Customers For Life

As a business owner, don't you often wonder how your customer is feeling at every step of their journey with your organization, across all touch points? Today's guest explains the big dividends of getting immediate feedback in the transaction regardless of whether they purchased or not. This is gold in a time when most customers are indifferent to your offer and will easily go to your competitor. Todd Theisen is the Executive Vice President for Happy Or Not, a simple and intuitive display for your business to measure employee and/or customer satisfaction, monitor the results and engage with your people to improve satisfaction. They are the key to getting your customers and employees to give you the feedback you need to continuously improve,  Listen in as he explains the value of capturing real-time insights. http://www.happy-or-not.com Connect with Todd in Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-theisen-40429a2

If you want your customers to be happy, you have to have employees who are well matched for the task. Matt Levesque runs a sales force that is responsible for nearly 1 billion dollars in sales.  He lends his insights into the hiring process with his 3 golden questions that helps him understand what makes a candidate tick.

Nicole Reyhle is Founder & Editorial Director for Retail Minded publication. She is a Forbes contributor on the subject of retail sales and customer service. Listen in as Nicole shares her 10 best practices for retail success.   www.RetailMinded.com Connect with Nicole in Twitter: @RetailMinded

In this edition of Customers For Life, Louis Efron, Head of Global Employee Engagement at Tesla Motors, shares his secrets for hiring the right people who further the mission of the organization. He is a contributing writer for Forbes and Huffington Post and the author of How to Find a Job, Career and Life You Love. www.LouisEfron.com

There is a big lesson to be learned from farmers. Not the every day guys, but those county fair geeks who grow one ton pumpkins. They hold the secret to explosive growth, and Mike will show you how it applies directly to your business. It’s your turn to grow an award winning, explosive company! By his 35th birthday MIKE MICHALOWICZ(pronounced mi-‘kal-o-wits) had founded and sold two multi-million dollar companies. Confident that he had the formula to success, he became an angel investor… and proceeded to lose his entire fortune. Then he started all over again, driven to find better ways to grow healthy, strong companies. Among other innovative strategies, Mike created the “Profit First Formula”, a way for businesses to ensure profitability from their very next deposit forward. Mike is now running his third million dollar venture, is a former small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal; is the former MSNBC business make-over expert; is a popular keynote speaker on innovative entrepreneurial topics; and is the author of Profit First, The Pumpkin Plan and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, which BusinessWeek deemed “the entrepreneur’s cult classic.” www.MikeMichowicz.com

You can't be customer centric unless you're employee centric. And being employee centric means that you're focusing on connecting at a deeper level with what they personally care and value.  This is what creates an organization of people who are inherintly focused on delivering exceptional customer experiences. There is a direct cause and effect between how your employees are treating your customers and how business owners and managers treat the employees. It's a straight line. Today's guest is Marty Lassen is an expert at emotional intelligence and critical thinking. She is an owner at Complete Intelligence.  Marty has coached hundreds of executives, and is founder of the nationally acclaimed Women's Business Forum. Connect with Marty in Linkedin

In this episode we explore the big dividends behind the world's most inspiring presentations.  Guest Jeremey Donovan is a TED Talk super fan and has studied hundreds of the most popular presentations to understand the elements of the winning formula that moves audiences of any size to get their heads nodding 'yes'. Whether you're presenting to an audience of one or many, Jeremey's framework will help you answer the questions your audience is asking in their minds. Learn more about Jeremey's work at www.speakingsherpa.com Connect with Jeremey in Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremeydonovan

Russell Brunson is a rare breed in the Internet Marketing space. He is an expert and taking very complicated online principles and helping new marketers leverage this tool as a way to grow their business, scale their efforts and increase profitability. He is the founder of DotComSecrets.com and the author of the recently published book (which you can get for FREE) Dot Com Secrets.  Listen in as we explore the big dividends behind creating a markeing plan that is evergreen, meaning the technology will change, that's a given, but your strategy should remain the same.  He'll help you understand how to design an effective strategy. Connect with Russell: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/russbrunson Twitter: @dotcomsecrets

Benjamin Franklin said, "Only two things are certain in life; death and taxes." If you own a business then there is actually one other certainty: You will have at least one unhappy customer. There is big money behind the proper recovery of this customer because they will actually be more loyal to your brand if you take the appropriate steps to manage the next steps.   This is great news!  You've just extended the lifetime value of the customer, they're going to talk about what you did to demonstrate you cared AND you'll learn some pretty interesting stuff about how to improve your offering. Pamela Herrmann shares her 8 steps that every business owner and manager should master. Heck, every employee should master this!

Ever seen this in Twitter? "Thanks for the follow! Download my cool thing. [link]" I have, and it's awkward as hell. I just met you and I'm doing what everyone else is doing -- I'm asking, "What's in it for me? This is a critical mistake most businesses make online because it overlooks a critical step in social networking and that is to building rapport and relationship FIRST before asking me to take an action. Our guest Liz Wendling shares the tips and strategies on how to be normal online and grow your business by using these powerful online tools in a purposeful way.

Our guest Michael Williams, CMO for Grand Prix America, Formula One, has worked in sports marketing his entire career including the NFL, NHL, San Francisco 49ers and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in addition to Disney. In this edition he shares that sports marketing is no different than any other marketing. He's a genius at explaining how he creates a vision for the marketing plan and how he shares that vision with his team and gets them on board with the vision so that they can create can exceptional customer experience. Connect with Michael Williams in Twitter

Storytelling is the great connector, and one of the most powerful tools in a leaders toolbox. Yet few have developed the skill and have leverated it fully to build powerful connections with their employees, customers and business partners. William Black, President of BizRunner.com explains why most leaders miss the mark with their storytelling and shows us that by being an observer in life and showing up as the genuine you is the greatest key to leading an organization.   Connect with William at BizRunner.com or Linkedin

Since the dawn of man, belongingto a group or a community is what kept us safe. It's how we distributed the labor of survival, practiced our religion or had our fun. It's no different today. Where there are like-minded people with a common interest, there is a group. Our guest, Thomas White is an expert at creating groups. He is the CEO of the C-Suite Collective and the C-Suite Network which brings together executives into a group to share ideas, collaborate, unveil the trends and support one another. Thomas explains that for a business, a group is a great way to deliver value in the form of content that serves the membership in a seeting where they begin to know, like and trust you. So whether it is in Facebook, LinkedIn or a blog, bringing people together to serve them first is a phenomenal way to grow your audience and spread the word about your products and services. For more information on how you can attend the C-Suite Network Conference  Connect with Thomas White on Twitter

Today, there are multiple ways we communicate with our customers using technology. Our website, social media, ads, email, etc. But where most businesses miss the mark, and miss the money, is with their ability to tell the story of their business in any sort of compelling way. Copywriting can change the scope of what's hot now, but only if you nail the copwriting. Guest Ben Settle is one of the worlds best email marketers and shares his tips and strategies on how to take your audience on the journey that leads them to buy.  Check out Bens work and improve your copywriting skills at www.BenSettle.com  

By the time most companies get to the point of mapping the customer journey, they are already way behind in the game.  When customer journey mapping should be done is before your build out your solution. Guest Jana Sedivik explains the massive gap that most tech companies encounter in their process of bringing their solution to market. Visit Jana's website, www.AuthenticInsight.com    

The pulse of social media and ratings & review websites are increasingly powerful as more consumers understand that THEY hold the power.  Businesses who are not fully engaged in this vehicle that amplifies your brand is missing the big picture value. Marty McDonald is a pro at helping craft beer and golf courses get their social media on. Check out Marty's work at www.BadRhinoInc.com  

Yet another example of where the 'customer experience' is ruling the school. With Medicare reimbursement being tethered to patients perception of the care received, there is big money on the table that is motivating healthcare providers to put 'care' back into the process.  Consultant Terre Short shares how she works to flatten the org chart and put the patient at the top, instead of the bottom. www.StuderGroup.com

Weldon (Wally) Long is a New York Times & Wall Street Journal Best Seller. He is an expert in the area of business growth by focusing on the simplicity of mindset, the sales process and the consistent application of what needs to get done. www.WeldonLong.com

The days of a website just being a brochure are long gone for those businesses who understand the hidden value of tracking customer behavior on a website.  There is gold to be mined when you understand the basics of website analytics. Our guest, Justin Christianson of Conversion Fanatics explains the simple 'musts' to identify the lost opportunity costs. Follow this link to download Justin's 24-Point Conversion Analysis 

Customer satisfaction surveys or market research surveys are highly valuable to an organization but let's be honest, most consumers would rather just provide that feedback in a ratings & review website like Yelp or in social media.  What actually happens with that data, and where are the missed opportunites for companies when it comes to closing the loop on these requests for feedback? Guest Brian Clark is a customer experience expert with Lenati.com and works with companies like Nike, Starbucks, Expedia & T-Mobile to bring increased sales through exceptional customer experiences.

You have one shot to get it right with a customer; maybe two if you're extremely lucky. Employees who are detached emotionally are extremely damaging to your brand because the assumption customers make is that this employee is a perfect reflection of the brand promise - good or bad.

In this episode special guest Michael Kaleikini, Certified Trainer In American Business Etiquette, explores the best practices and face palms in the language of service. Our casual culture combined with lack of training has led us to using certain language that doesn't work at all in service.  'No problem', 'yup' and 'sure' is lazy language and says much more to the customer about your desire to service. To learn more about Michael's work, please visit his website: www.BusinessEtiquetteUS.com

Greg Hickman is an expert at mobile marketing for businesses and was developing strategies since the early days in 2002 with Cabella's. Today he is a podcaster, global speaker, and blogger on the subject helping businesses of all sizes understand what's working now in consumer behavior and how you make sure your business isn't losing one penny of lost opportunities. www.GregHickman.com

On this episode of Customers For Life, we explore the big dividends developing your businesses story. Listen in as PR expert Heidi Yeranossian shares her decades of experience with some of the largest ad agencies on Madison Avenue and her current work with small and mid-market brands. These are big takeaways that most businesses overlook!  You can reach Heidi Yeranossian at www.MadisonOnMain.com Heidi@MadisonOnMain.com

When you think about every transaction that went off the rails and someone walked away frustrated, angry, disappointed or any other negative emotion out there - the root of this emotional response rests on one simple concept: Unmet expectations. When you are clear on what you deliver and how it's going to be delivered, it minimizes the areas of interpretation.  In this episode we explore how to set proper expectations and hit the reset button when you miss the mark.

Do you hear that dripping? It's the sound of money leaking out of your business. Special guest, branding expert Patty Dominguez shares with us best practices from her experience in marketing with a Fortune 50 company so that you understand your brands super hero power, and how to understand the roots of your brand promise. For more information on Patty's work with businesses of all sizes, visit her website at www.PattyDominguez.com or subscribe to her awesome podcast, Boss Free Society.

Want to retarget your website visitors with advertising like the enterprise level companies do? Small to mid-market businesses now have the ability to run highly targeted ads to their website visitors that is low cost and high converting.  Special guest Jesse Jameson, CEO of Heynow Interactive, shares the latest in Facebook ads that is as simple as embedding a little piece of code on your website.  Listen in!  This is pure gold to driving the prospects and customers back to your website. For more information about Jesse's work, please visit his websites: www.socialmediamanagerpro.com www.heynowinteractive.com

Radio show host and award winning author Dom Testa shares how he manages high touch engagement with his customers that span his multiple businesses endeavors. From hosting a top radio show in Denver with hundreds of thousands of daily listeners, to the many stakeholders of his non-profit foundation, The Big Brain Club, and to the legions of loyal readers of his books, Dom explains how a high touch to customer engagement strategy grows a loyal fan base. His strategies will work for any business out there... it's a choice that pays big dividends.

Drip, drip, drip... that's the sound of money leaking out of your business. Put away the duct tape and bailing wire because in this episode we're going to show you exactly how to increase your sales and profits by investing in one key employee. When you look at your business from the world view of your customer, you begin to see interesting things. Often times, the decision to work with your business is determined at that first touch point, and the employee that is the greatest influencer in the decision making process of your prospect is your often times resting on the shoulders of one of your lowest paying employees.  Who is this mystery person? Invest in this person heavily because they are either winning business for you, or losing it for you.  

The (very abreviated) back story on Pamela Herrmann & Dr. Carrie Rose and how they came to the mission of helping businesses see the truth behind what customers really want.  The format for this podcast is 15-20 minute episodes that include stories, real life experiences, face palm moments, and ultimately the take-aways that you can bring forward into your business for little to no cost. We love talking about this stuff and hope you'll subscribe, comment and share this content with your employees so that they can see that they are critical to the overall success of your company.