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Top Takeaways:-      Certain insights from AI and data can be brought down to the call center to help agents improve the customer experience in real-time.-      Abusive behaviors from customers do exist and companies need to be more aware of these harmful interactions.-      Of the 82 million customer interactions CallMiner examined, just under 50% of those interactions had some form or mention of profanity. Of those that had some form of profanity, almost 87% had profanity throughout the entire duration of the call.-      Customer experience tends to lead people to be concerned only with the customer and less about the contact center agents providing that experience.-      Agents are often expected to jump from one call, where a customer uses profanity and exhibits heightened aggression, to another, where the agents are expected to have an upbeat and positive attitude.-      Research has found that agents typically require about 30-40 minutes to mentally recover from offensive calls with angry customers.-      When customer service agents experience racist and sexist remarks, it can have an impact on those individuals as well as, at an aggregate scale, impact on the company.-      Organizations can leverage offensive instances to learn, operationalize a response, change business processes for the better, and create fairer experiences for everyone.-      Providing support and loyalty to your employees is just as important as providing support and loyalty to your customers.Quote:“When we think about customer experience, we’re always thinking about the customer and not about the agent’s experience working in the contact center.”About:Eric Williamson is CallMiner’s Chief Marketing Officer, with more than 20 years of experience in both the technology and consumer product marketing. Eric oversees all global marketing functions from brand and events, to demand generation as CMO of CallMiner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      Companies and brands are connecting in new and different ways.-      The companies that will win are one’s that can deliver consistent, on-brand experiences in every channel, 24-7, because that’s what consumers demand.-      Next-generation chatbots and automation technology allow brands to deliver concierge-like experiences for consumers across every channel empowering the consumer 24/7/365 at a global scale.-      It’s a myth that automation (via chatbots and workflows) and great customer experience (highly personalized, intelligent, on-brand, human agents) are mutually exclusive. They used to be, but that’s not the case anymore. -      Technology is now at the point where you can deliver what customers want, immediately when they want it.-      There are 3 key elements of a ‘concierge-like experience’: Personalization, Human + AI, Omnichannel.-      Brands can build a truly concierge-like personalized conversational experience very fast with platforms like Solvvy.-      Traditional chatbots, the ones you’d see a few years ago, didn’t deliver the type of CX top brands have been needing to incorporate.-      The future of CX involves the potential for combined human and AI experiences in customer support. Together is better.Quote:“The future of CX involves a digitally guided journey to the best possible solution.”About:Mahesh Ram is the founding CEO of Solvvy, the next-gen chatbot and intelligence CS automation platform. He’s been CEO, founder or early employee of three cloud-based software companies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      There are two halves to customer-centricity. One is the great leaders of CX, who are inspirational catalysts for creating a customer-centric culture. The other half is the people in the trenches, who connect those leaders and companies with solutions.-      Any customer experience tactic or strategy you try to implement should be supported by your customer record, which is all the information you can (legally) gather about your customer. -      If you want senior leadership to invest in customer experience, you must show them the ROI (return on investment).  -      The best way to position customer experience to leadership is to highlight the increase in productivity, efficiency and agility.-      Touchless and contactless payments have existed since 1997, but have been accelerated and more widely adopted over the past year. -      The employee experience has a huge impact on the customer experience. If employees are happy and well-supported, they are able to better support customers and deliver a better experience.-      Employee needs will continue to change moving forward. Make the voice of the employee a central part of the decision-making process.-      Become a partner to your customers and clients, rather than another vendor. If you’re not a partner, you’re in a potential churn zone where someone else could come along and build a better relationship with your customers.-      The inspiration and innovation that comes from teamwork is what drives a customer-centric culture. And that is available to executives free of charge!Quote:“What is at the center of the productivity conversation is this notion of employee experience. Employee experiences are central to customer experiences.” About:Dennis Wakabayashi is the VP of CX Solutions Delivery for RR Donnelley, a global business communications firm. He is among the top 50 CX influencers globally and provides relevant customer experience content on many social channels. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      If you send a personalized item to your customers, whether it’s a note or other gift, don’t put your logo on it. Ask yourself, “Is this a gift or a promotional item?”-      In today’s world, there is so much mass digital communication—emails, texts and more. That makes a handwritten note stand out even more.-      When someone receives a handwritten note, they are more likely to keep it—and even display it. That’s the emotional impact it has.-      Define a clear schedule for when you want to connect with your customers. This will give you a series of touchpoints with them throughout the year.-      Staying top-of-mind for your customers helps you make your follow-up sale and can make customers come back to do business with you again and again.-      There is a lot of ROI to be had from sending handwritten notes, but that can’t be your sole agenda when sending them. It will make the notes come across as insincere, which will drive customers away.-      Handwritten notes are great for showing gratitude to your customers. They can also be used to ask your customers to write you a review, to remind them to schedule annual appointments or to apologize for mistakes.-      If you do make a mistake with your customer, fix it and send a handwritten note as follow-up. Fixing the problem the right way can increase customer loyalty and the lifetime value of the customer, more than if the mistake had never even happened!-      Personalization is crucial for companies of every size. Even massive companies should feel as though they are small and personal to the customer.-      Gratitude matters. Show your customers that you appreciate them! It goes a long way.Quote:“People keep actual handwritten notes. When someone receives a handwritten note from somebody, not only would they read it, they might even put it on display.”About:David Wachs is the Founder and CEO of Handwrytten, a platform for writing and sending handwritten notes at scale. He is a serial entrepreneur and frequent speaker on marketing technology. Previously, David was the Founder and President of Cellit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      Customer centricity happens when everyone in the organization is focused on customer engagement. That engagement is more than just satisfaction—it’s about an emotional connection with your customers.-      There are three components involved in getting everyone in an organization aligned: leadership, culture and talent.-      In order for leaders to be truly customer-centric, they must be immersed in the customer experience. That means spending time on the frontlines of customer service. -      Give your customers a voice in your company. Actively involve them in problem-solving and give them a seat at the table.-      Leaders must model the company culture they wish to see.-      Customer centricity must be part of an organization’s values. These values must be visible to all employees and felt by customers. Define the behaviors you wish to see and empower those frontline employees to deliver on those values.-      Even internal employees who may never directly interact with customers still have an impact on the customer experience. Every employee must recognize their place in the customer journey.-      Emotional engagement is driven by three metrics: pride, passion and confidence. -      Engaged employees lead to engaged customers. Fully engaged employees and customers translate into greater profit and success for your company.-      Service values are similar to core values. They define standards of service on how to delight customers and should ignite and inspire employees, not stifle their initiative.-      Recognize the difference between skill, talent and knowledge. Skill can be transferred, knowledge can be learned, but talent is innate. Part of hiring right is finding that talent.-      Much of driving customer-centricity boils down to measurement. Measurement alone isn’t enough, though—you must use what you learn to improve the process and drive a better customer experience.Quote:“A customer-centric culture is one where everyone is engaged in creating engagement for our customer. That engagement is emotional engagement, not just satisfaction or loyalty.”About:Vibhas Ratanjee is a Senior Practice Expert with Gallup who specializes in organizational development, culture change and executive-level engagement strategies. Vibhas is an executive coach and a leadership consultant to senior executives and CEOs, as well as a well-known speaker and author. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      You may not always be able to keep doing things the same way you have always done them, especially under time constraints. The ability to adapt is crucial.-      Difficult, frightening and challenging times can become opportunities to really shine as a brand and as a company.-      Show appreciation to your customers! Call them to thank them for their recent purchase without any sales agenda. This gesture goes a long way.-      Look for ways to adapt and translate the customer experience without sacrificing the quality of the experience.-      A “luxury” experience does not mean a slow experience. Focus on creating an elevated sensory experience by meeting your customer where they are.-      Not every moment within the customer experience is equal. Focus on managing the beginning, end, high points and pain points.-      Brand promises of customer centricity were put to the test once the pandemic hit. Leaders and companies will be remembered for how they behaved during a crisis.-      You don’t need to be perfect. Be honest and own your mistakes, and keep working to improve the world around you.-      One of the most powerful things a leader can do is listen. That’s much of what customer service is all about.-      The word for 2020 is empathy—followed by “you’re on mute!” Don’t lose hope, find the humor, and keep moving forward.Quote:“Leaders throughout the pandemic said they were moving between front, middle and back more than they’ve ever had to before. You have to have a fluidity of leadership style to a greater degree than prior to the pandemic.”About:Joseph Michelli, Ph.D., is a certified customer experience professional, international keynote speaker and the bestselling author of nine business books. He helps leadership teams improve the experiences they provide for team members and customers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      Customer success and customer support are related, but different. Customer success is about proactively helping customers to get the most value out of a product or service, while customer support is about reactively solving customer issues.-      Almost every company today is seeking ways to build and deliver connected customer experiences using technology. Having an online business presence is not an option—it’s a necessity.-      Artificial Intelligence (AI) will not replace human agents. Instead, it augments the capabilities and ingenuity of human experts. The result is a more efficient—and delightful—customer experience.-      AI comes in many forms (chatbots, voice systems on phones, etc.) and cab be a quick, easy and convenient way for customers to get a solution to a simple problem.-      AI needs to be able to recognize when it should transfer the customer to a live agent. This can happen when the customer asks to be transferred, when the AI recognizes it doesn’t have the right knowledge to help, or when it detects customer frustration.-      When transferring to an agent, AI should deliver as much information as possible to that agent. This includes the issue the customer is calling about, who they are and their history with the company.-      Executives should regularly take customer support cases and calls so they know exactly what it’s like on the frontlines of their organization’s customer experience.-      Don’t sacrifice the emotional, human connection you have with your customers in favor of the latest tech.-      The future of customer service and experience is more of the ‘know me’ desire. Customers want an experience that is personalized to them as individuals.Quote:“Customer success is proactively helping achieve what they need. Customer support is reactively helping customers whenever something is not working.”About:Gabriele Masili is the Global VP and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Customer Experience & Success at Microsoft. He leads the Digital Customer Experience Council across Microsoft and is responsible for enhancing customer and employee connected experiences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      Customer service is what ties all other aspects of a business together. It is the marriage of sales, marketing, product management and more.-      Customer success and customer service are not the same, but they are closely related. Success is about proactive outreach, whereas service is reactive. But they are both part of creating a great customer experience.-      Never leave the customer entirely alone or cease communication with them, even after the initial onboarding process. Maintain communication to ensure they get the most value out of your products and services.-      Don’t wait until it’s time for the customer to renew their subscription or contract with you to reach out to them.-      Renewal isn’t the goal; the goal is helping the customer get the most value. If you do that, the renewal follows naturally.-      Collect and use data to personalize and contextualize your interactions with your customers.-      COVID-19 has changed customer service. It’s still about helping customers through their entire journey, but individual needs may have changed. Meet customers wherever they’re at and help them recover and plan for the future.-      Care for your employees just as well as you care for your customers. The employee experience directly affects the customer experience.-      Give customers a voice in your company. This is possible for companies of every size and greatly improves the customer experience.Quote:“Our goal shouldn’t be about the customer is buying from us. Our goal should be about them getting value.”About:Teresa Anania is VP of Global Customer Success and Renewals at Zendesk. She helps customers realize maximum value across the customer lifecycle, resulting in renewal and customer satisfaction.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      Now more than ever, it’s incredibly important to pay attention to your digital customer experience. Most organizations have made the move to virtual, and all should understand how their customers are connecting with them.-      The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated what was already starting to happen in terms of technology. We have been thrust 3-5 years into the future.-      Technology allows brands to reach customers where they are rather than forcing customers to come to brands. It also helps brands communicate more effectively with their customers for a faster, better experience overall.-      Both customers and chatbots must be able to decide when to switch from AI to a human being. And, it should be an easy and seamless transfer. Otherwise, customers may end up frustrated with the experience.-      People use AI all the time without realizing it. It’s important to remember that even big, well-known bots (such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home) that are powered by massive AI can still make mistakes.-      Bots can be just as—if not more—effective in supporting agents behind the scenes as assisting customers on the front line.-      Train your agents how to interact with and interpret your chatbot. Working together, agents and chatbots can provide a much better experience to the customer.-      Your chatbot should work side-by-side with your CRM to help agents better understand your customers. A single pane of glass, with all the customer’s information, is ideal!-      Chatbots will not replace agents. Instead, the roles of those agents will change and evolve alongside chatbots.-      Both humans and chatbots have their strengths. Chatbots are good at automation, speed and efficiency, whereas humans excel at critical thinking and relationship development. You can’t automate a relationship!Quote:“Think about your customers’ digital experience as the first solution, the first frontier and the thing your company wants to solve for.” About:Philippe Mesritz is the first VP, Customers for Life at Khoros, a tech company that helps companies better connect with their customers online. He has over 20 years of customer-facing experience and previously ran the support services organization. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      The goal of customer service should be to answer questions, eliminate confusion and become your customer’s trusted advisor.-      Customer service training is your most valuable asset. It is always worth investing in.-      More often than not, customers leave companies due to a lack of transparency or authenticity. -      An amazing customer experience can translate directly into word-of-mouth marketing.-      The customer experience doesn’t start after a customer makes a purchase or even on the first sales call. It begins at the first interaction the customer has with your company, which could be as simple as them browsing your website.-      The sales experience is part of the larger customer experience. It’s what makes the customer say “yes” the first time, and hopefully keep saying “yes” over and over again.-      Sales and service go hand-in-hand. If you’re in the sales process, your goal should be to demonstrate an above-and-beyond level of helpfulness and willingness to help your customers achieve their goals.-      Video is a very powerful and effective tool and can be used for a variety of purposes. For example, send a video proposal instead of a PDF, or send a video recap to a decisionmaker after an important call. Video can also be used to cross-sell or upsell in the right scenarios.-      Take the opportunity to learn what your client’s criteria for success are and position yourself in their future. Just ask: A year from now, what would have to happen for you to feel working with us was a success?-      Ritualizing video into your CX can answer questions, share new information and position you to become your customer’s trusted advisor.Quotes:“If you become a trusted advisor, you become a magnet for new opportunities, because the customer knows that you will take care of them at a very impressive level.”About:Todd Hartley is the Founder and CEO of WireBuzz and a rock star of remote selling, video marketing and sales optimization. He creates effortless, on-demand buying experiences that improve clarity and eliminate confusion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:  No matter what you’re selling, there will always be certain conditions of satisfaction. These will vary from situation to situation, but the basic underlying principle will always be the same: Does it meet the customers’ expectations?  Get in the habit of having frank, transparent conversations with your customers. Communication is key!  Customer service is all about engagement. That’s what people crave more than ever.  Packaging is important and includes more than just what’s on the outside of a product. It could include word choice and tone or mode of delivery. Make sure the packaging is an accurate and positive representation of your brand identity.  While packaging is important, it isn’t everything. The product still needs to do what it’s supposed to do and meet customer expectations.  Customer service has always been about relationships and engagement. The number of followers you have on social media, for instance, doesn’t matter if those followers don’t have a relationship with you and aren’t truly engaged.  Look for the people who are so fully engaged with you that they’ve become your biggest fans. Those people will organically drive more connections for you by telling their friends and family about you and the experience you provide.  Your best innovations and insights can come directly from your engaged customers.   Customer complaints can provide valuable information on how you can improve your products and services.  Leaders and managers need to get on the front line and have discussions with customers to gain an accurate view of what’s happening within their company.  Define and identify your “dream customer.” Recognize you can’t please everybody, but this will help you focus your company vision.  Quote: “Every executive should be the most strategic person in the room. You can’t necessarily be the smartest person in the room, but you can become the most strategic through education, motivation, inspiration and the chance for a little monetization.” About: Jeffrey Hayzlett is a global business celebrity, speaker, bestselling author, primetime TV host and podcast host. He is the Chairman of C-Suite Network, home of the world’s most trusted network of C-Suite leaders.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      First you have to get customer feedback. Next you must respond to it. Then you should do something with it—as in, use it to improve internally.-      Customer ratings and reviews can be a powerful employee motivator. If they know their performance will be graded, they may strive harder to achieve good results.-      It’s important to ask for feedback or reviews while the experience is fresh. Optimize your request so that it occurs either during or after the customer’s experience with your brand.-      42% of companies don’t actively collect feedback from their customers. This represents a huge opportunity across the board to implement a survey program to help improve a brand’s experience.-      Set up an automated system that collects on an ongoing basis. It is easy to do this using the tools and technology available today.-      Making surveys quick and easy will increase the number of customers who complete them. Be upfront and honest about how quick and easy you’ve made the process.-      Quantitative surveys should be no longer than 10-12 questions long—ideally shorter. Sometimes it’s good to offer a qualitative (free response) question to allow you customer to tell you how they truly feel in their own words.-      After you get the feedback, you must respond to it. Ideally, you should respond to every single review (positive and negative), but if you have limited resources, prioritize responding to the negative reviews. These are opportunities!-      Remember, when you respond to a negative review, you’re not only talking to the customer who wrote it, but all potential customers who may read the review. One bad review could turn away up to 30 potential customers if not handled correctly.-      After responding to feedback, you must react to it inside your organization. This could mean fixing a broken process or improving an aspect of your service.-      Dig deeper than the surface of what a bad review is telling you. For instance, if someone complains about the price, the right thing to do isn’t necessarily to drop the price. Instead, ask if you’re providing the value customers expect.Quote:“Strike while the iron is hot. Ask for feedback or a review while the experience is still very fresh in your customer’s memory. Take a proactive approach and incorporate asking for feedback into the hospitality component of your business.”About:Joshua Liebman is the founder of BackLooper, a consumer insights tool that helps businesses optimize their feedback loop and foster customer loyalty. His passion for customer experience comes from his background in hospitality and tourism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      Don’t fall into the trap of thinking your service is “good enough.” “Good enough” service is never good enough.-      Customer expectations are evolving so quickly that companies don’t even realize they are failing their customers. By not meeting those expectations, brands will let down and lose customers.-      Companies must utilize AI and technology alongside a human element in the customer experience. Technology alone won’t work.-      Think of your customers in terms of the classic iceberg metaphor. There is so much more going on underneath the surface than what is clearly visible. Work to understand those behaviors and motivators you don’t immediately see.-      NPS and CSAT scores are not enough to get the big picture of your customer base. Not enough customers fill out surveys (even one-question surveys) or provide enough details to allow for global projections of customer satisfaction.-      Customers who have a less than amazing service experience with you may not fill out a survey, but they will tell other people. This will affect your brand reputation and could result in missed opportunities and lost revenue.-      We are in the age of the “now” customer. Customers are no longer willing to wait for answers or products, but companies still believe they are.-      It’s crucial to mystery shop your own business so you can get real data to help you understand what is truly happening with your customer base and how your company can improve areas of weakness.-      Deflection is not a customer-centric concept. You can offer your customers alternatives, but always give them the option to come back.-      For more, read Simplr’s report, “The State of CX in 2020” and attend (or rewatch) Simplr’s webinar, “How to WOW the NOW Customer” featuring Shep and Daniel!Quote:“‘Good enough’ is not good enough. A ‘good enough’ mentality causes you to rest on a laurel that is a false presumption of loyalty by your customers and future customers.” About:Daniel Rodriguez is the CMO of Simplr and an experienced marketing executive, entrepreneur, family guy and musician. Before Simplr, he served as VP of Marketing for Seismic and co-founded multiple other companies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      Prioritize your company culture above anything else. When customers purchase from you, they’re really buying into your culture. -      The first thing you do should be to define your company’s culture and values. Do this early on with intention instead of waiting for it to happen accidentally in the future. Be specific about what your values are.-      Assemble a team of your colleagues and employees and work together to define and refine your company’s culture. The people you hire affect the culture you build—for better and worse.-      Any time you communicate with your customers, make sure you do so in alignment with your values. -      Find the customers that align with your culture and values. Don’t be afraid to “fire” customers if they aren’t a good fit. -      Creating an amazing customer service experience really comes down to the idea of delight. Any company can delight their customers.-      Build a process where you work delight into various points along the customer journey. The first step is to map out your customer journey and then recognize those opportunities.-      It can be difficult to work in delight into an online business—but the opportunity is HUGE. Again, it’s all about mapping the journey (which can be easier online) and putting a process in place.-      Creating processes for amazement will eventually become part of your company’s culture. Employees will love it and customers will become “superfans.” This helps you build a great reputation.-      Automate the processes you build, but never your relationships. Never sacrifice the human element.Quote:“It all comes down to the idea of delight. It’s an underutilized word. Have a process for working surprise and delight into every single customer journey.”About:Matthew Barnett is the CEO and “Papa Bear” of Bonjoro. Originally trained as a designer and artist, Matthew is committed to building both great products and great culture. His goal is to be the next Zappos—the most loved brand in the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      Become a partner to your customer. Work to solve your customers’ business needs without trying to make a sale. -      When selling technology, focus on solutions and success instead of the technology. Identify business problems and needs before turning to technology. -      Lose the mindset of customer service happening only in call centers and contact centers. Go broader, and think instead about consumer engagement and consumer interaction.-      Technology has progressed rapidly, opening up new channels of communication. Companies must be ready to meet their customers on these new channels and provide a consistent consumer interaction experience.-      Ideally, create an omnichannel communication experience. This allows you to communicate with customers across all channels using a single interface on the back end. This creates consistency, helps the agent provide better service and gives the customer a better experience.-      Customers and companies alike should ask more open-ended questions when communicating with each other to facilitate productive conversation. Customers should ask what that company is doing to understand their needs and entire journey.-      Companies must ask themselves what their consumer engagement strategy is, whether or not it is holistic (stretching company-wide) and if it is truly customer-centric (instead of product- or sale-oriented).-      As technology changes so quickly, be mindful of how you do and don’t adopt it. Don’t get too enamored with new tech and lose sight of the humans behind it—both your customers and employees.-      Everyone in an organization has a positive or negative impact on the customer service and experience, not just the customer service department. It’s part of the company’s culture.Quote:“Everybody, in every organization, has positive and/or negative impact on consumer (customer) interaction. Consumer interaction is part of the culture.”About:Lou Gallagher is a Consumer Engagement Specialist at Mitel. With over 35 years of experience as a business leader, business consultant, IT application developer and engineer, Lou has created customer engagement strategies that reduce cost and enhance CX. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      To understand Generation Z as consumers is to understand the future of your (and every) business. They are the fastest growing generation in the workforce, the number one generation of consumer trendsetters (they even influence Baby Boomers!) and the most likely to write positive things online and recommend brands to others.-      The oldest members of Gen Z are 25 and most of them do not remember 9/11.-      While it’s important not to box people in by generation, knowing a customer’s generation can give you clues that help you better understand them. This, in turn, can help you faster connect, build trust and drive influence with those customers.-      When making a purchase decision, Gen Z customers look for a few key things: low price, ease of purchase, ratings and reviews, ease of returns and if someone they know previously made that purchase.-      Gen Z wants an experience before they buy something. When they do buy something, price (not the lowest price) is important to them and they always expect a good deal. They will pay more for an all-inclusive experience if they feel it is a better deal than the cheapest option.-      Ease of purchase is all about asking yourself how simple you can make something so it just works. Often, this involves utilizing new tech—but be careful not to sacrifice the human connection!-      Offering easy returns reduces the risk for online and first-time purchases, which consumers perceive to be very high-risk. Reducing risk helps overcome objection in the sales process.-      Ratings and reviews are incredibly important to all consumers, not just Gen Z. Even more important is knowing someone personally who bought that product or service before. Family and friends’ opinions are the most trusted, even if their tastes do not match the purchaser’s.-      To understand your consumer base better, create a generational snapshot and put it into a pie chart. Create practical urgency to bring in that next generation to ensure your business lasts.Quote:“Generations are not boxes. Generations are powerful and predictive clues. If you know those clues, you can faster connect with, build trust and drive influence, which is ultimately what customers want.”About:Jason Dorsey is the President and Co-Founder of The Center for Generational Kinetics as well as a leading generational researcher, speaker and author. His latest book is Zconomy: How Gen Z Will Change the Future of Business—and What to Do About It. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      The year 2020 has thrown us into the future technologically. This creates many new opportunities for companies to make their customers happy and make their lives easier.-      Customers increasingly expect companies to take a stance on social issues. Remaining silent is no longer an option. Companies must have a point of view, share it with the world, take action and be transparent about the journey.-      Companies don’t need to change the whole world to make a positive impact; they just need to change their world. Find your company’s strengths and leverage them to tackle concrete challenges in society that matter to you.-      As a bare minimum, you must offer a good product for a good price and with good customer service. In the past, this was all it took to make customers happy. Today, they expect more.-      To be truly successful, companies must know how to create convenience for their customers, especially digital convenience.-      A good, working digital interface is a necessity. It must help customers save either time, money or energy (or, ideally, all three)—the resources that no one ever has enough of.-      Look beyond your product and think about the human being that is your customer. Become a partner in their life by asking how you, as an organization, can add value to their life. This is the future of customer experience.-      Identify the tradeoff your customers must make when they buy from you or any company in your industry. What can you do to reduce or even eliminate it? Develop a process and make it part of your mission statement and brand identity.Quote:“Companies don’t have to change the world. They just have to change their world. Look at the strengths of your organization and see how you can leverage them to solve the concrete challenges in society. This is your responsibility as a business owner.”About:Steven Van Belleghem is a co-founder and board member of nexxworks. He is an entrepreneur, an international keynote speaker and the bestselling author of four books. His latest book, The Offer You Can’t Refuse, comes out on October 28, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      It’s important for any and every business to measure the level of service they provide. After all, you can’t change what you don’t measure. Mystery shopping is one method of measuring the customer experience a business provides.-      When designing a mystery shopping or other measurement/feedback program, it’s important to first understand what you’re trying to measure.-      Follow the customer journey as closely as possible to get the best read on what the customer experience is like.-      Mystery shopping and measurement programs are effective everywhere—in both B2B and B2C businesses and both inside and outside the organization.-      Measuring your customer service and experience gives you an objective perspective of what works and what doesn’t work.-      Once you get your results, you must use them. Develop new strategies and implement training where it’s needed. Continue to measure. Identify gaps and celebrate success. Over time, this will vastly improve your CX.-      Design and roll out an internal program before an external one. In other words, focus on your employees and their experience first. Get everyone in alignment with your mission and how they play a part in the customer journey.-      Remember that the beliefs and behaviors of leaders and managers will be passed on to employees. Leadership must model the actions and attitudes they want to see in their employees. It starts at the top.-      Now, more than ever, companies must take care of their customers, across every touchpoint and channel. Start by putting people (employees and customers) at the center of your business and show that your truly care.Quote:“Being able to measure customer service gives you feedback on where to develop new strategies and implement training. Then, measure again to identify gaps and celebrate success.”About:Claire Boscq-Scott is keynote speaker, consultant and trainer specializing in retail and hospitality with over three decades of mystery shopping and customer service experience. She is the author of three books, the latest of which is The Secret Diary of a Mystery Shopper. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      There must be a balance between artificial intelligence (AI) and human connection. As with any new technology, there always needs to be a human fallback.-      The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a massive shift in both business and consumer buying preferences and habits. Many companies were unprepared to make the shift to e-commerce, self-service and other digital channels.-      Think of AI instead as IA, or intelligent assistant. Have it support an employee (versus a customer) so they have faster access to the right information. This helps them work more efficiently to support the customer, which results in a better customer experience.-      The role of the salesperson is shifting to that of an expert. Consumers (in both B2B and B2C) expect to be able to turn to sales reps for information and answers.-      When a consumer knows they can rely on a sales rep or vendor for the fastest, most accurate information, it can drive customer loyalty. Customers will continue to come back because they know they can rely on that company to give them what they need.-      In B2B buying, the stakes are incredibly high. Any friction or errors within this sales process could have long-lasting repercussions, costing you not only millions of dollars but even the customer.-      Omnichannel solutions can help eliminate friction for both customers and employees. The channels must be easy to use and seamless to switch between.-      Companies need to talk to their customers on a much deeper level to understand their new wants, needs and values in reaction to a rapidly changing world. They must also find new ways to create that personalized experience.Quote:“Bringing together the analytic power of AI and the context and empathy power of a human being can deliver an incredibly personalized, really effective, fast selling process.”About:Geoff Webb is the Vice President of Products at PROS, where he works with technology, marketing and go-to-market teams. He has over 25 years of experience in the technology industry in addition to sales and marketing management. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      Good customer service and experience principles can be applied in any relationship—professional or personal. -      Successful companies known for their innovation all share common cultural values of curiosity, grounding, discovery, trust and passion. Add these five elements into your relationship with your customers.-      Secret #1: Curiosity helps you learn about and understand your customers better. This makes customers feel not just heard, but valued, and makes them more likely to collaborate with you to find new solutions.-      Secret #2: Grounding is about focus. Focus on not just your customers’ needs and expectations, but also their hopes and aspirations. This will turn your business relationship into a partnership.-      Before you can focus on the customer, you must first understand who you are, what your company is about and what your collective values are. This will help you understand your role in the customer’s journey.-      Secret #3: Discovery is about risk-taking, which can be scary, so reframe this around learning. Every risk and every mistake are opportunities to learn something new and improve. You must create a safe environment for your employees and customers so they’ll want to take risks.-      Secret #4: Trust is about authenticity, transparency and above all, truth. Companies must emphasize the truth—the whole and complete truth—in their culture and values.-      Secret #5: Passion is the energy, enthusiasm and excitement about what you do. Find out how to create that passion and identify what holds you back.-      Bring the best of who you are not only to your interactions with your customers and colleagues, but to everyone you encounter.Quote:“Curiosity, where someone is intensely interested in who we are and what we’re about, is something we don’t experience a great deal. When customers experience it, they feel valued, not just heard.”About:Chip Bell is a senior partner of the Chip Bell Group, a top customer service keynote speaker and a bestselling author of 24 books. His latest book is Inside Your Customer’s Imagination: 5 Secrets for Creating Breakthrough Products, Services, and Solutions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices