Process & Approach
Brian Charlonis
“Better than Great” customer experiences don’t happen by accident — they’re built through a thoughtful, data-informed process that bridges user needs with business goals. My approach combines CX research, design thinking, and agile product strategy to drive clarity, alignment, and measurable outcomes.
Empathize & Understand
Start with the Voice of the Customer
Every great experience begins by listening. I lead with research to uncover customer needs, pain points, and motivations. I collect and synthesize quantitative and qualitative insights to uncover unmet needs, friction points, and opportunities across the journey. Whether through interviews, surveys, or data analysis, I make sure the voice of the customer informs every decision.
Methods:
- Stakeholder and SME interviews
- Customer Surveys & NPS analysis
- Journey Mapping & Service Blueprinting
- Digital Behavior Analysis (Google Analytics, Tableau, etc.)
- Call Center & Help Desk data review & text mining
Reimagining the Luxury Apartment Renewal Experience
At AvalonBay, I led primary user and associate research to understand the renewal journey for luxury apartment residents. Our interviews uncovered emotional and operational friction points that directly shaped the design strategy — ultimately improving retention and satisfaction for both residents and leasing associates.
Define & Align
Turn Insight Into Strategy
With insights gathered, I guide stakeholders through aligning on experience principles, business goals, technical constraints, and success metrics. This step ensures clarity and commitment before solutioning begins.
Methods:
- Executive Summary Reports
- Experience KPIs tied to Business OKRs
- Collaborative Alignment Workshops
- Stakeholder alignment workshops
- Experience principles definition
- KPI definition and prioritization
- Feasibility mapping and risk assessment
- Roadmap creation and milestone planning
Real-Time Social Intelligence
At The Coca-Cola Company, I led alignment sessions with marketing, data, and technology stakeholders to define a unified vision for a global social listening platform. We established shared goals around responsiveness and campaign agility, which became the foundation for prioritizing dashboard features and real-time data integrations.
Ideate & Design
Shape Solutions with Stakeholders and Users
With a shared understanding in place, I facilitate ideation and concept development to explore potential solutions. I often collaborate closely with UX, product, and dev teams to balance feasibility with desirability.
Methods:
- Journey-based Solution Sketching
- Rapid Wireframing and Prototyping (Figma, Miro, Adobe XD)
- Stakeholder Co-creation Sessions
- Design Sprints & Prioritization
Design Thinking a Smarter Portal for Financial Professionals
At Prudential, I led ideation sessions to reimagine the B2B partner sales portal experience. Working closely with sales and marketing stakeholders, we co-created wireframes and workflows that addressed critical partner pain points and aligned with the business goal of increasing external engagement and sales conversion.
Test & Iterate
Refine the Experience Through Feedback
Continuous learning is central to effective CX. I support usability testing, A/B testing, and feedback loops to validate assumptions and refine the experience based on real user behavior and needs.
Methods:
- Remote and in-person testing
- A/B and multivariate testing
- VoC feedback loops and rapid iteration
- Behavior analytics and heatmapping
- Post-launch surveys and feature optimization
Reimagining the POS Experience for Vendors & Their Customers
At ATD, I led testing efforts to validate new POS feature sets with in-store vendors. By combining usability testing, stakeholder feedback, and behavioral analytics, we refined the experience in rapid sprints — ultimately increasing efficiency and boosting in-store sales.
Deliver & Measure
Build, Launch, and Track Real Business Value
Execution matters. I work closely with product owners, developers, and CX stakeholders to ensure that customer experience solutions are not only launched, but measured and managed over time.
Methods:
- Agile team collaboration (Jira, Confluence)
- Executive dashboards and reporting
- Post-launch performance reviews
- Feedback loop integration and VOC optimization
Transforming Digital Healthcare Commerce
At Edgepark (Cardinal Health), I guided the eCommerce redesign through agile delivery, working closely with development and QA teams to ensure a smooth launch. Post-launch analytics and VOC insights revealed significant gains in conversion and satisfaction, contributing to over 300% revenue growth.
Adaptable Across Teams and Industries
Whether I’m collaborating with Product Managers, leading workshops with Executives, or diving into data, I help cross-functional teams focus on what matters most, the customer’s experience.
- Agile Product Sprints
- Enterprise-level CX Transformations
- B2B Platform Rollouts
- Omnichannel Service Optimization
- Regulated industry environments (Finance, Insurance, Healthcare)
Want to See More?
Check out how this approach comes to life in real-world projects on my Portfolio, or Connect with me on LinkedIn to discuss how I can help improve your customer experience strategy.
May I Show You My Portfolio?
Say hello and I’ll share the password.