The Modern Customer Podcast

What has turned into a successful career as an author and keynote speaker started with a birthday party magic performance as a young boy. When Shep Hyken was just 12 years old, he gave his first presentation of sorts by performing tricks in front of an audience of other kids. Years later, he would begin a full-time speaking career that tapped into much of what he did as a young magician.          ...

Last year Marriott bought Starwood Hotels. The $13 billion merger created the world's largest hotel company with more than 1.1 million rooms and about 5,700 hotels in more than110 countries. The merger combines Marriott brands, including Ritz Carlton, Courtyard and Residence Inn, with W Hotels, Westin, Sheraton and other Starwood brands. Now with the merger comes a fresh approach to engaging all t...

Today many consumers are deeply confused about artificial intelligence and the impact it makes. According to a recent Pega survey of 6,000 customers in six countries, consumers appear hesitant to fully embrace artificially intelligent devices and services. Only one in three (36 percent) are comfortable with businesses using artificial intelligence to engage with them – even if this typically resul...

In a world driven by technology and as more companies cut their customer service efforts as a way to save money, customers can often feel like they are surrounded by information with nowhere to turn. The Better Business Bureau is out to advocate for customers and fight customer fraud in the modern world. According to Steve McFarland, president and CEO of the BBB in Los Angeles and Silicon Valley,...

In today's technology-driven world, one of the foundations of a strong customer experience is data. But with so much data floating around, it can be difficult for companies to know what information to use to best expand their strategies and reach the right customers. According to Rishi Dave, chief marketing officer at Dun & Bradstreet, when data and analytics work together, they can be leveraged t...

There has never been a better time to be a CIO. That's according to Vic Bhagat, CIO of Verizon Enterprise Solutions, who has decades of experience in the technology space. Where it used to be that CIOs were fighting for a spot at the table and struggling to get their voices heard, CIOs are now front and center. Nearly every innovative thing companies want to do today, from social, mobile, big data...

Customer experience is constantly evolving as new products and technology are introduced, but nothing has changed it more than social media. Instead of brands just talking at customers, social media puts the power back in the hands of the customers and gave them a voice to share their experiences. Social customer experience opens huge opportunities for companies to build relationships with their c...

Today I bring you a special podcast interview with singer, actress and entrepreneur Christina Milian and her business partner Josh Bocanegra who together have built a company called Persona Bots . Persona Bots is a tech company that builds chatbots for celebrities. They've built chatbots for reality TV star Jwoww, literary film character Christian Grey, model Karrueche Tran, musician Kehlani and m...

One of the brightest and most recognizable accessory brands around is Vera Bradley. Its bold patterns and functional designs make it a desirable brand for purses, wallets, and more. But beyond the bright colors is a successful brand that had stood the test of time and showcases the importance of building a brand that lasts.             No matter the industry, there is a ton of competition for cust...

Imagine being able to instantly get recommendations for top restaurants, hotels, and attractions, no matter where you are in the world without having to talk to a human. It's a great resource for travelers made possible by the TripAdvisor chatbot.             Chatbots are popping up everywhere. TripAdvisor as a company tries to stay on top of new technology, but it didn't want to create a chatbot...

All companies face challenges with industry disruption. No matter if you're in healthcare, education, retail or anything else, there are sure to be changes in the industry over the coming years. However, prepared companies can use that disruption to their advantage to continue to hone their customer experience. AT&T is a good case study of staying ahead of the trends while still working to provide...

As the consumer world changes, businesses must adapt their strategies and marketing to best meet the needs of customers. 3 Day Blinds started nearly 40 years ago as a way to provide window coverings faster than the market norm. As the industry changed, the company slowly moved away from retail stores and now sells all of its product through at-home appointments that allow customers to see samples...

How do you keep your brand on message during a changing digital landscape with a company that is more than 100 years old? That's the question faced by Toni Clayton-Hine, CMO of the Xerox Corporation, every day. One of Toni's main tasks is managing an evolving brand narrative to a new wave of customers as her company returns to its roots.             As the world gets more digital, Xerox is going b...

Evolving technology means nearly everything about the customer experience is changing—including the role of the CMO. That's according to Maggie Chan Jones, CMO of global software company SAP. Maggie draws on her years of industry experience to navigate the changing customer landscape. Where the buying journey used to be linear, the best marketers must now adapt to changing consumer behaviors. Mark...

Much of the technology that's being developed now will help us coordinate things, from employees to customers, in a much smoother way. Devin Fidler, research director at Institute For The Future, compares it to being an orchestra conductor—as we better use technology, we can more easily bring in other parts of the customer experience to create a smoother melody within our organizations.           ...

Not everyone loves dealing with banks or credit card companies. Citi Global Cards and its chief customer and digital experience officer, Alice Milligan, are changing that with a customer-centric culture and plans to make the entire credit card process simpler and easier for all customers.             With so much disruption in the banking world, the focus is definitely on digital and mobile. Citi...

Collaboration and feedback are two hallmarks of great customer experience, and both are on display at Salesforce. The company's IdeaExchange is a place for thousands of customers and end users gather to share their feedback and suggestions about the popular software, and it has been wildly successful as it celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.             As IdeaExchange has grown over the ye...

Customer experience and the contact center landscape are already in the process of changing dramatically, and change will continue to happen for years to come, according to Ian Jacobs, a senior analyst at Forrester. One of the biggest impacts on contact centers has been the growth of self-service technology. Instead of calling a company with every question, customers now have a variety of resource...

It used to take customers a lot of effort to shop around—they had to drive from store to store to compare prices and spend time looking up reviews in books, magazines, and websites. These days, the power has returned to the customers—they can comparison shop, find reviews, and even purchase a competitor's product from their smart phone while still standing in your store. If your company is operati...

The customer experience is far greater than just what a customer sees when they come into a store or visit a website. According to Peter Horst, former CMO of the Hershey Company, is a person can see it, touch it, hear it, or smell it, then it's part of the customer experience. From marketing to strategy and everything in between, the customer experience is the totality of the efforts of nearly eve...

As technology grows and customers gain power to play a bigger role in their shopping and purchasing experiences, businesses must also join in the digital transformation.             According to Vala Afshar, chief digital evangelist at Salesforce, companies need to invest in a CRM (customer relationship management) platform to have a full, 360-degree view of their customers. Without understanding...

What began as an entertainment experience has turned into an innovative way for people to have fun and make memories together. Dave and Buster's was formed when friends Dave, who ran an arcade, and Buster, who ran a restaurant on the same street, noticed customers going back and forth between their establishments on any given evening. They took a risk to open the first combined food, drink, and ar...

Machine learning is a powerful way to access information about your customers in order to personalize the experience to meet their needs. James Staten, chief strategy officer for Microsoft Cloud, works with customers around the world and knows the importance of having a complete picture of how and when customers interact (or don't interact) with a brand.             Instead of simply sorting custo...

With more than 20 million customers a year, Bridgestone Tires is well verse in customer interactions. The world's largest tire and rubber company operates more than 2,000 retail stores around the world, as well as an extensive commercial tire business. So how does the company stay on top of the ever-changing world of customer experience, especially with so many customers involved?             For...

Lisa Lisson, president of FedEx Express Canada, knows the importance of customer experience. As a leader of more than 6,000 employees, her goal is to help them deliver the best possible customer service solutions. Meeting customer expectations wins business, but exceeding expectations leads to customer loyalty, which is the ultimate goal of FedEx Canada, even in the changing world of customer expe...