Navigating the Customer Experience

Suzy Prudden is a prize-winning International speaker, seminar leader and best-selling author. She’s won numerous awards for business and speaking, and has appeared as a guest expert on over 1,000 radio and television shows including Oprah, The Today Show and Good Morning America.

With her publishing company, Suzy say they pride themselves on customer service. She tells us it should be your number one priority.

“It’s the only thing that going to make your business work. If you don’t have good customer service, you might as well seriously not be in business.”

Suzy says her employees need to leave their personal problems behind and not bring it into the office. She wants her employees to change their mindsets upon arriving at work. An example she gives is about a mother with a sick child at home.

“I would say go home and be with your kid, and I would not dock their pay for that either. You have to create a culture of support. If you have a culture of support in your company, then the people who work in the company will want to support the company.”

In order to sustain a culture of service in your business, Suzy gives the advice of simply paying attention.

“You have to pay attention to your customer, you have to pay attention to the people that work with you and most importantly you have to stay on top of everything!”

She notes that if you fail faster, you’ll also learn more quickly as a result. When you fail, you learn, and when you learn you get better. Failures give the opportunity to know what isn’t working and what needs to be fixed.

“I like to teach people how to make money and I can do that through Itty Bitty Publishing.”

We would welcome a subscribe, rate and review for the show and also that the listeners can come hang out at Navigating the Customer Experience Community on Facebook. This is a private Facebook group for our listeners and past guests to come over share insights and industry trending topics and discussions on business and customer experience – click here!

INTERVIEW LINKS:

www.IttyBittyPublishing.com

http://suzyprudden.com/

“Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill

“Psychic Energy” by Joseph Weed

“Mind Mapping” by Tony Buzan

Lee Caraher is a CEO and acclaimed communication strategist known for her practical solutions to big problems. She started Double Forte as a new kind of communications firm designed to work with good people, doing good work for good companies doing great things in their categories. So far so good. This is not her first rodeo, and she’s learned a lot along the way that she shares with others in the hopes that everyone can reduce drama and conflict in the workplace and create careers that matter.

Lee has a reputation for building cohesive, high producing teams who get a lot done well and have fun at the same time. A sought-after coach and confidant to her clients, Lee regularly helps organizations navigate complex, sensitive and critical situations. She is a straight talker who doesn’t hold too many punches, although she does her best to pleasant about it.  An experience speaker and facilitator, Lee blends immediately applicable insights with inspiration and humor for engaging and entertaining sessions for audiences large and small.

Her first book “Millennials & Management: The Essential Guide To Making It Work At Work” was published by Bibliomotion in October 2014. The book is based on her own work building a successful intergenerational workplace, as well as the insight from more than 250 managers, leaders and employees of all ages in different industries across the country. For Millennials, management, and senior leaders, the book is a practical and entertaining guide to breaking down the misconceptions between Gen Y, GenX and the Baby Boomer generations, and details how to build a constructive, productive work environment that builds business, loyalty and strategic advantage.

 Lee started a public relations and communication strategy firm with a partner almost 15 years ago. Before that, she was employed with many other large communication firms.

“My whole career has been in this function of figuring out what to say and who to say it to so they can hear it”

She says her journey to entrepreneurship came out of necessity when she needed the flexibility in her schedule to help her mother who was diagnosed with cancer.

Lee believes that the customer experience is the lifeblood of any company.

“The brand that you have is only half of whatever is in that package (of what you sell). The other half is in the experience that people have with your brand.”

The experience your customers have is going to be the indicator for company sustainability.

Her agency is very focused on service, and Lee says that if you deliver good results but a great experience you will keep that client forever.

You have to recognize that each client will have a different culture.

“We have to shift to each culture. Really understanding who your customer is is important.”

She notes that communication is a big issue in companies all over the country, and can be a challenge as most businesses have three generations in them. Millennials tend to prefer communication by text, whereas baby boomers are more likely to pick up the phone.

“Don’t assume people have the same communication preferences as you do”

Your business is only as good as your relevancy is. For this reason, staying up-to-date is the most important thing you can do in your day.

Lee says that companies need to have a plan in place for the worst-case scenario.

“In today’s world that’s moving so quickly, there’s no longer 24 hours to figure it out”

Companies that receive negative feedback on social media should respond immediately and direct the person to a private email address to get the conversation off of the public forum.

She shares that if team moral is bad, you have to address the issues right away. However, going through challenging times as a team can create a stronger bond with employees.

“People come to work with all of their baggage. How do you help them focus, be productive and be happy?”

Employees want to do work that matters. When they don’t understand how they are making a difference, this is when you get the negative impact.

“My experience is the best leaders are the ones who basically love the people around them. They’re very motivated by other people’s success.”

Lee explains that if you don’t intertwine your work and your life responsibilities, it’s very challenging to do either very well.

When she is well physically, her company too is well, and healthy companies are the ones that people stay at.

Two quotes Lee lives by are, “Focus is your friend”, and “Family first.”

We would welcome a subscribe, rate and review for the show and also that the listeners can come hang out at Navigating the Customer Experience Community on Facebook. This is a private Facebook group for our listeners and past guests to come over share insights and industry trending topics and discussions on business and customer experience – click here!

INTERVIEW LINKS:

www.LeeCaraher.com

www.Twitter.com/LeeCaraher

www.Facebook.com/LeeCaraher

Focus @ Will

Word Swag

Relax & Rest

Facebook Pages

“Primal Leadership” by Daniel Goleman

“Are You Fully Charged” by Tom Rath

“The Optimistic Workplace” by Shawn Murphy

“Never Eat Alone” by Keith Ferrazzi

Paul Potratz is the COO of Potratz Advertising Agency in New York. They work with businesses creating top funnel brand strategies, consumer engagement, and content on websites, social media and sales training.

Paul worked in both radio and television, and then made his way to an ad agency. In 2003, he made the decision to start his own advertising agency.

“Every business is like the seasons; you have to stay motivated when things slow down because it’s just right around the corner before they start to pick up again.”

“One thing about entrepreneurship (is) if you’re motivated by always reinventing with change, then I feel you will always be successful.”

Paul identifies current global customer service as an essential component of your business.

“You don’t have anything if you don’t have customer experience.”

A part of great customer service is showing the clients how much they are appreciated. Paul and his customer service team created a way of letting his clients know how important they are with Coffee Mug Strategies. These mugs have strategy options that are tailored to the business and create leads.

“We’ve heard it over and over and over it’s much easier and much less expensive to keep a client than always trying to be adding new clients.”

Building great content on your website, providing research, having comparisons and providing it to your potential clients will invite them in, and make them more comfortable to purchase from you.

“Become a content machine, get that content on your website and then take them to the next logical step.”

Paul talks about how he stays motivated. Other than loving what he does, he likes getting in on the action.

“Roll your sleeves up once in a while. Granted, we can’t always do that because you can’t scale but you can do it every once in a while and it gives you the sense of excitement.”

INTERVIEW LINKS:

www.MugStrategies.com

www.facebook.com/PotratzAdvertising

“As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen

“Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl

“The Energy Bus” by Jon Gordon

“Scientific Advertising” by Claude Hopkins

Andreas Jones is the leading authority on small business growth and profitability. He is a #1 International bestselling author, coach, speaker, consultant and trainer, as well as an army combat veteran. After the arm, Andreas had a series of jobs including VP of a national bank. He had been featured on NBC, CBS, FOX, ABC, CNN and USA Today.

Andreas says joining the army gave him an opportunity to grow as a person.

“That’s probably one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. It really helped me to kind of find myself, find my identity. It helped me with being more disciplined and the ability to persevere.”

While studying economics, Andreas came across a statistic that he didn’t like hearing.

“80% of businesses fail in the first two years. I think of someone’s dream going down the line and that really didn’t sit too well with me so I started studying business and what I can do from my standpoint.”

“Customer service is an attitude, more so than a job or task.”

Andreas says the most important pillars that a business needs to succeed are getting to know your customers and building relationships with them. Listening to the customer, and finding out what else would enhance the customers life to make them repeat customers of yours, is also crucial.

“Those are the things that customers want to know; that you care about them, that they are more than just a transaction for you.”

Newsletters, discounts, punch cards, refer a friend and more are ways you can build relationships with your customers. The goal is to keep the customer engaged in the process.

“Involve your customer in your day-to-day and having your customer as your partner as you build your business.”

His advice on staying motivated is to be the best person you can be. Schedule time for your family, and know that you are helping other people with their dreams.

“The game changer in all human interaction is emotions, and its an incredible emotion to know someone cares about you. So it’s really about connecting with your team and getting to know them outside of just their job description.”

We would welcome a subscribe, rate and review for the show and also that the listeners can come hang out at Navigating the Customer Experience Community on Facebook. This is a private Facebook group for our listeners and past guests to come over share insights and industry trending topics and discussions on business and customer experience – click here!

INTERVIEW LINKS:

www.BusinessBreakThroughSolutions.com

www.AgileCRM.com

“7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R Covey

“The Compound Effect” By Darren Hardy

Jim Kalbach is currently the Head of Customer Success at MURAL. He has previously worked in various design-related consulting roles for large companies, such as eBay, Audi, SONY, Elsevier Science, LexisNexis, and Citrix. Before moving back to the US in 2013 after living for fifteen years in Germany, he was the co-founder of the European Information Architecture conferences and he also founded the IA Konferenz, a leading UX design event in Germany. In 2007, he published his first full-length book, Designing Web Navigation and his second book, Mapping Experiences, was a #1 bestseller on Amazon in the Business Development section.

Jim has a varied professional background. He studied information science and has a lot of experience doing digital product design for agencies and large companies.

“Really these visualizations are a way for us customer experience professionals to observe the world, so that we can bring that back into our organizations”.

He says that professionals don’t necessarily create the customer experience, as it’s something the customer owns.

“We have to understand that and help them navigate because it is actually their journey through our eco system and our touch points.”

Jim says it is important to have participations from companies that he works with, open conversations and getting in the problem-solving mindset.

“People support what they create or help create.”

Jim says having the visualization helps because it inspires people to want to have a conversation, but the danger lies in people focusing on the diagram itself instead of using it as a tool for improvement.

“You put it up on the wall and people lean back; you want it to be a lean-in deliverable.”

He believes you need to think about how you are going to use the map because ultimately it is not about the deliverable or the document but how that activates change.

INTERVIEW LINKS:

www.ExperiencingInformation.com

www.Twitter.com/JimKalbach

“The Design of Everyday Things” by Don Norman

“The Innovator’s Dilemma” by Clayton Christensen

"The Innovator's Solution" by Clayton Christensen

Amy Cannatta is a business and vibrant living coach whose goal is to help others bring their vision to life. She does this by giving them the tools to take their passion and make it a reality. Amy is an international best-selling author and the host of the “Concept to Cash Flow” podcast, where go-getters learn how to kill it in life and business from successful entrepreneurs.

Amy is very passionate about how changing perspectives can turn tragedy into personal transformation. She was a domestic abuse victim that persevered and went onto raise her two daughters while completing her doctorate. Amy talks about how she grew up as a child and the values that were taught to her while growing up on a farm.

“It’s really one of these skills that are kind of ingrained into my DNA, to take something and figure out how to either make it useful or reuse it; it’s the “outside of the box” thinking and also the hard work and perseverance.”

Amy had a successful chiropractic business but decided to move into the online space and start her coaching business.

She explains how she sees customer service and why it is the heart and soul of a business.

“Customer service is what builds the business’ reputation, and reputation is something you cannot put a price on. It is one of those intangible benefits and value that a business has.”

When a business owner is creating a service culture, Amy gives advice from her own experience in business whether it is on or offline.

“If you don’t share with the people who are around you what is important to you, what your mission and your purpose are, then they’re in the dark, just kind of guessing. They don’t understand the culture; they don’t understand what you value because you haven’t communicated that with them.”

One thing Amy does in her practice that pushes her clients forward to get results in their own business is, she is willing to get “down and dirty” with her clients and do the work with them.

“I’m not one of those coaches that just talks for an hour on the phone and says, “have a nice day, here is your homework”. If they need help, we do it together.”

Amy makes sure that the other people on her team sees her vision and the direction she wants her business to go. This is one thing that helps maintain the motivation among staff.

“Getting them onboard, making them feel like they understand the vision of the business (is important).”

We would welcome a subscribe, rate and review for the show and also that the listeners can come hang out at Navigating the Customer Experience Community on Facebook. This is a private Facebook group for our listeners and past guests to come over share insights and industry trending topics and discussions on business and customer experience – click here!

INTERVIEW LINKS:

www.MeetEdgar.com

www.AmyCannatta.com

www.facebook.com/amycannattadc

“The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy

“Overcoming Under Earning” by Barbara Stanny

Jess Winnett is a Live Stream Business Strategist and an entrepreneur who’s building a legacy online. She loves empowering others with the truth that they can have the life and business that they want, without sacrificing time with family with loved ones. She’s the “Queen of Periscope”, and she’s here to show and tell others how they too can use this amazing platform to bring incredible results to their business.

Jess got started on Periscope about 10 months ago and although the live streaming aspect intimidated her at first, she fell in love with the way she could connect with people using it.

“I knew that I had this voice and this content to share. I just wasn’t sure what platform was right for me.”

Her number of followers has steadily grown to a little over 2,700 people, and she notes that she started with no social media presence prior to using Periscope.

She feels that there is a direct correlation between Periscope and customer service, and believes that every single time you go live, you leave people with a feeling. She strives to connect with others each time she broadcasts and also gets to know the names of people watching.

“People will come back if they feel loved, cherished and appreciated”

Due to the fact that Periscope streams live, you can build the “know-like-trust” factor very quickly. The platform has also introduced enhanced features for searching to improve users’ experience.

Jess and her husband are big advocates of letting people know when they’re doing a really good job with customer service, as people tend to hear more of the negative reviews that are posted online.

To her, a big part of creating a positive customer experience is having that joyful attitude. Jess adds that this starts at the top of an organization and by also affirming customers in their purchasing decisions, all employees can contribute to the experience.

She believes that some people are born with the charisma and other skills to do customer service well, but others have to train to learn how to do it.

“I had to really work on re-training my mind to be more positive and look for the better outlook in things”

She adds that people should always be growing and working on their own personal development so that they can give their customers a better experience.

Business can be difficult at times, but you need to self-motivate quite a bit. Jess has also created a private Facebook group (see “INTERVIEW LINKS”) to help motivate her.

“What’s beautiful about what you create is that you do have to self-motivate quite a bit”

Jess notes that it’s important, particularly when starting a business, to have a vision. She also tries to remember who she ultimately wants to impact.

“We can get so focused on what we’re doing short-term that we forget what’s the long-term thing (we want)”

Joining a mastermind group has helped her think outside of her business and also with marketing ideas.

“Seek out people that will encourage you. Seek out mentors and like-minded individuals.”

The online tool or resource that she couldn’t live without is Calendly (see “INTERVIEW LINKS”), which she directs people for booking times to speak.

Jess’ recommended books are “First Steps to Wealth” by Dani Johnson, “Quitter” by Jon Acuff, “The 10X Rule” by Grant Cardone, “Raving Fans” by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles and “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey.

In order to motivate staff, Jess says this needs to be done daily and can be achieved many ways, including daily emails, sales meetings in the morning, and constantly staying connected with your people.

She’s really excited about launching her Live Stream Academy (see “INTERVIEW LINKS”) for beginner and intermediate online business owners.

“I get to help a lot of different people in a lot of different seasons in their business and life”

The quote or mantra she lives by is “Do not question in the dark what God has shown you in the light.”

We would welcome a subscribe, rate and review for the show and also that the listeners can come hang out at Navigating the Customer Experience Community on Facebook. This is a private Facebook group for our listeners and past guests to come over share insights and industry trending topics and discussions on business and customer experience – click here!

INTERVIEW LINKS:

www.JessWinnett.com

www.ScopeMamas.com

www.Calendly.com   

John Tschohl, called the “Guru of Customer Service” by USA Today, Time and Entrepreneur magazines, is a best selling author,
the internationally recognized service strategist and President of Service Quality Institute, the global leader in customer service.

John believes that globally, customer service is quite weak.

“Most companies believe that they provide great customer service. Most people believe there is no customer service.”

He feels this is the case for a few different reasons. First, very few CEOs understand the ramifications of poor customer service and the revenue stream they can create if they deliver an incredible customer service. As well, most organizations actually work to make it more difficult to do business with them with their policies, and lack of speed. Finally, very few organizations are willing to invest in and develop the people that work for them.

To improve customer service, John feels that companies need to understand that they’re in the business of customer service.

“It’s much cheaper to keep a present customer than to always get a new customer”

Companies need to have a continuous process for training their employees, and not just offer short courses ever 5 to 10 years.

In order to stay focused, John has clearly defined goals to know where he is, where’s going and how he plans to get there. He adds that he also takes a vacation every month.

“I work hard, I play hard, I spend a lot of money and I invest a lot of money”

He shares that he’s had a clearly defined written game plan since he was 22 years old.

“I had a goal to have a million dollars net worth by age 30, which I did”

To create a service culture, he advises that organizations develop a customer-driven workforce with high-performing employees.

“It’s the easiest way to grow. It is the least expensive method you can use to dramatically grow your business.”

Internet calling tools like WeChat and OneSuite are some of the resources he uses on a regular basis.

“Technology is moving very fast, but the most effective way to communicate with your customers is by phone. You’ve got to be ready to pick up the phone and talk to people.”

Some of the most impactful books he has read is “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill and “Psycho-Cybernetics” by Maxwell Maltz. John reads a book a month, with a focus on personal development, sales and leadership.

“The safest investment a person can make is in themselves”

To motivate employees, John says that you need to first develop and build yourself, as you define your goals and work the game plan.

“(Goals) have to be tangible, realistic, and in all areas of your life”

One thing he’s really excited about is the new health care program his company is releasing soon. The program, “Health Care with Feelings”, focuses on changing attitudes and behaviour, teaching the skills and art of customer service, and building employee moral and teamwork.

The quote or mantra that John lives by is simply, “Believe in yourself.”

INTERVIEW LINKS:

Personal Website

Company Website

WeChat

OneSuite

Nick Abbott has over 20 years experience in customer service and sales operations, consultancy and training. He has been a logistics officer in the Royal Air Force and has vast experience working with large companies such as General Electric, Bank of New York and more. In 2012, he started the front line evolution, which provides consultancy services for customer service and sales. Nick is currently engaged full-time with Milvik AB, a Swiss microinsurance multinational organization.

When asked how the industry has changed, Nick says it has and hasn’t changed in the past 20 years. The core level is still the same but the things that changed are customers are more knowledgeable, technology has changed and people have become more demanding and less patient.

“The basics didn’t change, but it’s more challenging to deliver great service now and also I think markets are more competitive now and margins are tighter.”

Nick believes that it is more important, now than ever, for customers to get customer feedback.

“I think it is very important for companies to take the time to get customer feedback. I mean nobody likes bad feedback, but actually bad feedback is a gift.”

Nicks says if the customers are not happy it doesn’t matter what the companies metrics are, it doesn’t matter what happens in the board room. You have to get inside the customers’ heads and see what they want from you as a business.

Leadership in Nick’s opinion is the reason why customer service is poor and managers need to engage.

“For any manager, recruitment is a single most important thing that a manager does; getting the right people, taking the time to get the right people on board, understanding what you are looking for.”

Nicks talks about current employees and what they can tell you about how your business and how well it’s being managed. Sometimes, you need to look outside recruitment and look at management, as changes may be necessary.

“If you have a situation where you have staff and it’s not a case of one or two, but the vast majority are not motivated, I would guarantee you the problem is sitting across the desk from me.”

“I would have said I was engaged, I would have said I was an inspiring leader, and I was anything but.”

While reading the book “Straight From The Gut” by Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, Nick learned how the power of leadership can live on in the company long after that leader is gone.

LINKS AND RESOURCES:

www.Manager-Tools.com

“Straight from the Gut” by Jack Welch

“Getting Things Done” by David Adams

Sardek Love is the CEO of Infinity Consulting and Training Solutions. He’s worked in 25 countries, inspiring, developing and educating managers and leaders in Fortune 100 companies, high-tech organizations, government agencies and global brands. His real world experiences serve as the foundation of his powerful and captivating stories from which he brings his sessions to life. Sardek is currently a certified coach, speaker and trainer with the prestigious John Maxwell team.

Years ago, Sardek discovered that he is here to help other people grow, which is what he says motivates him to do what he does.

“Every morning I wake up and think of whose life I can impact in a positive way”

He believes there is a correlation between leadership and customer service, and that the best leaders are those than can connect with others.

“Connecting is just one of those skills that is required for exceptional customer service”

Sardek also feels that having exceptional communication to determine the needs of others is another characteristic that leaders should have.

“It’s really about uncovering people’s problems, providing potential solutions and listening. I think listening is probably one of the most important skills for exceptional customer service.”

He shares that customer service is really a lost art, and that leaders should model the culture themselves to demonstrate to their teams.

Sardek notes that a leader is the person that “charts the course”, and the manager executes that plan.

To him, a leader needs to reward people for the right behaviours and hold them accountable to eliminate any negative ones.

“The brands that have great customer service, it is a tradition, an expectation. The culture reinforces that.”

Millennials are becoming a larger part of the global workforce, but aren’t getting the coaching that their predecessors did. Organizations that take the time to develop their people will accelerate their profitability.

Sardek says that coaching is not about telling people the answer; it’s about guiding them to self-discovery.

To stay motivated, he reads constantly to gain new knowledge.

“I love to learn. Every day is a new opportunity for me to learn and get better.”

When people ask him exactly what he does, he tells them “I make hard easy.”

He used to be afraid of failure, but now just moves ahead taking imperfect action.

The two online tools that Sardek couldn’t live without are Canva, which can be used to created beautiful designs and documents easily, and Kajabi, an all-in-one system to sell, market and deliver content online (see “INTERVIEW LINKS”).

For books, Sardek recommends “The 360 Degree Leader”, “Failing Forward” and “Everyone Communicates, Few Connect” by John Maxwell. He also says that “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie and “The Success Principles” by Jack Canfield have impacted him personally, as well as “The Speed of Trust” by Stephen M.R. Covey.

To motivate staff, Sardek recommends that a leader and company have a singular focus of looking at problems and transforming them into solutions.

“If I keep hearing the same complaints over and over and over, that tells me there is an unmet need. That’s what we should be focusing on.”

He feels that if you want to know what products to create, you need to ask the market what problems they have that are urgent, pervasive and expensive if left unresolved.

He is most excited about scaling his business and creating “The Profitable Training Business Academy”, as he says there is currently nothing on the market the provides this content to entrepreneurs, or people looking to start their own training business.

The quote Sardek lives by is “You are who you are and it’s never too late to become who you might have been” and he believes strongly in continuously stretching himself to grow and become better.

INTERVIEW LINKS:

Website

Canva

Kajabi