It's a Customer's World with Andy Murray

Learn more about Kevin Kelley and connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter..

Read more about Shook Kelley’s design process

Learn more about Andy Murray.

Learn more about the “It’s a Customer’s World” podcast.

Learn more about the University of Arkansas and its Customer Centered Leadership Initiative.

Learn more about the University of Arkansas’ business school, Walton College.

Learn more about Kevin Kelley and connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Read more about Shook Kelley’s design process

Learn more about Andy Murray.

Learn more about the “It’s a Customer’s World” podcast.

Learn more about the University of Arkansas and its Customer Centered Leadership Initiative.

Learn more about the University of Arkansas’ business school, Walton College.

As the conversation begins, Molly Rapert explains how and why she uses Paco’s book in her classroom. She details just how many students his book has reached just with her class alone. Paco thanks her and explains the reach of the book worldwide and how he feels about that reach. Molly then introduces the topics the students will be asking questions about. Students begin asking questions and Paco answers them. 

Key Takeaways:

0:00- Introduction

0:50- Andy intros and welcomes Molly Rapert and Paco Underhill to the podcast

2:09- Molly Rapert explains her ties to Paco Underhill’s book and how it has impacted her and her students

3:16- Paco Underhill explains the reach of his book and explains how surreal it is.

4:38- Molly Rapert explains the categories the students will be asking questions about: Why We Buy, Paco Underhill’s life and career, and retailing in 2021. 

5:00- Student Reed Fraser asks about the decompression zone in the ecommerce industry

11:48- Student Weibin Lin asks what inspired his interest in environmental psychology

16:02- Student Katelyn Collison asks what is the most important piece of advice he has received 

19:58- Student Evan Gonzalez asks what stage of his career does he consider to be the most transformative 

25:16-Conversation about International studies 

26:11- All students come on screen and close out talk with Paco

27:13-Outro of podcast 

Links:

Learn more about Paco Underhill and connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Purchase Paco’s Book Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping

Learn more about Professor Molly Rapert. 

Learn more about Andy Murray.

Learn more about the “It’s a Customer’s World” podcast.

Learn more about the University of Arkansas and its Customer Centered Leadership Initiative.

Learn more about the University of Arkansas’ business school, Walton College.

0:00-Introduction to series

0:50-Introduction to episode

3:54-Question #1: What would be your best advice for me to keep top-of-mind & take into my future career that will allow me to be the most valuable hire to a company I can be?

9:06-Question #2: How would you suggest business find the balance between being transparent enough to gain people's trust and respect but also holding back enough to keep things mysterious?

13:25-Question #3: Is there anything in particular that you think people in their twenties place as a low priority that you believe should be the opposite?

18:19-Question #4: What company would you go to learn the language of business? Would it still be P&G? Why or why not.

24:30-Question #5: How would you describe your leadership style and as a leader how have you tried to bring more hope and optimism?

29:10-Question #6: What is something you know now that you would go back in time and tell your younger self?

32:36-Question #7: What are your personal routines or boundaries you use to capitalize on technology while protecting yourself from letting it dominate your life?

Like, share, and subscribe so you don’t miss the launching of Season 2! 

Learn more about the Sam M Walton College of Business.

Find out more about Molly Rapert, the student’s highly suggested professor. 

Learn more about Kevin Roberts.

Learn more about the It’s a Customer’s World podcast.

Andy asks the students to share how their thinking had been unexpectedly changed over the course of this season. They share about the “compass” for direction, how COVID helped to focus on the essentials, the psychology behind marketing, and the focus on employee experience. The students share that they were surprised at how difficult it proves to be to incorporate the customer centricity model and the challenges for businesses to actually measure their success with it.

Hear about how many leaders use storytelling as an effective means to communicate ideas and thoughts. Listen to the stories that caught the student’s attention—from the Ritz Carlton Hotel experience, to Paco’s “boots on the ground” with Furniture Gallery in Houston.

Andy wraps up this final episode by asking for insights as a student, or “customer”, of a university. The students cannot say enough about Professor Molly Rapert’s course. Jacob shares about the advising office, scheduling appointments, and the issue of eliminating friction. Learn about marrying technology and the in-person interaction. Matt touches on the wisdom from Jeff (previous episode) about mentors and how he wishes he had created his “personal board of directors” much sooner! Final comments and insights reveal the wisdom discussed in prior episodes about the importance of customers “coming back” and the “dissatisfiers” that limit frequency of customer visits. 

Like, share, and subscribe so you don’t miss the launching of Season 2! 

0:42 Introduction of this final episode 

1:30 Andy introduces the student panel

4:44 Students share their ideas and standouts from listening to this series

9:35 Surprises that changed their ways of thinking unexpectedly

17:20 Storytelling to communicate ideas or thoughts

21:30 Insights as a student, or “customer”, of a university

28:18 Final comments, insights, and questions

Like, share, and subscribe so you don’t miss the launching of Season 2! 

Connect with Andy, Taryn, Jacob, Matt, and Shelby on LinkedIn.

Learn more about the Sam M Walton College of Business.

Find out more about Molly Rapert, the student’s highly suggested professor.

Learn more about the It’s a Customer’s World podcast.

Check out all the previous episodes of this podcast here or wherever you get your podcasts! 

As the conversation begins, Sarah encourages those on the cusp of their careers with input from her own journey, encouraging pursuit of passions along with knowledge that no experience will be wasted. Sarah further shares about her development of empathy, Nextdoor’s focus on both data science and observation, and the way in which her company approaches new endeavors. Nextdoor is driven by a growth mindset, but its pursuit of growth is tempered by its commitment to customer-centrism.  Sarah shares how she, as CEO, hones this commitment, and also explains other aspects of her work, such as the importance of community-orientation and the Nextdoor kindness reminder.  As she fields faculty and student questions and offers concluding thoughts, Sarah considers topics ranging from business mistakes, to current trends, to her hope in technology and the next generation of workers.  

Key Takeaways:

0:40 - This episode features Sarah Friar, CEO of Nextdoor.

1:31 - Andy greets Sarah and asks her to advise people looking to start their careers.

7:19 - The conversation turns to a story about Sarah’s time in Ghana.

12:37 - Sarah believes businesses need a melding of data science and customer observation.

15:23 - The two talk about eliminating dissatisfiers versus focusing on new value propositions.

19:41 - How does Nextdoor situate ideation within its company structure?

24:48 - Andy asks about managing tensions and keeping focus on the customer.

25:21 - Sarah explains the Nextdoor kindness reminder. 

27:55 - She then talks about what “customer-centric” indicates and what a neighborhood is.

31:05 - Professor Molly Rapert asks about mistakes and trends.

36:22 - A student question raises issues of customer experience and organizational purpose.

41:14 - What gives Sarah hope, and will the strategic objective pipeline stay focused?

45:44 - Sarah shares a needed leadership trait before Andy offers a final recap and takeaway.

Links:

Learn more about Sarah Friar and connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Read Sam Walton’s Sam Walton: Made in America

Learn more about Andy Murray.

Learn more about the “It’s a Customer’s World” podcast.

Learn more about the University of Arkansas and its Customer Centered Leadership Initiative.

Learn more about the University of Arkansas’ business school, Walton College.

Steve’s book is noteworthy for its historical contextualization of retail, as well as for its eight practical principles. After asking Steve about the writing process itself, Andy wants to explore both sides of the book. Together, Steve and Andy discuss the need for retail businesses to be remarkable, the “muddled middle,” and the massive disruptions that have arisen within the retail space in recent years. Businesses have had to navigate unchanging variables, manage pressure on expense budgets, determine how to balance physical and digital spaces, and much more. All the while, the most successful companies have been those keeping the customer central, cultivating empathy, fostering personalization, and improving processes. As the conversation concludes, Steve pitches the retail profession, answers student questions, and shares what gives him hope.

Key Takeaways:

0:42 - This episode features Steve Dennis, author of “Remarkable Retail”

2:01 - Steve’s decision to write and his book

8:41 - The “muddled middle”

12:40 - Certain variables are constant in the industry

18:08 - Driving sales and managing expenses

22:13 - Authorization of markdowns and the downside of averages

27:17 - The topic of customer-centrism

39:49 - The principle of being personal and methods for learning from customers

46:52 - Making a pitch work in the retail space

51:34 - Harmonized retail

55:14 - Characteristics of success

58:14 - Retailer ratings in 2021

1:00:16 - Steve’s hope for the future and Andy’s episode takeaway

Links:

Learn more about Steve Dennis, and connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Access Steve’s book, writing for Forbes, and podcast (especially the episode with Seth Godin!).

Learn more about Andy Murray.

Learn more about the “It’s a Customer’s World” podcast.

Learn more about the University of Arkansas and its Customer Centered Leadership Initiative.

Learn more about the University of Arkansas’ business school, 

Walton College

.

The conversation begins with Brenda explaining the types of people she looks for in C-Suite positions, saying that they must be customer obsessed. These are people who have been battle tested, but not necessarily those who have come to C level roles traditionally. Andy and Brenda discuss the importance of an anthropological mindset, empathy, and boldness in candidates interested in the highest levels of customer experience. They also cover what companies should be focusing on as they attempt to recruit people for these types of positions. Brenda explains that there is no one set path, and often she finds the best candidates have taken horizontal steps across industries, allowing them to really understand brands, customers, and authenticity.

As the episode ends, Brenda and Andy share advice for students interested in CCO positions.

Key Takeaways:

00:40 - Introducing Brenda Malloy and her background

2:04 - The time for the chief customer officer is now

6:13 - The key skills for successful CCOs

11:14 - How boldness has become a CCO priority

15:00 - How to build a foundational training and get exposure to many industries

18:28 - Integrating marketing and customer experience roles

20:00 - The importance of empathy and how to tell if a leader is empathetic

27:15 - Examples of career trajectories that lead to CCO roles and horizontal moves

35:37 - Brenda’s words of advice to students interested in exploring customer experience careers

39:43 - The importance of understanding diverse customers

Links:

Learn more about Brenda Malloy.

Learn more about Andy Murray.

Learn more about the “It’s a Customer’s World” podcast.

Learn more about the University of Arkansas and its Customer Centered Leadership Initiative.

Learn more about the University of Arkansas’ business school, Walton College.

As the interview begins, Nick shares about his background, explaining that he is a psychologist by education and trade, and a computer scientist by life. Psychology came before his current work, and he came to UX through a chain of career events. Moving forward, Andy and Nick discuss the dichotomy between IT and digital marketing. Turning to agile, they consider its pitfalls and ways in which it may be fused with traditional waterfall methodologies to best meet customer needs. Nick then offers a rather controversial, but insightful and arguably correct, perspective: empathy is not a research method, as it is not always data-driven.  Through the conversation, Nick comments on the need to “educate up,” leadership roles, an agile mentality, creating transformational change, and more. Before the conversation ends, Nick offers thoughts on current demand for his work and provides advice to students.

Key Takeaways:

0:40 - IntroducingDr. Nick Fine his background

4:26 - IT versus digital thinking

7:04 - Ideas of a marketing mindset and an IT mindset

13:07 - The topic of organizations

17:22 - How leadership roles change in an agile space

18:04 - Nick argues what matters most is mentality

21:30 - Harmonization of agile with a more hierarchical element

23:06 - Agile’s usein startups and wider enterprises

25:04 - Nick isn’t sure “agile” is a fitting name

27:52 - Andy and Nick talk about creating transformational change

32:35 - The topic of empathy

37:50 - Demand for Nick’s work and shifting package design ideas

41:38 - Personalization is the future

42:45 - Nick offers advice to students and closing thoughts

Links:

Learn more about Dr. Nick Fine and the resources he recommends from Dr. Susan Weinshenk.

Learn more about Andy Murray.

Learn more about the “It’s a Customer’s World” podcast.

Learn more about the University of Arkansas and its Customer Centered Leadership Initiative.

Learn more about the University of Arkansas’ business school, Walton College.