Podcasts about customers that stick

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

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Adam Toporek Customer Service Expert, Keynote Speaker, Author, Podcast Host, Trainer and Strategic Advisor Be Your Customer’s Hero Adam Toporek is an internationally-recognized customer experience expert, keynote speaker, and customer service trainer who helps organizations transform their relationships with their customers through better strategy, training, and communication. A third-generation entrepreneur with extensive experience in retail, wholesale, franchising, and small business, Adam understands the impact that customer experience can have on the bottom line. Adam is the author of Be Your Customer's Hero, the founder of the popular Customers That Stick® blog, the co-host of the Crack the Customer Code podcast, and the creator of the virtual training course, How to Deal with Difficult Customers. Adam is regularly ranked as a top customer experience thought leader and has been cited in Entrepreneur, Forbes, AMA, and over 100 other media. Website https://customersthatstick.com Crack the Customer Code Podcast http://crackthecustomercode.com LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamtoporek Twitter https://twitter.com/adamtoporek Leadership Quote “You are what you focus on.” Subscribe, share and review on iTunes! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/keep-leading/id1461490512 Purchase "Be Your Customer's Hero" on Amazon! The Keep Leading!™ podcast is for people passionate about leadership. It is dedicated to leadership development and insights. Join your host Eddie Turner, The Leadership Excelerator® as he speaks with accomplished leaders and people of influence across the globe as they share their journey to leadership excellence. Listen as they share leadership strategies, techniques and insights. For more information visit eddieturnerllc.com or follow Eddie Turner on Twitter and Instagram at @eddieturnerjr. Like Eddie Turner LLC on Facebook. Connect with Eddie Turner on LinkedIn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam Toporek is an internationally-recognized customer experience expert, keynote speaker, and customer service trainer who helps organizations transform their relationships with their customers through better strategy, training, and communication. He is the author of Be Your Customer's Hero, the founder of the popular Customers That Stick® blog, the co-host of the Crack the Customer Code podcast, and the creator of the virtual training course, How to Deal with Difficult Customers. Adam is regularly ranked as a top customer experience thought leader and has been cited in Entrepreneur, Forbes, AMA, and over 100 other media. Follow Worthix on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/worthix/ Follow Worthix on Twitter: @worthix Follow Adam Toporek on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamtoporek/ Follow Adam Toporek on Twitter: https://twitter.com/adamtoporek Follow Mary Drumond on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/marydrumond/ Follow Mary Drumond on Twitter: @drumondmary

Adam and Jeannie kick off 2019 with some of the best resolutions you can make to continuously improve customer experience and customer service all year long. Are you ready to kick off a customer-focused new year? We made it to 2019. Yippee! We had a long, much-needed break, but we’re so glad to be back. And what better way is there to start the new year than to make meaningful resolutions? Perhaps you’ve already made your resolutions about eating healthier and actually using that gym membership, but we’re here to talk about improving your customer experience as part of your strategy for business success. “Our resolutions are all about customer experience and customer service.” -Adam Toporek So what should you resolve to do for your customers in 2019? Adam Toporek and Jeannie Walters are two of the most recognized and respected names in customer experience and customer service, and they’re here to help you hit the ground running. Not only have they shared some of the most important resolutions you can make on behalf of your customers, but they had a lot of fun doing it! “Resolutions should be about ACTION.” -Jeannie Walters Resolutions may tend to fade over time, but we’ve got a few you need to keep top-of-mind throughout the year. Here’s to an exciting year of focusing on customers for greater business success! Related Content 360Connext® post, What You Need to Know to Reduce Customer Effort in 2019 Customers That Stick® post, The Fusion of Brand and Culture with Denise Lee Yohn Episode 214: Who Drives Customer Experience? Episode 300: Celebrating 300 Episodes (with live guitar) We're on C-Suite Radio! Check it out for more great podcasts Sponsor message Give your team the customer service training they deserve Want to bring game-changing customer service training to your team? CTS Service Solutions offers a half-day in-person workshop designed to motivate and educate your customer-facing team members. Using energy, excitement, and interaction, our workshop helps frontline teams embrace a customer-centric outlook, then — using the principles from our book Be Your Customer’s Hero — gives them the skills and confidence they need to handle any service interaction. Don’t leave your frontline team hanging… Give them the training they deserve. Learn more at customerheroworkshop.com, that is customerheroworkshop.com.   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeannie and Adam dust off the crystal ball and have some fun bringing you their expert customer experience predictions for 2019. What are our top predictions for 2019? It’s that time of year again, when we look back at the year behind us and speculate about what’s to come. It’s been an amazing year for trends in business technology, organizational leadership, and customer expectations, so where are we headed based on these?  Here’s a peek at what we’re talking about: 1. Artificial experiences get real Artificial Intelligence has made leaps and bounds in 2018, but we’re not quite ready to let the machines take the wheel in most cases. Is that about to change? We see some exciting things about to happen! 2. Whose role is it anyway? More companies have created executive roles focused on customers, and for the most part, we think that’s a good thing. On the other hand, some have not done a great job at defining those roles. How can leaders avoid creating more of the interdepartmental friction and other side effects of expanding the C-Suite? 3. Is the retail apocalypse still happening? With the exodus of Toys R Us and many other age-old brands, the death of retail has been a hot topic this year, leaving many retailers scrambling for ways to hang onto their customers. Will the older retailers learn their lessons and adapt to the new retail landscape, or will they succumb to the underdogs founded around more experience-focused practices? 4. Going old-school 2018 has seen a resurgence of retro apparel, decor and even food...and the hipsters have been doing that since before it was cool, amiright!? We don’t think they’re going to stop there. In fact, they’re about to amp up their fascination with embracing the old as new and begin demanding retro experiences. Can you and your staff handle it? 5. Bleep, bloop, beep! Customer Experience Maturity has been all abuzz in 2018 as well. But with the flurry of new tech and mind blowing ways to analyze data, we’re challenging what “maturity” really means here in terms of WHY all this fancy tech is being used. 2019 will be a wake-up call of sorts when it comes to leveraging this tech, but it requires a shift in perspective. We had a lot of fun recording this episode, so we hope you’ll have as much fun listening! And here’s a bonus prediction for today: You will download this episode, then rate and review Crack the Customer Code today. (Can’t blame me for trying, right?) Listen in! Related Content 360Connext® post, What You Need to Know to Reduce Customer Effort in 2019 Customers That Stick® post, The Fusion of Brand and Culture with Denise Lee Yohn Episode 214: Who Drives Customer Experience? Episode 300: Celebrating 300 Episodes (with live guitar) We're on C-Suite Radio! Check it out for more great podcasts Sponsor message Give your team the customer service training they deserve Want to bring game-changing customer service training to your team? CTS Service Solutions offers a half-day in-person workshop designed to motivate and educate your customer-facing team members. Using energy, excitement, and interaction, our workshop helps frontline teams embrace a customer-centric outlook, then — using the principles from our book Be Your Customer’s Hero — gives them the skills and confidence they need to handle any service interaction. Don’t leave your frontline team hanging… Give them the training they deserve. Learn more at customerheroworkshop.com, that is customerheroworkshop.com.   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam and Jeannie discuss how to overcome the pitfalls and challenges of developing a business model around entrepreneurship with Danny Schuman, author of “The Worst Business Model” and founder of Twist. Do entrepreneurs need to have a business model? As entrepreneurs, solopreneurs and small business owners, we tend to follow our passions and go with our guts on everything. But sooner or later, we must develop a business model or scaling becomes difficult… or even impossible! “Sometimes it’s hard to get out of our own way.” -Danny Schuman It’s tough to develop standards and policies when thus far, we’ve surrounded ourselves with great people, done whatever we do best, and it’s all been working out. While it can feel like we don’t need a business model, serving more clients and maintaining solid relationships with them becomes incredibly difficult. But how can we develop guidelines and rules without losing touch with the passion that brought us here in the first place? As an entrepreneur who beat the odds, Danny Schuman has been asked this question many times, so it inspired him to write a book! In fact, he dug in and interviewed hundreds of entrepreneurs to find the best ways to develop a business model while staying engaged with customers and offering the best possible experiences. “We often do things that work but we don’t really notice them…” -Danny Schuman In this episode, we learn some great ways to stay positive, stay focused, put a method behind our madness, and more importantly, leverage what’s been working for us in ways that are scalable. Interview Highlights Danny’s book is called “The Worst Business Model in the World,” but why do people need to know about that? [2:51] What does UDOT stand for, and more importantly, how does it help entrepreneurs when things go wrong? [6:00] Why dedicate a chapter to hugging clients, and how does it relate to customer experience? [10:14] What does it mean to be unapologetically loyal? [12:59] If it’s really the worst business model, then why on earth do we all do this to ourselves? [16:27] About our guest Danny Schuman is a writer, marketer, and entrepreneur who has spent his career creating ideas to solve challenges. He founded marketing consultancy Twist in January 2009, working with big and small brands to develop successful brand strategy, focus their message, and bring that message to the right people with great marketing materials. Before founding Twist, Danny wrote and creative directed marketing campaigns that helped build iconic brands like Quaker Oatmeal, Coors Light, and Gatorade. He and Michael Jordan started working on Gatorade on the same day. Michael called Danny “Peanut Butter Jelly Boy,” but that’s a story for another time. His #1 best-selling book The Worst Business Model in the World: A New Kind of Guide for a New Kind of Entrepreneur is available on Amazon! Connect with Danny Hey UDOTS on Twitter Hey UDOTS on Facebook Website – Twist Your Thinking Get Danny’s Book Related Content 360Connext® post, 5 Tips for Entrepreneurs: Prioritize or Lose Your Mojo! Customers That Stick® post, Keep Stepping to Succeed with Joy Marsden Episode 321: Jesse Cole, Revolutionizing the Ballpark Experience Episode 324: A Good Product Is Not Enough We’re on C-Suite Radio! Check it out for more great podcasts   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam and Jeannie discuss the innovative approach of AmazonGo and how it may foreverchange the retail customer experience. Will AmazonGo change retail forever? Have you heard of AmazonGo? It’s an amazing new prototype store for Amazon shoppers in Seattle, Washington. But being an Amazon store is not the what makes it different. Through an intricate system of cameras, a rotating stock and a special footprint, AmazonGo shoppers can pick up what they want and leave without going through a checkout. “If you don't have to stand in a line at #AmazonGo...it's a win.” -Adam Toporek It’s not just about being cashier-less. If fact, everything a shopper picks up (and puts back) at the AmazonGo store is tracked in real-time through a mobile app and charged to their Amazon account accordingly. But don’t let the absence of cashiers fool you. Eliminating the need to fill this role means AmazonGo employees are present where customers need them the most. This technology could signify an amazing leap in the retail customer experience! However, this will also pose a huge hurdle for retailers trying to compete. If customers come to demand this kind of shopping experience, colossal challenges and investments lie ahead for retailers everywhere. "AmazonGo is a step beyond just being cashier-less…” -Jeannie Walters Keep in mind that this is only a prototype, and the store in Seattle is the only one of its kind. In fact, Amazon has made no comments about what it plans to do with this technology in the future, so we have some time to explore this idea and what it means for our own businesses. Today, Adam and Jeannie are exploring the advantages and drawbacks of the AmazonGo system, both to retailers and to customers. Can this technology scale, and if so, how soon? What challenges does it pose to the store owner, and in what ways will it change the shopping experience? We explore all of this and more, including some possible non-retail applications. Listen in! Related Content 360Connext® post, Mobile Innovation Is Not About Your Phone! Customers That Stick® post, Self Service Should Never Mean Solo Service Episode 305: Supporting Your Team in the Retail Apocalypse Episode 311: Which Retail Touchpoints Matter Most We're on C-Suite Radio! Check it out for more great podcasts   Sponsor message Give your team the customer service training they deserve Want to bring game-changing customer service training to your team? CTS Service Solutions offers a half-day in-person workshop designed to motivate and educate your customer-facing team members. Using energy, excitement, and interaction, our workshop helps frontline teams embrace a customer-centric outlook, then — using the principles from our book Be Your Customer’s Hero — gives them the skills and confidence they need to handle any service interaction. Don’t leave your frontline team hanging… Give them the training they deserve. Learn more at customerheroworkshop.com, that is customerheroworkshop.com.   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 Adam Toporek is an internationally-recognized customer service expert, keynote speaker, and frontline trainer who helps organizations think differently about customer service.    -Where do difficult customers come from? What makes them difficult? (This would get into customer psychology and experience.)  - What do most organizations or people do wrong when working with difficult customers?  - What are some of the best methods for handling difficult customers. (FYI. I do a lot with customer psychology in this area, so these answers would not just be the same old tired advice.)     Adam Toporek is an internationally-recognized customer service expert, keynote speaker, and frontline trainer who helps organizations get results by thinking differently about customer service. A third-generation entrepreneur with extensive experience in retail, wholesale, franchising, and small business, Adam understands the impact that customer experience can have on the bottom line.    At CTS Service Solutions, Adam puts his extensive knowledge into practice with customer experience consulting and customer service training that includes live workshops and virtual training.    As the author of Be Your Customer's Hero, the founder of the popular Customers That Stick® blog, and the co-host of the Crack the Customer Code podcast, Adam regularly shares his customer experience and customer service insights with a global audience. He has appeared in over 100 media and is regularly cited as a top customer experience thought leader. In addition to his customer experience work, Adam is an angel investor with an interest in entrepreneurs who disrupt the status quo through innovation. Adam lives in Orlando, FL with his wife Renee and his golden retriever Dalton.    Website:: http://customersthatstick.com    Facebook:: https://www.facebook.com/customersthatstick    LinkedIn:: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamtoporek      Premium binge worthy content. Up or Out with Connie is reaching over 2.5m listeners per episode. And we’re not done  yet…  We can be heard on… ·       C-Suite Network ·       iTunes ·       iHeartRadio ·       Stitcher ·       Multiple online networks, and ·       1,900 analog stations in 145 Countries. Be sure to subscribe on iTunes, because you don’t want to miss any of the good stuff.   Let us know what you would like and need to hear on a future episode. We are here to mentor leaders who are ready to develop high-performance habits, achieve excellence and Be Unstoppable Together.   Register to be a guest at www.uporout.com   Book Connie to speak at your next event: UnstoppableSpeaker.LA Are you an executive looking for a mentor to help you develop High-performance Habits and achieve excellence? Give Connie a call at 570.906.4395, she just may be what you’re looking for!    Now to get your copy of the Be Unstoppable Freedom journal, simply send an email to TEAMPHEIFF@pheiffgroup.com. In the subject line include Be Unstoppable Freedom Journal.   I will send you to link where you can enter your information. I’ve ordered 2,000 books for you… my listeners. This journal retails for $97.00.  It’s yours for free, but I do ask that you help by paying for the shipping. That’s it, only pay for the shopping and I will send you and autographed copy.   It’s easy, send an email now to TEAMPHEIFF@pheiffgroup.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam and Jeannie share updated insights on what and how millennials buy and what that could mean for your industry in the future. Are millennial trends destroying your industry? We discuss millennials quite often on this podcast because new trends are developing so fast! This time, we have fascinating (and scary?) new insights because they’re reaching a new phase of adulthood. As it turns out, millennials are different in more ways than we ever imagined. And it’s not just about skinny jeans and fad diets. For instance, millennials are not buying much beer. (What!? That’s blasphemy!) Another example is how millennials are waiting longer to get married and not buying starter homes. But these are just a couple of the trends that have hit the news lately. Millennials are making new waves in every industry at a rapid pace, and executives are crying out in their wake! So, what does that mean for your industry? Will your offering become a fading memory while millennials push forward and shape their world? Well, that’s up to you! “We really have to think about that ecosystem in the experience of millennials.” -Jeannie Walters While many companies are suffering, others are using these trends to innovate and create experiences that not only resonate better with millennials, but make things better for everyone else. That means if you pay attention and think ahead, you can have your kale and eat it too. “Sometimes the answer is not right in front of you….” -Adam Toporek Today, we’re discussing what adulthood means for millennials as consumers, and how these trends beg a shift in our priorities and the experiences we deliver. With great examples from forward-thinking companies, Adam and Jeannie have great ideas about how to adapt and move forward in this multi-generational business landscape. Related Content 360Connext® post, Obsessing over CX for Millennials Ruins It for Everyone! Customers That Stick® post, 5 Millennial Traits to Improve Customer Service Episode 220: Future Customer or Present Customer? Episode 142: Anna Liotta, Unlocking Generational Codes We're on C-Suite Radio! Check it out for more great podcasts Sponsor message Give your team the customer service training they deserve Want to bring game-changing customer service training to your team? CTS Service Solutions offers a half-day in-person workshop designed to motivate and educate your customer-facing team members. Using energy, excitement, and interaction, our workshop helps frontline teams embrace a customer-centric outlook, then — using the principles from our book Be Your Customer’s Hero — gives them the skills and confidence they need to handle any service interaction. Don’t leave your frontline team hanging… Give them the training they deserve. Learn more at customerheroworkshop.com, that is customerheroworkshop.com.   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeannie exposes unexpected gaps in CX created by transition processes and procedures within the customer journey. Are you creating unnecessary gaps in CX? Who has not had a great experience do a complete 180 somewhere along the way? This often happens during transitions in the customer journey. In fact, experience gaps in these transitions are often invisible from within the organization. Do you know where they are? A great overall experience means not only delivering excellence during every phase in the customer journey, but also zeroing in on the transitions. But don’t make the mistake of thinking you have them all tightened up! This is where gaps in CX are often only visible from the customer’s perspective. “I bet there’s a #CX transition YOU control that you can fix quickly!” -Jeannie Walters Whether transitioning from freemium to premium or sales to usage, happy prospects find themselves scratching their heads and having second thoughts at critical moments. That said, it’s important to understand what’s really happening to them at these turning points! What typically goes wrong, and more importantly, how you find and close these gaps? Don’t make happy prospects lose their enthusiasm over something that can easily be avoided. Jeannie has some classic examples of transitions that cause gaps in CX, so you can find and start fixing them today. Listen in!  Related Content 360Connext® post, Your Process Flows Don’t Know Jack! Customers That Stick® post, Turn Your Customer Experience Inside Out Episode 255: (Tip) Your Org Chart vs. Your Customers Episode 120: Jim Kalbach, Experience Mapping Expert We're on C-Suite Radio! Check it out for more great podcasts Sponsor message Give your team the customer service training they deserve Want to bring game-changing customer service training to your team? CTS Service Solutions offers a half-day in-person workshop designed to motivate and educate your customer-facing team members. Using energy, excitement, and interaction, our workshop helps frontline teams embrace a customer-centric outlook, then — using the principles from our book Be Your Customer’s Hero — gives them the skills and confidence they need to handle any service interaction. Don’t leave your frontline team hanging… Give them the training they deserve. Learn more at customerheroworkshop.com, that is customerheroworkshop.com.   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeannie and Adam discuss today’s multi-device customer journey and share tips and ideas for optimizing your omnichannel experience. What’s your multi-device customer journey really like? Offering a multi-channel customer experience is nothing new. In fact, it’s now expected. So we test our websites on iPhones, Android tablets, and different operating systems. We develop what we think is the best experience for PC users, for Mac users, etc. Then, when we determine the experiences are optimal for each of those channels or devices, we cut the ribbon and call it a win. However, today’s tech-savvy customers continue to drop out of the journey. Freemium customers never upgrade. Paid customers don’t renew. Customers who once reported being satisfied jump ship. So what is going on here? “It’s not really about ONE mobile journey.” -Jeannie Walters Too often, journey mapping becomes an exercise in channels, not the entire experience. Today’s tech-savvy customers use multiple channels to get things done. So what happens when a customer starts a project on a Mac and returns to tie up a loose end via the Android app? While those two channels are optimized on their own, hidden gaps often lie between them that cause unexpected challenges or derail the journey entirely. “By the time you figure out yesterday’s problem it is YESTERDAYS problem.” -Adam Toporek Today, we take a closer look at how customers move from one device to another, and what happens to the experience when they get there. Are your amazing device-specific experiences still amazing to customers who depend on more than one to get things done? Listen in for ways to find out and hear some of the best ways to close these gaps. Related Content 360Connext® post, Mobile Innovation Is Not About Your Phone! Customers That Stick® post, Interview: GetApp’s Top 25 Customer Service Apps Episode 277: 5 Digital Experience Offenses Episode 264: (Tip) Mobile Potential We're on C-Suite Radio! Check it out for more great podcasts Sponsor message: Develop your customer experience mission Do you know how to deliver the superior customer experience you visualize? We can help your team become a force for positive change, starting with a customer-centric mission. The Customer Experience Investigators™ at 360Connext specialize in helping companies across industries and around the globe. Developing and internalizing unique and scalable customer-focused missions has been crucial to their success. Want to compete with the other 89% of companies staying afloat by providing better experiences? You need a compass for making astounding changes in the customer experience while breaking down the silos that are holding you back. We offer evaluations, workshops, and roadmaps to keep your wheels firmly planted on the road to a customer-centric future. Join us on our mission To Create Fewer Ruined Days for Customers™ today. Visit us at 360Connext.com.   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam and Jeannie share tips to unlock your full mobile potential and deliver what customers need most in the moment. What’s your mobile potential? We talk about mobile a lot on this show, but that’s because capabilities and expectations are always changing! Are you keeping up? Because there are many ways to leverage mobile technology to make it easier to do business with you. “Ask yourself, ‘What does a customer really want via mobile?’” -Jeannie Walters There are many ways mobile can be used to create a more rewarding, seamless and effortless customer experience, and we bet there are some you haven’t thought of! So we’re sharing some tips and ideas to help you create the best mobile experience possible. “What people are really looking for is fast information in most cases…” -Adam Toporek Is your mobile experience living up to its full potential? More importantly, are you sure you’re delivering the mobile experience your customers need most? Listen in to find out and learn some tips you can use today! Related Content 360Connext® post, Mobile Innovation Is Not About Your Phone! Customers That Stick® post, Interview: GetApp’s Top 25 Customer Service Apps Episode 262: Ecommerce Still Not Getting It Right Episode 237: Peter Friedman, Customer Service Messaging Apps We're on C-Suite Radio! Check it out for more great podcasts Sponsor message Give your team the customer service training they deserve Want to bring game-changing customer service training to your team? CTS Service Solutions offers a half-day in-person workshop designed to motivate and educate your customer-facing team members. Using energy, excitement, and interaction, our workshop helps frontline teams embrace a customer-centric outlook, then — using the principles from our book Be Your Customer’s Hero — gives them the skills and confidence they need to handle any service interaction. Don’t leave your frontline team hanging… Give them the training they deserve. Learn more at customerheroworkshop.com, that is customerheroworkshop.com.   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam and Jeannie share common customer survey mistakes and how to avoid them to get thoughtful responses. Losing our way with customer survey mistakes Customer surveys are great for getting the feedback we need, learning how to improve our experiences, or finding out where we need to invest. Recent studies show that most customers ignore surveys, most of those who do fill them out don’t do so thoughtfully, and many who start surveys never finish them. And the survey feedback we DO get? It’s only from the customers who felt very strongly enough to put in the time, so your average customer may not be represented in the results. We will remember things that are dramatically emotional either way, more than any part of the experience, so if we’re reporting back on something, it’s because we’ve had a dramatic moment of emotion, either good or bad” “...if we’re reporting back on something, it’s because we’ve had a dramatic moment of emotion...”- Jeannie Walters What are we doing wrong? Today, Adam and Jeannie are sharing eye-opening facts and their expert opinions of why customers don’t respond to surveys. They’ve helped clients develop surveys that customers want to respond to, and they’re sharing that wisdom with you. “How representative is our sample? How representative are the surveys we’re getting?” -Adam Toporek You can still use surveys to get powerful feedback that leads to action, but you must approach them carefully. Are you asking too many questions? The wrong questions? Find out today and deliver surveys that matter to your customers. Related Content 360Connext® post and ebook, 10 Ways to Get Actionable Feedback from Customers (part 1) Customers That Stick® post, Your Data Is Only as Good as Your Perspective Episode 228: (Tip) All Customers want These Things Episode 017: Customer Feedback, Mohamed Latib, and Progressive Insurance We're on C-Suite Radio! Check it out for more great podcasts Sponsor message Give your team the customer service training they deserve Want to bring game-changing customer service training to your team? CTS Service Solutions offers a half-day in-person workshop designed to motivate and educate your customer-facing team members. Using energy, excitement, and interaction, our workshop helps frontline teams embrace a customer-centric outlook, then — using the principles from our book Be Your Customer’s Hero — gives them the skills and confidence they need to handle any service interaction. Don’t leave your frontline team hanging… Give them the training they deserve. Learn more at customerheroworkshop.com, that is customerheroworkshop.com.   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam and Jeannie share tips for gauging your organization’s CX success. If you’re joining us today, your organization is either customer-focused or taking steps to deliver a better overall experience in the future. But there’s no universal road map, itinerary or outline to get you to true customer-centricity. And while they are certainly a part of it, CX success is about much more than simply eliminating bad experiences, creating better ones, and sprinkling in a few moments of delight. It’s not about creating a catchy mission statement and repeating mantras like “our customers come first!” A truly customer-centric organization walks the talk, from the c-suite out to the front line and beyond. Is your organization creating landmarks on the path to customer-centricity, or simply reveling in positive points of interest that don’t improve the overall experience? There are many twists and turns along the way, and many stops to make, but Adam and Jeannie are giving you a compass to keep you from losing your way. Listen in for 3 tips you can use today! Related Content 360Connext® post, How to Make Customer Experience Magic with Co-Creation Sessions (part 1) Customers That Stick® post, How Employee Empowerment Really Works Episode 193: Amy Downs, Customer Success Episode 094: Joseph Michelli, Becoming Customer-Obsessed We're on C-Suite Radio! Check it out for more great podcasts Sponsor message: Free Webinar On Demand Jeannie is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP) who has held highly engaging Customer Experience Mission workshops for larger audiences, and customized ones for clients with outstanding results. Sign up to learn how to start your own Customer Experience Mission for free! Make your mission statement meaningful both to customers and employees Ensure customer-facing employees meet and exceed expectations Turn ordinary processes into a conduit for your mission Steps for creating a mission your team will be proud to get behind Visit CXWebinar.com to sign up for free and check out more free webinars.   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam and Jeannie discuss balancing innovation around the needs of the future customer with those of the present customer at Medallia’s Experience-17 conference. Is your future customer more important than today’s? Brands are investing a lot in tailoring future customer experiences for the new generation, and we saw many examples at Experience-17. Millennials are the larger of the current generations, so this is important! But millennials aren’t the only group to consider, and they do things much differently than previous generations. What works for them may not work as well for Gen X’ers, and may not work at all for Baby Boomers.   The best brands find ways to create experiences that make younger customers more comfortable while still offering the experiences older generations are accustomed to.  Can you innovate around the future customer without alienating the current customer? Should you? Thanks to Medallia for providing tickets to Experience-17, we bring you fresh examples, pro tips and fun facts from the conference.  Related Content 360Connext® post, Mobile Innovation Is Not About Your Phone! Customers That Stick® post, 5 Millennial Traits to Improve Customer Service Medallia’s Experience-17 Conference Episode 155: Don’t Forget the Baby Boomers Episode 142: Anna Liotta, Unlocking Generational Codes We're on C-Suite Radio! Check it out for more great podcasts Sponsor message: Give your team the customer service training they deserve Want to bring game-changing customer service training to your team? CTS Service Solutions offers a half-day in-person workshop designed to motivate and educate your customer-facing team members. Using energy, excitement, and interaction, our workshop helps frontline teams embrace a customer-centric outlook, then — using the principles from our book Be Your Customer’s Hero — gives them the skills and confidence they need to handle any service interaction. Don’t leave your frontline team hanging… Give them the training they deserve. Learn more at customerheroworkshop.com, that is customerheroworkshop.com.   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam and Jeannie discuss ways of innovating with customers to deliver the experiences they need the most. Are you innovating with customers? When we think of innovation, we generally think of huge product launches and paradigm-shifting technology that gets a lot of attention. We rarely think this way about smaller changes in things we’re already offering. But small changes can have a profound effect on the true experience delivered, and your customers are crying for them. Are you listening? “Not everyone is Steve Jobs," says Adam. "We remember his successes, we don’t remember his challenges.” Some of the best innovations are simply around improving a small part of the customer journey, but how would you know those things need improvement? How would you find the most meaningful solutions, or know when to make those changes? It’s time to think about innovating with customers, not just for them. As Jeannie puts it, you need to “get them talking about how they use your products and services and what they feel is missing, and that will actually lead to those innovative ideas.” Today we’re discussing some great ways to bring customers into the innovation process, and to zero in on the changes they need the most. Your next innovation may not make a big splash in the media, but putting customers in the driver’s seat will bring amazing value. Episode highlights What is co-creation? Jeannie and Adam explain. [1:00] When should we bring customers into the innovation process? [4:15] Warning: Innovation is a double-edged sword. [6:00] Real-life customer-driven innovations: Small changes that made a huge impact [7:20] Keys to experience-driven innovation [12:20] Related Content 360Connext® post, How to Make Customer Experience Magic with Co-Creation Sessions (part 1) Customers That Stick® post, Innovation Is No Longer Optional Episode 101: How the Innovation Process Fails Us Episode 072: Matt Phillips, Innovation Expert We’re on C-Suite Radio! Check it out for more great podcasts Sponsor message: Give your team the customer service training they deserve Want to bring game-changing customer service training to your team? CTS Service Solutions offers a half-day in-person workshop designed to motivate and educate your customer-facing team members. Using energy, excitement, and interaction, our workshop helps frontline teams embrace a customer-centric outlook, then — using the principles from our book Be Your Customer’s Hero — gives them the skills and confidence they need to handle any service interaction. Don’t leave your frontline team hanging… Give them the training they deserve. Learn more at customerheroworkshop.com, that is customerheroworkshop.com.   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam and Jeannie share helpful tips for quickly turning cold calls into opportunities to spark meaningful relationships. Cold calls: Must they be so cold!? Sometimes making cold calls is still necessary. The idea is usually to start a new relationship, but it can be difficult to start anything this way! It doesn’t have to be so hard, and your reps don’t have to strike out so often. A slightly better understanding of the customer journey can make an amazing difference. If you take just a moment before each call, there are a few things you can do to get it started right. Just remember these pointers from Adam and Jeannie to warm things up right away while helping prepare for more personalized experiences later. Your reps will be happier right from the start, and so will your customers! Related Content 360Connext® post, You called Me. Please Don't Ruin My Day. Customers That Stick® post, Sales, Customer Service or Operations: Which Is Most Important? Episode  Casey Carpenter, Sales Breakthrough Coach Episode Search helmers 104: Pat Helmers, Sales Babble Podcast Sponsor message: Give your team the customer service training they deserve Want to bring game-changing customer service training to your team? CTS Service Solutions offers a half-day in-person workshop designed to motivate and educate your customer-facing team members. Using energy, excitement, and interaction, our workshop helps frontline teams embrace a customer-centric outlook, then — using the principles from our book Be Your Customer’s Hero — gives them the skills and confidence they need to handle any service interaction. Don’t leave your frontline team hanging… Give them the training they deserve. Learn more at customerheroworkshop.com, that is customerheroworkshop.com.   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam Toporek is a customer service expert. Not only does he do keynotes and training on customer service, but he has lived it, and grew his family's and his own businesses by delivering great customer service. He gets customer service! I met Adam last year at a National Speakers Association meeting, and we've been friends ever since. His common sense approach to customer service is refreshing for its simplicity and its honesty. I learn a ton about the right way to do customer service from reading Adam's blog, and listening to his podcast Crack the Customer Code, which is co-hosted by Jeannie Walters, one of the world's foremost experts on customer experience. In this interview, we crack some customer codes, break down customer service, and share stories of great and not so great customer service. More about Adam They keep giving Adam Toporek new titles: “Thought leader.” “Customer service expert.” “Customer experience influencer.” But he is really just a guy who loves customer service and who spreads his message of Hero-Class®service through engaging keynote speeches, high-energy training workshops, and informative writing. Adam’s business inclinations were demonstrated early on when, as a small child, he disappeared in a department store and was eventually found in the manager’s office playing with an adding machine. While he has since learned to do what he’s told when shopping with his mother (and his wife), he’s never lost his passion for making sure the numbers add up. Connect with Adam Toporek Buy Adam's book, Be Your Customer's Hero Listen to Adam's podcast - Crack the Customer Code Customer service articles - learn from the Customer's That Stick blog Follow Adam Toporek on Twitter

Jeannie shares expert hiring tips to avoid costly mistakes and bring in a truly customer-centric employee who is a great addition to your team. What makes a customer-centric employee? Picking a candidate with the right skillset is important. However, if you want to deliver outstanding experiences, it’s not everything. Most skills revolve around a set of tasks rather than people. So if you’re not careful to hire customer-centric employees, watch out! Because the most “qualified” individual on your team may actually be a detriment to your customer experience. It's not just a customer service thing! Employees who don't interact directly with customers can prioritize their own processes over the very people those processes are built to serve. Some even come out looking like rock stars for being so on top of those processes. Meanwhile, customers suffer! So how do you avoid making this mistake? How do you balance skillset with gut to bring truly customer-centric employees into your team? Today, Jeannie has some important team-building tips to help you define what traits you are really looking for, and how to recognize those traits in your candidates. Learn how to look beyond the skills so you can answer this question before you make a big mistake: Are they qualified to put my customers first? Related Content 360Connext® post, Are you SURE you’re Hiring the Right person? Customers That Stick® post, 7 Customer Service Qualifications Everyone Must Have Episode 051: Jobr and Hiring Innovation Episode 166: Justin Deese, Blue Collar Service Sponsor message: Develop your customer experience mission Do you know how to deliver the superior customer experience you visualize? Your team must become a force for positive change, and a customer-centric mission is the fuel they need. 360Connext specializes in helping companies across industries and around the globe develop customer-focused missions that are both unique and scalable. Want to compete with the other 89% of companies staying afloat by providing better experiences? You need a compass for making astounding changes in the customer experience. You need to break down the silos and get to the root of what's holding you back! We offer evaluations, workshops, and roadmaps to keep your wheels firmly planted on the road to a customer-centric future. Join us on our mission To Create Fewer Ruined Days for Customers™ today. Visit us at 360Connext.com.   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam and Jeannie discuss ways you can make noticeable improvements when there’s little or no budget for customer experience initiatives. No customer experience budget? We hear this from great leaders in large and small organizations who see the long-term value of investing in the experience. “Where do we get the resources? How can we convince other leaders? We have no budget!” Of course, the more money and resources you have to work with, the more options you have. But make no mistake: Money isn’t everything. In fact, expecting things to work out simply because a lot of money has been thrown at the issue is one of the biggest mistakes we’ve seen. Larger companies who aim to become customer experience leaders end up shooting themselves in the foot by assuming larger investments will yield greater returns. So whether you have a huge customer experience budget or no budget at all, we urge you to forget about the money for a moment and focus more on what really matters to your customers. Take the opportunity to look at your current resources from a different perspective and really put your best foot forward. With a little elbow grease, you can leverage those resources to make huge improvements one step at a time. We have some great tips for leaders in small and large companies to get started, gain support, and make customer experience improvements on a daily basis, regardless of budget. Related Content 360Connext® post, So You Have No Customer Experience Budget… Now What!? Customers That Stick® post, Upgrade Your Customer Service Technology on a Budget Episode 105: Onstage vs. Offstage Customer Experience Sponsor message: Give your team the customer service training they deserve Want to bring game-changing customer service training to your team? CTS Service Solutions offers a half-day in-person workshop designed to motivate and educate your customer-facing team members. Using energy, excitement, and interaction, our workshop helps frontline teams embrace a customer-centric outlook, then — using the principles from our book Be Your Customer’s Hero — gives them the skills and confidence they need to handle any service interaction. Don’t leave your frontline team hanging… Give them the training they deserve. Learn more at customerheroworkshop.com.   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s short but sweet episode, we discuss the importance of considering Baby Boomers when designing products and improving experiences. Are you turning your back on the world's third largest demographic? We’ve talked a lot about Millennials and Generation Z, but the Baby Boomers are a HUGE market demographic, and they have more spending power than anyone! So you’re missing out big time if you’re not paying attention to what they need. Designing experiences with Baby Boomers in mind can make the experience easy for everyone. This can mean huge opportunities for business across many industries, including startups. What about your customers? Can you target Millennials while making the experience better for all generations and vice-versa? Smart companies are doing just that. Listen in for examples and fun anecdotes from our hosts. Related Content 360Connext® post, Obsessing over CX for Millennials Ruins It for Everyone! Customers That Stick® post, 5 Millennial Traits to Improve Customer Service Episode 142: Anna Liotta, Unlocking Generational Codes Sponsor message: EXCELLERATE SERVICE 2016 promises to be an inspiring, engaging, & educational 2-Day conference focused on & dedicated to 5-Star Customer Service! In addition to the amazing content you will receive over the 2-day event, you will also be contributing to our larger vision of raising funds for Three Square Foodbank, a subsidiary of Feeding America, who serve food insecure residents in Southern Nevada.   EXCELLERATE SERVICE 2016 is all about customer service and service to a broader community. If you have a passion for service excellence and a heart for service, then this event is for you!   To learn more, go to http://www.excellerate2016.com/   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam and Jeannie discuss the overlap of sales and customer experience with author and sales coach, Casey Carpenter. About our guest An introverted, shy wallflower turned dynamic business-builder, Casey knows this: Anyone can improve her sales skills with the right training and the right mentor. Casey founded The Sales Breakthrough Coach for organizations that want to exponentially improve their sales, communication and leadership skills, and close more deals. She designed and delivered customized online learning content for the Productive Environment Institute, and recently led sales and leadership- boosting workshops for Believe, Inspire, Grow, Women in Health Management, and the Association of Image Consultants International. Casey served as a sales expert panelist at Montclair State University’s Women Entrepreneurs Week. She recently joined the Forbes Coaches Council, an invitation-only community for leading business coaches. She is also the author of the brand new book, “Introverts in Sales: Turn Your Peaceful Power into a Profitable Selling Machine.” Connect with Casey LinkedIn Casey’s website Related Content:  Customers That Stick® post, 5 Lessons Salespeople Can Teach Customer Service Professionals 360Connext® post, 3 Ways Your Small Business Can Clobber the Big Guys Download Casey’s free book! 3 Simple Steps to Win The Sale Episode 104: Pat Helmers, Sales Babble Podcast Episode 038: Bob Burg, Author of The Go-Giver Sponsor message: Develop your customer experience mission Do you know how to deliver the superior customer experience you visualize? We can help your team become a force for positive change, starting with a customer-centric mission. The Customer Experience Investigators™ at 360Connext specialize in helping companies across industries and around the globe develop and internalize unique and scalable customer-focused missions. To compete with the other 89% of companies staying afloat by providing better experiences, you need a compass for making astounding changes in the customer experience while breaking down the silos that are holding you back. We offer evaluations, workshops, and roadmaps to keep your wheels firmly planted on the road to a customer-centric future. Join us on our mission To Create Fewer Ruined Days for Customers™ today. Visit us at 360Connext.com.   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 70 - Adam Toporek discusses his book Be Your Customer's Hero and real world tips and techniques for creating superior customer experience. Adam is the founder of the Customers That Stick blog. He has been recognized by The Huffington Post as one of the "Top 100 Most Social Customer Service Pros On Twitter." Stay tuned after the interview for five action items to take advantage of the ideas and advice in this interview, and hear bonus comments from Adam. Host, Kevin Craine     Everyday-MBA.com

Tema Frank discusses her latest book, People Shock, and how to balance technology with process and people for a better customer experience. Connecting people with process As we rely more on technology, we acquire new processes. And those processes often don’t translate to the ideal customer experience. “IT does not think like customers,” says today’s guest, Tema Frank! And the evidence is all around us. Today, the best of intentions can lead to customer service disasters, simply because a set of processes has taken precedence over human interaction.  Tema shares many ways you can help your own organization find the balance between people and process where tech is relied on heavily. She outlines a time-tested three-step process from her book, People Shock, to ensure your technology remains conducive to a terrific customer experience. How can you inspire senior executives to help keep your processes connected to the people they are designed for? Tema knows what it takes to strike a harmonious balance. How vulnerable will your organization be when the next underdog decides to “uberize” the experience in your industry? Listen in to keep your processes connected to the people who bring you profits. About our guest Tema Frank has worked in customer-experience related fields for over three decades. In 2001 she founded Web Mystery Shoppers Inc., the world’s first company to assess omnichannel customer service: web, phone, chat, email and in-store. Using social media techniques in the days before social media existed, she built a database of 75,000 “mystery shoppers” worldwide. Her clients have included Bank of America, the Royal Bank of Canada, ING Direct, Expedia, and many government and other organizations of various sizes. Her industry-leading research has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Globe & Mail and other business and academic publications. A best-selling author, her second book, PeopleShock: The Path to Profits When Customers Rule, comes out this fall. Based on interviews with over 150 executives, entrepreneurs and experts, it combines case studies, data and practical action steps for customer experience and business success in the digital era. Her podcast, Frank Reactions on Customer Experience, can be found in the usual places and at http://frankreactions.com/show Connect with Tema Tema’s podcast, Frank Reactions Twitter LinkedIn Related Content Pre-order Tema’s new book, PeopleShock: The Path to Profits When Customers Rule Free Download: First chapter of People Shock Free Download: Tema’s 33 Ways to Scare Off Customers (& how to WIN them instead!) Customers That Stick® post, 6 Steps for Rolling Out New Technology to Frontline Staff 360Connext® post,  Tearing Down the Customer Process Road Blocks Episode 116: Terry Brock, Growing Your Business with Tech Episode 111: Analog Customer Experiences Sponsor message: Develop your customer experience mission Do you know how to deliver the superior customer experience you visualize? We can help your team become a force for positive change, starting with a customer-centric mission. The Customer Experience Investigators™ at 360Connext specialize in helping companies across industries and around the globe develop and internalize unique and scalable customer-focused missions. To compete with the other 89% of companies staying afloat by providing better experiences, you need a compass for making astounding changes in the customer experience while breaking down the silos that are holding you back. We offer evaluations, workshops, and roadmaps to keep your wheels firmly planted on the road to a customer-centric future. Join us on our mission To Create Fewer Ruined Days for Customers™ today. Visit us at 360Connext.com.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam is an internationally recognized customer service expert, keynote speaker, and workshop leader. He is the author of Be Your Customer's Hero: Real-World Tips & Techniques for the Service Front Lines, as well as the founder of the popular Customers That Stick® blog. Inside this FREE “First Millionaire Manifesto”, J V reveals the seven steps to seven figures and how to put more money in the bank, enjoy a richly rewarding life, and make a big difference. Subscribe in ITunes Like this Podcast? Help spread the word. Subscribing and leaving a review helps other business owners and entrepreneurs find our podcast…and make their big difference. They will thank you for it.   Watch this FREE Video to discover the Secrets to getting in your zone, achieving fast results, and building a high-profit conscious business.  Conscious Millionaire Podcast: On his free podcast, Monday through Friday, J V interviews top successful entrepreneurs and business owners who reveal their business solutions and business opportunities on topics such as: conscious business, social entrepreneurship, business online marketing, internet business solutions, internet marketing, team building and culture, goal setting, how to become a wealthy entrepreneur, and developing a high-profit business plan that will change lives and the world.

Adam is an internationally recognized customer service expert, keynote speaker, and workshop leader. He is the author of Be Your Customer's Hero: Real-World Tips & Techniques for the Service Front Lines, as well as the founder of the popular Customers That Stick® blog. Inside this FREE “First Millionaire Manifesto”, J V reveals the seven steps to seven figures and how to put more money in the bank, enjoy a richly rewarding life, and make a big difference. Subscribe in ITunes Like this Podcast? Help spread the word. Subscribing and leaving a review helps other business owners and entrepreneurs find our podcast…and make their big difference. They will thank you for it.   Watch this FREE Video to discover the Secrets to getting in your zone, achieving fast results, and building a high-profit conscious business.  Conscious Millionaire Podcast: On his free podcast, Monday through Friday, J V interviews top successful entrepreneurs and business owners who reveal their business solutions and business opportunities on topics such as: conscious business, social entrepreneurship, business online marketing, internet business solutions, internet marketing, team building and culture, goal setting, how to become a wealthy entrepreneur, and developing a high-profit business plan that will change lives and the world.