Customers First Podcast

On this episode of the Customer's First Podcast, Tacey sits down with Jon Clemence, the creator and owner of Cedar Press Proofreading. Jon shared his transition from a corporate job to starting his own proofreading business. He emphasized the importance of proofreading and editing in enhancing the customer experience, highlighting how simple errors like spelling mistakes can deter potential customers.

Jon provided valuable tips for proofreading our own work, such as utilizing spell checkers and grammar tools wisely and creating an internal style guide for consistency. Furthermore, Jon discussed how proofreaders can elevate the quality of content by tightening prose, finding and fixing basic errors, and ensuring consistency in writing style.

Jon concluded by inviting viewers to visit his website for more insights and resources on improving online content. Overall, the episode provided valuable insights into proofreading and content editing, underscoring the impact of attention to detail on creating a positive customer experience.

Timestamps:

16:17: Proofreading Tips 19:30: Tightening Prose 20:39: Finding Basic Errors 22:33: Simple Things Like Number Consistency Jon's Contact Information: Website: cedarpressproofreading.com LinkedIn: @JonClemence Instagram: @cp_proofreading

Tacey's Contact Information:

Website:www.taceyatkinson.com

All Social Media: @taceyatkinson

Thank you for tuning in, and I look forward to having more valuable conversations together in the future.

Remember:

Customer Centric Cultures Create Magical Customer Experiences.

Now Go Create the Magic!

On this episode of the Customer's First Podcast, we spoke with Shelly Niehaus, an expert in personal branding for service-based businesses. Shelly shared her journey from a professional commercial photographer to an online marketing coach, helping service providers improve their marketing strategies. She emphasized the importance of building a personal brand that shines online and outlined the three key elements of a personal brand: name, face, and how you make people feel. Shelly provided practical tips for developing a compelling personal brand, including connecting, inviting, and positioning yourself effectively.

Furthermore, Shelly discussed the significance of maintaining consistent branding across all marketing channels, including websites and social media platforms. She highlighted the impact of conducting a brand audit to ensure that your online presence reflects your brand identity cohesively. Additionally, Shelly shared insights on writing a compelling About Me page, emphasizing the importance of sharing your story and connecting with your audience authentically.

Shelly encouraged listeners to embrace their authentic selves and translate their real-life values into their online presence to create a strong personal brand.

Timestamps:

5:10: Building a Personal Brand Online 10:01: Steps to Develop a Compelling Personal Brand 14:07: Importance of Consistent Brand Messaging 17:43: The Vitality of About Me Pages 25:14: Conducting a Brand Audit Shelly's Contact Information: Website: https://coaching.shellyniehaus.com LinkedIn: Shelly Niehaus Instagram: @shellyniehaus

Tacey's Contact Information:

Website:www.taceyatkinson.com

Social Media: @taceyatkinson

Thank you for tuning in, and I look forward to having more valuable conversations together in the future.

Remember:

Customer Centric Cultures Create Magical Customer Experiences.

Now Go Create the Magic!

Elona Lopari, a business catalyst and author, joins us on this episode of The Customer's First Podcast to discuss her journey and passion for helping businesses align purpose with profit. Elona shares her personal story of immigrating to the U.S. as a teenager, climbing the corporate ladder, and ultimately venturing into entrepreneurship due to a shift in company culture. She emphasizes the importance of following one's purpose and passion in driving decisions and success.

The conversation deepens into Elona's book, "Visionary Purpose-Driven Leadership," which serves as a practical guide for leaders. It outlines the seven foundational pillars, each offering tangible strategies for success. These pillars include conscious leadership, creating a conscious culture, aligning purpose and profit, fostering innovation and creativity, strategic growth, adapting to the future of work, and leaving a lasting legacy. By aligning personal and organizational values, these pillars empower leaders to drive success.

The discussion touches on talent management, building trust within teams, and effectively navigating change management. Elona emphasizes the significance of self-awareness, continuous improvement, and empathy in leadership and the impact of building a culture of trust on brand reputation.

Timestamps:

4:25: Purpose-Driven Leadership Pillars 8:02: Aligning Purpose and Profit 10:27: Nurturing Talent and Culture 13:21: Influential Leadership 18:00:Navigating Change Management 21:15: Building Trust and Reputation Elona's Contact Info: Website: https://www.elonaloparicoaching.com Insta: @elonaloparicoaching LinkedIn: @elona-lopari

Tacey's Contact Information:

Website:www.taceyatkinson.com

Social Media: @taceyatkinson

Thank you for tuning in, and Tacey looks forward to having more valuable conversations together in the future.

Remember:

Customer Centric Cultures Create Magical Customer Experiences.

Now Go Create the Magic!

Join us on this episode of the Customers First Podcast where host Tacey Atkinson welcomes leadership coach and Keystone Pharmacy Insights founder, Jesse McCullough, for a deep dive into the world of leadership and its profound impact on customer service and team dynamics. With a blend of personal anecdotes and actionable insights, Jesse shares his journey from pharmacist to leadership maestro, underscoring the importance of intentional leadership and the art and science behind it.

He emphasizes the importance of leadership in various aspects of life, from work to personal relationships. He discusses the forbidden phrase of leadership, emphasizing the shift from saying "Our people won't do this" to "I haven't led our people to do this yet." Jesse explains the directional leadership framework, focusing on leading oneself first, then leading up, across, and down. He shares a touching story of impacting his team, leading to their personal growth and how everyone deserves to be led well.

Jesse encourages listeners that they are capable of doing hard things and that hard things are what shape and develop us. Finally, Jesse expresses his passion for studying leadership principles and his goal of impacting a thousand pharmacists to become stronger leaders in the coming year. Tune in for an enlightening conversation that promises to transform your approach to leadership and customer-centricity.

Timestamps:

1:51: The Journey into Leadership Passion 5:33: Discovering Learnable Leadership Skills 10:10: Leadership: Art and Science Blend 17:58: The Forbidden Phrase of Leadership 23:23: Importance of Modeling Behaviors 34:24: Current Passion: Studying Leadership Jesse's Contact Information: LinkedIn:jessewmccullough Facebook Group:kpipharmacy

Tacey's Contact Information:

Website:www.taceyatkinson.com

Social Media: @taceyatkinson

Thank you for tuning in, and Tacey looks forward to having more valuable conversations together in the future.

Remember:

Customer Centric Cultures Create Magical Customer Experiences.

Now Go Create the Magic!

On this episode of the Customers First Podcast, we had a fascinating conversation with Sheena Russell, the founder and CEO of Made With Local. She shared her journey of creating a company focused on producing delicious and nourishing foods made from locally sourced ingredients. Sheena's childhood in a food-focused and environmentally conscious family set the foundation for her passion for creating impact through her business. Starting with selling snack bars at farmer's markets, Sheena's company has now grown to retailers across Canada and into the U.S.

Sheena emphasized the importance of building a community around the brand and being transparent and vulnerable in storytelling to connect with customers. Made With Local is a B Corp Certified company that follows ethical and environmental practices in its operations. She discussed the significance of trust and transparency in building a successful brand.

The conversation delved into the decision-making process of sunsetting products, the inspiration behind launching granola bar mixes, and the innovative approach of showcasing seasonal ingredients in their products. Sheena also shared the adventurous story of delivering their products to the Cannes Lions Festival in France after a series of unexpected challenges.

Timestamps:

6:02: Building a Community Brand 15:58: Tough Decisions and Sunsetting Products 22:53: Launching Granola Bar Mixes 27:25: Cannes Film Festival Adventure 33:40: Shaping Moments Sheena's Contact Information: Website: https://www.madewithlocal.com Social Media: @MadeWithLocal

Tacey's Contact Information:

Website:www.taceyatkinson.com

Social Media: @taceyatkinson

Thank you for tuning in, and Tacey looks forward to having more valuable conversations together in the future.

Remember:

Customer Centric Cultures Create Magical Customer Experiences.

Now Go Create the Magic!

On today's episode of the Customer's First Podcast, we were joined by Dave Seaton, the CEO and principal consultant at Seaton CX. Dave shared his journey into customer experience management, highlighting his success in reducing churn and winning awards.

He discussed the importance of customer journey mapping and unveiled his proprietary Dharma method, which consists of five steps: Define, Analyze, Research, Map, and Act. We delved into the differences between journey mapping and process mapping, emphasizing the need for customer insights and aligning mapping projects with strategic goals.

Dave stressed the significance of including customer personas, goals, actions, thoughts, emotions, and moments in journey maps to tell a compelling customer story. He also touched on additional elements like friction points, quantitative data, and opportunities for improvement. Moreover, Dave shared three common reasons for customer journey map failures: lack of customer insight, misalignment with strategic plans, and lack of actionable insights.

Timestamps:

11:52: Importance of Customer Insights 14:44: Elements of Journey Maps 20:15: Additional Considerations for Journey Maps 24:43: Reasons for Journey Map Failures Dave's Contact Information: Website: https://www.seatoncx.com LinkedIn: @daveseaton

Tacey's Contact Information:

Website:www.taceyatkinson.com Social Media: @taceyatkinson

Thank you for tuning in, and Tacey looks forward to having more valuable conversations together in the future.

Remember:

Customer Centric Cultures Create Magical Customer Experiences.

Now Go Spread the Magic!

In this episode, Tacey is joined by the Founder of Dignity Leadership Consulting & Author of "You're Doing It Wrong, Stop Managing & Start Leading," Rich Levene.

Rich discusses his journey from being a high producer to learning what true leadership is through his master's program. He emphasizes the importance of trust, hope, humility, and empathy in leadership and how building a culture of leadership within a business involves everyone, not just those in formal leadership roles. Tune in to hear more about Rich's rich insights and experiences in leadership and personal growth!

Timestamps:

3:17: The Importance of Doing It Right
5:56: Leader vs. Manager Distinction
6:36: Leading People, Managing Things
9:48: Collaboration vs. Cooperation
10:05: Fostering a Collaborative Culture
17:26: Addressing Authoritarian Leadership
19:07: Creating a Culture of Leadership

Rich's Contact Information:

Website: www.richardlevene.com

Instagram: @dignityleadership

LinkedIn: @richlevene

Link to Book: You're Doing It Wrong

Tacey's Contact Information:

Website and Social Media Links:www.taceyatkinson.com @taceyatkinson

Thank you for tuning in, and Tacey looks forward to having more valuable conversations together in the future.

Remember:

Customer Centric Cultures Create Magical Customer Experiences.

Now Go Spread the Magic!

In this episode, Kat Newport, an author, trainer and founder of Oculus, Inc., discusses her journey into conflict resolution and leadership evolution. She explains the importance of managing conflict and how it led her to write her book, "Smart Conflict." Kat emphasizes the significance of conflict resolution in maintaining positive relationships and fostering innovation within organizations.

She delves into the connection between leadership skills, conflict resolution, and organizational growth potential, highlighting the need for training employees in conflict management. Kat shares common challenges people face in navigating conflicts and provides tips for proactive conflict prevention within and outside organizations.

Kat introduces the SMART conflict resolution strategy into five key components: Situation, Measure, Agenda, Relationship, and Time and Place. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the situation, managing emotions, setting agendas, focusing on relationships, and choosing the right time and place for conflict resolution.

Furthermore, Kat shares insights on handling conflicts at the moment when emotions are high, emphasizing the importance of addressing issues promptly to avoid escalation. She stresses the significance of empathetic leadership and creating a safe and inclusive work environment where emotions are acknowledged and valued.

Timestamps:

4:36: Conflict in Customer-Centric Perspective 6:05: Leadership Skills and Conflict Resolution 8:13: Common Challenges in Conflict Navigation 10:26: Strategy for Smart Conflict Solutions 16:14: Handling Conflict in the Moment 18:52: Importance of Empathetic Leadership Kat's Contact Information: Website: https://www.smartconflictbook.com LinkedIn: @kat-newport Instagram: @kat_newport Smart Conflict Book Link

Tacey's Contact Information:

Website and Social Media Links:www.taceyatkinson.com

Thank you for tuning in, and Tacey looks forward to having more valuable conversations together in the future.

Remember:

Customer Centric Cultures Create Magical Customer Experiences.

Now Go Spread the Magic!

In this episode of the Customers First Podcast, Tacey Atkinson hosts Neal Woodson, a teacher, coach, author, and speaker dedicated to putting people first in business. Neal believes workplaces and customer spaces should focus on helping people succeed. With decades of experience in various industries, Neal has written over 500 blog posts and two books, including his latest release, Giving a $#!+: How A Willingness to Be Inconvenienced Can Transform Your Business, Work, and Life. In this book, he provides readers with a plan for making businesses more human.

Neal talks about the inspiration behind his book, "Giving a S#!+," which stemmed from a conversation on a golf course about the importance of caring for others in customer-facing roles and within the organization. He delves into compassion and how it impacts individuals and businesses. Neal cites research and examples to support his claim that businesses must embody a compassionate enterprise.

Neal emphasizes the significance of warmth and competence in human interactions and how businesses must effectively focus on both to build strong relationships with customers and colleagues. He also outlines strategies for instilling a service-first mindset within individuals and organizations. He highlights the importance of aligning to a service-focused message, leading by example, encouraging others, and infusing care into all delivery systems to create a culture centred on service and compassion.

Timestamps:

04:25: The Story Behind "Giving a Shit"

06:18: Impact of Noticing and Compassion

11:18: The Importance of Delivery and Interaction

16:25: Setting the Stage for Change

25:39: Turning It Around

Neal's Contact Information

Website:https://nealwoodson.net/

LinkedIn & Instagram: @nealwoodson

Link to Book:https://nealwoodson.net/gas/

Tacey's Contact Information:

Website and Social Media Links:www.taceyatkinson.com

Thank you for tuning in, and Tacey looks forward to having more valuable conversations together in the future.

Remember:

Customer Centric Cultures Create Magical Customer Experiences.

Now Go Spread the Magic!

Episode 92 Revisited as The #1 Shared & Discussed of 2023

Join Tacey and her special guest, Author, Speaker and CEO of CX Journey Inc., Annette Franz, as they discuss "The Building Blocks of a Customer Experience Strategy."

Annette has nearly three decades of experience inspiring and elevating organizations and teams. Between Annette and Tacey, this episode brings you over seven decades of experience building teams and organizations to become customer-centric.

Annette defines what customer-centric and employee-centric mean and how employee experience ultimately drives the customer experience. She also explains how we go about building and strengthening that connection.

Annette covers some of the building blocks needed to build a customer experience strategy and how customer understanding is vital. She also shares three ways to achieve that customer understanding.

Annette is also giving us a free assessment organizations can take to assess how customer-centric they currently are. The link to that will be below.

Timestamps:

05:29: Defining Customer-Centric Culture

09:01: Customer Experience vs. Employee Experience

12:59: Building a Customer-Centric Organization: Foundational Elements

19:30: The Importance of Customer Understanding

22:10: Free Assessment for Assessing Customer-Centric Culture

Annette's Contact Information:

Website:https://annettefranz.com/

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/annette-franz/

Free Assessment:https://annettefranz.com/assessment/

Tacey's Contact Information:

Website and Social Media Links: www.taceyatkinson.com

Thank you for tuning in, and Tacey looks forward to having more valuable conversations together in the future.

Remember:

Customer Centric Cultures Create Magical Customer Experiences.

Now Go Spread the Magic!