Podcasts about Customer experience

Hello and welcome back to First Principles. This is the part 2 of the 49th episode since we started, or the 8th episode of season 3.In this episode, I sit down with Aloke Bajpai, Group CEO of Ixigo, one of India's fastest-growing and most downloaded travel platforms. While most Indian OTAs followed the Western template of flights-first followed by hotels, Aloke and his co-founder Rajnish took a radically different path. The one that would take nearly 14 years before Ixigo became a full-blown OTA.Aloke takes us through Ixigo's unconventional journey, starting as a meta-search engine in 2007 that couldn't raise funding for over a year. We explore how the insight that 96% of Indians don't fly, led them to build a train-first platform, spending four years creating utility features without any monetization. He breaks down the technical innovation behind solving India-specific problems. Right from predicting waitlist confirmations using machine learning to creating a crowdsourced running status system using cell tower IDs when GPS and internet failed along railway tracks.A central theme is resilience through empathy. Aloke shares how near-death experiences during the 2008 global financial crisis and COVID-19 shaped Ixigo's culture. We discuss the founder's decision to go to zero salary, the whiteboard moment where the entire team transparently decided on salary cuts, and the contrarian choice to proactively refund customers during COVID even when the company was running out of money. Finally, Aloke argues that peace of mind, not tickets, is what travel companies should really be selling. First Principles has been named one of the best shows of 2025 on Apple Podcasts India! Every listen and every share is what keeps us going. We get to dive into these conversations because you show up for them. Thank you for being part of this journey with us. Check out all other episodes here.

As a final send-off to the year, host Nicole Silberstein shares some off-the-cuff thoughts on something we forgot to talk enough about this year — the irreplaceable pleasure of shopping in stores, and why AI won't change that.Happy Holidays from your friends at Retail Remix — see you in 2026!Key TakeawaysMaybe what we all need a little more of right now is in-person shoppingRelated LinksEpisode 258 - Redesigning with Reverence: Inside the New MoMA Design Store ExperienceEpisode 253 - How Primark Is Rewriting the Rules of Value Fashion in the U.S. Related reading: How Printemps' New NYC Store Supports ‘Democratic Luxury' with Subtle TechnologySubscribe and catch up on all episodes of Retail Remix

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Please take 12 seconds to rate and review the podcast because it helps us find new listeners ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐FREE RESOURCES✅ Get a free digital copy of my bestselling book for a limited time, Choice Hacking: How to use psychology and behavioral science to create an experience that sings. Get it here: https://www.choicehacking.com/free-book/ ✅ Get FREE weekly marketing psychology insights when you join my newsletter, Choice Hacking Ideas: Join the 10k+ people getting daily insights on how to 2x their marketing effectiveness (so sales and profit 2x, too) using buyer psychology. Join here: https://www.choicehacking.com/read/✅ Connect with host Jennifer Clinehens on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok @ChoiceHacking and @BuildwithChoiceHackingWORK WITH ME✅ Corporate Training: Get your team up-skilled marketing psychology and behavioral science with a workshop or training session. Choice Hacking has worked with brands like Microsoft, T-Mobile, and McDonalds to help their teams apply behavioral science and marketing psychology.Learn more here, and get in touch using the contact form at the bottom of the page: https://www.choicehacking.com/training/✅ Get your own Chief Marketing Copilot for your business when you my new program. Get live Skill Sessions, Implementation Sessions, and one-on-one time with me.Learn more here: https://choicehacking.academy/pro/✅ Buy my book in Kindle, paperback, or audiobook form: "Choice Hacking: How to use psychology and behavioral science to create an experience that sings": https://choicehacking.com/PodBook/ ★ Support this podcast ★

In this episode of the Grow A Small Business Podcast, host Troy Vance Morris, the founder of Deliver Service Now institute, joins the podcast to share his journey from a decade at Disney to building and scaling multiple successful home service businesses. He talks about creating premium customer experiences, growing his companies to a point where he now works only 90 minutes a week on operations, and the strategies he uses to retain loyal clients. Vance also explains how he transitioned from employee to entrepreneur, overcame major financial challenges, and built a strong team culture. His story highlights resilience, smart marketing, and the power of systems in business growth. Why would you wait any longer to start living the lifestyle you signed up for? Balance your health, wealth, relationships and business growth. And focus your time and energy and make the most of this year. Let's get into it by clicking here. Troy delves into our guest's startup journey, their perception of success, industry reconsideration, and the pivotal stress point during business expansion. They discuss the joys of small business growth, vital entrepreneurial habits, and strategies for team building, encompassing wins, blunders, and invaluable advice. And a snapshot of the final five Grow A Small Business Questions: 1. What do you think is the hardest thing in growing a small business? Vance Morris has shared that the hardest thing is simply sticking with it. Most people give up too early when they hit financial pressure, setbacks, or slow periods, but long-term success comes from pushing through those tough moments. 2. What's your favorite business book that has helped you the most? Vance Morris has shared that his most valuable business book is "The Ultimate Sales Letter" by Dan Kennedy, which transformed how he approaches marketing and communication with customers. 3. Are there any great podcasts or online learning resources you'd recommend to help grow a small business? Vance Morris has shared that he regularly uses MasterClass for high-level learning from experts, and finds it extremely useful for expanding mindset and gaining inspiration from top performers in different fields. 4. What tool or resource would you recommend to grow a small business? Vance Morris has shared that every small business must have a CRM (Customer Relationship Management system) to track clients, marketing, and follow-ups — it becomes essential once your customer base grows. 5. What advice would you give yourself on day one of starting out in business? Vance Morris has shared that he would tell himself "Don't give up." There were many moments when quitting seemed easier, but staying persistent through financial challenges is what led to long-term success. Book a 20-minute Growth Chat with Troy Trewin to see if you qualify for our upcoming course. Don't miss out on this opportunity to take your small business to new heights! Enjoyed the podcast? Please leave a review on iTunes or your preferred platform. Your feedback helps more small business owners discover our podcast and embark on their business growth journey.     Quotable quotes from our special Grow A Small Business podcast guest: Deliver an experience your competitors can't copy and your customers won't forget — Vance Morris You can't grow a business you're not measuring every single day — Vance Morris Freedom in business comes from systems, not from working more hours — Vance Morris      

Sales and Customer Experience—two critical functions that should work together, but too often operate at odds. This week, Colin and Ryan explore how traditional sales tactics can undermine long-term loyalty and create organisational silos. They share personal stories (including Colin's car-buying nightmare) and practical advice for aligning sales with your desired customer experience. If you want to sell AND build trust, this episode is for you. Best Quote of the Episode: "If you can't proudly stand behind the experience you're creating, you've got a problem." — Colin Shaw Key Takeaways: ✅ Traditional closing techniques can damage trust, even when they maybe effective ✅ Sales incentives often conflict with customer experience goals ✅ Leadership must deliberately define the experience they want to deliver ✅ Culture matters: a sales-first mentality breeds silos and resentment ✅ Aligning sales and CX is essential for long-term success, not just short-term gains

Sales and Customer Experience—two critical functions that should work together, but too often operate at odds. This week, Colin and Ryan explore how traditional sales tactics can undermine long-term loyalty and create organisational silos. They share personal stories (including Colin's car-buying nightmare) and practical advice for aligning sales with your desired customer experience. If you want to sell AND build trust, this episode is for you. Best Quote of the Episode: "If you can't proudly stand behind the experience you're creating, you've got a problem." — Colin Shaw Key Takeaways: ✅ Traditional closing techniques can damage trust, even when they maybe effective ✅ Sales incentives often conflict with customer experience goals ✅ Leadership must deliberately define the experience they want to deliver ✅ Culture matters: a sales-first mentality breeds silos and resentment ✅ Aligning sales and CX is essential for long-term success, not just short-term gains

Recorded live at SocialWest 2025 in Calgary, this special episode of the Marketing News Canada podcast features a conversation with Joshua Counsil, Co-Founder of Good Robot Brewing and guest host Meredith McKeough.Joshua shares candid lessons from building a multi-dimensional hospitality and beverage business spanning beer, non-alcoholic drinks, events, and co-packing for major retailers like Costco. The conversation explores why guest experience is one of the most powerful marketing tools available, how storytelling influences customers, employees, and even lenders, and why scrappy, generous marketing often outperforms big-budget campaigns.From navigating PR crises to designing small moments that create outsized word-of-mouth, this episode is packed with practical insights for marketers, founders, and brand leaders looking to build trust, loyalty, and long-term growth.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Please take 12 seconds to rate and review the podcast because it helps us find new listeners ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐FREE RESOURCES✅ Get a free digital copy of my bestselling book for a limited time, Choice Hacking: How to use psychology and behavioral science to create an experience that sings. Get it here: https://www.choicehacking.com/free-book/ ✅ Get FREE weekly marketing psychology insights when you join my newsletter, Choice Hacking Ideas: Join the 10k+ people getting daily insights on how to 2x their marketing effectiveness (so sales and profit 2x, too) using buyer psychology. Join here: https://www.choicehacking.com/read/✅ Connect with host Jennifer Clinehens on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok @ChoiceHacking and @BuildwithChoiceHackingWORK WITH ME✅ Corporate Training: Get your team up-skilled marketing psychology and behavioral science with a workshop or training session. Choice Hacking has worked with brands like Microsoft, T-Mobile, and McDonalds to help their teams apply behavioral science and marketing psychology.Learn more here, and get in touch using the contact form at the bottom of the page: https://www.choicehacking.com/training/✅ Get your own Chief Marketing Copilot for your business when you my new program. Get live Skill Sessions, Implementation Sessions, and one-on-one time with me.Learn more here: https://choicehacking.academy/pro/✅ Buy my book in Kindle, paperback, or audiobook form: "Choice Hacking: How to use psychology and behavioral science to create an experience that sings": https://choicehacking.com/PodBook/ ★ Support this podcast ★

In this last episode of the special AI mini-series, we now explore the human side of transformation, where technology meets purpose and people remain at the center. From future jobs and critical thinking to working with C-level leaders, how human intervention and high-quality data drive success in an AI-powered world.This week Dave, Esmee , Rob sit down with Johanna Hutchinson, CDO at BAE systems about why data matters, the rise of Sovereign AI, and the skills shaping the intelligence age. TLDR00:55 Introduction of Johanna Hutchinson02:09 Explaining the State of AI mini-series with Craig06:01 Conversation with Johanna34:20 Weaving today's data tapestries with AI40:20 Going to a rave GuestJohanna Hutchinson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johanna-hutchinson-95b95568/ HostsDave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/Esmee van de Giessen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esmeevandegiessen/Rob Kernahan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-kernahan/with co-host Craig Suckling: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigsuckling/ProductionMarcel van der Burg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-vd-burg/Dave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/ SoundBen Corbett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-corbett-3b6a11135/Louis Corbett:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-corbett-087250264/ 'Cloud Realities' is an original podcast from Capgemini

Previous CX Patterns episode on creating the conditions where bright spots emergePrevious CX Patterns episode on bright spots analysisPrevious episode on Bright Spots.Connect with Sam on LinkedIn - I share customer experience content multiple times a week, and love hearing from listeners with questions or ideas for topics.Subscribe to my newsletter, Customer Experience Patterns - I publish a new edition with each episode of the podcast.My LinkedIn Learning courses: Customer Experience: 6 Essential Foundations For Lasting Loyalty, How To Create Great Customer Experiences & Build A Customer-Centric Culture. In-depth video series that teach you how to create great experiences, and build customer-centric cultuers.Thanks to my talented colleague Emily Tolmer for the cover art. Thanks to my friends at Moon Island for the music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The most future-ready marketing leaders aren't the ones chasing trends… they're the ones who can reinvent themselves every time the industry changes.Michelle Huff, Chief Marketing Officer at Alteryx, joins Marketing Trends to break down the mindset that kept her relevant through every major tech revolution, from Web1 to cloud, SaaS, PLG, and now AI. She explains how to balance curiosity with focus, why AI is really about automating judgment (not just tasks), and how she's redesigning her marketing org around agents, automation, and new workflows.Michelle also shares early results from Alteryx's AI experiments, how she's rebuilding a 700,000-person community, and why great leaders still start with the end user even as their buyer audiences expand. Key Moments:  00:00 – How to Stay Relevant Through Every Tech Shift03:42 – A Career Spanning Web1, Cloud, SaaS, and AI06:58 – Curiosity Is the Ultimate Career Advantage10:12 – When Leaders Should Tinker and When to Delegate13:28 – Building a Marketing Culture That Experiments16:41 – Why AI Is About Judgment, Not Just Automation20:07 – Inside an AI-Powered SDR Outbound Workflow23:34 – Do AI Agents Replace People or Elevate Them26:58 – Upskilling Teams in an AI-Driven Organization30:17 – Why Most AI Content Fails to Break Through33:36 – How to Stand Out in a Noisy B2B Market36:52 – Why Enterprise Brands Lose Touch With End Users39:48 – How Alteryx Built a 700,000-Person Community43:06 – Turning Community Into Competition and Learning46:32 – Early AI Wins That Drive Real Pipeline Impact  This episode is brought to you by Lightricks. LTX is the all-in-one creative suite for AI-driven video production; built by Lightricks to take you from idea to final 4K render in one streamlined workspace.Powered by LTX-2, our next-generation creative engine, LTX lets you move faster, collaborate seamlessly, and deliver studio-quality results without compromise. Try it today at ltx.studio Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this special episode of Builders Wanted, recorded live from Twilio Transform in New York City, we're joined by Rikki Singh, Twilio's VP of R&D for Emerging Technologies. Rikki explores groundbreaking advancements in AI, security, and communications, touching on the evolution of technology and customer expectations as we approach 2026. The conversation delves into the role of AI in software engineering, the importance of trust and privacy by design, changes in customer engagement, and the future of agentic workflows.-------------------Key Takeaways:Building robust systems and prioritizing speed empowers organizations to drive innovation rapidly while maintaining high standards of quality.Reliable, well-structured data and clearly defined, measurable objectives are critical for achieving success in AI and analytics initiatives.The most impactful product enhancements stem from actively listening to customers, understanding their challenges, and reimagining features as needed.-------------------“ The fact that we want to give you contextual memory that is able to capture communication, that matters. Because that's where you're expressing your satisfaction, your happiness, your joys. So how do we take that and then use that to help you rather than microsegment you on demographics and target you? I think that's the positive pivot I hope we make as this technology allows for that.” – Rikki Singh-------------------Episode Timestamps:‍*(01:48) - What excites Rikki heading into 2026‍*(02:54) - What feels different about today compared to a year ago‍*(07:14) - Themes shaping the next 12 months for builders‍*(19:43) - What's evolving fastest: the tech stack, the buyer, or the org chart?‍*(27:50) - What builders underestimate about AI and where it's going‍*(43:36) - Quick hits-------------------Links:Connect with Rikki on LinkedInConnect with Kailey on LinkedInLearn more about Caspian Studios-------------------SponsorBuilders Wanted is brought to you by Twilio – the Customer Engagement Platform that helps builders turn real-time data into meaningful customer experiences. More than 320,000 businesses trust Twilio to transform signals into connections—and connections into revenue. Ready to build what's next? Learn more at twilio.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

n this episode, we explore how print shop owners can apply "Unreasonable Hospitality" principles from Will Guidara's acclaimed book to transform ordinary transactions into extraordinary customer experiences. Learn why emotional connection matters as much as perfect execution, and discover practical ways to stand out in a competitive industry.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Please take 12 seconds to rate and review the podcast because it helps us find new listeners ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐FREE RESOURCES✅ Get a free digital copy of my bestselling book for a limited time, Choice Hacking: How to use psychology and behavioral science to create an experience that sings. Get it here: https://www.choicehacking.com/free-book/ ✅ Get FREE weekly marketing psychology insights when you join my newsletter, Choice Hacking Ideas: Join the 10k+ people getting daily insights on how to 2x their marketing effectiveness (so sales and profit 2x, too) using buyer psychology. Join here: https://www.choicehacking.com/read/✅ Connect with host Jennifer Clinehens on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok @ChoiceHacking and @BuildwithChoiceHackingWORK WITH US✅ Corporate Training: Get your team up-skilled marketing psychology and behavioral science with a workshop or training session. Choice Hacking has worked with brands like Microsoft, T-Mobile, and McDonalds to help their teams apply behavioral science and marketing psychology.Learn more here, and get in touch using the contact form at the bottom of the page: https://www.choicehacking.com/training/✅ Get your own Chief Marketing Copilot for your business when you my new program. Get live Skill Sessions, Implementation Sessions, and one-on-one time with me.Learn more here: https://choicehacking.academy/pro/✅ Buy my book in Kindle, paperback, or audiobook form: "Choice Hacking: How to use psychology and behavioral science to create an experience that sings": https://choicehacking.com/PodBook/ ★ Support this podcast ★

Relebogile Mabotja speaks to Sarah Nicholson the Head of Customer Experience at JustMoney who offers creative ideas for side hustles that tap into seasonal demand created by the holidays and festive celebrations. The Clement Manyathela Show is broadcast on 702, a Johannesburg based talk radio station, weekdays from 09:00 to 12:00 (SA Time). Clement Manyathela starts his show each weekday on 702 at 9 am taking your calls and voice notes on his Open Line. In the second hour of his show, he unpacks, explains, and makes sense of the news of the day. Clement has several features in his third hour from 11 am that provide you with information to help and guide you through your daily life. As your morning friend, he tackles the serious as well as the light-hearted, on your behalf. Thank you for listening to a podcast from The Clement Manyathela Show. Listen live on Primedia+ weekdays from 09:00 and 12:00 (SA Time) to The Clement Manyathela Show broadcast on 702 https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj For more from the show go to https://buff.ly/XijPLtJ or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/p0gWuPE Subscribe to the 702 Daily and Weekly Newsletters https://buff.ly/v5mfetc Follow us on social media: 702 on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702 702 on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702 702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/ 702 on X: https://x.com/Radio702 702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio702 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More money. More time. Or both.If what you offer helps people get one or both, demand should not be the problem. When it is, the issue is rarely the product. It is how the value is communicated. The problem is most businesses bury that value under features, specs, and what I call “knowledge vomit” and then wonder why buyers do not move.In this episode, I break down why marketing fails when it cannot clearly validate outcomes. Buyers do not struggle with features or specs. They struggle with confusion. If your message does not quickly show how you help them make money, save time, or both, they will move on, even if what you offer is genuinely strong.We walk through how value gets buried under “impressive” language, why clear always beats clever, and how small disconnects in messaging and experience quietly erode trust and revenue. This is not about hype or shortcuts. It is about making the value obvious at every touchpoint.In this episode, you will learn how to:Translate features into outcomes buyers actually care aboutClarify whether your offer makes money, saves time, or does bothSimplify messaging so decision makers instantly understand the valueFix marketing that looks polished but fails to convertImprove customer experience through small, intentional momentsAlign product, marketing, and leadership around one clear value storyThis episode is for founders, marketers, product leaders, and decision makers who are tired of guessing why marketing is not working. If your marketing cannot clearly prove value, you will not win. When it can, growth becomes more predictable, more sustainable, and far less complicated.Beyond The Episode Gems:Subscribe To My New Weekly LinkedIn Newsletter: Strategize. Market. Grow.Buy My Book, Strategize Up: The Blueprint To Scale Your Business: StrategizeUpBook.comDiscover All Podcasts On The HubSpot Podcast NetworkGet Free HubSpot Marketing Tools To Help You Grow Your BusinessGrow Your Business Faster Using HubSpot's CRM PlatformSupport The Podcast & Connect With Troy: Rate & Review iDigress: iDigress.fm/ReviewsFollow Troy's Socials @FindTroy: LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads, TikTokSubscribe to Troy's YouTube Channel For Strategy Videos & See Masterclass EpisodesNeed Growth Strategy, A Keynote Speaker, Or Want To Sponsor The Podcast? Go To FindTroy.com

" I appreciated your janitor's slow decline into madness." BLOT needs our help! The Bureau of Legitimate and Otherworldly Troubles has suffered a breach in their laboratory, and they need someone to clean up the mess. In the lab, there's a chalkboard to the left,  a table with beakers and test tubes to the right and a small computer desk. The room is covered with a strange, gunky substance all over the walls and floor. What would you like to do? BLOT was the official game for RECON Remote 25, available to play for all Community, Pro, and Champion ticket holders who opted in. It was created and run by Mark Larson, who was a guest on REPOD S5E11. On this episode, Yannick Trapman-O'Brien and Lyra Levin join us to play BLOT. Lyra was a featured speaker for RECON Remote 25 with her talk, Make Stuff Fast: Rapid Prototyping for Interactive Experiences, now available on YouTube. Yannick originally appeared on REPOD S8E7 to talk about his incredible show for one, Undersigned. They joined us on REPOD for an actual play of BLOT. Lyra and Yannick are both experienced improvisers, and I'd never laughed so hard watching a play-through. Scroll down to the timestamps to follow along with game images. If you missed playing this game during RECON Remote 25, or if you want to relive your glory moments, join us for this final play-through of BLOT.     Episode Sponsors We are immensely grateful to our sponsors this season: REA Patreon Backers, PG's Playhouse, Buzzshot, and COGS. We truly appreciate your support of our mission to promote and improve the immersive gaming community.   Support Us On Patreon Today Love escape rooms as much as we do? At Room Escape Artist, we've been analyzing, reviewing, and exploring the world of immersive games since 2014. We help players find the best experiences, and push the industry forward with well-researched, rational, and reasonably humorous escape room and immersive gaming content and events. By becoming a Patreon supporter, you're not just backing a blog — you're fueling a mission to make the escape room and immersive gaming community stronger, more thoughtful, and more connected. Access exclusive Patreon content such as: The Bonus Aftershow The Spoilers Club Early access to escape room Tour tickets and REA articles. Your Patreon support goes toward our mission: paying our contributors, funding our infrastructure, and supporting deep research and industry advocacy.   PG's Playhouse If you love wordplay, puzzles, and trivia, this is the podcast for you! PG's Playhouse recreates a fun game night, all in a short, 30-minute format. Of course, what's game night without making new friends? We bring on different guests for the different episodes. Each episode features a puzzle packed with wordplay and trivia, a short chat with the guest, and a segment exploring an interesting topic. I hope you'll take a listen and play along with us at PG's Playhouse.   Buzzshot Buzzshot is Escape Room Software, Powering Business Growth, Player Marketing, and improving the Customer Experience. They offer an assortment of pre and post game features including robust waiver management, branded team photos, and streamlined review management for Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google Reviews, and Morty. Buzzshot now has integration with the other REPOD sponsors: Morty and COGS. Special Offer for REPOD Listeners: REPOD listeners get an extended 21-day free trial plus 20% off your first 3 months, with no set-up fees or hidden charges. Visit buzzshot.com/repod to learn more about this exclusive offer.   COGS COGS by Clockwork Dog is an easy to use software/ hardware platform for running interactive events, including escape rooms, and other immersive experiences. They have plug & play hardware that seamlessly integrates with their software so you can create a show with lighting and sound cues without having to write a single line of code. Map all kinds of inputs to outputs by building up simple logic steps which determine what you want to happen and when. Special Offer for REPOD Listeners: REPOD listeners can get the COGS Starter Set for only $130 + free shipping to the USA. This bundle is usually valued at $257. You can learn more and purchase your Starter Set at cogs.show. Use code REPOD at checkout.   Production Credits Hosted by David Spira & Peih-Gee Law Produced by Theresa Piazza Supported by Lisa Spira Edited by Steve Ewing Music by Ryan Elder Logo by Janine Pracht  

Collecting and Using Data Ethically to Create Customer Delight  Shep interviews Phyllis Fang, Head of Marketing at Transcend. She talks about the importance of personalization and how companies can ethically collect, unify, and use customer data to create seamless, trust-building interactions.  This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:    How can companies ethically collect and use customer data without crossing privacy boundaries?  Why is transparency important when asking customers for permission to use their data?  How can brands strike the right balance between personalization and avoiding being perceived as intrusive or "creepy"?  What are the best practices for building trust with customers through data collection and usage?  How does unified customer identity across digital and real-world touchpoints improve the overall customer journey?  Top Takeaways:    Customers are willing to share information, but only if they get something valuable in return. When a company uses customer preferences to recommend something relevant at the right time, customers are more willing to engage. On the other hand, when the connection feels forced or overwhelming, it can make customers stop buying and look for other companies that will respect their trust.  Customers feel better when companies are upfront about what data they're collecting and how it will be used. When a brand is transparent with why they need information and asks for permission, customers feel respected and safe. Giving customers options about how their data is used makes them more likely to share details.  Businesses should focus on getting only getting the information they need to start doing business with a customer. Then, gradually over time, the business can learn more.   Ethical use of data builds trust. Just because a business can use a customer's data does not mean it always should. It's important for companies to explain how they use customer information, and to give customers choices. When customers know what's happening and have control, they are more likely to trust a brand with their information and their business.  Some customers want weekly emails or product updates, while others just want order confirmations or receipts. Give your customers a way to choose the kind of information they receive and how often they want it, and make setting this up easy.  Better business practices lead to loyal customers. When companies focus on giving people what they want, respecting their choices, and treating data carefully, customers become fans who keep coming back.  Personalization isn't just about online shopping. It can happen in real life too. Imagine walking into a store and the salesperson remembers what you like, what you bought before, and even your favorite colors. This shows how connecting customer history, identity, and preferences creates a great experience both digitally and face-to-face.   Plus, Shep and Phyllis discuss the importance of making sure customers understand what they are saying yes to, such as cookie banners and opt-in forms. Tune in!  Quote:   “When customers share information, they often want control over how and where it's used. A company needs to respect those preferences and enforce them consistently.”  About:    Phyllis Fang is the Head of Marketing at Transcend, where she helps brands grow through customer trust, personalization, and digital transformation. Before working at Transcend, she drove key product marketing initiatives at Uber and has a strong background in e-commerce and digital marketing.    Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode features a replay of a Q2 webinar exploring how financial institutions can turn fraud strategy into a competitive edge by using connected fraud intelligence to spot risk earlier, move faster than attackers, protect account holders in real time, and actually improve the digital experience along the way. [LinkedIn] Jeff Scott [LinkedIn] Ben Cash [On-Demand Webinar] Building Trust, Not Friction: The Future of Fraud Prevention [Website] Fraud Intelligence [Survey] q2.com/podsurvey 

Hey CX Nation,In this week's episode of The CXChronicles Podcast #274, we welcomed Dave Rennyson, President & CEO at SuccessKPI based in the Washington, DC area. SuccessKPI is an on-demand insight and action platform that removes the obstacles that agents, managers, and executives encounter in delivering exceptional customer service.SuccessKPI is trusted by some of the world's largest government, BPO, financial, healthcare, and technology contact centers in the United States, Europe, and Latin America.In this episode, Dave and Adrian chat through the Four CX Pillars: Team, Tools, Process & Feedback. Plus share some of the ideas that his team think through on a daily basis to build world class customer experiences.**Episode #274 Highlight Reel:**1. Why the best organizations & teams invest in constant training efforts 2. How music and business are wildly similar 3. Leveraging & investing in AI over the next 1,000 days 4. Understanding the power of your data architecture  5. Tomorrow's leading tech-companies will bring solutions, not headaches Click here to learn more about Dave RennysonClick here to learn more about SuccessKPIHuge thanks to Dave for coming on The CXChronicles Podcast and featuring his work and efforts in pushing the customer experience & contact center space into the future. For all of our Apple & Spotify podcast listener friends, make sure you are following CXC & please leave a 5 star review so we can find new members of the "CX Nation". You know what would be even better?Go tell your friends or teammates about CXC's custom content, strategic partner solutions (Hubspot, Intercom, & Freshworks) & On-Demand services & invite them to join the CX Nation, a community of 15K+ customer focused business leaders!Want to see how your customer experience compares to the world's top-performing customer focused companies? Check out the CXC Healthzone, an intelligence platform that shares benchmarks & insights for how companies across the world are tackling The Four CX Pillars: Team, Tools, Process & Feedback & how they are building an AI-powered foundation for the future. Thanks to all of you for being apart of the "CX Nation" and helping customer focused business leaders across the world make happiness a habit!Reach Out To CXC Today!Support the showContact CXChronicles Today Tweet us @cxchronicles Check out our Instagram @cxchronicles Click here to checkout the CXC website Email us at info@cxchronicles.com Remember To Make Happiness A Habit!!

In this episode with Michelle Pascoe, we lift the lid on mystery shopping and what it really reveals about leadership, service, and customer experience. From why traditional surveys fail, to how insight-based mystery shopping exposes what leaders never see when they are not present, this conversation explores how organisations can turn observation into improvement. We also look at generational expectations, the role of robotics, and why human connection still matters more than ever. SOUNDBITES Mystery shopping explained beyond the myths.Why surveys fail when feedback goes nowhere.What leaders miss when they are not on site.How insight-based reports outperform tick-box scores.The role of human connection alongside robotics.What Gen Z expects from seamless service.Why Net Promoter Score needs context to matter.Turning customer data into real improvement. ABOUT MICHELLE PASCOE Contact: https://www.michellepascoe.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellepascoe/ Renowned for her expertise in the hospitality industry and backed by over three decades of experience, Michelle Pascoe is a Mystery Shopping expert, a Certified Speaking Professional delivering conference keynotes on the Customer Experience as well as workshops on Customer Service Excellence to frontline teams. ABOUT PODCAST HOST, NINA SUNDAY Nina Sunday's latest book, ‘'Manage Self, Lead Others: Constructive Conversations, True Self-Leadership, and Culture You Can't Fake'' now on Amazon - paperback, Kindle or audiobook. Amazon USA ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://a.co/d/3WaplI9⁠⁠⁠⁠ Amazon Australia ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.asia/d/0KwghaM⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you would be willing to leave a review so others know it's a good read, Nina would appreciate it. === Brainpower Training Australia To learn more about face-to-face training programs with Nina Sunday or one of her experienced Facilitators from Brainpower Training Pty Ltd in Australia Pacific, visit: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.brainpowertraining.com.au/signature-programs/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ === Speaking site: NinaSunday.com To visit Nina Sunday's speaker site for global in-person speaking bookings visit: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.ninasunday.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ === LinkedIn: Connect with Nina Sunday on LinkedIn ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ === Blog To subscribe to Nina Sunday's blog go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.brainpowertraining.com.au/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and scroll to bottom of page to register. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clicking “buy now” shouldn't feel like shouting into the void. In this episode, we explore how digital retail can feel more human by pairing smart personalization with trust-building micromoments. Instead of proving what we know, we focus on what customers need next: clear fit guidance, delivery transparency, and friction-removing policies that build confidence before checkout.We share practical moves you can use this week—from confirmations that speak to the shopper (not the order number) to shipping updates in plain language, short stylist videos, and behind-the-scenes warehouse moments. We also cover how to use chat well: being upfront about bots, designing warm handoffs to humans, and giving AI a role that feels helpful, not blocking.Reassurance is the real conversion multiplier. We talk about sizing honesty, responsible return signals, clear expectations on duties and timelines, and how to keep the warmth going after checkout. The simple test we return to again and again: would this message feel kind and useful if you sent it to a friend?If these ideas help, subscribe for more customer experience strategies, share this episode with your team, and leave a quick review so others can find us. Your feedback shapes what we explore next.Resources Mentioned:Order your copy of Experience Is Everything -- http://experienceiseverythingbook.comExperience Investigators Website -- https://experienceinvestigators.comWant to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)

In this episode of the Oracle University Podcast, hosts Lois Houston and Nikita Abraham dive into Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications and the new courses and certifications on offer. They are joined by Oracle Fusion Apps experts Patrick McBride and Bill Lawson who introduce the concept of Oracle Modern Best Practice (OMBP), explaining how it helps organizations maximize results by mapping Fusion Application features to daily business processes. They also discuss how the new courses educate learners on OMBP and its role in improving Fusion Cloud Apps implementations.   OMBP: https://www.oracle.com/applications/modern-best-practice/ Oracle University Learning Community: https://education.oracle.com/ou-community LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/oracle-university/ X: https://x.com/Oracle_Edu   Special thanks to Arijit Ghosh, David Wright, Kris-Ann Nansen, Radhika Banka, and the OU Studio Team for helping us create this episode.   -----------------------------------------------------   Episode Transcript: 00:00 Welcome to the Oracle University Podcast, the first stop on your cloud journey. During this series of informative podcasts, we'll bring you foundational training on the most popular Oracle technologies. Let's get started! 00:25 Nikita: Hello and welcome to the Oracle University Podcast! I'm Nikita Abraham, Team Lead of Editorial Services with Oracle University, and with me is Lois Houston, Director of Communications and Adoption with Customer Success Services.   Lois: Hi everyone! Thanks for joining us for this Best of 2025 series, where we're playing you four of our most popular episodes of the year.   Nikita: Today's episode is #3 of 4 and is a throwback to a conversation with our friends and Oracle Fusion Apps experts Patrick McBride and Bill Lawson. We chatted with them about the latest courses and certifications available for Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications, featuring Oracle Modern Best Practice and the Oracle Cloud Success Navigator.  01:08 Lois: We kicked things off by asking Patrick to help us understand what Oracle Modern Best Practice is, and the reasons behind its creation. Patrick: So, modern best practices are more than just a business process. They're really about translating features and technology into actionable capabilities in our product. So, we've created these by curating industry leading best practices we've collected from our customers over the years. And ensure that the most modern technologies that we've built into the Fusion Application stack are represented inside of those business processes. Our goal is really to help you as customers improve your business operations by easily finding and applying those technologies to what you do every day.  01:53 Nikita: So, by understanding this modern best practice and the technology that enables it, you're really unlocking the full potential of Fusion Apps.  Patrick: Absolutely. So, the goal is that modern best practice make it really easy for customers, implementers, partners, to see the opportunity and take action. 02:13 Lois: That's great. OK, so, let's talk about implementations, Patrick. How do Oracle Modern Best Practice support customers throughout the lifecycle of an Oracle Fusion Cloud implementation? Patrick: What we found during many implementers' journey with taking our solution and trying to apply it with customers is that customers come in with a long list of capabilities that they're asking us to replicate. What they've always done in the past. And what modern best practice is trying to do is help customers to reimage the art of the possible…what's possible with Fusion by taking advantage of innovative features like AI, like IoT, like, you know, all of the other solutions that we built in to help you automate your processes to help you get the most out of the solution using the latest and greatest technology. So, if you're an implementer, there's a number of ways a modern best practice can help during an implementation. First is that reimagine exercise where you can help the customer see what's possible. And how we can do it in a better way. I think more importantly though, as you go through your implementation, many customers aren't able to get everything done by the time they have to go live. They have a list of things they've deferred and modern best practices really establishes itself as a road map for success, so you can go back to it at the completion and see what's left for the opportunity to take advantage of and you can use it to track kind of the continuous innovation that Oracle delivers with every release and see what's changed with that business process and how can I get the most out of it. 03:43 Nikita: Thanks, Patrick. That's a great primer on OMBP that I'm sure everyone will find very helpful. Patrick: Thanks, Niki. We want our customers to understand the value of modern best practices so they can really maximize their investment in Oracle technology today and in the future as we continue to innovate. 03:59 Lois: Right. And the way we're doing that is through new training and certifications that are closely aligned with OMBP. Bill, what can you tell us about this? Bill: Yes, sure. So, the new Oracle Fusion Applications Foundations training program is designed to help partners and customers understand Oracle Modern Best Practice and how they improve the entire implementation journey with Fusion Cloud Applications. As a learner, you will understand how to adhere to these practices and how they promise a greater level of success and customer satisfaction. So, whether you're designing, or implementing, or going live, you'll be able to get it right on day one. So, like Patrick was saying, these OMBPs are reimagined, industry-standard business processes built into Fusion Applications. So, you'll also discover how technologies like AI, Mobile, and Analytics help you automate tasks and make smarter decisions. You'll see how data flows between processes and get tips for successful go-lives. So, the training we're offering includes product demonstrations, key metrics, and design considerations to give you a solid understanding of modern best practice. It also introduces you to Oracle Cloud Success Navigator and how it can be leveraged and relied upon as a trusted source to guide you through every step of your cloud journey, so from planning, designing, and implementation, to user acceptance testing and post-go-live innovations with each quarterly new release of Fusion Applications and those new features. And then, the training also prepares you for Oracle Cloud Applications Foundations certifications.                   05:31 Nikita: Which applications does the training focus on, Bill? Bill: Sure, so the training focuses on four key pillars of Fusion Apps and the associated OMBP with them. For Human Capital Management, we cover Human Resources and Talent Management. For Enterprise Resource Planning, it's all about Financials, Project Management, and Risk Management. In Supply Chain Management, you'll look at Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Inventory, Procurement, and more. And for Customer Experience, we'll focus on Marketing, Sales, and Service. 05:59 Lois: That's great, Bill. Now, who is the training and certification for?  Bill: That's a great question. So, it's really for anyone who wants to get the most out of Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications. It doesn't matter if you're an experienced professional or someone new to Fusion Apps, this is a great place to start. It's even recommended for professionals with experience in implementing other applications, like on-premise products. So, the goal is to give you a solid foundation in Oracle Modern Best Practice and show you how to use them to improve your implementation approach. We want to make it easy for anyone, whether you're an implementer, a global process owner, or an IT team employee, to identify every way Fusion Applications can improve your organization. So, if you're new to Fusion Apps, you'll get a comprehensive overview of Oracle Fusion Applications and how to use OMBP to improve business operations. If you're already certified in Oracle Cloud Applications and have years of experience, you'll still benefit from learning how OMBP fits into your work.  If you're an experienced Fusion consultant who is new to Oracle Modern Best Practice processes, this is a good place to begin and learn how to apply them and the latest technology enablers during implementations.  And, lastly, if you're an on-premise or you have non-Fusion consultant skills looking to upskill to Fusion, this is a great way to begin acquiring the knowledge and skills needed to transition to Fusion and migrate your existing expertise. 07:29 Have you mastered the basics of AI? Are you ready to take your skills to the next level? Unlock the potential of advanced AI with our OCI Generative AI Professional course and certification that covers topics like Large Language Models, the OCI Generative AI Service, and building Q&A chatbots for real-world applications. Head over to mylearn.oracle.com and find out more.  07:58 Nikita: Welcome back! Bill, how long is it going to take me to complete this training program? Bill: So, we wanted to make this program detailed enough so our learners find it valuable, obviously. But at the same time, we didn't want to make it too long. So, each course is approximately 5 hours or more, and provides folks with all the requisite knowledge they need to get started with Oracle Modern Best Practice and Fusion Applications.  08:22 Lois: Bill, is there anything that I need to know before I take this course? Are there any prerequisites? Bill: No, Lois, there are no prerequisites. Like I was saying, whether you're fresh out of college or a seasoned professional, this is a great place to start your journey into Fusion Apps and Oracle Modern Best Practice. 08:37 Nikita: That's great, you know, that there are no barriers to starting. Now, Bill, what can you tell us about the certification that goes along with this new program?  Bill: The best part, Niki, is that it's free. In fact, the training is also free. We have four courses and corresponding Foundation Associate–level certifications for Human Capital Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, Supply Chain Management, and Customer Experience. So, completing the training prepares you for an hour-long exam with 25 questions. It's a pretty straightforward way to validate your expertise in Oracle Modern Best Practice and Fusion Apps implementation considerations. 09:11 Nikita: Ok. Say I take this course and certification. What can I do next? Where should my learning journey take me? Bill: So, you're building knowledge and expertise with Fusion Applications, correct? So, once you take this training and certification, I recommend that you identify a product area you want to specialize in. So, if you take the Foundations training for HCM, you can dive deeper into specialized paths focused on implementing Human Resources, Workforce Management, Talent Management, or Payroll applications, for example.  The same goes for other product areas. If you finish the certification for Foundations in ERP, you may choose to specialize in Finance or Project Management and get your professional certifications there as your next step. So, once you have this foundational knowledge, moving on to advanced learning in these areas becomes much easier. We offer various learning paths with associated professional-level certifications to deepen your knowledge and expertise in Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications. So, you can learn more about these courses by visiting oracle.com/education/training/ to find out more of what Oracle University has to offer. 10:14 Lois: Right. I love that we have a clear path from foundational-level training to more advanced levels. So, as your skills grow, we've got the resources to help you move forward.  Nikita: That's right, Lois. Thanks for walking us through all this, Patrick and Bill. We really appreciate you taking the time to join us on the podcast. Bill: Yeah, it's always a pleasure to join you on the podcast. Thank you very much. Patrick: Oh, thanks for having me, Lois. Happy to be here. Nikita: We hope you enjoyed that conversation. Join us next week for another throwback episode. Until then, this is Nikita Abraham...      Lois: And Lois Houston, signing off!   10:47 That's all for this episode of the Oracle University Podcast. If you enjoyed listening, please click Subscribe to get all the latest episodes. We'd also love it if you would take a moment to rate and review us on your podcast app. See you again on the next episode of the Oracle University Podcast.  

Welcome back to Accelerate Your Business Growth! In today's episode, host Diane Helbig sits down with Dave Rizzo, Asia Pacific President of Teleperformance, a global leader in AI- and emotionally intelligent (EI)-powered digital business services. Together, they dive into practical strategies for blending AI and EI to create more efficient, yet deeply human, interactions with customers. Dave Rizzo shares actionable advice for business owners of all sizes on what types of tasks should be automated, and when that personal touch is not just beneficial, but indispensable. The conversation also takes us inside leadership practices that foster innovation and trust across diverse, multi-country teams, and explores what it really takes to build a culture of empowerment, transparency, and constant dialogue in today's global economy. If you're curious about future-proofing your business through digital transformation, empowering your people rather than replacing them, and ensuring your organization evolves alongside fast-moving technology, this episode is packed with valuable takeaways. Plus, you'll hear Dave Rizzo's perspective on why every team member's voice matters more than ever, and how leaders can create the conditions for everyone to engage meaningfully with change. Dave is a forward-thinking leader who has helped global organizations achieve consistency, speed, and large-scale transformation—whether through traditional or AI-driven solutions. Drawing on extensive experience across industries, Dave leverages his company's vast size and global reach to identify best-in-class partnership models for clients, tailoring solutions from banking to technology to retail. In the Asia Pacific region, for example, he connects insights from fast-moving startups and long-time retail partners worldwide, helping clients avoid reinventing the wheel. By prioritizing data and automation for routine tasks, Dave ensures his teams are freed up to focus on high-value, emotionally sensitive work, driving both customer satisfaction and operational excellence. If you are a small business owner or salesperson who struggles with getting the sales results you are looking for, get your copy of Succeed Without Selling today. Learn the importance of Always Be Curious. Accelerate Your Business Growth is proud to be included on the list of the 45 Best Business Growth Podcasts. We are also honored to be selected by FeedSpot as one of the Top 10 Growth Hacking Podcasts, Top 25 Evergreen Podcasts and Top 50 Business Growth Podcasts on the web. Each episode of this podcast provides insights and education around topics that are important to you as a business owner or leader. The content comes from people who are experts in their fields and who are interested in helping you be more successful. Whether it's sales challenges, leadership issues, hiring and talent struggles, marketing, seo, branding, time management, customer service, communication, podcasting, social media, cashflow, or publishing, the best and the brightest join the host, Diane Helbig, for a casual conversation. Discover programs, webinars, services, books, and other podcasts you can tap into for fresh ideas. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode and visit Helbig Enterprises to explore the many ways Diane can help you improve your business outcomes and results. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What challenge separates teams that ship real customer impact from those that just ship features? In this podcast hosted by Cassio Sampaio, Retool Head of Technical Customer Experience Chris Harry explores how customer-facing teams and product teams can partner to drive meaningful adoption, credibility, and long-term trust. He shares practical insights from two decades of working with deeply technical products and demanding enterprise environments, offering a grounded perspective on what it takes to translate product vision into real-world value.

Hello and welcome back to First Principles. This is the part 1 of the 49th episode since we started, or the 8th episode of season 3.In this episode, I sit down with Aloke Bajpai, co-founder and CEO of Ixigo, one of India's fastest-growing and most downloaded travel platforms. While most Indian OTAs followed the Western template of flights-first followed by hotels, Aloke and his co-founder Rajnish took a radically different path. The one that would take nearly 14 years before Ixigo became a full-blown OTA.Aloke takes us through Ixigo's unconventional journey, starting as a meta-search engine in 2007 that couldn't raise funding for over a year. We explore how the insight that 96% of Indians don't fly, led them to build a train-first platform, spending four years creating utility features without any monetization. He breaks down the technical innovation behind solving India-specific problems. Right from predicting waitlist confirmations using machine learning to creating a crowdsourced running status system using cell tower IDs when GPS and internet failed along railway tracks.A central theme is resilience through empathy. Aloke shares how near-death experiences during the 2008 global financial crisis and COVID-19 shaped Ixigo's culture. We discuss the founder's decision to go to zero salary, the whiteboard moment where the entire team transparently decided on salary cuts, and the contrarian choice to proactively refund customers during COVID even when the company was running out of money. Finally, Aloke argues that peace of mind, not tickets, is what travel companies should really be selling. First Principles has been named one of the best shows of 2025 on Apple Podcasts India! Every listen and every share is what keeps us going. We get to dive into these conversations because you show up for them. Thank you for being part of this journey with us. Check out all other episodes here.

https://stonemaiergames.com/5-things-i-learned-at-universal-epic-universe-about-immersive-customer-experiences/

Utility bills can be confusing (and frustrating), and we know many customers have questions about what they're seeing and why changes are happening. In this milestone 100th episode of Roses & Weeds, hosts Payton Weidman and Adriana Rodriguez, along with guest Chris Cambra from the Water Business Office, walk through upcoming updates to Tyler's utility billing and customer tools, including a redesigned utility bill and a new payment provider. The conversation focuses on clarity and transparency, explains what's changing, when customers can expect to see those updates, and helps listeners understand the updates, why they matter, and how these updates are designed to better serve customers.Roses & Weeds is hosted by the City of Tyler's Communication Department. If you have any questions, comments, or ideas for future show topics, please reach out to us at PublicRelations@TylerTexas.com and be sure to use #RosesAndWeeds on all your questions to the City of Tyler on social media.

This episode is brought to you by Commerce.AI is reshaping the retail landscape faster than any technology in recent memory, but with the hype comes confusion — and a lot of big questions about what AI can actually do for retailers today.In this episode of Retail Remix, host Nicole Silberstein sits down with Andrew Bialecki, Co-founder and CEO of Klaviyo, to separate reality from speculation and explore how AI is changing marketing, customer service and the entire shopping experience.Andrew shares the origin story behind Klaviyo's “digital brain for businesses,” explains why retailers will increasingly become hybrid product-and-service companies, and breaks down the AI behaviors already shaping consumer expectations. He also takes a look into his crystal ball to offer a forward-looking perspective on how voice, avatars and in-store AI agents could define the next era of commerce.Key TakeawaysHow retailers will evolve into hybrid product-and-service brands as AI makes information and personalization easily accessible to all;Why multimodal AI — including chat, voice and in-store agents — could propel the next wave of omnichannel experiences;The role humans will continue to play in the AI future through creative direction, brand judgment and defining customer experience goals;What consumers actually want from AI: speed, summarization, better recommendations, and easier product discovery; Why the ability to do “napkin math” is critical for businesspeople of all stripes; andThe hardest thing about going from being a private to a public company.Related LinksExplore Klaviyo's AI-powered marketing and customer relationship toolsGet more retail industry insights from Retail TouchPointsSubscribe and catch up on all episodes of Retail Remix -----How to Win Customers Across Every ChannelThis guide from BigCommerce brings you expert insights on data, branding, and marketing to help you grow sales across every major channel. Read the Guide.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Please take 12 seconds to rate and review the podcast because it helps us find new listeners ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐FREE RESOURCES✅ Get a free digital copy of my bestselling book for a limited time, Choice Hacking: How to use psychology and behavioral science to create an experience that sings. Get it here: https://www.choicehacking.com/free-book/ ✅ Get FREE weekly marketing psychology insights when you join my newsletter, Choice Hacking Ideas: Join the 10k+ people getting daily insights on how to 2x their marketing effectiveness (so sales and profit 2x, too) using buyer psychology. Join here: https://www.choicehacking.com/read/✅ Connect with host Jennifer Clinehens on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok @ChoiceHacking and @BuildwithChoiceHackingWORK WITH US✅ Corporate Training: Get your team up-skilled marketing psychology and behavioral science with a workshop or training session. Choice Hacking has worked with brands like Microsoft, T-Mobile, and McDonalds to help their teams apply behavioral science and marketing psychology.Learn more here, and get in touch using the contact form at the bottom of the page: https://www.choicehacking.com/training/✅ Get your own Chief Marketing Copilot for your business when you my new program. Get live Skill Sessions, Implementation Sessions, and one-on-one time with me.Learn more here: https://choicehacking.academy/pro/✅ Buy my book in Kindle, paperback, or audiobook form: "Choice Hacking: How to use psychology and behavioral science to create an experience that sings": https://choicehacking.com/PodBook/ ★ Support this podcast ★

This week on ASUG Talks, SAP Cloud ALM takes center stage. I am joined by two guests offering different perspectives about the solution. Bryce Lightner, Enterprise Solutions and Operations Architect at Woodstream Corporation, discussed his experience using the solution, while Sören Ruder, Chief Product Officer (CPO) and Head of Customer Experience & Solutions (CXS) at SAP, joined the podcast to articulate the value of SAP Cloud ALM and where it fits into the portoflio. Key InsightsHow SAP Cloud ALM helped Woodstream optimize its project management capabilitiesThe impact SAP Cloud ALM can have on enterprises as they undertake business transformationsHow SAP Cloud ALM can also help organizations with their AI journeysRelated Insights Read ASUG editorial's interview with Irfan Khan, President and Chief Product Officer of SAP Data & Analytics, about SAP Business Data Cloud

Summary In this episode of the AI for Sales podcast, host Chad Burmeister and guest Diego Lopez discuss the transformative power of AI in customer experience and its potential for social impact. They explore the importance of rethinking AI implementation, the role of agentic AI, and the need for smart automation in achieving meaningful outcomes. The conversation highlights real-world applications of AI in communities and emphasizes the importance of understanding biases and the complexities that come with AI technology. Takeaways AI is revolutionizing customer experience through multimodal interactions. The importance of designing technology with a focus on social impact. Rethinking AI implementation is crucial for achieving desired outcomes. AI can accelerate development but also introduces new complexities. Understanding biases in AI is essential for effective communication. AgentiGAA represents a new frontier in AI technology. Smart automations are not equivalent to true agency in AI. The need for clear objectives when implementing AI solutions. AI can enhance productivity but requires critical thinking. Real-world applications of AI can create meaningful community impacts. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to AI and Social Impact 02:22 Transforming Customer Experience with AI 07:56 Real-World Applications of AI in Communities 11:34 Rethinking AI Implementation 14:51 The Role of Agentic AI 19:39 The Future of AI and Automation The AI for Sales Podcast is brought to you by BDR.ai, Nooks.ai, and ZoomInfo—the go-to-market intelligence platform that accelerates revenue growth. Skip the forms and website hunting—Chad will connect you directly with the right person at any of these companies.

Banks today have a great number of customer experience pain points. There's the trust factor to consider, on whether customers feel their bank actually care about them and their financial struggles. But there's also the fact that customers expect a seamless experience across multiple channels, whether that's in the branch, mobile or at the branch.In today's episode of the Bank Customer Experience podcast, Brian McEvoy, chief retail banking officer at Webster Five, joined Bradley Cooper to discuss how banks can navigate these customer pain points.He said during the podcast that "people process technology in unison." In other words, the various platforms have to work together. It's not enough to have a fancy mobile app that doesn't integrate well with your other bank platforms or doesn't integrate with third party apps.McEvoy added that the hardest part for banks is: "How do you make a frictionless experience for the customer?" This is a particularly big problem as customers have far less patience for any frustration in the experience."If there's any pain point in the experience, our tolerance and patience is less than it used to be."So how do banks address this? McEvoy pointed to a few important elements:Refocus branches to have a custom experience for guests.Use AI to automate simpler tasks.Use a mobile-first strategy to ensure all your bank's features are accessible.During the discussion, McEvoy addressed several subtopics such as:Identifying pain points.Making a good branch experience.Keeping the personal touch while also using AI.Listen to the full discussion above.

In this episode of The Voice of Retail, host Michael LeBlanc sits down with Mat Povse, President of Best Buy Canada, live on the stage in Vancouver at Retail Council of Canada's Retail West stage for a wide-ranging and candid conversation on leadership, innovation, omnichannel retail, and the future of consumer technology in Canada.Povse begins by unpacking what is currently working at Best Buy Canada, pointing to strong financial momentum driven by a clear sense of purpose: understanding why the retailer exists and how it adds value in a crowded technology marketplace. He emphasizes that Best Buy is not simply a retailer, but a people-first organization built on adaptability, humility, and a culture that embraces constant change. That mindset has enabled the company to modernize approximately 85% of its Canadian store fleet, with plans to reach full modernization across all 320 locations—an achievement Povse notes is rare by global retail standards.The conversation explores the evolving role of physical stores in an attention-scarce world. Povse explains how Best Buy balances frictionless transactions for efficiency-driven shoppers with high-touch, consultative experiences for customers overwhelmed by complex technology decisions. This dual mandate—serving both mass market and specialty retail needs—defines Best Buy's in-store strategy and underpins its omnichannel ecosystem.LeBlanc and Povse also examine post-pandemic tailwinds, including technology refresh cycles following the COVID “buy-forward” period. Povse outlines how innovation from major vendors, operating system upgrades, gaming launches, and AI-enabled devices are fueling renewed demand. He positions Best Buy as a critical platform for brands bringing new technology to market, reinforcing its role as both retailer and technology authority.A significant portion of the discussion focuses on Best Buy Express, the partnership with Bell that rapidly expanded the retailer's physical footprint by opening 167 stores in just five months. Povse describes the initiative as “fiercely successful,” highlighting how Express locations are driving both in-store traffic and incremental online sales in previously underserved markets.The episode also dives into Best Buy's early leadership in retail media and marketplace strategy. Povse frames Best Buy as a platform connecting first- and third-party sellers with consumers across stores, digital channels, and media assets—while stressing the importance of protecting the customer experience. He underscores that retail media must enhance relevance, not create friction.Finally, Povse reflects on leadership philosophy, advocating for collaborative decision-making, discretionary effort, and values-driven culture. He closes with practical advice for retailers and vendors alike: build the right team, listen more than you speak, understand your business at both micro and macro levels, and lead with honesty and humility. The Voice of Retail podcast is presented by Hale, a performance marketing partner trusted by brands like ASICS, Saje, and Orangetheory to scale with focus and impact. Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

I'm Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur and the creator of the Restaurant Scaling System. I've spent decades in the industry, building, scaling, and coaching restaurants to become more profitable and sustainable. On this show, I cut through the noise to give you real, actionable strategies that help independent restaurant owners run smarter, more successful businesses.Today I dig into what customer loyalty really means and why so many programs miss the mark. Loyalty is not about discounts. It is about access, recognition, and the feeling of being valued. I break down how small moments of surprise and genuine connection can drive more repeat visits than any points system. If you want your guests to come back more often and spend more when they do, these strategies will help you build relationships that last. TakeawaysLoyalty should be about access, not just perks.Recognition is key to building emotional equity.Surprise elements in loyalty programs enhance customer engagement.Creating thresholds in loyalty fosters a sense of belonging.Handwritten notes can significantly improve customer relationships.Loyalty programs should focus on privilege rather than discounts.Emotional economics can drive customer loyalty effectively.Regulars should feel special through personalized experiences.Surprise and delight can differentiate your restaurant from competitors.Tracking changes in loyalty strategies can reveal valuable insights.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Hospitality Insights01:26 Rethinking Customer Loyalty05:48 Creating Emotional Connections with GuestsIf you've got a marketing or profitability related question for me, email me directly at josh@joshkopel.com and include Office Hours in the subject line. If you'd like to scale the profitability of your restaurant in only 5 days, sign up for our FREE 5 Day Restaurant Profitability Challenge by visiting https://joshkopel.com.

An amazing panel discussion from a recent ACT-IAC CX SUMMIT, focuses on the synergy between financial management and service delivery. Moderated by Steven Boberski, with experts Clarence Crawford, Thomas Coleman, and Sarah Cunningham. They explore the role of CFOs in enhancing customer experience, strategic advising, and leveraging technology, like AI, for efficiency. They also discuss challenges like unfunded mandates and the evolving role of CFOs in the federal government. The episode highlights the importance of collaboration and creative problem-solving in achieving agency goals.Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform to never miss an episode! For more from ACT-IAC, follow us on LinkedIn or visit http://www.actiac.org.Learn more about membership at https://www.actiac.org/join.Donate to ACT-IAC at https://actiac.org/donate. Intro/Outro Music: See a Brighter Day/Gloria TellsCourtesy of Epidemic Sound(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young CommunityCourtesy of Epidemic Sound)

In this espisoder, our listeners ask John anything! Summary Your chance to ask John anything!  In this episode of the Customer Service Revolution podcast, Denise Thompson asks John R. DiJulius III questions submitted by our listeners.  They discuss various aspects of improving customer service and employee engagement. They address the challenges of busy schedules, the importance of empathy, recognition, and training, and the role of middle management in driving customer experience. The conversation emphasizes the need for a human touch in customer interactions, even in an age of automation, and highlights the significance of creating a customer experience action statement as a guiding principle for organizations. Takeaways: Start with a customer experience action statement as a guiding principle. Employees may not care as much as entrepreneurs, but they can be engaged. Earned growth is a better KPI than traditional metrics like NPS. Empathy fatigue is real; leaders must help employees manage it. Recognition and appreciation are crucial for employee motivation. Training should allow for personal expression while maintaining professionalism. Middle management plays a key role in driving customer experience initiatives. Human interaction is essential, even in an increasingly automated world. Hiring for empathy and people skills is critical for customer service roles. The first commandment of customer experience is igniting the revolution. Chapters: 00:00Igniting the Customer Experience Revolution 11:58Balancing Budgets and Customer Experience Investment 15:06Re-energizing Employees Around the Mission 17:37The Role of Middle Management in Customer Experience 24:56Training for Consistency Without Scripts 27:31Future-Proofing Customer Experience 38:22Conclusion and Key Takeaways Links: Schedule a Complimentary Call with one of our advisors:  tdg.click/claudia Ask John!  Submit your questions for John, to be aired on future episode:  tdg.click/ask Customer Experience Executive Academy: https://thedijuliusgroup.com/project/cx-executive-academy/ The DiJulius Group Methdology: https://thedijuliusgroup.com/x-commandment-methodology/ Experience Revolution Membership:  https://thedijuliusgroup.com/membership/ Books:  https://thedijuliusgroup.com/shop/ Contacts:  Lindsey@thedijuliusgroup.com , Claudia@thedijuliusgroup.com   Subscribe We talk about topics like this each week; be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss an episode.

AI is transforming software development—redefining roles, creativity, and community, while challenging developers to embrace ambiguity, orchestrate specialized agents, and stay human through empathy and curiosity. Will AI make developers more creative, or will we forget how the machine really works under the hood?This week Dave, Esmee , Rob sit down with Scott Hanselman, VP Developer Community at Microsoft for a wildly energetic, deeply human, and brilliantly practical conversation about how AI is reshaping software development and what that means for creativity, careers, and all industries. TLDR00:30 – Scott Hanselman introduced as a special guest from Microsoft Ignite 2025.02:16 – Scott discusses how AI is fundamentally redesigning all industries.09:50 – Don't anthropomorphize AI, I want the computer from Star Trek!15:30 – Delegation: contrasting the roles of humans and agents.18:30 – The importance of supporting early career growth and learning.26:30 – Why specificity matters in AI and coding.35:30 – Making AI delightful and fun.45:30 – Always put humans first in AI development.46:00 – Each morning I think about lunch. GuestScott Hanselman: https://www.hanselman.com/The Hanselminutes Podcast: https://www.hanselman.com/podcasts with over 1025 podcasts! HostsDave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/Esmee van de Giessen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esmeevandegiessen/Rob Kernahan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-kernahan/ ProductionMarcel van der Burg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-vd-burg/Dave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/ SoundBen Corbett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-corbett-3b6a11135/Louis Corbett:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-corbett-087250264/ 'Cloud Realities' is an original podcast from Capgemini

Why organizational expertise is so important to the success of CX teams. Lauren Feehrer on LinkedInLoyaltyCraft CX ConsultancyConnect with Sam on LinkedIn - I share customer experience content multiple times a week, and love hearing from listeners with questions or ideas for topics.Subscribe to my newsletter, Customer Experience Patterns - I publish a new edition with each episode of the podcast.My LinkedIn Learning courses: Customer Experience: 6 Essential Foundations For Lasting Loyalty, How To Create Great Customer Experiences & Build A Customer-Centric Culture. In-depth video series that teach you how to create great experiences, and build customer-centric cultuers.Thanks to my talented colleague Emily Tolmer for the cover art. Thanks to my friends at Moon Island for the music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if customer experience stopped living in customer service and started living in the core of your business? We tackle a listener's challenge and turn it into a practical playbook: define a shared mindset, build a success blueprint tied to revenue and cost, and practice the daily discipline that makes change stick. Along the way, we share the one-line definition leaders can use to rally teams: customer experience is the system we build to deliver on the promises we make.We start by stripping away the fuzziness around CX. Instead of ten different definitions across the company, we push you to craft a clear CX mission statement that guides choices in sales, product, marketing, operations, and HR. From there, we elevate CX from reactive troubleshooting to proactive design—fixing upstream processes that create downstream tickets, refunds, and churn. The message to skeptics is grounded and simple: fewer service issues, lower cost-to-serve, stronger retention, and more referrals.Then we map CX to executive priorities with a customer experience success blueprint. We talk through how to align with the CFO's bottom line, show the CMO how advocacy can lower paid media spend, and help product and operations choose fixes that move the needle. You'll hear how to translate friction into financial levers, set a tight measurement set that includes outcome, perception, and behavior metrics, and build governance that runs like any other business function. Finally, we offer storytelling tips to earn buy-in, celebrate small wins, and keep momentum through the long, non–light switch journey of change.If this resonates, share it with a colleague who still thinks CX is a department. Subscribe for more practical plays, leave a quick review to help others find the show, and send us your questions—your challenges fuel the next conversation.Resources Mentioned:Order your copy of Experience Is Everything -- experienceiseverythingbook.comExperience Investigators Website -- experienceinvestigators.comWant to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)

Alastair Dorward, former CEO of Dropps and founding CEO of Method, joins us to explore sustainability, legacy brands, startups, and the future of CPG. He explains why leaders must get comfortable cannibalizing their own products before startups do, and why customer relevance is non‑negotiable. The conversation dives into corporate venture capital, startup partnerships, and how agentic search is leveling the playing field for sustainable, high‑performance brands. Alastair also shares four insurgent plays: uncover unmet needs, elevate the customer experience, find the riches in the niches, and prove there's “no mission without margin.”

In this Bright Spots in Healthcare episode, host Eric Glazer brings together Medicare Advantage leaders who are rethinking how digital first and whole person strategies can meet rising Stars expectations. The conversation explores how plans are simplifying engagement, strengthening provider alignment, and integrating specialty and virtual care models to improve quality, experience, and overall performance in the new ratings era. Our guests include: Lisa Franklin, Director of Medicare Business, Product, and Marketing, Strategic Growth and Government Programs, Carefirst Christine McKinney, Vice President Customer Experience and Digital Transformation Blue Shield of California Mary O'Connor, MD, Chief Medical Officer & Co-Founder, Vori Health Together, they explore: How CareFirst reduced member friction by consolidating 175 touchpoints a year into a coordinated digital first experience built around scrolling content cards, real time click behavior, and simplified onboarding. How Vori Health is integrating whole person MSK care with payers through value based arrangements that support coaching, nutrition, behavioral health screening, and earlier risk identification. How Blue Shield of California built a continuous CAHPS simulation program to uncover pain points and used those insights to create the Care Navigation Desk for real time access help. How digital tools like online scheduling, integrated member health records, and proactive pharmacy cost transparency are reducing friction and helping seniors navigate the ecosystem more independently. How plans are using AI and preference based engagement to support new Medicare members, improve medication adherence, and scale outreach during market disruptions. Panelist Bios: https://www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com/events/falling-stars-rising-standards-how-digital-first-whole-person-care-is-fueling-success-in-the-new-ratings-era/ Download the Episode Guide: Get key takeaways and expert highlights to help you apply lessons from the episode. https://www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Episode_Guide_120425_Vori-Falling-Stars-Rising-Standards.docx.pdf Key Insights Summary: Find key insights from the discussion, guest takeaways, and detailed moderator notes captured by Eric during the conversation. https://www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Key-Takeaways-Erics-Notes-Falling-Stars-Rising-Standards.docx.pdf Resources:  Report: How Physician Led MSK Care Supports Stars Improvement and Whole Person Outcomes This companion report highlights how Vori Health's physician-led, virtual first musculoskeletal care model helps Medicare Advantage plans strengthen performance in the new ratings environment. It includes data and real member stories showing how hybrid specialty access, early gap closure, and whole person support improve outcomes, reduce unnecessary MSK spend, and enhance member experience. Inside you will find insights on Improving access through forty eight hour specialty appointments Reducing opioid use and unnecessary surgeries Supporting preventive screenings and chronic condition management Elevating member satisfaction across measures tied to the 2026 Stars program To request your copy, email nroberts@brightspotsventures.com. Buyer's Guide: The Comprehensive Guide to MSK Care for Health Plans This companion report gives health plans a clear framework for improving MSK strategy, highlighting how fragmented, high cost pathways drive unnecessary imaging, procedures, and surgeries without resolving pain. It outlines four MSK care models and the key elements of a high value program such as physician led care, holistic support, non opioid management, strong engagement, and real claims based ROI. It also shows how solutions like Vori Health bring these components together through coordinated, hybrid access and measurable improvements in outcomes and cost. Inside you will find insights on Improving MSK access and coordination across care models Designing physician led, whole person programs that address root causes of pain Reducing unnecessary imaging, procedures, and surgeries Driving stronger engagement, better outcomes, and meaningful cost savings To request your copy, email nroberts@brightspotsventures.com. Thank You to Our Episode Partner, Vori Health: Vori Health is a physician-led musculoskeletal care practice that delivers fast, evidence-based hybrid care for back, neck, and joint pain. Their whole person approach improves outcomes, reduces unnecessary MSK costs, and supports stronger Medicare Advantage Star Ratings. Learn more at vorihealth.com. Schedule a Meeting with a Dr. Mary O'Connor of Vori Health: To explore how Vori Health can help your organization strengthen whole person MSK care and support better Stars performance, reach out to nroberts@brightspotsventures.com to schedule a meeting with Dr. Mary O'Connor, CMO and Co-founder, Vori Health. About Bright Spots Ventures: Bright Spots Ventures is a healthcare strategy and engagement company that creates content, communities, and connections to accelerate innovation.   We help healthcare leaders discover what's working, and how to scale it. By bringing together health plan, hospital, and solution leaders, we facilitate the exchange of ideas that lead to measurable impact. Through our podcast, executive councils, private events, and go-to-market strategy work, we surface and amplify the "bright spots" in healthcare, proven innovations others can learn from and replicate. At our core, we exist to create trusted relationships that make real progress possible. Visit our website at www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com.  

For Steve Dennis and Michael LeBlanc's final episode recorded live at the CommerceNext Growth show, they welcome two visionary leaders from Tapestry, the global house of brands that includes Coach and Kate Spade: Pooja Chandiramani, VP Global Media Strategy & Planning, Marketing Analytics, Operations and Transformation, and Avinash Kaushik, Brand Strategy & Marketing Transformation.Pooja and Avinash unpack Tapestry's ongoing transformation, which embeds analytics as a core pillar of brand growth. For Coach in particular, analytics isn't just incremental—it's a complete transformation journey. By using data to generate insights that directly drive business impact, Tapestry ensures marketing investments are accountable, measurable, and tied to outcomes.Avinash, a globally recognized thought leader and author, explains how Tapestry embraces intent-centric marketing to connect authentically with consumers. Moving beyond the outdated “accessible luxury” positioning, the company has shifted toward "expressive luxury"—a modern framework that reflects values-driven, authentic consumer engagement, particularly resonant with younger audiences.The conversation dives into the cultural foundations necessary for analytics to thrive. Avinash emphasizes that “culture is more important than data,” crediting Tapestry's CEO Joanne Crevoiserat and senior leadership for creating an environment where data can challenge assumptions and guide decisions. This culture enables bold experiments, including measuring the incrementality of brand marketing—one of the toughest questions in retail.Pooja highlights how creative pre-testing has become a critical unlock. By partnering with Human Made Machine, Tapestry tests campaigns with real audiences before investing media spend. This approach ensures that creative—responsible for up to 70% of marketing impact—delivers measurable results in driving brand awareness and incremental sales. It's a cultural shift, moving from subjective opinions about creative to decisions grounded in data.The episode also explores the role of AI and machine learning in accelerating agility, simplifying decision-making frameworks, and enabling global scalability. Both leaders stress that outcomes-based planning—rather than activity-based planning—keeps Tapestry aligned with its ambitious growth goals.  About UsJennifer MarloHead of Content, CommerceNextJennifer Marlo drives industry-leading programming at CommerceNext, drawing on experience from Ascendant Network and iMedia Connection, where she spearheaded content strategies to inspire retail, brand and agency marketing leaders. Guided by the belief that “a rising tide lifts all boats,” Jennifer uses in-person and digital platforms to educate and foster industry collaboration. Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling authro of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, top retail influencer, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Key TakeawaysMullican expresses the value of the event, and given that AI and Copilot have matured, the sessions at the 2025 AI Agent & Copilot Summit NA will shift from a focus on experimentation to practical applications that deliver real impact.As a returning Programming Committee Board member, Mullican highlights the "unprecedented number of submissions this time around,” making it tough to choose sessions for 2025. The event will offer a mix of visionary talks, practical use cases, and deep dives to serve both tech and business audiences.Mullican shares how business leaders can use the event to "adapt to a new reality," as it aims to “cut through the hype” around AI and focus on practical realities. Even though AI offers transformative potential, most businesses will adopt it gradually, using tools like copilots to improve efficiency rather than undergoing radical overnight changes. "I expect that there's going to be a lot of discussion about. It's just these different layers, these different levels of AI hype and truth." Visit Cloud Wars for more.

“ The joy of live performance is that we're all experiencing the same thing together and it unites us as a community.” When I think of crossword puzzles, I think of a quiet, cerebral exercise. It's often a solitary activity, maybe occasionally yelling out if anyone knows a four letter word for "milk's favorite cookie." When Zach Sherwin considered crossword puzzles, however, he thought, okay... but what if it also had comedians, rap, music, and just a little bit of chaos, all wrapped up in an epically funny live show? Zach Sherwin has long had a way with words. He cut his teeth performing sketch comedy and honing his rapping skills as MC Mr. Napkins. He eventually found his way to Epic Rap Battles of History, which found a way to make nerdy, boring history feel fun and – dare I say – cool. His love of wordplay and puzzles led him to create The Crossword Show. Zach Sherwin presides as two guest comedians solve a crossword puzzle live onstage, with everything displayed on a big screen so you can follow along. As the solvers decipher the clues, Zach takes the show down rabbit holes of comedy, music, wordplay and trivia, all inspired by the answer words. Everything ties together at the end for a grand finale. It is clever, hilarious, and had me awestruck at the mental gymnastics Zach goes through over the course of the show. Zach joins us on REPOD to talk about how he turned a quiet nerdy activity into something funny, thrilling, and interactive. I really enjoyed hearing him talk about the secret sauce of crafting this show, from how he adjusts the difficulty of the clues, to what makes a live show special. He was a delightful guest. Are you intrigued by how a live crossword stage show works? Zach will be performing at the Reality Escape Convention in Laval in 2026. This is a show you won't want to miss.     Episode Sponsors We are immensely grateful to our sponsors this season: REA Patreon Backers, PG's Playhouse, Buzzshot, and COGS. We truly appreciate your support of our mission to promote and improve the immersive gaming community.   Support Us On Patreon Today Love escape rooms as much as we do? At Room Escape Artist, we've been analyzing, reviewing, and exploring the world of immersive games since 2014. We help players find the best experiences, and push the industry forward with well-researched, rational, and reasonably humorous escape room and immersive gaming content and events. By becoming a Patreon supporter, you're not just backing a blog — you're fueling a mission to make the escape room and immersive gaming community stronger, more thoughtful, and more connected. Access exclusive Patreon content such as: The Bonus Aftershow The Spoilers Club Early access to escape room Tour tickets and REA articles. Your Patreon support goes toward our mission: paying our contributors, funding our infrastructure, and supporting deep research and industry advocacy.   PG's Playhouse If you love wordplay, puzzles, and trivia, this is the podcast for you! PG's Playhouse recreates a fun game night, all in a short, 30-minute format. Of course, what's game night without making new friends? We bring on different guests for the different episodes. Each episode features a puzzle packed with wordplay and trivia, a short chat with the guest, and a segment exploring an interesting topic. I hope you'll take a listen and play along with us at PG's Playhouse.   Buzzshot Buzzshot is Escape Room Software, Powering Business Growth, Player Marketing, and improving the Customer Experience. They offer an assortment of pre and post game features including robust waiver management, branded team photos, and streamlined review management for Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google Reviews, and Morty. Buzzshot now has integration with the other REPOD sponsors: Morty and COGS. Special Offer for REPOD Listeners: REPOD listeners get an extended 21-day free trial plus 20% off your first 3 months, with no set-up fees or hidden charges. Visit buzzshot.com/repod to learn more about this exclusive offer.   COGS COGS by Clockwork Dog is an easy to use software/ hardware platform for running interactive events, including escape rooms, and other immersive experiences. They have plug & play hardware that seamlessly integrates with their software so you can create a show with lighting and sound cues without having to write a single line of code. Map all kinds of inputs to outputs by building up simple logic steps which determine what you want to happen and when. Special Offer for REPOD Listeners: REPOD listeners can get the COGS Starter Set for only $130 + free shipping to the USA. This bundle is usually valued at $257. You can learn more and purchase your Starter Set at cogs.show. Use code REPOD at checkout.   Production Credits Hosted by David Spira & Peih-Gee Law Produced by Theresa Piazza Supported by Lisa Spira Edited by Steve Ewing Music by Ryan Elder Logo by Janine Pracht  

In this episode of The TechEd Podcast, host Matt Kirchner sits down with Irv Blumkin, Chairman of Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM), and Ryan Blumkin, Executive Vice President, to unpack nearly 90 years of retail innovation, from Mrs. B's pawn-shop beginnings to multi-acre campuses in Omaha, Kansas City, Dallas, and soon Austin. They explore what it's like to partner with Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway, build massive destination developments, and still obsess over every single SKU and customer interaction. From dynamic pricing and AI-enabled operations to a mind-blowing learning trip through China's retail and technology ecosystem, Irv and Ryan share how NFM is using data, automation, and emerging tech to deepen their moat, without ever losing sight of values, culture, and long-term thinking. They also talk careers in retail tech, why young “outside-the-box” thinkers matter, and the role of lifelong learning in leading through disruption. Listen to learn:Why Warren Buffett bought Nebraska Furniture Mart on a handshake, and what Irv has learned from decades of dinners and deal-making with himWhy strong values and culture matter more than ever in this tech-driven marketplaceHow NFM uses massive-store footprints, destination partners like Scheels, and even hotel/convention centers to turn shopping into an experienceHow dynamic pricing, digital shelf tags, and nightly web crawls of 70,000+ SKUs keep NFM competitive with Amazon, Costco, Wayfair, and othersWhat Irv and Ryan saw in China's tech companies and how those lessons are shaping NFM's future3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:1. Timeless values can scale into a $2 billion business. Mrs. B's simple principles (sell at a great price, tell the truth, and pay your bills) still anchor NFM's strategy, even as the company builds 1.8 million-square-foot campuses and expands into new markets like Austin. Irv connects those values directly to long-term growth, customer trust, and the family's partnership with Berkshire Hathaway. 2. Technology is now core infrastructure, not an add-on. NFM's nightly web crawling, digital price tags, and dynamic pricing systems automatically position them as the best value against online competitors, while complex distribution networks and emerging AI tools optimize inventory and logistics. Ryan frames this as building a “moat” with data, automation, and relentless operational excellence, not just more advertising. 3. Lifelong learning is mandatory for modern leadership. Irv has invested in executive education for decades, and both he and Ryan describe their China trip as “eye opening” in terms of speed, scrappiness, AI adoption, and asset-light business models. They're already translating those lessons into new e-commerce strategies, warehouse automation concepts, and AI-enabled process improvements back at NFM. Resources in this Episode:Learn more about Nebraska Furniture MartOther resources mentioned:Six Days in China: The Speed, Scale and Innovation Outpacing the U.S. - Podcast episode with Todd WanekMORE LINKS & RESOURCES ON THE EPISODE PAGE: https://techWe want to hear from you! Send us a text.Instagram - Facebook - YouTube - TikTok - Twitter - LinkedIn

Send us a textIn this episode of Navigating the Customer Experience, we sit down with Jean-Pierre LaCroix—President and Chief Strategy Officer of SLD, brand visionary, author, and creator of groundbreaking tools such as the Trust Ladder and the Ideal Omni Experience Model. With more than 46 years of experience helping global organizations transform their retail, brand, and customer experience ecosystems, Jean-Pierre brings deep insight into what it truly takes to build emotionally resonant brands.Jean-Pierre begins by sharing his personal journey—from growing up on an Air Force base in Germany to working long days on his family's farm, to discovering his passion for design at Sheridan College. Launching his first firm just two years after graduating, he eventually built SLD into a leading global strategic design agency.He then dives into his latest book, ThinkBlink Manifesto, which distills decades of experience into seven core tenets for creating emotionally connected brands. Jean-Pierre explains why emotional equity—not features, benefits, or promotions—is what customers respond to most deeply. The seven tenets include:Owning the Emotional MomentPersonifying the Emotional Value Through DesignCommunicating a Compelling Brand StoryUnderstanding Target Personas Beyond DemographicsCreating Belonging ExperiencesMeasuring What Truly Matters (Emotional Metrics)Future-Proofing the BrandJean-Pierre discusses how leaders can shift beyond pre-COVID thinking by embracing new metrics, strengthening community and belonging for employees and customers, and leveraging SLD's newly launched ThinkBlink AI Assessment tool to evaluate emotional connection, differentiation, and future readiness.He also highlights companies that exemplify these principles—such as Apple, Harley-Davidson, and Canadian innovator Cineplex—organizations that have built loyalty and community through purpose-driven experiences.A voracious reader, Jean-Pierre shares the books that have shaped him most, including Blue Ocean Strategy, The Challenger Mindset, and Nudge. He also opens up about what he's currently excited about: becoming a grandfather and being invited once again as a keynote speaker at the Financial Brand Forum.To close the episode, he shares his personal mantra for challenging times: “Leadership is about seeing the opportunity in the challenges versus the challenges in the opportunity.”Connect with Jean-Pierre on LinkedIn or visit www.sld.com for tools, insights, and free resources.

This episode is brought to you by Commerce.Independent retailers have always been nimble, but the past few years have demanded even more adaptability. In this episode of Retail Remix, host Nicole Silberstein is joined by Jen Burke, Chief Revenue Officer at wholesale marketplace Faire, who helps us dig into how independent retailers are thriving amid so much socioeconomic and technological change.Jen shares how this powerful segment of retailers — which account for more than half of all U.S. retail sales — are shifting buying strategies, navigating economic pressure, responding to fast-moving trend cycles, and using Faire's tools to better manage cash flow, discover products and respond to customer demand. She also reveals what Faire is building next, from improved platform capabilities to new fulfillment solutions.Key TakeawaysHow independent retailers are adjusting order volume, frequency and sourcing strategies in response to tariffs and other headwinds;What wholesale buying patterns on Faire foretell about the trends and categories that will be hot in 2026;The growing importance of reflecting the cultural zeitgeist on shelves and how to do it;Why curation will remain retailers' superpower despite the potential of new technologies like AI; andA peek at Faire's next big move — fulfillment services.Related LinksExplore how Faire supports independent retailers of all sizesRelated Reading: Faire Surpasses 100K Members as Indie Retailers Seek Out Value, VarietyRelated Reading: Inside the Luxury Advent Calendar Boom with DTC Brand Cheese BrothersGet more retail industry insights at Retail TouchPointsSubscribe and catch up on all episodes of Retail Remix -----How to Win Customers Across Every ChannelThis guide from BigCommerce brings you expert insights on data, branding, and marketing to help you grow sales across every major channel. Read the Guide.

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Lamar Tyler.

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Lamar Tyler.