CS Conversations with Whitnee

Building a Customer Experience Program From the Ground Up With Mike Gomes

Customer Experience Program From the Ground Up With Mike Gomes,"  1. **Introduction to the Podcast and Guest**    - Host introduces the podcast "CS Conversations"    - Overview of the podcast’s focus on customer service, support, and experience    - Introduction of guest Mike Gomes, with a background as a Disney executive and now Chief Experience Officer at Cortland 2. **Mike Gomes' Background and Transition**    - Foundation in guest experience at Disney    - Applying Disney principles in sports    - Transition to the multifamily apartment industry 3. **Establishing a Customer Experience (CX) Program**    - Importance of leadership support for customer-centric strategies    - Leveraging consumer insight and research    - Identifying customer needs    - Prioritizing non-negotiable base offerings 4. **Implementation of Surprise and Delight Strategies**    - Defining base offerings    - Determining surprise and delight moments in the customer experience 5. **Consistency in Customer Experience with Evolving Systems**    - Maintaining consistency amidst evolving systems and processes    - Implementing a CRM system to enhance customer journey    - Correlation of management communication and customer service with overall satisfaction and renewal intent 6. **Change Management in Software Implementation**    - Role of communication and feedback    - Using appropriate language to drive attitudinal shifts    - Focusing on the journey of the customer/resident rather than the property 7. **Community Creation and Satisfaction**    - Importance of creating a community    - Focus on both employee and customer satisfaction in the real estate industry 8. **Case Studies: Negative and Positive Customer Experiences**    - Negative experience at a local restaurant    - Positive experience on a Virgin voyage cruise    - Impact of consistent branding and intentional customer segmentation 9. **Insights and Data Gathering**    - Using large data and insights to define business foundations    - Recognizing different primary drivers for various fan groups 10. **Investment in CRM System**     - Improving communication satisfaction and community satisfaction 11. **Improving Fan Experience in Stadiums**     - Focus on enhancing the food and beverage experience for fans 12. **Achieving Consistent Customer Experience**     - Importance of consistency in execution and leadership reinforcement     - Challenges in achieving consistency across diverse workforce and customer base 13. **Leadership, Training, and Processes**     - Model of consistent operational standards inspired by Chick-fil-A     - Emphasis on leadership, training, and processes for achieving sustainable success  customer support, customer experience, Mike Gomes, Disney executive, Chief Experience Officer, Cortland, CX programs, internal buy-in, voice of the customer, guest experience, multifamily apartment industry, leadership support, customer-centric strategies, consumer insight, customer needs, surprise and delight strategies, base offerings, consistency in customer experience, evolving systems, CRM system, change management, communication feedback, attitudinal shifts, customer journey, community building, employee satisfaction, negative customer experience, positive customer experience, branding consistency, customer segmentation Listen to the full episode now and enhance your CX and CS strategies! https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitneehawthorne/

Engaging, Retaining and Growing A Remote Workforce with Shautnel Lizzarazo

Mastering Remote Workforce Management: Insights from Shauntel Lizzarazo on CS Conversations In the latest captivating episode of CS Conversations titled "Engaging, Retaining and Growing A Remote Workforce with Shauntel Lizzarazo," hosts Whitnee Hosting and Shauntel Lizzarazo delve into the evolving dynamics of remote workforce management. Given her rich background and role at Navon, Shauntel offers invaluable insights into crafting an effective remote work environment, particularly enhanced by her experiences at JetBlue. This episode doesn’t just navigate the theoretical aspects; it gives listeners a real-world peek into the implementation and challenges of remote supervising. **Key Insights from Shauntel Lizzarazo:** 1. **Intentional Leadership and Regular Communication:**    Shauntel underscores the importance of leadership that intentionally focuses on the unique needs of remote teams. Leaders must schedule regular one-on-one sessions with employees to ensure they feel connected and part of the team. These interactions, as highlighted, are not just formalities but are structured and compensated to reflect their importance in ensuring employee engagement and satisfaction.  2. **Implementing 'Direct with the Directors':**    During the tumult of the pandemic, JetBlue introduced the "Direct with the Directors" platform. This initiative provided a structured way for remote agents to receive updates and engage directly with their leaders. Shauntel points out that such platforms are crucial during uncertain times, helping to maintain open lines of communication and thereby ensuring that every team member feels valued and informed. 3. **Prioritizing Compassion in Customer Interactions:**    Sharing a personal anecdote from a hospital visit, Shauntel illustrates how the compassion shown by a medical technician not only eased her anxiety but also shaped her outlook on customer service. This story serves as a poignant reminder that whether in healthcare or aviation, the core qualities of kindness, caring, and compassion are essential for delivering superior customer experiences. She reinforces the need for training programs that cultivate these attributes among customer service providers. 4. **Engagement Beyond Conventional Methods:**    Discussing strategies for maintaining a motivated remote workforce, Shauntel advises against relying solely on recognition and fun activities. Instead, she champions building trust through active listening, consistent engagement, and involving employees in decision-making processes, thus making them feel genuinely valued and understood. 5. **Leveraging the Voice of Remote Agents:**    Understanding the voice of remote agents is crucial in tailoring customer experiences that are both effective and empathetic. Shauntel outlines how during the pandemic, increased mandatory overtime put a significant strain on her team at JetBlue. By choosing to engage with the workforce openly, and having video calls to actively listen and problem-solve together, the leaders managed to sustain morale and productivity. **Conclusion:** Shauntel Lizzarazo’s episode on CS Conversations provides rich, actionable insights for anyone managing remote teams or engaged in customer service and support roles. Her strategies emphasize much more than the logistics of remote work; they hinge on the human aspects of business like communication, compassion, and trust. As remote work continues to define our global workforce, the lessons shared in this episode will undoubtedly remain relevant for fostering engaging, supportive, and effective work environments. https://www.linkedin.com/in/shauntellizzarazo Listen to the full episode now and enhance your CX and CS strategies! https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitneehawthorne/

Making Everyone the Acting Chief Experience Officer With Brittany Hodak of Creating Super Fans

Brittany is the author of Creating Superfans: How To Turn Your Customers Into Lifelong Advocates. The book has sold tens of thousands of copies in the United States and has been translated into foreign languages for international release.  It won the 2023 Outstanding Works of Literature Award for Sales & Marketing Book of the Year. Its simple operating model has helped companies of all sizes and across all industries operationalize customer experience across every department. Forbes wrote upon its release, “If you have customers, you need this book. Period.” You can find out more about Brittany and Creating Super fans at: https://brittanyhodak.com/podcast/ [https://brittanyhodak.com/podcast/] Topics covered in the conversation with Brittany Hodak: 1. Importance of Creating Superfans    - The purpose of a business is to create customers who become advocates    - Turning customers into superfans makes everything about the business easier and more fun    - Real-time measurement of the creation of superfans is important for the health of the business 2. Measures to Create Lifelong Advocates    - Use of KPIs and Metrics    - Importance of real-time or near real-time feedback for actionable insights    - The challenge of turning customers into superfans due to the need for buy-in at every level of the organization 3. Measuring Overall Experience and Impact    - Importance of measuring customer satisfaction (CSAT) for instant feedback and peer benchmarking    - Not everything that counts can be counted, and vice versa    - Introducing the concept of net negative, net positive, and net neutral experiences from an employee's perspective to measure customer interactions 4. The Role of Employees as Acting Chief of Experience    - Employees as the face of the brand and the critical touch points for customer experience    - The need for a greater sense of purpose and accountability among employees in delivering exceptional customer interactions    - The impact of employee experience on customer experience 5. Examples of Great Customer Experiences    - Story about an innovative and entertaining on-hold message experience with the Nashville Zoo    - The connection between creativity, ingenuity, and exceptional customer experiences    - Importance of employee and customer experiences in shaping brand perception 6. Where to Find More Information    - Information about Brittany Hodak's book, "Creating Superfans: How to Turn Your Customers into Lifelong Advocates"    - Availability of the book in various formats    - Access to more stories and newsletter from Brittany Hodak on her website 7. Closing Remarks    - Invitation to visit csconversations.com for more customer experience content    - A call to sign up for the CS Conversations mailing list for access to the latest insights and trends in customer experience customer service, support, customer experience, industry experts, thought leaders, customer centric innovation, CX pro, creating superfans, brand advocacy, KPI, employee experience, CSAT, NPS, EGR, metrics, real-time measurement, customer journey, customer feedback, employee training, customer interactions, agent performance, call center experience, brand representation, customer touch points, employee accountability, brand storytelling, customer engagement, customer satisfaction, brand purpose, customer influence, entertainment strategy Listen to the full episode now and enhance your CX and CS strategies! https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitneehawthorne/

CHIT CHAT: HOW TO TELL REAL FROM FAKE NEXT GEN AI VENDORS

- Explanation of the segment's purpose as a quick insights and timely topics session - Discussion on the topic of distinguishing real versus fake next gen AI vendors - Personal experience shared regarding a practical approach to evaluating vendors - Suggestion to review the vendor's product roadmap for the last two years - Emphasis on gaining insights and asking follow-up questions to determine vendor authenticity Primary Topic: Conclusion - Recap of the insight shared on evaluating next gen AI vendors - Invitation for audience engagement, encouraging them to visit the podcast website and sign up for the mailing list Listeners can expect the chitchat segment to be a quick, focused discussion on relevant and actionable topics related to customer experience, while the episode as a whole offers a glimpse into the podcast's format and content. customer service, customer experience, CX professionals, next gen AI, vendors, product roadmap, chat GPT, counterfeit, genuine, industry experts, thought leaders, customer centric innovation, actionable tips, inspiring stories, customer journey, strategies, insights, real world case studies, CX Pro, fast-paced world, key takeaways, timely topics, genuine NextGen AI, practical approach, podcast, CS Conversations, mailing list, behind the scenes access, sign up, chitchat segment Listen to the full episode now and enhance your CX and CS strategies! https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitneehawthorne/

The Importance of Partnership Between Product and CS teams with Mike Stromer of Brooklyn Digital Ventures and former CPO JetBlue

Mike Stromer's professional journey is a testament to his dedication to enhancing customer experience through the seamless integration of digital platforms. With a solid career spanning over two decades, Mike has channeled his expertise mainly within the travel industry and consulting sector. His 14-year tenure at JetBlue stands out as a significant part of his career, where he honed his skills in partnering with customer service, ensuring travelers' satisfaction at every digital touchpoint. Preceding his impactful role at JetBlue, Mike invested eight transformative years at 1800flowers.com. This experience laid the groundwork for his deep understanding of customer interaction, product and the importance of digital engagement, setting the stage for his future successes. In recent years, Mike has transitioned to consulting, sharing his rich knowledge and experience with a diverse range of clients. His consultancy work showcases the breadth of his expertise while maintaining the common thread that runs through each role: a relentless focus on the customer's experience. Even with his emphasis on digital channels, Mike recognizes the irreplaceable value of personal touch and remains an advocate for the human element in customer service, especially when it's most needed. Through his career, Mike Stromer has become a prominent figure in the narrative of today's digital customer experience landscape. **Welcome and Introductions** - Welcome listeners to CS Conversations - Introduce special guest Mike Stromer of Brooklyn Digital Ventures, Former CPO JetBlue - Mike's background and expertise in digital experience and customer service integration **Partnership Between Product and CS Teams** - The importance of alignment between customer support and product development - How partnerships can lead to a better understanding of customer behavior - The role of technology in customer and employee satisfaction **Company Policies and Leadership Strategy** - The impact of company policies on customer experience - Aligning leadership strategies with customer service roles - Adapting leadership strategies in response to external factors and global events **Regular Policy Evaluation** - The necessity for regular policy reviews and modifications - The importance of assessing the impact of policies on customer interactions **Challenges Faced as an Independent Consultant** - Mike Stromer's personal experience with medical insurance challenges - How inefficient customer service affected his family's healthcare experience - The importance of first contact resolution and access to customer conversation history **Customer Experience as a Priority** - The imperative of understanding and empathizing with customers - Prioritizing good customer service across all business levels **The Significance of Unified Data** - The difficulty caused by siloed metrics within business operations - Leveraging AI and a unified data source to address customer service challenges **Case Studies in Customer Service** - Experiences shared by Mike about Progressive Insurance and Travis Matthew store - The role of customer engagement in an enriching service experience **Engagement and Brand Storytelling** - The interaction between customer service representatives and customers - The necessity of engaging customers with the brand's narrative **Policies and Customer Closeness** - The value of constant evaluation of policies in relation to the customer experience - The need for dialogue with customers to understand purchasing motivations **Digital and Customer Support Synergy** - The importance of a quick feedback loop between digital and customer support teams - The impa Listen to the full episode now and enhance your CX and CS strategies! https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitneehawthorne/