What The Teck?

Brandon Knight is the Head of Global Channel Customer Experience at Zoom, where he cultivates a world-class customer experience on various channels. As a contact center and channel expert, he served as the VP of Contact Center Practice at Telarus, one of Zoom's leading partners. Brandon is a DEI advocate and serves on various boards, including EmployBridge, Channel Futures, and Xposure Inclusion & Diversity Council, which he co-founded.

Many organizations have embraced new technology like AI and automation, but contact centers are less savvy. This is because companies hesitate to provide consultants with the tools and information they need to resolve pressing concerns, consequently diminishing the customer experience. How can external stakeholders empower businesses to improve their services?

Customer service and call center veteran Brandon Knight says corporations must recognize the value proposition of new technology and upgraded customer experiences. Accordingly, technology providers should share data-driven reports comparing customer feedback against competitors. As a stakeholder, you can also evaluate contact center service levels by posing as customers and offering constructive criticism. Brandon advises companies to adopt video capabilities for their contact centers to resolve customer issues effectively.

Join Rolando Rosas and Dave Kelly in today's episode of What The Teck? as they sit down with Brandon Knight, Zoom's Head of Global Channel Customer Experience, to discuss enhancing the contact center experience. Brandon explains the importance of providing call center agents with data and technology, Zoom's customer interaction efforts, and how businesses can maintain exceptional customer service in remote work environments.

Craig "CJ" Settles is an industry analyst, speaker, and author. Saved from a stroke by telehealth, he now unites community broadband teams and healthcare stakeholders through telehealth projects that transform healthcare delivery. CJ conducts industry needs analyses to improve economic development, healthcare, education, and local government. He has provided community broadband consulting services since authoring Fighting the Good Fight for Municipal Wireless in 2005.

With the healthcare industry adopting digital technology, the demand for telehealth to address long-term care management has increased. This requires widespread access to reliable broadband connections. But insufficient funding hinders deployment for underserved communities. So how are governments addressing these concerns, and how can you facilitate their efforts?

At the end of 2021, a congressional bill was passed to permit spending for broadband networks and establish infrastructure in major cities. But this has raised practical concerns regarding implementation and allocation to support and prioritize needs. As technology continues to innovate and evolve, industry analyst CJ Settles observes that governments must anticipate trends and adapt broadband capabilities to ensure efficiency and sustainability. Cities including Chattanooga, Long Beach, and Santa Monica have developed broadband community action councils to assess demands, facilitate decision-making, and initiate structured funding and deployment approaches.

Join Rolando Rosas and Dave Kelly on this episode of What The Teck? as they interview telehealth and broadband activist Craig "CJ" Settles about deploying broadband networks in communities. CJ talks about AI's adoption in healthcare, community efforts to establish broadband action teams, and how to educate communities about broadband technologies.

Tim Ash is an international keynote speaker on evolutionary psychology and digital marketing, an author, and a marketing advisor. He is the author of Unleash The Primal Brain and the bestselling author of Landing Page Optimization. Tim is also the Founder of SiteTuners, a strategic conversion rate optimization agency.

As a thought leader, he has been mentioned by Forbes as a Top-10 Online Marketing Expert and by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the Top-15 Online Marketing Influencers To Watch. Tim is the Founder and former Chairperson of the worldwide Digital Growth Unleashed conference series and the former online voice of website improvement as the host of the Landing Page Optimization Podcast on WebmasterRadio.fm.

When it comes to digital marketing, B2B and B2C companies often need more effective engagement tactics and struggle to influence their target audience. So how can you create a marketing campaign that empathizes with your ideal consumers?

Digital marketing expert Tim Ash affirms that there are no rational decisions regarding customers' buying habits. When creating a campaign, it's crucial to identify and leverage the emotional component of each decision to reach your audience successfully. Once you understand specific motivations, you can structure your service or product around a key problem exclusive to a particular demographic, communicate the resulting adverse consequences, and present a viable solution.

Tune in to this rebroadcast of What The Teck?, as Rolando Rosas and Dave Kelly host Tim Ash, author of Unleash Your Primal Brain, to discuss leveraging primal instincts to enhance your marketing campaign. Tim explains the big lie of decision-making, the importance of understanding your audience when developing marketing campaigns, and the power and purpose of storytelling.

John Lee is the Co-founder and CEO of Work From Anywhere, a platform that helps companies execute a compliant global hiring strategy. He also founded CultureMee, an intercultural communications platform that won "Best Travel Technology Product" at the Global Youth Travel Awards in 2018. Before Work From Anywhere and CultureMee, John held senior finance roles and traveled to over 150 locations in a 10-year period, where he witnessed the challenges of managing complex corporate and individual taxes and employment law across multiple jurisdictions.

Remote work is becoming mainstream, initiating a demand for digital nomad work styles, where employees work remotely from various global locations. But these policies have legal implications that can be costly for uninformed companies. So how can you navigate tax and immigration laws to develop work-from-anywhere policies that boost talent acquisition and retention?

Many businesses believe that countries waive tax requirements after 183 days of residence. But according to digital nomad John Lee, this is a myth, and violating an employment visa can subject your company to fines, preventing you from hiring globally. Developing a global work program requires evaluating each country's laws to remain compliant. Some countries, including Portugal and Barbados, offer two types of digital nomad visas: work from anywhere, allowing employees to work temporarily in another country, and hire from anywhere, permitting businesses to hire within a given country. By comprehensively assessing work abroad prerequisites, you can decrease employee attrition.

Tune in to this episode of What The Teck? as Rolando Rosas and Dave Kelly host Co-founder and CEO of Work From Anywhere, John Lee, to discuss working abroad. John shares the leading countries for remote work, the risks companies face when adopting work abroad policies, and advice for adapting to a digital nomad lifestyle.

Dan Smolen is the Executive Producer and host of the What's Your Work Fit? podcast, an engagement platform bringing together today's business and workplace thought leaders, hiring managers, and career seekers. As a skilled communicator and thought leader, he is nationally recognized as an advocate for the future of work and employees doing meaningful work.

Dan began his career in advertising and marketing, earning a US patent for his digital marketing and targeting methodology. After founding The Green Suits, a nationally respected talent recruitment firm, Dan published his first book, Tailoring the Green Suit.

The traditional work model entails measuring productivity based on hours, and the transition to remote work has initiated surveillance technology that monitors activity such as keystrokes. But the pandemic's economic implications have engendered a substantial cultural shift, increasing demands for autonomy. So how can you cultivate meaningful work styles?

Future of work advocate Dan Smolen emphasizes evaluating the work produced and outcomes achieved to assess productivity. This provides employees the freedom to focus on personal matters during their work day. But a conventional work-life balance is not sufficient enough in that it implies a definitive split between the two. Instead, Dan proposes discovering your work fit to connect with purposeful work and customize it to adhere to your lifestyle.

Join Rolando Rosas and Dave Kelly in this episode of What The Teck? as they talk with Executive Producer and host of What's Your Work Fit?, Dan Smolen, about structuring your career around your life. Dan describes productivity paranoia, the benefits of meaningful work, and how American work culture differs from European cultures.

Felecia Freely is a Senior Software Engineer at Capital One, a designer, writer, and content creator interested in social constructionism, sociology, philosophy, and technology. As a mid-tier influencer, she has 600K followers on TikTok. Felecia creates educational and entertaining content, focusing on complex topics by referencing famous thought experiments, theories, and awe-inspiring stories that encourage a deeper understanding of society.

TikTok is the leading social media platform, and brands are creating compelling content to market their products. But the platform's algorithm is often randomized, with videos appearing intermittently, so not everyone succeeds in audience engagement. So what strategies can you leverage to build brand awareness?

According to influencer Felecia Freely, TikTok's unconventional search algorithm makes the platform optimal for experimentation, allowing you to develop and hone a storytelling style that aligns with your brand values. Since most videos are viewed by users outside your network, it's crucial to optimize content for a diverse audience by providing context into your brand and practical uses for your products. Felecia also recommends experimenting with various content creators and influencers to master TikTok's algorithm and help you develop meaningful videos that engage audiences and expose your brand.

In this episode of What The Teck? Rolando Rosas and Dave Kelly welcome Felecia Freely back to the show to talk about developing and promoting your brand on TikTok. Felecia shares her strategy for social engagement, how to evaluate content creators and influencers, and how to discover your storytelling style.

Dr. Arshia Khan is a Professor of Computer Science and the Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD). Her academic research involves deploying wearable sensors and assistive robotics to help maintain the quality of life for individuals affected with Alzheimer's, bipolar disorder, and pressure sores and to facilitate recovery after open heart surgery. Passionate about encouraging women in computing, Dr. Khan started UMD's Circle of Computing Women group. Her developments have been featured in numerous publications and news outlets, including TheNew York Times, Science Times, and NPR.

AI and robotics are rapidly advancing sectors with unique potential in the healthcare industry, specifically for the elderly and dementia care. One professor is pioneering these technologies to facilitate patient engagement and memory loss treatment. So what can you learn from her efforts?

Since the onset of the pandemic, nursing home residents have been largely isolated. Dr. Arshia Khan has developed AI-powered robots embedded with various applications that can gather patient information and hold meaningful conversations, assist with exercise routines, and provide entertainment. The robots offer residents social interaction and engagement while relieving staff members of their tasks. Additionally, Dr. Khan is developing robots that can diagnose and reduce the effects of advanced-stage dementia.

In this episode of What The Teck?, Rolando Rosas and Dave Kelly talk with Dr. Arshia Khan about how she's developing robots to assist with elderly and dementia care. Dr. Khan also shares her vision for women in computer science and affordable robotics, the networking and data collection process in robots, and how these technologies have pioneered the healthcare industry.

Chad Rubin is the Founder and CEO of Profasee, a dynamic pricing platform enabling brands to predict the optimum price for every product. He has built several successful companies, including Deep and Sassy, Think Crucial, and Skubana, which was acquired by 3PL Central. As a speaker and world-class Amazon expert, Chad gives presentations about e-commerce, SaaS, and Amazon at global conferences and webinars. He is also the co-author of the Amazon bestseller Cheaper Easier Direct.

Amazon's seller marketplace is advancing daily, and there are numerous factors impacting product pricing, including competition, keyword rankings, and inflation. So how can you stay ahead in this competitive landscape?

According to Amazon expert Chad Rubin, brands must leverage algorithms and data to make informed pricing decisions. This requires utilizing AI to forecast EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) and net profit. To outperform your competitors, it's crucial to build and invest in an original product that maximizes ROI. Profasee is an AI-driven platform that helps sellers develop specific and dynamic product pricing to optimize profitability.

In today's episode of What The Teck?, Rolando Rosas and Dave Kelly interview Chad Rubin, Founder and CEO of Profasee, about product pricing on Amazon. Chad also talks about shifting your perspective after a business sale, his experience promoting multiple startups to investors, and advice for managing Amazon's seller landscape.

Chad Franzen is a podcast host, writer, and Project Manager at Rise25, a company that helps B2B business owners connect with their ideal prospects, referral partners, and strategic partners through a done-for-you podcast service. As an experienced journalist, broadcaster, and storyteller, he has worked in news writing, sports broadcasting, and video and podcast production. Chad has also done play-by-play sports broadcasting at state championship games for high school basketball and football.

Traditionally, broadcasting has been a competitive industry to enter. But the widespread adoption of remote work has uncovered modern media avenues that anyone can break into, such as podcasting. This media form allows entrepreneurs to establish themselves as thought leaders in their industries. Today's guest shares best practices for running and promoting a podcast.

New media expert Chad Franzen says to consider podcasting as an opportunity to build and nurture valuable business relationships. Instead of selling your product or service to a prospect, you can invite them as a guest on your podcast and cross-promote each others' businesses. By refining your interview strategy and asking industry-specific questions, you demonstrate your experience while highlighting your guest. Rise25 conducts outreach efforts and helps you develop a consistent referral strategy to turn guests into clients.

In today's episode of What The Teck? Rolando Rosas and Dave Kelly interview Chad Franzen about the value of podcasting for relationship building. Chad explains how to break into podcasting and promote your show, remote work trends in podcasting and broadcasting, and the key storytelling aspects of a podcast.

Dan Maccarone is the Co-founder and CEO of Charming Robot, a product design company creating digital experiences. For the past 20 years, he has been helping startups and media companies shape their online product strategies, including creating Hulu's original strategy and user experience. Dan also has experience in television, music, and print media, having worked with Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live, Universal Music Group, and The Wall Street Journal. He also hosts the weekly podcast Story In a Bottle, where he speaks to tech industry experts, including founders, VCs, and user experience and visual designers.

Digital technology and business practices are constantly evolving. Those who resist change may remain static and struggle to scale, so innovating is essential to improve user experiences. How are the top companies adapting to the modern digital world, and what can you learn from their efforts?

Amazon has evolved its product navigation features to meet consumer demands. Similarly, Bloomingdale's integrates multiple UX designs to separate its brands and ensure a consistent experience across all channels. Dan Maccarone says you can modify designs and strategies from TikTok and other social media platforms to innovate digital experiences and reach diverse audiences.

In this episode of What The Teck? Rolando Rosas and Dave Kelly invite Dan Maccarone, Co-founder and CEO of Charming Robot, to speak about enhancing user experiences in the evolving digital landscape. Dan also talks about how he innovated his business model during COVID, how data-sharing impacts the user experience, and the common mistakes businesses make today.