Meet Dr. Fabiola Corvera-Stimeling, Founder and CEO of Cocentrum, a company that assists organizations in improving customer experience.
“Success is in front of you, you may not know how far it is, but you will never reach it if you stop”, says Dr. Fabiola, an experienced Customer service professional who is working to integrate the voice of the customer into actionable strategies that drive sustainable growth, market share, and customer retention. She founded Cocentrum in 2019 owing to her passion in the field. It is based in Phoenix, Arizona. She is also the author of “Voiceless Customer: Why Customers Leave”—a book that gives an inside look at service organizations through a customer lens to explain why businesses struggle to serve and retain their customers. Prior to Concentrum, she used to work in marketing and business development for many telecom and insurance companies, where she used to clients and customers through innovative strategies.
Dr. Corvera-Stimeling was born and raised in Mexico City in a family that held education in the highest regard. Following her father’s footsteps, she pursued Electronics and Communications Engineering in Mexico. Back then, she was one of the three women out of 50 students in the batch. She wanted to learn about business and consequently shifted to Chicago for an MBA. She had a difficult time adjusting to life in Chicago as she was not as fluent in English. But over time, she was able to adapt and made this transition a learning opportunity for herself. She connected with some great people who helped her and became her mentor during this time.
She noticed a considerable gap in customer experience and decided to expand her knowledge in the sector with a doctorate from Georgia State University. “My dissertation was the first one to study how to achieve service innovation by improving customer experience. The need for sharing the learnings from my research with the business community led me to write a book. After my book got published, I started getting requests to help organizations at improving their customer experience”, she says. This led her to start her own company and guide these businesses.
Through Cocentrum, she has helped different industries at the strategic and tactical levels. Their clientele includes healthcare systems, professional sports teams, and not-for-profit organizations. They help the businesses improve revenue, service delivery model and retain customers. Dr. Fabiola notes that currently, there is a misunderstanding related to what customer experience is, but she looks at it as an opportunity to make a difference. As a female engineer and entrepreneur, it took time, strength, and perseverance for her to gain the trust of the customers and her fellow team members. She was able to develop a great relationship with them eventually.
They appreciate her approach toward customer satisfaction. She believes that “it always starts with what the customer sees, and that is what informs the strategy”. Her biggest reward is being able to volunteer her expertise to help non-profit organizations improve their customer experience.
Dr. Fabiola’s commitment and relentless ability to learn and solve problems is the reason for her accomplishments. She has come a long way and is constantly working to help more organizations and as a result, the customers. When asked about her ultimate success mantra, she says, “Failure is part of the journey to success. Every failure allows you to learn, and it makes you stronger. What has helped during these challenging times is knowing that God is with me. My husband is also my rock and has supported me through the most challenging times in my personal and professional career”.