Today, we’re joined by Babul Balakrishnan, Head of Customer Experience at Thunes, on Behind the Mic as we explore his perspective on CX Innovation and the future of AI in Customer Engagement.

Babul is currently leading the Customer Experience Operations team at Thunes. In his role, he oversees teams that focus on enhancing how they support and engage customers, always with an eye for improving loyalty and service quality. Babul enjoys looking at problems from new angles and is always keen to explore innovative solutions that benefit both customers and his company.

We had the opportunity to speak with Babul Balakrishnan, and here are his insights on customer experience, innovation, and the evolving role of CX in today’s digital landscape.

Q1. What motivated you to pursue a career in customer experience, and what key steps did you take to enter this field?

My stint very early in my career in customer service was instrumental in helping me see things from the customer’s lens. It taught me to walk in their shoes, understand their context, and then relay that voice internally to help eliminate pain points. That mindset stuck with me and evolved into a deep passion—not just to advocate for customers, but to drive that thinking across the organisation. I now believe firmly that if something doesn’t add value to the customer, we should question why we’re doing it.

Q2. How have you leveraged emerging technologies such as AI, machine learning, and blockchain to enhance customer experience in your organization?

We’re currently in an experimental phase with AI. Like many organisations, we’re exploring how it can assist—not replace—our workforce by optimising specific tasks. But before we could even think of deploying AI meaningfully, we had to confront the unglamorous truth: messy data. So our first step has been to get our data in order—well-structured, organised, and reliable—so that whatever we build on top of it adds real value and doesn’t just create noise.

Q3. What are some of the most significant challenges you've faced in improving customer experience from a product management perspective, and how did you overcome them?

One of the biggest challenges has been ensuring that CX doesn’t become an afterthought in the product lifecycle. We’ve tackled this by getting involved early in the development journey—asking the right questions upfront, spotting friction before it becomes feedback, and streamlining flows so that both the customer experience and our internal support needs are reduced. It’s about shifting left—catching issues early and designing with the customer in mind.

Q4. What role does customer feedback play in your product development process, and how do you gather and incorporate it effectively?

Customer feedback is central. It comes in from multiple channels—CX interactions, account teams, support logs, and even indirect signals repeated queries. What makes it effective is how we action it: frontline teams can raise and escalate issues quickly, dedicated squads provide interim workarounds, and Product then closes the loop with lasting fixes. Feedback isn’t just heard—it’s operationalised.

Q5. What strategies have you found most effective in delivering exceptional customer experiences through your products and services?

First, we treat CX as an organisational mindset, not a department. Everyone is responsible. Second, we empower teams—if someone spots something broken, they have the tools and authority to raise it and get it fixed. And third, we close the feedback loop fast. This kind of agility, combined with accountability and empathy, consistently improves our CX outcomes.

Q6. Which methodologies or frameworks do you use to prioritize feature development and ensure alignment with customer needs and business goals?

We work in agile sprints, which is just a fancy way of saying “we try not to boil the ocean.” When it comes to prioritisation, we look at two things: what’s on fire right now (customer pain, compliance, or something that broke because someone got clever), and what’s going to move the needle for the business.
It’s a constant balancing act—urgent vs. important, tactical fixes vs. strategic bets. We do have frameworks (value vs. effort, must-have vs. nice-to-have), but mostly, we rely on a good dose of common sense and a brutally honest conversation.

Q7. How do you collaborate with cross-functional teams, such as engineering, design, and marketing, to ensure seamless customer experiences?

We work like a well-meaning family on a group holiday—different preferences, same destination. CX, Product, Engineering, and Marketing all bring their own quirks and expertise, but the real magic happens when we sit in the same room (or virtual call) and obsess about the same customer problem.
CX brings the reality check—what customers actually experience, not what we wish they experienced. Product translates that into what we should be doing, Engineering tells us what we can actually do, and Marketing makes it sound delightful enough that people want to try it.

Q8. How do you balance the need for innovation with the necessity of maintaining user-friendliness in your products?

Innovation is great until it gives your users an existential crisis. We’ve all seen those features that look impressive in a pitch deck but make people scream into their keyboards. So our rule is: just because you can do something clever doesn’t mean you should.
We start with what people are trying to get done. In fintech, that usually means something serious—sending money, making payments, keeping things secure. If we can make that smoother, faster, or less annoying, that’s real innovation.
We ask: will this feature actually make someone’s life easier? Will it save them a few clicks, a few minutes, or a few headaches? If yes, great. If not, back to the drawing board.

Q9. How do you stay updated with the latest trends and developments in customer experience and product management?

I stay connected through a mix of industry newsletters, peer networks, and attending conferences. But some of the best learning comes from listening to our customers and teams—they’re often ahead of the curve in telling us what’s broken or where expectations are shifting. I also follow thought leaders across CX, UX, and Product to stay sharp and grounded in what really matters.

Conclusion

Through the above conversation, it’s evident that delivering exceptional customer experiences isn’t just a job—it’s a mindset. With a strong foundation in customer service and a commitment to continuous improvement, Babul brings both strategic thinking and practical execution to the evolving CX landscape. Whether it’s harnessing AI responsibly, embedding customer feedback into product development, or aligning cross-functional teams with a shared sense of purpose, their approach is grounded in empathy, agility, and real-world impact. As they rightly put it—if it doesn’t add value to the customer, it’s worth questioning.

“We hope these insights offered you a closer look into what it takes to drive meaningful customer experiences today. Stay tuned for more such Behind the Mic editions!!”