In 1999, Julian Barton flew to Chicago with a mandate to build a customer experience business from nothing. No local client base, no established team, and a market that had barely heard of the company he was representing.
Two years later, that operation was self-sufficient, turning over $5 million a year and running CX programs for UPS and RadioShack across the United States and Canada. It was Julian’s first real lesson in something he still believes: a CX program only proves itself once it’s tied to a measurable commercial result.That instinct followed him through the next two decades. At Digital Wellness/SP Health Co, Julian spent nine years as General Manager and Global Sales Director, helping grow the business and securing white label partnerships with major international retail and wellness brands.
By the time he joined Feedback ASAP as Executive General Manager in 2016, he’d spent years building and improving CX and sales programs across two continents, and had arrived at the same conclusion Phil had reached a decade earlier: a score on its own changes nothing.
WHAT JULIAN ACTUALLY BELIEVES
Julian’s approach to customer experience is built on four principles he has refined across 17 years of practice: focus on growth rather than scores, engage every member of the team rather than just leadership, explain the why so frontline teams understand the human and commercial impact of what they do, and celebrate consistency and improvement to build lasting momentum.
At Feedback ASAP, he leads new business development, content strategy and go to market execution across Australia and New Zealand, and shapes the strategy for the United States and Canada, drawing directly on the market entry work he did earlier in his career.
BACKGROUND
OUTSIDE WORK
I like pushing beyond what’s comfortable to get remarkable results, in the dojo and on the course. I earned my karate black belt after starting as an adult in 2006, and in recent years, the challenge is to lower the elusive golf handicap at the beautiful Wakehurst Golf Course in Sydney.
Both are pursuits that punish shortcuts; the further you go, the more technical and specific they get. Add in playing four musical instruments, and you’ll understand why work hard play hard isn’t just a line for me. Outside of work and sport, you’ll usually find me looking after the family’s 40 acre farm, which has a way of keeping me honest and grounded.