Science of CX

The Fresh Princess of Email Marketing, Liz Wilcox is an Email Strategist and Keynote Speaker showing small businesses how to build online relationships + make real money with emails. 

She’s best known for her 1800+ users membership, 20 Minute Newsletter technique, and the Email Staircase framework she’s taught to tens of thousands of creatives, freelancers, eCommerce shop owners, and small businesses across the globe.

Offline, Liz lives in Florida, loves to run, and is a walking 90s pop culture encyclopedia.

Key Takeaways

• Is email still an essential medium in business today, and if so, why is it sometimes overlooked?
• Fostering intimate relationships and emulating the kind of experience that gets the customer excited to open your email
• Why some people are seemingly afraid of writing emails because they are lacking in the skill; with respect to an audience of one versus the audience of many
• Using a more relatable human approach as an email writing strategy, in order to make real connections, and turn your list into friends and eventually into customers
• How writing an email differs from writing a newsletter and the techniques that anyone can use to simplify this process so that it fits into their individual marketing strategies
• How to make the subject line stand out so that the recipient is willing to open it and give it first priority 
• The common mistakes people make when doing email marketing and how to avoid these pitfalls 
• Liz gives us her perspective on why she advises against people sharing their life stories in their emails and (or) newsletters
• The recommended number on an email list that anyone can start with; the beauty of starting with a small email list, and  what are examples of affordable email providers that people can start out with

Connect with Liz

Website - https://lizwilcox.com/ 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-wilcox-58740b1b0 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thelizwilcox/?hl=en

As an expert with 20+ years of experience in Knowledge Strategy, Data and Information Architecture, and Information Findability solutions, Seth has worked with a diverse roster of Fortune 1000 companies; helping them to achieve higher levels of operating performance by making information more findable, usable and valuable through integrated enterprise architectures supporting analytics, and customer experience applications.   

Seth Earley is a sought-after speaker, writer, and influencer. His writing has appeared in IT Professional Magazine from the IEEE where, as a former editor, he wrote a regular column on data analytics and information access issues and trends.  

He has also contributed to the Harvard Business Review, CMSWire, and Journal of Applied Marketing Analytics, and he co-authored “Practical Knowledge Management” from IBM Press.

Seth is also the author of the award-winning book; The AI-Powered Enterprise: Harness the Power of Ontologies to Make Your Business Smarter, Faster and More Profitable. Seth was named to Thinkers360 top 50 global thought leaders and influencers on Artificial Intelligence for 2022.

Key Takeaways

• Seth provides us a basic description of what AI is all about, and what its major components are
• How owning a knowledge management strategy can go a long way in helping you plan and execute AI systems into your business
• Leveraging the power of machine learning to collect data on your customers’ behavior 
• Science or Magic? How AI can provide you with reliable predictions for what content, products, or services your customers crave
• Things to take into consideration when building your business foundational knowledge 
• Ways of capturing explicit knowledge and ensuring it is more readily consumable and accessible
• How knowledge can act as a key differentiator in your business practice
• The importance of mapping your customer’s journey
• Why metrics are vital when it comes to data collection and storage

Connect with Seth

Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethearley/  

Website - https://www.earley.com/  

Twitter -  https://twitter.com/sethearley 

Andrew Wolgemuth founded Wove to recreate the way couples buy engagement rings in a highly traditional and outdated industry. 

He grew up in an entrepreneurial environment working at his parent jewelry company in Lancaster, PA. 

After attending West Point and serving as a Platoon Leader in the Army's 75th Ranger Regiment, Andrew attended Stanford GSB's Ignite Entrepreneurship Program where the idea for Wove was born.

Key Takeaways

• Andrew gives us a background on his Jewellery business; the idea behind starting WOVE, alongside the products and services they provide
• Re-discovering the elements of an amazing customer experience
• Traditional jewelry stores; how they operate and how Andrew and his team have managed to successfully do things in a more modern and engaging way
• The steps and procedures behind WOVE’s ability to give all its customers a satisfying and fulfilling experience
• The benefits that Andrew is enjoying after making heavy upfront investments in his business processes
• How Andrew and his team assist clients in making well-informed decisions on their purchases

Connect with Andrew 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-wolgemuth/  

Website - https://www.wovemade.com/  

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wove_made/  

Dan Balcauski is the founder and Principal Consultant at Product Tranquility, a consulting firm that helps SaaS business leaders accelerate their product growth and increase customer loyalty. 

He’s an expert in digital marketing and e-commerce with a specialization in pricing and product strategy. Dan is also the Program Leader for Kellogg’s Executive Education Product Strategy course. 

In addition to his role at Product Tranquility, Dan works as a freelance product manager and is a member of Veritux. Some of the companies he’s worked for include SolarWinds, LawnStarter, and NI (formerly National Instruments).

Dan’s good news on the podcast today is that there’s a golden opportunity that every SaaS company has right now to build a pricing model that their customers (and their investors) will love that won’t distract you with a mirage of “free growth.”

Tune in and get ready to take some notes. 

Key Takeaways

• What does pricing entirely encapsulate and why do many businesses struggle with it?
• Finding out who in the company should initially deal with the pricing and packaging aspect of things
• Problems and pitfalls that Dan has encountered with all the companies he’s helped, and what indicators are there to guide companies in the right direction
• Metrics that companies can use to verify if they are meeting their goals and whether or not their pricing is playing a role in meeting those goals 
• Pricing model variations between long-term businesses versus exit-driven businesses
• The pros and cons of the various discounting strategies in use by different companies i.e free trials, freemium, free tools, etc
• .The importance of free tools to act as a starting point for the user and fend off buyers remorse without added effort to convert the prospects to customers
• The dangers that businesses might run into with a low price; especially with new non-existing products in their category

Connect with Dan

Website - https://www.producttranquility.com/ 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/balcauski/ 

Twitter - https://twitter.com/dan_balcauski 

Eliav Cohen is a hot air balloon pilot and founder of The Bot Lab. Having Helium and Drift, the top chatbot platforms in the world, Eliav and his company help organizations set up AI chatbots to deliver amazing customer experiences. 

Eliav and his team mainly work with enterprise and public companies, (but also frequently work with smaller growing organizations.)

As a testament to their powerful AI-powered platform, Eliav’s clients typically see a minimum of a 300% increase in conversations in the 1st 30 days.

Listen to this episode and get inspired.

Key Takeaways

• Eliav’s experience as a hot air balloon pilot, and how it eventually led to him venturing into chatbots
• The various challenges faced by many companies go through when developing chatbot technology; and why most of them are essentially unsuccessful
• The different approaches that companies use to convert leads into prospects, and how digital solutions can be employed in these methodologies cite the infinite scalability of the digital world
• How organizations can use chatbot technology to identify leads, answer questions, and book meetings at moments of high intent 
• Steps that Eliav and his team will take with their potential clients who are interested in integrating chatbots into their websites
• The content side of things when we're dealing with chatbots, who develops it? (Alongside how the different functions can be distributed to the different departments within an organization)
• The limitations that business owners may encounter when using chatbots

Connect with Eliav

Website - https://thebotlab.io/ 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliav-cohen-5643795/ 

Twitter - https://twitter.com/Eliavcohen 

Jim is the Chief Strategy Officer at discuss.io, and a highly connected thought leader and popular international speaker in the market research industry. 

As a manager, Jim’s deep knowledge and innovative thinking is an invaluable asset on a daily basis to the growth and development of his team and company. He has a track record for recruiting highly dedicated professionals, allowing them to capitalize on their skills and talents and in turn elicit unparalleled commitment as their leader. 

Not only is Jim one of the most highly respected research executives in his niche, but his ability to articulate complex research projects into language everyone can understand is incredible.

As a speaker, Jim captivates his audience. As you’ll all notice, I very much enjoyed my discussion with him on the show today. His professionalism, insights, and strategic approach make today's episode a must-listen!

Key Takeaways

• How qualitative research was done traditionally, and how it has evolved over time  
• Jim’s transformational vision. How he and his partner were able to drastically shrink conversational timelines. 
• Elements of a good moderator 
• Paying more attention to emotion as a way of gathering useful information needed to make better decisions
• Involving the customer in the product and service-making process
• Market research in the B2B world
• Transitioning from face-to-face to digital qualitative research
• Ways of aligning your business needs to the customer's needs
• Important things to note when defining personas within the company's cx initiative

Connect with Jim

Website - https://www.discuss.io/  

Email - [email protected] 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/longomr/ 

Outsourcing industry leader Richard Blank, is the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center since 2008.

By utilizing an effective motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, he has been proven a successful bilingual trainer. 

Over 10,000 Ticos have been personally prepared to become some of the finest telemarketers in the country under Richard's direction and supervision.

In addition, solid efforts have earned him the proud reputation of running a school for advanced telemarketing and soft skills. The lessons are often sought after for private training and consultation onsite and virtually. 

Mr. Blank has the largest collection of American pinballs in Costa Rica with an impressive row of 11 classic machines on free play. A gamification call center culture was created and is the only retro video arcade game room for employees in the outsourcing industry. 

He also holds a bachelor's degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain.

Key Takeaways

• Getting to know Richard the man. How did he end up with such a large collection of restored pinball machines and jukeboxes?
• key ingredients to ensure an effective micro-expression conversation
• How agents can positively handle and grow from negative calls and feedback from customers
• Running a small business? Well tune in and find out what tips Richard has to help you leverage your everyday conversations into a goldmine
• Time and numbers. Find out whether or not it's productive to measure your employee’s efforts based on the number of hours or sales made 
• Richard shares with us his unique and world-class system of training and mentoring new agents 
• An exercise you can easily pick up in helping you become a better micro expression reader

Connect with Richard

Tell - 8882716750

Email - [email protected] 

Website - https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/costa-ricas-call-center-2/ 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/costaricascallcenter/  

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/costaricascallcenter/  

Hannah Acosta is an experienced Social Media Manager at Ugly Mug Marketing. She’s had a successfull history of working in the marketing and advertising industry, as well as the nonprofit world. 

Hannah is skilled in specifically Facebook Advertising, strategy building, and content creation across Instagram & Facebook platforms. 

She received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (B.S.B.A) from Aquinas College where she focused on Business Administration/ Communication with a Marketing concentration & Spanish minor. 

In our interview today, you’ll see that Hannah’s passion for what she does can be felt throughout the conversation. She will share some nuggets that will help us bring our ideas to life and generate more leads. Listen in and learn.

Key Takeaways

• Lead generation during the Covid pandemic times. How companies had to pivot into creative ways to find clients
• How Ugly Mug Marketing has shifted its perspective and overall strategy as a way to cope with the negative effects of the pandemic
• Customer avatars and the importance of being specific about the kind of people you want to reach
• Startup success. How you too, can make sure your products or services stand out from the rest when launching
• Establishing clear and measurable goals to determine  the success of your marketing strategies 
• The importance of getting the team involved when handling your customers 
• Benefits of using video as a means to conduct your digital marketing campaigns 
• How Hannah approaches lead generation in the b2b niche vs b2c

Connect with Hannah

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahacosta/  

Website - https://www.uglymugmarketing.com/ 

Craig’s background is in software engineering and driving positive customer experiences. 

He is a driven, self-starting technology enthusiast who has a record of generating success both for my company and for my customers. As a skilled strategist, Craig has created and managed projects to improve operational productivity, revenue generation, and reduce costs across small and large organizations.

Boasting over 20 years of customer-facing experience, working with customers in 30+ countries, Craig has developed a diverse understanding of cultural expectations and business processes. He has worked closely with Support, Services, Success, Development, and Marketing teams on topics like CX Processes, Scaling Global Teams, Software Engineering, IT Service Management, and Requirements Gathering.

For the global teams that he has led, Craig has designed, built, and executed successful outsourcing strategies, scaled success, support, and professional service processes, and implemented cross-functionally solutions to prepare for and accelerate growth. 

Key Takeaways. 

• Craig’s background story and how he landed into cx 
• What’s it like to travel and engage in business in  30+ countries globally? Craig provides us with the personal insights and lessons he’s learned over the years
• Creating a diverse customer journey map
• Why taking into account all your avatars is important when developing a marketing strategy for your product or service
• How to improve cx in the outsourcing niche
• Ensuring your in-house support team is in perfect harmony and effortlessly engaged 
• Why a great working environment and culture is important for business success
• Craig’s strategy for knowledge management
• The importance of providing your outsourcers with as much inside info as possible 
• What’s next from here? Craig shares his perspective on the future of customer support

Connect with Craig

Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cstoss/

Website - https://www.stoss.ca/ 

Twitter - https://twitter.com/stossinsupport?lang=en 

Dustin Riechmann is a business coach who helps ambitious entrepreneurs get unstuck & rapidly increase their profits with confidence. 

Unlike many coaches, everything Dustin teaches is based on real-world experience growing three successful online businesses. 

Dustin is best known for his Partnership Marketing System, which he has used to grow FireCreek Snacks into a 7-figure business without paid ads.

Dustin’s expertise covers different topics, including;

• How to create a Partnership Marketing System to rapidly grow your online business for free
• How to create a steady flow of highly-qualified leads for your B2B service business without paid ads
• 3 keys to low-pressure high-ticket sales
• How to use Podcast Guesting as a strategic marketing channel (the smart way)

If you’d love to grow your online business and network with other mission-driven entrepreneurs, have a listen to my interview with Dustin today. 

Key Takeaways

• Dustin’s background and the genesis of his thriving business ventures
• How Dustin and Ryan managed to make FireCreek such an exceptional product. And a product that stands from its substitutes in the market
• The power of a genuine business story. How Dustin has been able to leverage his media appearances as a way to share information, and simultaneously grow his business
• How to properly prep for a podcast interview; and build great relationships along the way too
• Tips on how to draft an attractive and irresistible email pitch
• Other forms of partnerships besides podcasting; Dustin’s win-win-win formula, and how he uses it to partner up with a network of future business partners

Connect with Dustin

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustinriechmann/  

Website (Coaching) -  https://simplesuccesscoaching.com/  

Website (FireCreek Snacks) - https://www.firecreeksnacks.com/  

Twitter - https://twitter.com/EngagedMarriage