Podcasts about customer strategy

Send us a textWelcome to another Leaders in Customer Loyalty: Executive Spotlight, where we bring you insights from top executives driving innovation and excellence in customer engagement. Today, we're thrilled to feature Aly Blawat, Senior Director of Customer Strategy at Blain's Farm and Fleet. She is a seasoned leader in customer loyalty and the driving force behind Blain's rewards programs, credit card offerings, and customer insights strategy. With over 15 years of experience in the loyalty space, Aly has a deep understanding of what it takes to foster customer advocacy, streamline in-store training, and create meaningful engagement strategies. In this conversation, she shares her approach to aligning loyalty initiatives with business goals, leveraging first-party data to enhance customer experiences, and overcoming the challenge of driving program adoption across diverse customer segments. Beyond her professional expertise, Aly also opens up about leadership lessons learned from her early career in retail management, the challenges of balancing a high-impact career with family life, and her passion for outdoor recreation. Join Loyalty360 CEO Mark Johnson as he explores how Aly is shaping the future of customer loyalty at Blain's Supply and gain valuable insights into the strategies that are making an impact in today's evolving retail landscape. 

Family-owned grocery chain Meijer is using its Midwest roots to stand out in the retail media crowd, according to Derek Steele, the company's VP for marketing. Episode TranscriptPlease note, this transcript  may contain minor inconsistencies compared to the episode audio. Damian (00:00):I'm Damian Fowler.Ilyse (00:02):And I'm Ilyse Liffreing,Damian (00:03):And welcome to this edition of the current podcast.Ilyse (00:10):This week we're delighted to talk with Derek Steele, group VP for marketing and customer strategy for Meijer.Damian (00:17):Meijer is a supermarket chain that's just celebrated its 90th birthday. Founded in 1934 in Michigan. It started life as a grocery store.Ilyse (00:26):It's still a family owned business, but now has grown to 500 locations across six states and employs more than 70,000 people.Damian (00:35):Now, Derek has been with Meijer for more than 16 years. He spearheaded the company's shift into e-commerce, his customer loyalty program, and more recently the launch of its retail media network. So that's where we'll start. Dar, you've been with Meijer for 16 years and so it's fair to say you've sort of grown up with the company. Can you tell us a little bit about that journey?Derek (00:58):Yeah, absolutely. So I've grown my entire retail career within the company, really the first and only retailer I've worked for. Started off in the merchandising side of the organization. My first real job was a buyer in our consumables area, so really learned the nitty gritty of how do you manage vendor relationships, how do you understand the customer, the trends and the products that they're interested, and then how do you craft a category strategy around that? I've had a chance to work in a variety of different areas within our fresh produce, fresh foods business, understanding the supply chain, and it's just fascinating to understand where that product comes from. And then prior to getting over to the marketing side, I let our dairy and frozen department, which my kids still think is the best job I ever had, got eat a tremendous amount of ice cream, frozen pizza and still recovering from some of the effects of thatIlyse (01:42):Man. Sounds good.Derek (01:43):Oh god.Damian (01:44):More recently you have been looking at customer loyalty programs and obviously e-commerce is a huge growth category right now. Can you talk about that shift and how you spearheaded the move for the supermarket chain into that category?Derek (02:00):Yeah, absolutely. At Meijer, we'd been focused on e-commerce and looking at it for quite some time and really the impetus for change with us, a lot of consolidation happening within some of the third party marketplace business. We had some partnerships in that space and really decided that given where the customer was going, it was going to be important for us to really own that relationship with the customer. That's extremely important to us. And so while there's great partners that we continue to partner with through our meyer.com and our Meijer app business, we really wanted to manage that relationship one-on-one with the customer. So we started that effort in 2019. We launched our e-commerce platform in the fall of 2019 with the plans to really steady and slow growth. And then of course March, 2020 hits and it was really all about, Hey, how do we scale? It went from this interesting business idea to absolutely critical in the lives of our customers in the Midwest.Ilyse (02:53):Yeah, that was good timing forDerek (02:55):Them. Yeah, good timing. There's probably three or four months that I could choose to forget, but really fascinating to see how the entire organization rallied around that and the speed which we were able to develop that business and grow that business for our customers.Damian (03:08):And then of course, you had all this incredible customer data at your fingertips. At what point was it inevitable that you launched a retail media network?Derek (03:17):Yeah, I mean you talked about it, right? We started in loyalty, moved into e-commerce, right? And I think these three things together along with retail media, all three are foundational from a retail business standpoint. I think really it started with an impetus from our suppliers, the brands that we work with saying, Hey, as we're doing marketing programs with you in that more traditional shopper marketing way, we want to understand more. We understand who the customer is, who the audience is, how that's performing. And so as you start to ask those questions, it really naturally leads you into that space of retail media. And so really our decision to enter it was, Hey, we need to be right for our brand partners and we need to be right for our customers. And really felt like those things were coming together and the opportunity to launch a retail media network was there.Ilyse (04:02):Now there's multiple ways brands can work with retail media networks. Can you give us some examples of how your clients are leveraging data on sites and offsite?Derek (04:13):Yeah, absolutely. So at Meijer, we really believe in the relationships that we form with our CPG partners. I think if you were to ask within the industry meier's ability to work and tailor those programs, it's really the key on what we're built with. And so as we launched a retail media network, that's really how we think about, it's really an extension of that relationship with the brands. So we partner closely with our merchants to understand what is key, what are the categories, what are the trends that are happening and driving. And then we really work alongside with the marketing sides of those organizations, with the brands, with the agencies to craft, okay, how do we come to market and how do we specifically drive that strategy in Meijer with our Midwestern customer and our audience? So really focused on that relationship building that kind of one-on-one, and the ability to be nimble and responsive to the community as they have opportunities that they want to tackle at Meijer.Ilyse (05:03):Yeah. How does that really fill that regional need, as you say?Derek (05:07):Yeah, certainly as the retail media space has become filled with a number of retailers, and so we get this question all the time, clearly there are players out there where if you're looking for size and reach, there are bigger players in the market, but when we look at our territory within the six states we compete, we really dominate within those areas. We understand that customer. I think our data would show that over 50% of the households within our trade area are shopping at a me store. And so we would argue that you really can't reach that audience, that unique audience that we have if you're not engaging with me. And so we feel like we play a very important role within those states and those territories that we serve.Damian (05:47):One of the things that's very interesting about the space is the talking points around what is retail data and what is retail media. Could you unpack that a little bit, that distinction for us a little bit? How do you think about those two things?Derek (06:02):And we might use slightly different language than you do Damien, but I think the world of marketing and retail has been a part of our strategy For a while, we would call it shopper marketing. So the activations that we're doing in our stores, the opportunity to provide some branding in some of those locations, we would call that shopper marketing. It's really top of the funnel impression based, but still at that point of purchase. But just by its very nature, we've not always had the ability to target and measure that, so we would distinct that as shopper marketing. When we think about retail media, we really think about the ability to define an audience, target content to that audience, and then measure the performance all the way through the point of sale, whether they're reacting on our website through our mobile app or if they're completing that transaction in the store, that measurability that ability to get to closed loop reporting. That's what we would define as retail media at Meier.Damian (06:51):In terms of the different channels off site that you use, where does it show up?Derek (06:56):So today we have the ability to do display ad. We do closed loop tv. We're working through YouTube, a number of channels along with the different social media channels, meta, Pinterest, and a handful of others that we're working on lighting up as we speak.Damian (07:11):So it's like a very omnichannel experience.Derek (07:14):Yeah, we understand we need to be where the customer and the audience is at, and so as that continues to evolve and change, we know we're going to need to continue to evolve and change along with that.Damian (07:23):Now, you recently announced a new closed loop measurement capability. Could you talk a little bit about this? What capability does that bring and how does that help drive better outcomesDerek (07:32):For your partners? Yeah, absolutely. As we partner with brands, one of the things we heard front and center as we began this project was that measurement is absolutely key. And I think there's a number of retail media brands that have started just from an impression basis and an audience basis and then bring the closed loop along. After that, we really focused on at launch, we wanted to have that capability, and so our focus from a technology standpoint is however that customer and audience chooses to complete that transaction. We want to be able to measure that. That's not easy. We've gone through some of the challenges and growing pains along with that, but at Meier, regardless of what channel that customer chooses to complete that transaction, and frankly many of our customers complete that transaction across multiple channels, we want to be able to measure that. And so that's what we've built out from a closed loop reporting standpoint. So when you put that message in front of an audience at Meier, whether it's online or in store, no matter how they choose to transact, we're going to be able to measure that and provide that reporting and insights back to our brand partners.Ilyse (08:30):What would you describe as some of the challenges there that you brought up?Derek (08:35):From a technology standpoint? At any retailer, when you look at all the different channels, a customer can complete a transaction. Historically, those have been very different streams of data. Aligning those streams of data along with all the customer information that we have to really measure that end to end a lot of different parts of the organization, a lot of different pieces of technology to bring together along with a number of partners in the industry who help us make that all work. So that's probably been the biggest challenge is coordinating all the different technology pieces to make that happen.Ilyse (09:03):Yeah, I think the industry overall, the retail media industry and retail media networks are all coming together to try to figure that out.Damian (09:13):I wanted to ask one more question here just in terms of the opportunity of the retail media network. Has it allowed you to expand as it were, brand partnerships?Derek (09:22):Yeah, I think it's allowed us to enter different conversations with brands than we've been able to enter before. And so there's messages, there's channels, there's tactics, there's places in the customer journey before they make a purchase that with a traditional shopper marketing funnel, we shouldn't have a good way to enter and be part of that conversation. And now whether it's on our own channels, within our app, on our website, or using our audience information to reach those customers wherever they're at, we're able to have a richer conversation about a more full funnel approach to how we can bring those brands to market at Meier.Ilyse (09:53):And one thing we talk a lot about is how that has increasingly become omnichannel and an omnichannel environment where all these customers are spending their time. Can you talk a little bit about that and what channels you're excited about?Derek (10:08):Yeah, it's interesting. When we look back at our data around our customers, more than 50% of them and an increasing percentage of them, regardless of where they complete their transaction, are coming to us to search for a product within seven days of making that purchase. And so we're seeing that behavior and it's no longer this distinction to the customer between, am I having a digital interaction with Meyer or am I having an in-store interaction? From a customer behavior standpoint, those two things are blending together. And so it's no longer is this an e-commerce transaction or is this a in-store customer? It's a Meier customer, and so we need to meet that customer wherever they're choosing to gather their information and then make that purchase.Damian (10:50):Do you see the same customer shop online and then come into the store? Are you able to kind of measure that and observe that?Derek (10:58):Yeah, we see that We have our digital loyalists who they've made that transition fully, and so that's part of their life now, that's how they interact with us. But I would say most of our customers we're seeing engage with us in a digital and in a physical store. I'll take my own family, for example. We are heavy digital shoppers at me, but there are those instances in those times where it's either more convenient or I want that exploration, I don't know what I want, and I'll leverage the store in that regard. And so week to week, day to day, based on the what's going on in the kids' activities and the family life, we'll see that switch. And I think that's true for our customers as well.Ilyse (11:31):Are you doing anything to personalize that experience and bridge the gap between that digital experience and in-store experience?Derek (11:38):Yeah, I mean, personalization has been really a part of how we've thought of going to market even before we started media. We think about personalization in every one of our retail channels, whether it's organic search, whether it's the mailers we're sending into your home and offers, whether it's servicing promotional content. We have thousands of promotions that are running every week, but what's the most important thing for our customer, that individual customer? That's part of what we're doing. We're looking at how do we allow brands to interact in some of those personalized experiences, both through audience targeting, but also then in that moment where I'm serving up promotional content or items that you've purchased before. Well, how do I let a brand influence where in that experience, that item may show up, never inserting an item that a customer hasn't purchased because we want to honor that personalization for our customer. But if there are stories or items or times where it's more important to a brand to get that purchase, we're trying to find ways to enable them to be able to do that.Ilyse (12:34):Very interesting. Is there an example that you can share?Derek (12:37):Yeah, so I mean one of our most used features by our customers is our buy again, right? I mean, it's a very quick way to make a cart. And when we're building carts in the grocery e-commerce world, there's a lot of items to get in there. Historically, we've used sort of a frequency recency model for what shows up in that, and we're starting to allow sponsored products within that. So allow brands to invest to kind of boost up where in that carousel, their product may show up.Ilyse (13:01):Very cool. Well, I would love to dig into your background a little bit because it's fascinating. So you were a flight controls engineer for the space shuttle program, and obviously now you're in marketing. Could you talk about that transition and then I guess how that background has really helped you in your marketing career?Derek (13:22):Yeah, absolutely. It's a question I get all the time in getting tired of the conversation about retail media not being rocket science, because obviously it takes one, but no, I mean, first five years of my career, that's what I did. So I had the opportunity to work on the space shuttle program, absolutely a dream come true. In fact, in fourth grade for Halloween, I dressed up like an aerospace engineerIlyse (13:44):AndDerek (13:44):No one knew what I was, right? I was in tears. It was actually the last time I ever dressed up for Halloween. But really enjoyed the technology side of that, enjoyed the adventure and the intrigue of it, but also found I had a passion for leading and a passion for working in a competitive industry. There was only one space shuttle, so there's no other one to compete with. So made a career change. 16 years ago, retail wasn't on my radar screen. I continue to run into people that have stories like mine where I never thought I would get into retail, but what attracted to me about it was just the pace of change and innovation that happens in this industry, probably one of the most dynamic industries that there is out there. And the opportunity to lead at a pretty large level relatively early on in your career.(14:27):So made the transition over 16 years ago, grew up through the merchandising and buying side of the organization, and then really found a home within the marketing organization. Again, I talked about I'm still a nerd at heart, and so I love the combination of the customer insight, the technology, the brand and their interest. And so being able to sit in this unique space of understanding and being able to grasp that technology piece, being trained from a merchandising standpoint on how to understand customer need, I found a nice niche in here. And I like to say at the end of the day, engineering is just structured problem solving. You break down a problem into its components, you solve the components, you solve the problem. And turns out that's applicable in a lot of different places.Ilyse (15:08):Those seem to be quite a few engineers turn marketers. And that does seem like to be the thorough line there as well. Engineers are moreDerek (15:15):Creative people than they give us credit for.Damian (15:18):Yeah, absolutely. And so the sort of through line is data here then that helps shape strategy, of course, increasingly so in the world that we're in now.Derek (15:27):Yeah, I think being able to pull insights out of information, that's what I always preach my team, is that the best data set doesn't always win the best insight or the best story that you can tell from that data wins. And so I think marketing is a great place where you get to combine those two things. And at the end of the day, that's what we're doing. We're telling stories that are based on facts that are compelling to our customers.Damian (15:48):Just to go back to the space shuttle program, what was the toughest challenge you faced when you had thatDerek (15:52):Job? So I joined the space shuttle program right after the Columbia accident, so if you remember that.Ilyse (15:58):Yeah.Derek (15:59):So our first year and a half was all about recertification, getting ready to fly again. And I dunno if I've ever put this story on tape before, but the first flight after Columbia, I worked in the room above the mission control center and we were the ones watching all the data and see what would happened. And the first flight afterwards, they saw something float away from the space shuttle. And so they said to everyone, they said, Hey, go scrub all your systems, see if we can figure out what that was. Did something break? Is this what's going on? So it's a mad scramble to go through the data, and I found seven little pieces of data that I could not explain everything else. I could explain these seven pieces of data. I could not explainIlyse (16:34):Aliens.Derek (16:34):And so I sent this back to the mission control center, young engineer, proud, maybe I just saved the astronauts, and I received an email back, congratulations. You identified the seven times they flushed the toilet over the last two days. We got this one covered.Ilyse (16:47):That's hilarious.Derek (16:48):That's good. I likeDamian (16:49):That. Oh my god. Wow.Ilyse (16:52):That's so wonderful.Damian (16:53):One question we like to ask is are there any sort of innovations in the ad tech space that are kind of on your radar, can still use an aeronautical metro on myDerek (17:02):Radar?Damian (17:03):Yeah.Derek (17:03):I mean, are there innovations? Absolutely. I mean, I think there's a tremendous amount of innovation. I think what we're focused on right now is what are our customers, and by that I mean the brands and agencies that we're working with, what are they looking for? And we're really focused on how do we take the friction out of that opportunity, that experience of working with Meyer. And so a lot of focus on the different self-serve platforms that are out there. How do we engage with that to drive a richer, more friction-free experience for our customers?Damian (17:31):I like my shopping to be friction free.Derek (17:34):Absolutely.Damian (17:35):Yeah. Well, Derek, thanks so much for joining us on the current podcast. Absolutely. Thank you. And that's it for this edition of the current podcast. We'll be back next week. So stay tuned.Ilyse (17:52):The current podcast theme is by love and caliber. The current team includes Kat Vesce and Sydney Cairns.Derek (17:58):And remember, the best data set doesn't always win the best insight or the best story that you can tell from that data wins. And so I think marketing is a great place where you get to combine those two things. And at the end of the day, that's what we're doing. We're telling stories that are based on facts that are compelling to our customers. I'mDamian (18:15):Damian, and I'm Ilyse. And we'll see you next time. And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave us a review. Also tune into our other podcast, the current report.

Today's episode features David Edelman, Harvard Business School fellow and author of Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI. David shares his career journey from consulting at BCG to leading digital transformation at Digitas, McKinsey, and Aetna. He explains why personalization is more than just a marketing tactic—it's a strategic tool to enhance customer experience and drive business growth. The discussion explores real-world examples from Starbucks, Spotify and Aetna, highlighting both the opportunities and challenges of AI-driven personalization. David also introduces the Personalization Index, detailing five key dimensions that separate industry leaders from laggards. Finally, he offers insights on how companies can use AI and data to improve customer engagement and financial performance. [01:14] David's Career Journey [04:33] The Importance of Personalization [08:36] Personalization in Customer Experience [14:46] Motivation Behind Writing the Book[16:39] The Personalization Index and Its Dimensions[23:13] Unlocking New Opportunities with PersonalizationConnect with DavidLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/daveedelmanWebsite: www.edelmanadvisoryservices.com

In this episode with Rob Markey, we will discuss valuing and measuring customer loyalty. Rob highlights the gap between executives' intentions to prioritize customers and their actual practices, noting that only 8% of customers believe they receive exceptional experiences, despite 80% of executives thinking so. Rob discusses the need for companies to measure and manage customer lifetime value, using tools like Net Promoter Scores and customer segmentation. He also discusses the challenges of implementing customer-centric strategies, the importance of relationship recovery, and the role of leadership in driving these changes.   Rob Markey is a partner and director at Bain & Company and the founder of the firm's Global Customer Strategy and Marketing practice. He is a co-author of The Ultimate Question 2.0 and is the host of the Net Promoter System podcast. He is based in New York.   Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo  

Consumers expect personalization, but too many companies are falling short, wasting money and missing the mark on expectations. In this episode, hosts Jason Parks and Steph Parker interview one of the most influential CMOs in the world about his upcoming book, “Personalized:  Customer Strategy in the Age of AI.”  Now a Harvard Business Fellow, David […]

Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade. Today's episode of the Unmade podcast features the fourth stop on our Compass tour, when we visited Perth. Plus, further down, bad news on the economy tanks the Unmade Index.You should be at next year's Compass. If you've been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, why not do it today? Your membership includes:* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade's events, including HumAIn, REmade, Unlock, and Compass, all returning in 2025* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;* Your own copy of Media Unmade.Taxing the platforms, shaking Perth out of creative complacency, and the ‘b******t' about what it really takesThe fourth stop on Unmade's end of year Compass tour took the team to Perth, for an entertaining panel featuring five veterans of the WA media and marketing scene.Clive Bingwa became MD of Nine Perth six years ago after a media agency career including 303 and IPG Mediabrands. Steve Harris is CEO of Perth's biggest agency, The Brand Agency, as well as being a board director of the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of WA and of Fremantle Football Club. Taryn Hare is Executive Manager, Brand and Customer Strategy at Bankwest and was previously at 303, and part of the Brand Agency team that launched Bunnings Warehouse into the UK. Meg Coffey is the Founder of State of Social and managing director of digital marketing agency Coffey & Tea. And Amber Martin is the cofounder of the Hypnosis creative agency after stints at Wieden + Kennedy in London, and Host in Singapore.The conversation ranged from the lessons to be learned from the elites sidelining Donald Trump to what it really takes to succeed in the industry, and the barriers that creates for mothers.The lessons of the US electionOn Trump, Harris - who traveled to the US to watch the election unfold - argued that the media failed to capture some of the nuance. “Trump is grossly misrepresented by the Australian media. I think it's a sport to show the 10-second sound bite where he said something and not show the 30 seconds or the 60 seconds around that. And so I think everyone missed it.”Hare observed: “The fact that someone with that history is leading the free world is because Harris and her team potentially underestimated the needs of common people and campaigned on things that weren't that relevant Listening and truly understanding customers and what they need is the real lesson here.”Coffey argued that poor media literacy contributed to the result. She said: “I think media literacy has never been more important, and I think that we've lost track of that.”Whi is Google getting a free pass?The debate moved to the topic of Australia's relationship with social media. Harris pointed out that the negative impacts of social media only moved up the news agenda once Meta had decided to stop paying publishers.He said: “If you look at the big media war on social media, particularly the big major media companies, it wasn't really an issue until Facebook stopped paying under the Media Bargaining Code. When they were taking several hundred million dollars from Facebook, then it was okay. Well, it wasn't okay, but it wasn't an issue.”Harris suggested that Google is getting preferential treatment in news coverage of the social damage it contributes to because it still gives money to publishers. He said: “I'm not a big fan of Facebook for a range of reasons, but I just think it's worth noting everything you read is about Facebook. Google's getting a free reign because Google maybe still pays the money towards the media bargaining code.”He added: “Why don't these companies pay their fair share of tax? We wouldn't need a media bargaining code if they paid proper tax and they were structured correctly.”Raising the bar on creativityThe dual themes of the economic slowdown and the level of advertising creativity in the Perth market came together after Hare nominated raising the bar as a key topic that needs to be discussed. She said: “The issue that I talk about a lot is how we raise the creative quality in a market like Perth, where there are so many forces working against us.“It's very small. There are lots of businesses here that are the sole business in their vertical. They don't have to try as hard.”Harris agreed: “I think Perth is very comfortable. It's been easy to make money. It doesn't matter if you're selling coffee, selling cars, building homes, selling real estate, whatever you do in Perth in the last 15 years, it's an easy, easy economy.“And we've become a bit lazy.”The painful truth about finding career successMeanwhile Harris nominated his own unspoken conversation: “I don't think honest conversations are had about what it takes to be really, really successful. Everyone sits around and talks about your doona day, your mental health day, your right to disconnect.“And it's all b******t. If you want to be really, really successful, you don't see any Olympic gold medal winner saying, ‘I didn't train because I wanted a doona day'.“If you want to be really, really successful, you're going to have to make sacrifices, you're going to have to work harder than other people, it's going to hurt, it's going to be painful. There are things that aren't going to be nice but you'll get to be really, really successful. And I just don't think those conversations are had in any sense because they're just politically incorrect and everyone shies away from them.”Bingwa, agreed, saying” It's a tough industry, it's very competitive and there are no short cuts.”Amber Martin took a different tack, arguing that the industry loses women who become mothers. She said: “An important conversation that we need to have is around how hard this industry can be though when you're a woman and you have a baby and you try and come back into this industry, which does expect you to work really, really hard to reap the rewards.”She went on: “In our industry we're not seeing very many women at the top despite them making up the bulk of this industry that we work in, and I wonder if that's because we have this culture of ‘you have to work really hard to reap the rewards' which I agree with, but what does that look like? Is that about presenteeism, is that about being in the office all the time? What can we do to make that an easier transition for women once they've had children?“It's just too hard to have work-life balance and come back and work in a job like this. “I get a lot of satisfaction out of my baby, but I get a hell of a lot of satisfaction out of working in advertising as well. I don't want to give it up, but gosh, it's hard.”Slowing economy drags on Unmade IndexThe Unmade Index sank by nearly a full percentage point yesterday as the market digested implications of new numbers indicating slumping gross domestic product growth.Advertising spend is disproportionately affected by economic performance, and the Unmade Index fell more badly than the wider ASX All Ordinaries which lost 0.3%Nine fell back below a $2bn market capitalisation after losing 0.8%. Southern Cross Austereo had the worst day on the index, losing 3.7%.ARN Media moved in the other direction, improving by 3.6%Time to leave you to your Thursday.Today's podcast was edited by Abe's Audio. (Special thanks to Team Abe's for cleaning up what was poor audio recorded at the venue.)We'll be back with more tomorrow.Have a great day.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmadetim@unmade.media This is a public episode. 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Welcome to the UNLEARN Podcast! Today, we're joined by a true pioneer in digital transformation and customer strategy, David C. Edelman. With over three decades at the forefront of marketing and digital transformation, David most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer at Aetna/CVS, where he led transformative shifts in customer engagement. Before that, he co-led McKinsey's Global Digital Marketing and Sales Practice and held key leadership roles at Digitas and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), advising top executives worldwide.Now, David is bringing his expertise to Harvard Business School, where he shapes the next generation of leaders and advises CXOs on driving digital agility and building resilient teams. In this episode, he shares insights from his latest book, Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI. We'll explore the different types of AI, where and how to use them, and the evolving role of AI across the C-suite. Get ready for an enlightening conversation with David Edelman on the future of customer strategy in the age of AI. Key Takeaways:Personalized Connections with AI: David's “five promises” framework—Empower, Know, Reach, Show, Delight—guides personalized customer experiences. AI Beyond Marketing: Personalization extends beyond marketing into a holistic, C-suite-level strategy. Data to Value: Examples from Aetna using data to simplify interactions and deliver targeted recommendations.Balancing Innovation and Trust: David stresses trust in AI, focusing on data privacy and ethical personalization.Additional Insights:Promise and Pitfalls of AI: Emerging AI tools make data integration accessible, helping smaller companies compete with industry giants.Managing Expectations: The importance of transparency and data use comfort in creating personalized, non-intrusive customer experiences.Unlearning Old Mindsets: David encourages that leaders must shift from traditional tactics to a customer-centric, AI-driven approach.Episode Highlights:00:00 - Episode Introduction "If you're trying to connect with customers using personalization, there are essentially five promises that you're making to them." 01:35 - Introduction to the Episode: Barry introduces David Edelman, a veteran in digital transformation and customer strategy. “David has spent over three decades at the cutting edge of marketing and digital transformation.” 03:06 - Early Influences: Creativity and Leadership in Marketing “I became the music director of my high school show from just simply being a saxophone player.” 08:33 - From Marketing to AI-driven Strategy “The thing I had to unlearn is that it's not just about marketing... it's about strategy and customer experience.” 10:03 - Using AI for Personalization: Shopify and Brinks Case Studies “So Shopify, who has a free trial and then offers to convert people to paid subscriptions... it's...

What if the key to transforming your business isn't just about attracting new customers, but deepening the relationships with the ones who already matter most? In this episode, we dive into the concept of an HFHV strategy—High Frequency, High Value customers—and why they could be the cornerstone of your business growth.We'll explore the two types of customers who fall into this category: high-frequency customers, who engage with your brand time and time again, and high-value customers, who invest in your offerings and advocate for your brand.You'll learn why it's crucial not to overlook your existing loyal clientele and how nurturing these relationships can be just as, if not more, important than constantly acquiring new customers. Discover how to deepen connections with your HFHV customers through tailored experiences, personalised communication, and exclusive offerings that cater to their needs.Also, find out why recognising and rewarding these loyal advocates can lead to greater brand loyalty and stronger community ties.Find out more about Jess and the Empress membership community at jesscollins.co.uk or The Feral Writer on Instagram.M Path is powered by Urban Podcasts.

The Five Promises of Personalization.  Harnessing the power of AI to personalize the customer experience.  Exploding the myth of proving the ROI of CX.  This and so much more to talk about with our guest David Edelman on the All Things Considered CX Podcast with Bob Azman. David is the co-author of the new book Personalized.  Customer Strategy in the Age of AI.  He is a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, an executive adviser and board member to brands and technology providers, and an adviser to BCG.  Previously, David was chief marketing officer at Aetna and has worked with dozens of companies on personalization, AI, and agile marketing at BCG and Digitas.  Forbes has repeatedly named him one of the Top 20 Most Influential Voices in Marketing, and Ad Age has named him a Top 20 Chief Marketing and Technology Officer.Join us for a fascinating conversation on how to differentiate your brand in the age of AI.  Brand and CX are one in the same and David provides great examples to prove his point. 

Can you provide great customer experience and the lowest prices? Of course! But how? Join Peter Aitken, Head of Customer Strategy at Kantar, as he sits down with Stuart Wilson and Sarah Boyle from Talkmobile, a leading mobile virtual network operator and part of the Vodafone family. As leaders in sales, marketing, and customer operations, Stuart and Sarah have transformed Talkmobile's TrustPilot scores, earned numerous industry awards, and achieved sustained growth—all while maintaining low prices. Their secret? A relentless focus on delivering a simple, customer-first experience, with frontline staff actively involved in design decisions. Discover how this approach not only enhances customer satisfaction but also drives business success. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, David Edelman, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and former CMO of Aetna, shares a five-part framework for using AI to drive growth based on his book, "Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI," co-authored with Mark Abrahams. With decades of experience helping top brands enhance their CX, David shows how companies can leverage AI to drive meaningful growth and create lasting customer loyalty. He explains how AI can empower customers, enable perfectly timed interactions, and support every stage of a growth-focused CX strategy. David also addresses key challenges, such as maintaining human oversight and avoiding intrusive interactions, to ensure AI-driven CX builds trust and protects brand integrity. Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of three books on customer experience. Her new book is called The 8 Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership: The New Rules for Building A Business Around Today's Customer.

Welcome to an interview with the coauthor of the book Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI, Mark Abraham.    In this episode, we explore the rise of personalization through digital tools and AI, and how companies and organizations are leveraging it to build connections and engage with their customers. We discuss companies that excel in this area, such as Starbucks with its personalization engine, and Spotify with its tailored music recommendations. Personalization is not just about data; it's also about responding effectively to customer insights, enhancing customer experiences, and driving growth.   Mark Abraham is a senior partner at BCG and the founder of the firm's Personalization business, which he has built into a global team of more than 1,000 agile marketers, data scientists, engineers, and martech experts. He and his team have accelerated the personalization efforts of more than a hundred iconic brands (including Starbucks, The Home Depot, and Google) and built some of BCG's largest ventures and AI platforms, including Fabriq by BCG for personalization. Currently, Mark leads BCG's North American Marketing, Sales & Pricing practice and is reenergizing the growth and development of talent in what is one of the firm's largest regional practices.   Get Mark's book here: https://shorturl.at/Qj6Ys Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI   Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Today on our show, we're talking about the creative process at a time of synthetic data and AI-powered simulations. To do this, we're joined by Jason Severs, Head of Design for frog on the East Coast in North America. Jason is a self-identified ‘skeptical optimist' when it comes to engaging with new tech, which is an approach he brings into all aspects of his life, from his work with teams at frog, to his own art practice, as well as to the many IoT devices in his home currently in various states of connectivity.Brought to you by frog, a global creative consultancy. frog is part of Capgemini Invent. (https://www.frog.co) Read Jason's article 'Convergent Design in the Age of AI' (https://www.frog.co/designmind/convergent-design-in-the-age-of-ai)Download the new frog report 'Chief Challenges 07: Your Consumer Responsibility' (https://fro.gd/3JSdvOK) Download the frog report 'Convergent Transformation' (https://go.frog.co/en/en/convergent-business-transformation)Host/Writer: Elizabeth Wood, Editorial Director, frog Research & Story Support: Camilla Brown, Editorial Manager, frog Audio Production: Richard Canham, Lizard Media (https://www.lizardmedia.co.uk)

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 493, an interview with the coauthor of the book Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI, Mark Abraham.    In this episode, we explore the rise of personalization through digital tools and AI, and how companies and organizations are leveraging it to build connections and engage with their customers. We discuss companies that excel in this area, such as Starbucks with its personalization engine, and Spotify with its tailored music recommendations. Personalization is not just about data; it's also about responding effectively to customer insights, enhancing customer experiences, and driving growth.   Mark Abraham is a senior partner at BCG and the founder of the firm's Personalization business, which he has built into a global team of more than 1,000 agile marketers, data scientists, engineers, and martech experts. He and his team have accelerated the personalization efforts of more than a hundred iconic brands (including Starbucks, The Home Depot, and Google) and built some of BCG's largest ventures and AI platforms, including Fabriq by BCG for personalization. Currently, Mark leads BCG's North American Marketing, Sales & Pricing practice and is reenergizing the growth and development of talent in what is one of the firm's largest regional practices.   Get Mark's book here: https://shorturl.at/Qj6Ys Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI   Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo  

Mark Abraham, leader of BCG's Marketing, Sales & Pricing practice in North America, explains how organizations can combine the physical and digital to create powerful customer experiences. As co-author of the new book Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI, Abraham explains that few actually hit the mark—wasting resources and leaving customers disappointed. Learn More: Mark Abraham: https://on.bcg.com/3NdACFc Read Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI: https://on.bcg.com/3zVUEAN BCG on Personalization: https://on.bcg.com/4eRv1QK CEO Moments of Truth: https://on.bcg.com/TSWMoT This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

In this episode, co-hosts Aaron Brooks and Heather Haskin take a break from the constant buzz around generative AI and ChatGPT to explore what else is shaping the future of IT. From cybersecurity threats in the age of quantum computing to the rising expectation for businesses to become content creators, this mid-season check-in dives into the trends and insights flying under the AI radar. Don't miss this candid conversation that uncovers some of the key issues transforming the tech world in 2024—beyond AI. Featuring: Aaron Brooks, VP Customer Strategy and Solution Sales at Softchoice and Heather Haskin, Business Development Manager AWS at Softchoice The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast dedicated to exploring the intersection of humans and technology. 

Can you imagine a world where every household device is seamlessly connected and your internet speed is never a concern? Join us as we sit down with Robert Joyce, Head of Customer Strategy and Innovation at NBN, to uncover the incredible journey of fibre and connectivity evolution in Australia. From Robert's intriguing background in telecom—rooted in a family history with British Telecom—to his pivotal role at NBN, this episode is packed with insights into the massive growth of connected devices in homes over the last decade and how NBN has been the backbone of this revolution.Venture into the transformative impact that the National Broadband Network has had across both rural and urban landscapes of Australia. With internet speeds skyrocketing from a mere 384 kilobits per second to a blazing one gigabit per second, activities like 4K streaming, remote work, and gaming have become effortlessly accessible. Robert provides a visionary outlook on the expected shift of broadcast TV to streaming platforms, underscoring how this evolution will redefine video delivery and spectrum usage. We also highlight the ever-growing number of connected devices in the average household and the implications for future connectivity demands.Finally, we delve into the significant advantages that fibre optics hold over traditional copper networks. Robert sheds light on how fibre is not only a faster and more reliable option but also a greener, more environmentally friendly choice that saves energy by eliminating the need for repeaters. We also touch on the complexities of deploying such advanced infrastructure across Australia's diverse terrain and the importance of modern in-home Wi-Fi setups to truly harness the power of high-speed connectivity. Don't miss part two of our conversation with Robert Joyce next week as we continue exploring the future landscape of telecommunications.

Mark Abraham is a Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group and co-author of the upcoming book Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI. With stories from Starbucks, Lululemon, and Spotify, Mark shared how businesses today use AI to enhance their personalization and customer strategy. We discussed all of this and more this week on the On Brand podcast. About Mark Abraham Mark Abraham is a Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group and the founder of the firm's Personalization business, which he has built into a global team of more than 1,000 agile marketers, data scientists, engineers, and martech experts. Mark's teams have accelerated the personalization efforts of over 100 iconic brands (e.g., Starbucks, Home Depot, and Google) and built some of BCG's largest ventures and AI platforms, including Fabriq for personalization. Mark now leads BCG's North American Marketing, Sales & Pricing practice. He's also co-authored the upcoming book Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI. From the Show What brand has made Mark smile recently? Each year, Mark goes to Europe to visit family. While there, he visits the same little store to buy his shirts. despite a year passing, they call him by name, remember his size, and share recommendations. As Mark notes, these are the personalization basics that should ground everything. Connect with Mark on LinkedIn and check out the website for his new book Personalized.  As We Wrap … Listen and subscribe at  Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon/Audible, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeart, YouTube, and RSS. Rate and review the show—If you like what you're hearing, be sure to head over to Apple Podcasts and click the 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review to help others find the show. Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you'd like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show. On Brand is a part of the Marketing Podcast Network. Until next week, I'll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meet Susan O'Brien, EVP and Chief Brand & Customer Officer at Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC). In a wide-ranging and engaging interview, we cover a lot of ground commensurate with Susan's remit, which includes all aspects of CTC's brand, long-term strategy around customer insights, and CTC's sponsorship, community, and ESG initiatives. For those Canadians who might have lost track, or for international listeners less familiar, The Tire was Founded in 1922; in addition to the Canadian Tire banner, they have Party City, PartSource, Gas+, Mark's, Pro Hockey Life, SportChek, Hockey Experts, Sports Experts and Atmosphere, nearly 1,700 retail and gasoline outlets, supported by its Financial Services division and employs tens of thousands of people globally. So, as I said, Susan has a big job.  About Canadian Tire Corporation Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC) includes a Retail segment, a Financial Services division and CT REIT.Founded in 1922, CTC's flagship store, Canadian Tire, provides Canadians with products for life in Canada across various divisions.Other CTC banners include Party City, PartSource, Gas+, Mark's, Pro Hockey Life, SportChek, Hockey Experts, Sports Experts and Atmosphere.CTC operates nearly 1,700 retail and gasoline outlets, supported by its Financial Services divisionIncluding retail locations, CTC employs tens of thousands of people globally. About SusanSusan O'Brien is the Executive Vice President & Chief Brand & Customer Officer at Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC). She oversees all aspects of CTC's brand, aligning the curation of the entire customer experience across all channels and marketing programs. Susan also leads the long-term strategy around customer insights and is responsible for CTC's sponsorship, community, and ESG initiatives.Susan is an expert in all things branding, positioning, and customer engagement. She has played a critical role in reinforcing CTC as a purpose-driven, values-based Company through the evolution and rollout of CTC's Brand Purpose – We Are Here to Make Life in Canada Better – along with its Core Values. Susan has been integral to the reinvention of the Canadian Tire brand through award-winning programs like We All Play for Canada and Tested for Life in Canada. She spearheaded the launch of Triangle Rewards – one of the most strategically important initiatives in the history of CTC – connecting the entire group of companies under one loyalty and credit card program. Her work has contributed to the Company earning the 2013 Marketer of the Year Award from Marketing Magazine, as well as it being named Canada's Most Admired Brand by Léger in 2019 and 2021 and one of Canada's Strongest Retail Brands by Brand Finance in 2019.Since joining the Company in 2008, Susan has held several progressively senior roles. Most recently, she served as Senior Vice-President, Marketing; prior to that, she was Senior Vice-President, Marketing & Corporate Affairs and Vice-President, Marketing for Canadian Tire.Susan sits on the Boards of Enactus Canada and Taymax Group LP. She holds an MBA in General Management from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing) from Dalhousie University. Susan's marketing acumen has consistently received industry-wide recognition, from her nomination for Marketing Magazine's Top 30 under 30 awards to being named one of Toronto's Brand Stars by Ad Week to one of Strategy Magazine's Marketers of the Year. She was also named among the Globe and Mail's Report on Business 50 Best Executives in 2022.  About MichaelMichael is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. He 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 Secure conference with leaders from The Gap and Kroger talking about violence in retail stores, keynotes on the state & future of retail in Orlando and Halifax, and at the 2023 Canadian GroceryConnex conference, hosting the CEOs of Walmart Canada, Longo's and Save-On-Foods Canada. Michael brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael also produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in North America, Remarkable Retail, Canada's top retail industry podcast; the Voice of Retail; Canada's top food industry and the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor, with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois. Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail influencers for the fourth year in a row, Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer, and you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state of the retail industry in Canada and the U.S., and the future of retail.

In this episode we spoke with Will Kingston. Will, an experienced CX thought leader, is the principal consultant for Cortico-X and a regular  commentator for Sky News Australia. Will shared some of the key research findings behind his latest CX Manifesto and global trends reports.This included how CX can thrive in the AI age, the role behavioural economics can play in your strategy and the skills CX practitioners need to future proof their role.Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

In the midst of meme stock craziness, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev shared his most eye-opening insights from running the company that transformed the game for retail investors. He talks about Robinhood's new Gold Card, his views on crypto, the media side, how artificial intelligence could change finance, and more. (00:00) Intro(03:27) The Origin of the Name 'Robinhood'(08:43) Navigating the GameStop and Meme Stock Saga(10:52) Rebuilding Trust and Brand Impact(19:10) Crisis Communication and Leadership Lessons(23:54) Industry Insights and Future of Trading(31:00) AI and Financial Services(33:34) Crypto and Regulatory Challenges(40:14) The Viral Launch of Robinhood(47:01) The Gold Card Launch and Customer Strategy(50:08) The Vision Behind Robinhood's Credit Card(53:50) Building vs. Buying: The X1 Acquisition(56:12) Integrating X1 into Robinhood(57:11) The GM Structure and Its Benefits(58:42) Challenges and Trade-offs of Decentralization(01:01:08) Financial Modeling and Customer Economics(01:04:48) Navigating Remote Work and Returning to the Office(01:09:14) Managing Stock Price Expectations(01:13:23) Hiring and Retaining Talent(01:17:11) Fundraising and Investor Relations(01:31:09) Launching Sherwood Media(01:38:56) Reflections and Future Aspirations Executive Producer: Rashad AssirProducer: Leah ClapperMixing and editing: Justin Hrabovsky Check out Unsupervised Learning, Redpoint's AI Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCUl-s_Vp-Kkk_XVyDylNwLA

In the latest episode of the Brand Slam: the winning brands podcast, hosts Steve Rosa and Joe Kayata are joined by marketing expert and author David Edelman. With a wealth of experience as a CMO at Fortune 50 companies including CVS Health/Aetna and as a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, David brings valuable insights to the discussion on personalized customer strategy in the age of AI. The conversation covers a range of topics, from the importance of putting customers at the center of AI-driven marketing strategies to the evolving role of CMOs in the digital age. David's upcoming book, “Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI,” focuses on five key promises of personalization that companies must live up to in order to succeed. Throughout the episode, David shares his expertise and advice for CMOs looking to implement AI-driven marketing strategies and prioritize personalization in their brand strategies. With a mix of humor and insight, the conversation delves into the future of marketing and the impact of AI on the industry. Listeners are sure to gain valuable insights from this episode, whether they are marketing professionals, business owners, or simply interested in the evolving landscape of brand strategy. Be sure to check out David Edelman's upcoming book set to be released in October and stay tuned for more engaging conversations on the Brand Slam podcast. Interested in a particular topic or want to be a guest? Contact us at brandslam@addventures.com.   

In this interview, I talk with fellow social media expert and marketing nerd, Katie Goebel about Reels, trends, messaging, and parasocial relationships. Building these parasocial relationships online is crucial for turning one-time buyers into lifelong customers! BTW - I mentioned the Comment to Customer Strategy for sellers who want to make sales DIRECTLY from Instagram and Facebook! If that's you, listen to episode 48: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/aLFItAYeDJb Follow Katie here: https://www.instagram.com/katiegoebelonline/ [FREE RESOURCE] Uncover the 5 Mistakes You Are Making on Short-Form Video! Learn how to fix them so you can grow your audience with less effort! https://quickvidstrendreport.katiegoebel.com/5mistakes Expand Your Reach & Grow Your Followers with Exclusive Access to Easy to Create TikTok & Reels Trends: https://quickvidstrendreport.katiegoebel.com/trendreport ---------- AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE This episode description contains affiliate links. That means, if you buy something through a link on this page that's affiliate with me, I earn a percentage commission of the total sale, at no extra cost to you. Thank you in advance for using the links here! I so appreciate the support, and it helps me make the show even better. ---------- Register for the Teacher Seller's Summit: ⁠⁠https://brittanyverlenic.krtra.com/t/F8YBHXV2GddT⁠⁠ Book a 1:1 call with me: ⁠⁠https://tidycal.com/brittanyverlenich/marketing-strategy-session⁠⁠ ------------------  JOIN THE GRAM GUILD: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brittanyverlenich.lpages.co/gram-guild/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ GET MANYCHAT HERE (affiliate link): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://manychat.pxf.io/21exJM⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ------------------ CONTENT MARKETING RESOURCES Getting started (or serious!) with Instagram?  Grab my Instagram Bio Checklist to do an audit of your bio: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brittanyverlenich.lpages.co/perfect-instagram-bio-tpt/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Grab my Ultimate List of Facebook Groups for TPT Sellers and Teacherpreneurs: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brittanyverlenich.lpages.co/best-facebook-groups-for-tpt-sellers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Come join our community on Facebook to learn all things social media strategy! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/audienceandauthority⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with me and our agency on Instagram!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/brittanyverlenich/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The economy changes. Politics shift. Competitive advantage isn't found in products alone, but in the exceptional experiences that foster customer retention and advocacy. Join me and bestselling author of “Keep Your Customers”, Ali Cudby on The Modern Customer Podcast. We're not offering tips and tricks, but a mindset shift to unlock unshakeable customer loyalty.  Her MINT methodology isn't just a clever acronym. It's a framework for building deep connections that outlast any market fluctuation. Listen now to keep your customers coming back! Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker, and author of the bestselling book The Customer Of The Future.

Is best-in-class education a key pillar of your product strategy? If not, it should be. This week I talked with Steven Cornwell, SVP of Customer Education Strategy at Gainsight, about the critical importance education plays in driving a successful product strategy. While often treated as an afterthought or nice to have, done right it has the capability to transform your business. However, it's more than haphazardly scheduling some webinars, having your existing staff "train" people when they see fit, or populating a website with digital content. It's an intentional focus on understanding the customer's biggest challenges and architecting solutions that meet customers where they are rather than pulling them somewhere else. While this opportunity area has room for improvement, there have been significant strides in the attention it receives from business leaders and advancement in technology designed to optimize the capability. So, if you have any involvement in driving product or service strategy and are curious what the future holds, you'll want to check out our conversation. Show Notes: 0:00 - Introduction to Customer Education and Experience 6:18 - Evolution from Traditional Training to Digital Platforms 18:32 - The Future of Customer Experience and Education Integration 28:38 - Innovations and Challenges in the B2B Software Industry 39:57 - Expanding Career Opportunities in Customer Education 49:57 - The Role of AI in the Future of Learning and Education 57:43 - Closing Remarks and Future Outlook

What are some of the most common mistakes that leaders make when it comes to customer loyalty?Join customer and employee loyalty expert, NPS co-inventor, co-author of The Ultimate Question 2.0, and world renown CX thought leader, Rob Markey in Part 2 of our conversation on value, loyalty, and loyalty programs.In this episode:- Common loyalty pitfalls-  The impact of broken trust on loyalty- Where Southwest and Delta Airlines misstepped and broke loyalty-  Link between rational, experiential, and emotional aspects of customer evaluation- How the three lens we use to assess value work togetherIf you haven't already listened to Part 1, I highly encourage you to do so.Meet RobRob Markey is a leader in Bain's Customer Strategy & Marketing practice. He joined our firm in 1990, and has led assignments in the financial services, telecommunications, retailing, media, professional services, health care, building equipment and food processing industries.Rob is an expert in customer and employee loyalty, new product development and customer service strategies. He has extensive experience with direct marketing, new customer acquisition and cost reduction for clients in the retail banking, credit card and insurance businesses.  Rob leads the NPS Loyalty Forum, a group of approximately 35 senior executives from loyalty-leading companies around the world, such as The Vanguard Group, American Express, JetBlue, Telstra, TD Bank, LEGO, Progressive Insurance, PwC and Intuit. He has published numerous articles on various aspects of customer experience and loyalty in publications such as the Harvard Business Review. He is the co-author of The Ultimate Question 2.0: How Net Promoter Companies Thrive in a Customer-Driven World, by Harvard Business Review Press, a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. Rob is also the host of The Customer Confidential Podcast.He formerly served as head of the firm's Customer Strategy & Marketing practice.Prior to joining Bain, he developed competitive strategy, led business development and served in product marketing for LEXIS/NEXIS and the IBM Corporation.Rob earned an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He is a graduate of Brown University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics.  Subscribe to The Delighted Customer Podcast so you don't miss an episode: https://www.empoweredcx.com/podcast Subscribe to The Delighted Customer Newsletter for practical tips and insights: https://www.empoweredcx.com/delightedcustomersnewsletter

Suzana Ristevski, CMO, Executive Group Marketing of NAB chats with Shahin Hoda of xGrowth about how one of the biggest banks in Australia transformed their marketing technology in 5 years. What to expect in the episode... What MarTech transformations look like for big companies like NABThe main components of the new NAB MarTech stackGenerative AI for banks Suzana first joined NAB in January 2017 as General Manager, Business Bank Marketing & Customer Strategy and is currently the Chief Marketing Officer, Executive Group Marketing. Prior to joining NAB in January 2018, Suzana worked in various marketing and product leadership roles at GE, Optus Telecommunications, Medical Benefits Private Health Insurance Fund and 20th Century Fox in London. Resources mentioned in this episode: Thinking, Fast and Slow - Daniel KahnemanThe Case for Creativity - James Hurman _________________

The Three Dimensions of Customer Value CreationRob Markey ought to know a thing or two about customer loyalty. Rob was a CX expert and thought leader at Bain long before he and his colleague Fred Reichheld introduced Net Promoter to the world. He is a leader in Bain's Customer Customer Strategy and Marketing practice and the co-author of The Ultimate Question 2.0 with Fred Reichheld.This episode was originally intended as a deep dive on customer loyalty through the customer lifecycle for my Michigan State University Master's students but it was just too good to not share in an episode.  As usual, Rob brings insights and wisdom to empower anyone interested in creating value for their customers starting with the three dimensions of value according Bain uses in their approach with clients. Also included in this episode:

In a wide-ranging conversation, meet two of Best Buy Canada's standout veteran retail leaders: Mat Povse, Senior Vice President of Operations, and Eric Stockner, Vice President and Category Officer for Food, Home, and Baby. Mat and Eric join me on the mic to talk about big-picture trends, the current and future state of product innovation, this year's Black Friday performance (and what the point of Black Friday anyway), and what it takes to win the retail game in 2024 and beyond.Mat highlights that technology is now seen as a fundamental human need rather than a mere desire, reshaping consumer behaviour and expectations. They both observe a shift from a digital-first approach during the pandemic to a more balanced omnichannel experience where customers appreciate in-store expert advice. Eric notes that Black Friday has lost some excitement and urgency over the years, becoming more of an extended shopping period than a single event. While e-commerce has been pivotal during the pandemic, they agree that physical stores remain crucial for customer engagement and conversions. Looking ahead to 2024, both see continued investment in in-store experience and technology as key differentiators, focusing on personalizing customer interactions across all touchpoints, including their newly launched Best Buy ads platform. About MatMat Povse is the Senior Vice President of Best Buy Retail Stores and Operations, Geek Squad Services, and Best Buy Business at Best Buy Canada. In this role, he is responsible for the employee and customer experience, sales and profits for over 180 retail stores across Canada as well as the development and fulfilment of Geek Squad programs and services. Mat joined Best Buy in March of 2014 as Vice President of Merchandising responsible for Home Theatre, Audio, Wireless, Digital Imaging, Geek Squad, and was instrumental in the development and execution of the Major Appliances expansion plan in Canada. Since then, he has held numerous leadership roles, most recently as Vice President of Geek Squad Services. Mat has a passion for inspiring people and teams, and has a knack for facilitating productive alignment between organizations. Mat's multi-faceted experiences and work including service centric organizations has proven valuable in areas of convergence where he leads the optimization of current capabilities for future state, develops new and innovative partnerships, and integrates services at retail - all of which have helped to enhance Best Buy's Total Retail experience and set foundations for future growth. Prior to Best Buy, Mat was Vice President of Sales for LG Electronics and has also held key positions at Compaq, TELUS & XM Satellite Radio. Mat holds a Bachelor of General Studies, Business and Liberal Arts from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia.About EricTwenty years of retail head office experience at Best Buy Canada. Executive level expertise in the fields of Merchandising, Buying, Business Development, Ecommerce, Inventory Management and Marketing. Comfortable leading a large team and passionate about business development and leveraging competitive advantages to win in this fast-changing and increasingly complex retail landscape.  About MichaelMichael is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc. and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada and the Bank of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, Today's Shopping Choice and Pandora Jewellery. Michael has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. He has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions with C-level executives and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels. ReThink Retail has added Michael to their prestigious Top Global Retail Influencers list for 2023 for the third year in a row.Michael is also the president of Maven Media, producing a network of leading trade podcasts, including Canada's top retail industry podcast_,_ The Voice of Retail. He produces and co-hosts Remarkable Retail with best-selling author Steve Dennis, now ranked one of the top retail podcasts in the world. Based in San Francisco, Global eCommerce Leaders podcast explores global cross-border issues and opportunities for eCommerce brands and retailers. Last but not least, Michael is the producer and host of the "Last Request Barbeque" channel on YouTube, where he cooks meals to die for - and collaborates with top brands as a food and product influencer across North America.

Join us in this episode of the Becker's Healthcare Podcast series as we delve into Virtua Health's unique and human understanding-focused approach to patient experience. Our guests, Ryan Younger, Vice President of Marketing at Virtua Health, and June Captain, AVP of Customer Strategy at NRC Health, share valuable insights into how marketing, storytelling, and language play crucial roles in shaping the patient experience. Discover the metrics that drive success, strategies for building a deep understanding with consumers, and the elements that make Virtua's approach stand out. Plus, gain practical advice on initiating a patient-centered approach in healthcare organizations that are just starting on this journey. Thank you for joining us, and a special thanks to our sponsor, NRC Health.This episode is sponsored by NRC Health.

Tune in to hear PwC specialists discuss how life sciences companies are engaging better with consumers and patients and rethinking engagement, the channels utilized and how to utilize data and technology to create meaningful impact. Topics include: •What elements create a good customer experience and why it's important•Four key principles to creating a good customer experience•Restructuring roles and focus in commercial and medical organizations as well as identifying organizational growth•Utilizing data and technology along with the new evolution of Generative AISpeakers:Elizabeth Otterman, Customer Strategy and Insights Principal, PwCJacquie Newland, Services and Channels Director, PwCIgor Belokrinitsky, Strategy& Principal, PwC For more information, please visit us at: https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/health-industries/health-research-institute/next-in-health-podcast.html.

Leveraging Data to Improve Your Customer Experience Strategy  Shep Hyken interviews Jason Barro, Partner at Bain & Co. and Founder of NPS Prism®. He talks about the importance of measuring and understanding Net Promoter Score (NPS) in improving customer experiences (CX) and driving business growth.  Top Takeaways:  Net Promoter Score (NPS) evaluates customer sentiment and allows companies to compare their data with competitors. It helps identify areas where organizations may be falling short and prompts them to revise their current strategies for improvement.    To improve customer experience, companies need to break down the customer journey into smaller episodes or touchpoints. By identifying which episodes create promoters (satisfied customers) or detractors (unsatisfied customers), companies can focus on improving specific aspects of the customer experience.    Customers don't just compare you to other companies within your industry. They compare you to the best experience they have ever had. It is crucial to examine why certain companies perform better than others. By analyzing what makes them successful, businesses can identify areas where they can improve and work towards closing the gap.    Having a great product is important, but it can be overshadowed and rejected if accompanied by poor customer service. Likewise, even the best service may only temporarily excite a customer if the product fails to meet their expectations. Companies need to achieve a balance between product quality and customer experience.    Plus, Shep and Jason talk about the NPS leaders in various industries, including automotive, groceries, airlines, and more. Tune in!  Quote:  "Happier customers are more valuable to the business. They buy more, stay longer, and bring their friends into your business."    About:  Jason Barro is a leader in Bain's Customer Strategy and Marketing practice. He is the lead partner and founder of NPS Prism ®, a customer experience and benchmarking service that provides businesses with actionable insights to build loyalty and grow sales.   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

Send us a Text Message.In a world where caregiving often consumes every aspect of one's life, three sisters, Jen, Jamie, and Jesse, found themselves on an extraordinary journey. Their collective responsibility? Caring for their differently-abled brother, Matt. As they navigated the complex dance of love and duty, something unexpected happened that would forever change their lives. This is a story of resilience, sacrifice, and the beautiful spirit of sisterhood. Find out the turn of events that would challenge everything they thought they knew about balancing caregiving responsibilities with their desires.In this episode, you will be able to:Witness the power of inclusiveness drawing from the caregiving experiences of the Schiessle sisters.Gain unique insights on the impacts that taking care of a sibling with disabilities can have on one's life.Discover strategies for efficiently balancing personal life ambitions with caregiving responsibilities.Understand the perspectives and intricacies involved in planning for the future care of a sibling with disabilities.Immerse yourself in depicting the profound bond among the Schiessle sisters, fortified through shared caregiving responsibilities.About the Schiessle Sisters:The Schiessle sisters are originally from Northwest Indiana and currently reside across the US. Jen (the oldest) lives in Los Angeles, Jessie (the middle) lives in Palm Beach Gardens, and Jamie (the youngest) lives in Chicago. Growing up, we were all super active & played sports, including basketball, volleyball & softball. As adults, life took us in different directions geographically, but we are all avid travelers and try to see each other as much as possible. You can catch us at a trendy new restaurant, a Broadway show, or the nearest Hanson concert :)Jen: Jen works as a sales rep in women's fashion in LA; she's worked in the wholesale side of fashion for the past 10 years and has a degree in Fashion Design. She enjoys reading, playing volleyball, and traveling in her free time.Jessie: Jessie works for a private family as an Executive Assistant, starting her career in the industry as a nanny. She has traveled the world, experiencing different cultures and creating friendships in multiple countries. In her free time, she enjoys being very ACTIVE, playing volleyball, pickleball, and golf, going to the beach, going out with friends, and trying new things!Jamie: Jamie works for United Airlines in their Customer Strategy & Innovation group. She started her career as a CPA and has held various roles within the airline industry. In her free time, she enjoys traveling to see the Cubs play at MLB stadiums, trying new restaurants, and the occasional karaoke bar.Connect:Instagram:Support the Show.Confessions of a Reluctant Caregiver Sisterhood of Care, LLC Website: www.confessionsofareluctantcaregiver.com Like us on Facebook! Tweet with us on Twitter! Follow us on Instagram! Watch us on Youtube! Pin us on Pinterest! Link us on LinkedIn!Tune in on Whole Care Network

From sipping wine while shopping to more self-checkout, the customer experience at grocery stores has been changing in recent years. Reset learns about those changes with Steve Caine, expert in Bain & Company's Retail and Customer Strategy and Marketing practices.

Most companies don't suffer from a lack of data.They struggle getting the right data and to know specifically what changes they need to prioritize.The key is know what levers to pull and exactly how far to pull themJason's work with NPS Prism is nothing short of game changing.In this episode of the Delighted Customers Podcast we explore:The risks of digitizing everythingThe discrepancy between a company's internal measures of success and customer perceptionThe dangers of buying share through discountingThe importance of competitive benchmarking The risks and challenges of digitization: when human touch is non-negotiableHow NPS Prism was created and how it helps companies improve customer experiences Meet JasonJason Barro is a leader in Bain's Customer Strategy & Marketing practice, specializing in the Net Promoter System® and customer-driven transformations. He is also the lead partner and founder of NPS Prism, Bain's customer experience benchmarking service that provides actionable insights to grow loyalty and sales.He has more than 14 years of consulting experience with Bain.Jason has extensive experience leading customer transformations across a wide range of industries, including media, cable, retail, banking, credit cards, restaurants and healthcare. He has advised both business-to-consumer and business-to business companies.Prior to joining Bain in 2004, Jason was an assistant professor of business administration at Harvard Business School from 1999-2004, where he performed research and taught courses on microeconomics, corporate governance and health economics. Jason earned his PhD, Masters and Bachelor of Arts degrees in economics from Harvard University.Connect with Jason: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-barro-b25a8a/Subscribe to The Delighted Customer Podcast so you don't miss an episode: https://www.empoweredcx.com/podcast Subscribe to The Delighted Customer Newsletter for practical tips and insights: https://www.empoweredcx.com/delightedcustomersnewsletter

Social media is mostly about brand awareness, audience building, and positioning yourself as an authority in your niche. But it can become a legitimate sales tool, too. In this episode, you'll learn how to turn any post into an opportunity for a sale. You'll also learn what a CRM is, and how you can use one as a TPT seller. Want my CRM tool that's specifically for TPT Sellers? DM me the word "CRM" on Instagram, over at @brittanyverlenich. AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE This episode description contains affiliate links. That means, if you buy something through a link on this page that's affiliate with me, I earn a percentage commission of the total sale, at no extra cost to you. Want some support with sales or marketing? I have a few openings in July for 1:1 coaching sessions! Learn more and book your spot here: https://tidycal.com/3qq49g3/marketing-strategy-session PSST! Have you heard about the Teacher Seller Summit happening this summer?! It's put on by Lauren Fulton from The Rebranded Teacher Academy, and I'm speaking at it! Click here to check out the Teacher Seller Summit: https://brittanyverlenic.krtra.com/t/F8YBHXV2GddT ------------------  WHERE TO HIRE YOUR FIRST OR NEXT VA: OnlineJobs.ph - a job board where you can hire a virtual assistant from the Phillipines: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://veritymediamarketing.com/onlinejobs⁠⁠⁠⁠ Fiverr - hire one-off projects at an affordable rate, from workers all over the world: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://veritymediamarketing.com/fiverr⁠⁠⁠ Upwork - hire experts and specialists for bigger and more technical projects: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://veritymediamarketing.com/upwork⁠⁠⁠ ------------------ CONTENT MARKETING RESOURCES Grab my Ultimate List of Facebook Groups for TPT Sellers and Teacherpreneurs: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brittanyverlenich.lpages.co/best-facebook-groups-for-tpt-sellers⁠⁠⁠⁠ Come join our community on Facebook to learn all things social media strategy! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/audienceandauthority⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with me and our agency on Instagram! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/brittanyverlenich/⁠⁠⁠⁠

For far too long treatments for CKD haven't changed. Launched in 2021, the NKF Innovation Fund works to accelerate funding, and development of therapies that kidney patients deserve. On this episode, you will hear from NKF CEO Kevin Longino interviews Kathleen St. Jean, Chief Commercial Officer of 34 Lives, one of the first recipients of a significant investment from NKF's Innovation Fund to help further develop a new technology to rehabilitate donated kidneys for transplantation.   Kathleen St. Jean Kathleen's background makes her uniquely suited to lead the team at 34 Lives with CEO Chris Jaynes. She began her career at Merck & Co., Inc., with a number of leadership roles in Sales, Professional Learning & Development and Customer Strategy. She was known for her creativity, forward thinking and passion to always put customers and patients first. In her last role at Merck, Kathleen served as sales lead for the commercialization of two adherence software products with a goal of improving health outcomes.In Phase Two of her career, Kathleen served as Director of Business Development for Imedex and Executive VP at SeaStar Medical. The latter focused on therapies designed to reduce the consequences of excessive inflammation on vital organs. Kathleen and Chris worked together at both companies and decided to combine their knowledge of healthcare and interest in transplantation into solving the current organ transplant crisis in the US. They founded 34 Lives (formerly Renovera) in March 2021 as a Public Benefit Company (PBC) to serve and honor organ donors, recipients and those who care for them. Kevin Longino Kevin Longino has been Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Kidney Foundation since 2015. He first became involved with the organization in 2008 as a volunteer advocate, and in 2012 he joined the national Board of Directors. As CEO, Kevin leads a team headquartered in New York, NY, and field offices around the country. NKF is supported by thousands of volunteers nationwide and serves millions of patients and healthcare providers seeking support and education every year. In 2004, Kevin received a life-saving kidney transplant after at-home peritoneal dialysis and is now 19 years “kidney strong”. He readily shares his story and uses his experience to help other kidney disease patients.   Additional Resources: NKF Innovation Fund    Do you have comments, questions, or suggestions? Email us at NKFpodcast@kidney.org. Also, make sure to rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts.    

In this episode, we are joined by Mandy Riemer, Manager of Patient Experience at Children's Mercy, and Evan Sheaff, AVP of Customer Strategy at NRC Health, to discuss how Children's Mercy is finding out what patients want most, what key trends they are seeing in patient experience, where overburdened clinicians and staff can focus on personal connections and a lot more.This episode is sponsored by NRC Health.

In today's health care climate—where health systems are trying to balance growth with operational and financial challenges—Sg2 has been advising our members to focus on near-term growth by building a more deliberate funnel of the right patients for their systems. So in this week's Sg2 Perspectives, we're joined by Sg2 VP, Patient Activation and Consumer Innovation, Jon Barlow and Associate Principal Charlotte Brown-Zalewa to talk about the new growth mindset of customer strategy. Jon and Charlotte discuss near-term vs long-term consumer strategies, cross-team collaboration to accomplish customer-focused initiatives and how organizations can prioritize customer strategy work.   Learn more about employing a customer mindset for future viability in Sg2's recent blog post.   We are always excited to get ideas and feedback from our listeners. You can reach us at sg2perspectives@sg2.com, find us on Twitter as @Sg2HealthCare, or visit the Sg2 company page on LinkedIn.

Federal spending of one-trillion dollars is aimed at transforming the electric grid and transitioning to clean energy. In this episode of Grid Talk, we talk with Sheri Givens, president and CEO of the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA). The discussion focuses on the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. “In looking and listening to our many members and regulators who are involved in accessing those funds, I think it's an exciting time for clean energy investment and investment in infrastructure,” said Givens. There are still many questions about how the influx of funding will flow down into actual projects. “I know it takes a while to ramp up such large targeted investment and I know a lot of the utilities and the stakeholders are waiting for clear guidance from the federal government,” Givens said. Other challenges include implementing new ideas.“Sometimes innovation can be stymied by the regulatory process. There's going to need to be some openness and some agility and some flexibility to allow for utilities and third parties and other entities to come in and to make some of these innovative solutions available to customers nationally.”Sheri Givens joined SEPA as president and CEO in November 2022. Her professional experience includes nearly twenty years in legal, regulatory, legislative, and external affairs in both the public and private sectors. She previously served as vice president of US Regulatory and Customer Strategy at National Grid. Prior to joining National Grid, she consulted on utility consumer education and regulatory policy issues in energy markets nationwide.Givens earned a Bachelor of Arts in government from the University of Texas at Austin and a Juris Doctor from the University of Houston Law Center.

From Chat GPT to a looming economic crisis, business leaders everywhere are living through turbulent times. Thankfully, The Catalyst by Softchoice is back with our biggest and most ambitious season ever.In Season 5, we'll continue to search for answers across 19 new episodes, exploring the intersection of people and technology. And we'll be doing it all with the help of two new co-hosts.Introducing Cheryl Stookes, Vice President of Revenue Growth and Marketing at Softchoice and Aaron Brooks, Vice President of Customer Strategy and Solution Sales at Softchoice. They will bring a fresh perspective to the dialogue, while digging into the biggest trends and topics facing senior business leaders.

Amy Shore is Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer for Nationwide. In this role, she is accountable for developing and executing Nationwide's customer strategy to maximize customer acquisition and drive retention to ensure that Nationwide delivers on its mission. In addition, Amy is responsible for managing Nationwide's corporate real estate and aviation departments. Join us as we welcome Amy Shore, Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer at Nationwide, to discuss her role in developing and executing the customer strategy. As a first-gen college student and governor appointed trustee at Bowling Green State University, Amy shares her journey and how she navigates impostor syndrome. Discover how Nationwide uses data and storytelling to drive decisions and connect with customers through the State of the Customer Report and Mission Moments that matter program. Learn about their customer feedback management platform, utilizing NLP and machine learning, to improve customer service and track sentiment. Discover how Nationwide's employee retention is better than pre-pandemic and how they address high attrition rates. Tune in for valuable insights on purposeful communication and creating a clear connection to the mission statement.ABOUT NICK GLIMSDAHLSubscribe to my bi-monthly newsletterFind Press 1 For Nick on YouTubeFind me on TwitterFind me on LinkedInLISTENER SUPPORTPurchase Nick's books: Reasons NOT to Focus on Employee Experience: A Comprehensive GuideApparel: https://www.teepublic.com/user/press-1-for-nick Support this show through Buy Me A CoffeeBOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:Learn about all the guests' book recommendations here: https://press1fornick.com/books/ BROUGHT TO YOU BY:VDS: They are a client-first consulting firm focused on strategy, business outcomes, and technology. They provide holistic consulting services to optimize your customer contact center, inspiring and designing transformational change to modernize and prepare your business for the future. Learn more: https://www.govds.com/ This podcast is under the umbrella of CX of M Radio: https://cxofm.org/Podcast-Shows/ SPONSORING OPPORTUNITIES:Interested in partnering with the Press 1 For Nick podcast? Click here: https://press1fornick.com/lets-talk/ 

How to Know What Your Customers Feel and What to Do With It Shep Hyken interviews Anita Toth, Chief Churn Crusher at Anita Toth Inc, a Voice of the Customer Strategy, Education, and Research firm. She talks about creating an amazing experience at every stage of the customer's journey.  Top Takeaways:   ·      The customer journey is like a romantic relationship. The marketing and sales phase is like dating. It is tactical and fun. When your prospect becomes a customer, you move them into the "marriage" stage, which is non-tactical and requires a different set of skills to maintain.   ·      Customer service must be built into every aspect of the journey. The customer relationship is not a "one-and-done" thing. It continues even after the sale is made. The relationship needs to be maintained to keep the trust going.   ·      After the sale, the customer goes into a "honeymoon" period with your business. This is where the customer finds out if their expectations meet reality or exceed them, or the stage where they find out that they are not getting what they thought they paid for. This is why a great onboarding experience is critical to customer retention.   ·      Customers know the difference. They can feel that they are just a number to a company. They can also feel when a company truly values their business and is committed to ensuring their success.   ·      When you want to learn more about your customers, start with, "Tell me more..." It is a non-threatening way to start a conversation, and it pushes them to give a clearer, more definitive response.   ·      Plus, Anita shares how she helps businesses crush their churn (in three sentences!). Tune in! Quote:   "When customers start to feel like they made the wrong decision to do business with you, changing their mind is like turning a massive ship in the ocean. It takes a lot of effort to make it happen." About:     Anita Toth is the Chief Churn Crusher at Anita Toth Inc. She helps companies increase customer retention by helping them better understand what their customers think, need, and feel. 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

Shabana Walker, Vice President of Customer Strategy for Tools, Technology, & Quality, is joining us today in this episode to share her experiences working in the telecommunications industry for over 17 years, during which she has had nine different roles.Stay tuned for this interesting conversation where Shabana shares her career highlights and how she stood up for herself at her lowest moments, her experience as a leader, and her mindset to approach the opportunities she encountered along the way. I'm confident that you'll find this conversation as inspiring as I did.A look at what we talked about:[00:01:48] Meet Shabana and her career highlights.[00:03:00] Always saying yes to opportunities.[00:05:16] Being grateful and doing your best. [00:06:45] Strive for progress, not perfection.[00:11:15] Be open and thankful for the feedback.[00:12:32] The pivotal point for Shabana's career.[00:15:48] Shabana's tools and practices as a leader.[00:20:08] Going from boss to coach. [00:20:52] Shabana's lowest moment in her career.[00:24:55] Have the courage to stand up for yourself.[00:26:19] Shabana's idea of leverage.Connect with Shabana:https://www.linkedin.com/in/shabanawalker/_____________________________________________________Ready to continue your professional growth? Here are a few resources for you: Get my Book: The Art of Everyday Negotiation without Manipulationhttps://susietomenchok.com/buy-the-art-of-everyday-negotiation Join my Newsletter: The Monday Minutehttps://susietomenchok.com/email-list-opt-in Hire me: Learn More About my Serviceshttps://susietomenchok.com/servicespage Connect with Me: Find me on LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/susietomenchok/

Brenda Wensil and Kathryn Heath are Executive Coaches who have spent decades coaching more than 800 women and working with Women Executives, Middle Managers, and Professionals across industries and age groups. They are the co-authors of ‘I Wish I'd Known This: 6 Career-Accelerating Secrets for Women Leaders'. Brenda and Kathryn offer their thoughts on navigating self-doubt in the world of Business Leadership. They share common reasons women feel “held back” from maximizing their potential. They also talk about how to prioritize goals, build a powerful support network, and weed out distractions which lead you away from achieving what you truly desire in your career. Driven by the belief that more Female Leaders equals a better world, Brenda and Kathryn explain, that many women are held back from unlocking their potential because of their own limiting beliefs. By simply changing the story you tell yourself, you completely transform the way you show up at work and in all your relationships, personal and professional. Brenda and Kathryn also speak on the value of your reputation or personal brand, no matter your role in an organization. As a Leader, how you are seen by your teammates and clients is fundamental to your success. They encourage women to simply ask around to get feedback on their strengths and gaps as others see them, and to be ready and willing to adjust how they work and interact with others, if unsatisfied with the answers they hear. Another key to maximizing your reputation is by combining your personal power, or who you are as a person, with your position power as a professional. Brenda and Kathryn ultimately remind us, that Leadership is a skill, and that deliberate goal-setting and consistent, disciplined practice are essential to growing that skill.  This podcast is sponsored by InnerProfessional online training programs. With courses geared specifically for Legendary Leaders, InnerProfessional provides an extraordinary catalog of leadership and professional development programs unlike any online training you've experienced before.   Key Takeaways:  Success in any endeavour starts with “staking yourself out”: getting clear on what you want to accomplish and the type of person you want to become in the process. It's a mistake to go at it alone. Create a support system for yourself as early as possible so you can go further in your career than you ever could by yourself. Leadership is a skill, which means yours can be developed with the right goal and strategy. Great careers are built on strengths. When you know what you're good at, you possess the keys to your professional success.    Episode Timeline:  [05:02] Introduction to Brenda Wensil & Kathryn Heath.  [13:20] How the world can become a better place with more Women Leaders.  [18:04] Finding your voice and staking yourself out. [24:56] How your career path is strongly connected to your personal path. [33:30] How Brenda and Kathryn have made an impact on Women Leaders. [40:20] What do you want to be known for? [50:39] Learning from reflection and feedback. [58:47] Combining your position power with your personal power. [1:08:57] Creating a vision and strategy for your career path. [1:13:39] Building your reputation by letting the world know your personal brand. [1:20:02] Operating on autopilot. [1:25:10] How to not miss the point of preparation. [1:31:55] What Women Leaders can contribute to the world beyond their organizations.    Standout Quotes:  “We really think the world would be a better place if there were more Women Leaders.”  “Sometimes, women are so busy working that they don't set a direction. They just kind of drift.”  “Leadership is a skill, and you can grow it.”  “How do you leverage your platform—your position power—and combine that with who you are as a person—your personal power—and see yourself as an important colleague to your peer group?”  “Women are great at strategic planning for their company, but they have to be the CEO of their career.”      Connect:   Find | Brenda Wensil    Business Website: https://www.bravanti.com   On LinkedIn: @BrendaWensil    Bio: Brenda Wensil is Managing Director & Practice Leader of Bravanti's Leadership Acceleration practice. She is an executive leader with a successful background in sales and marketing, advertising, brand management, customer strategy, service experience, and supply chain performance management on both domestic and international levels. She is known for her expertise in building collaborative partnerships and developing teams to improve leader performance and drive results.     She is a board-certified coach working with leaders and managers in large and mid-size companies as well as non-profit organizations.  Brenda has led engagements for the organization focused on women's leadership and advancement, which include long programs, workshops, speaking engagements, and individual and group coaching.  Her approach is practical, goal-focused, and action-oriented. Brenda established the first-ever customer-focused strategy for the federal government as Chief Customer Experience Officer at the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Federal Student Aid, the single largest provider of funding for post-secondary education in the U.S. She held leadership roles for  20 years with Wachovia Corporation (now Wells Fargo) as Head of Customer Strategy, Marketing and Customer Relations, as well as Head of Retail Segments and Director of Enterprise Supplier Performance Management. Brenda was also a consultant to Barclays Bank in London, leading an international team to re-design and execute the company's global technology supplier management functions. Brenda is the co-author of I Wish I'd Known This: 6 Career-Accelerating Secrets for Women Leaders (Berrett-Koehler, 2022), which uncovers six blind spots that derail women's career paths and provides strategies to effectively overcome them for an impactful, sustainable career. She is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum and has been a keynote speaker on topics ranging from women's leadership to customer-focused strategies in the financial industry. Brenda received the Executive Leadership Award for public service from the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, and the Service to the Citizens Award for Leadership in higher education.  Brenda earned a Master's degree in organizational development and executive coaching from the McColl School of Business at Queens University, and a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of South Carolina. She is also a graduate of the Executive Leadership Program, Kenan Flagler, at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. She is accredited by the International Coach Federation and is certified in numerous assessments including Hogan, Workplace Big Five, Thomas-Kilman Index, and MBTI.    Find | Kathryn Heath Business website: https://www.bravanti.com  On LinkedIn: @KathrynHeath  Book: https://bravanti.com/insights/books/i-wish-id-known-this/    Bio: Kathryn Heath, Ph.D., is a managing director of the Leadership Acceleration Practice at Bravanti. She was a founding partner of Flynn Heath Leadership, which was acquired by Bravanti (formerly BPI group) in 2020.    Kathryn serves as a coach, a researcher, and a developer of leadership programs. One of the hallmarks of Kathryn's work is addressing organizations' specific business targets through customized programs that move leaders forward faster.     Her various clients include executives and high-potential leaders at Fortune 500 companies including Deloitte, AIG,and Booz Allen Hamilton. Before she co-founded FHL, Kathryn was Senior Vice President and Chief Learning Officer at the nation's fourth-largest bank, First Union (now Wells Fargo), where her inventive and results-focused approach won her numerous awards. During a period of explosive growth, Kathryn led not only the training organization, but she also worked to grow high-potential Leadership talent as the head of Leadership Development.  Kathryn is the co-author of three books: I Wish I'd Known This: 6 Career-Accelerating Secrets for Women Leaders(Berrett-Koehler, 2022),The Influence Effect: A New Path to Power for Women Leaders(Berrett-Koehler, 2017), and Break Your Own Rules: How to Change the Patterns of Thinking That Block Women's Path to Power(Jossey-Bass, 2011), which landed on the best-seller lists of the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and the Washington Post.     Kathryn also co-authored two articles for the Harvard Business Review:“ Women, Find Your Voice!” (HBR-June 2014) and “To Build an Inclusive Culture, Start with Inclusive Meetings” (HBR-September 2019).Kathryn received her B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, her M.Ed. from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Kathryn is based in Charlotte, NC.    SUBSCRIBE TO THIS PODCAST On Apple Podcasts.  About Cathleen Merkel:   As a Thought Leader in the Mindset & (Self-) Leadership space, Cathleen supports high achieving, but worn-out women create a more content & balanced life without sacrificing their hard-earned success.     Following a simple 6 step framework, Cathleen helps you not only reconnect with your inner feminine side; she also supports you to rediscover your REAL YOU!  Cathleen focuses on women who have lost their sense of purpose, who feel they are ‘running in a hamster wheel', trying to please everyone but themselves. She helps you to turn your careers, your social connections and personal life around so that you will start feeling fulfilled and excited again about the days to come.  At the end of the process, Cathleen's clients will feel healthier, happier, energised and clear about their future.   With over 15 years of Leadership experience in Retail, Media & Broadcasting, Engineering and Property Investment, Cathleen has not only experienced the challenges and opportunities of a Female Leader herself; she has also been leading and supporting various Leadership Development Initiatives within large, complex, multinational matrix organisations.  Only by deeply experiencing her very personal life challenges – ‘hitting a wall experiences' –Cathleen was able to redefine her own purpose, deciding to bring ease and content to as many women as possible on the planet!     Find | Cathleen Merkel   At cathleenmerkel.com  On Instagram: @CathleenMerkel  On Facebook: @CathleenMerkelCoaching  On LinkedIn: @CathleenMerkel    Tune in here:   https://apple.co/2CaSQ5K   https://spoti.fi/2XzM4QJ   https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/85d200fb-8e1d-46b3-b550-b00b9666f00f/The-Legendary-Leaders-Podcast   

Brad Wheeler and Joe Lynch discuss the FreightTech dilemma. Brad serves as the Senior Director of Customer Strategy at Emerge, the leading freight procurement platform. About Brad Wheeler Brad Wheeler, one of the company's "starting lineup," has been with Emerge since its inception in 2017. In his current role as the Senior Director of Customer Strategy, Brad leads a team focusing on Solutions Architecture and Implementation Strategy whose mission is to work directly with shippers to bring efficiency to the capacity procurement process through technology. Through thousands of shipper and carrier interactions revolving around successful freight tech implementation, Brad brings an incredibly valuable perspective to any shipper looking to introduce technology into their supply chain. With additional experience as the Manager of Sales and later the Director of Business Operations, Brad has been a key contributor to successfully scaling Emerge from a workforce of 30 to over 300 employees. Brad brings it all to the table from characterizing Emerge's brand and culture, presenting Emerge's value proposition to the industry, and determining pivotal insights to enhance customer experience. Brad's higher education includes a B.S. in Exercise & Wellness from Arizona State University and M.S. in Sports & Business Leadership from the University of Kentucky About Emerge Transforming the $800 billion freight industry, Emerge empowers meaningful logistics relationships through its award-winning Freight Procurement Platform. Built by freight professionals for freight professionals, Emerge is reinventing the procurement process by offering solutions that enable shippers and carriers to make more empowered, strategic decisions. In addition to the platform, shippers can connect to the Emerge Marketplace which opens access to 35,000 asset based carriers in order to create meaningful freight connections. The world's largest shippers and capacity providers use the Emerge Freight Procurement Platform daily, showing immediate ROI for procurement and saving valuable time in the process. Founded in 2017, and located in Scottsdale, Arizona, Emerge is one of the fastest-growing technology startups in the U.S. Key Takeaways: The FreightTech Dilemma Brad Wheeler is the Senior Director of Customer Strategy at Emerge, the leading freight procurement technology platform. In the podcast interview, Joe and Brad discussed the FreightTech dilemma that many shippers face when considering new technology. Most shippers recognize that FreightTech is one of the best ways to streamline their shipping function and potentially save money – however, the dilemma arises because FreightTech has traditionally come with some challenges. Some of the challenges that cause shippers to hesitate when it comes to freight technology are: Freight technology is daunting, difficult to understand, and there are so many choices – big project to take on Freight technology has often required a sizeable investment and the ROI is not guaranteed An organization is going to need specialized knowledge, which may include new hiring or paying for additional resources Freight technology implementations are time consuming and may disrupt and distract the team from their jobs During the interview, Brad explains that the newest generation of freight technologies are much easier on the budget, and implementations are much less time consuming. Emerge's RFP technology platform is part of the new generation of freight technologies and Brad points out that shippers can use the system for free – and creating an RFP event takes hours, not weeks or months.  Shippers using Emerge's Freight Procurement Platform can spend less time on carrier RFPs and more time developing relationships with current and prospective carriers. The goal is to let the technology automate the process, while humans are building relationships with their fellow humans. Emerge is reinventing freight procurement by providing access to benchmarked rates and thousands of trusted partners to maximize cost-savings. Emerge is custom built for freight RFP events and as a result the process is streamlined, easy, and saves shippers time and money. The Emerge platform provides carriers access to more shippers and more opportunities. Carriers gain access and bid directly on exclusive contract and spot lanes that they may have never had access to before. Emerge's network connects carriers with shippers of all sizes, providing them more opportunities in the lanes that work for your company. Emerge uses a network model, which becomes increasingly valuable to users (carriers and shippers) as it scales. Learn More About The FreightTech Dilemma Brad on LinkedIn Emerge on LinkedIn LinkedIn Emerge Awarded Podcast Awarded Podcast on Apple Awarded Podcast on Spotify Awarded Podcast on YouTube Modern RFP Processes Offer Multitude of Shipper Benefits Emerge launches Benchmarking Related The LoL episodes:  The Emerge Story with Andrew Leto Building a Freight Juggernaut Again with Michael Leto The Freight RFP Process is Broken – Let's Fix It with Maggie Petrovic Emerge Levels Up with Michael Leto It's Not the Market, It's Your Procurement with Andrew Haverkampf The Freight Marketplace with Dave Maddox Is Your TMS Enough with Derek Doddridge The Secret Sauce with Mark McEntire Smart Freight Sourcing with Andy Semisch The Logistics of Logistics Podcast If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues. The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube

Today Jenny welcomes Deb Nevins, EVP of Customer Strategy at Point of Care Network (POCN). POCN is a platform whose goal is to help NPs and PAs practice at the top of their medical license. They help connect them to education, mentoring, and career opportunities. This episode discusses: How NPs and PAs now make up almost one-third of all prescribing clinicians in the U.S. Preferences of communication and education for NP/PAs, compared to MDs and why it matters Tips to recruit NP/PAs, including what matters to many of them right now (tip - it's not hiring bonuses!) Connect with Jenny: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennybristow/ Connect with Deb: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debnevins/

In this HCI Podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Chris French about two recent reports, the August Human Workplace Index, as well as Workhuman-Gallup report: Unleashing the Human Element at Work.. Chris French (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisfrench39/) is Executive Vice President of Customer Strategy at Workhuman. Workhuman® is the world's fastest-growing integrated Social Recognition® and continuous performance management platform. Our human applications are shaping the future of work by helping organizations connect culture to shared purpose. With a consistent stream of gratitude fueling unparalleled, provocative workplace data and human insights, Workhuman® Cloud is a critical software engine for global companies seeking to motivate and empower their people to do the best work of their lives. Workhuman (formerly known as Globoforce) was founded in 1999 and is co-headquartered in Framingham, Mass., and Dublin, Ireland. Please consider supporting the podcast on Patreon and leaving a review wherever you listen to your podcasts! Check out BELAY here. Check out Backblaze at www.backblaze.com/hci. Head over to setapp.com/podcast to listen to Ahead of Its Time. Check out BetterHelp.com/HCI to explore plans and options! Go to cardiotabs.com/innovations and use code innovations to get a free Mental Health Pack featuring Cardiotabs Omega-3 Lemon Minis and Curcumin when you sign up for a subscription. Check out Zapier.com/HCI to explore their business automations! Check out the HCI Academy: Courses, Micro-Credentials, and Certificates to Upskill and Reskill for the Future of Work! Check out the LinkedIn Alchemizing Human Capital Newsletter. Check out Dr. Westover's book, The Future Leader. Check out Dr. Westover's book, 'Bluer than Indigo' Leadership. Check out Dr. Westover's book, The Alchemy of Truly Remarkable Leadership. Check out the latest issue of the Human Capital Leadership magazine. Each HCI Podcast episode (Program, ID No. 592296) has been approved for 0.50 HR (General) recertification credit hours toward aPHR™, aPHRi™, PHR®, PHRca®, SPHR®, GPHR®, PHRi™ and SPHRi™ recertification through HR Certification Institute® (HRCI®). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

JoAnna Brandi is the Publisher of The Customer Care Coach – A weekly self study leadership training program in “The Art and Science of Exquisite Customer Care” as well as “Monday Morning Motivation” – a tool to keep employees focused on keeping the customers happy.She has written over 500 articles and worked with companies that range in size from multinationals to small privately held companies. She is a popular and highly rated public speaker at conferences such as the World Conference on Customer Management, the North American Conference on Customer Management. She has been named the #1 Speaker at the Inc. Conference on Customer Strategy.Episode Links:Web: https://returnonhappiness.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/KeepEmHappyFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReturnOnHappinessYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/user/JoannaBrandiCompanyJoey Pinz Conversations Podcast Information: • Website: https://www.joeypinz.com • Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/joeypinz • Music by Tom Izzo: @wahlsinger  https://tomizzomusic.com  Support our podcast:  • Subscribe: https://joeypinzconversations.com/subscribe/ • How much is this podcast worth to you? Consider $5, $10 or $20/mo with Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/joeypinz  • How about a one-time payment?  • What is the episode worth to you? $25/$50/$100/$500 /$1,000/$5,000 with PayPal (one-time): https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/JoePannone Please subscribe/follow to Joey Pinz Discipline Conversations Podcast: • Spotify, Apple, Google, or others.  Please consider rating with 5 stars if you like it. • Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/joey-pinz-discipline-conversations/id1583997438 • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/69SFwY3XSwcw9qNvElAn10 • Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xODI4OTA2LnJzcw • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JoeyPinzDisciplineConversations?sub_confirmation=1Please follow on social media: @TheJoeyPinz • Instagram: @TheJoeyPinz https://www.instagram.com/TheJoeyPinz  • Twitter: @TheJoeyPinz  https://twitter.com/TheJoeyPinz • Facebook: @TheJoeyPinz https://www.facebook.com/TheJoeyPinz • TikTok:  @TheJoeyPinz  https://www.tiktok.com/@thejoeypinzFinally,  join our newsletter: https://joeypinzconversations.com/#newsletterSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/joeypinz)