Podcasts about putting customers

Send us a textIn today's episode of Navigating the Customer Experience with Josh Seiden. Josh's insights emphasize that customer-centricity is a journey requiring both leadership and employees to adopt new ways of thinking and working. By focusing on customer needs and empowering teams through OKRs, organizations can create greater value and drive meaningful change.Josh's JourneyJosh began his career in Silicon Valley during the pre-internet days, working in technology. Fascinated by what makes great products and services, he spent many years as a designer and later a product manager. Today, he helps teams collaborate more effectively, fostering customer-centric approaches to deliver exceptional value to the world.About Josh's New Book: Who Does What By How Much? A Practical Guide to Customer-Centric OKRsJosh's book is inspired by his passion for integrating a customer-focused perspective into product and service development. He emphasizes that while creating good products is challenging, it's essential to keep the customer at the core of decision-making. His book introduces OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), a goal-setting framework that helps organizations align their objectives with customer needs.OKRs prompt teams to define clear objectives—what they want to achieve—and measurable key results based on customer outcomes. For example, the Cleveland Clinic uses OKRs with objectives like "Be the best place in the world to receive healthcare" and key results such as reducing serious safety events. This approach ensures customer-centric thinking while empowering teams to solve problems creatively.Overcoming Challenges with OKRsA common pain point in organizations is micromanagement, where leaders dictate tasks rather than allowing teams to leverage their expertise. OKRs address this by shifting leadership's focus from controlling tasks to setting strategic goals and creating an environment where employees can solve problems independently. This requires mutual trust and encourages employees to think critically about delivering customer value.However, resistance to change is a hurdle. Employees may feel overwhelmed by new processes. Josh emphasizes the importance of leadership in clearly articulating why OKRs are being adopted, addressing organizational pain points, and explaining how OKRs will benefit both the company and individual employees. This alignment fosters motivation and helps overcome resistance.Aligning OKRs with Employee NeedsJosh highlights the need to connect OKRs to the employees' sense of purpose. Everyone within an organization has customers—whether they're external consumers or internal stakeholders. For example, an HR professional's customers might be employees seeking benefits or managers hiring talent. By adopting a customer-centric mindset, employees at all levels can see how their roles contribute to organizational success, making them more engaged and motivated.Key Behaviors for Customer-Centric OrganizationsTo become truly customer-centric, organizations must:Understand Customers Deeply: Organizations should invest in customer discovery, understanding who their customers are, their motivations, and what challenges they face.Prioritize Value Creation Over Sales: Beyond generating revenue, focus on how customers use products and whether those products are delivering real value.Foster a Problem-Solving Culture: Empower employees to solve problems rather than prescribing solutions.Enhance Communication and Transparency: Ensure alignment and clarity in how OKRs connect to customer and employee goals.

In today's session, we are thrilled to be joined by Chris Hood, a distinguished keynote speaker and author of "Customer Transformations," who brings his expertise on merging customer success with digital strategy. This is a topic that is not just relevant, but crucial to developers, business strategists, and tech enthusiasts interested in customer success, digital strategy, and DevOps. Chris will explore the seven-step strategy outlined in his book, which emphasizes solving customer problems and fostering collaboration between business and developer teams. As part of our discussion, we'll explore the importance of understanding customer needs, the evolving landscape of APIs and security, and how to integrate customer-centric thinking into organizational culture. We also highlight these strategies' real-world implications, citing personal experiences and illustrating the critical impact of latency on app performance. Join us as we uncover the layers of customer journeys, marketing strategies, and ecosystem building, all of which aim to place the customer at the forefront of your development efforts. Whether you're a developer, business strategist, or tech enthusiast, this episode promises a wealth of knowledge to help you elevate your DevOps toolchain. Try out SmartBear's Bugsnag for free, today. No credit card required: https://testguild.me/bugsnag

Auckland's Karangahape Road restaurants say road works, no parking and anti-social behaviour are putting customers off. Several hospitality businesses along the colourful strip have been forced to shut their doors or move as tough economic times bite, including some veteran restaurants, Fabio Bernardini, the owner and chef of Latin eatery Tempero speaks to Lisa Owen. 

A popular payment method used by some big organisations may be putting customers at financial risk. Consumer investigative writer Ruairí O'Shea spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

The problem with the business mindset of “move fast and break things” is that what often gets broken is people. But how can companies take care of their employees without sacrificing accelerated growth?Frances Frei is a professor of technology and operations management at Harvard Business School. She's spent decades researching operational design and leadership and has co-authored numerous books like, Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader's Guide to Solving Hard Problems and Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader's Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You. She and Greg discuss the importance of fostering a culture of curiosity, why moving fast and breaking things is not worth it, and how inclusion can be an organizational superpower. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*Episode Quotes:Can you do layoffs with dignity?27:01: When Elon Musk famously bought Twitter, he did layoffs and maybe a caricature of how to do everything wrong. But on the same day, he did layoffs, Stripe did layoffs. And so we got the two. Like on the same day, you could see the transcript of what Elon said to his employees and what Stripe said to their employees. So now Stripe didn't anticipate the layoffs, but the guy took responsibility for it in a way that I think strengthened the organization. That's what I mean. Either anticipate it so you don't have to do it or take responsibility that you did it and you learn the lessons…[28:02]I'm not sure we code layoffs as the management failure as they mostly are. And so I treat it, and I'm not saying this with any extra judgment; just learn from it like we do everything else. Like, great, yeah, you went through a layoff, what went wrong, learn from it so that you can avoid it the next time.Curiosity is a cultural artifact11:42 Curiosity is a cultural artifact; it's a cultural behavior. It's a cultural mindset, and when you have it, the symptoms are delightful to you because you're going to get curious about it. So many organizations have the "don't bring me a problem unless you bring me a solution," which is the opposite of curiosity. It's guaranteed not to have very much improvement.Inclusion as an operational superpower41:22: Inclusion, to me, the reason I like it so much, is I know of no other thing that can get me achievement, sentiment boosts, and performance with no new people and no new technology. I find inclusion to be an operational superpower. No new people, no new technology, and business performance and employee engagement skyrocketed.Speed vs. sensibility22:41: When people were writing code, and the code didn't influence individuals, I don't care if you got the code wrong and you wanted to move fast and fix things, and that somehow helps you do faster iterations of code. But when it's humans, personally, it's a worldview. I personally have a problem with it. That's the first thing. The second thing is it seduces you into thinking you are going faster, breaking things along the way, but when you factor in the collateral damage and the rework that you have to do, you're scarcely going faster; you just that somebody else had to pay for it later, and you got the advantage of it today. So, I think it's also misguided.Show Links:Recommended Resources:Little's LawTravis KalanickKarim R. Lakhani | unSILOedServiceNowValerius MaximusThe No-Stats All-Star by Michael Lewis (New York Times)Chris ArgyrisAmy Edmondson | unSILOedAnita TuckerGuest Profile:Faculty Profile at Harvard Business SchoolProfessional WebsiteHer Work:Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader's Guide to Solving Hard ProblemsUnleashed: The Unapologetic Leader's Guide to Empowering Everyone Around YouUncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your BusinessFixable podcast

Dive into the transformative world of customer experience with Gabriela Ciupitu on the CX Goalkeeper Podcast. This episode, brimming with actionable insights and strategies, offers a deep dive into CX innovation in Romania and the power of community in elevating CX practices. Whether you're a seasoned professional or new to the field, Gabriela's expertise will guide you through the complexities of CX, offering fresh perspectives and inspiration.contact Gabriela on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielaciupitu/Don't miss out on this invaluable learning opportunity. Subscribe to the CX Goalkeeper Podcast now on your favorite platform and join us in exploring the future of customer experience. Turn insights into action as we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of CX together.Listen and Subscribe on Apple Podcast: Click HereListen and Subscribe on Spotify: Click HereWatch on YouTube: Click HereDiscover More About the Podcast: Visit Our WebsiteConnect with us and become part of the CX Goalkeeper community. Your journey to CX excellence starts here!

Dave Singer is Verint's Global Vice President, Go-To-Market Strategy. Singer is responsible for driving the GTM strategy for Verint's Workforce Engagement solutions, and the Verint industry leading Open CCaaS Platform. The strategy is based on developing innovative messaging and offerings both partner and direct that drive customer centric differentiation and aligned value with both customer needs and expectations.   Singer joined Verint in 2002 and has held a variety of roles in Verint including Director of Solution Consultants, RVP of Solution Principles, and most recently RVP, Presales, focusing on Solution Consulting and Innovation. Prior to Verint, Dave was a Principal at eLoyalty and a Software Architect at IBM.   Questions We always like to give our guests an opportunity to share in their own words a little bit about your journey, how it is that you got from where you were to where you are today? What is Verint? And what does Verint do? What would you say are maybe two or three overarching themes or pain points that your customers predominantly have challenges with as it relates to closing that customer engagement gap? What do you think are maybe two things if your clients came to you and asked where do you think we need to be putting our focus for 2024 to kind of set ourselves apart from the competition and really be able to supersede our customers' expectations?” What would those two things be based on your experience, as well as maybe what the data is actually telling you? Could you also share with our audience what's the one online resource, tool, website or app that you absolutely can't live without In your business? Can you also share with us maybe one or two books that you've read that has had a great impact on you? It could be a book that you read recently, or even one that you read a very long time ago, but it has had a great impact on you. Can you also share with our listeners what's the one thing that's going on in your life right now that you're really excited about? Either something you're working on to develop yourself or your people. Where can listeners find you online? Now, before we wrap our episodes, we always like to ask our guests, do you have a quote or saying that during times of adversity or challenge, you will tend to revert to this quote if for any reason you get derailed or you get off track? The quote kind of helps to get you back on track. Do you have one of those? Highlights Dave's Journey  Me: I know we read a little bit about your background in the bio that I just read. But we always like to give our guests an opportunity to share in their own words a little bit about your journey, how it is that you got from where you were to where you are today?   Dave shared that he'll go to beginning to now, the opposite order of the quick CV Yanique read. So, as was said, he started out life as a Software Engineer and after a little while, he realized he could have more impact on more customers and more people if he moved from just building one piece of code to consulting with organization, how do you use technology to improve their customer service and improve their operations.  He did that for a while, then he moved over to Verint and he really felt that Verint had a great set of applications and tools to do exactly that. And so, moved through there, again, continue to help customers deliver better experiences, their (Verint) customers better experiences for their customers and their employees. And his move to go to market strategy a few years ago, it was really a great opportunity for him to be able to, again, step back from looking at individual brands or individual opportunities and look at more holistically, how can Verint help all brands, how can Verint help all of their customers really help deliver better customer service, better agents, and employee experiences, and without sounding too, too corny, but really, really help people.    What is Verint and What Do You Do? Me: Now, could you also tell our listeners, what is Verint? And what does Verint do?   Dave shared that Verint is the customer engagement company, and they're focused on helping brands elevate customer experience while also reducing costs and improving efficiency. So, the core problem in the market they set out to solve is something they call The Engagement Capacity Gap. So, if you think about it, customers, consumers, their expectations are going up and up and up and up all the time as there are more channels, more modalities, more ways that consumers can interact with brands, their expectations, the number of contacts go up, and their expectations go up.  One of the things he thinks is really interesting is that people are now expecting online speed of service in the real world. So an example he uses a lot is, it's different on the experience, if you go to a store, you see something you like maybe it's the colour you want is out of stock, or the price is too high. So you can scan it on your phone, and have it delivered for an online retailer before you get home.  So, that kind of intersection of the real world and the digital world drives incredible expectations increase. And the problem brands have is that they have relatively flat budgets and resources to meet these expectations, that's incredibly hard.  So, what Verint does is delivers they call “CX Automation Capabilities or Customer Experience Automation”, ways they can help the employees of brands meet these expectations without having to do exponential increases in hiring. So, what they do is they help their customers engage better with their consumers to meet their expectations in the most efficient and productive and deliver great experiences across the board.   Overarching Themes or Pain Points that Your Customers Have Challenges With  Me: Based on your experience, Dave, in the customer engagement space and the different customers that you work with, what would you say are maybe two or three overarching themes or pain points that your customers predominantly have challenges with as it relates to closing that engagement gap?   Dave shared that he looks at from one pain point any two dimensions. One is, from the customer perspective, it's interesting, the common belief used to be channel switching is bad, you should deal with customers and solve their problem with a channel they first reach out on. But that's changing, customers and consumers want to change channels at their own direction, right. So, you may start with an email then flip to chat, then call in, then follow up of an email, that's fine, that's how consumers want to interact, especially since all of those channels now land on your smartphone, it's not like you're moving to a different device per channel.  And that creates a real challenge for brands to be able to manage all these channels in a completely seamless way so that customers aren't repeating themselves every time they connect. And then on the flip side, the challenge for employees is, theme probably come up a few times here is great employee experiences are necessary for great customer experiences.  If your employees are disengaged and stressed out and don't have the tools they need, then they're poor experience is going to just seem is going to translate to poor customer experiences.  So, he thinks brands really struggle with how do you manage the customer need for seamless interaction and continuity of interaction across channels, while also providing the engagement, the tools and the experiences for their employees that allow them to deliver great experiences to customers when they interact.    Things an Organization Needs to Focus on to Set Themselves Apart From the Competition and Supersede Their Customers' Expectations  Me: Now Dave, we are basically closing out 2023 and we're embarking on a new calendar year, lots of things happening across different industries throughout the globe. What do you think are maybe two things if your clients came to you and said, “Dave, as the subject matter expert in this area, where do you think we need to be putting our focus for 2024 to kind of set ourselves apart from the competition and really be able to supersede our customers' expectations?” “What would those two things be based on your experience, as well as maybe what the data is actually telling you?”   Dave shared that there's a couple of things, they're both related. He would classify 2023 as the year of experimenting with AI, Gen AI and Chat GPT, and Open AI, all that really hit the world in a big way, Novemberish of 2022.  And through this year, a lot of brands are experimenting with how do we use this to deliver better content, deliver better answers, support our customers better, but it's very much been a year of experimentation.  He thinks 2024 is the year where that has to get operationalized. Brands need to look at, “Okay, we've experimented with this for year, we've done some trials, next year is the year to make that drive value for us.” is one thing.  The second thing, he thinks this is really important. And this is core to the ethos of a Verin is think about employee and human augmentation, not replacement. So, for a long time, there's been this belief or this talk track that, “Hey, if we get the right Chatbots and the right RPA and the right tech in place, we won't need people anymore, we can automate that away.” And he doesn't believe the data shows us, that's not the case. There are things that humans are better at than machines, at a certain level of complexity and value and emotional importance, humans want to speak to humans. So, he thinks the focus of AI and automation, and we're very focused is our delivery of CX automation is really around human augmentation, because that gives the employees the power and the great experience that lets them help customers in a better way. So, 2024 is going to be the year of getting value from AI versus experimenting and pivoting from human replacement to human augmentation with CX automation.   App, Website or Tool that Dave Absolutely Can't Live Without in His Business When asked about online resource that he can't live without in his business, Dave shared that there is so many, for them he'd say broadly it's access to knowledge that comes in a few different ways.  So, it's the ability to do research on the internet in general and is to get access to broad information. And he thinks right now, looking at some of the Gen AI and the rag tools that let us turn that information into knowledge to get answers faster.   So really, for him, it's all about getting to answers, so any of the any of the online tools that allows for knowledge retrieval quickly. And again, we have knowledge management solutions and wiki solutions, things like that. But to him, it's all about access to knowledge and answers quickly.   Books that Have Had the Biggest Impact on Dave When asked about books that have had a great impact, Dave shared that Outside In: The Power of Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business by Harley Manning is a great book, it's a classic that always reminds us to focus, look at things from the customer perspective, and design our solutions and our tools, our processes, from the point of view of the customer, not the point of view of what we as a company, or we as a brand want to do. That's one of being pivotal in how he thinks about things.  Another one that he thinks is great just from a business strategy book is What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith. So again, it reminds us that things change, that things change increasingly quickly. So, we always have to be evaluating our strategies and our approaches and our solutions to adapt to where we are right now and where we want to get to.  And just because a pattern worked for us last year, doesn't mean it's going to work this year, doesn't mean throw it away. But you just can't have that assumption that doing the same thing over and over again, is going to keep having the same results going forward.  So, he would just look at those two and ones he read both a while ago, but come back to all the time, the focus on customer perspective first and always evaluate are your strategies effective right now? Not were they effective last year is really important.   What Dave is Really Excited About Now! When asked about something that he's really excited about, Dave stated that first he's going to share something completely unbusiness related, personal that he's excited about that he'll bring it back. So, his daughter just started college this year and he's really excited to watch that process of her learning and growing and moving from a kid in high school to a to a young woman in college and getting ready to meet the world. So, he thinks it's first aside from the fact he's just so proud of her, it's just really exciting to watch and remember what that development looks like and feels like and how to take that forward.  The other thing if anyone has seen him on video sometimes, his office, he has martial arts weapons all over his office, he's been training that for a while. He's currently training for his next rank, which is exciting for him personally. But one of the core concepts in martial arts is something called beginner's mind, which says no matter how advanced or experienced you get, you can never forget that you're always the beginner at something. There's always more to learn about the basics. And every time he looks at training for a level or a promotion, it reminds him when he comes back to work that, “Hey, I always have more to learn, right. There's always something to pick up from even things I've done 1000 times.” So again, he thinks that's a really important mindset going forward. And it's something he reinforced with his teams all the time is, just because you think you know, doesn't mean you know.  Just because you're good at something doesn't mean you couldn't be better. Just because someone does something differently in the way you do it doesn't mean it's worse, it just means it's different, it's something to learn from that. So, he thinks bringing that concept of beginner's mind back and keeping that, it keeps you humble, and keeps you open to getting better every day.   Me: Yeah, those are really good points. Awesome.   Where Can We Find Dave Online Website - www.verint.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/verint X - @Verint Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/verint LinkedIn – David Singer   Quote or Saying that During Times of Adversity Dave Uses  When asked about a quote or saying that he tends to revert to, Dave shared that it's not so much a quote but he just believe there's always a path forward. “And just because you don't see the path in front of you right this second, doesn't mean it's not there.” So, for him, when things get tough, he just remember that just because he doesn't see the path right now, doesn't mean if he doesn't take two steps forward, he's going to break through the trees, it's going to be right there. So, holding on to that fact is how he gets through adversity or when times maybe aren't turning the way he thinks they are.   Me: So, there's always a path forward. Alright, thank you so much for sharing Dave. Well, Dave, just wanted to say thank you very much for taking time out of your very busy schedule, and hopping on our podcast and sharing a little bit about your journey, as well as what you do at Verint and the great value that Verint is bringing as it relates to customer engagement and closing that gap for the many different organizations and customers that you work with. And also some of the things that organizations should try to focus on for 2024 as we really try to utilize all of the different knowledge sources, and technology opportunities that have been presented to us in a way that really helps to exceed the customers' expectations and even give them what they need or want before they even know that they need it or want it, so really enjoyed the conversation and I just want to express our deepest gratitude to you.   Please connect with us on Twitter @navigatingcx and also join our Private Facebook Community – Navigating the Customer Experience and listen to our FB Lives weekly with a new guest   Links •     Outside In: The Power of Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business by Harley Manning •     What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith   The ABC's of a Fantastic Customer Experience Grab the Freebie on Our Website – TOP 10 Online Business Resources for Small Business Owners  Do you want to pivot your online customer experience and build loyalty - get a copy of “The ABC's of a Fantastic Customer Experience.” The ABC's of a Fantastic Customer Experience provides 26 easy to follow steps and techniques that helps your business to achieve success and build brand loyalty. This Guide to Limitless, Happy and Loyal Customers will help you to strengthen your service delivery, enhance your knowledge and appreciation of the customer experience and provide tips and practical strategies that you can start implementing immediately! This book will develop your customer service skills and sharpen your attention to detail when serving others. Master your customer experience and develop those knock your socks off techniques that will lead to lifetime customers. Your customers will only want to work with your business and it will be your brand differentiator. It will lead to recruiters to seek you out by providing practical examples on how to deliver a winning customer service experience!

Gresham W. Harkless Jr. sits down with Jasmine Price of M & D Cleaning Services at Intelligent Office in Alexandria Virginia. M&D Cleaning Service Provides top-notch commercial and janitorial services to businesses of all sizes. They specialize in creating pristine and hygienic environments that enhance productivity and leave a lasting impression. Jasmine Price, born and raised in Northern Virginia, is the founder of a family-owned business established in 2014. The company was built upon a simple idea – the desire to assist people with cleaning and organization. Jasmine's passion for cleaning has flourished over the five years the business has been operating. Throughout this time, Jasmine and her dedicated team have had the pleasure of working with and getting to know the most amazing customers in the DMV. The mission plan for Jasmine's business is centered around providing exceptional customer service. While acknowledging that they may not be perfect and could miss a few things, the commitment is to approach each space with the best customer service and a willingness to do whatever is necessary to get the job done. https://ceochat.co/sponsored-post/chat111-the-power-of-putting-customers-first-sponsored-post/

About This EpisodeEverything is fixable if you are open to change, according to Frances Frei, Professor of Technology and Operations Management at Harvard Business School and author of Move Fast and Fix Things. In this powerful episode, we dive into the world of trust-building, strategy optimization, and leadership as Frances shares her bold journey, from challenging gender norms in her early years to becoming an expert in strategic operations and an advocate for open sourcing knowledge. She also breaks down the concepts of radical prioritization, buffer leadership, and overcoming mistrust, giving actionable ways that you can solve organizational problems, no matter your position. Frances also emphasizes the importance of valuing diverse perspectives and overriding our innate inclination towards uniformity. Her insights remind us that leadership isn't just about making decisions—it's about inspiring others, fostering trust, and guiding your team towards success. About Frances FreiFrances Frei is a Professor of Technology and Operations Management at Harvard Business School. Her research investigates how leaders create the conditions for organizations and individuals to thrive by designing for excellence in strategy, operations, and culture. She regularly advises organizations embarking on large-scale change initiatives, including embracing diversity and inclusion as a lever for significantly improving performance. A global thought leader on leadership and strategy, Frances is widely recognized for her breakthrough scholarship and high-impact teaching. She developed one of the most popular classes at HBS, which explores business models that reliably delight customers. She also led the design and launch of HBS's innovative FIELD curriculum built around learning experiences that are experiential and immersive. In 2017, Frances was tapped to become Uber's first Senior Vice President of Leadership and Strategy with a mandate to help thousands of employees excel in a context of hyper-growth, strategic change, and an evolution in culture.  In 2018, Frances delivered a TED talk viewed by millions on ‘How to build (and rebuild) trust.' Frances is the best-selling author of Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business and Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader's Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You. Hailed as “the definitive guide to leadership today,” Unleashed inspires readers to look beyond themselves and focus on the true challenge of leadership: how to unlock the potential of others. Her newest book, Move Fast & Fix Things is on shelves now. In 2023, Frances and her wife, Anne Morriss, launched their first podcast. “Fixable” is a career advice podcast produced by TED Audio Collective and guides advice seekers toward getting unstuck. The leadership couple take real people's career complications - no matter their industry or position - and set them up for success. Frances holds a Ph.D. in Operations and Information Management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Additional ResourcesWebsite: https://anneandfrances.com/Order Her New Book, Move Fast and Fix ThingsLinkedIn: @FrancesFreiInstagram: @francesxfrei

Faith Ventures welcomes David Ramirez, additive manufacturing engineer and manager with Uptive Manufacturing in Chicagoland. (As FV's first engineer interview, host Norman gets to nerd out a little with him a bit in the show!) David shares his story of conversion, growth in faith, and engineering journey. David believes in the power of serving others and putting their interests above his own, a principle we all believe is at the heart of human flourishing and God's design. He shares practical examples of how he has applied this mindset in his own business ventures and how it has affected his life deeply. Whether going above and beyond to serve a customer and make them whole, to enduring mistreatment, to embracing new opportunities, David's story is a testament to the faith-driven mindset and the impact it can have on both individuals and the marketplace.

In this episode of the DevReady Podcast, our host, Anthony Sapountzis, is joined by Mira Mikosic, Founder & CEO of Simple Chic. Simple Chic is revolutionizing the fashion industry by offering an on-demand and circular marketplace that empowers women to customize their clothing experiences. With a commitment to sustainability and ethical practices, Simple Chic connects customers with independent designers and makers for tailored clothing solutions, including made-to-order pieces, alterations, upcycling, repairs, and recycling. Mira highlights the urgent need for change within the fashion industry, addressing issues like overproduction, overconsumption, and the environmental impact of synthetic textiles. Simple Chic's approach focuses on reducing waste, advocating for natural fabrics, and addressing labor exploitation. By shifting toward a customer-centric model, the platform aligns clothing choices with individual needs and life stages, offering a more meaningful and sustainable fashion experience. The conversation delves into the pitfalls of the profit-driven fashion industry and the rise of fast fashion brands that prioritize sales and cost-cutting over ethical practices. Mira emphasizes the necessity for industry-wide change to counter these trends. She also discusses the adverse effects of excessive consumption driven by design trends and social media influences, leading to a culture of overconsumption. Mira introduces Simple Chic's circular fashion concept, which emphasizes personalized clothing while also extending the life of garments through repairs and upcycling. The episode underscores the brand's mission to make fashion simpler, more ethical, and more resonant with individual preferences. Topics Covered · Eco-friendly fashion transformation · Breaking down fast-fashion's pricey profit paradigm · Fashion industry and choice overload · Sizing standards and styles · Fashion with a purpose · Tech-driven fashion evolution · Customer-designed couture · Need to empower women in fashion · Fashion industry's economics and ethics Important Time Stamps · Empowering Women and the Planet: Simple Chic's Triple-Fold Solution (0:17 – 3:15) · Fashion's Dark Side: Profit-First Industry Exposed! (3:16 – 5:43) · Fashion's Vicious Cycle of Overconsumption (5:55 – 8:33) · Fit or Miss: The Sizing Struggles We Face (9:14 – 10:56) · Style on Demand: Mira Mikosic on Simple Chic's Sustainable Approach (10:57 – 13:14) · Fashion x Technology: Shaping Personalized Style with Simple Chic (13:35 – 17:51) · Fashion's New Fit: Mira Mikosic on Revolutionizing Personalization (18:15 – 20:43) · Putting Customers in the Designer's Seat (21:54 – 25:19) · Breaking the Mold: Quest for Inclusive Fashion (25:26 – 28:34) · Cost of Clothing and Fashion's Offshore Struggle (28:59 – 30:33) · Fashion for All (30:59 – 34:30) · From MVP to Masterpiece: Mira's Evolutionary Tech Tool (34:42 – 38:48) · From Need to Solution: Insights into Fashion Innovation (39:35 – 42:58) Follow & Subscribe to the DevReady Podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aerionTech LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aerion-technologies Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aerion_tech/ Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/36XdTFQ Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2uaqDvt YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AerionAuTech

#storytelling #communication #writing #empathy In Episode #794 of CXOTalk, we explore storytelling in business with Josh Bernoff, a seasoned ghostwriter, industry analyst, and business strategist. Josh explains how stories can drive business success, and how empathy can transform intellectual ideas into emotionally resonant narratives.This episode presents the challenges technology leaders face in storytelling, the significance of a robust product story, and the universal appeal of visual storytelling. Josh explains how to manage executive bias in data storytelling, crafting stories with data, addressing salespeople's resistance to storytelling, and the foundational role of empathy in effective storytelling.Topics in this episode include:► The power of stories in business communications► Impact of stories on business success► Empathy translates intellectual ideas into stories with emotional impact► The challenge of storytelling for technology leaders, like CIOs and CTOs► The power of a strong product story► How to tell a memorable story► The power of visual storytelling is universal across cultures► How to handle executive bias in data storytelling► How to tell a story with data► How to address pushbacks from salespeople on storytelling► How to tell sales stories► Role of empathy in storytelling for sales► How to write an effective story for business► Effective stories require details to become real► How to write an effective customer case study in business► How to manage marketing departments that do poor storytelling► Create interesting storytelling, without rehashing old, tired stories► How to create a narrative story arc in business writing► What CIOs should know about effective storytelling for information technology► What are the best AI tools for B2B writing► Empathy is the foundation of effect storytellingSubscribe to be notified of LIVE CXOTalk shows: www.cxotalk.com/subscribeRead the complete transcript: https://www.cxotalk.com/episode/cxos-guide-to-effective-storytelling-in-businessJosh Bernoff has been a professional writer since 1982. He has coauthored three books on business strategy, including Groundswell, which was a bestseller. And he is passionate about clear, brief, fascinating communication.For 20 years at Forrester Research, he wrote and edited reports on the future of technology. He learned to do kick­ass analysis of business strategy, then taught others to do so. In his last five years there, as Senior Vice President, Idea Development, he identified, developed, and promoted Forrester's most powerful and influential ideas. He gave hundreds of speeches around the world, got quoted in every news source you can name, and gave strategy advice to countless clients from the world's largest companies and tech vendors. Josh Bernoff also created Technographics, the segmentation that launched Forrester's highly successful consumer survey business.At Forrester he edited two books by other analysts: Outside In: The Power of Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business (New Harvest/HMH, 2012) by Harley Manning and Kerry Bodine and Digital Disruption: Unleashing the Next Wave of Innovation (Amazon Publishing, 2013) by James McQuivey.Before Forrester Josh Bernoff spent 14 years in technology startups writing everything from product definitions to online tutorials to press releases. He studied mathematics in the Ph.D. program at MIT and was a National Science Foundation fellow.

How The Savannah Bananas is Changing Baseball through Fan Focus, Creativity, and CX Shep Hyken interviews Jesse Cole, founder of Fans First Entertainment and owner of the Savannah Bananas. He talks about how he redefined baseball and customer and employee experience by creating a culture that puts them first. Top Takeaways:  The Savannah Bananas sells out every game, with a waitlist of 550,000 for tickets. There are 3,000 people joining the waitlist every day. They have 4,000,000 more followers on social media than any Major League Baseball team. The best inspiration happens from what people are doing wrong. Ask what the biggest friction points in your customers' experiences are. Then, do the opposite. The Savannah Bananas took the biggest friction points in a baseball game and changed the rules. For example, a typical baseball game can run for over 3 hours. In Banana Ball, each game lasts no more than 2 hours. Learn from outside your industry and bring that into your organization. Look at the companies you love and why you love them. Identify what you love about those companies that you can start doing with your team. If everyone in your business makes the customers the stars and gives them the red carpet treatment, you make those customers feel like a million bucks. It changes everything for the customer, and your employees will have more purpose and pride in their work. Ideas are the future. Work your idea muscle like you work out your regular muscles. Write down a few ideas every day, get together with your team, and share them. You'll get more energy, inspiration, and purpose out of ideas. Jesse Cole's latest book, Bannana Ball: The Unbelievably True Story of the Savannah Bannanas, just came out May 18, 2005. Get it at Amazon.  Plus, Jesse shares some incredible fan-first moments from their tour. Tune in! Quote: "Imagine what the best possible customer experience is and do that. Don't settle for the way things have been done before." About:  Jesse Cole is the founder of Fans First Entertainment and the owner of the Savannah Bananas. He is the author of Fans First: Change The Game, Break the Rules & Create an Unforgettable Experience, Find Your Yellow Tux: How to Be Successful by Standing Out, and Banana Ball: The Unbelievably True Story of the Savannah Bananas. 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

In our second episode recorded live at the World Retail Congress in Barcelona, our special guest is author and customer-centricity thought leader Martin Newman.While being customer-centric is a stated priority of most brands, many have a hard time delivering on the promise. Martin helps us understand the challenges and the essential building blocks of putting customers first, while laying out how to find your brand's North Star and assemble a truly holistic approach.First up, however, are our hot-takes on the week in retail news, including another trip to the Wobbly Unicorn Corner as "retail disruptors" like Allbirds and Wayfair continue to set alarms off with disappointing earnings results. Better news comes from Walmart with the naming of a new top merchant, while Amazon offers Prime customers an incentive to play fetch.About MartinMartin is one of the world's leading authorities on customer centricity, and a force for positive change for consumers and brands.As well as fighting for consumer rights Martin is an advocate for diversity, social responsibility and employee engagement for all consumer facing sectors. These issues top the agenda in his media appearances across national press and television.He appears regularly on BBC TV and Radio, on Sky, ITV, Channel 5 and a host of other media channels such as LBC, The Times and FT to discuss consumer issues relating to the retail, travel, casual dining, automotive and financial services sectors.Martin has worked for 40 years leading the multichannel operations for some of the world's most recognisable retail brands. These include Burberry, Intersport, Pentland Brands (Speedo, Berghaus), Harrods and Ted Baker. His bestselling book 100 Practical Ways to Improve Customer Experience, is seen as definitive within the sector and was shortlisted for the Business Book of the Year Award 2019.Following his career in the consumer sector, Martin founded global ecommerce and digital consultancy Practicology, which was sold in 2018 after having scaled up to a global staff of 100 in offices across the UK, EU, Middle East and Asia. Martin has since set up The Customer First Group and new consumer facing website Customer Service Action.Martin delivers keynote presentations and chairs many leading industry events around the World. He has shared stages with innovators and entrepreneurs alike, including Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, to discuss the future of the internet and its implications for retailers.Amongst Martin's many accolades, he has featured in various industry leader lists including Retail Week's top 50 eTail Power List five years in a row. He has also been named consecutively in the Retail Insiders top 100 Retail Movers & Shakers list, as well as the British Vogue Online Fashion 100.Martin judges numerous industry awards such as the World Retail Awards, the Customer Experience Awards, the Retail Insider Awards, the PayPal eTail Awards, the Online Retail Awards of Australia and the Great British Entrepreneur awards.Martin's counsel also encompasses roles as Non-Executive Chairman of Scout Store, and Board Advisor working with the Boards of consumer-facing businesses on their key strategic questions and challenges. He is also a board advisor to Clearpay, the Mayborn Group and is a Trustee of In Kind Direct and a member of the prestigious KPMG IPSOS Retail Think Tank. About UsSteve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here.Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada's top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global eCommerce Leaders podcast, and The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.    You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn. Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

In this episode, we dive into the importance of customer service for lawn and landscape companies. Good customer service can be a crucial differentiator in this industry, leading to increased customer retention, word-of-mouth referrals, and business growth. We discuss the six critical elements of good customer service: communication, timeliness, quality of work, professionalism, personalization, and going above and beyond. We provide examples of how lawn and landscape companies can implement each element in their business. We also share case studies and success stories of companies that have implemented good customer service practices and seen positive results, as well as tips and best practices for those looking to improve their customer service. If you're a lawn and landscape company looking to improve customer service and stand out in a crowded market, this episode is for you. Tune in to learn to put customers first and build strong relationships to drive business success.

This week on The Home Builder Digital Marketing Podcast, Gina Nixon of Thomas James Homes joins Greg and Kevin to discuss how putting customers first strengthens every aspect of a home building business.   https://www.buildermarketingpodcast.com/episodes/160-putting-customers-first-strengthens-business-gina-nixon

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner discuss the latest news in earnings season with special guest Jenifer Robertson, EVP for Consumer Mass Markets at AT&T.0:26: Competitive intensity during the 4th quarter.2:22: How AT&T drove strong results without using free lines or content as bait.5:30: How the “Best Deals for Everyone” has changed the market 7:44: The importance of consistency and difference between consistency and complacency.9:30: How Fiber changes the game.13:44: AT&T announced a partnership with BlackRock to extend their fiber network.Tags: telecom, telecommunications, business, wireless, cellular phone, cellular service, Recon Analytics, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Jenifer Roberts, AT&T, 4th quarter, competition, fiber, BlackRock, Digital Divide, GigaPower

Success comes from value creation.    For a strategic initiative to create value, it must increase willingness to pay or decrease willingness to sell. Otherwise, the resources expended will not flow into profitability.   Today's discussion is one I was looking forward to because we're focusing on value-based strategy frameworks and using strategic analysis to understand whether a company has a competitive advantage. Joining us to explore this topic is someone who has taken a fundamentally sound framework and brought it to life with excellent insights and vivid examples, Felix Oberholzer-Gee.   Felix Oberholzer-Gee is the Andreas Andresen Professor of Business Administration in the Strategy Unit at Harvard Business School. A member of the faculty since 2003, Felix has won numerous awards for excellence in teaching, including the Harvard Business School Class of 2006 Faculty Teaching Award for best teacher in the core curriculum and the 2002 Helen Kardon Moss Anvil Award for best teacher in the Wharton MBA program. He teaches competitive strategy in executive education programs such as the Program for Leadership Development, the Senior Executive Program for China, and a program for media executives titled Effective Strategies for Media Companies. His course, Strategies Beyond the Market, is a popular elective class for second-year MBA students. Felix is the author of numerous books, and his latest book, Better, Simpler Strategy, will be a major subject of today's conversation.   In this episode, Felix, Tano, and I discuss how Felix defines his strategy framework, why willingness to pay and willingness to sell should be at the core of every strategy conversation, the value of ROIC as a metric of success, how Felix thinks about driving competitive advantages, value capture versus value creation, how to think about complements and substitutes, the potential for innovation and productivity growth, and so much more! Key Topics:   Welcome Felix to the show (2:03) Why a Ph.D. for career advancement unexpectedly led to Felix's transition into academia (2:24) How case writing guides Felix's interests and research focus (4:20) Defining a value-based strategy framework (6:25) Why should every conversation start with “Are we increasing willingness to pay or are we decreasing willingness to sell?” (10:08) Why Felix chose return on invested capital (ROIC) as a primary metric (12:40) Looking at ROIC distribution over the long term (14:22) Focusing on creating a competitive advantage inside of your industry segment (18:25) The significant issues strategists have with P&L statements (21:31) Value capture versus value creation (24:56) Determining willingness to pay (28:21) Harnessing network effects to increase willingness to pay (29:19) When to be worried about new entrants (33:18) Types of relationships between complementors (36:59) Understanding complements and value creation (40:26) Identifying complements and subtitutes (43:27) The effect of different management practices on productivity and willingness to sell (50:53) Tying willingness to pay and willingness to sell to strategy maps (56:01) Case study: Best Buy (58:09) The potential for innovation and productivity growth (1:02:09) Why Felix is obsessed with the differences between how we think about products and services versus jobs (1:04:50) Felix's book recommendations (1:08:18) And much more! Mentioned in this Episode:   Felix Oberholzer-Gee's Book | Better, Simpler Strategy: A Value-Based Guide to Exceptional Performance Youngme Moon's Book | Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd Frances Frei & Anne Morriss' Book | Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business Thanks for Listening!   Be sure to subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And feel free to drop us a line at valueinvesting@gsb.columbia.edu.   Follow the Heilbrunn Center on social media on Instagram, LinkedIn, and more!

Stephanie Paul is the Founder of Stephanie Paul Inc. and author of Unlock The Magic of Story. Her proven approach, the Powerful Emotional Engaging Presentations, draws on over 30 years of rich and diverse entertainment experience. As a trainer, keynote speaker or MC, Stephanie has the uncanny knack for turning any bored room into a lively, spirited and connected one.  In today's episode, you'll learn why storytelling in sales is so effective, how to capture the audience's attention with an engaging narrative, and how to use stories to win more sales and make a bigger impact. What You'll Learn: - The art of storytelling in sales - Why storytelling is sales leader's best skill  - Storytelling techniques to elevate your sales pitch - Facts and data versus storytelling - Great storytelling exercises for awakening creativity - Using stories to connect and understand your audience - First steps toward skilful storytelling - How to create a story database from scratch - Connecting with others through vulnerability - Stephanie's advice to her younger self on how to become better at selling Storytelling is one of the most powerful ingredients you can add to your sales leadership activities. It's even more effective when you use it in your proactive selling activities. Regardless of what you're selling or what your audience is, incorporating the art of storytelling into everything you do allows you to entertain, engage, and build rapport with your audience.  Links and Resources: - Special giveaway for Full Funnel Freedom listeners - https://stephaniepaulinc.com/fffreedom/ - When you need to hire top sales professionals, turn to a recruiting partner that speaks sales. Alaant Workforce Solutions. Learn more and book a discovery call at www.fullfunnelfreedom.com/alaant - The perfect CRM system, streamlined business processes and happier customers – Eligeo CRM Inc can make it happen for your business. Go to www.fullfunnelfreedom.com/eligeo for more info - Stephanie Paul's website - https://stephaniepaulinc.com/ - Stephanie's LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniepaulinc/ - “Unlock the Magic of Story: How to Use Neuroscience Secrets to Engage and Influence Any Audienc”e by Stephanie Paul https://amzn.to/3AKyjCA  - “The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses” by Eric Ries https://amzn.to/3AOFpWZ  - “Impossible to Ignore: Creating Memorable Content to Influence Decisions” by Carmen Simon https://amzn.to/3D1QPcK  - “Tame the Primitive Brain: 28 Ways in 28 Days to Manage the Most Impulsive Behaviors at Work” by Mark Bowden https://amzn.to/3BgBbIY  - The power of vulnerability by Brené Brown - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o - “Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business” by Frances Frei and Anne Morriss https://amzn.to/3BhxItF  - ‘Conversational Intelligence: How Great Leaders Build Trust and Get Extraordinary Results” by Judith E. Glaser https://amzn.to/3QlKko2  - Full Funnel Freedom https://fullfunnelfreedom.com - The Sandler Summit 2023 https://www.hamish.sandler.com/orlando  - Sandler on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sandler_yyc/  - Sandler in Calgary - www.hamish.sandler.com/howtosandler

In this episode, host David Abrams is in conversation with Rita Tené Ellison, Associate Director at T. Dallas Smith & Company. Rita's career journey started out in her junior year of college with an internship at T. Dallas Smith & Company. Upon graduation, Rita was offered a full-time position at that same firm but respectfully turned it down to pursue other opportunities at larger firms. As of November of last year, she rejoined T. Dallas Smith & Company. Rita acknowledged the uphill battle African Americans face in the industry and shared how T. Dallas Smith & Company has a mission to involve more women of color in their business. She does believe that hybrid work is here to stay, however, says it is not new. Employees are wanting flexibility now more than ever, and employers are responding by empowering their teams, resulting in improved productivity. Rita is firm in the belief that an office presence is critical to support culture and engagement. Buildings are not just a place to work and are beginning to offer more of a live-work environment. Using the office lobby as an example, she points out that they are now becoming places for people to collaborate, socialize, and more. She explains that access to local amenities is becoming more of a driving factor in real estate decisions, causing smart landlords to become more attentive to tenant needs, and respond with appropriate programming. With a “client-first” mentality, her firm has maintained a consistent approach throughout the pandemic in responding to the evolving needs of its customers. Subscribe to TEN so you never miss an episode of the Tenant Experience Network.

In this episode, Michael Denehey interviews Amanda Jones, based in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Amanda is a marketing manager at Collins SBA. She describes her working ethos as “people first”. She has demonstrated experience in customer experience mapping and journey mapping for global brands and small to medium business owners. Returning home after working in Sydney, NSW, and New York, USA, in marketing and media advertising roles, with her 25+ years of experience in sales and marketing. Amanda helps business owners look for the competitive edge in their customer and client journey by prioritizing and developing customer experience with the utilization of the 5 E's. She says, “Look how you can boost brand loyalty and reputation at every touchpoint.” This Cast Covers: What is customer experience? The importance of customer experience. How customer experience is the sum of all interactions. The difference between customer experience and customer service. Developing brand loyalty, and reputation. Looking for a competitive edge in businesses. Retention and repeat customers. How to keep the customer engaged at every opportunity Utilization of the 5 E's to find your edge Links: Amanda's LinkedIn Collins SBA Additional Resources: Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business by Frances Frei     Quotes: “Customer Experience is the sum of all many touchpoints and interactions.” —Amanda Jones. “I always think about customer service as just one of those interactions within the end-to-end customer experience.” — Amanda Jones. “Our customers are changing their wants and needs, their expectations are changing, and competitors come along, so it's one of those things we need to prioritize.” — Amanda Jones. “The big one for me, I, is to understand where there's an opportunity for retention or repeat customers, because we all know that it costs more in people, time and money to go out and find new customers.” — Amanda Jones. “Look at how you can boost brand loyalty and reputation,  it should be a  long-term game.” — Amanda Jones.     Music from https://filmmusic.io “Cold Funk” by Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com. License: CC by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Tune in for a replay of The Six Five Summit's SaaS enterprise software Spotlight Keynote with Vijay Sundaram, Chief Strategy Officer, Zoho. In this session, Daniel Newman is live with Vijay, discussing Zoho's "unconventional" privacy philosophy that puts their customers and their privacy first. Vijay and Daniel will also explore the current data privacy landscape addressing new laws and regulations companies face and why adopting the unconventional approach might be the right path forward. The Six Five Summit is a 100% virtual, on-demand event designed to help you stay on top of the latest developments and trends in digital transformation brought to you by Futurum Research and Moor Insights & Strategy. With 12 tracks and over 70 pre-recorded video sessions, The Six Five Summit showcases an exciting lineup of leading technology experts whose insights will help prepare you for what's now and what's next in digital transformation as you continue to scale and pivot for the future. You will hear cutting-edge insights on business agility, technology-powered transformation, thoughts on strategies to ensure business continuity and resilience, along with what's ahead for the future of the workplace. More about The Six Five Summit: https://thesixfivesummit.com/

Paddy shares the biggest trends in link-building today, what agencies need to be doing differently, and what he's learned as the co-founder of superstar agency Aira.

In the latest episode of 'This Much I Know,' Carlos is joined by David Singleton, the CTO of Stripe. David shares valuable insights and lessons from his decades-long career at global technology companies such as Symbian, Google, and Stripe. In a vivid conversation, he and Carlos explore: - the essential nature of timing in technological innovation; - the fast-paced changing financial world; - the importance of putting customers first; - the evolution and definition of the CTO role; - Stripe's mission and operating principles; - developer productivity; - attracting and growing talent; - building a learning organization; - and more. Show notes: Carlos Espinal - twitter.com/cee David Singleton - twitter.com/dps Seedcamp - seedcamp.com Stripe - stripe.com Seedcamp is Europe's seed fund, identifying and investing early in world-class founders attacking large, global markets and solving real problems using technology. The Seedcamp Nation includes over 440 startups building breakout businesses that change the way people live, interact and buy and includes publicly listed UiPath, Wise, and unicorns Revolut, Hopin, Sorare, Pleo, wefox, Grover, and viz.ai along with fast-growing businesses such as Primer, Peppy and Ezra. Stripe is a financial infrastructure platform for businesses. Millions of companies—from the world's largest enterprises to the most ambitious startups—use Stripe to accept payments, grow their revenue, and accelerate new business opportunities. Headquartered in San Francisco and Dublin, the company aims to increase the GDP of the internet. Contact their team to learn more: https://bit.ly/39TVMrT

Today on Real-World Branding, we sat down with Trish Wethman from Marlette Holdings (d/b/a Best Egg – a company with roots in personal loans, recent expansion into credit, and more to come). Take a listen as Trish details the fundamental power of CX to transform businesses – internally and externally. If you like the podcast, […] The post Real-World Branding- Putting Customers at the Center with Trish Wethman, Chief Customer Officer at Best Egg appeared first on Finch Brands.

Aaron Thompson, Assistant Division Director for the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation, joins Carol Pankow on this 14th episode of Manager Minute to talk about how Utah is making rapid engagement work. Carol has discussed this on two previous podcasts; however, each VR agency has tackled this differently. It is intriguing and exciting to hear about how different VR programs are confronting the dilemma facing VR on declining applications and consumer engagement.  Learn about Utah's “Back to Basics” approach, how they implemented this approach and how they involve their counselors and customers. From Utah's unique Performance Dashboards and Blueprint Systems, there is so much to learn about how Utah is making rapid engagement work. Listen Here You can find out more about VRTAC-QM on the web at: https://www.vrtac-qm.org/   Full Transcript   VRTAC-QM Manager Minute: Putting Customers First-How Utah Makes Rapid Engagement Work!   {Music}   Speaker1: Manager Minute brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management. Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Here is your host, Carol Pankow.   Carol: Well, welcome to the manager minute. I am so fortunate to have Aaron Thompson, assistant division director for the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation, joining me in the studio today. So, Aaron, how are things going in Utah?   Aaron: Well, first, thank you for having me. And things are going pretty well in Utah. I think we're spending a lot of focus. We're going to be talking about getting back to basics and really kicking off a lot of the initiatives that we have in the works.   Carol: Cool. Good to hear. I can't wait to get into it. So, Aaron, I know you've been with the agency for over 17 years. You've held a variety of positions from counselor to supervisor to district director, field services director to where you are today. And I know you've seen and done a lot in your career, which really leads us to this very important topic we're going to discuss today. The idea is really called rapid engagement, and I know I've discussed this on two previous podcasts. However, each VR agency has tackled this in a different way, which is super intriguing and exciting when tackling this dilemma that's facing VR on declining applications and declining eligibility. So VR is a program where we're over 100 years old now, and with all the longstanding programs, there can be a tendency to layer on additional policies and processes until we get buried under a bureaucracy of our own making. So when we visited back in March, I was really energized about the approaches you've taken in Utah and hoped our listeners would feel the same energy and enthusiasm as they hear the Utah story. Your director, Sarah Brenna, also briefly spoke about the efforts in Utah and the efforts around rapid engagement during the CSA VR conference. So I'm excited to explore this further and let's dig in. So Aaron, can you give the listeners a little background about the Utah program, like how many customers you serve, how many staff you have, and how the pandemic has influenced your numbers of applicants and individuals being served in the program?   Aaron: Certainly I appreciate the overview of the resumé and all the details. I've had a fun opportunity to move into a few different positions, but within us two are something that I think is interesting, is like we're one of the first five state VR programs as the program nationally was celebrating its 100th anniversary. That was also our anniversary that year. So we have a really unique position as being one of the flagship state agencies for people with disabilities. And we're a combined program, but we also have different specialized programs for people who are blind, visually impaired, deaf and hard of hearing. We also handle the Social Security disability determination and also we oversee the independent living contracts. But we're the VR program at our core. We have a staff of 250 counselors, support staff directors. We also have our in-house Pre-ETS program benefits planners and also a division that focuses on assistive technology services. So for that context, prior to the pandemic, we were serving about 17 to 18000 people with disabilities coming through VR. And certainly like a lot of other state agencies, we were hit pretty hard. We had a drop in applicant and individuals choosing to suspend services or delay. And of course, our priority at that time was ensuring that our staff were safe, that our clients were safe, and keeping the program going and doing that same shift as everyone else, adapting our procedures, getting people doing telework and remote work. So as we were entering the pandemic around that same time, we were in the process of clearing out our order of selection wait list. So we had this slump where we were getting in more applicants, and then it was a bit of a setback. But now we're in that process of rebuilding, getting out there, re-engaging with the community, identifying new partners, not just resting on this being the new normal, but seeing what else that we can do that's new and different to get our numbers back up. So thankfully, the drop has stabilized. So we're really working on rebuilding those new applicants coming into services from VR.   Carol: So about how many people are you serving today then?   Aaron: So currently we're at about 16,000 people who are coming through the VR program, so the drop has stopped, but we're working on that rebuilding and really focusing on some of the local level partnerships that our clients and staff are making out there and also trying to be different. We realize we can't just go back to the same referral sources and do things the same. So we're really challenging ourselves to get our name out there and move past the phrase that I hate hearing about VR being the best kept secret. We really want to be out there and let different types of disability groups know that we're here and how we can help them.   Carol: Yeah, I agree with that. I hate that too. About the best kept secret. I used to say that I'm like, Why don't we want to be a secret? We want people to come in the door. So tell me about the impetus to implement your back to basics approach. What caused you to want to dig in and do things differently?   Aaron: I think it's interesting. During that time we had gone through about a 4 to 5 year period of a lot of significant change. Now change us something that's the normal we adapt to. But for context, we had a change in leadership. We had to rapidly implement an order of selection. And then we also moved from being under an education agency as our DSA and moving to Labor. We had a new case management system. We went paperless. Then of course all the fun with implementing WIO policies and procedures and audits. So we were in a constant cycle of change and as you said, layering. So we felt a need. We heard it from our clients, we heard it from our staff to take a step back because they wanted to know what are our priorities. And we also want it to be more intentional and less reactive. I think we were just in an environment and a culture of responding to change. So we did a lot of talking with our directors, with our frontline staff, and there was a consensus that they knew to do their jobs, but they didn't understand what their priorities were. What can we focus on now for the coming year, for the next two years? And we actually had an interesting conversation with one of our new deputy directors who was learning about VR and wanting to know what are your indicators, what are your outcomes? And he asked the question of what does good look like? And it was a good challenge not to raise it in a way about compliance or numbers, but his question was No, tell me, what does good VR look like? So we took that as an opportunity to really think about again, like, what are our core activities, things that we know at that management level. But there was a disconnect with our staff. They didn't feel like they were being counselors. They felt like they were being case managers, having to check the box, having to do the compliance piece. So we really wanted to look at what are our needs, what's going to benefit our clients, and what are the barriers that can't be solved by putting out another policy, doing another technology change, we're really stripping things back to the core. So that's how the conversation got started about getting back to basics and what that meant for Utah VR.   Carol: I bet you were really happy about that new case management system and going paperless in light of the pandemic. I mean, like what timing?   Aaron: It positioned us very well to be agile and adapting to the pandemic and being able to get all of our counties out there doing Telework and serving their clients event well.   Carol: So let's chat some specifics of back to basics. How did you implement this approach and what went into it and how did you involve your counselors and customers?   Aaron: Well, one of the first things that we did is we did some research. We were really digging into the theory of constraints and identifying some of those limiting factors or the bottleneck in the VR process. So we've got some focus groups together with our directors, our program specialists, and we pulled in our counselors to do some VR process mapping of start to finish even when we're going out in the community and doing outreach and then identifying those points of constraint. And some of the biggest issues that we were encountering was how we have things set up with our eligibility developing plan. We felt comfortable once we got our clients engaged in services under an IPE. But then we also identified another constraint point at the end of the VR process. When someone's job ready, we saw significant delays with our clients being able to get employed in the areas that we were supporting and training them and we saw a pretty significant drop off. So by working together and doing a process mapping, we also got feedback from our client assistance program, the State Rehab Council, and we really dug into our consumer satisfaction surveys where people were coming in and just due to those delays with eligibility or working through their plan, I think that's where we saw a drop in motivation if it wasn't happening in a timely manner. And then we also looked at some of our numbers and of course, we saw the longer someone was sitting in an applicant status or eligible that's or we were losing people, we could see a clear correlation. The longer it was taking to achieve those milestones, the less likely someone was going to come in and participate and stay engaged. So I think by doing some of the foundational research and also pulling our staff into those focus groups to see about the VR process, from their perspective, it really informed on what we were going to do to address that problem that was identified.   Carol: So you talked a little bit about data changes. What do you see now in your data?   Aaron: I think when we primarily look at our data eligibility, when we started, of course, we were compliant, but it was about 49 days to make an eligibility decision. And then with plan development, I think our mindset was. Compliance. So we were doing it at 85 days and of course that was like, Oh, we're compliant, we're doing it right. But is that what best for the client? And even looking at the end, I'm a bit embarrassed to say, but it was taking our clients who were supported employment or even working with an employment specialist about 160 days to get employed when they were job ready. And of course that's where we saw that connection to the motivation. And when things were happening, that's when we saw that disconnect with the counselors and the clients not communicating. So now we're in a good place. I still think there is room for improvement following the pandemic and getting back to normal, but with eligibility, we're doing that in under 27 days. Our plan development has had the biggest drop in the time that it's taking. We're at about 50 days and then that time to placement when they're working with an employment specialist, our internal employment specialist is under 60 days. So I think the parts that we can really control, support our clients and inform it's working. I think people are moving through it and I think they're doing it in a way that feels right and comfortable and really supports that. Client Counselor Alliance.   Carol: Well, that's really encouraging. I mean, that's great progress. And I'm sure from the customer viewpoint, when you think about all of this and sort of wanting that rapid engagement when we're ordering from Amazon and we want it overnight delivery that...   Aaron: Next day.   Carol: Yeah, I'm sure customers are very much appreciating, getting this, moving through the process, getting into their employment more.   Aaron: Quickly. It was really interesting getting that feedback from our CAP program. I mean, they were one of the first to tell us, you know, we're not getting the calls that we use to a significant portion of their time or people who didn't understand, am I eligible for services? What's next? Or I got this eligibility letter and I haven't heard from my counselor. I don't feel like I know what to do next. So that was a pretty hefty part of what we were working with them on. So to get that feedback of we're just checking in, we're not getting calls about this, what's going on, and I think we were able to happily share well, here's the reason why and here's what we're working on.   Carol: That's terrific. Kind of an unintended fun benefit from all of this, right?   Aaron: If you can get that seal of approval from CAP, you know you're in the right direction.   Carol: Yeah, that's great. So I want to talk about the performance dashboards. I know when you showed those to me, I was really blown away with everything that you can see and there was a great deal of transparency there. How did those come about and how are you using them today?   Aaron: I love our dashboard, so we use Tableau for data visualization to pull that information from our case management system and present it in a way that's usable that really connects with what we're looking at. And initially it was developed for management use at the admin level and for our regional managers. But we had a good conversation about, well, if we're seeing this and we're going to talk to our counselors about performance and numbers, they should be able to see the same information. So we really wanted to lay it out there in a way that wasn't like a compliance or it got you, but so they could use it to inform on their work and serving clients so they could see closures, MSG's, the days to eligibility to base the plan so they can have a better understanding of what our goals were. And I think when we have some of those initial conversations about rapid engagement, moving people through the process, I think we have people who were a bit concerned or have reservations. So being able to see other counselors who are making it work, I think it was like, oh, well, it can be done. And so we were really also encouraging them to reach out to your other offices and districts that they've developed a pathway or best practice. What can you learn from it and what can you implement in your own offices to show that something's doable, achievable and how to prioritize? So being able to see it, our counselors really like it. They feel it's a tool that helps them do their job and also how to prioritize.   Carol: Very cool. So how did you set your stretch goals in these different areas and get staff to buy in on that?   Aaron: First, it was really talking about setting an ambitious target and that was something that we were challenged to do, something that would really move the bar. And we had a conversation with our regional managers to say, Here's where we're at. Where do you think we can get to? We didn't want it to be a conversation where they felt that something was already decided that they didn't have input. So we wanted people to be comfortable, know that we were going to set some milestones and also letting them know that this isn't a process where you're going to be dinged. If we don't achieve it, we're really just looking at how we can push our program. I'd do it in the right way and talking with our counselors about why we're doing this. So I think I can confidently say it was a 360 process of what does good look like, what are you hearing? And we always try to use that framework of if you came in for services or a family member, when would you like to see things done? So we knew that they would still encounter barriers with records and appointments and follow through. But by setting those targets and people feel comfortable knowing, Hey, we can try, we can learn from it, we can share resources. That's how we came to setting those stretch goals by setting an ambitious target. We knew saying we're going to do it two days faster isn't going to move the mark. And so we exceeded those expectations.   Carol: I love that. I think that's a really great way and a nice approach. So staff could feel comfortable, like you're not all getting the axe right.   Aaron: And that's what we didn't want it to be something that this is in your performance plan and this is your standard. It's what can we do that's best for our clients? And I think everyone could get on board with that.   Carol: Yeah, I really get that sense. So your people really felt part of this whole process and that it makes everybody gets on board and makes it so much easier to move the train for sure. So I want to switch gears for a minute. You had something really interesting that came up that the governor's office had championed. Can you tell me tell our listeners a little more about this blueprint system?   Aaron: Would be happy to. So we have a great champion in our Governor's Office of Planning and Budget. The director was actually a former VR client in another state. She's someone who's blind. So she gets the VR program, she gets what we're setting out to do. And some of the biggest problems that we've had is coordinating with other agencies that are serving the same people. A lot of times people might be connected with the workforce development programs or TANF, and so they have competing goals, priorities and interests. So by doing this program, it pulls in other social service agencies to really develop a blueprint for supporting customer success. So we have the VR program. Hannah We have corrections, adult and family services and juvenile justice. So we all have an agreement in place where it pulls information from our case management systems, where it populates and identifies a match. So if there is a VR client who is also connected with corrections, when we register the cases are counselors will get an email and if they go into the system, they will see the name of who their counselor or case manager is, their contact information. It also pulls over information regarding any type of employment or family reunification plan that they have and also the milestones of what they're working on. And our expectation was, hey, if you get a notification, call that other case manager, have a conversation, involve the client. And we really wanted to make it about teaming together so much as a counselor, you feel like you're doing it by yourself, but pulling in everyone as a team to really talk about what are our priorities, how can we help our clients? And getting in that framework of giving our clients the right services, the right amount, the right time, and how we can support each other and work in tandem. So we've had this blueprint system for almost two years, and I think another gain that we learned from it is we had a lot of assumptions that the other programs knew what we do with VR. So it was really good to be able to educate them and give them more of an understanding. And so when they can see some of our plan information shared, I didn't know VR could do that or I didn't know these were the types of employment outcomes that you could help your clients with. And Oh well, what do you need for eligibility? I have that assessment. I can give the release and send it over to you. So we have people coming in our doors already having an application, having their records sent over, and that also helps speed up some of those rapid engagement milestones that we set up.   Carol: Yeah, I thought that was extremely awesome. I mean, like, it's just the coolest system I'd ever seen. When you demoed that, is there any information about this for our listeners? I just didn't know if there was something on the website, like the state's website or what would be the best way for people to find out more if they're interested in understanding more about the blueprint system?   Aaron: There is information on Blueprint Utah dot gov. It takes a link to a page that provides an overview and the philosophy of the program and any of the State VR agencies are welcome to reach out to me for more information. But truly having that champion with the governor's office made it work. I thought there would be the barriers with consent and data sharing, but we got the agreements in place. So having that push was a really great gain for us and also for our customers.   Carol: Yeah, I thought that was so cool. It'd be great if somebody could leverage the work that you all have done and take advantage. Having a similar system in their states. It was pretty amazing.   Aaron: Really happy to share.   Carol: That is awesome.   Aaron: And on that website there is information about the MOU that we developed.   Carol: Great. You know, as with any new initiative, it can be a lot for staff to pivot. And how are you engaging in recognizing staff participation and achievement with all of these initiatives that you've been putting into place?   Aaron: It's a lot. As we said before, I think people understand the reasons why we're doing something new and different. But I think overcoming that change fatigue really involved having their feedback and buy in and also looking for what we can take off of their plate. So something that we also did as we were running these new initiatives, we had counselor focus groups about time savers and it was really a true brainstorming session for them to give feedback about policies and procedures that were getting in their way that we could take back and then make adjustments and show them. It was your feedback that led to us making this change that also helps the quality of work in your job. In terms of recognition, we've made it a part of our culture with celebrating the new initiatives that we're putting in place. So at our annual in-service training, we give awards and recognition for like the district and offices that have the fastest time to eligibility, the fastest time to development of the plan. And we give incentives out that administrative leave and some of the other incentives that we can give. We want it to let them know you're doing something that benefits your clients, but we also recognize what you're doing and the adjustments that you're making. So it's kind of prompted some healthy competition and our staff pushing each other because they know that we appreciate it. They're helping, their clients are getting something and we have a district that will say, hey, we're coming for all of the awards this year. So it's nice to see that out there.   Carol: That's hilarious. There's nothing better than that healthy competition between districts. It's like, I'm coming for you people.   Aaron: It's out there back and forth. That's like a race to the finish those last few months towards the end of the performance year.   Carol: Yeah, good out of you guys. That's great. So what advice would you give to our listeners about taking steps to move in the direction of rapid engagement? I know we've gotten a lot of people out there. This is a buzz topic right now, but what are some good practical tips you'd have for the listeners out there?   Aaron: Think you really need to go into the mindset of customizing what works best for your stay and what works best for the unique challenges and barriers that you have. I think with every program that's going to look a bit different, and I think by having that conversation in terms of what are our needs, what does good look like for our agency, what are the other things that we have going on that might be barriers and how we can overcome that, have the conversation. Don't limit it to just being an administrative level, pulling your counselors. They're the ones who are doing the work, seeing the people, getting that direct feedback from your consumers and utilizing it really helped inform on what we needed to do and how we were going to go about doing it. I think that's the best advice I could offer is have that conversation and involve different people and different perspectives and make it work for your program.   Carol: Well said, Aaron. Well said. I really appreciate that and I thank you for joining me in the studio today. I appreciate this time with you and just learning about what Utah is doing to be successful. So I wish you great success.   Aaron: I appreciate it. Thank you for having me on and allowing me to share our story.   {Music} Speaker1: Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management. Catch all of our podcast episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening.

Show notes:Guest: Karen Mangia, VP Customer & Market Insights @ SalesforceGet in touch with Karen: LinkedIn, Twitter, WebsiteKaren's recommended read:Success with Less: Releasing Obligations and Discovering JoyWorking From Home: Making the New Normal Work for YouListen Up!: How to Tune In to Customers and Turn Down the NoiseOutside in: The Power of Putting Customers at the Center of Your BusinessLifescale: How to Live a More Creative, Productive, and Happy Life

David Garcia is the founder and CEO of Kinergy Creative & the Nerd Heard, a digital marketing, search engine optimization, IT consulting, graphic design and brand consulting firm. David has an infectious enthusiasm and passion to use his life experiences and diverse professional degrees to strategically grow and take any business brand to the next level. He also is a mentor, career development coach and public speaker. Tune in as Charity and David discuss: How his family background, curiosity, energy and need for nurturing directed his professional choices. How his unique journey from social work and helping others led to entrepreneurship rooted in making head and heart connections. How Tempo Consulting Group is solution based – putting all the puzzle pieces together for optimal growth. What high-end services his Nerd Heard IT team and Kinergy Creative designers provide for client branding. Learn more about Charity and the Five Star Business Accelerator Program: Connect with David: WEBSITE: https://davegarcia.live FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/dedwardg LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-garcia-17573b58 THE NERD HEARD: https://www.thenerdheard.net TEMPO CONSULTING GROUP: https://www.tempoconsultinggroup.org Connect with Charity  Website: https://nowanswergroup.com/, https://www.charitybrown.biz/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CharityBrownNOW Facebook: :  https://www.facebook.com/nowbusinessacademy/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnswerGroupPDX Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charitybrownbiz/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charity-brown-3539533a/       Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Big companies have often treated efforts to build a cohesive corporate culture as an afterthought. More recently, however, and particularly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders like Angela Santone, Senior Executive Vice President of Human Resources for AT&T, have begun to realize that cultivating a positive environment is integral to maintaining a dedicated workforce. Santone says that in order to fulfill its mission of putting customers first, AT&T focuses on caring for the employees who serve those customers, creating an inclusive culture that helps it attract and retain exceptional talent, even in the face of the Great Resignation. Santone, who oversees AT&T's global human resources strategy, leads a team of HR experts rethinking the company's talent development practices, total rewards and benefits programs, and culture initiatives. She was appointed to the role in 2019 after serving as Chief Administrative Officer of AT&T. Before joining AT&T, Santone served as Executive Vice President and Global Chief Human Resources Officer at Turner Broadcasting System Inc., where she led a global HR strategy. Her executive oversight included talent acquisition and retention, learning and development, employee engagement, workplace culture, wellness, corporate responsibility, diversity and inclusion, succession planning, and global security.In this episode, Santone talks about keeping employees safe during COVID-19, how her experience as a woman in the corporate world led her to implement AT&T's generous and flexible benefits program, what she's doing to retain employees during the Great Resignation, how to blend company cultures during a merger, and why it's crucial to involve employees when designing culture initiatives. Some Questions Asked:How did you motivate your employees to continue showing up during the most dangerous and uncertain days of the pandemic? How did you reassure them you were doing your best to keep them safe?What are you doing to attract and retain top talent for AT&T, especially in light of the Great Resignation?What were some of the creative methods your team employed during the COVID-19 lockdown to ensure media was still being created?In This Episode, You Will Learn:Some of the family-friendly benefits that AT&T has recently introduced, and their importance to the company. What it takes to successfully consolidate workplace cultures in the event of a merger. The lesson about mobility that Santone wishes she'd learned earlier in her leadership career. LinksAngela Santone - in Bloomberg Angela Santone - LinkedIn See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Wells Fargo scandal of 2016 marked a low point in the quest for banks to lut people ahead of profits. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, and the all-hands-on-deck rush to help consumers and small businesses. One of Bankadelic's favorite tag teams, Doug Brown of NCR (let) and Corey Gross of Sensibill, return to talk about the exciting developments in data, 2021 style. It all points to a laudable goal that the financial services industry is embracing like never before: financial wellness.

An interview with Hubert Palan. Hubert is the founder and CEO of Productboard, a company that aims to put the customer at the heart of the product development process and help companies across the globe build truly excellent products. We talk about a lot, including: What Productboard does, how it differs from other platforms & how it tries to bring customers to the heart of product development How his studies & early product career made him realise how difficult it was to have evidence-based discussions with stakeholders, and how this led him to create Productboard How he still maintains strong ties to the Czech Republic, and how Productboard took advantage of being a big fish in a small pond there What it was like studying under Steve Blank, the inspiration for the Lean Startup, and some of the lessons Hubert learned there Whether his MBA helped him become an effective product manager or whether he had a lot to learn after graduating Some of his problems with Marty Cagan's recent article about MBAs, and why he thinks Marty got it wrong Some of the mistakes that product teams are making when making product development decisions, and how companies need to build up their product muscles How some founders stumble into product/market fit and why the Lean Startup is partly to blame Why founders are overrated, and how to step away from thinking you know it all & letting the company run without your input How to try to build a diverse & inclusive company, and some of the challenges that Productboard have faced And much more! Contact Hubert You can check out the Productboard website or connect with Hubert on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Season 6 Episode 7In this episode Scott starts working through the Rockefeller Habits of Scaling Up an organization and looks specifically at the The 7 Strata of Strategy of an organization.The following resource were referenced in this episode:Scaling Up: Mastering the Rockefeller Habits 2.0scalingup.comLords of Strategy: The Secret Intellectual History of the New Corporate World by Walter Kiechel IIIHow Companies Win by Kash and CalhounThe Inside Advantage: The Strategy That Unlocks the Hidden Growth in Your Business by Bloom and CantiUncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business by Frei and MorrissROAR! Get Heard in the Sales and Marketing Jungle by Kevin DaumFor more information about KriSco Coaching, go to our website www.kriscocoaching.comPlease go to iTunes to leave a review.  Click HERE to leave that review.

Start putting internal culture first. That’s the best thing you can do for your customers.

The proliferation of podcasts in all spheres means that occasionally one of my guests also hosts a podcast.  My guest for this episode of the Mads Singers Management Podcast, Justin Varuzzo, hosts the Marketing and Service podcast.  Here he interviews guests who share, through different techniques and strategies, his focus on exceptional customer service.Justin shared several stories that illustrated something we instinctively know but don’t often ponder: the bar for customer service is so low that even a minimal effort will impress people.  Justin shared that when asked, most people can’t even come up with three exceptional customer service experiences.  While that’s bad for our society as a whole, it’s a great opportunity for businesses to shine and to build strong long-term relationships with customers.I really agreed with this and I shared the importance of adding 24-hour chat support to e-commerce websites in an increasingly globalized economy.  While some people mistakenly consider such chat support to be a luxury, the reality is that it’s often the difference between someone placing an order and someone not placing an order and we have often seen for ourselves the jump in sales after chat support was added.Justin also noted the people sometimes miss the basics when looking for some special hack to promote their businesses.  One of those basics is making sure that you claim your Google My Business account and make sure that all of the information is correctly filled out.  This can make a difference to your SEO in general and local SEO in particular.One of the maintenance tasks in Google My Business is responding to reviews and Justin noted that he’s seen far too many solopreneurs, in particular, take negative reviews personally.  As a result, they tend to respond inappropriately, for all the world to see.  I agreed, and added that a negative review can sometimes turn out to be a positive thing!  The whole world can see your response and if you do it right, people can and will still do business with you.  In fact, some of the biggest brand advocates we’ve seen once left a bad review...which takes us back to how we kicked off the episode: talking about the lifetime value of customers and doing what is necessary to keep customers happy rather than take the chance of losing them.Some customers deserve more attention than others...these are the “whales” that keep your business afloat.  Justin advocates doing something nice for them on a regular basis.  It’s just one more way to stand out in a global marketplace.I really appreciate Justin’s customer-oriented approach, and I think you will too!Key Learning Points:1. Justin explains his focus on the customer journey - 2:532. Justin talks about his goals in building a relationship with clients - 4:103. Justin shares a fascinating story about customer service experiences - 8:284. Mads discusses the rising importance of 24-hour chat support - 13:305. Justin notes the importance of warranty in a purchase decision - 18:306. Justin warns against the danger of taking negative reviews personally - 24:207. Mads explains what a great opportunity negative reviews can be - 25:108. Justin advocates doing something nice for the “whales” in your business - 27:409. Justin explains a mistake many make on employee evaluations - 30:33 Resources Mentioned:Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink Connect with Justin VaruzzoMarketing and Service

Do you have a service business or do you have a business where you are of service? Find your life's greatest significance by serving others. Are you great at what you are doing or are you also great? Today's #AskaHouseCleaner sponsor is #SavvyCleaner training and certification for house cleaners and maids. (https://savvycleaner.com/join) And your host today is #AngelaBrown *** CONTENTS OF THIS SHOW *** 0:00 - Intro - Meet Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru 0:18 - How do you compete with all the other cleaning companies out there? 0:35 - What is a service business? 1:24 - What does it mean to be of service? 1:44 - What does it mean to go the extra mile? 2:43 - Being of service starts with your attitude 3:13 - What if today were your last job? 4:00 - What does it mean to be intuitive? 5:08 - How to find purpose in the job you do 6:00 - Being of service provides a business of significance. *** PROMISED LINKS AND GOOD KARMA RESOURCES *** 7L: The Seven Levels of Communication: Go From Relationships to Referrals - https://amzn.to/3fYygL0 Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business - https://amzn.to/3wGnKhh Service Design for Business: A Practical Guide to Optimizing the Customer Experience - https://amzn.to/3uAleas None of Your Business: A Winning Approach to Turn Service Providers into Entrepreneurs - https://amzn.to/3uEgKQc Blue-Collar Gold: How to Build A Service Business From the Dirt Up - https://amzn.to/39Watao These good karma links connect you to affiliated sites that offer products or services that relate to today’s show. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Your support pays our production costs to bring you these free daily tips. THANK YOU. *** MORE VIDEOS ON THIS TOPIC *** Greatness is Determined By Greatness - Oprah Winfrey - Evan Carmichael - https://youtu.be/Wah-cd7Xj8o Service is connecting your passion to someone else’s need | Jaime Parker | TEDxCarnegieLake - TEDx Talks - https://youtu.be/5iMQirTyGBw Help Yourself by Helping Others | One of The Most Inspirational Speech Ever (Simon Sinek Motivation) - Lillie D. Clark - https://youtu.be/9MQXqpQtzaE Serving Others - How to Become a Channel for the Highest Good - Noah Ji - https://youtu.be/FXbeKFIal4Q Helping others makes us happier -- but it matters how we do it | Elizabeth Dunn - TED - https://youtu.be/lUKhMUZnLuw *** RATE THIS SHOW *** https://sotellus.com/r/savvy-cleaner *** RATE THIS PODCAST *** https://ratethispodcast.com/askahousecleaner *** TRAINING & CLEANING CERTIFICATION*** https://savvycleaner.com/join *** MOST REQUESTED LIST OF CLEANING STUFF I USE *** https://www.Amazon.com/shop/AngelaBrown ***FUNNY CLEANING SHIRTS – THANK YOU GIFTS FOR MAIDS*** Daily Giveaway - https://funnycleaningshirts.com *** CONNECT WITH ANGELA ON SOCIAL MEDIA *** LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/savvycleaner/ Facebook: https://Facebook.com/SavvyCleaner Twitter: https://Twitter.com/SavvyCleaner Instagram: https://Instagram.com/SavvyCleaner Pinterest: https://Pinterest.com/SavvyCleaner *** GOT A QUESTION FOR A SHOW? *** Email it to Angela[at]AskaHouseCleaner.com Voice Mail: Click on the blue button at https://askahousecleaner.com *** FREE EBOOK – HOW TO START YOUR OWN HOUSE CLEANING COMPANY *** http://amzn.to/2xUAF3Z *** PROFESSIONAL HOUSE CLEANERS PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP *** https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProfessionalHouseCleaners/ *** VRBO AIRBNB CLEANING FACEBOOK GROUP *** https://www.facebook.com/groups/VRBO.Airbnb.Cleaning/ *** LOOKING FOR WAY TO GET MORE CLEANING LEADS *** https://housecleaning360.com *** WHO IS ANGELA BROWN, THE HOUSE CLEANING GURU? *** Our host, Angela Brown, a professional house cleaner for 25 years, ran and managed one of the largest independently owned cleaning companies in the Southeast United States. She is the CEO and founder of Savvy Cleaner Training for House Cleaners and Maids. *** SPONSORSHIPS & BRANDS *** We do work with sponsors and brands. If you are interested in working with us and you have a product or service that is cohesive to the cleaning industry read this: https://savvycleaner.com/product-review *** THIS SHOW WAS SPONSORED BY *** SAVVY CLEANER - House Cleaner Training and Certification – https://savvycleaner.com MY CLEANING CONNECTION – Your hub for all things cleaning – https://mycleaningconnection.com SAVVY PERKS – Employee Benefits for Small Business Owners – https://savvyperks.com VRBO AIRBNB CLEANING – Cleaning tips and strategies for your short-term rental https://TurnoverCleaningTips.com FUNNY CLEANING SHIRTS – Incentive and thank you gifts for house cleaners and maids. https://FunnyCleaningShirts.com *** VIDEO CREDITS *** VIDEO/AUDIO EDITING: Kristin O https://savvycleaner.com/reviews/kristin-o HOST: Angela Brown https://savvycleaner.com/reviews/angela-brown PRODUCER: Savvy Cleaner https://savvycleaner.com

Mini Melanie was founded by sisters  Melanie Moss & Diana Moss.Human rights lawyer turned entrepreneur, Diana brings passion for flawless operations and delivering superior service to customers of Mini Melanie. Prior to Mini Melanie, Diana lived in London and in New York and ran various sales and operations teams over the course of eight years at onefinestay, a hospitality startup now part of Accor Hotels.Melanie Moss founded her bakery, Mini Melanie, with her sister Diana after years of experience in some of New York's most praised Michelin-starred kitchens. In 2010, after receiving her culinary degree from the Institute of Culinary Education, Melanie was immediately hired at Babbo, the flagship of famed restaurateurs Chef Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich. During her two years at Babbo, Melanie became sous chef for Babbo's acclaimed Pastry Chef Gina DePalma, a recipient of a James Beard award in pastry.Mini Melanie's original menu of chocolate truffles and layer cakes are all produced at the company's kitchen in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Specializing in corporate gifting and event catering, Melanie, Diana and their team serve companies such as Louis Vuitton, Creed perfumes, Tiffany & Company, Spotify and Microsoft Research. Establishing relationships with New York City's top event planners, Melanie's wedding cakes and custom party favors have received wide acclaim for their originality and delicious taste.Website: https://minimelanie.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/minimelanienycInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/minimelanienyc--- About Us - Women Who Brunch:Women Who Brunch is a community for  women who love connecting, networking, and learning from each other over the most important meal of the week...BRUNCH!Check out our website for updates on events, recipes, brunch spots, product reviews and more or say hi on Instagram!WWB Website: https://womenwhobrunch.comWWB Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenwhobrunch

Frances Frei and Anne Morriss are co-authors of "Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader's Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You" and "Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business." In this interview with Lisa Connell, The SHRM Executive Network advisor, Frei and Morriss explain that leadership isn't about you--it's about building others up. (length 30:10)

In this episode, we will learn about Caleb's journey to his current position at Bold, where he combines his learning from his experience as a founder and executive in the flexible workspace industry. We will tap into his thinking around “controlling the entire customer experience” as one of his keys to success, learn about the early days of his entrepreneurial journey, and gain insight into why he thinks people should be at the centre of the universe when it comes to thinking about commercial real estate. Be sure to follow TEN so you never miss an episode of the Tenant Experience Network. The Tenant Experience Network Podcast is hosted by David Abrams, CEO and co-founder of HILO, a PropTech start-up. The HILO platform enables building operators to deliver better tenant experiences and a single point of access to smart building solutions. Rather than silo one building, our network connects people to the HILO community in buildings, neighbourhoods and cities where they work and live. As the community grows, HILO will leverage the data and provide valuable insights to our building partners in order to improve operations, reduce costs and increase asset value. For more information visit http://www.hiloapp.com

At our first Facts & Snacks lunchtime event with SA’s leading entrepreneurs, we chatted to Sumarie Greybe, co-founder of Naked Insurance about how COVID-19 has impacted the local insurance space, her best advice for disrupting traditional industries, and what’s next in AI-powered InsurTech innovation.Check out the video here! (https://bit.ly/3htCd80)

Frances Frei is a Professor of Technology and Operations Management at Harvard Business School. She is also the bestselling co-author of two books, Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business and Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader’s Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You.   In 2017 she joined Uber’s team as the first SVP of Leadership and Strategy to help the company navigate its public crisis in leadership and culture. She has a popular TED Talk titled How to Build (and Rebuild) Trust which has over 4 million views.  Frances has always been interested in operations--how things work and how to make things work better. But being interested in operations has led her work to focus on leadership. As she shares, “I pretty quickly came to the conclusion that if it weren't for the pesky humans, operations would work beautifully. And then I got super intrigued by the humans, and then realized that the humans were led. So then that took me to leadership aspects, but the technology and the operations have stayed strong. So most of the companies I've worked with have some, they're either being disrupted by technology or they're digitally native. But everything I do is around how to make people and organizations better.” Leadership is about making other people better In her book, Unleashed, Frances talks about one of the big assumptions that people have about leadership that is actually incorrect. For the last few decades the focus has been on building leaders up and getting them to inspect themselves. When actually leaders should be focused outside of themselves--it should be about making other people better first. Leadership isn’t about you, it is about other people.  Leaders should walk into a room and not want everyone to be thinking about them as a leader, but the leader should be the one thinking of everyone else and how to set those people up for success.  The problem with Uber and how they fixed it While teaching at Harvard Business School (HBS), one of Frances’ students approached her to convince Frances to have a conversation with Uber’s then CEO, Travis Kalanick. Due to several scandals and bad decisions the company was going through a very public crisis at the time in leadership and culture. After Frances and Travis talked for three days, Travis asked for her help and she officially joined the team in June of 2017.  She was prepared to stay until the job was done, and as she shares, they were able to turn things around much quicker than she had expected. At the core of what they did was a massive amount of executive education.  Frances shares the major underlying problem, “Of all the problems that were surfaced, well over 90% had to do with a person and their manager. There were 3000 managers at Uber. So there were either 3000 bad people, or Uber was doing something systematically to not set managers up for success. We very quickly found out that it was the latter. And here's what was going on, I get hired as an individual contributor, and then the company was growing so fast that like, five minutes later, you got promoted to a manager. You didn't have any training. And then five minutes after that, by the way, you became a manager of managers. Turns out that management is a skill, a skill that can be taught, but no one was teaching folks. So we had to teach people how to manage, like, how to give effective feedback, how to set goals, all of the basics, including then how to be inclusive. How to set people up for success. So that was one part, is that it was clear that managers were at the tip of the spear where the problems were, but it wasn't their fault and education would solve it.” From there Frances was able to get Uber and HBS to partner to create a training platform that was accessible to all 3000 managers across the world. Through this platform they gathered top experts in teams, globalization, leadership, etc...who then taught classes on things like how to build trust, how to set a team of people up for success, and how to design and shepherd a culture. This training continues on inside the company even to this day. And it has had a huge impact on how the company operates.  What to do when company values are weaponized Frances works with other companies, as she did with Uber, to help fix broken cultures. When asked if there has been anything she has tried that failed, she brought up the topic of weaponized company values. What is a weaponized value, you may ask. Frances explains it as taking an internal value, which may sound like a wonderful thing, and using it in a negative way for your own personal benefit. She gives the example of a value inside of Uber when she first arrived, which was Default to Trust. Now that sounds like a beautiful cultural value, basically saying let’s give each other the benefit of the doubt. But what was happening was senior leaders were taking that value and throwing it in the face of junior people who started questioning them. They used Default to Trust as, stop questioning and just do what you are told for their own selfish reasons.  The part that failed was that she thought the answer was to re-educate people and change the thought process behind the value that was twisted. But in those kinds of situations, Frances says, the only thing to do is get rid of the value altogether. Once a value has been weaponized there is no amount of re-education that can bring it back to the original intent. Let it go and come up with a new value.  The three elements needed for successful change In light of all of the challenging times we are facing around the world--including the global pandemic and the protests in America, Frances shared her advice to leaders on what to do in difficult times like these. There are a lot of CEOs and leaders around the world who are stepping forward and taking action for the better, but in order to make those changes sustainable there are three elements, Frances says, that have to be present. The three elements needed for successful change are:  Honor the past--Talking about the past in a sincere and detailed way is important in any change whether inside of an organization or a society. You need to say, some of you will remember we did this before, here’s what happened. Here are some good things that came from that, and here are some lessons we learned. Don’t assign blame to individuals, share the good and the bad and the lessons learned. Then explain the changes being made and why they will make things better.   A clear and compelling change mandate--This is the answer to the question “why now”? This is normally the hardest thing for a company to come up with, because if things are going well, it’s hard to get people to want to change. You have to be able, in a short and concise way show a super compelling reason why change is needed. You have to get people’s pulse up to get their entire heart and soul into the change.  Have an optimistic way forward--The way forward has to give hope, but it also has to be extremely thorough and detailed. What specific steps need to be taken to get us to a better future?

This episode of Scaling Culture was taken from an interview done on our most recent e-Summit featuring Frances Frei. Frances Frei is a Professor of Technology and Operations Management at Harvard Business School. In 2017, Frances was tapped to be Uber's first Senior Vice President of Leadership and Strategy.Frances is the best-selling author of Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business and co-author of  Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader’s Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You.  If you are enjoying Scaling Culture please rate, share and subscribe wherever you are listening today. For more information about Scaling Culture follow Ron Lovett & Connolly Owens on Linkedin.

Frances Frei is fearless in speaking the truth in a way that is direct, impactful and memorable, yet also incredibly kind. She has developed a blueprint for leadership to help others reach their fullest potential in our presence, and even more importantly, in our absence. A Harvard Business School professor and adviser to hundreds of organizations including Uber and WeWork, Frances shares her research and insight for building effective communication, trust, and belonging - even, and especially - during this time of global crisis. Links: Frances’ NEW! Book: Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader’s Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You, link here What’s Your Wobble: Authenticity, Logic, Empathy | 2-minute Trust Diagnostic video, link here  Dig Deeper: Harvard Business Review featuring Frances’ Begin with Trust, link here  More by Frances: Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of your Business, link here   Connect with Frances: www.linkedin.com/in/francesfrei Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frances Frei is fearless in speaking the truth in a way that is direct, impactful and memorable, yet also incredibly kind. She has developed a blueprint for leadership to help others reach their fullest potential in our presence, and even more importantly, in our absence. A Harvard Business School professor and adviser to hundreds of organizations including Uber and WeWork, Frances shares her research and insight for building effective communication, trust, and belonging - even, and especially - during this time of global crisis.Links:Frances’ NEW! Book: Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader’s Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You, link hereWhat’s Your Wobble: Authenticity, Logic, Empathy | 2-minute Trust Diagnostic video, link here Dig Deeper: Harvard Business Review featuring Frances’ Begin with Trust, link here More by Frances: Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of your Business, link here  Connect with Frances: www.linkedin.com/in/francesfrei

At Dominion Energy "Actions Speak Louder" hear from Kaytee of Dominion Energy as we talk about bill support, bill payment options, putting customers first and protecting Dominion Energy customers from scammers. 

At Dominion Energy "Actions Speak Louder" hear from Kaytee of Dominion Energy as we talk about bill support, bill payment options, putting customers first and protecting Dominion Energy customers from scammers. 

Following on from my recent interview, Retailers and their customers – what's now and what's next – Interview with Ian McGarrigle of the World Retail Congress, today I'm very excited to share with you an interview that I recently conducted with Kerry Bodine, vice president and principal analyst in Forrester's customer experience research practice, about her new book: Outside In: The Power of Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business. This interview makes up number twenty-seven in the series of interviews with authors and business leaders that I think that you will find interesting and helpful in growing your businesses.

“You train them, remind them, and incentivize them, but they still don't do what you trained them to do.” This is what business owners say to each other about employees. Can you relate to it? Frances Frei is a famous professor at Harvard Business School who advises senior executives who are embarking on large-scale change initiatives in the hopes of achieving organizational transformation. Professor Frei tells these executives, “You cannot change a person's behavior until you first change their beliefs.” Frances called me a few years ago when she was about to publish her book, “Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business.” Beliefs drive behavior.I was first exposed to this idea 18 years ago when Paul Schumann attended Wizard Academy. Paul spent 30 years at IBM as a futurist. Like Professor Frei, his specialty was “forecasting potential future scenarios, and creating innovative strategies for competitive advantage.” When I asked Paul to share a few insights from his rich experience, he warned us of the dangers of “corporate cultural inertia.” Unfamiliar with that term, I asked Paul to give us an example. His answer startled me. He said, “You can win the full support of everyone at the C-level – CEO, COO, CFO, CMO, all of them – and then be brought to your knees by middle managers who simply choose not to implement what they have been told to do. In a big company, culture eats strategy for breakfast.” “Can you introduce me to Dewey Jenkins? I'd love to meet him.”This is a question I'm asked at least once a week, usually by the owner of another big company. “I'm sorry, but no. I have, however, convinced Jonathan Bancroft to write a book that will contain the answers to every question you'd like to ask Dewey. I'll give you a heads-up when that book is about to be published.” The first printing of that book, “Mr. Jenkins Told Me…” was 30,000 copies. Almost 28,000 of those have already been sold and the book has only just been released. The average business book sells just 5,000 copies in the life of the book. “Mr. Jenkins Told Me…” is not the average business book. Jonathan Bancroft went to work for Mr. Jenkins 21 years ago as a technician's helper/trainee. A few years ago, he became president of the company.I can't arrange for you to speak with Dewey Jenkins, but you're only a few clicks away from the answers to every question you'd like to ask him. You're wearing the ruby red slippers, Dorothy, and you've been told how to finally achieve the one thing you've been trying to do since the movie began. Are you going to https://smile.amazon.com/Jenkins-Told-Forgotten-Principles-Business-ebook/dp/B07VX8LRJZ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2GW2AVC7GTH5O&keywords=mr.+jenkins+told+me&qid=1567607113&s=gateway&sprefix=Mr.+Jenkins%2Caps%2C160&sr=8-1 (begin clicking?) Or do you want to go back to fighting those flying monkeys? Roy H. Williams

Drawing more traffic to your website is a concern that businesses share right across the board. When a tool like a podcast is used properly, not only can you naturally bring more traffic your way, but you can also end up with a loyal following Welcome to Should I Start A Podcast where each week Ronsley Vaz, with the help of a star-studded entrepreneurial guest lineup, explores why you should start a podcast; build an audience, and how to keep them hungry for more. If you're thinking about starting a podcast, or simply finding a better way to get your message out to your audience, then this is the podcast for you In this episode of Should I Start A Podcast, we have the customer care expert, and business maverick, Mel Telecican's, keynote speech at We Are Podcast 2015. If you are looking to expand your website's traffic, but doing it meaningfully and with purpose, then this podcast is for you. Mel is a customer experience expert with an outstanding quality customer list of over 10,000, which she accrued in just two years.  Her resume spans multiple avenues in education, business ownership and marketing, which has ultimately put her on the path to sharing her business-centric experiences. With two very successful podcasts in tow, the Customer Centric Show and the Monetising Knowledge Show she gets to showcase her marketing success, and share her expertise within the market. In this episode we talk about: How Mel grew her website's rankings within just 90 days Why starting a podcast gets you talking to your industry leaders Why Mel's love for education pushed her to create a podcast How perseverance can get your website climbing the Google analytics ladder The power of putting customers needs first   How having a podcast has changed Mel's business determination Mel's own personal wins that all stemmed from starting her podcast How a 90% finished book led to her podcasting success Meeting industry heroes and how they can validate your business' direction   Links: Mel Telecican - Website Mel Telecican - Facebook Mel Telecican - Twitter Mel Telecican - LinkedIn

Drawing more traffic to your website is a concern that businesses share right across the board. When a tool like a podcast is used properly, not only can you naturally bring more traffic your way, but you can also end up with a loyal following Welcome to Should I Start A Podcast where each week Ronsley Vaz, with the help ... Read More The post 143. Driving More Traffic, Putting Customers First and Podcasting with Mel Telecican appeared first on Must Amplify.

Drawing more traffic to your website is a concern that businesses share right across the board. When a tool like a podcast is used properly, not only can you naturally bring more traffic your way, but you can also end up with a loyal following Welcome to Should I Start A Podcast where each week Ronsley Vaz, with the help ... Read More The post 143. Driving More Traffic, Putting Customers First and Podcasting with Mel Telecican appeared first on Amplify Agency.

Drawing more traffic to your website is a concern that businesses share right across the board. When a tool like a podcast is used properly, not only can you naturally bring more traffic your way, but you can also end up with a loyal following Welcome to Should I Start A Podcast where each week Ronsley Vaz, with the help ... The post 143. Driving More Traffic, Putting Customers First and Podcasting with Mel Telecican appeared first on We Are Podcast.

Today, we're doing something a little different; The Chief Customer Officer Human Duct Tape Show is in both video and audio form. I think you're really going to enjoy this conversation between myself and Ben Steele, Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer at REI. So please do listen to the full interview! REI is an 80-year-old passion-based business; it's a co-op with members, rather than shareholders. As Chief Customer Officer, Ben wants to tell the story of this unique company whose members truly love and support it. 

ABOUT: With over 35 years in retail marketing, it's a pleasure to speak to Martin Newman about putting the customer first.   We cover:   - The importance of having real world, practical experience - Defending yourself against the disruptors - Proximity marketing - Using technology to empower customers - Having all departments on the same track to improve customer experience - Checking your business from the customer perspective - Listening to what the customer wants - What happens after purchase? - Selling restaurant merchandise through Amazon - Being socially responsible - Focusing on retaining customers LINKS: “100 Practical Ways to Improve Customer Experience” by Martin Newman and Malcolm MacDonald   20% off with code for our listeners:  100CXTIPS   Listeners can buy the book and sign up to Martin's newsletter for latest blogs online at: http://www.martinnewman.co.uk/100-practical-ways-to-improve-customer-experience     MARTIN NEWMAN   Widely considered a thought leader, with deep experience of the European, US and Asia Pacific markets, Martin Newman is known globally as one of the foremost authorities on customer experience. His achievements cover over 35 years in Retail, heading up the Multichannel operations of some of the world's leading brands including Burberry, Intersport, Pentland Brands (Speedo, Berghaus), Harrods and Ted Baker. In August 2018 Martin released his first book, 100 Practical Ways to Improve Customer Experience, which provides both strategic and practical advice, focusing on multichannel industries that face major challenges from disruptive brands. Drawing on his extensive experience in the retail space, the book details tips and pointers that all consumer facing businesses can action to become customer-centric. The book is available to buy worldwide. Martin is the founder and Chairman of global consultancy company, Practicology. He is also a board member of renowned retail companies including White Stuff, he sits on the advisory board of Yext, a leading digital knowledge management provider, and is also a member of the prestigious KPMG IPSOS Retail Think Tank. Martin has been listed in various industry leader lists including being listed on Retail Week's top 50 eTail Power List for five years in a row, he has been named in Retail Insiders top 100 Retail movers & shakers list for a number of years consecutively and on the British Vogue Online Fashion 100. He has been a judge of numerous awards including the World Retail Awards, the Customer Experience awards, the Retail Insider awards, the PayPal eTail Awards and the Online Retail Awards of Australia. Martin presents keynotes, Chairs conferences and moderates panels at more than 20 events annually some of which have included: Retail Week Live (London) Shoptalk (Copenhagen, Las Vegas) British Retail Consortium (London) Seamless retail (Dubai, Singapore, Australia) World Retail Conference (Dubai, Rome, Paris, Madrid) Customer futures (Hong Kong) Global eCommerce Leaders Forum (New York) Retail Week Hackathon Head Judge (London) Shop.org (Chicago, Las Vegas) Retail Plus (Amsterdam) Savant E-Commerce (Berlin and London) iMedia (Australia) Sports Interactive (Amsterdam) Etail (London) Sun Capital Conference (Mountain View, CA) He has shared a stage with the founder of the worldwideweb, Sir Tim Berners-Lee at the World Retail Congress, to talk about what's next for the web and what it means for retailers. Martin is also a regular contributor to various industry titles including Retail Week (UK) and Power Retail (Australia) and has been cited dozens of times in other publications. Martin can also be seen predicting the performance of Black Friday on the BBC and on 11/11 singles day in China on Alizila.   Martin regularly advises the boards of his clients on their key strategic questions and challenges. These cover customer-based questions such as how to transform their business to truly put the customer first, and how to remove friction for customers and drive engagement. He also covers more business-based challenges including how businesses should prioritise their investments and roadmap for growth, as well as how to internationalise and into which markets. He also advises on how to develop omnichannel strategy and the role of the store, as well providing thought leadership for global organisations. FOLLOW US: ⠀   Martin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martindnewman https://twitter.com/martinnewman ⠀ Mark / WE ARE Spectacular⠀   https://twitter.com/spectacularmark https://twitter.com/spectacularchat https://www.instagram.com/spectacularmark/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmcculloch/   Thanks to our sponsors:   Mark Pitcher at https://www.SmashtheBox.me Personal and Employee Inspiration, Motivation, Purpose Finding, Executive Coaching Be inspired every morning at 7.45am Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/SmashTheBoxMarkPitcher/       Do you want to be on the next Spectacular Marketing Podcast? Email gabby@wearespectacular.com

Dan Fine is a customer experience professional who has worked on brands like NAB, Telstra, Sensis, and Vic Roads. In this episode you’ll learn how to define the role of a customer experience professional, plus you’ll discover many tips and resources that you can use on your journey to becoming a great CX pro.   Resources mentioned: Service Design Show (podcast). Why Service Design Thinking (podcast). This is HCD (podcast). General Assembly (course). Academy XI (course). Customer Experience Professionals Association This is Service Design Thinking (book), by Marc Stickdorn and Jakob Schneider. The Field Guide to Human-Centered Design (book), by IDEO. The Ultimate Question 2.0 (book), by Fred Reichheld and Rob Markey. Beyond the Ultimate Question (book), by Bob Hayes. Bulletproof Radio (podcast), with Dave Asprey. Influencers (podcast), by Jon Levy Closing the Delivery Gap (research), by Bain and Company   Additional Resources: The Ten Principles Behind Great Customer Experiences (book), by Matt Watkinson. Outside In: The Power of Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business (book), by Harley Manning and Kerry Bodine. Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers (book), by Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, and James Macanufo. Xplaner (website). Strategyzer (website). Service Design Tools (website).   Key takeaways (starts at 30:35): Any CX initiative needs to be driven by the CEO. Present ideas with 51% confidence but 100% conviction. Treat survey data like an asset. Close the delivery gap between what you think you know and what the customer experiences.

Ben Jacobsen founded Jacobsen Salt Co. in 2011. They are the first company to harvest salt in the Pacific Northwest since Lewis & Clark. The company has transformed from a local small business to a nationally recognized brand and one of America’s leading premium salt makers. Their products can be found at such retailers such as William-Sonoma, Whole Foods, and many more. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: [1:25] Jeremy introduces his guest, Ben Jacobsen. [2:30] Personal sacrifices Ben has made along the way. [3:30] Ben talks about his team. [6:00] How did Ben and his team develop their process? What are they doing with by-products? [9:00] Managing the logistics of selling a product. [13:00] Ben talks about acquiring a small local honey company. [16:00] Low and high points in the journey so far for Ben and his team. [18:00] The milestone of getting health insurance for the whole team and Ben’s plans for the future. In this episode… How can business leaders like you focus on putting customers first? What effort will it take to show your customers that they are valued by you and your team? On this episode of Inspired Insider, you’ll hear from entrepreneur and innovator, Ben Jacobsen. Ben opens up about how he started his company, Jacobsen Salt Co., how they’ve marketed by-products, the logistics of selling their product, how they put customers first, and so much more! You don’t want to miss this awesome opportunity to learn from an industry leader like Ben, have your pen and paper ready, you are going to need it! Do you know what it takes to start a company from the ground up? Where does that kind of drive and vision come from? How do leaders dig deep and find the motivation to push through difficult and find success? On this episode of Inspired Insider, you’ll hear from business leader and disruptor, Ben Jacobsen. Starting with a dream and a passion, Ben build the Jacobsen Salt Company. Hearing from Ben you can tell that at the heart of his story there is a drive to create a quality product and serve his customers by putting them first. This drive is only matched by his dedication to his employees. Discover helpful insights and lessons from Ben’s story on this episode! What are you doing to inspire your team and build a healthy culture at your company? Do you do your best to get everyone on board with the vision and mission of your organization? Does your team know that you are fighting to make their experience and their work conditions better? On this episode of Inspired Insider, Ben Jacobsen shares one of the milestones that he is the proudest of in the young life of his business, the Jacobsen Salt Company. Ben says that he’s most proud of the moment he was able to invest in providing healthcare insurance for all of his employees. It's really encouraging to hear the passion and love that Ben has, not only for his product and customers but for his team. What can you learn from Ben’s story? Find out on this episode! Resources Mentioned on this episode http://jacobsensalt.com/ www.beelocal.com Google Docs Dropbox SalesForce Shopify Sponsor for this episode Rise25 is where entrepreneurs of 6,7, and 8 figure businesses come together live and in person every few months to solve their biggest business challenges through this high-level Mastermind group. Each member leaves each week with lifelong friendships and actionable steps to take their business to the next level. Check out Rise25.com - a group run by myself and co-founder John Corcoran. Rise 25 is application only.

Putting customers on the radar: Focusing on customers to drive value and impact by UX Australia

Many business owners, CEOs, Managing Directors or which ever title they wish to use, may think that just because they have an established brand with hundreds, or even thousands of clients, that a few sour clients would have no damaging effect on the external reputation of the business. Wrong! You see, if we think about… The post Putting Customers at the Heart of Your Business appeared first on Marketing Crunch Podcast.

SHOW NOTES About Our Guest:  Arleen King Arleen King is Senior Vice President of Customer Experience at TELUS, and is the real deal when it comes to creating a customer centric culture.Arleen supports more than 6,000 team members in Canada, and 2,800 team members internationally. Her teams go on to provide exceptional customer experience to TELUS’ 13.9 million customer connections – and along with their other brands Koodo, and Public Mobile, that adds up to making life better for 8.3 million wireless subscribers, and over 900,000 TELUS TV customers.If you’re outside of Canada you might not be familiar with TELUS. You know how folks anywhere love to hate their phone company? TELUS customers totally don’t get that. Year after year, Telus ranks as Canada’s most loved telecommunications company, and once you meet Arleen, you’ll know why.Thanks as always for listening to my conversation with the incredible, and incredibly nice, Arleen King.More about Arleen KingArleen has more than 25 years of experience managing customer service in many areas including the public sector, private sector, outsourcing and the entertainment industry. Since joining TELUS in 1999, Arleen has taken on roles as the Director of Client Care, Vice-president of Client Care and Vice-president of Mobility – but regardless of the team she is supporting, serving customers remains her number one passion.Throughout her career, Arleen has been recognized for her devoted leadership and ability to empower her own team, receiving the Association of Relationship Marketing Leadership Award, CHLOE (Connections Honours Leaders of Excellence) Champion of Women award, Best Own-it Sponsor award, and has led her team to win numerous industry awards and achievements.Arleen is currently based in Vancouver with her husband, Steve, and wheaten terrier, Caleigh. She is a member of the TELUS Community Investment Board in Montreal, a yearly participant in TELUS Days of Giving and the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes, and proudly supports the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the West Island organization.How to Find Arleen KingArleen isn't on Twitter, but you can check out her LinkedIn profile here.How to Contact UsWant to send a message to the show?  You can Tweet us @CustExpPodcast.Want to get in touch with Pat Perdue, send him a tweet @patperdue.We'd Love it if you could leave a review on iTunesIf you like what you heard, please tell someone.  And if you're inclined, positive reviews on iTunes helps people find us.  Here's a link to iTunes to leave a review.Thank you again for listening.

Kerry Bodine believes that happy customers lead to happy shareholders. Her book, Outside In: The Power of Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business, helps business leaders understand the financial benefits of great customer experiences—and how their organizations must change in order to deliver them. In 2014, she founded Kerry Bodine & Co., a customer experience consultancy focused on customer journey mapping and experience design. She's also a frequent keynote speaker at conferences and private corporate events around the world. Kerry's ideas, analysis, and opinions have appeared on sites like The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Forbes, USA Today, and Advertising Age. She contributes a regular column to Touchpoint, the journal published by the global Service Design Network. Kerry spent seven years with the customer experience practice at Forrester Research. As vice president and principal analyst, she led Forrester's research on customer experience design and innovation. She was also the creative force behind the customer experience ecosystem, a framework that helps companies diagnose and fix customer problems at their roots. In previous roles, Kerry managed consumer research teams; guided the design of websites, mobile apps, and branded social networks; designed interfaces for robots and wearable devices; and, in 1995, developed a Web-based social shopping prototype for AT&T Bell Labs. In addition to her design background, she has completed stints as both a management consultant and an advertising executive. Kerry holds a master's degree in human-computer interaction from Carnegie Mellon University.

If you want great customer experience, stop putting customers first. Think about your organization. Who your company exists to serve? This is about who comes first for you. Is it the end consumer, the vendors, the shareholders, the team? There are trade-offs you have to make once you have clarity on this topic. Hear the story of South West Airline and who they put first.    

Do you believe in putting your customers first? It is a common thought. At many levels it makes total sense. However, today's guest is Jay Samit, author of Disrupt You!, a best selling book about innovation and growth. Jay shares insights about why this common thinking has limits as you are growing your company and becoming a strong CEO. Listen to this episode and disrupt your company. Get the show notes for 190 | Why Putting Customers First Is Wrong with Jay Samit Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches with @GeneHammett @jaysamit #Innovation #Author #BestsellingBook #Episode190 #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

Frances Frei and Anne Morriss, authors of "Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business."

Putting Customers first. Who is your most important customer? How can you adapt your product to meet your customers needs? Where can you focus your marketing to get maximum effect? How can you create Customer loyalty?