Customer Experience 404

Leo Prada from #MeetLeosContacts is on the show! Today is a special interview as Leo has announced the end of his unique program. Over the last year Leo has invited people he is connected with on LinkedIn to send him a video of themselves. He then shares that video to his over 20.000 followers. I wanted to grab Leo this week to reflect on the last year and share some of his highlights with me. Some of the points we spoke about: Where did you get the idea? Do you remember who sent you the first video? Was the whole exercise worth it for you? Any moments which stand out for you? Thank you Leo for being such a great guy. Sharing is caring and that is a motto which very much applies to Leo. Leo Links: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/goodbye-now-leo-prada https://meetleoscontacts.ar/#about

Cristin Cornell Tarr is a professor of branding, marketing, and customer experience at the University of Denver. I wanted to learn more about how branding plays a role in #CX or customer experience, particularly online experiences. I come away with lots to think about and to work on. I hope you enjoy this episode. A couple of follow up notes: Clarification on the Mozembique story - IDE and Scetec were discussing opportunities to work together after the introduction- not sure what actually transpired after our initial contact A proposal at DU for a customer experience course in the Spring is under review at this time but not on the course schedule yet.

Nigel and I worked together for over 15 years. We had big corporate jobs which took us around the world a few times. A bit embarrassing looking back on it but, well, those were the times. Today Nigel, like me, has downsized his organization focussing on local but also small businesses as well as startups. We talk about his web design and social management services he offers. ⚜️ What are some of the challenges these businesses have? ⚜️ Why a website is important for a small business? ⚜️ How does he market his business today? Basically, I wanted to talk with another startup owner to learn a few things and that was my honest motivation for asking him on the podcast.

I met Will on Twitter when I began learning about Notion.We talk about Notion in this podcast and Descript & Click-Up as applications which let you be more productive. Will is all about improving productivity as well as making music. We talk about: How an app like Descript can make you a podcaster and easy! How productivity apps can give you peace of mind His experience making templates and learning SEO If money were not a question which career would he choose? Check it out!

I had interviewed Stephen last September so, why again? I wanted to deliver a customer testimonial; personally. I wanted to close a loop which began when I met him in his offices for that first interview. Rodeo Labs makes custom bikes, the gravel type. Oh, and no motors! I have come to love to watch their customers around the world showing how they put their Donkeys to work; some competitive but more just adventurous. Check out their Instagram account if you want a taste. This time I ask Stephen how the last 9 months have been. Building bikes which depend on a global supply chain has been very challenging. I was curious how things have changed. How was his trip to Armenia and what plans he has there for 2023. What has he learned over the last year?

What experiences have you made with your insurance company? Perhaps you have never needed to contact them and that's great. But when that time comes, how will they handle your case? Ruth Fisk brings more than three decades of experience in the insurance industry to her role as the VP, Insurance Strategy at Smart Communications. Our conversation starts with a recent experience she made herself. Not to give away the punchline, Her reaction and next actions even surprised her! I came away from this interview having learned many new ideas of interacting with today's customers. While she is in the deep end with insurance her examples can be carried over to almost any other industry. Examples like: How can you increase the numbers of “touch points” with your customers? How a inteligent form processing can save you money AND improve the experiences of your customers AND employees?

Social media and public service. Wow. This sounds like an exciting episode, I know. But hang on! This really gets into the meat and potatoes of making social media work for you! Russel Lolacher has been in social media from the beginning also in his role of director of web and social media services for the BC ministry of transportation and infrastructure. In 2021 his team was put into a challenging position as the entire province of British Columbia was and they rose to the challenge. Russel shares real experiences and tactics of how they put social media to work for them and the broader public.

Libraries. What do they mean to you? Me, it's been a while and when I need a change of scenery it is usually a coffee shop. I spent a week in March 2022 working from a library in Florida. Yeah, sun was shining and I still went almost every day to get work done. I recorded 3 podcasts while there as well. Today, I spoke with Sabrina Bernat, Executive Director of Winter Park Library. The timing couldn't have been better. Winter Park is an Orlando suburb and opened a new library in December 2021 and what a doozy it is. Star architect designed it and together with its Civic Center it is an architectual beauty set next to a lake and park right near Park Avenue, the strip, of Winter Park. I ask a patron (Michael) of the library at the top of the podcast why he (23 year old college senior) went recently to the library and his is the story the library can tell every day. Providing information and the tools to do what you cannot do yourself. What is civic service it and its importance to the community is hard to measure. Thank you to Sabrina and team for welcoming me into the library and allowing me to experience what every patron or member can as well.

ICYMI - Interview from October 2020 Adrian Swinscoe is a punk; a real punk. He has his two feet on the ground but doesn't shy away from telling others what it is whether from the stage, through his books or in conversation and workshops; “pull your damn socks up!”. This is what makes Adrian engaging, his knowledge, his grounded outlook but also his passion for improving service and customer experiences. He calls himself a Service and Experience Anthropologist. Wish I had thought of that.

What do you do when you have amassed over 20,000 connections on LinkedIn? That is exactly what Leo Prada was thinking when he began his #MeetLeosContacts program. Leo now offers his status to any of his connections to let them pitch themselves to the broader community. Leo has not always been this generous. He was forced a hard pivot in his career and it has paid off! But that is not the only thing we talk about during this New Normal interview. We also cover: What it was like in 2020 being separated from his family for 7 months when the world shut down? What tools does Leo use at Solvd to communicate with his teams across the globe? What is behind his MEET LEOS CONTACTS? Do you want to superpower your LinkedIn presence? Then you need to listen to his #1 LinkedIn tip!

I spoke with Maarten Copini European Practice Lead running the Customer Experience practice at NTT. We talk about the state of Employees and how many are just burned out and how the new “leaders” who have adapted their ways to consumers during the pandemic will be leading the way when this ends. He has vast experience working within organizations to make change while also seeing the Challenges those changes face. Often leading to “let's cut some corners” thinking to just please the boss. We also talk about what the past 2 years of change mean going forward. Will this be the New Normal? Will we go back to many of our previous ways? Impact of the pandemic on CX and EX Gap between (boardroom) strategy and day-to-day reality for customers and employees How digitisation (automation, AI, etc.) can and should improve the lives of employees and customers Thank you Maarten for this interview! Maarten's LinksLinks to recent NTT reports: 2021 Global Workplace Report | NTT Crossing the CX divide | NTT (global.ntt) (Global CX Benchmarking Report) Maarten's Articles: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cx-perspective-building-digital-ecosystem-insurers-maarten-copini/ https://www.linkedin.com/posts/maartencopini_pandemic-cx-ex-activity-6892056950641606656-cQuW Maarten's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maartencopini/ My LinksNewsletter & more: https://digital-done-right.com/glad-youre-here

Why can Starbucks sell a $7 cup of coffee? Why did you binge Netflix knowing you had classes in the morning? Why are you so dedicated to that fitness trainer? We, as humans, react to stimuli. We react to things we see but also might not. The field of behavioural psychology is full of concepts which are applied to influence our daily decisions. My guest today is Jen Clinehens of Choice Hacking. In this episode we talk about what principle got her on to her exercise bike this week. How bias plays a role when doing user research. Tips for a podcaster on how to grow the subscribers and get them to interact. If you want a free chapter of her book just go to choicehacking.com/book to get it. Questions

I interviewed Amber in July 2020. Today it is the end of January 2022. If you listen to the episode you will hear me at the end say I want to get this show out quickly, faster than normal. ICYMI as I am finally releasing what was a really wonderful conversation I had now after all this time. We were earlyish into the pandemic, getting adjusted to a more stay-at-home lifestyle. Some things have changed but the points we discussed have all aged well. My guest today is Amber Naslund Enterprise Sales Leader at LinkedIn. In this interview we talk about: A now 11 year old book she wrote with Jay Baer and the social telephone and how CX on social is doing. Then I have Amber talk to me about Imposter Syndrome Then we pivot to LinkedIn and talk about what people get wrong on LinkedIn and what lesson they should take away from the podcast. Follow her on LinkedIn for interesting insights on all things LinkedIn. Guests Links Imposter Syndrome https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/imposter-syndrome-paradox-knowledge-amber-naslund/ "Booked more speaking gigs in 2020 than I did all of last year" https://twitter.com/AmberCadabra/status/1214594394147430401 About Digital.Done.Right. It is a global education and consulting platform on a mission to get companies and organizations comfortable engaging with the digital world to: ✅ Attract today's digital consumer 
 ✅ Design more engaging digital experiences 
✅ Drive growth, conversion, and sales across the customer/user journey Our mission is all about informing and getting the word out on how the digital divide can be bridged. Working with organisations, small businesses as well as corporations we develop strategies to address the agile customer communications of today and how these can be tamed for maximal business value. https://digital-done-right.com/what-i-do

This is an admission, an admission of failure. I have many podcast interviews sitting on my hard drive for many months which I have not published. I've not even finished processing them. I feel bad that I have done that. I took people's time and didn't deliver. I am making a promise in the next weeks to get everyone of them published. That is my promise and I am making it public. Next content from me will be fun, interesting and always exploring the designing of excellent experiences. Thank you for being here.

Executive Producer | Communicate Your Why Podcast Network I connected with Ben over LinkedIn in 2019 as I was giving away PUNK CX by Adrian Swinscoe and Ben had won a copy. As I mention in more detail during the interview I never really checked out what he did. That is until this summer. As Executive Producer for the Communicate Your Why Podcast Network I had to learn more. And I went down the proverbial rabbit hole of his website and publications. Ben, like me, believe in the ‘why' in people. Also early adopters of Simon Sinek's (Start With Why) but Ben has taken it much further. He helps people to find their why and then to share that to others. His podcast network has professional podcasters from differing backgrounds working with clients to write their story, tell their why, and generate content for publications or sharing on social media. Truly a podcast network. One concept he has is “give me 4 hours or your time and I will give you a years worth of social media content”. Anyone who is into content generation will know you spend more than 4 hours a year! The idea for that he gleaned from Gary Vaynerchuck podcast which I also think I had heard. Ben has taken that into his business and made it a success. If anyone here is interested in getting your podcasting game into shape, follow the link below to his free “30-day to launch podcast checklist”. Really fun talking with him and I am sure to circle around again soon to go deeper on some of the topics. Enjoy! Guests LinksWebsite https://communicateyourwhy.com Launch a podcast https://communicateyourwhy.com/30-day-launch/ Social links https://www.linkedin.com/in/yourbrandmarketing/ My LinksMy most recent blogpost at https://www.andrewfmaher.com

I got a chance to speak with Howard Tiersky. Howard is CEO and Founder of FROM. FROM, The Digital Transformation Agency and we talked about Digital Transformation, Innovation and why these buzz words matter but also don't really matter. Howard has been working with many really big name industries and has helped them make the changes necessary to adjust or rebuild their business to stay relevant. He has published a book "Winning Digital Customers: The Antidote to Irrelevance" which is a Wall Street Journal Bestseller. When the opportunity to speak with Howard came across my desk I was like "yeah! of course I would". One takeaway from the conversation was the fact that many perhaps most businesses are behind the curve on addressing their customers digital needs and that those who have a vision for transformation need to not hold back. If you are working in a business or consulting a business and have certain insights into what is working less than optimal then speak up! I hope you enjoy this podcast. I know I certainly did. Guests LinksWebsite https://www.from.digital Howard's Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/winning-digital-customers/id1535975495 My LinksMy most recent blogpost at https://digital-done-right.com/newnormalblog Spotify Linkhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/3WUVumpkK0RIRKBUnQ5m9f?si=399e32cbac75497b Apple Podcasthttps://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/new-normal-designing-great-experiences/id599434958?l=en&i=1000527225434 LinkedIn Posthttps://www.linkedin.com/posts/andrewfmaher_newnormalpodcast-innovation-cxstrategy-activity-6815650938762604544-ibDd

This time I traveled to Brooklyn, NY to meet a bike shop owner. Yeah, a guy selling bikes in NYC. This conversation is one I am really excited about as Chris Nolte sold me my current e-bike. Yes, all the way from NYC to Germany he sold me my bike. Well, not that he gets any commission for it, still he sold it to me. Chris uses video and YouTube to tell the story of e-bikes, what they are, who they are for and why you should consider getting "back" on a bike. While our backgrounds with bikes are very different, our mission is similar - get people outdoors, enjoying the environment they are in and along with the people they are with. You'll hear it in the interview, but Chris made a series of videos in 2020 on the latest e-bikes which were. hitting the market. 2020 was getting tougher to get to bike shops and "look around". Chris covered the bike I own now in such a competent manner and with such a likable style that by the time I went to my local shop I knew everything about but the bike and only needed the test ride. I "got to know" Chris via his YouTube videos and reached out to him for this interview. Of course he said "sure, let's do this". So, here is that interview from September in an office in the Naval Yards of Brooklyn, NYC. Enjoy! More about Propel Bikes Website https://propelbikes.com YouTube https://youtu.be/eK5wrCR2uK8 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/propelbikes/ More about Andrew Website https://digital-done-right.com Blog https://digital-done-right.com/newnormalblog

I got to talk with Daniel Saffioti, Deputy Chief Information and Digital Officer, Western Sydney University and Nick Smith, GM of APAC, Smart Communications, on how they took the traditional application processes online and not only that, made them Smarter! We talked about the challenges WSU had especially during Covid and how they applied SmartIQ to streamline their processes while improving the student's experience. Right up my alley for sure. Taking the traditional way of doing business and making it digital-first! Daniel even brings in the Simpson's along to way to make it very clear what the challenge was and how they addressed it. Hope you enjoy this episode. Links to Daniel's posts https://www.linkedin.com/posts/smart-communications._smartiq-western-sydney-university-activity-6800593854564179968-x9s3 https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/4400580/wollongong-man-builds-radio-network-to-get-nbn-access/ More information on Smart Communication https://smartcommunications.com More about Andrew My most recent blogpost at https://www.andrewfmaher.com

Colorado Tour 3/3(sorry, first bit of audio is not my best) Introducing Stephen This interview took some time and some prep. I was pointed to Stephen at Rodeo Adventure Labs by a previous interview guest back in April. This is part of my ‚thing‘. I ask my guests to suggest another person I might ask for an interview. It is never a guarantee but I am batting 1000 so far. Dave who suggested this interview knew my interest in bikes and all and felt I should branch out of my comfort zone; ergo Rodeo Labs. Dave told me to check out their Instagram account to catch up on what they are up to and i did. Oh boy, that shook me. Yeah, right I am a biker who rides to my guest for interviews and that might be somewhat unique but when I saw these guys and gals on the Rodeo IG I felt really small. Ok, maybe some of you might think „come on Andrew what intimidates you?“ and you'd be right. I saw Rodeo ‚donkeys‘ being ridden up crazy mountains in far flung places, riding up glaciers (well that was my memory of it) and just riding like crazy their Rodeo Labs bikes. I felt a bit ‚uncomfortable‘ like what do I ask these folks? What do I an eBike riding podcaster have to ask and be relevant? Then I began my research. Research for me is the most important phase of my podcast process. It is the point where all makes it or breaks it. If I am not prepped for the person I am interviewing I will be asking flat questions with little chance of followup or interest from the guest. This is the same most important phase in „user experience design“. Learning about the person in question, the user attempting to make a booking through an app or someone looking for reviews on a particular site. If you don't really understand what motivates your ‚user‘ you will miss the point, miss the objective or in my case blow an interview. What I found when looking into Rodeo and Stephen was a company and a movement active since 2014 and much of this was happening on Instagram. The posts there were numerous (over 4000) and many were reposts from their ‚users‘ or better bike owners. I began to see there was a thing going on here. I dove into many of the posts to see ‚how deep‘ the conversation went and soon saw that there was genuine interest in the Rodeo movement and the reason many of us throw a leg over the saddle and ride into the distance. So in July I took the chance and wrote a very impersonal email using their ‚contact us‘ form. Gosh I felt this is so not the way to connect and ask for someone's time but what else did I have? Two hours later Stephen responded with „love the idea“ and even commented on my second patent I had earned. So he went to my LinkedIn and saw my recent post on exactly that! OK, we are now on 2nd base for sure. A few main exchanges later we had a date, the 13th of September at Rodeo Adventure Labs HQ in Denver Colorado. I won‘t detail the interview as that is available on all usual podcast sites but I wanted to share this point: don't doubt yourself. Stephen mentioned that he had recently challenged a few others to come on to his podcast to discuss an important point and he was a bit unnerved. To that Stephen, do the due diligence and find out a few things on your guests as you already know the main subject at hand. Read some of their writings and the comments which might follow. There are great insights to be found. Just like in my prep for today. Three months it took but it was worth it. Don't doubt yourself. Do the work. Payoff will then follow. But then he knows that as he climbs the uncharted mountain roads in Armenia. Yeah, that is where is he, right now! Ride on and ride safe.

This podcast is about designing digital experiences Colorado Tour 2/3 Introducing Dave Skiba Today I get to talk with an old colleague and friend and great supporter of my innovation and leisure life and was instrumental to my 2 US patents during a previous time we worked together. David Skiba is a true innovator and as you know if you have listened to this podcast I always ask my guests about innovation and what this means to them. Dave holds over 100 US patents and has more in line. For over 10 years he has been busy learning, experimenting and innovating in the digital communication space. He and I were early acolytes in social media and introducing this to businesses. Today Dave is Head of Product at Koopid. Koopid is a digital communication and automation company and in full disclosure, I do work with them from time to time, so apologize any bias. As I learned from another interview guest a few weeks back, James Brown at Smart Communications, that innovation or transformation is iterative, always moving forward. That is where this conversation goes and we will certainly come back together at some point and see how wrong or right we were. Updates / News This is another interview I conducted on my Colorado tour in September 2021. As a biker/podcaster I do commit to a challenge of biking to my guests, sometimes causing my ability of producing a quality podcast due to the challenges of biking, weather and others. My first interview with Ajay was during new heat records being recorded in Boulder Colorado and my relatively short ride to him and back had me totally cooked. It was Uber Eats for me as I was not moving any more after that day. Here I am only a few days later on another bike at 10000 feet with little oxygen and tired legs still wanting to talk to people. Why do I do it? Through my recent conversations I am beginning to stretch out where my interests in learning what people are doing with digital. During my conversation with Ajay and digital signage we talked about the importance of non-verbal communication and the role it has in creating positive experiences. This has me wondering, where is the relationship between communications and experiences and where does digital play a role. Questions #1 After my interview with Ajay recently where we talked about the nonverbal communication also in the digital space, what is the relationship between communications and experiences and where does digital play a role? #2 Innovation during lockdown. digital times change the way innovating works? #3 Back in early 2018 I interviewed you and you spoke about the "singular focus" you have at Koopid, has it remained that way? #4 You and I had a standing Innovation call most weeks for more than 8 years. Let's talk innovation now. We are both working in the digital experience or communication space. We have worked in Organisations wanting to make great leaps and bounds. In my interview with James Brown from XXX he talked about innovation being iterative. Should we be focused on smaller iterative steps along the progress line or are there any larger leaps to be expected? #5 What does 'innovation' mean to you?

Colorado Tour 1/3 Ajay Kapoor some of my listeners and readers of the blog will know. And to get it out there right up front of all the people I worked for during my career he was by far the #1 leader. He taught me to challenge the traditional thinking and approached I had learned/adopted from others and in 2010 helped me really get into the digital communication space. Today Ajay is CEO of Touchsource a digital signage company. I will let him give a better introduction to Touchsource and it mission. Interesting for me was in preparing for this I was looking for the digital communication angle which is my core interest. Of course their products are digital and they communicate with its users or those who come into contact with them. Ajay shares a few examples during this interview. Check out the links in the show notes to their site and have a look at what they are doing. It is really interesting to see and hear about. Updates / NewsI promised in a previous podcast that I was documenting my podcasting process and yes, that is true but little has been seen to date. Do not fret as it is coming. Those of you who follow me on social media will know this but for this interview I traveled to Lafayette Colorado and of course, there was a bike included. Well, not only for this one interview but honestly I would have done that too! I am here for a few interviews and meetings then headed off to my next US location for more, but you will have to stay subscribed to learn where that takes me. My New Normal was always about me getting to talk with interesting people about what they have learned in the digital communication space. This episode totally fits that description and was a joy for me to have the time with Ajay outdoors at the Touchsource office. Enough of me just talking and off to the interview. Enjoy! Questions#1 What is Touchsource? #2 As this is an audio podcast, what examples could you describe for those listening so they get a better idea of what Touchsource produces. What problem does Touchsource solve for its clients? #3 What challenging ideas have your clients come up with over the last 18 months? #4 You just had your "all hands" meeting with your team here in Lafayette. This time in masks as the current protocols require. What have been some of the challenges for you and your team in communicating with others during this time? What has worked well and what does meet up to its promise? #5 Back to the digital signage space what is coming next? #6 What does 'innovation' mean to you? Guests LinksWebsite www.touchsource.com Instagram @touchsourcellc My LinksMy most recent blogpost at https://www.digital-done-right.com

This is a different podcast format from what I usually do as it was spontaneous but timely. I connected with Mark Fletcher via Zoom as I was hoping to meet him on my recent trip through NYC. I had made a video where he was the person in the story back in August and wanted to talk to him about that. I'll cut through to the chase and get into my chat with Mark Fletcher. And yes, I will get back to NYC soon and will connect with Mark; promise! That video we talk about: https://youtu.be/4q8K5RuI1m8 QuestionsMy 4m34s video from August 2021 (Damn you Social Media) has gotten over 3300 views, 50+ comments and I didn't count how many DMs I have gotten. I have also had 4 coffee invites I have taken folks up on and many more to come. What do you think got so many people activated? What does 'innovation' mean to you? Guests LinksWebsite https://inform.911inform.com Social https://www.linkedin.com/company/911inform Fletch! https://www.linkedin.com/in/fletch911/ My LinksMy most recent blogpost at https://digital-done-right.com

Daniel Ord is Founder and Director of OmniTouch International and has spent 30 years in the CX arena. Daniel is first and foremost a teacher. A true teacher at universities & colleagues as well as teaching his clients the foundations of building a successful customer focussed business. He had to take his business 100% online which was a big learning curve for him and the team but will he go back? You'll have to listen in! Daniel also answers the question of the state of CX in 2021 with, there are so many amateurs out there. Many with lots of years of experience but no real training. He preaches the need for a more systematic approach to learning Customer Experience Management and the building of terrific CX teams. QUESTIONS#1 You have 20K followers on LI and 100 recommendations and most are just glowing. What is your secret? Any tips for others? #2 What was it like to move all your training sessions online? Good, bad... #3 What is the state of CX today compared with 10 years ago? #4 What one mistake do you see being made today which should be fixed? #5 What does 'innovation' mean to you? GUESTS LINKSWebsite http://www.omnitouchinternational.com/ Social links https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellawrenceord/ MY LINKSMy most recent blogpost at https://www.andrewfmaher.com PodBike Episodes on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChW53Drrao371m-uGFMik3g SPOTIFY LINKhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/3WUVumpkK0RIRKBUnQ5m9f?si=399e32cbac75497b APPLE PODCASThttps://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/new-normal-designing-great-experiences/id599434958?l=en&i=1000527225434

Todays guest is James Brown, no not that one, but this James is CEO of Smart Communications. We talk about how to manage todays conversations and make them personalised and at scale. Also we talk about why digital transformation is hard and also is never over. And i ask him what his parents think of his choice of studies. UPDATES / NEWSIt is July and planning is starting to happen. I have a number of trips coming up, the first ones since October last year. Subscribe to the podcast or newsletter or YouTube channel if you want to keep up with me and see and hear where I am going. There is almost always a bicycle involved. The podbike is on the road and final testing is happening in the next 2 weeks. This will make me very mobile and able to go just about anywhere to meet people and record interviews. Very excited about that. WHAT I HAVE BEEN UP TOI read a NYT article this last weekend about how there is a generational gap in primary work tools. "Will Gen Zers free the world from email?" For those 30 and above, email was a top tool used for collaboration. For those under 30 it was Google Docs followed by Zoom and iMessage. https://www.fastcompany.com/90509588/in-the-new-age-of-remote-work-people-under-30-might-finally-kill-email QUESTIONSJames Brown, CEO Smart Communications Smart Communications™ is the only provider of a customer conversations management platform, so what is a "customer conversations management platform"? TODAY IT IS ABOUT HAVING A HIGHLY PERSONALISED CONVERSATION WITH A CONSUMER THROUGH THE CHANNEL THEY CHOSE AT THE TIME THEY WANT. CCM IS HOW YOU TRANSFORM THOSE INDIVIDUAL CONVERSATIONS INTO PERSONALISED CONVERSATIONS AT SCALE. What is digital transformation and why do companies have a hard time of embracing digital? DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IS ITERATIVE, IT IS CONSTANTLY EVOLVING. What were some of the challenges Smart and your clients had in 2020? You studied Biochemistry, and now are in the SaaS world, how did that happen? What does innovation mean to you? GUESTS LINKSWebsite https://smartcommunications.com More on James https://smartcommunications.com/james-brown/ MY LINKSMy most recent blogpost at https://www.andrewfmaher.com LINKS TO MY PODCASTApple Podcasts Spotify

This took a while. I know that it is not good podcasting to begin a show sharing my screen with my guest and talking about it. I know better but this had to be done. To see what I shared with Annette follow the link to the blogpost I wrote and it can be found there. Basically, it took almost a decade for me to get this guest on my show and it was worth the wait. I hope you enjoy this very CX design and experience-focussed exchange with Annette Franz. She shares a recent, really CX-positive experience which surprised her and will certainly be using again. Listen in! Updates I had been totally engulfed in my Google UX Design certification course, which I successfully finished in May. The final project was to present my portfolio on the web and you can find a link to that on my webpage. (link below)Summer has really begun which means I get out more on my bicycle and travel around. I am still a bit tethered awaiting my status of fully vaccinated.Making plans for travels has begun and I am excited! I am lining up some interview guests in various countries where I will be traveling to them! That was always the plan with Zoom as the backup. So, I am getting really giddy about where I will go, who I will see and what we will talk about. Questions Why are so many CXes broken?What suggestions do you have for those in business who want to make change or suggest to their management changes that could be made?When do real users (customer) get involved in the process?How do we make this more of a thing? This value of good CX?Do you see companies doing anything differently in CX since this situation began in 2020? Guests LinksWebsite https://cx-journey.com Book https://www.amazon.com/Customer-Understanding-Three-Experience-Business/dp/1686886810/ Twitter https://twitter.com/annettefranz My LinksMy most recent blogpost at https://www.andrewfmaher.com

Once again I had the chance to speak with Andrew Prokop about the ever changing digital communication space. He is an inventor, educator and a fascinating person to listen to. Hope you find this episode as enjoyable as I did. UpdatesI have been learning UI designing while building new communication modules. I've spent the last 2 weeks working in a UI design tool mostly making mistakes and having to undo what I had done the previous days. Very frustrating however challenging task. I wrote a blogpost on my website (link below) about this experience and how my customer and user experience background might be holding me up. Looking for the new challenge is one of my lessons from the last year and that is aas well for my guest this week. Although, he has not done this just recently but his entire career. I connected with Andrew Prokop once again and while he didn't become the professor he wanted to, he shares and teaches others - constantly. This is a new episode and I have a backlog of interviews from last year I will be working through in the coming weeks. Your comments, feedback and support are always well received. QuestionsNow being a year since this global event has affected all of us: What has changed for you? What do you think AI & bots will practically do for us? You've been working more recently in the collaboration space, what is new? You recently posted that you suffer from post success letdown. How does that effect you. ClosingAndrew, you rebranded your website from the SIP Adventures to Tao, Zen and Tomorrow and now you're writing about SIP again...but we will take that to the next interview. LinksMy most recent blogpost on UI from a CX/UX view https://www.andrewfmaher.com Links to Andrew Prokop's sites: https://andrewjprokop.wordpress.com/ https://www.nojitter.com/author/andrew-prokop https://www.youtube.com/user/ajprokop/featured https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-prokop-631bab10/

Heck, everyone has had an unusual last year. I am finally coming back with new episodes and some interviews I made last year as the world seemed crumbling together. Today's episode is about my reflection from the last 30 or so years. I made this in January and came to an unusual conclusion. Hope you enjoy the episode.

This is just a brief episode which is possibly better to see the video version but I talk about the new Corona Warn App which came out this week in Germany. It has been now only 2 days and almost 8 million downloads in activations have happened.  I will revisit this application over the course of the summer to share how it have been accepted and what effect, if any, it has had. f4MiRk55uPIIcUGXPC21

This is just a brief episode which is possibly better to see the video version but I talk about the new Corona Warn App which came out this week in Germany. It has been now only 2 days and almost 8 million downloads in activations have happened.  I will revisit this application over the course of the summer to share how it have been accepted and what effect, if any, it has had.

Tim Gogal has been in the customer experience (CX) industry for a long time and like me is frustrated with the state of affairs. We recorded this interview right in the middle of a pandemic which is challenging industries to rethink how they approach delivering excellent customer experiences. Tim shares a number of his experiences when working with clients large and small.  Join me on another episode of New Normal where I cover people working in the world of designing Experiences.  

Tim Gogal has been in the customer experience (CX) industry for a long time and like me is frustrated with the state of affairs. We recorded this interview right in the middle of a pandemic which is challenging industries to rethink how they approach delivering excellent customer experiences. Tim shares a number of his experiences when working with clients large and small.  Join me on another episode of New Normal where I cover people working in the world of designing Experiences.  

Andrew Prokop has been CEBPing for over 20 years. I did have to jog his memory during this interview but it is true. Whether TAPI, CEBP, bot and web services he has seen most all and still is full of ideas for today's businesses.  I have had the chance to interview Andrew over the years and always come away more informed. He feels this is that trigger many businesses needed to recognise that digital, or the internet in general is really important to their business. He shares what might still be holding some back and where the change needs to come from.  Enjoy this episode of 'New Normal' and please subscribe and tell a friend or two. If you have ideas of what I might bring onto the podcast in the future, drop me a note.

Andrew Prokop has been CEBPing for over 20 years. I did have to jog his memory during this interview but it is true. Whether TAPI, CEBP, bot and web services he has seen most all and still is full of ideas for today's businesses.  I have had the chance to interview Andrew over the years and always come away more informed. He feels this is that trigger many businesses needed to recognise that digital, or the internet in general is really important to their business. He shares what might still be holding some back and where the change needs to come from.  Enjoy this episode of 'New Normal' and please subscribe and tell a friend or two. If you have ideas of what I might bring onto the podcast in the future, drop me a note.

Nate Brown is a first-timer on the podcast but was on an interview with me last year. He is always focused on the experience created no matter where he is or what he is working on. Nate is passionate about the people he works with and knows how to build engaging teams of employees even when those are distributed across the map. We cover how to manage those distributed teams, what it is really like to work in some of those beehives of offices and really, what this virus might just bring all of us - improved customer experiences.

Nate Brown is a first-timer on the podcast but was on an interview with me last year. He is always focused on the experience created no matter where he is or what he is working on. Nate is passionate about the people he works with and knows how to build engaging teams of employees even when those are distributed across the map. We cover how to manage those distributed teams, what it is really like to work in some of those beehives of offices and really, what this virus might just bring all of us - improved customer experiences.

Tobias Goebel - Digital transformation: It took a virus? NN07

Interview date: 27. September 2013 Paul Dunay loves marketing and has his own unique approach to it. He also has a nose for data and has been looking closely into how data and the customer experience play a role together. This is why he made an ideal interview partner on this CX404 show. Paul is a well known and recognised B2B marketer and is Global VP for Marketing at Maxymiser who specialises in web optimisation and analytics. Here some of the points covered in the interview: Having worked across a broad section of companies from startups to large corporations. What have you learned from those large or small in their challenges when approaching the online client/customer? You recently blogged about 6 Tips for Turning Big Data into Great CX. LINK  But data and the subject of Big Data is everywhere today like Social Media was being hyped 4 to 5 years ago. What role might all this data play in improving the customer experience? Check out this study just done this year and some of the interesting findings. http://go.maxymiser.com/MobileRetailStudy2013_web.html Many companies are creating Voice of the Customer VOC roles in their businesses to address the need of today's customer. What data would be important for these roles and where might it come from? What one suggestion would you give to a brand, business owner, digital media team, customer experience manager, who might be listening to this now on how they might improve the digital customer experience?

Interview date: 27. September 2013 Paul Dunay loves marketing and has his own unique approach to it. He also has a nose for data and has been looking closely into how data and the customer experience play a role together. This is why he made an ideal interview partner on this CX404 show. Paul is a well known and recognised B2B marketer and is Global VP for Marketing at Maxymiser who specialises in web optimisation and analytics. Here some of the points covered in the interview: Having worked across a broad section of companies from startups to large corporations. What have you learned from those large or small in their challenges when approaching the online client/customer? You recently blogged about 6 Tips for Turning Big Data into Great CX. LINK  But data and the subject of Big Data is everywhere today like Social Media was being hyped 4 to 5 years ago. What role might all this data play in improving the customer experience? Check out this study just done this year and some of the interesting findings. http://go.maxymiser.com/MobileRetailStudy2013_web.html Many companies are creating Voice of the Customer VOC roles in their businesses to address the need of today's customer. What data would be important for these roles and where might it come from? What one suggestion would you give to a brand, business owner, digital media team, customer experience manager, who might be listening to this now on how they might improve the digital customer experience?

Kate Nasser is "The People Skills Coach" and makes it a point to not let us forget how important those skills are when delivering customer service. In this wonderful exchange with Kate we discuss how these skills extend into the digital world of services.

Kate Nasser is "The People Skills Coach" and makes it a point to not let us forget how important those skills are when delivering customer service. In this wonderful exchange with Kate we discuss how these skills extend into the digital world of services.

Russel Lolacher and I have a similar illness, we see every interaction people have with companies and think about how it could have been done differently or better. Sometimes, we are surprised at what we see. A previous girlfriend got tired of listening to his analysis and so he decided to start blogging. The Upsell is his place to capture all those experiences but also share them with the rest of us. In this episode of the CX404 we talk to Russel about the customer experience and particularly how situational awareness plays a role in the whole experience.

Russel Lolacher and I have a similar illness, we see every interaction people have with companies and think about how it could have been done differently or better. Sometimes, we are surprised at what we see. A previous girlfriend got tired of listening to his analysis and so he decided to start blogging. The Upsell is his place to capture all those experiences but also share them with the rest of us. In this episode of the CX404 we talk to Russel about the customer experience and particularly how situational awareness plays a role in the whole experience.

David McQuillen has spent almost 18 years in the customer experience frontier; from the dot com to major financial institution like Credit Suisse and OCBC running their customer experience programs. He shares with us his experiences of what challenges those companies have in addressing the modern customer as well as how this prepared him to run his own digital business.

David McQuillen has spent almost 18 years in the customer experience frontier; from the dot com to major financial institution like Credit Suisse and OCBC running their customer experience programs. He shares with us his experiences of what challenges those companies have in addressing the modern customer as well as how this prepared him to run his own digital business.

This episode came from a video interview of Shai Berger of Fonolo. We talk about how they are able to add a layer into the fabric companies already have to improve the customer experience. Plus some hope for 2013 and scoop on their upcoming new customer. Improving the Customer Experience? An interview with Fonolo's CEO Shai Berger Companies are having a hard time in delivering good service. Berger: There is this growing gap in what is seen as the norm on one side but has not been met from the other. Many companies are hobbled by legacy call center equipment. Customers today using their phones, their smart phones it must seem like something from another era when they finally come through to an agent and have to repeat their answers to multiple agents. There is a huge potential here. What part of this experience is Fonolo trying to address? Berger:There are 3 main problems; phone menus, waiting on hold & repeating information to agents. We are working to solve these main problems across the web no matter how they approach the companies. How does Fonolo fit into this mix? Where does Fonolo play? Berger: We build on top of those processes already in place. There is a huge investment already in place and we place ourselves on top. the key to make that work is the simple callback. Fonolo sits in the middle to manage that process. One way this is done is by placing a widget on the website. the customer sees the contact us page and the visual interface  let s the customer chose how they want to interact with the company and ask for a callback when they are ready. Behind the scene is Fonolo making the inbound call to the call center. The call center sees the call like any other inbound call.  We navigate the IVR and wait in queue. The agent gets a regular inbound call, we place the callback then to the customer, bridge the two together and the customer has this great experience and nothing had to change on the call center side. So there's little change or no change on the contact center side needed? Berger: Right, people have set up Fonolo in a matter of days. The customer adds the widget to the website and Fonolo navigates the IVR as a gateway to the call center. The same is the case for mobile apps. Lots of companies have mobile apps. This is a huge trend in customer service. You can add a Fonolo component to the mobile app it does the same process. It is a visual representation of the IVR. They tap the choice they need and some time later a callback is made to the customer. So, this is a solution which does not sit on premise right? Berger: It is a cloud based service which makes it easy to deploy and makes pricing very low. We have companies with 5 agents which use our solution at $100/month. This is nothing really new. There are solutions from Avaya "Callback Assist" and Cisco has "Courtesy Callback" but these have been totally out of reach for smaller companies. These are much too expensive for them and here at Fonolo we wanted to make this the "norm" for them as well. Come back to the top, you mentioned this 2013 would be a watershed year in customer care. What do you think will make for change this year? Berger: There are a few macro trends playing here and one of the big ones is the smart phone revolution. We've hit a tipping point with just a few months ago we've passed 50% smart phone penetration here in the US. So, when a platform becomes so ubiquitous it is hard for companies to ignore the kind of advantages you can have for your company by using this platform. I always cringe when I got to a mobile app which has all this functionality and then there is a "contact us" tab and they just have their regular phone number. You are throwing away all the functionality that platform is giving you. So my vision is that within a few years there should be no smart phone apps doing this anymore. If you have a smartphone app it should be a lot smarter than just displaying the 1800 number What is your wish for 2013? Berger: We need a change in attitude among the larger companies. The bigger banks, airlines, retailer need to recognise this value, We have had a long trend of looking for the cheapest way to serve customers. We need to see a change to invest in the technology and enable the agents to better serve the customer.   How we can find out more about Fonolo. http://fonolo.com/

This episode came from a video interview of Shai Berger of Fonolo. We talk about how they are able to add a layer into the fabric companies already have to improve the customer experience. Plus some hope for 2013 and scoop on their upcoming new customer. Improving the Customer Experience? An interview with Fonolo's CEO Shai Berger Companies are having a hard time in delivering good service. Berger: There is this growing gap in what is seen as the norm on one side but has not been met from the other. Many companies are hobbled by legacy call center equipment. Customers today using their phones, their smart phones it must seem like something from another era when they finally come through to an agent and have to repeat their answers to multiple agents. There is a huge potential here. What part of this experience is Fonolo trying to address? Berger:There are 3 main problems; phone menus, waiting on hold & repeating information to agents. We are working to solve these main problems across the web no matter how they approach the companies. How does Fonolo fit into this mix? Where does Fonolo play? Berger: We build on top of those processes already in place. There is a huge investment already in place and we place ourselves on top. the key to make that work is the simple callback. Fonolo sits in the middle to manage that process. One way this is done is by placing a widget on the website. the customer sees the contact us page and the visual interface  let s the customer chose how they want to interact with the company and ask for a callback when they are ready. Behind the scene is Fonolo making the inbound call to the call center. The call center sees the call like any other inbound call.  We navigate the IVR and wait in queue. The agent gets a regular inbound call, we place the callback then to the customer, bridge the two together and the customer has this great experience and nothing had to change on the call center side. So there's little change or no change on the contact center side needed? Berger: Right, people have set up Fonolo in a matter of days. The customer adds the widget to the website and Fonolo navigates the IVR as a gateway to the call center. The same is the case for mobile apps. Lots of companies have mobile apps. This is a huge trend in customer service. You can add a Fonolo component to the mobile app it does the same process. It is a visual representation of the IVR. They tap the choice they need and some time later a callback is made to the customer. So, this is a solution which does not sit on premise right? Berger: It is a cloud based service which makes it easy to deploy and makes pricing very low. We have companies with 5 agents which use our solution at $100/month. This is nothing really new. There are solutions from Avaya "Callback Assist" and Cisco has "Courtesy Callback" but these have been totally out of reach for smaller companies. These are much too expensive for them and here at Fonolo we wanted to make this the "norm" for them as well. Come back to the top, you mentioned this 2013 would be a watershed year in customer care. What do you think will make for change this year? Berger: There are a few macro trends playing here and one of the big ones is the smart phone revolution. We've hit a tipping point with just a few months ago we've passed 50% smart phone penetration here in the US. So, when a platform becomes so ubiquitous it is hard for companies to ignore the kind of advantages you can have for your company by using this platform. I always cringe when I got to a mobile app which has all this functionality and then there is a "contact us" tab and they just have their regular phone number. You are throwing away all the functionality that platform is giving you. So my vision is that within a few years there should be no smart phone apps doing this anymore. If you have a smartphone app it should be a lot smarter than just displaying the 1800 number What is your wish for 2013? Berger: We need a change in attitude among the larger companies. The bigger banks, airlines, retailer need to recognise this value, We have had a long trend of looking for the cheapest way to serve customers. We need to see a change to invest in the technology and enable the agents to better serve the customer.   How we can find out more about Fonolo. http://fonolo.com/

Customer Experience 404 with Andrew Maher is a podcast series that brings to light the challenges of delivering excellent digital customer service. We invite industry leaders from around the world to share with us their secret hot sauce - their secrets to solving the digital divide.

Customer Experience 404 with Andrew Maher is a podcast series that brings to light the challenges of delivering excellent digital customer service. We invite industry leaders from around the world to share with us their secret hot sauce - their secrets to solving the digital divide.