Samantha Irwin is a public speaker, small business coach, and consultant. She brings 25 years of leadership experience, having taught middle school for over 12 years. In June 2006, Samantha pivoted from educator to entrepreneur, purchasing a 21-room historic boutique hotel. As a business owner, Samantha developed top-notch marketing skills and enhanced her people skills, which emerged into new business ventures — the Power of People Academy and Creating A Culture Deck. While the academy is an on-demand training program supporting and empowering teams to create first-rate customer experiences, the culture deck is a leadership tool designed to boost customer and staff retention.

In this episode…

Customer experience encompasses a customer's feelings and perceptions after interacting with a brand's services and products. CX begins before a purchase and continues throughout the customer's relationship with the brand. What are some steps to ensure your customers have enjoyable encounters?

Samantha Irwin, an expert in consumer relations, recognizes that the customer experience begins with the staff. One way to ensure that your customers are well-cared for is to first attend to the needs of your employees through effective training, support, and empowerment. To guarantee memorable customer experiences, implement a customer journey map, which visualizes a customer’s experience with a brand. This process begins when a customer initially engages with your brand and includes anticipating their questions and concerns and addressing their emotions. Furthermore, the customer experience continues after leaving your establishment, leading to repeat business.

On today’s episode of the Financial Clarity podcast, Hannah Smolinski welcomes Samantha Irwin, public speaker, small business coach, and consultant, to explore customer service. Samantha shares her entrepreneurial journey, explains the customer journey map and how it converts prospects to customers, and discusses the Power of People Academy, a platform educating and empowering frontline staff to deliver excellent customer service.