”
• Organizing and Enriching Data – “Bringing together all this disparate data from different sources and enriching it in the Medallia Experience Cloud is key.”
• Sharing Insights Across the Business – “Technology has made it much easier to share insights with employees and leaders — most of the challenges there have gone away.”
• Taking Action – “This is the messiest part,” Dungay admitted. “Once you have the insights, how do you act on them? This is where CX maturity really comes into play.”

The Future of Experience is Real-Time  

As the CX industry matures, Debnar believes the focus will continue to shift from feedback collection to real-time action and empowerment — connecting people, data, and purpose in every interaction.

“The brands that succeed will be the ones that not only listen — but act,” he concluded. “In real time, with purpose, and with people at the centre.”

You can find the entire conversation here.