SIMPLE brand With Matt Lyles

In this week’s episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Phil Mershon, author of Unforgettable: The Art and Science of Creating Memorable Experiences.Phil’s the Director of Experience for Social Media Examiner where he's been designing and delivering amazing event experiences like Social Media Marketing World and the Social Media Success Summit for over a decade.Drawing from over 25 years in creating customized events, Phil's a master at delivering and teaching others how to deliver memorable moments in transformational experiences.Phil and I talk about how to create life-changing experiences that leave a lasting impact on your audience.Here’s what we discuss:🎙️How the acronym DRIED describes the 5 threats to executing a great event🎙️How event planners can mitigate distractions and build in margin🎙️How the concept of baking bread relates to planning events🎙️How to use the customer journey to create peak moments that stand out🎙️What emotions attendees should feel each moment of the event experience🎙️How a toothbrush can create an unforgettable experience🎙️What event planning and everyday customer experience have in commonRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Phil's sitePhil’s book - Unforgettable: The Art and Science of Creating Memorable ExperiencesPhil on LinkedIn

In this week’s episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Tiffani Bova, author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller - The Experience Mindset: Changing the Way You Think About Growth.Tiffani’s an international keynote speaker and the former global customer growth and innovation evangelist at Salesforce.She’s been named twice as one of the top 50 business thinkers in the world by Thinkers50. She’s a regular contributor to Forbes, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, and Harvard Business Review.And she’s the host of the What's Next! With Tiffani Bova podcast.Tiffani and I discuss the impact your brand has when you place an equal focus on both customer experience and employee experience.Here’s what we discuss:How Tiffani defines “happy employees”The fastest way to get customers to love your brand is to get employees to love their job.How a focus on reducing customer effort has created the “CX Delimma” The pandemic shined a light onto the lack of investment brands have made for employeesWhat companies see when they place a simultaneous focus on CX and EXHow to help your employees instill an experience mindset How Best Buy was able to turn things around by placing an equal focus on CX and EXRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Tiffani's siteTiffani’s book - The Experience Mindset: Changing the Way You Think About GrowthTiffani’s book - Growth IQ: Get Smarter About the Choices that Will Make or Break Your BusinessTiffani's podcast - What's Next! With Tiffani BovaTiffani on LinkedIn

Dave Norton, Founder and Principal of Stone Mantel, discusses how to design customer experiences that are seen as time well saved, invested, and spent. They explore the drawbacks of customer segmentation and personas, emphasize the importance of measuring the value of an experience with the 'time well spent' metric, and discuss modes of consumer behavior. They also provide insights on how brands can enhance the time experience for customers.

In this week’s episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with David Burkus.David’s written six award-winning books. He’s delivered three TEDx talks that have been viewed over two million times. He’s been featured by the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, USA Today, Fast Company, and more. And he’s consistently ranked as one of the top world business thought leaders by thinkers50. David was actually our very first guest on episode 2 talking about how to inspire and align your employees to pick a fight.Then he was back on episode 23 teaching us how to lead from anywhere.This time he’s back to discuss his latest book - Best Team Ever: The Surprising Science of High-Performing Teams.Why are some teams more motivated, more innovative, and more successful than others? Why do some groups of talented people actually fall short when compared to teams of less talented people?It comes down to the habits and practices you put in place that bring out the best in your team.David and I discuss how some of the world’s most effective teams do this, and we show you how you can do the same with your team.Here’s what we discuss:The team that an employee is on is highly correlated to their employee experienceTeam cultures are likely different from the corporate cultureThe three elements that separate high-performing teams from all othersThe talent of your team members doesn’t matter as much as you think it doesHow to build a common understanding in your teamBuild psychological safety in your team through Trust, Risk, RespectFocusing on WHO is impacted by your work is a stronger driver than your WHYHow to build your team back up if any high-performing elements break downRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:David's siteDavid's book - Best Team Ever: The Surprising Science of High-Performing TeamsDavid on LinkedInSIMPLE brand #23: David Burkus – Leading From AnywhereSIMPLE brand #2: David Burkus – Inspire And Align Your Employees to Pick A Fight

In this week’s episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Evelyn Starr.Evelyn is an author, brand expert, and marketing consultant with over 25 years of marketing strategy and research experience. She’s worked with a number of well-known brands including Hasbro, Gillette, and Dunkin. She specializes in working with “brands in adolescence,” brands that have stalled after their initial success. And Evelyn’s the author of Teenage Wastebrand: How Your Brand Can Stop Struggling and Start Scaling.Evelyn and I discuss her lessons from Teenage Wastebrand including the symptoms that adolescent brands display when they hit that awkward phase and start stalling. Fortunately, we also discuss the steps you can take to help your brand navigate through adolescence and come out stronger.Here’s what we discuss:Brands should not be a “set it and forget it” approach. They should evolve.Brands are formed in customers’ minds based on their experienceHow you can ensure your customers define your brand the way you’d likeWhat causes a brand to stall into “brand adolescence” The different symptoms of brand adolescenceHow brands get into identity crisisThe right way to define your brand purpose and brand attributesHow to help your employees understand minimum requirements versus differentiatorsRecognizing when your brand is self-centered and how to solve thatThe brand your employees receive internally will be the brand they deliver to your customersYour brand values act as a filter for your employees’ decisions and actionsRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Evelyn's siteEvelyn's book - Teenage Wastebrand: How Your Brand Can Stop Struggling and Start ScalingEvelyn on LinkedIn

In this week’s episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Allen Adamson.Allen’s the co-founder and managing partner of Metaforce, a consultancy that takes a disruptive, multidisciplinary approach to help brands grow. He's also an adjunct professor at the Berkeley Center for Entrepreneurship at NYU Stern School of Business.And Allen’s the author of a number of bestselling brand strategy books including his latest - Seeing the How: Transforming What People Do, Not Buy, to Gain Market Advantage.Allen and I walk through his eight different lenses to help you understand the best ways to innovate your experience based on your brand, your industry, and most importantly your customer.Here’s what we discuss:Before you make a brand promise, make sure your brand has the ability to deliver on itHow brands differentiate themselves has evolved over the past few decadesWhat it means for brands to make people’s lives better through experience innovationThe best brands find ways to cut steps out of the normal customer experienceMarketers are here to figure out how to solve problems in their customers’ livesAllen’s eight lenses for marketers to use to craft and deliver their customer experienceCustomers don’t share about an experience unless it’s phenomenally good or phenomenally badThe best brands focus in and drill down instead of trying to broaden their reachThe most important word in a marketer’s vocabulary is “WHY?”How marketers can enlist other functional areas to focus on customer experienceRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Allen's siteAllen’s agency - MetaforceAllen’s book - Seeing the How: Transforming What People Do, Not Buy, To Gain Market AdvantageAllen on LinkedIn

In this week’s episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Howard Tiersky.Howard is the CEO and Founder of FROM, a digital transformation agency that helps some of the world's largest brands navigate digital transformation and re-invent their customer journeys to earn the love of today's ‘digital customers’.He’s named one of the Top 10 Digital Transformation Influencers by IDG Magazine, and one of the Top 100 Customer Success Strategists by Success Coaching.And Howard’s the author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller - Winning Digital Customers: The Antidote to Irrelevance.Howard and I discuss why the most valuable companies are known for providing a seamless, digital customer experience. And we discuss his five-step roadmap to help your brand do the same.Here’s what we discuss:What drives irrelevance in brands todayEvery interaction a customer has with you forms their perception of the entire experienceHow to earn and keep customer love by helping them feel lovedWhat causes 84% of digital transformations to failHow to get your peer leaders to buy into digital transformationHoward’s five-step roadmap for transforming your customer experienceHow focusing on quick wins helps fuel momentum in digital transformationHow to calculate, prioritize and know which quick wins to build in your customer experienceRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Howard’s siteHoward’s book - Winning Digital Customers: The Antidote to IrrelevanceHoward on LinkedIn

In this week’s episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Leslie O’Flahavan.Leslie’s the owner and founder of E-WRITE where she helps Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and non-profit organizations learn how to write better for both their customers and their internal audiences.Leslie and I discuss how you can use plain language to simplify your customer experience while setting up your frontline employees for success.Here’s what we discuss:How writing in business has changed (not devolved!) over the decadesHow customer experience is like a romantic relationshipHow brands can build up affinity with customers through plain languageThe biggest drivers of complex and boring language form brandsHow to build empathy with customers without increasing legal riskHow to empower frontline employees to incorporate plain language and brand voiceThe need for consistent language and brand voice pre and post-purchaseCan and should empathy be scripted?RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Leslie's siteLeslie on LinkedInLeslie on Threads

This week's SIMPLE brand  episode features a "From the Vault" discussion with Stacey Hanke about her book, Influence Redefined: Be the Leader You Were Meant to Be, Monday to Monday!When it comes to providing simple experiences to your customers, or your team members, you’re either helped or hindered by your level of influence. And many leaders are mistaken about what it means to be influential. In this episode, Stacey and I discuss methods for improving communication and producing the ideal type of influence—one that moves people to action long after an interaction is over. She dispels the most common influence myths and shares how leaders can stop sabotaging themselves in order to leave a positive, lasting impression with everyone.RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODEStacey’s book: Influence RedefinedStacey Hanke, Inc.

In this week’s episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Joey Coleman!Joey’s an award-winning speaker and a customer experience and employee experience design expert. He’s worked with hundreds of companies to help them deliver remarkable customer experiences while dramatically improving their profits.You may remember ​Joey’s first appearance on the SIMPLE brand podcast when he taught us how to successfully retain and grow our customer base. This time, we discuss his latest bestseller about how to apply those same principles in our own house – ​Never Lose an Employee Again: The Simple Path to Remarkable Retention.Joey and I discuss what you can do to help your employees feel heard, understood, and valued in their first 100 days and beyond.Here’s what we discuss:Why brands spend more time acquiring and hiring talent versus retaining talentMost brands have a gap in who’s responsible for creating a remarkable experience on a new hire’s Day 2 and beyond If we don’t hold our employees’ hands and help them acclimate they’ll leaveThe cost of an employee leaving is 250% of their annual salary45% of new hires won’t make the 100-day anniversary: 4% leave on Day 1!When one employee leaves, there’s a snowball effect on remaining employees If you create remarkable employee experiences, your employees create remarkable customer experiencesJoey’s 100-day 8-phase employee journey to focus onYou can gauge your employee advocacy by the number of employee referrals you haveWhile you’re focused on your new hires’ journeys, don’t forget your existing employeesRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Joey’s siteJoey’s book - Never Lose an Employee AgainJoey on LinkedInSIMPLE brand #73: Joey Coleman – Never Lose a Customer Again