Getting to Aha! with Darshan Mehta

In this ‘Greatest Hits’ episode of Getting to Aha!, host Darshan Mehta is joined by Stephen Griffiths, Director of Insights & Strategy at Post Consumer Brands. You’ll learn why, when gathering data, you must strike a balance between qualitative and quantitative data, get the lowdown on why insights need to be broader than just market research, and uncover new, valuable insights for your company!

Stephen is the Director of Insights & Strategy at Post Consumer Brands where he heads up a consumer insights team. He has a deep passion for understanding how consumers behave. In his 11+ years in the field, Stephen’s career led him to work with some of the top brands, including Fruity Pebbles, General Mills, P&G and Unitedhealth Group. At Post Consumer Brands he leads his team in researching customer and market opportunities to inform business strategies for their clients.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

👉 There are three ways to uncover valuable insights for your company; fast iteration in the real world, external inspiration, and crafting a body of knowledge.

👉 Insights contribute to the growth of a business by showing how business or customer processes work.

👉 When researching data points, distinguish between noise and real insight.

👉 Two ways to differentiate noise and insights are to gather data points by observing trends from open-ended comments and similar products in the market data.

👉 When conducting market research, companies should approach with an analytical mindset and aim to segment the market to create different messages for the diverse and unique personas.

👉Insights are broader than market research. It could be anything from understanding a business opportunity and helping it grow to digging deep beyond facts and observations.

👉Although gathering as much data as possible is essential, you should sort the body of knowledge to extract only quality data and discard the noise.

👉 When gathering data, seek to strike a balance between qualitative and quantitative data

👉 You can get insight into your business by observing a market category unrelated to yours.

👉 Businesses need consumer insight to understand underlying needs.

Listen now!
bCast - https://bit.ly/3ACsRBz
Apple - https://apple.co/3gsuA31
Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3B0lVy6
Youtube - https://bit.ly/3KYAHtd
RSS -  https://bit.ly/3AFrUs6

And connect with the host and guests here:
Darshan’s Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/darshan--mehta
Darshan's Twitter - @ahainsights
iResearch Website - https://iresearch.com
Connectqik Website - https://www.connectqik.com
Stephen Griffiths on LinkedIn
Post Consumer Brands Website

Getting to Aha! with Darshan Mehta is hand crafted by our friends over at: fame.so
Previous guests include: Luca Popovac, Senior Executive, Abhilasha Sinha of Open Secret, Laura Beavin-Yates, Stephen Griffiths of Level 2, Kristin Luck or ScaleHouse, Melina Palmer of The Brainy Business, Nicolas Zeisler of We’re Doing CX Wrong and How To Get It Right, Pricilla McKinney of Little Bird Marketing, Brooke Sellas of B Squared Marketing and Joseph Michelli of The Michelli Experience.

Check out the 3 most downloaded episodes: 

• Changing the Direction of Customer Experience with Luka Popovac, a Senior Customer Experience Executive
• Innovation, Curiosity, and Being Human with Abhilasha Sinha, Chief Growth Officer at Open Secret
• [Greatest Hits ] Emotions & Consumer Behavior with Laura Beavin-Yates
  
  

If you are interested in joining Getting to Aha! as a guest, please complete this form

In this episode of Getting to Aha!, Darshan Mehta is joined by Millie Tadewaldt, the founder and CEO of Brilliant. Join them as they discuss personalized corporate gifting, the need for technology in the gifting process, and the measurement of ROI.

Millie Tadewaldt is the founder and CEO of Brilliant, a company specializing in personalized corporate gifting. Brilliant wants to revolutionize the corporate gifting experience by offering personalized and high-quality gifts to clients, leading to the establishment of a successful concierge corporate gifting and branded merchandise company. Before founding Brilliant in 2015, Millie worked in various roles across different industries, including business development, product management, and operations. She worked at AngelList, co-founded CakeStyle, and served as Managing Director at Sandbox Industries.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

👉 While serving as a managing director at Sandbox Industries, Millie had a bad experience ordering branded merchandise, which sparked the idea for Brilliant. The idea was to revolutionize the corporate gifting experience by offering personalized and high-quality gifts to clients. Millie wanted to improve the process of ordering branded merchandise by applying the principles of modern e-commerce, reducing decision fatigue, and increasing confidence in the purchase.

👉 Millie emphasizes the importance of incorporating technology into the swag-buying process and highlights the need to measure the return on investment (ROI) of gifting programs. She suggests that measuring the impact of gifting on various aspects, such as employee happiness, retention, and culture, is crucial to the success of these programs. To measure the emotional impact of gifting, Millie introduces the concept of "thank you notes," where gift recipients are asked to provide feedback on their experience. This feedback is then shared with clients through a real-time dashboard, allowing them to gauge the positive sentiment and employee comments related to gifting. Millie acknowledges that educating clients about measuring the value of gifting and establishing the right foundations for ROI measurement is a significant part of their work.

👉 Millie highlights three opportunities she saw to make Brilliant different from other swag companies. The first was reducing decision fatigue by presenting clients with a curated selection of options that meet their criteria. The second was focusing on great design and presenting products in a visually appealing way. The third opportunity was leveraging technology to make the ordering process more modern and convenient.

Listen Now!

bCast - https://bit.ly/3ACsRBz
Apple - https://apple.co/3gsuA31
Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3B0lVy6
YouTube - https://bit.ly/3KYAHtd
RSS -  https://bit.ly/3AFrUs6

And connect with the host and guests here:

Darshan Mehta on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/darshan--mehta
Darshan's Twitter - @ahainsights
iResearch website - https://iresearch.com
Millie Tadewaldt on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/millietadewaldt
Brilliant website - https://www.brilliantmade.com

Getting to Aha! with Darshan Mehta is hand crafted by our friends over at: fame.so
Previous guests include: Luca Popovac, Senior Executive, Abhilasha Sinha of Open Secret, Laura Beavin-Yates, Stephen Griffiths of Level 2, Kristin Luck or ScaleHouse, Melina Palmer of The Brainy Business, Nicolas Zeisler of We’re Doing CX Wrong and How To Get It Right, Pricilla McKinney of Little Bird Marketing, Brooke Sellas of B Squared Marketing and Joseph Michelli of The Michelli Experience.

Check out the 3 most downloaded episodes: 

• Changing the Direction of Customer Experience with Luka Popovac, a Senior Customer Experience Executive
• Innovation, Curiosity, and Being Human with Abhilasha Sinha, Chief Growth Officer at Open Secret
• [Greatest Hits ] Emotions & Consumer Behavior with Laura Beavin-Yates
  
  

If you are interested in joining Getting to Aha! as a guest, please complete this form

In this ‘Greatest Hits’ episode of Getting to Aha!, host Darshan Mehta is joined by Andrew Custage, Senior Director and Head of Insights at Medallia Market Research. Join them as they discuss striking a balance between qualitative and quantitative data, customizing survey questions, and differentiating between active customers and inactive customers.

Andrew Custage is a marketing expert focused on delivering groundbreaking research and insight to the food service industry. He is also a management consultant, analysis commentator, webinar host, and publisher of industry trends and marketing strategies for improving business growth. Andrew currently serves as the lead for the insights and analytics function at Medallia, a software development company that specializes in customer experience management, technology, and business intelligence.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

👉 Use data to help clients understand the impact of your program

👉 There are programs in the market that aren’t backed up by proper analysis

👉 Learn how to strike a balance between qualitative and quantitative data

👉 Insights for business strategies are generated through aggregate-based data on lots of people

👉 Derive business ideas from discovering what triggers customer behavior by using behavioral insights and customizing survey questions

👉 Getting data and insights to formulate business strategies can be challenging if panelists are reluctant

👉 The difference between virtual kitchens and traditional kitchens is customer preference, which influences the customer experience

👉  Dynamic pricing influences the behavioral patterns of customers; customers' experiences are improved when business strategies that provide products that are affordable to them

Listen Now!

bCast - https://bit.ly/3ACsRBz
Apple - https://apple.co/3gsuA31
Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3B0lVy6
Youtube - https://bit.ly/3KYAHtd
RSS -  https://bit.ly/3AFrUs6

And connect with the host and guests here:

Darshan’s Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/darshan--mehta
Darshan's Twitter - @ahainsights
iResearch Website - https://iresearch.com
Connectqik Website - https://www.connectqik.com
Andrew Custage on LinkedIn
Medallia Website 

Getting to Aha! with Darshan Mehta is hand crafted by our friends over at: fame.so
Previous guests include: Luca Popovac, Senior Executive, Abhilasha Sinha of Open Secret, Laura Beavin-Yates, Stephen Griffiths of Level 2, Kristin Luck or ScaleHouse, Melina Palmer of The Brainy Business, Nicolas Zeisler of We’re Doing CX Wrong and How To Get It Right, Pricilla McKinney of Little Bird Marketing, Brooke Sellas of B Squared Marketing and Joseph Michelli of The Michelli Experience.

Check out the 3 most downloaded episodes: 

• Changing the Direction of Customer Experience with Luka Popovac, a Senior Customer Experience Executive
• Innovation, Curiosity, and Being Human with Abhilasha Sinha, Chief Growth Officer at Open Secret
• [Greatest Hits ] Emotions & Consumer Behavior with Laura Beavin-Yates
  
  

If you are interested in joining Getting to Aha! as a guest, please complete this form

In this episode of @Getting to Aha!, @Darshan Mehta is joined by @Lisa Curtis, founder and CEO of Kuli Kuli Foods. Join them as they discuss Lisa's journey in promoting nutritious and sustainable food products, the challenges of sourcing high-quality ingredients, and her commitment to paying it forward.

Lisa is the founder and CEO of Kuli Kuli Foods, a company that specializes in superfood powders and snacks made from the sustainable superfood ingredient called Moringa. The company's products include nutrition bars, green powder, smoothie mixes, and wellness shots. She has been listed in Forbes 30 Under 30 and Inc Magazine’s Top 100 Female Founders, and been featured in Wall Street Journal, New York Times and other media outlets. Lisa is the author of the forthcoming book Happiness is the New Success.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

👉 Lisa discusses the challenges of maintaining the quality of Moringa sourced from different countries, explaining that the quality varies more by farming operation rather than geography. Kuli Kuli Foods has focused on sourcing directly from small farmers and working with partners to ensure high-quality Moringa. Another challenge is processing it in a way that kills pathogens, but preserves the nutrients.

👉 Although educating consumers about Moringa once posed a significant challenge, Lisa and her team have resolved this problem by shifting their focus. They did this by emphasizing how Moringa is a superfood and a “benefit”, rather than just an ingredient. Lisa says that with each of their products they try to make it clear why people should consume them, illustrating what the specific health benefits are. The company's mission is to act as a gateway to health transformation through community-grown superfoods.

👉 Lisa believes that ethical happiness is the new success. She notices that millennials and other young people are desperate for purpose in life, they want jobs to fulfill them in so many ways. This is why traditional markers of success have changed in this economy. Lisa notes how it’s more difficult to buy a house than it used to be, and more young people are waiting to get married. She recommends that, if you can't find a job that you enjoy, go create your own. Lisa believes that the keys to happiness these days include community and finding a higher purpose.

Listen Now!

bCast - https://bit.ly/3ACsRBz
Apple - https://apple.co/3gsuA31
Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3B0lVy6
YouTube - https://bit.ly/3KYAHtd
RSS -  https://bit.ly/3AFrUs6

And connect with the host and guests here:

Darshan Mehta on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/darshan--mehta
Darshan's Twitter - @ahainsights
iResearch website - https://iresearch.com
Lisa Curtis on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamariecurtis
Kuli Kuli Foods website - https://www.kulikulifoods.com

Getting to Aha! with Darshan Mehta is hand crafted by our friends over at: fame.so
Previous guests include: Luca Popovac, Senior Executive, Abhilasha Sinha of Open Secret, Laura Beavin-Yates, Stephen Griffiths of Level 2, Kristin Luck or ScaleHouse, Melina Palmer of The Brainy Business, Nicolas Zeisler of We’re Doing CX Wrong and How To Get It Right, Pricilla McKinney of Little Bird Marketing, Brooke Sellas of B Squared Marketing and Joseph Michelli of The Michelli Experience.

Check out the 3 most downloaded episodes: 

• Changing the Direction of Customer Experience with Luka Popovac, a Senior Customer Experience Executive
• Innovation, Curiosity, and Being Human with Abhilasha Sinha, Chief Growth Officer at Open Secret
• [Greatest Hits ] Emotions & Consumer Behavior with Laura Beavin-Yates
  
  

If you are interested in joining Getting to Aha! as a guest, please complete this form

In this ‘Greatest Hits’ episode of Getting to Aha!, host Darshan Mehta is joined by Sanjai George, CEO of Double Horse. Join them as they discuss effective communication and simplicity in retail, the value of adapting to the changing retail landscape, and why customer feedback is so important. Sanjai also discusses the changes and trends that have emerged post-COVID, and the challenges of inadequate primary processes, storage and distribution facilities.

As the CEO of Double Horse, a family-run business turned professional organization that provides good, high quality food for all their customers, Sanjai George has proven himself as a strategic thinker and proactive leader who nurtures and builds talent into a cohesive team, driven by a focused customer oriented approach to achieve the targeted goals of the organization. Prior to this he was the CEO of retail brand Fathima Group of Companies, and was also the CEO of Nesto Group.

With so much experience as a CEO, he’s the best person to talk to for this episode of Getting to Aha!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

👉 If you’re really determined and good at what you do, if you really believe in your work, then there is no way you won’t get an ‘Aha!’ moment. Sanjai says that he’s had plenty of Aha! moments, but his favorite, and the one he’s most proud of, was planning a promotion in conjunction with Black Friday. It was also the first time he said ‘no’ to customers entering his shop, which showed him he didn’t have to take on everything all the time.

👉 Retail is very simple, we just have a tendency to overcomplicate it – at least, that’s what Sanjai believes. He would put attractive offers in his shop and sell to people whilst also providing good customer service, communicating clearly with customers about what they wanted. You have to keep things simple in order to attract customers.

👉 In order to achieve simplicity in your business, you have to articulate your thoughts very clearly. By this, Sanjai means that he clearly communicates with his team about his thoughts and goals, because you won’t always be talking to a team of intellectuals, you’re more likely to be talking to a team with various backgrounds and levels of education. You have to speak in a language that they will understand.

👉 Ever since Covid, ecommerce and online strategies have become even more of a priority. Whilst online and ecommerce has been consistently prominent over the last few years, it seems to have spiked in popularity, with both businesses and customers often heading online in the first instance. In fact, some businesses are even focusing their marketing efforts more on the online side of things.

👉 Sanjai says that people and businesses are now far more focused on making sure inefficiencies and errors are ironed out and taken care of. People want to innovate and give something new to the customer to ensure they’ll stick around, especially in a post-Covid world. How are you innovating and making your customers feel happier in your business?

Subscribe Here!

bCast - https://bit.ly/3ACsRBz
Apple - https://apple.co/3gsuA31
Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3B0lVy6
Youtube - https://bit.ly/3KYAHtd
RSS -  https://bit.ly/3AFrUs6

And connect with the host and guests here:

Darshan’s Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/darshan--mehta
Darshan's Twitter - @ahainsights
IResearch Website - https://iresearch.com
Connectqik Website - https://www.connectqik.com
Sanjai George on LinkedIn 
Sanjai George on Twitter
Sanjai George on company website 
Youtube

Getting to Aha! with Darshan Mehta is hand crafted by our friends over at: fame.so
Previous guests include: Luca Popovac, Senior Executive, Abhilasha Sinha of Open Secret, Laura Beavin-Yates, Stephen Griffiths of Level 2, Kristin Luck or ScaleHouse, Melina Palmer of The Brainy Business, Nicolas Zeisler of We’re Doing CX Wrong and How To Get It Right, Pricilla McKinney of Little Bird Marketing, Brooke Sellas of B Squared Marketing and Joseph Michelli of The Michelli Experience.

Check out the 3 most downloaded episodes: 

• Changing the Direction of Customer Experience with Luka Popovac, a Senior Customer Experience Executive
• Innovation, Curiosity, and Being Human with Abhilasha Sinha, Chief Growth Officer at Open Secret
• [Greatest Hits ] Emotions & Consumer Behavior with Laura Beavin-Yates
  
  

If you are interested in joining Getting to Aha! as a guest, please complete this form

In this episode of @Getting to Aha!, Darshan Mehta is joined by Greg Segal, a writer/director and producer. Join them as they discuss Greg's journey from lawyer to filmmaker, the value of contemplating life choices, and his involvement in producing vertical movies for platforms like TikTok.

Greg Segal is a writer/director and producer based in New York and Asia. He has also worked as an independent producer and legal counsel to production companies' writers, directors, and actors. Greg wrote and directed feature films including The Expat, Chasing Lights, Should've Been Romeo, and Sinners & Saints. He is also a practicing attorney and focuses his practice in corporate law; he is the founder of the Law Office of Gregory Segal.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

👉 Greg's decision to switch careers and pursue his passion for filmmaking earlier than planned serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of prioritizing one's passions. His realization (triggered by 9/11), compelled him to reevaluate his goals and embrace a fulfilling career path. This highlights the need to listen to and act upon our own desires, rather than delaying them indefinitely. By prioritizing his passion for filmmaking, Greg was able to find greater fulfillment and purpose in his career.

👉 Greg's habit of going for walks to reflect and ponder on his life choices emphasizes the value of taking time to contemplate and find clarity. In today's fast-paced world, the ability to pause, introspect, and make informed decisions is crucial. This practice enables individuals to align their choices with their long-term goals and aspirations. Greg's dedication to self-reflection highlights the importance of mindfulness and self-awareness in career transitions. By taking the time to reflect on his career path, Greg was able to make strategic decisions that aligned with his passions and values.

👉 Greg's experience in creating vertical movies for platforms such as TikTok highlights the importance of adapting storytelling techniques to suit different platforms and formats. In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, businesses must understand their customers' preferences and deliver content that captures their attention. This necessitates a deep understanding of customer insights and the ability to tailor content to meet their needs and expectations.

Listen Now!

bCast - https://bit.ly/3ACsRBz
Apple - https://apple.co/3gsuA31
Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3B0lVy6
YouTube - https://bit.ly/3KYAHtd
RSS -  https://bit.ly/3AFrUs6

And connect with the host and guests here:

Darshan Mehta on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/darshan--mehta
Darshan's Twitter - @ahainsights
iResearch Website - https://iresearch.com
Greg Segal on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregory-segal-449221a
Greg Segal on IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1639176/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm 

Getting to Aha! with Darshan Mehta is hand crafted by our friends over at: fame.so
Previous guests include: Luca Popovac, Senior Executive, Abhilasha Sinha of Open Secret, Laura Beavin-Yates, Stephen Griffiths of Level 2, Kristin Luck or ScaleHouse, Melina Palmer of The Brainy Business, Nicolas Zeisler of We’re Doing CX Wrong and How To Get It Right, Pricilla McKinney of Little Bird Marketing, Brooke Sellas of B Squared Marketing and Joseph Michelli of The Michelli Experience.

Check out the 3 most downloaded episodes: 

• Changing the Direction of Customer Experience with Luka Popovac, a Senior Customer Experience Executive
• Innovation, Curiosity, and Being Human with Abhilasha Sinha, Chief Growth Officer at Open Secret
• [Greatest Hits ] Emotions & Consumer Behavior with Laura Beavin-Yates
  
  

If you are interested in joining Getting to Aha! as a guest, please complete this form

In this ‘Greatest Hits’ episode of Getting to Aha!, host Darshan Mehta is joined by Steve Sidelnyk, highly accomplished session drummer and music programmer, and Jim Turner, an experienced entertainment industry professional. Join them as they discuss the importance of standing out in a competitive industry, the importance of curiosity and learning new things, and the significance of understanding human nature in the creative process.

Steve Sidelnyk is a highly accomplished session drummer and music programmer who has worked with a multitude of A-list artists over his storied career. From answering an advert for ‘drummer needed’ for Paul Weller in 1983 to opening the Grammys twice with Madonna and featuring on numerous Hollywood soundtracks, Steve is one of the world's most in-demand live and studio musicians.

Jim Turner is a long time entertainment industry professional whose 40+ year career straddles Music, Film, and TV. Having previously worked as a session musician with Steve on British multi-million selling artists: Black, Bros, and Lisa Stansfield, Jim established himself as one of the top commercial music producers for brands such as Pepsi, Esso, Ellesse, Coca-Cola, and Nike before moving to Los Angeles to work on film and music projects. He has worked with Guillermo Del Toro on Hellboy II as well as the Tekken franchise, and has further developed projects for both Netflix and HBO.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

👉 Steve has always loved music, having followed his brother’s band around as a child. When he learnt the drums, his priority wasn’t to earn money from the hobby but to play in something that he thought was cool. He was all about music; he didn’t consider what might happen later or make a plan B, he just wanted the music to be a part of his life. Jim was similar, as a child he decided that music was what resonated with him. After watching The Crusaders, he quit his job, bought a saxophone, and just started. His Aha! moment came when on tour as a support act and he realized he was the only one who could see real talent, and so he started doing session work instead of being in a band, beginning his work with Steve.

👉 Steve’s pivotal turning point in his career came when his band played Live Aid and were the second band on after Status Quo in 1985. It was the first time he’d ever been on TV, and a week later he was recognised at an airport as the drummer in the band. Having never been recognised before, he realized that he had made something out of his hobby. Jim, on the other hand, doesn’t believe he had one pivotal moment, but attributes his success to deciding to focus on session playing at a higher level, rather than just local work. He realized that if you’re working for somebody and you’re not the primary talent, you’re always expendable.

👉 Everybody is prone to a bit of imposter syndrome in their career, especially if they are achieving some level of success. Jim shares that his experience being the only person in his band to recognise talent gave him the confidence that he was on the right path with his career. It took him ages to say that he was a professional musician; it wasn’t until he was paying off his mortgage and had platinum records on the wall. When he turned to composing music for commercials, he lost his confidence again; he wasn’t comfortable claiming to be a composer since he was no Mozart in his own eyes. He was always just waiting for someone to claim him to be a fraud.

Subscribe Here!
bCast - https://bit.ly/3ACsRBz
Apple - https://apple.co/3gsuA31
Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3B0lVy6
Google - https://bit.ly/47Y0Lkp
Youtube - https://bit.ly/3KYAHtd
RSS -  https://bit.ly/3AFrUs6

And connect with the host and guests here:
Darshan’s Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/darshan--mehta
Darshan's Twitter - @ahainsights
iResearch Website - https://iresearch.com
ConnectQik Website - https://www.connectqik.com
Steve’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-sidelnyk-41473480
Jim’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimturnerceo 

Getting to Aha! with Darshan Mehta is hand crafted by our friends over at: fame.so
Previous guests include: Luca Popovac, Senior Executive, Abhilasha Sinha of Open Secret, Laura Beavin-Yates, Stephen Griffiths of Level 2, Kristin Luck or ScaleHouse, Melina Palmer of The Brainy Business, Nicolas Zeisler of We’re Doing CX Wrong and How To Get It Right, Pricilla McKinney of Little Bird Marketing, Brooke Sellas of B Squared Marketing and Joseph Michelli of The Michelli Experience.

Check out the 3 most downloaded episodes: 

• Changing the Direction of Customer Experience with Luka Popovac, a Senior Customer Experience Executive
• Innovation, Curiosity, and Being Human with Abhilasha Sinha, Chief Growth Officer at Open Secret
• [Greatest Hits ] Emotions & Consumer Behavior with Laura Beavin-Yates
  
  

If you are interested in joining Getting to Aha! as a guest, please complete this form

In this episode of Getting to Aha!, Darshan Mehta is joined by Alan Versteeg, Global Chief Revenue Officer at Growth Matters. Join them as they discuss conveying customer value, the use of generative AI, and the role of empathy in sales. Alan also touches on the future of sales, and the role of sales managers.

Alan Versteeg is an engineer turned sales management expert with over two decades of experience in the sales industry. He is the Global Chief Revenue Officer at Growth Matters, who aim to drive sustainable growth in businesses by embedding practical sales execution disciplines. Previously, Alan was the founder of HiredResults (2011 - Aug 2013), and served as the Master Affiliate | South AfricaMaster Affiliate at Frontline Learning (2011 - 2012).

KEY TAKEAWAYS

👉 Alan emphasizes the importance of customer insights in driving business success and shares his frustration with the lack of focus on sales managers in training and development programs. He believes that without investing in sales managers, no amount of training or enablement can have a sustainable impact on sales performance. When asked about the top three characteristics of an effective sales manager, Alan highlights the importance of understanding the broader role of driving customer value, having a passion for unlocking potential in others, and the ability to remain steadfast in the chaos of the sales environment.

👉 Discussing the topic of customer value and how to convey it to salespeople, Alan explains that value is about relevance and closing the gap between customer expectations and experiences. He suggests that salespeople need to be continuously focused on understanding what value means to their customers and engineering systems to close that gap. Darshan and Alan discuss the Socratic method of selling, which involves asking questions to guide customers to insights and deeper understanding, and agree that this approach is effective in establishing a connection and solving customer problems.

👉 Alan believes that empathy is the most important human trait for a salesperson as it enables them to step into the customer's shoes and understand their needs and challenges. Empathy fosters curiosity and customer-centricity, which are essential for building strong relationships and driving sales success. He emphasizes that if people want to connect with you, they show interest in you, and empathy is about understanding what others are going through. Alan adds that objection handling is a lack of empathy, as empathy can prevent objections from arising in the first place. They discuss the concept of “noble intent” and how it can be trained to improve empathy. By focusing on the right mindset and meaning, salespeople can build empathy by asking good questions that lead customers to insights and show that they care about their world.

Listen Now!

bCast - https://bit.ly/3ACsRBz
Apple - https://apple.co/3gsuA31
Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3B0lVy6
YouTube - https://bit.ly/3KYAHtd
RSS -  https://bit.ly/3AFrUs6

And connect with the host and guests here:

Darshan Mehta on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/darshan--mehta
Darshan's Twitter - @ahainsights
iResearch Website - https://iresearch.com
Alan Versteeg on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanversteeg
Growth Matters website: https://www.growthmattersintl.com

Getting to Aha! with Darshan Mehta is hand crafted by our friends over at: fame.so
Previous guests include: Luca Popovac, Senior Executive, Abhilasha Sinha of Open Secret, Laura Beavin-Yates, Stephen Griffiths of Level 2, Kristin Luck or ScaleHouse, Melina Palmer of The Brainy Business, Nicolas Zeisler of We’re Doing CX Wrong and How To Get It Right, Pricilla McKinney of Little Bird Marketing, Brooke Sellas of B Squared Marketing and Joseph Michelli of The Michelli Experience.

Check out the 3 most downloaded episodes: 

• Changing the Direction of Customer Experience with Luka Popovac, a Senior Customer Experience Executive
• Innovation, Curiosity, and Being Human with Abhilasha Sinha, Chief Growth Officer at Open Secret
• [Greatest Hits ] Emotions & Consumer Behavior with Laura Beavin-Yates
  
  

If you are interested in joining Getting to Aha! as a guest, please complete this form

In this ‘Greatest Hits’ episode of Getting to Aha!, host Darshan Mehta is joined by Brandon Rhoten, Chief Marketing Officer at GroundTruth. Join them as they discuss the impact of social media in humanizing brands, why digital marketing channels should be seen as tools to solve specific brand problems, and leveraging customer insights beyond surface-level metrics. Brandon also discusses specific hiring tactics and details his career journey as a digital marketer.

Best known for building Wendy’s digital/social marketing, Brandon Rhoten has a successful track record of delivering sustained growth through enterprise-wide transformation initiatives. He is currently Chief Marketing Officer at GroundTruth, a media company turning real-world behavior into marketing that delivers real results, and Growth Advisor at SOCi, Perion, liifer, and Papa Johns.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

👉 One of Darshan’s first aha! moments came with the introduction of Twitter in 2006. Seeing brands “sound like people” changed how his team worked at Wendy’s to build their digital/social presence: they wanted to sound like a personality. Suddenly, almost every brand transitioned from sterile and corporate with one-way communication with customers to having deeper personalities and customer interactions. Brandon’s mindset completely shifted. At the time, Wendy’s was working towards attracting customers under forty and Twitter provided a pathway to achieve that.

👉 Brandon often sees brands assuming that all you have to do for successful digital marketing is have a social media presence. While this will work in select instances, he clarifies that it’s all about what problem you’re trying to solve. Before diving into a social media or digital strategy, you need to establish what you’re trying to accomplish. For example, if you’re a new brand starting out, you need to figure out who you’re selling to and what message will resonate with them. THEN, you can go onto what communication channel will work best for getting that message out there.

👉 According to Brandon, customer insights are essential in digital marketing, particularly when you’re learning what works and what doesn’t for your marketing plan. While you could learn a certain amount of this from analytics, they are limited in what they can tell you. Brandon explains that you can use analytics to aid in understanding what’s working but that you need to look into the processes you’re putting in front of customers and how they are using them so you can adjust and readjust accordingly. To illustrate, Brandon shares the example of AirBnB. They were so focused on getting good click rates that they initially didn’t notice that these clicks weren’t generating sales and they were just wasting money with their efforts to improve them.

Listen Now!
bCast - https://bit.ly/3ACsRBz
Apple - https://apple.co/3gsuA31
Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3B0lVy6
Youtube - https://bit.ly/3KYAHtd
RSS -  https://bit.ly/3AFrUs6

And connect with the host and guests here:
Darshan Mehta on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/darshan--mehta
Darshan's Twitter - @ahainsights
IResearch Website - https://iresearch.com
Brandon Rhoten: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonrhoten
GroundTruth: https://www.linkedin.com/company/groundtruthco 

Getting to Aha! with Darshan Mehta is hand crafted by our friends over at: fame.so
Previous guests include: Luca Popovac, Senior Executive, Abhilasha Sinha of Open Secret, Laura Beavin-Yates, Stephen Griffiths of Level 2, Kristin Luck or ScaleHouse, Melina Palmer of The Brainy Business, Nicolas Zeisler of We’re Doing CX Wrong and How To Get It Right, Pricilla McKinney of Little Bird Marketing, Brooke Sellas of B Squared Marketing and Joseph Michelli of The Michelli Experience.

Check out the 3 most downloaded episodes: 

• Changing the Direction of Customer Experience with Luka Popovac, a Senior Customer Experience Executive
• Innovation, Curiosity, and Being Human with Abhilasha Sinha, Chief Growth Officer at Open Secret
• [Greatest Hits ] Emotions & Consumer Behavior with Laura Beavin-Yates
  
  

If you are interested in joining Getting to Aha! as a guest, please complete this form

In this episode of Getting to Aha!, Darshan Mehta is joined by Steve Bigari, the EVP, AI for Restaurants at Soundhound. Join them as they discuss how technology, particularly AI, can enhance the restaurant experience, the mindset needed to be a disruptor in the industry, and the importance of removing friction from the customer's life. Steve also shares insight and experience from his forty years in the restaurant industry.

Steve Bigari has over forty years in the restaurant industry and has founded several businesses, including Mr. Biggs in 2005 and Synq3 Restaurant Solutions; he was the CEO of SYNQ3, a provider of restaurant solutions with a focus on technology and customer experience, for over sixteen years. Steve is currently the EVP, AI for Restaurants at SoundHound, and co-hosts Techuisine, a restaurant technology podcast exploring the latest trends and innovations in restaurant technology.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

👉 Looking forward, Steve anticipates three trends that will reshape the future of the restaurant industry: staffing, training and costs. He suggests there are serious staffing shortages that are affecting the industry and mean that some establishments are unable to open; Steve adds that there are laws being passed that may exacerbate this problem. Secondly, while AI can never fully replace a human, Steve says that there are certain processes that can be supplemented by AI. Lastly, Steve recommends adapting to different languages and cultures for those organizations that want to expand globally. He says that “everything is moving so quickly right now. I've never seen anything like it in all my years.”

👉 Steve offers seven questions to clients when somebody tries to sell them something. The first is “can you give me a demo right now?”. The second is “can we do that in a live environment in an actual restaurant that’s working today”. Number three is “are humans used anywhere in the process”, since people like to use humans to nudge along things like AI, which isn't ready yet. The fourth is “how long until the promise is realized what you're selling me today?”. The next is “what's the process by which you roll it out in restaurants?” —in short, how can it be scaled? The sixth refers to whether there’s a patent or not, and the seventh regards whether they use their own tech stack, since “if you're buying from somebody that doesn't own what they're selling, that could come back to haunt you”.

👉 Ultimately, Steve is enthusiastic about the rapid developments in the restaurant industry. Despite being a self-professed “old restaurant guy”, he loves meeting clients that are cutting-edge thinkers. He is particularly excited by advancements in drive-through technology, suggesting that it could “appear in every aspect of your life in retail, hotels, hospitality, travel”.

Listen Now!

bCast - https://bit.ly/3ACsRBz
Apple - https://apple.co/3gsuA31
Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3B0lVy6
YouTube - https://bit.ly/3KYAHtd
RSS -  https://bit.ly/3AFrUs6

And connect with the host and guests here:

Darshan Mehta on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/darshan--mehta
Darshan's Twitter - @ahainsights
iResearch Website - https://iresearch.com
Steve Bigari on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-bigari-b827ab5
Soundhound website: https://www.soundhound.com

Getting to Aha! with Darshan Mehta is hand crafted by our friends over at: fame.so
Previous guests include: Luca Popovac, Senior Executive, Abhilasha Sinha of Open Secret, Laura Beavin-Yates, Stephen Griffiths of Level 2, Kristin Luck or ScaleHouse, Melina Palmer of The Brainy Business, Nicolas Zeisler of We’re Doing CX Wrong and How To Get It Right, Pricilla McKinney of Little Bird Marketing, Brooke Sellas of B Squared Marketing and Joseph Michelli of The Michelli Experience.

Check out the 3 most downloaded episodes: 

• Changing the Direction of Customer Experience with Luka Popovac, a Senior Customer Experience Executive
• Innovation, Curiosity, and Being Human with Abhilasha Sinha, Chief Growth Officer at Open Secret
• [Greatest Hits ] Emotions & Consumer Behavior with Laura Beavin-Yates
  
  

If you are interested in joining Getting to Aha! as a guest, please complete this form