The Delighted Customers Podcast with Mark Slatin The Agile Brand

You’ve just been hired as the Chief Experience Officer to run a financial services firm. What are the keys to driving sustained success?
Join CXO Eric Smuda share his insights on the keys (and the challenges) to leading successful change by driving outstanding customer experiences.
My favorite quote from Eric? “If you’re not using CX as your growth engine, what are you doing???”
Some of the key lessons for this episode of The Delighted Customers Podcast (link in comments below):
'CX and Profit': Good customer experience merges business benefits with customer satisfaction. 'Interaction ROI': Show return on investment in CX by linking experience improvements to CX Suite imperatives such as enhancing acquisition, retention, customer lifetime value, and lowering service costs. 'Digital Impact': Enhance digital CX to increase conversion rates and decrease abandonment, demonstrating clear benefits. 4. 'Relationship Building': Build strong relationships by learning about colleagues' business areas and contributing to shared goals. And lots more gems.
Resources
The Delighted Customers podcast website: https://www.empoweredcx.com/podcast
Sign up for The Trusted Guide newsletter here: https://www.empoweredcx.com/newsletter
Get the latest news and updates on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markslatin/
Register for the next Trusted Guide Roadmap™ Master Class here: https://www.empoweredcx.com/
The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

How can you design experiences to drive customer loyalty?
Kevin Budelmann is an Experience Design expert, a professor at both Michigan State and Northwestern Universities, and authored Brand Identity Essentials.
He brings over a quarter-century shaping design, strategy, and brand experience. We explore the converging paths of behavioral economics, design thinking, and customer experience—all through the lens of his extensive expertise. On this episode of the Delighted Customers Podcast.
🔑 **3 Key Takeaways**: 
**Trust & Emotion in Branding**: Kevin illuminates the critical role of emotional connection and trust in shaping the brand experience - imperative in an era where customers' decisions are heavily influenced by both.  **Understanding Beyond Surveys**: We explore they why and how of recognizing customers’ deeper needs and desires, which often go unspoken, to excel in tailoring your product offerings.  **Impactful Design Decisions**: Discover how design touches our everyday experiences, sometimes subtly, other times overtly, but always with the potential to create a strong impression – and why this matters to your brand. Resources
The Delighted Customers podcast website: https://www.empoweredcx.com/podcast
Sign up for The Trusted Guide newsletter here: https://www.empoweredcx.com/newsletter
Get the latest news and updates on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markslatin/
Register for the next Trusted Guide Roadmap™ Master Class here: https://www.empoweredcx.com/
The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

Dr. Judy Wolfe, who still practices as an ER doctor, talks about the transformative power of patient experience in healthcare. We dive into the critical role of trust, and how reimagining job titles and communication training can revolutionize caregiver-patient interactions. Dr. Judy highlights the urgency of embracing change management and the dire consequences of stagnation in patient care. Dr. Judy prescribes helpful tips from "shift hacks" to loyalty driver tips to "teach backs." Tons of gems in this episode from one the top medical care facilities in the world.
Resources
The Delighted Customers podcast website: https://www.empoweredcx.com/podcast
Sign up for The Trusted Guide newsletter here: https://www.empoweredcx.com/newsletter
Get the latest news and updates on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markslatin/
Register for the next Trusted Guide Roadmap™ Master Class here: https://www.empoweredcx.com/
The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

Keith Ferguson brings his wealth of experience as an entrepreneur along with his career in academia (MSU and FSU) to share his wisdom on customer advocacy. Keith defines customer advocacy and then we talk about the financial impact of having customers who truly advocate for your brand. Keith shares some common mistakes about consumer behavior through a visualization of the customer lifecycle and provides 3 actionable steps leaders can take to create more advocates for their business.
Resources
The Delighted Customers podcast website: https://www.empoweredcx.com/podcast
Sign up for The Trusted Guide newsletter here: https://www.empoweredcx.com/newsletter
Get the latest news and updates on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markslatin/
Register for the next Trusted Guide Roadmap™ Master Class here: https://www.empoweredcx.com/
The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

Joe Pine is on my Mount Rushmore of Customer Experience.   He shares the exact moment, quite by accident, that the concept of "experience" as the next economy after the service economy was hatched. In 2020 Mr. Pine and his partner James H. Gilmore re-released in hardcover The Experience Economy: Competing for Customer Time, Attention, and Money featuring an all-new Preview to their best-selling 1999 book The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage. Joe believes that goods and services are no longer enough; what customers want are experiences—memorable events that engage each individual in an inherently personal way. Join me on The Delighted Customers Podcast as Joe shares a vision for business—a world focused on human flourishing, where individuals become better people and achieve their goals. Discover how understanding your customers' wants, needs, and desires can help you create greater value and make a positive impact. Joe shares practical insights and real world stories of how you can drive business outcomes.  Here are some highlights:
The concepts of mass customization and the experience economy Creating robust, cohesive, personal, dramatic, and transformative experiences Comparing work to theater and the importance of intentional and engaging experiences Changing the world of business to focus on human flourishing The importance of not wasting customers' time and aligning value with what customers value The concept of "customering" and the individualization megatrend Resources
The Delighted Customers podcast website: https://www.empoweredcx.com/podcast
Sign up for The Trusted Guide newsletter here: https://www.empoweredcx.com/newsletter
Get the latest news and updates on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markslatin/
Register for the next Trusted Guide Roadmap™ Master Class here: https://www.empoweredcx.com/
The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

Pink Zebra Moving: Differentiating on CX for Explosive Growth with CEO, Ron Holt
I can’t think of a better illustration of how to prove the ROI of Customer Experience.
Ron Holt sees opportunities in bad customer experiences.  
In fact, he built a successful home cleaning based on disrupting a legacy industry by differentiating the experience his customers receive. 
The model allowed him to scale a one-store cleaning business into a $40M nationally-recognized brand with 90 locations across the country.
Ron shared his entrepreneurial journey and the compelling story behind his company, Pink Zebra Moving. It’s more than just a business success story - it's a masterclass in innovation, customer experience, and entrepreneurial spirit in the home services industry.
🔥Here are 3 key takeaways from our conversation:
- **Innovate With Customer Experience in Mind:**
Ron emphasizes the importance of making the moving process fun. By focusing on building personal relationships and creating memorable experiences for customers, Pink Zebra Moving stands out in the highly competitive moving industry.
- **Cultural Fit is Key When Scaling:**
As the company expands, Ron is careful to maintain its unique ethos. Selecting franchise owners who genuinely share the company's mission is crucial for preserving the brand’s vision and ensuring consistent, high-quality service across all locations.
- **Fail Forward and Commit to Your Vision:**
Ron's honest reflections on the challenge of scaling a business and transitioning between industries reveal that perseverance and a clear vision are essential. Embracing mistakes as learning opportunities is a part of the entrepreneurial path toward success.
Resources
The Delighted Customers podcast website: https://www.empoweredcx.com/podcast
Sign up for The Trusted Guide newsletter here: https://www.empoweredcx.com/newsletter
Get the latest news and updates on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markslatin/
Register for the next Trusted Guide Roadmap™ Master Class here: https://www.empoweredcx.com/
The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company