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April 9, 2020

#CX 47: Cultural Empathy for Better Business Relationships w/ Kristin Messerli

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B2B Growth

In this episode of the #CX series, Ethan Beute, Chief Evangelist at BombBomb, talks with Kristin Messerli, founder and CEO of Cultural Outreach, about bridging the gap generational and ethnic differences can create in customer and employee relationships by operationalizing cultural empathy.

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Transcript
WEBVTT 1 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:11.310 Millennials as employees. One of the biggest priorities for them. It's going to 2 00:00:11.349 --> 00:00:18.670 be upward mobility or skill development and just team culture. If we want to 3 00:00:18.670 --> 00:00:23.820 be successful building healthy relationships with our customers and our future customers, we need 4 00:00:23.980 --> 00:00:27.780 to understand who they are and we need to meet them where they are, 5 00:00:28.179 --> 00:00:34.500 and that requires empathy. That's the topic of this conversation on the CX series 6 00:00:34.539 --> 00:00:38.409 here on BB growth. My name is Ethan Butte, author of the Book 7 00:00:38.570 --> 00:00:44.329 Rehumanize Your Business and host of the CX series. Our guest, Christen messarily, 8 00:00:44.850 --> 00:00:50.479 is the founder of cultural outreach and we're talking about cultural empathy, generational 9 00:00:50.640 --> 00:00:57.640 differences, ethnic differences and human similarities. How can we adapt cultural empathy in 10 00:00:57.799 --> 00:01:03.880 the business setting while refusing to put individual people into generalized buckets? That some 11 00:01:03.040 --> 00:01:10.189 of what will go through in this conversation with Christen messarily. Hey, welcome 12 00:01:10.230 --> 00:01:14.230 back to the customer experience podcast. If you're interested in connecting with young and 13 00:01:14.349 --> 00:01:19.060 diverse audiences as your customers and as your team members, you've checked out the 14 00:01:19.099 --> 00:01:22.900 right episode. Our guest has spent more than a dozen years working on multi 15 00:01:22.980 --> 00:01:27.260 cultural solutions and businesses and in social work. She's worked with several multinational social 16 00:01:27.420 --> 00:01:33.769 enterprises and she's currently running cultural outreach, a company she founded nearly seven years 17 00:01:33.769 --> 00:01:38.890 ago that provides diversity training, multicultural content, cause driven marketing and more Christian 18 00:01:38.930 --> 00:01:44.890 messarily. Welcome to the customer experience podcast. Thank you so much. Yeah, 19 00:01:45.049 --> 00:01:48.400 really love what you're up to. Really glad this episode started when we 20 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:51.439 get the chance to meet in person a couple months back, and we share 21 00:01:51.480 --> 00:01:56.359 a passion that we will get into later on, around using video to connect 22 00:01:56.400 --> 00:01:59.560 and communicate with people in a more personal way. But let's start where we 23 00:01:59.599 --> 00:02:02.469 always start, which is your thoughts or your definition or anything that comes to 24 00:02:02.510 --> 00:02:07.830 mind when I say to you customer experience. So customer experience to me is 25 00:02:08.069 --> 00:02:14.590 that there the thoughts and the feelings that you have and using someone's product or 26 00:02:14.830 --> 00:02:17.580 in going through the process of using that product. Yeah, a lot around 27 00:02:17.620 --> 00:02:21.620 thought and feeling, I think. Yeah, and it's what we're left with. 28 00:02:21.699 --> 00:02:24.060 I think that often turns into stories and those types of things as well. 29 00:02:24.819 --> 00:02:28.580 Do you feel like I'm under the impression, and of course I guess 30 00:02:28.580 --> 00:02:31.330 I'm guilty in this, that a lot more people are talking about customer experience 31 00:02:31.490 --> 00:02:35.449 now than they were, say, four five, six, seven years ago, 32 00:02:35.449 --> 00:02:37.289 if you observe that and if so, what do you think about that? 33 00:02:37.810 --> 00:02:43.610 Yeah, and it's interesting because I think we've expanded that definition so much 34 00:02:43.610 --> 00:02:47.360 at this point and and we become really passionate about having a good customer experience 35 00:02:47.400 --> 00:02:52.599 as the consumer. But I mean, I think about Luke on my career 36 00:02:52.840 --> 00:02:57.000 I've always been talking about customer experience but not really realizing that's what I was 37 00:02:57.080 --> 00:03:00.150 doing, and I talked a lot about how to empathize with the customer and 38 00:03:00.270 --> 00:03:06.949 how to, you know, build a connection with your consumers or your clients 39 00:03:07.030 --> 00:03:09.550 and their marketing, and I didn't realize, I think, until a little 40 00:03:09.550 --> 00:03:13.460 bit later on that all of that is about customer experience, you know. 41 00:03:13.620 --> 00:03:16.580 So I think we're that definition has become very trendy, but a lot of 42 00:03:16.620 --> 00:03:20.819 people have been talking about it for a while. Totally agree. It's new 43 00:03:20.900 --> 00:03:25.099 language for some basic critical fundamentals. For me, I came up in brand 44 00:03:25.219 --> 00:03:30.729 marketing, so I remember some of my early mentors were were around brand and 45 00:03:30.849 --> 00:03:36.009 branding and really those share those those elements share a lot in common. Again, 46 00:03:36.050 --> 00:03:38.129 it's the impressions through left with the thoughts and the feelings, the stories 47 00:03:38.169 --> 00:03:42.560 that you tell other people and all of that. So in these conversations on 48 00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:46.680 this podcast I've come to understand that brand experiences can to it and maybe even 49 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:51.360 synonymous with customer experience. So you're right, it's new language for things that 50 00:03:51.439 --> 00:03:53.639 we've always known we needed to do, but I'm glad it's raised up in 51 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:58.469 your right that consumers are really driving this. So let's get into what you 52 00:03:58.789 --> 00:04:02.349 have spent so much of your life on, which is young and diverse markets, 53 00:04:02.469 --> 00:04:06.389 next Gen consumers and underserved markets. That's some of the language that is 54 00:04:06.509 --> 00:04:11.219 on your website and things for folks that are familiar, I guess, before 55 00:04:11.259 --> 00:04:14.900 we get their, talk a little bit about cultural outreach and why the focus 56 00:04:15.099 --> 00:04:19.620 on these communities in particular. So I started cultural outreach about five years ago 57 00:04:19.939 --> 00:04:26.730 and previously I was working as a social worker, primarily with immigrant communities and 58 00:04:27.129 --> 00:04:30.329 and I did a lot of I started doing a lot more training with businesses 59 00:04:30.490 --> 00:04:33.009 on how to work with my clients because I realized there was just this huge 60 00:04:33.129 --> 00:04:38.720 gap in communication and how how they were marketing to them and how, and 61 00:04:38.839 --> 00:04:42.480 so it was creating a just my clients were not having access to a lot 62 00:04:42.519 --> 00:04:46.120 of the services and businesses that they needed. So in doing that I realize 63 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:50.600 there's a big business opportunity, and so I started the company with a focus 64 00:04:50.680 --> 00:04:56.470 on training and helping them to develop a lot of their marketing efforts as well, 65 00:04:56.949 --> 00:05:01.629 and so it's expanded into doing things more on a we developed something called 66 00:05:01.670 --> 00:05:05.829 a culture map, which stands from market access plan, and so we'll evaluate 67 00:05:05.870 --> 00:05:12.379 a company in eight different areas, from everything from digital to their customer experience, 68 00:05:12.540 --> 00:05:17.819 so their their community outreach efforts and and different components they're hiring and all 69 00:05:17.819 --> 00:05:23.569 of that to see how they're effectively reaching those markets and and so that's something 70 00:05:23.610 --> 00:05:28.209 that we're able to replicate in in different actual cities and with different businesses, 71 00:05:28.610 --> 00:05:31.170 and so we focus a lot on the training piece and then doing the culture 72 00:05:31.209 --> 00:05:39.360 maps and then some other consulting projects around customer experience or user interface design and 73 00:05:39.480 --> 00:05:43.519 things like that that help a company or product really connect with the customer. 74 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:46.920 I really appreciate that. The idea that you took your background, your experience. 75 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:51.149 Obviously have a passion for these communities through the social work that you were 76 00:05:51.189 --> 00:05:55.709 doing and you identify the business opportunity and just ran at I think that's awesome. 77 00:05:56.149 --> 00:05:59.310 So again, going to the language that I've seen on your website and 78 00:05:59.389 --> 00:06:01.589 maybe even on your linkedin profile. I forget, but you know, young 79 00:06:01.709 --> 00:06:08.620 and diverse, next generation underserved. Like talk about the types of people you're 80 00:06:08.660 --> 00:06:13.500 focused on as employees and customers for the businesses that you're working with. So 81 00:06:13.819 --> 00:06:16.939 I really depends on on the business. But in today's market we have, 82 00:06:17.220 --> 00:06:21.329 I think, a ninety two percent of population growth is coming from multicultural families 83 00:06:21.689 --> 00:06:27.889 and in consumers and so and millennials, who everyone is trying to reach as 84 00:06:27.889 --> 00:06:31.410 a business. Nearly half of millennials identify as ethnic minorities. So I think 85 00:06:31.449 --> 00:06:35.839 it's important that we really pay attention to the fact that we're looking at age 86 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:41.240 diversity, we're looking at at a lot of diversity from an ethnic standpoint, 87 00:06:41.399 --> 00:06:46.040 socio economic background, all of those things that really play a factor. Haven't 88 00:06:46.199 --> 00:06:50.069 that plays as a significant factor and thinking about how someone is going to connect 89 00:06:50.110 --> 00:06:56.189 with your message and how your content or your communication or experience is going to 90 00:06:56.750 --> 00:07:00.629 really connect with that audience. And so we look at all across all of 91 00:07:00.709 --> 00:07:05.300 those areas, but focus a lot on the socio economic, ethnicity and age 92 00:07:05.379 --> 00:07:10.899 differences. Awesome, I think. I give so many so many follow questions 93 00:07:10.939 --> 00:07:13.300 here. What is our own generations? You know, you know, we 94 00:07:13.379 --> 00:07:17.050 obviously cut them. I am Gen x. When we slice populations at a 95 00:07:17.089 --> 00:07:20.009 certain point, you know, when does this generation and where is the other 96 00:07:20.050 --> 00:07:27.170 one start? In your experience and observation, how generalized are the differences between 97 00:07:27.930 --> 00:07:32.600 boomers, as millennial, Gen Z, etcetera like. Talk about just that. 98 00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:35.639 Go to the age part a little bit and in are the real fundamental 99 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:41.319 differences there? Yeah, there really are differences. I mean I think it's 100 00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:45.350 important that we realize we're all human beings. were all wanting the same types 101 00:07:45.430 --> 00:07:49.189 of things. But I think in looking at the generational differences, especially when 102 00:07:49.230 --> 00:07:56.629 you get to around thirty and younger as a consumer, they are using technology 103 00:07:56.629 --> 00:08:00.860 a group out with technology and just a very different way than previous generations had. 104 00:08:01.259 --> 00:08:03.259 So while we might all want I'm I'm thirty two, but while we 105 00:08:03.300 --> 00:08:09.379 might all want things quickly and we want to use technology the way, for 106 00:08:09.540 --> 00:08:11.819 someone that grew up using this at five years old, you know, it's 107 00:08:11.889 --> 00:08:16.889 they have a different way of using tech and they're they're going to have different 108 00:08:16.930 --> 00:08:22.009 expectations. So some of the big ones that I found are are that expectation 109 00:08:22.209 --> 00:08:28.639 for efficiency and good quality user design, user interface and design. That expectation 110 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:33.639 for responsiveness is huge with it. With a younger audience, they are if 111 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:37.279 you don't respond right away or they're they're not able to access someone really quickly, 112 00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:41.429 they move on so much faster than someone from a previous generation. And 113 00:08:41.590 --> 00:08:46.710 a few other value differences there, or expectations I guess would are around the 114 00:08:46.789 --> 00:08:54.389 the trust factor, because I think for millennials, having having entered adulthood daring 115 00:08:54.470 --> 00:09:00.220 or right after the financial crisis and housing crisis and and for a variety of 116 00:09:00.700 --> 00:09:05.700 factors, they have their way less trusting than previous generations were, and so 117 00:09:05.139 --> 00:09:11.049 building that trust through community involvement, through the humanizing factor like video, things 118 00:09:11.090 --> 00:09:16.090 like that. That's a really big need for a millennial consumer that differs, 119 00:09:16.129 --> 00:09:20.009 I think, a lot from previous generations. And so do you find that 120 00:09:20.210 --> 00:09:24.399 the folks you're working with struggle to I mean, these are things they would 121 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:26.799 need to do for their business regardless, but maybe the fact that this group 122 00:09:26.840 --> 00:09:33.080 of folks is now in their target customer population, they have disposable income now 123 00:09:33.240 --> 00:09:37.399 and so now they need to their force to make some of these changes to 124 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:41.669 stay relevant. Yeah, it's really interesting. I think I started my business 125 00:09:41.710 --> 00:09:46.470 at a time when people still are companies had kind of option of doing that. 126 00:09:46.669 --> 00:09:50.549 They were thinking, Oh yeah, I do want to be more modern 127 00:09:50.549 --> 00:09:56.019 and update update things. But now it's becoming urgent and so I think because 128 00:09:56.100 --> 00:10:00.779 of that shift in wealth and all of that, people and companies are really 129 00:10:00.820 --> 00:10:05.100 seeing that immediate need for updating their design and not just like, you know, 130 00:10:05.259 --> 00:10:09.929 having the tech, but they have to make sure their website and their 131 00:10:09.210 --> 00:10:15.850 APP and everything is really tight and very has a very clean modern design and 132 00:10:16.009 --> 00:10:20.210 that all of their sales professionals or their company is using customer views and being 133 00:10:20.289 --> 00:10:26.200 active on, you know, having a good presence on Yelp and whatever customer 134 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:31.600 view sites they are using. But those types of things have become an absolute 135 00:10:31.639 --> 00:10:35.870 necessity and urgent need, and so we've seen that shift over the last few 136 00:10:35.870 --> 00:10:39.669 years. Something that we've talked about a lot on the show here is the 137 00:10:39.830 --> 00:10:43.190 relationship between, although not enough. We haven't talked about this enough, the 138 00:10:43.309 --> 00:10:50.059 relationship between customer experience and employee experienced, the idea that a great customer experience 139 00:10:50.259 --> 00:10:56.419 starts with a great employee experience. Engaged employees, satisfied employees, employees with 140 00:10:56.580 --> 00:11:00.340 clear direction, but also a lot of the you know, support that they 141 00:11:00.379 --> 00:11:05.090 need. So I would guess that this generation and these demands are probably translating 142 00:11:05.250 --> 00:11:09.769 for employers as well. Can you speak to the kind of the recruiting, 143 00:11:09.850 --> 00:11:13.889 hiring, on boarding, engagement retention process, not of the customer but the 144 00:11:13.970 --> 00:11:20.919 millennial as team member or employee? Yeah, so millennials as employees. One 145 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:28.399 of the biggest priorities for them it's going to be upward mobility or skill development 146 00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:33.190 and just team culture, and so that's something that I think is surprising for 147 00:11:33.269 --> 00:11:37.029 a lot of companies. That's honestly been very surprising for me as an employer, 148 00:11:37.309 --> 00:11:41.309 even because I you don't realize how important those little nuances are of making 149 00:11:41.350 --> 00:11:46.259 sure that your employee feels truly engaged in the in the company, they feel 150 00:11:46.340 --> 00:11:50.779 like they have ownership over their projects, they feel like they're having a positive 151 00:11:50.779 --> 00:11:54.700 impact in the world through the work that they're doing, and all of those, 152 00:11:56.220 --> 00:12:01.169 those feelings and and that employee experience drives their productivity. And so I 153 00:12:01.330 --> 00:12:07.009 think thinking more about team culture and not it doesn't have to be like having 154 00:12:07.009 --> 00:12:11.450 a ping pong table in your in your office, but, and for me 155 00:12:11.529 --> 00:12:15.649 I mean all my employees are remote and so you may have a remote team 156 00:12:15.649 --> 00:12:18.480 as well, but but making sure that you're constantly on an individual level, 157 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:24.840 you have strong mentorship and you're you're building a team culture there, and so 158 00:12:24.200 --> 00:12:28.039 I think that one is a big factor. And then also, I mentioned 159 00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:33.549 at the beginning of that upward mobility and skill development is a big deal with 160 00:12:33.669 --> 00:12:39.070 millennials and I think the income is going is continuing to shift toward being a 161 00:12:39.230 --> 00:12:43.429 higher priority. But the younger they are, the more they value having the 162 00:12:43.549 --> 00:12:48.379 skill development above actually what they're getting paid. And so but the opportunity to 163 00:12:48.500 --> 00:12:54.940 make more, the opportunity to climb in either ranks or business or business opportunities 164 00:12:54.980 --> 00:13:01.129 are learning new skills are huge factor for how satisfied and how productive they are 165 00:13:01.169 --> 00:13:05.690 as employees. Yeah, it's really interesting. I've noticed that myself a significant 166 00:13:05.730 --> 00:13:11.090 interest in titles and structure in particular seems to be more meaningful than I ever 167 00:13:11.250 --> 00:13:15.799 remember like in my coming up. It's like, you know, even is 168 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:18.879 sometimes even separate from a skill development conversation. You know, it's like when 169 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:22.320 we talk about growth in a one on one setting and it's like and look 170 00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:26.080 at all this growth, but you know, but the titles the same, 171 00:13:26.200 --> 00:13:31.549 and so I don't might not feel like I have enough external or extrinsic signs 172 00:13:31.590 --> 00:13:35.470 or motivators to let me know that I am actually making this progress. It's 173 00:13:35.509 --> 00:13:39.549 been to that. I would say there was a difference that I've noticed or 174 00:13:39.590 --> 00:13:43.460 of the past maybe five six years. I know that is a big one 175 00:13:43.500 --> 00:13:48.059 and I think it's that validation of feeling appreciated. You know that you you 176 00:13:48.179 --> 00:13:52.620 are recognized as okay, I did all this work and and you recognize me. 177 00:13:52.659 --> 00:13:54.220 And I know a lot of we get made fun of a lot as 178 00:13:54.460 --> 00:14:00.850 as a millennials for being the snowflake generation or participation trophy generation, and and 179 00:14:01.049 --> 00:14:05.330 there there's truth to the fact that we do want to we want our mentors 180 00:14:05.409 --> 00:14:09.120 and are employers, to recognize that we did do a good job, you 181 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:13.279 know, and and that can go a really long way for their productivity. 182 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:18.240 So I found that in, you know, in that kind of mentorship and 183 00:14:18.360 --> 00:14:22.600 relationship, if you acknowledge them, and honestly this is regardless of age, 184 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:26.110 that it just is needed, I think more with a younger generation, but 185 00:14:26.429 --> 00:14:31.190 in a team meeting, if you highlight someone for giving a good customer experience, 186 00:14:31.230 --> 00:14:33.230 that we can and hand them a, you know, five dollar starbucks 187 00:14:33.269 --> 00:14:37.029 Gift Card that costs you nothing and barely any time, but that's going to 188 00:14:37.110 --> 00:14:41.340 make everyone, you know, just realize how important that is and feel more 189 00:14:41.379 --> 00:14:45.980 appreciated every time they get that. And then, on an individual level, 190 00:14:46.299 --> 00:14:48.220 you know, yeah, giving the constructive feedback of that kind of thing, 191 00:14:48.340 --> 00:14:54.330 but always really being conscious and spending time in highlighting the good things that they're 192 00:14:54.370 --> 00:14:58.610 doing. And so actually, I have a client that feels kind of like 193 00:14:58.649 --> 00:15:03.129 an employer to me right now, and and he is. He constantly only 194 00:15:03.370 --> 00:15:07.879 shares those things that are negative, that like need to be changed, you 195 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:09.039 know, and and I get it and I try to always feel like all 196 00:15:09.080 --> 00:15:13.759 right, thick skin, here I go. But but it feels so good 197 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:16.600 when he says something positive that that I do that. I think, man, 198 00:15:16.679 --> 00:15:20.759 if if I heard that a little bit more, I know I would 199 00:15:20.759 --> 00:15:24.509 be more motivated. And it's just it's learning, you know, our psychology 200 00:15:24.590 --> 00:15:28.110 and what's going to make us more productive and more loyal to you as an 201 00:15:28.149 --> 00:15:33.590 employer. So good. The IT reminds me of we've been doing this exercise 202 00:15:33.629 --> 00:15:37.940 Steve Passonelli, rcmo and my coauthor on Rehumanize Your Business, which is about 203 00:15:37.940 --> 00:15:41.899 simple personal videos, started this and I, and I'm going to, I've 204 00:15:41.940 --> 00:15:43.220 picked it up and done it with him and I will steal it from him 205 00:15:43.220 --> 00:15:46.179 whenever I'm presenting without him. And where we stop it, like in a 206 00:15:46.220 --> 00:15:50.529 longer format, will stop and we'll do a fifteen minute like working break and 207 00:15:50.649 --> 00:15:52.490 we'll challenge people just to get out their phones. Will coach them through it, 208 00:15:52.889 --> 00:15:56.929 to record just a simple thank you video. Think of someone who is 209 00:15:56.009 --> 00:16:00.690 meaningfully meaningful to you, like the first person that comes to mind, record 210 00:16:00.730 --> 00:16:03.960 a s quick, simple, sincere video message and send it. And then 211 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:07.159 at the end of the break we do like a five, depending on how 212 00:16:07.159 --> 00:16:08.799 much engagement there is, five or ten minute kind of breakdown. We share 213 00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:12.279 people's stories because people, some people are getting replied eyes like right away, 214 00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:17.240 in real time. And no joke, there are tears, there's in on 215 00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:21.070 the recipient side and sometimes even on the center side. Like this, you 216 00:16:21.230 --> 00:16:23.590 totally turn my day around. It's so interesting. I'm glad you mentioned that 217 00:16:23.710 --> 00:16:27.870 that at least the appreciation piece transcends age in it in a real, real 218 00:16:27.950 --> 00:16:32.590 way, because I don't think any of us here's thank you enough, and 219 00:16:32.899 --> 00:16:37.340 it's a simple thing we can do to engage our employees in our customers much 220 00:16:37.379 --> 00:16:41.539 more off and in videos a great way to do it because it's a asynchronous 221 00:16:41.580 --> 00:16:45.460 it's you in full in person. It's not you can see think, you 222 00:16:45.580 --> 00:16:48.730 type on the screen. It's just not the same thing, because it's the 223 00:16:48.850 --> 00:16:51.730 difference that you can feel right it allows them to be seen and heard, 224 00:16:51.769 --> 00:16:55.850 looking them straight in the eye. It's just super, super powerful and I 225 00:16:55.889 --> 00:16:59.809 would expect that you're like me and that you think about that all the time, 226 00:16:59.970 --> 00:17:00.919 like, Oh man, I really appreciate that he did that. It's 227 00:17:00.960 --> 00:17:03.960 like this fleeting thought as you're walking down the street or going up the stairs 228 00:17:03.960 --> 00:17:07.519 or whatever the case may be, and turning that into action is the gap 229 00:17:07.640 --> 00:17:11.599 that really separates, I think, and will continue to separate, good organizations 230 00:17:11.720 --> 00:17:15.950 from great organizations in terms of the people that they attract and retain. Yeah, 231 00:17:17.069 --> 00:17:19.630 that's so true. I actually have a couple videos saved on my phone 232 00:17:19.670 --> 00:17:23.150 that I will look at every now and then because a client, couple different 233 00:17:23.150 --> 00:17:26.990 clients, sent me a video follow up after something, saying, you know, 234 00:17:27.150 --> 00:17:30.180 I just really appreciate the training that you did and, you know, 235 00:17:30.500 --> 00:17:34.900 shared something that was meaningful and it was just so powerful. It took them, 236 00:17:36.019 --> 00:17:38.579 you know, thirty seconds to put that together, but I am like 237 00:17:38.819 --> 00:17:44.099 yeah, that's that's what I do this for, is for someone to have 238 00:17:44.289 --> 00:17:47.569 a change in their behavior or has some kind of impact, and for you 239 00:17:47.650 --> 00:17:52.609 to communicate that on a personal level is a huge it's a really inspirational experience. 240 00:17:52.650 --> 00:17:56.450 Yeah, it's great. Do you have any other thoughts on video while 241 00:17:56.450 --> 00:17:59.359 we're here? You know, I did not know when we met that that 242 00:17:59.480 --> 00:18:02.680 you were very familiar with what we do and that that you have some of 243 00:18:02.759 --> 00:18:04.799 your own stories of, you know, positive responses and things. What have 244 00:18:04.839 --> 00:18:07.400 you seen in terms of video, the rise of video and, in particular, 245 00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:11.440 this rise of simple personal video? Where have you seen it go? 246 00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:14.750 Well, do you have any stories that that you love to share or anything 247 00:18:14.789 --> 00:18:17.470 like that? Yeah, man, I talked about this a lot because I 248 00:18:17.670 --> 00:18:21.710 do think the personal video is such an important touch and and actually, in 249 00:18:21.829 --> 00:18:26.619 talking about millennials and underserves communities, a big factor there is about building trust 250 00:18:26.740 --> 00:18:32.380 and building that personal connection and when you realize that someone is responsive and someone 251 00:18:32.420 --> 00:18:33.900 that you can trust and that they're going to be a good guy through this 252 00:18:34.019 --> 00:18:38.299 process, it changes everything about that. That's the customer experience that we want. 253 00:18:38.619 --> 00:18:44.930 And so by providing those videos that either are a short video response to 254 00:18:45.009 --> 00:18:48.450 a question they had, like you know, someone might text over some question 255 00:18:48.529 --> 00:18:51.569 and you respond over video and say, Hey, I wanted to explain this 256 00:18:51.769 --> 00:18:56.319 well, Blah like that is an awesome customer experience and then allows them to 257 00:18:56.480 --> 00:18:59.160 watch that on their own time and not feel like they have to schedule a 258 00:18:59.319 --> 00:19:03.680 call, the call whatever. And then also building that connection through video calls. 259 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:07.000 Instead of being on a phone call, you just schedule a video call 260 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:11.069 and you're able to build that relationships so much better. So I think I 261 00:19:11.269 --> 00:19:15.509 mean a few of the heart of course, tons of success stories about that, 262 00:19:15.589 --> 00:19:18.309 because this is a lot of the things that I teach on. But 263 00:19:18.950 --> 00:19:22.630 you know, even sharing a little birthday videos, like whenever it's someone's birthday 264 00:19:22.630 --> 00:19:25.220 and you say, Hey, just want to tell you happy birthday whatever. 265 00:19:25.259 --> 00:19:30.059 I've told people to do that and people write send me screenshots of people saying 266 00:19:30.059 --> 00:19:33.500 I can't tell you how much this meant to me and this is so cool 267 00:19:33.539 --> 00:19:37.339 that you would do that, and it just it's bring it's rehumanizing business. 268 00:19:37.380 --> 00:19:41.609 I Love, Love, love what that can do to someone's life and and 269 00:19:41.769 --> 00:19:45.609 of course, your business when, when you are able to connect on that 270 00:19:45.690 --> 00:19:51.049 human level, it changes everything for the consumer and for developing that kind of 271 00:19:51.089 --> 00:19:53.720 loyalty. See, it's so right on. I love that and I'll just 272 00:19:53.920 --> 00:19:57.599 tack on one more there because you just kind of mentioned it. For folks 273 00:19:57.599 --> 00:20:03.000 who are listening and they're thinking about doing simple personal videos who we're wondering, 274 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:03.880 when would I do this? How would I do this? How do I 275 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:07.990 operationalize and all that, kristen just gave you a really, really great use 276 00:20:08.029 --> 00:20:11.950 case in and it's happening to you. In linkedin. Every day you're seeing 277 00:20:11.990 --> 00:20:18.029 birthdays, and facebook for that matter, birthdays. You're seeing new positions or 278 00:20:18.069 --> 00:20:21.269 promotions in those kinds of things, and you could just join the herd and 279 00:20:21.349 --> 00:20:23.940 click the like button or drop a little, you know, comment, and 280 00:20:25.019 --> 00:20:29.059 that's good. You shouldn't not do that, but taking that extra step of 281 00:20:29.180 --> 00:20:33.140 looking someone in the eye and maybe telling a little story or adding a personal 282 00:20:33.259 --> 00:20:36.210 note about how I hope you get to that great restaurant that you love, 283 00:20:36.329 --> 00:20:38.690 that always has that Keyanti that you that you can't stop talking about. I 284 00:20:38.690 --> 00:20:42.849 hope you enjoy that tonight because it's your birthday or you know something congratulatory man. 285 00:20:42.930 --> 00:20:47.170 It's I can't believe we were working together ten years ago and and now 286 00:20:47.289 --> 00:20:51.359 here you are running this particular part of this operations as cool company, whatever 287 00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:55.640 the case may be. Like your social feeds are filled with reasons to reach 288 00:20:55.680 --> 00:20:59.319 out with simple personal videos. So and it's an easy place to start as 289 00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:00.960 is. Thank you. That's good. I'm glad we could do a pass 290 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:03.990 out video and I appreciate your enthusiasm, for I feel the same way and 291 00:21:04.069 --> 00:21:08.670 I think you know it's it's just bringing this pendulum swing back, or this 292 00:21:08.789 --> 00:21:15.309 balance back to the you know, we do want the efficiency of digital experiences 293 00:21:15.509 --> 00:21:19.299 where they're anticipating our needs and it's seamless and we're working toward friction list in 294 00:21:19.380 --> 00:21:22.380 terms of getting signed up or moving from here to there, or knowing what's 295 00:21:22.380 --> 00:21:26.859 going on and all these other things. But what goes missing in that scenario 296 00:21:26.859 --> 00:21:29.700 again, is that human touch, and so I'm I'm glad that you're out 297 00:21:29.700 --> 00:21:32.819 there as a champion of it as I am. I want to talk a 298 00:21:32.890 --> 00:21:37.849 little bit about a phrase that you offer, cultural empathy. Can you just 299 00:21:37.970 --> 00:21:40.690 double back on that a little bit, talk about what that means and maybe 300 00:21:40.730 --> 00:21:44.369 talk about what that means from an operational standpoint for folks that are with us 301 00:21:44.410 --> 00:21:47.240 here at this point in the conversation, or like I like the sound of 302 00:21:47.319 --> 00:21:52.720 all of this. I am working with a team of people who aren't necessarily 303 00:21:52.200 --> 00:21:57.880 young or from underserved communities or markets, or we're not. We don't have 304 00:21:57.880 --> 00:22:03.509 a variety of cultures represented in our organization. What does cultural empathy mean and 305 00:22:03.549 --> 00:22:07.630 what are some ways that we might be able to operationalize it? So cultural 306 00:22:07.710 --> 00:22:15.069 empathy is all about understanding the the mindset of another individual. So empathizing is 307 00:22:15.190 --> 00:22:18.059 obviously like kind of putting yourself in someone else's shoes. When I talk about 308 00:22:18.099 --> 00:22:22.579 cultural empathy, I mean that from either an organizational level or in kind of 309 00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:27.259 what you were talking about, like operationalizing something on a on a business level. 310 00:22:27.460 --> 00:22:33.210 So you might think about customer experience. Is a certain element of that 311 00:22:33.490 --> 00:22:37.730 where you might deliver customer your customer experience in a certain way and not realize 312 00:22:37.769 --> 00:22:42.410 that that's not connecting with certain demographics, like that's not resonating with millennials or 313 00:22:42.450 --> 00:22:48.279 that's not really resonating with your non English speaking clients, and and so how 314 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:52.319 do you empathize and understand where they're coming from and what is going to connect 315 00:22:52.319 --> 00:22:55.640 with them and then make those adjustments. And the same thing goes from an 316 00:22:55.680 --> 00:23:00.630 employment standpoint. But one of the really simple things that I learned early on, 317 00:23:00.589 --> 00:23:04.630 what really triggered me kind of thinking more about this, was when I 318 00:23:04.630 --> 00:23:08.589 was a social worker, I was working a lot with immigrant communities and and 319 00:23:08.789 --> 00:23:12.940 I a lot of Spanish speaking individuals and I spoke Spanish fluently, but I 320 00:23:14.140 --> 00:23:17.619 was not connecting while with them and I was having a hard time building that 321 00:23:17.779 --> 00:23:21.779 trust and and so I but I realized that it was because I was treating 322 00:23:21.819 --> 00:23:23.779 them the way that I would want to be treated. And and so, 323 00:23:23.940 --> 00:23:26.410 you know, you think the golden rule is a good approach, but it 324 00:23:26.450 --> 00:23:30.849 doesn't work in business a lot of times. And so I need to think 325 00:23:30.849 --> 00:23:33.089 about how, not how to treat them the way that I would want to 326 00:23:33.089 --> 00:23:36.690 be treated by how to treat them the way that they want to be treated. 327 00:23:37.049 --> 00:23:40.410 So in that instance, I was thinking by were them, I'd be 328 00:23:40.490 --> 00:23:44.480 wanting to get through these appointments really quickly and efficiently because I value my time. 329 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:47.920 But for a lot of my clients, they were wanting to get to 330 00:23:48.039 --> 00:23:52.480 know me and and build they've had the strong value of personalism and wanted to 331 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:56.029 sit down and chat a little bit before we got down to business. And 332 00:23:56.309 --> 00:23:59.869 so when I made an adjustment and started just, you know, chatting for 333 00:23:59.910 --> 00:24:03.029 a little bit, having a cup of coffee, not being on my computer 334 00:24:03.069 --> 00:24:08.069 right away, and within five minutes I saw just a crazy difference and that 335 00:24:08.309 --> 00:24:11.579 they're like the way that they would open up to me and and we saw 336 00:24:11.859 --> 00:24:15.940 their outcomes just go through the roof like we had a little, you know 337 00:24:15.059 --> 00:24:18.740 scoring model and the whole office was like, what is happening? How did 338 00:24:18.819 --> 00:24:25.369 everyone just like boosts like like this? And and I realized in understanding those 339 00:24:25.569 --> 00:24:29.970 kind of cultural nuances of your customers, of your employees across the board, 340 00:24:30.009 --> 00:24:33.690 you can build these connections that have really meaningful results. And so of course 341 00:24:33.730 --> 00:24:38.680 they've replicated that in I started then in healthcare and worked with a lot of 342 00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:45.200 hospitals and in that area and then got into mortgage and housing and and it's 343 00:24:45.240 --> 00:24:49.519 been we've seen huge results just by thinking more about cultural empathy in your customer 344 00:24:49.559 --> 00:24:56.109 experience and these other areas of business. For today's gross story, we're talking 345 00:24:56.150 --> 00:25:00.990 about all state. I'll stay offers best in class products and services that provide 346 00:25:00.069 --> 00:25:07.140 innovative protection and retirement solutions to millions of households nationwide. But when all state 347 00:25:07.259 --> 00:25:11.660 needed to increase traffic and conversion rates on their website, they knew they should 348 00:25:11.660 --> 00:25:15.940 turn to the pros at Directive. 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What are what is an approach to start understanding some 363 00:26:22.369 --> 00:26:26.210 maybe maybe of these pockets of customers that you don't even recognize that are maybe 364 00:26:26.650 --> 00:26:30.369 they're not engaging with the service or the product at the same level and then 365 00:26:30.369 --> 00:26:34.400 you come to realize that there's maybe a cultural gap. Like do survey you 366 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:37.759 do customer interviews, like what are some of the tools for folks that maybe 367 00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:41.240 are like Gosh, maybe that's what's going on over here in this part of 368 00:26:41.279 --> 00:26:45.440 my business? Like, what are some approaches to get at it? Yeah, 369 00:26:45.559 --> 00:26:51.349 so definitely surveys and interviews are really helpful. I'm working on a project 370 00:26:51.349 --> 00:26:56.750 right now and updating someone's user interface at for a technology and and we started 371 00:26:56.869 --> 00:27:00.660 with realizing, okay, like looking at the different demographics of their customers and 372 00:27:00.740 --> 00:27:07.539 then doing a survey of people from those demographics and we particularly we're looking at 373 00:27:07.859 --> 00:27:11.019 one area that was not engaging with the product very well, and so we 374 00:27:11.339 --> 00:27:17.769 developed a survey and I use them cash. I think it's Ashym, but 375 00:27:18.049 --> 00:27:21.849 there's a bunch of online survey tools that you can use that are really valuable 376 00:27:22.049 --> 00:27:25.930 and you can narrow in specifically on as on a market segment, and then 377 00:27:26.490 --> 00:27:29.490 look at the insight that they had. And here we were able to see 378 00:27:29.569 --> 00:27:36.240 what they valued about working with this particular provider and what they valued like what 379 00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:40.799 their perceptions were throughout the process and and so those kinds of insights help you 380 00:27:40.839 --> 00:27:47.069 to make adjustments and then, but also walking with a particular customer and talking 381 00:27:47.190 --> 00:27:51.589 with them and seeing where they might have questions along the way that are not 382 00:27:51.710 --> 00:27:57.029 being answered, or or even talking with people that are experts or would provide 383 00:27:57.150 --> 00:28:03.500 input on how a a particular marketing flyer is going to resonate with that audience. 384 00:28:03.740 --> 00:28:07.019 I mean some of those just really qualitative research that can be really helpful. 385 00:28:07.700 --> 00:28:11.140 For in one example, we there was a home by your seminar that 386 00:28:11.220 --> 00:28:17.210 people are doing in the Korean community and and I didn't realize that, like 387 00:28:17.289 --> 00:28:21.369 a lot of the colors and the they have the language all right and they 388 00:28:21.369 --> 00:28:26.279 were distributing it correctly, but the even the design of that Flyer just did 389 00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:33.000 not appeal to that audience and so, instead of like the traditional marketing fire, 390 00:28:33.079 --> 00:28:37.599 they change it up to be more reflective of Korean culture and it made 391 00:28:37.599 --> 00:28:41.509 a huge difference in how many people turned out for that event. So little 392 00:28:41.549 --> 00:28:47.269 things like that on how you display content can just by interviewing people and talking 393 00:28:47.349 --> 00:28:48.990 with people, you can find out how that's going to resonate or connect. 394 00:28:49.349 --> 00:28:52.029 Yeah, and you also offered there this. A lot of the research has 395 00:28:52.029 --> 00:28:55.819 been done already. So if you if you can't or don't want to, 396 00:28:55.859 --> 00:28:59.339 or maybe you're going into a new market, their resources that you can hit 397 00:28:59.380 --> 00:29:03.019 up to at least play to that that curve without doing the homework yourself. 398 00:29:03.500 --> 00:29:07.700 Yeah, I mean there's tons of stuff available without doing that. There's a 399 00:29:07.779 --> 00:29:11.170 lot of, you know, reports out there and and even just sometimes just 400 00:29:11.250 --> 00:29:15.210 talking to someone representative of those markets, a few people can give you a 401 00:29:15.289 --> 00:29:19.369 lot of insight. I love doing the actual research side, but and you 402 00:29:19.410 --> 00:29:22.970 can always talk to me about doing that, but we don't always have to 403 00:29:23.049 --> 00:29:27.599 dive in that deep. It's good you talk, and right about so social 404 00:29:27.640 --> 00:29:33.519 media, about partnerships and other ways to build connection into communities that you want 405 00:29:33.559 --> 00:29:37.869 to understand better and want to understand you better. Do you have any tips 406 00:29:37.910 --> 00:29:44.269 around social partnerships or any other any other besides the immediate transactional stuff of you 407 00:29:44.349 --> 00:29:48.630 know, websites and forms and add add materials and things. Yeah, so 408 00:29:48.789 --> 00:29:55.059 I I mean I talked about social media just because it's another communication point, 409 00:29:55.220 --> 00:29:57.779 you know, an access point. So from that standpoint it's just to me. 410 00:29:57.779 --> 00:30:02.539 I'm not like the Social Media Gurgle or anything, but I'm all about 411 00:30:02.539 --> 00:30:04.259 anyone that you meet you need to follow on social media, and you know 412 00:30:04.299 --> 00:30:10.089 because it then it builds that connection and and you're building a another point where 413 00:30:10.089 --> 00:30:14.450 they can build a relationship with you by watching you on social media or engaging 414 00:30:14.529 --> 00:30:18.890 with you. and vice versa, right, and vice versa very importantly. 415 00:30:18.289 --> 00:30:22.119 Yeah, vice versa. And but on the community relationship side, I think 416 00:30:22.119 --> 00:30:29.119 that's one that's really overlooked from most businesses. Community partnerships and relationships, and 417 00:30:29.599 --> 00:30:33.119 what that looks like is, for Incans, if you're wanting to reach the 418 00:30:33.359 --> 00:30:37.829 millennial audience, it's identifying who are influencers in that community. Maybe it's an 419 00:30:37.990 --> 00:30:44.150 employer that hires lots of millennials, maybe it's a coffee shop owner and or 420 00:30:44.470 --> 00:30:49.339 coffee shop and we work location or you know, areas that are reaching those 421 00:30:49.380 --> 00:30:55.099 segments and then building relationships there and finding ways that you can insert yourself or 422 00:30:55.140 --> 00:30:59.059 your company provide some kind of service or value that's going to reach them or 423 00:30:59.420 --> 00:31:03.970 young professional organizations. And the same thing goes for if you're wanting to better 424 00:31:04.009 --> 00:31:10.650 reach the Hispanic and Latina market, then identifying community influencers and nonprofits that are 425 00:31:10.690 --> 00:31:15.130 serving those communities and building those relationships, offering a service or value there over 426 00:31:15.289 --> 00:31:21.599 time and becoming an active member in participating there. So those are the types 427 00:31:21.640 --> 00:31:25.960 of partnerships I think a really long way and building networks and in roads into 428 00:31:25.960 --> 00:31:30.680 communities that are often underserved. Totally agree, especially about the in person stuff. 429 00:31:30.720 --> 00:31:34.509 I mean there's just nothing better than spending a few hours, or even 430 00:31:34.509 --> 00:31:40.029 a couple of days really in a community that you're not very familiar with. 431 00:31:40.150 --> 00:31:42.750 That's it's been, you know, as we were coming up and we identified 432 00:31:42.789 --> 00:31:47.180 a potential product market fit in the real estate community, for example, and 433 00:31:47.259 --> 00:31:52.779 we would go to these real estate conferences and you're standing in a booth and 434 00:31:52.940 --> 00:31:55.700 talking to, you know, hundreds of people all day. Not Not that 435 00:31:55.779 --> 00:32:00.220 they're necessary, they are obviously not underserved community or they don't fit this criteria, 436 00:32:00.220 --> 00:32:02.250 but but it is a community in a culture. Yeah, that has 437 00:32:02.369 --> 00:32:07.529 some of its own unique characteristics and so being in there and how do they 438 00:32:07.609 --> 00:32:09.049 talk? How do they talk to us? How do they talk to each 439 00:32:09.049 --> 00:32:12.930 other? What kind of questions do they come with? You know, how 440 00:32:12.970 --> 00:32:16.680 can you how can you manage the conversation? Well, like there's just that 441 00:32:16.960 --> 00:32:21.319 in person. Stuff just can't be gathered any other way. I mean, 442 00:32:21.400 --> 00:32:24.079 reading a really good report or even doing the interviews is helpful, but us 443 00:32:24.279 --> 00:32:30.000 nothing like being fully wrapped in it for long periods of time. One follow 444 00:32:30.029 --> 00:32:31.109 up for you on this, because it just occurred to me as I was 445 00:32:31.190 --> 00:32:36.589 talking about individual interviews versus, you know, being surrounded by thousands of people 446 00:32:36.630 --> 00:32:39.789 who fit some basic criteria. Do you have any cautions that you would give 447 00:32:39.950 --> 00:32:44.900 listeners or that you would give your own clients about, you know, putting 448 00:32:44.980 --> 00:32:46.660 people into these kind of larger buckets? I mean you have to, and 449 00:32:46.740 --> 00:32:51.940 it's a totally understand why we do it. It is useful, but any 450 00:32:52.019 --> 00:32:57.099 cautions as you go through that kind of categorization? So glad you bring this 451 00:32:57.220 --> 00:33:01.049 up because I always forget to really mention this, because this is a huge 452 00:33:01.089 --> 00:33:06.690 disclaimer that we need to always talk about when we're thinking about putting people in 453 00:33:06.809 --> 00:33:08.289 boxes and no one wants to be put in a box. No one can 454 00:33:08.289 --> 00:33:14.279 actually fit into a box perfectly anyway. We're all individuals and and most of 455 00:33:14.359 --> 00:33:16.599 us are on some kind of spectrum of diversity. All of us are on 456 00:33:16.720 --> 00:33:20.839 some kind of spectrum of diversity in some way, you know, and so 457 00:33:21.480 --> 00:33:25.240 it is really important that we understand the differences so that we can be really 458 00:33:25.599 --> 00:33:31.670 comprehensively ready to serve and reach customers from whatever background and and, you know, 459 00:33:32.069 --> 00:33:36.069 mindset, all that that you may have in front of you. But 460 00:33:36.589 --> 00:33:40.660 everyone is an individual and and I think by saying all millennials are like this, 461 00:33:42.140 --> 00:33:46.380 you're you're not actually empathizing anyway, you know, you're just being trying 462 00:33:46.420 --> 00:33:50.460 to put things in and a box, and I don't think that's helpful or 463 00:33:50.500 --> 00:33:53.019 ever going to build a meaningful connection with the consumer. Good. I'm glad 464 00:33:53.059 --> 00:33:57.450 we did that pass. This has been really interesting. I really appreciate the 465 00:33:57.490 --> 00:34:00.250 work that you're up to and I really love the origin story for it. 466 00:34:00.569 --> 00:34:04.329 I'm glad we will get to that right away. Relationships are our number one 467 00:34:04.410 --> 00:34:07.450 core value here at bombomb so I always like to give you the chance to 468 00:34:07.730 --> 00:34:10.400 thank or mention someone who's had a positive impact on your life or your career 469 00:34:10.880 --> 00:34:15.000 and then give a shout out to a company that you really like or respect 470 00:34:15.039 --> 00:34:19.639 for the experience that they deliver for you as a customer. Okay, well, 471 00:34:20.079 --> 00:34:23.630 the first there's so many people I could think, but when one person 472 00:34:23.750 --> 00:34:28.670 that comes to mind right away is dave savage. He is the founder CEO 473 00:34:28.949 --> 00:34:35.269 of a mortgage coach and and just someone that has always open the door for 474 00:34:35.429 --> 00:34:39.900 me and to opportunities for me to grow as in my career and meet the 475 00:34:39.940 --> 00:34:45.900 right people and just and always been someone that I can one hundred percent trust 476 00:34:45.019 --> 00:34:50.019 and I think, you know, in a world where you're you're never sure 477 00:34:50.260 --> 00:34:53.489 someone's actually going to be, I don't know, have the the right incentive, 478 00:34:54.010 --> 00:34:57.769 you know, in our heart or whatever, he truly always wants to 479 00:34:57.849 --> 00:35:01.010 have. It has an impact on the world and and I'm really appreciated of 480 00:35:01.409 --> 00:35:05.889 someone that would open the door like that to allow me to grow as a 481 00:35:05.929 --> 00:35:09.920 as a professional and as a business so and then on a business side, 482 00:35:10.920 --> 00:35:15.360 was not more strategically about this, but I'm going to share just a recent 483 00:35:15.360 --> 00:35:21.199 customer experience I had that was so good. So there's a small business that 484 00:35:21.239 --> 00:35:24.869 has the most amazing think chicken sandwiches and down the street from me and I 485 00:35:25.269 --> 00:35:31.030 had a horrible customer experience with postmates where I was starving and getting very, 486 00:35:31.070 --> 00:35:36.219 very angry and they had not picked up my chicken sandwich and we're supposed to 487 00:35:36.260 --> 00:35:39.260 deliver it to me. I called this this restaurant, Bertie's, being like 488 00:35:39.420 --> 00:35:43.420 hey, you know what's what's going on, and they're like I don't. 489 00:35:43.539 --> 00:35:45.420 They saw him, picked it up. They call me back. The restaurant 490 00:35:45.460 --> 00:35:49.460 called me back to say hey, postmates picked up your sandwich and is on 491 00:35:49.539 --> 00:35:54.210 the way and and I'm like you're so amazing. And then the postmates guy 492 00:35:54.489 --> 00:35:59.849 never delivers it and like it's last whatever. I can't contact them. So 493 00:36:00.010 --> 00:36:02.650 I'm furious, you know. I mean I'm like really hungry and furious. 494 00:36:02.929 --> 00:36:07.639 So I called Bertie's and and they're like, if you want to come right 495 00:36:07.679 --> 00:36:09.840 now, will rush your order and and you can just pick it up for 496 00:36:09.960 --> 00:36:14.159 free. And so, anyway, they were just over the top, like 497 00:36:14.440 --> 00:36:16.559 all about I want to take care of you as a customer. It was 498 00:36:16.679 --> 00:36:21.550 a small, stupid chicken sandwich, you know, like no one, I 499 00:36:21.750 --> 00:36:24.030 you wouldn't expect anyone to even care about that. But I have just been 500 00:36:24.070 --> 00:36:29.030 raving about them nonstop and I think it was a great example of going over 501 00:36:29.110 --> 00:36:32.219 and beyond cut in the customer experience and what someone like me, you know, 502 00:36:32.340 --> 00:36:37.139 I'm going to be their greatest marketer. I love it. You and 503 00:36:37.179 --> 00:36:38.940 you raise I mean this is a whole separate conversation that will maybe do in 504 00:36:38.940 --> 00:36:44.699 the future, but you raised to see this this deal where you have other 505 00:36:44.860 --> 00:36:49.329 partners in your business ecosystem, but you were responsible for the experience and so 506 00:36:49.809 --> 00:36:52.809 you know, whether it's your own direct employees or whether it's this kind of 507 00:36:52.969 --> 00:36:57.170 third party intermediary between you and your customers, in this case postmates, you 508 00:36:57.329 --> 00:37:00.210 can't just blame it on this other company and say, man, you know, 509 00:37:00.329 --> 00:37:02.119 you really need to hit those people up. is so the fact that 510 00:37:02.199 --> 00:37:06.559 they took ownership and just really that's the right thing to do. And so 511 00:37:06.760 --> 00:37:08.559 all of us sen thing really for us when our platform goes down, because 512 00:37:08.559 --> 00:37:12.920 for an Amazon web services and this part of the country is out and part 513 00:37:12.960 --> 00:37:15.030 of our APP is on that server, like we have to eat that. 514 00:37:15.309 --> 00:37:20.110 Like. You are responsible for the whole experience, even if you're using other 515 00:37:20.230 --> 00:37:23.389 companies to bring it to life. Christian, this has been Super Fun for 516 00:37:23.550 --> 00:37:27.429 folks who want to learn more about you, they want to learn more about 517 00:37:27.429 --> 00:37:31.300 cultural outreach or anywhere else you'd like to send people to bring this episode a 518 00:37:31.380 --> 00:37:35.460 little bit more to life for them. Where would you send people? I 519 00:37:35.500 --> 00:37:38.539 would send people to connect with me on Linkedin, Christen mess early, and 520 00:37:39.380 --> 00:37:45.050 cultural outreachcom is our website, so definitely check us out there. And Yeah, 521 00:37:45.050 --> 00:37:47.329 I would love to be in touch with anyone that would likes chat. 522 00:37:47.730 --> 00:37:52.289 Thank you awesome on this interview. This is so much fun. Good I 523 00:37:52.489 --> 00:37:55.730 really really appreciate your time so much and if, if anyone listening wants those 524 00:37:55.889 --> 00:38:00.480 links and other things, I always write up these episodes at bombombcom slash podcast 525 00:38:00.880 --> 00:38:04.639 and I include video clips as well. So if you've been listening to these 526 00:38:04.719 --> 00:38:07.119 but not seeing the guests, they're all there in the blog. Thanks so 527 00:38:07.199 --> 00:38:09.960 much for listening and thank you again to you, Kristin. Thank you, 528 00:38:10.239 --> 00:38:15.269 then, I hope you enjoyed kristen story there at the end. Of course 529 00:38:15.349 --> 00:38:19.630 it was fun to listen to, but it's also very in formative. So 530 00:38:19.789 --> 00:38:23.429 many of us rely on a network of partners to deliver our product or service, 531 00:38:23.949 --> 00:38:29.860 but our customers have a relationship with us. Their experience is with us 532 00:38:30.139 --> 00:38:35.219 and we need to own that entire experience. At bombomb we make it easy 533 00:38:35.300 --> 00:38:38.860 to record and send video messages in place of some of your otherwise faceless digital 534 00:38:38.900 --> 00:38:44.369 communication, and something like an aw s outage, for example, can impact 535 00:38:44.409 --> 00:38:47.889 our customers. But we don't blame Amazon. We own the situation, we 536 00:38:49.170 --> 00:38:52.889 own the relationship and we only experience. If you have any thoughts or curiosity 537 00:38:52.929 --> 00:38:58.159 about using simple personal videos in place of some of your plane typed out text, 538 00:38:58.679 --> 00:39:01.519 you might be interested in the book. Rehumanize your business, how personal 539 00:39:01.559 --> 00:39:07.199 videos accelerate sales and improve customer experience. My name is Ethan Butte, I'm 540 00:39:07.239 --> 00:39:10.590 one of its coauthors and I thank you so much for listening to the B 541 00:39:10.750 --> 00:39:19.389 tob growth show. I hate it when podcasts incessantly ask their listeners for reviews, 542 00:39:19.630 --> 00:39:22.110 but I get why they do it, because reviews are enormously helpful when 543 00:39:22.110 --> 00:39:25.139 you're trying to grow a podcast audience. So here's what we decided to do. 544 00:39:25.579 --> 00:39:29.659 If you leave a review for be to be growth and apple podcasts and 545 00:39:29.900 --> 00:39:34.539 email me a screenshot of the review to James At sweetfish Mediacom, I'll send 546 00:39:34.539 --> 00:39:37.940 you a signed copy of my new book. Content based networking. How to 547 00:39:37.019 --> 00:39:40.130 instantly connect with anyone you want to know. We get a review, you 548 00:39:40.610 --> 00:39:43.250 get a free book. We both win