SIMPLE brand With Matt Lyles

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Steven Van Belleghem.Steven is one of the top customer experience thought leaders in the world. He's helped world-leading companies like Disney, Mastercard, Mercedes, and Salesforce learn how to be more customer-centric. And Steven is the author of six bestselling books including his latest - A Diamond in the Rough: Over a 100 Specific Tips to Build a Strong Customer Culture.Here's what we discuss:How to know if your brand is truly customer-centricThe value of adding emotion to customer relationshipsHow details make the difference in your customer experienceThe barriers that keep brands from being customer-centricHow to instill effective empathy in your customer experienceThe secret to customer loyalty is being more loyal to your customersRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Steven's websiteSteven's book - A Diamond in the Rough: Over a 100 Specific Tips to Build a Strong Customer Culture Steven's free resource - How to Become a Shiny Diamond WorkbookSteven's YouTube channel Steven on LinkedInSIMPLE brand Podcast #35 - Create a Customer-Centric Experience

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Michael Hinshaw.Michael's the founder and president of customer experience consultancy McorpCX where they help brands make customer experience easier for their leadership, their people, and their customers. He's recognized on over a dozen "Top Global CX Influencers" lists. And Michael's the co-author of two best-selling books including his latest - Experience Rules! The Experience Operating System (XOS) and 8 Keys to Enable It.Here's what we discuss:Who really defines your customer experienceIt takes more than surveys to understand your customersHow to align silos in your organizationNon-customer facing teams still impact the customer experienceHow your culture drives your customer experience approachRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:McorpCXMichael's book - Experience Rules!: The Experience Operating System (XOS) and 8 Keys to Enable It Michael's book - Smart Customers, Stupid Companies: Why Only Intelligent Companies Will Thrive, and How To Be One of Them Michael on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Tamsen Webster.Part message designer, part English-to-English translator, part magpie, Tamsen helps leaders craft their case for large-scale change. As a sought-after speaker and consultant, she's spent more than 25 years developing the field and practice of persuasive message design, with a particular focus on the principles and processes that build buy-in that lasts.And Tamsen is the author of the best-selling book - Say What They Can't Unhear: The 9 Principles of Lasting Change.Here's what we discuss:Why so many change initiatives fail in the long-termThe biggest mistakes in change communicationHow to understand what's important to your peopleHow co-creation with others leads to more buy-inDealing with antagonists and indifferent stakeholders in your change approachBONUS: Applying change principles as parentsRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Tamsen's websiteTamsen's free resource for you - The Compact CaseTamsen's book - Say What They Can't Unhear: The 9 Principles of Lasting Change Tamsen's book - Find Your Red Thread: Make Your Big Ideas Irresistible Tamsen's Message Design InstituteSIMPLE brand #75: Tamsen Webster – Find Your Red Thread

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Jennifer Kenny.Jennifer is a master of innovation practices having held senior roles to drive innovation for companies like Accenture, Booz Allen, Gartner, Wells Fargo Bank, Cisco, and Stanford Research Institute.Today she works with teams and organizations to help them fuel their innovation, performance, and revenue.And Jennifer is the author of the best-selling book - The Innovation Mindset: A Proven Method to Fuel Performance and Results.Here's what we discuss:How to make innovation a practice instead of sporadic ideationThe barriers that hinder innovation in teamsThe importance of co-inventing and building trust within teamsHow gender balance impacts an organization's innovation capacityJennifer's six-step practice model for fostering innovationHow innovation drives employee satisfaction and retentionRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Jennifer's websiteJennifer's book - The Innovation Mindset: A Proven Method to Fuel Performance and Results Jennifer on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Sean Albertson.Sean is an internationally recognized thought leader, speaker, and transformational coach with 20+ years of leading customer experience initiatives for companies ranging from startups to the Fortune 200.And Sean is the author of the award-winning book - 4ROCKS: Reduce Effort, Drive Loyalty, Transform the Customer Journey.Here's what we discuss:The four types of “rocks” that disrupt your customer experienceHow to find and eliminate the “rocks” from your customer journeyConnecting silos to create a seamless experienceThe need for cross-functional teams to address customer experienceConnecting upstream and downstream effects in your customer journeyThe Colorado DMV's seamless customer experienceRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Sean's websiteSean's book - 4ROCKS: Reduce Effort, Drive Loyalty, Transform the Customer JourneySean on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Aidan McCullen.Aidan is a change consultant and executive coach who helps organizational teams improve how they engage and innovate. He's the host of The Innovation Show podcast.And Aidan's the bestselling author of Undisruptable: A Mindset of Permanent Reinvention for Individuals, Organisations and Life.Here's what we discuss:Overcoming resistance to changeRecognizing change as an opportunity for reinventionThe difference between optimization and true innovationIf you start adapting once you recognize change, it's too lateHow the most successful companies can be disrupted You can't innovate if your employees operate in a culture of fearRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Aidan's websiteAidan's podcast - The Innovation ShowAidan's newsletter - The Thursday ThoughtAidan's book - Undisruptable: A Mindset of Permanent Reinvention for Individuals, Organisations and LifeAidan on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Scott Wozniak.Scott is the founder and CEO of Swoz Consulting where he helps startups, family enterprises, and Fortune 500 companies create raving fans of customers and employees.And Scott's the bestselling author of Make Your Brand Legendary: Create Raving Fans With the Customer Experience Engine.Here's what we discuss:The secret to creating raving fansCustomer Insight is the fuel that powers your customer experience engineOperational excellence is more important than wowing customersA healthy leadership team is needed for excellent customer experienceHow Scott's faith drives his customer experience approachRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Scott's websiteSwoz ConsultingScott's book - Make Your Brand Legendary: Create Raving Fans With the Customer Experience EngineScott on LinkedInGood to Great by Jim CollinsThe Experience Economy by B. Joseph Pine II and James GilmoreNo Rules Rules: Netflix and The Culture of Reinvention by Reed HastingsThe Four Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney and Sean CoveyThe Advantage by Patrick Lencioni

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Erica Keswin.Erica is an international keynote speaker, a bestselling author, and a workplace strategist who partners with some of the most well-known companies in the world. She's one of Marshall Goldsmith's Top 100 Coaches. And Erica's the Wall Street Journal best-selling author of the “Human Workplace Trilogy” that includes Bring Your Human to Work, Rituals Roadmap, and her very latest, The Retention Revolution: 7 Surprising (and Very Human!) Ways to Keep Employees Connected to Your Company.Here's what we discuss:Pretty much everything we know about work has changedThe need to rethink how we approach employee retentionThe value of staying connected with employeesThe right approach to flexibilityHow being intentional avoids employee resentmentThe role of meetings and how they can provide valueWhy middle managers are the MVPsRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Erica's websiteErica's book - The Retention Revolution: 7 Surprising (and Very Human!) Ways to Keep Employees Connected to Your CompanyFive Ways to Embrace Your Humanity in the Age of AIErica on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Ben Guttmann.Ben's a marketing and communications expert who's on a mission to train leaders in effective connection through simplified messaging. Ben's the former co-founder of Digital Natives Group, a professor at Baruch College, and the best-selling author of Simply Put: Why Clear Messages Win - and How to Design Them.Here's what we discuss:Why simplified messaging is necessaryWhy your messages aren't breaking through the noiseThe different roles of communication “senders” and “receivers”How empathy should be used in communicationsThe distinction between “complex” and “complicated” communicationsFive design principles to use when crafting a messageHow to avoid Frankenstein messagingThe value of constraints in creating your messageRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Ben's websiteBen's book - Simply Put: Why Clear Messages Win and How to Design ThemBen's 1,000 Words CheckerBen on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Blake Morgan.Blake is known as the “Queen of CX.” She is a customer experience futurist and one of the top keynote speakers in the world. She's the host of The Modern Customer Podcast and the author of three books, including her latest, The 8 Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership: New Rules for Building a Business Around Today's Customer.Blake and I talk about her blueprint for creating customer-focused leaders and how the customer experience mindset applies both on - and off - the job.Here's what we discuss:Why customer experience must start with leadershipWhy the CX mindset needs to be a lifestyleHow to define customer-centricityThe importance of a simple framework for enacting changeHow leaders can instill the CX mindset in their employeesHow leaders can become customer-experience futuristsUsing customer-focused leader skills as a spouse and parentRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Blake's websiteBlake's book: The 8 Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership: New Rules for Building a Business Around Today's CustomerBlake's podcast: The Modern Customer PodcastBlake on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with David Avrin.David is one of the most popular Customer Experience speakers and consultants in the world.  In fact, over the past 25 years, David has shared his lessons on competitive advantage with leaders and teams from thousands of organizations in 26 countries around the world! And David is the best-selling author of six books including his latest, Ridiculously Easy to Do Business With: A Practical Guide to Giving Customers What They Want, How and When They Want It.David and I talk about how to discover what's causing your customers friction so that you can begin delivering a “ridiculously easy” experience to them.Here's what we discuss:How to move from being competent to being preferableWhy being simple causes you to stand outHow to tell if your policies or procedures are prohibiting an easy customer experienceThe importance of your team knowing what they can do for customersHow to future-proof your businessWhy informal feedback is just as critical as formal feedbackThe value in walking your customer's journeyRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:David's websiteRidiculously Easy to Do Business With: A Practical Guide to Giving Customers What They Want, How and When They Want ItDavid on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with John DiJulius.John is the founder and Chief Revolution Officer of The DiJulius Group, a customer experience consulting firm that helps clients build customer care strategies that lead to happy customers, employees, and shareholders. John has spent decades becoming the authority on building world-class customer and employee experiences. John is the bestselling author of six books, including his newest, The Employee Experience Revolution: Increase Morale, Retain Your Workforce, and Drive Business Growth.John and I talk about the little-known secret of how to become a more profitable company in both the short and long term: happy employees. Here's what we discuss:How we got to the point of “quiet quitting”Why the power of purpose trumps the paycheckThe importance of storytelling in vision-casting a careerHow to make your employees feel as cared for as your customersHow to avoid creating accidental managersWhy onboarding needs to be more than a training classHow to design an employee-specific career journeyThe importance of focusing on the whole person, not just the jobHow the employee experience starts during recruitmentThe “Columbo method” of interviewingRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:John's websiteThe Employee Experience Revolution: Increase Morale, Retain Your Workforce, and Drive Business GrowthJohn on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Ali Cudby.Ali is the CEO of Alignmint Growth Strategies. With over 15 years advising startups and global companies, Ali's specialty is transforming customer experience, increasing customer lifetime value, and building customer loyalty. Ali is also the author of the bestselling book, Keep Your Customers: How to Stop Customer Turnover, Improve Retention and Get Lucrative, Long-Term Loyalty.Ali and I talk through the significant impact customer retention, versus customer acquisition, has on the bottom line and the direct tie between customer experience and customer loyalty. Ali explains her perspective on the different levels of customer loyalty and how to move more of your customers to the highest level of loyalty. Here's what we discuss:How to define customer loyaltyHow to let leaders know that customer loyalty mattersThe different distinctions of customer loyaltyStrategies to take around “bad revenue” customersThe two major components of customer retentionWho within a company owns customer experienceHow to keep an entire company on track with customer experienceThe ideal way to track customer loyalty progressRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Ali's websiteKeep Your Customers: How to Stop Customer Turnover, Improve Retention and Get Lucrative, Long-Term LoyaltyAli on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Steve Woodruff.Known as the "King of Clarity," Steve's passion is helping companies and individuals communicate clearly and effectively. Steve is the author of two books, including his latest, The Point: How to Win with Clarity-Fueled Communications.Steve and I discuss how the use of his "Clarity Fuel Formula" helps communicators break through the noise to quickly grab - and keep - the attention of their audience without creating confusion.Here's what we discuss:How anyone can learn to be a simple, effective communicatorA business's main competitor isn't another business - it's noiseUnderstanding how the brain works is crucial to communicating clearlyWhy seconds matter in gaining your audience's attentionHow jargon and too much information shut down the attention center of the brainWhy assuming your audience shares your same level of knowledge is a critical mistakeThe importance of defining terms to bring clarity to the conversationWhy storytelling and analogies are brain-friendly communication toolsHow poor communication within an organization can lead to a 20% loss in efficiency per weekRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Steve's websiteSteve's book - The Point: How to Win with Clarity-Fueled CommunicationsSteve on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Chris Wallace.Chris is the co-founder and president of InnerView Group - a brand consultancy that helps organizations improve alignment between their frontline teams and their go-to-market strategies.Chris and I chat about how to create a more collaborative relationship with your frontline team and how to get your frontline to care more about your brand.Here's what we discuss:How to move a vision from the C-suite to the frontline teamWhy spoon-feeding the frontline is not a bad thingWhy “asking” is a much better strategy than “telling”How to create evangelists in your frontline employeesHow to put your customer insight into actionWhy influencing your frontline workers is the best way to influence the customerHow your frontline employees double as your customers' best consultantsHow customer and employee experience tie to your company's overall brand and cultureHow to balance digital experiences with the human touch of the frontline RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Chris's websiteA Guide to Frontline Insights - eBookChris on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Derrick Daye.Derrick is the managing partner of The Blake Project, a strategic brand consultancy that helps businesses gain an emotional advantage, a distinctive advantage, and a connective advantage, moving them from brand awareness to brand insistence.He's the founder of Branding Strategy Insider - an online publication to help marketing-oriented leaders and professionals build strong brands.Derrick and I discuss what goes into building a lasting brand that connects with customers and keeps them for the long term.Here's what we discuss:How brand strategy has evolved vs. what has stayed the sameThe best definition of a brandHow to tie brand and business strategy together when starting a brandHow branding and customer experience relateThe best way to build a brandHow to create a strong emotional connection with your customersWhy storytelling is key to the brand conversationRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Derrick's websiteDerek's publication - Branding Strategy InsiderDerrick on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Karin Hurt, author of Courageous Cultures: How to Build Teams of Micro-Innovators, Problem Solvers, and Customer Advocates.Karin is the founder of Let's Grow Leaders, a training firm focused on helping human-centered leaders find clarity in uncertainty, drive innovation, and achieve breakthrough results - without losing their humanity.She's an international keynote speaker. In fact, Inc. Magazine says she's one of the top 100 leadership speakers.And Karin's the bestselling author of four books including Courageous Cultures. Karin and I discuss her lessons to help you create a courageous culture that shares new ideas, proactively solves problems, and generates contributions from all levels.Here's what we discuss:What holds employees back from speaking up and sharing ideasWhy telling your employees you have an “open door” policy isn't enoughWhy creating clarity helps generate better ideasSetting constraints helps employees feel less intimidated to share ideasSteps for building a courageous cultureKarin's IDEA model helps you effectively frame and pitch new ideasThe concept of micro-innovations helps everyone realize that they're innovativeHow to influence a courageous culture in both your team and your leadershipRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Karin's websiteKarin's book - Courageous CulturesKarin on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Sylvie di Giusto, author of Discover Your Fair Advantage: Leverage Your Unique Selling Points and Human Potential for Work, Life, and Business.Sylvie's an international keynote speaker and expert in emotional intelligence, personal image, and leadership. And she's the bestselling author of Discover Your Fair Advantage: Leverage Your Unique Selling Points and Human Potential for Work, Life, and Business.Sylvie and I talk about her lessons to help you leverage all the right gifts and attributes that are unique to you so you can better stand out from the crowd.Here's what we discuss:

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Nancie McDonnell Ruder, author of How Senior Marketers Scale the Heights: What is Still True, More True, & Newly True.Nancie's an executive coach, a leadership advisor, a marketing consultant and the founder of Noetic Consultants where they help companies build their internal marketing strength – so that their external marketing efforts are more focused and more effective.She's an adjunct professor of Integrated Marketing Communications at Georgetown University.And Nancie's the bestselling author of How Senior Marketers Scale the Heights: What is Still True, More True, & Newly True. It's now in its second edition!Nancie and I discuss lessons from her research where she's identified the qualities of senior marketers that help them make it to the top of their field.Here's what we discuss:How brands can strengthen themselves from the inside outHow brands can get the insights they need from internal employeesDelivering on the brand inside your organization creates engaged employeesYou can't fix operational issues with better brandingWhy it's actually valuable to be a “jack of all trades”Psychological safety is a key driver in an innovative cultureNancie's “Art & Science Assessment” helps marketers understand their needed skillsHow to help your peers learn from your own trials and errorsRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Noetic ConsultantsNancie's book - How Senior Marketers Scale the Heights: What is Still True, More True, & Newly TrueNancie on LinkedInNoetic Consultants brand health diagnostic

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Henna Pryor, author of Good Awkward: How to Embrace the Embarrassing and Celebrate the Cringe to Become the Bravest You.Henna's a workplace performance expert, a global keynote speaker, and a two-time TEDx speaker. She's been featured in Forbes, Real Simple, Fast Company, and more. And Henna's the author of Good Awkward. How to Embrace the Embarrassing and Celebrate the Cringe to Become the Bravest You. Henna and I discuss her lessons to help you become a better risk taker; to help you strengthen your mental muscles; and to help you be braver in moments when it really counts.Here's what we discuss:How embracing your awkwardness is good for your personal brandWhy embracing your awkwardness is not just about being comfortable with discomfortHow to reframe our mindsets around awkward situationsHow to build your social muscle for awkwardness toleranceWhy a “bad idea brainstorm” is a good idea to implement in business meetingsHow role-playing and mock interviews actually reduce awkwardnessWhy embracing awkward moments is a strength vs. a weaknessHow to help your kids embrace their own awkwardnessRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Henna's siteHenna's book - Good Awkward: How to Embrace the Embarrassing and Celebrate the Cringe to Become the Bravest YouHenna on LinkedInHenna's Good Awkward Spotify playlist

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Phil Mershon, author of Unforgettable: The Art and Science of Creating Memorable Experiences.Phil's the Director of Experience for Social Media Examiner where he's been designing and delivering amazing event experiences like Social Media Marketing World and the Social Media Success Summit for over a decade.Drawing from over 25 years in creating customized events, Phil's a master at delivering and teaching others how to deliver memorable moments in transformational experiences.Phil and I talk about how to create life-changing experiences that leave a lasting impact on your audience.Here's what we discuss:

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Tiffani Bova, author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller - The Experience Mindset: Changing the Way You Think About Growth.Tiffani's an international keynote speaker and the former global customer growth and innovation evangelist at Salesforce.She's been named twice as one of the top 50 business thinkers in the world by Thinkers50. She's a regular contributor to Forbes, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, and Harvard Business Review.And she's the host of the What's Next! With Tiffani Bova podcast.Tiffani and I discuss the impact your brand has when you place an equal focus on both customer experience and employee experience.Here's what we discuss:How Tiffani defines “happy employees”The fastest way to get customers to love your brand is to get employees to love their job.How a focus on reducing customer effort has created the “CX Delimma” The pandemic shined a light onto the lack of investment brands have made for employeesWhat companies see when they place a simultaneous focus on CX and EXHow to help your employees instill an experience mindset How Best Buy was able to turn things around by placing an equal focus on CX and EXRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Tiffani's siteTiffani's book - The Experience Mindset: Changing the Way You Think About GrowthTiffani's book - Growth IQ: Get Smarter About the Choices that Will Make or Break Your BusinessTiffani's podcast - What's Next! With Tiffani BovaTiffani on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Dave Norton.Dave's the Founder and Principal of Stone Mantel, an insights consultancy focused on helping companies create meaningful experiences for their customers.And he co-hosts the Experience Strategy Podcast where he explores how organizations create deep and meaningful relationships with their customers.Dave and I discuss all the right ways to design your customer experience so that your customers won't see it as time wasted - but rather as time well saved, time well invested, and especially time well spent.Here's what we discuss:With all the apps that promised to help save time, people feel like they have less timeBrands make the mistake of focusing on convenience without considering time spentThe difference among time well spent, time well saved, and time well invested in experiencesHow to be purposeful in focusing on time in your customer experienceFocusing too much on customer segments and personas can limit innovative thinkingMore successful disruptors focus on situations and problems to solve vs a customer personaHow to find out if your customers consider their experience time well spentThe ideal way to pinpoint specific interactions to focus on to make time betterHow to proactively deal with the uncertainty of evolving customer expectationsRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Dave's site - Stone MantelDave's site - The CollaborativesDave's podcast - Experience Strategy PodcastDave on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with David Burkus.David's written six award-winning books. He's delivered three TEDx talks that have been viewed over two million times. He's been featured by the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, USA Today, Fast Company, and more. And he's consistently ranked as one of the top world business thought leaders by thinkers50. David was actually our very first guest on episode 2 talking about how to inspire and align your employees to pick a fight.Then he was back on episode 23 teaching us how to lead from anywhere.This time he's back to discuss his latest book - Best Team Ever: The Surprising Science of High-Performing Teams.Why are some teams more motivated, more innovative, and more successful than others? Why do some groups of talented people actually fall short when compared to teams of less talented people?It comes down to the habits and practices you put in place that bring out the best in your team.David and I discuss how some of the world's most effective teams do this, and we show you how you can do the same with your team.Here's what we discuss:The team that an employee is on is highly correlated to their employee experienceTeam cultures are likely different from the corporate cultureThe three elements that separate high-performing teams from all othersThe talent of your team members doesn't matter as much as you think it doesHow to build a common understanding in your teamBuild psychological safety in your team through Trust, Risk, RespectFocusing on WHO is impacted by your work is a stronger driver than your WHYHow to build your team back up if any high-performing elements break downRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:David's siteDavid's book - Best Team Ever: The Surprising Science of High-Performing TeamsDavid on LinkedInSIMPLE brand #23: David Burkus – Leading From AnywhereSIMPLE brand #2: David Burkus – Inspire And Align Your Employees to Pick A Fight

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Evelyn Starr.Evelyn is an author, brand expert, and marketing consultant with over 25 years of marketing strategy and research experience. She's worked with a number of well-known brands including Hasbro, Gillette, and Dunkin. She specializes in working with “brands in adolescence,” brands that have stalled after their initial success. And Evelyn's the author of Teenage Wastebrand: How Your Brand Can Stop Struggling and Start Scaling.Evelyn and I discuss her lessons from Teenage Wastebrand including the symptoms that adolescent brands display when they hit that awkward phase and start stalling. Fortunately, we also discuss the steps you can take to help your brand navigate through adolescence and come out stronger.Here's what we discuss:Brands should not be a “set it and forget it” approach. They should evolve.Brands are formed in customers' minds based on their experienceHow you can ensure your customers define your brand the way you'd likeWhat causes a brand to stall into “brand adolescence” The different symptoms of brand adolescenceHow brands get into identity crisisThe right way to define your brand purpose and brand attributesHow to help your employees understand minimum requirements versus differentiatorsRecognizing when your brand is self-centered and how to solve thatThe brand your employees receive internally will be the brand they deliver to your customersYour brand values act as a filter for your employees' decisions and actionsRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Evelyn's siteEvelyn's book - Teenage Wastebrand: How Your Brand Can Stop Struggling and Start ScalingEvelyn on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Allen Adamson.Allen's the co-founder and managing partner of Metaforce, a consultancy that takes a disruptive, multidisciplinary approach to help brands grow. He's also an adjunct professor at the Berkeley Center for Entrepreneurship at NYU Stern School of Business.And Allen's the author of a number of bestselling brand strategy books including his latest - Seeing the How: Transforming What People Do, Not Buy, to Gain Market Advantage.Allen and I walk through his eight different lenses to help you understand the best ways to innovate your experience based on your brand, your industry, and most importantly your customer.Here's what we discuss:Before you make a brand promise, make sure your brand has the ability to deliver on itHow brands differentiate themselves has evolved over the past few decadesWhat it means for brands to make people's lives better through experience innovationThe best brands find ways to cut steps out of the normal customer experienceMarketers are here to figure out how to solve problems in their customers' livesAllen's eight lenses for marketers to use to craft and deliver their customer experienceCustomers don't share about an experience unless it's phenomenally good or phenomenally badThe best brands focus in and drill down instead of trying to broaden their reachThe most important word in a marketer's vocabulary is “WHY?”How marketers can enlist other functional areas to focus on customer experienceRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Allen's siteAllen's agency - MetaforceAllen's book - Seeing the How: Transforming What People Do, Not Buy, To Gain Market AdvantageAllen on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Howard Tiersky.Howard is the CEO and Founder of FROM, a digital transformation agency that helps some of the world's largest brands navigate digital transformation and re-invent their customer journeys to earn the love of today's ‘digital customers'.He's named one of the Top 10 Digital Transformation Influencers by IDG Magazine, and one of the Top 100 Customer Success Strategists by Success Coaching.And Howard's the author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller - Winning Digital Customers: The Antidote to Irrelevance.Howard and I discuss why the most valuable companies are known for providing a seamless, digital customer experience. And we discuss his five-step roadmap to help your brand do the same.Here's what we discuss:What drives irrelevance in brands todayEvery interaction a customer has with you forms their perception of the entire experienceHow to earn and keep customer love by helping them feel lovedWhat causes 84% of digital transformations to failHow to get your peer leaders to buy into digital transformationHoward's five-step roadmap for transforming your customer experienceHow focusing on quick wins helps fuel momentum in digital transformationHow to calculate, prioritize and know which quick wins to build in your customer experienceRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Howard's siteHoward's book - Winning Digital Customers: The Antidote to IrrelevanceHoward on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Leslie O'Flahavan.Leslie's the owner and founder of E-WRITE where she helps Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and non-profit organizations learn how to write better for both their customers and their internal audiences.Leslie and I discuss how you can use plain language to simplify your customer experience while setting up your frontline employees for success.Here's what we discuss:How writing in business has changed (not devolved!) over the decadesHow customer experience is like a romantic relationshipHow brands can build up affinity with customers through plain languageThe biggest drivers of complex and boring language form brandsHow to build empathy with customers without increasing legal riskHow to empower frontline employees to incorporate plain language and brand voiceThe need for consistent language and brand voice pre and post-purchaseCan and should empathy be scripted?RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Leslie's siteLeslie on LinkedInLeslie on Threads

This week's SIMPLE brand  episode features a "From the Vault" discussion with Stacey Hanke about her book, Influence Redefined: Be the Leader You Were Meant to Be, Monday to Monday!When it comes to providing simple experiences to your customers, or your team members, you're either helped or hindered by your level of influence. And many leaders are mistaken about what it means to be influential. In this episode, Stacey and I discuss methods for improving communication and producing the ideal type of influence—one that moves people to action long after an interaction is over. She dispels the most common influence myths and shares how leaders can stop sabotaging themselves in order to leave a positive, lasting impression with everyone.RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODEStacey's book: Influence RedefinedStacey Hanke, Inc.

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Joey Coleman!Joey's an award-winning speaker and a customer experience and employee experience design expert. He's worked with hundreds of companies to help them deliver remarkable customer experiences while dramatically improving their profits.You may remember ​Joey's first appearance on the SIMPLE brand podcast when he taught us how to successfully retain and grow our customer base. This time, we discuss his latest bestseller about how to apply those same principles in our own house – ​Never Lose an Employee Again: The Simple Path to Remarkable Retention.Joey and I discuss what you can do to help your employees feel heard, understood, and valued in their first 100 days and beyond.Here's what we discuss:Why brands spend more time acquiring and hiring talent versus retaining talentMost brands have a gap in who's responsible for creating a remarkable experience on a new hire's Day 2 and beyond If we don't hold our employees' hands and help them acclimate they'll leaveThe cost of an employee leaving is 250% of their annual salary45% of new hires won't make the 100-day anniversary: 4% leave on Day 1!When one employee leaves, there's a snowball effect on remaining employees If you create remarkable employee experiences, your employees create remarkable customer experiencesJoey's 100-day 8-phase employee journey to focus onYou can gauge your employee advocacy by the number of employee referrals you haveWhile you're focused on your new hires' journeys, don't forget your existing employeesRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Joey's siteJoey's book - Never Lose an Employee AgainJoey on LinkedInSIMPLE brand #73: Joey Coleman – Never Lose a Customer Again

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Scott McKain.Scott's a globally recognized authority on how organizations and professionals create a distinction to attract and retain customers. He's a member of the Professional Speakers Hall of Fame. And he's one of 24 members of the “Sales and Marketing Hall of Fame.” And Scott's the author of eight best-selling customer experience books including his latest - The Ultimate Customer Experience: 5 Steps Everyone Must Know to Excite Your Customers, Engage Your Colleagues, and Enjoy Your Work.Here's what we discuss:Scott learned the value of customer experience from his father's grocery storeWhile customer expectations have changed, the basic premise is still the sameCustomer loyalty is only created through emotionWhat James Cameron's The Titanic teaches us about word of mouthCustomers don't want you to make it right - they want you to get it rightThe ultimate customer experience drives customers to repeat and referCustomers compare you to every great experience, not your direct competitorsHow the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess resort created the ultimate experience with golden retrieversThe right way to be empathetic to customersLeaders need to model the behaviors they expect from employeesRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Scott's siteScott's book - The Ultimate Customer ExperienceScott on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Heather R. Younger, author of The Art of Active Listening: How People at Work Feel Heard, Valued, and Understood!Heather's an international keynote speaker, and she's the Founder and CEO of Employee Fanatix, a leading employee engagement firm.She's also the host of Leadership With Heart podcast.And she's the author of three best-selling leadership and employee engagement books including her latest - The Art of Active Listening: How People at Work Feel Heard, Valued, and Understood.Here's what we discuss:How active listening helps people feel valuedWhat's causing the barrier for people to be able to listen effectivelyThe five steps needed for active listening“Closing the loop” motivates people to be comfortable sharing with you in the futureMost employees and customers hate surveys because they feel nothing will come from itWhat to do when you can't actually give someone what they're asking forHow to help your employees become better listenersRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Heather's siteEmployee FanatixHeather's book - The Art of Active ListeningHeather's podcast - Leadership With HeartHeather on LinkedIn

This week's SIMPLE brand  episode features a "From the Vault" discussion with Dee Ann Turner discussing her book, Crush Your Career!Dee Ann is the former head of Talent with Chick-fil-A. She was the company's first female officer and was instrumental in building and growing Chick-fil-A's well-known culture. In her 33-year career with Chick-fil-A, she was responsible for franchisee selection, talent acquisition, management and development, diversity and inclusion, culture and engagement, social responsibility and sustainability. Today, she's a speaker, consultant and author where she helps organizations create and strengthen culture and talent to better serve their customers.With all her experience, it's safe to say that Dee Ann knows what it takes to teach people how to develop, build and manage a fulfilling career.RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODEDee Ann ‘s book: Crush Your CareerDee Ann's book: Bet On TalentDee Ann's siteDee Ann on InstagramDee Ann on TwitterDee Ann on Facebook

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Jeannie Walters.Jeannie's an award-winning customer experience expert, international keynote speaker, and Founder of Experience Investigators - a firm helping companies increase sales and customer retention through elevated customer experiences. And she's the host of the Experience Action podcast.From the importance of creating and instilling a Customer Experience Mission to approaching your customer journey map as a verb, and not a noun - Jeannie and I discuss the right ways to help you and your team demystify the process for improving your customer experience.Some of the topics we discuss include:How to create fewer ruined days for customersWhat customers expect from brands todayUnderstanding a customer's journey helps you know what they want at each interactionCustomer journey mapping is a verb, not a nounHow to use “micro-mapping” to truly understand customers along each interactionIf you recognize a poor interaction across the customer journey, there's no need to validate it with dataA CX mission statement empowers your employees to know exactly how to deliver on your brand's promiseA focus on customer experience helps create a better employee experienceRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Jeannie's siteJeannie's podcast - Experience ActionLeave your question for Jeannie to answer on the Experience Action podcast hereJeannie on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Emmanuel Probst.Emmanuel's the Global Lead of Brand Thought-Leadership at Ipsos. He's an adjunct professor of Consumer Market Research at UCLA. And he's a Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-selling author of two brand strategy books including his latest -  Assemblage – The Art and Science of Brand Transformation.Just like a master blender uses the art of assemblage to know how to orchestrate, assemble and combine all the right elements to make a fine wine or cognac, a master brand strategist can do the same with their brand. But they have to be able to recognize and understand which elements to use and exactly how to combine them to craft meaningful, impactful brands.That's the art and science of creating a transformative brand.Some of the topics we discuss include:Not all brands need to demonstrate a purpose, but they do need to help their customers transformHow your brand can be empathetic, relatable, authentic, and genuineYour customers need to understand “the one thing” your brand can do for themWhat the history of James Bond can teach you about assembling and evolving a brandThere is nothing original. Most creations are remixes and recreations of existing elements Brands are now open-source and need to allow for co-creation with customersYour brand is not the hero of the customer story, but there are important roles it can playYour brand is what people say it is, not what you say it isWhat's driving a decrease in consumer trust of brands RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Emmanuel's siteEmmanuel's book - Assemblage: The Art and Science of Brand TransformationEmmanuel's book - Brand Hacks: How to Build Brands by Fulfilling the Consumer Quest for MeaningEmmanuel on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Robert Patin.Robert's an international best-selling author and he's the founder of Creative Agency Success, a consulting firm dedicated to helping creative agencies scale. And he's the host of the Agency Blueprint podcast. Robert and I discuss lessons on how to take your team's operations from complex and out of hand to a simple, scalable machine. A machine that helps you ultimately have more time to focus on the right work to move your business forward.If you want to simplify and make things much smoother for you and your team, this episode's for you.Some of the topics we discuss include:Giving your team space and frameworks to solve problems is much more valuable than solving problems for themOur desire to be immediately responsive causes us to complete work 5x-10x longer than necessaryThe approaches to work that drive complexity across most teamsHow you can accomplish more by focusing on doing lessThe steps and framework to take to eliminate complexity from your teamThe ideal method for delegating work to othersThe value of videoing all of your processes as processes documentationYour processes have typically been put together by everyone else except for youConnecting with community outside of your business can help you learn how to simplifyRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Robert's siteRobert's book - The Practical Agency (get it for free here!)Robert's podcast - The Agency Blueprint

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Greg Kihlström, author of House of the Customer: A blueprint for one-to-one, customer-first, employee-driven business transformation. Greg's a speaker, entrepreneur, and consultant to top companies on marketing technology, customer experience, and digital transformation initiatives.He's the host of the Agile Brand podcast.Greg and I discuss:What customer-centric brands do that are different than all the othersHow customer expectations continue to riseToo many brands misunderstand what it means to create a customer-first approachFocusing on intrinsic and extrinsic values motivates employees to focus on the customerAgile principles help create an employee-driven cultureThe value of creating a culture of experimentationGreg's 4 North Star goals that brands should have for a customer-first experienceWhere most brands get personalization wrongThe 7 elements of Greg's "House of the Customer" blueprintGreg's take on who in an organization should own and govern the customer experience  RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Greg's site Greg's book - House of the Customer: A blueprint for one-to-one, customer-first, employee-driven business transformation

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Erik Huberman, author of The Hawke Method: The Three Principles of Marketing that Made Over 3,000 Brands Soar.Erik's the Founder and CEO of HawkeMedia, the fastest-growing marketing consultancy in the United States that's helped develop marketing strategies for more than 4,000 businesses. Erik and I discuss the Hawke Method principles along with how any brand can apply them, no matter their budget.Some of the topics we discuss include:The first thing brands need to consider if they want to growHow to understand your customer's purchase cycle and consideration periodErik's 3 principles of marketing simultaneously needed to acquire and retain customersThe right tactics to take to grow awarenessDon't confuse your target audience and your brand persona - they can be differentHow to balance nurturing tactics alongside awareness tacticsThe need for using content as a way to nurture and create trust Why 3rd party validation is an ideal way to build trustOver time, what you deliver consistently becomes your brand - good or badHow marketers can use AI in the right way to help cut through all the noiseRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Erik's site - Hawke MediaErik's book - The Hawke Method: The Three Principles of Marketing that Made Over 3,000 Brands Soar

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Joe Mull, author of Employalty: How to Ignite Commitment and Keep Top Talent in the New Age of Work.Joe's an international keynote speaker, he's the founder of BossBetter Leadership Academy, and he's the host of the BossBetter Now podcast. Employalty releases on May 9, but it's quickly becoming one of the most talked about HR and workplace culture books.Joe and I discuss his lessons from Employalty all around turning your organization into a destination workplace to attract and keep top talent. Some of the topics we discuss include:What's REALLY driving record-setting job switching todayThere is no staffing shortage, there's a great job shortageThe desire of professionals to seek a higher quality of life without their job encroaching on thatWhy leaders want to move their team from a departure organization to a destination workplaceWhere commitment really comes from in the workplaceWhat's broken in the work environment and made it more dehumanized latelyThe MYTH that employees are just lazy todayWhat too many leaders get wrong in offering flexibility to their employeesMeaningful work isn't only for nonprofit or purpose-driven brandsThe way employees are recognized is typically all wrongGreat bosses are advocates for their employeesRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Joe's siteJoe's book - Employalty: How to Ignite Commitment and Keep Top Talent in the New Age of WorkJoe's podcast - Boss Better Now

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Adam Toporek, author of Be Your Customer's Hero: Real-World Tips & Techniques for the Service Front Lines.Adam's an internationally-recognized customer experience expert, keynote speaker, and customer service trainer who helps organizations transform their relationships with their customers through better strategy, training, and communication. He's the founder of Customers That Stick®, and the former co-host of the Crack the Customer Code podcast.Some of the topics we discuss include:It doesn't take grand, superhero actions to become your customer's heroThe need for focusing on peak emotions in the customer experienceConsistently focusing on positive “brand deposits” buys you goodwill with your customersThe service “triggers” that can set your customer offGet the biggest return on your customer experience efforts by identifying and removing your customer's biggest hasslesWhy you should regularly assess your policies and procedures and cut the ones that hinder your employeesHow curating and sharing success stories is one of the best ways to train employeesEmpowering your employees can deliver hassle-free experiencesAdam's 3S process for employees to follow when resolving customer issuesRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Adam's siteAdam's book - Be Your Customer's HeroSIMPLE brand episode 38 with Lisa Bodell - we talk about killing stupid rules and policies

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Mark Miller, author of Culture Rules: The Leader's Guide to Creating the Ultimate Competitive Advantage.Mark's the Vice President of High Performance Leadership with Chick-fil-A. And Mark's the author of 11 best-selling books including his latest Wall Street Journal bestseller - Culture Rules: The Leader's Guide to Creating the Ultimate Competitive Advantage.Some of the topics we discuss include:The three rules that go into creating a high-performance cultureWhy leaders shouldn't worry too much about how they define their vision, mission, and purposeThe simple test to know if you have defined your team's aspiration wellThe value of recognizing reality and comparing that to your culture aspirationHow to ensure your people can clearly articulate your culture valuesWhat Alexander the Great teaches us about modeling values to your peopleThe right way to use storytelling with your peopleHow to discern and remove toxins from your organizationBe grateful that there's no finish line to developing and adapting your cultureRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Mark's site - leadeveryday.comMark's book - Culture Rules: The Leader's Guide to Creating the Ultimate Competitive AdvantageMark's book - Smart Leadership: Four Simple Choices to Scale Your ImpactMark's book - Win the Heart: How to Create a Culture of Full Engagement

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Sara Ross, author of Dear Work: Something Has to Change!Sara's an international keynote speaker and the founder of the leadership research firm BrainAMPED. She's transforming the future of work by using the power of brain science to amplify organizational vitality, and by helping people work, lead, and succeed in healthy, high-performing, human-centric ways.It's no secret that too many leaders and too many professionals feel like they're stuck in a complicated work environment. Overworked and under-living. Thankfully, Sara has the strategies to simplify that as you boost your work vitality, stand out, and bring your best, most energized self to your career and your other important life areas.Some of the topics we discuss include:How thinking of your work like a relationship is valuable for your careerWhat's causing so many professionals to have a “toxic relationship” with their workHow you can raise your vitality in your work (and other life areas)Recognize that your energy will ebb and flow - and that's natural and okayYou can instill your purpose into interactions and aspects of your role instead of struggling to find that purpose-driven roleThe “success traps” that can actually confine you in your workPlacing too much focus on one life area is detrimental to the other major life areasYou need to be as intentional about resting as you are about workingRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Sara's book - Dear Work: Something Has to ChangeSara's site and newsletter - The Dear Work LetterSara on LinkedinSara on Instagram

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Jeff Toister, author of The Guaranteed Customer Experience: How to Win Customers by Keeping Your Promises!The Guaranteed Customer Experience turns the concept of a guarantee on its head. An experience guarantee goes beyond merely providing a warranty against any product defects or failures. It actually encompasses the entire customer journey to promise an experience that never falls short of expectations.Some of the topics we discuss include:The elements needed to create an experience guaranteeThe common ways that drive brand promises and experience guarantees to breakThe need for ensuring your operations can feasibly deliver on your promise How to define your promise is clear to all employeesHow to know what to promise based on what's relevant to your customersDefining the problems you don't solve is just as important as defining the ones you do solveHow to restore trust from your customer by recovering from a service failureRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Jeff's book - The Guaranteed Customer Experience: How to win Customers by Keeping Your PromisesJeff's newsletter - Customer Service Tip of the WeekJeff Toister on TwitterJeff Toister on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Juliana Marulanda, founder of ScaleTime!Juliana and ScaleTime have helped hundreds of agency owners and business leaders get their lives back by developing systems to save time, add employees, and streamline processes to create lean, mean, profitable machines.Some of the topics we discuss include:Why most leaders have a hard time creating and managing systemsHaving systems in place helps your people feel secure and view you as a better leaderHaving the right systems in place creates an engaged cultureHow to recognize that you don't have the right systems in placeHow to assess the strength of your current systems (if any!)Templates for content your team creates repeatedly can actually help them be creativeTraining your people on processes is just as important as documentation of processesHow to ensure your people actually follow your systemsPerfection can kill your progress when building systems so iterate and evolve themRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Juliana's business - ScaleTimeJuliana on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Nick Webb, author of One Step Ahead: How To Dominate Your Market With Innovation Leadership!  Nick is a world-renowned Strategist, Futurist, Bestselling Author, and one of the top keynote speakers in the world.Nick was on the SIMPLE brand podcast back in episode 74 talking about What Customers Hate.This time he's back to talk about lessons from his latest book - One Step Ahead: How To Dominate Your Market With Innovation Leadership.In today's hypercompetitive environment, the difference between winning and losing really isn't that big of a gap. It's actually pretty small. It's like a race, where the fastest runner who crosses the finish line can be just One Step Ahead.Some of the topics we discuss include:How to stay one step ahead in your leadershipWhy your individual leadership is important in setting your team's paceWhy surveys and promoter scores are worth very littleThe correlation between a brand's Glassdoor ratings and Yelp and Google ratingsThe three things your employees need from you and your organizationTaking action from employee feedback builds your credibility Any customer experience initiative must be tied with an employee experience initiativeThe four behaviors that help leaders stay one step aheadRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:SIMPLE brand  episode #74 - Nick Webb - What Customers HateNick's Consulting site - Leader LogicNick's speaking siteNick's book - One Step Ahead: How To Dominate Your Market With Innovation LeadershipNick's book - What Customers Hate: Drive Fast and Scalable Growth by Eliminating the Things that Drive Away Business

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Stephen Houraghan, host of The Brand Master Podcast!  Stephen's a brand strategist, consultant, the CEO and Founder of Brand Master Academy, and the host of one of my favorite branding podcasts, The Brand Master Podcast.Stephen and I discuss his lessons all around what branding and brand strategy truly are and how you can use his processes and framework to create a highly sought-after, stand-out brand.Some of the topics we discuss include:The true definition of a brand - [SPOILER ALERT] it's not what you thinkThe difference between branding and brand strategyHow customers choose the brands they want to do business withThe steps to defining and building your brand strategyThe value of focusing on customer relationships vs customer transactionsThe need for understanding your audience and your competitors to create your positioningYour brand voice is as important, if not more, than your visual identityThe habits and values that help brand strategists thrive in their careerRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Stephen's website - Brand Master AcademyPro Brand Strategy Blueprint

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Jay Baer, author of Talk Triggers: The Complete Guide to Creating Customers with Word of Mouth and Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints and Keep Your Customers!Jay's one of the world's top 30 Global Gurus in customer service AND online marketing and is a hall of fame keynote speaker. And Jay's the author of six best-selling books.Jay and I discuss insights from his latest research study - The Time to Win: The 2022 Consumer Patience Study. It's all around brand speed and consumer patience. And it provides all the evidence you need to increase your speed and responsiveness in your customer experience.Some of the topics we discuss include:The importance of speed in customer experienceHow to know exactly how fast to be for your customers Situations where being TOO fast can actually hurt your businessThe surprising data that shows which age demographics are less patient than othersHow to increase revenue by offering a “fast pass”How providing proactive content helps save time and decrease customer service expensesRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Time to Win: The 2022 Consumer Patience StudyJay's websiteJay's book - Talk Triggers: The Complete Guide to Creating Customers with Word of MouthJay's book - Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints and Keep Your CustomersJay's tequila review profile on Instagram

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Ann Handley, author ofEverybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content!Ann's the Chief Content Officer for MarketingProfs which educates more than 600,000 marketers around the world. Her book - Everybody Writes - has been considered the bible for marketing writing for close to a decade.  Ann recently expanded and revised the book to update it on how marketing, content, writing, and audience mindset have evolved since the first edition.Some of the topics we discuss include:How marketing and writing have evolved over the past nine yearsHow to build a strong writing habitWhat prevents most people from writing “that big thing” they want to writeAnn's framework for consistently creating ridiculously good contentCrafting and evolving your brand voiceHow we should approach AI in our writingRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Ann's websiteAnn's book - Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good ContentAnn's newsletter - Total ANNARCHYMarketingProfsMarketingProfs 2023 B2B Marketing Forum

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Jim Knight, author of Service That Rocks: Create Unforgettable Experiences and Turn Customers into Fans.Jim's the former head of global training for Hard Rock International - so you KNOW he's great at teaching people how to deliver rock star experiences.Jim's the author of three best-selling books including his latest - Service That Rocks!Some of the topics we discuss include:How rock bands and brands are similar in how the biggest ones create fansWhy the customer experience is the most important piece of your brandEmployees' behaviors are valuable in delivering the customer experienceYou need to constantly communicate how your brand values translate into your employees' rolesYour customers see your employees as the brandHow to create unique experiences that differentiate from the competitionThe value of empowering your employeesThe four-letter words you don't want customers to use to describe your customer experienceA secret to turn customers into fans is treating them like rockstarsRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Jim's websiteJim's book - Service That Rocks: Create Unforgettable Experiences and Turn Customers into FansJim's podcast - Thoughts That Rock

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Brittany Hodak, author of Creating Superfans: How to Turn Customers Into Lifelong Advocates.Brittany was on the SIMPLE brand podcast back in episode 67. This time she's back to discuss her new book, Creating Superfans. You want to deliver experiences that convert your customers into devoted superfans — repeat customers who evangelize and advocate for your brand to others without you even having to ask. Brittany and I discuss her lessons on how to do just that.Some of the topics we discuss include:The definition of a superfan and why you should careHow apathy in your customers is a major concernBrittany's SUPER Model that helps you craft experiences that create superfansHow every employee on your team is really in the Experience departmentWhy your competition is more than just your direct competitionThe right ways to exceed customers' expectationsIf you want your customers to have a superfan experience, you need to deliver that superfan experience to your employeesRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Brittany's websiteBrittany's book - Creating Superfans: How to Turn Your Customers Into Lifelong AdvocatesBrittany's Creating Superfans playlist (100+ songs sprinkled throughout the book)SIMPLE brand #67: Brittany Hodak - How to Turn Your Customers Into Superfans

In this week's episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Dr. Cindy McGovern, author of Sell Yourself: How to Create, Live, and Sell a Powerful Personal Brand!Dr. Cindy is best known as the First Lady of Sales®. She's an internationally renowned keynote speaker and she's the founder of Orange Leaf Consulting which helps thousands of organizations and individuals create dynamic and robust sales processes.Dr. Cindy and I discuss her lessons from Sell Yourself all around the right ways to create and manage a personal brand. Some of the topics we discuss include:How selling is really about helping and how everyone is in sales, no matter their roleYour personal brand is the legacy and impact you leave with othersYou have a personal brand, and everyone knows it except for youHow to solicit feedback to understand how others define your personal brandThe steps you need to take to craft the personal brand you wantWhat to do when the brand others define for you doesn't match what you've definedDr. Cindy's three critical components to crafting a personal brandHow to ensure you're consistently living the personal brand you wantHow to help your network advocate for and sell your personal brandHow to recover when you've gone “off-brand”RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Dr. Cindy's websiteOrange Leaf ConsultingOrange Leaf AcademyDr. Cindy's book - Sell Yourself: How to Create, Live and Sell a Powerful Personal BrandDr. Cindy's book - Every Job is a Sales Job: How to Use the Art of Selling to Win at Work