I bet you are struggling with today's abundance of data, wondering how to make sense of it. In this podcast interview, Carmen Effron and I dig deeply into how data and the marketing strategies around it are being used by financial services, insurance companies and investment firms—Carmen's areas of expertise. Businesses large and small are rethinking their approaches to reach and retain their consumers, fueled by data. Take a listen!

A truly exceptional consultant, Carmen Effron specializes in helping bridge the cultural divide between the financial services, insurance and investment industries, creating C F Effron Company after spending 20+ years in the corporate banking, insurance and investment worlds.

Carmen provides strategy and management consulting, as well as primary and customer experience research, to numerous banks and credit unions, insurers and reinsurers, nationally and internationally. A major focus of Carmen's firm is the intersection of banking, insurance and investments. Ms. Effron also works in concert with a network of associate firms to develop top executive teams for specific projects, using best-in-class measurement and scientific data collection techniques.

Ms. Effron is a certified Innovation Games® facilitator, using serious play methodology in company and board workshops to empower employees, solve everyday problems and create big ideas that turn into major market transformations. Indeed, one of C F Effron Company’s competitive advantages is the use of advanced evaluative tools that turn numbers into knowledge and create integrated and actionable strategies.

Carmen works with numerous Fortune 500 companies and is a frequent speaker at industry events.

In this episode, Carmen Effron and I discuss: 

• Where her passion comes from
• How her story helps create better customer experiences
• Why companies need to understand customers' new digital journey
• Identifying your company’s purpose and value in order to design customer service
• Knowing your business’s targeted segments and defined personas to truly understand your customers' wants and needs

Resources mentioned in this episode:  

• Blog: Are The Customers of Tomorrow Trying To Find You Today?

• Blog: Five Steps To Help Fix The Sorry State of Hospital Call Centers (Part 1)

• Blog: Five Steps To Help Fix The Sorry State of Hospital Call Centers (Part 2)

• My book: "On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights"

• Simon Associates Management Consultants website