Walk the Walk

This week, Andi and Jon speak with Jake Sorofman about how customer experience aligns throughout the entire company - from employee experience to sales through delivery.

Jake Sorofman is Chief Marketing Officer of Visier. Previously, Jake was president of MetaCX, an early stage SaaS company transforming CRM and customer success with a platform for defining and measuring value in stakeholder relationships; CMO of Pendo, the leading product analytics and digital adoption platform; and chief of research at Gartner, where he advised and published on CMO and customer experience topics. His writing has appeared in dozens of publications, including Forbes, Inc., and Harvard Business Review. He holds a BA in English and Political Science from University of New Hampshire, an MBA from Bentley, an MA in Liberal Studies from University of North Carolina Asheville, and a USCG 50 Ton Master Captain’s License.

Bret Starr joins us this week in a fascinating talk about how and why marketing needs to change - and how better customer experience across the board is the answer.

Grab Bret's book on Amazon: A Humble Guide To Fixing Everything In Brand, Marketing, And Sales

Bret is founder and CEO of The Starr Conspiracy, an experience agency that has served thousands of tech companies around the world since 1999. Bret has dedicated his entire career to developing abundant employee, customer and shareholder experiences. He is an author, speaker and executive, but spends most of his time in the lab researching and creating experience models to help make the human-first value chain a broad reality.

This week, UX researcher Matthew Oliphant joins Jon and Andi to talk about how better understanding can lead to better UX.

Matthew is the Head of Design and Research at Studio VO. He is an experienced design and research leader who has improved dozens of products and services in multiple industries, such as Healthcare, Financial Services, and Education. 

He cares deeply about empowering humans to live with less suffering and more dignity—and does his best to make sure technology supports that goal rather than its usual hindrance. He loves coffee, motorcycles, and long walks off short piers.

Designing a business (product or service!) based on assumptions of what your customers like or dislike can be a huge misstep. Jon and Andi talk in this episode about how to ask great questions of your clients or customers, how to get to the heart of the problems they face, and how to prioritize those problems.

Far too many organizations overlook the importance of CX in their sales process -- and it shows. We talk a bit about brands that get it right, and how, as well as some missteps that put us off from the gate.

In this episode, we're talking about The New Customer, a report published last month discussing seven ways customers have "significantly changed" since the pandemic hit.

Link to the report: https://thenewcustomer.com/

Welcome back to season 2 of Walk the Walk: where we continue to talk to leaders running values-based businesses.  Season 2 will feature a new cohost, Jon Jones, CEO of Anthroware, and focus on the role of CX in aligning with your values - both internally and externally. 

Every interaction with a brand is an opportunity to make an impression - whether it’s on purpose or accidental. Great customer experience can improve all aspects of your business by intentionally fostering trust with every customer, in every interaction, every time.

• Want to win more deals? Customer experience.
• Higher profitability? Customer experience.  
• Improved team culture? You guessed it - CX is vital here too.

The thing most innovative companies have in common is a deep understanding of their customer's needs. Michelle Royal knows; she's been helping companies unleash their innovative potential for nearly 20 years through her consultancy, Royal Innovation Design Group (RIDG).

In this episode, Michelle and Andi talk about how to stay innovative during crisis, harnessing the potential to innovate within even the most inflexible of organizations, and how all organizations can enable innovation on the inside. 

Colin is the CEO and founder at Sheets & Giggles, a start-up that makes eco-friendly (and ultra comfy) bedding out of eucalyptus trees. Colin knew he wanted to found a business that could make an impact on his community and the earth, and he did it.

Colin talks to Andi about the balance between building a startup (and making investors happy) and the desire to give back to his community. 

As President & Chief Executive Officer of The Florida Aquarium, Roger Germann's leadership has been instrumental in guiding this Tampa attraction through some very difficult times.

In this episode, Roger and Andi talk about the importance of guiding principles, managing expectations, and always keeping your margins in mind. After all, in the world of mission-driven organizations, more margin means more mission.