@freemanco #dcthinkthurs alan steel, cheerleader-in-chief, jacob k. javits center laurie lutz, vice...

@FreemanCo #DCThinkThurs

Alan Steel, Cheerleader-in-Chief, Jacob K. Javits CenterLaurie Lutz, Vice President, CES Operations, Consumer Electronics AssociationSusan McSorley, Director, Convention & Meeting Services, American Academy of Orthopaedic SurgeonsKaty Wild, Executive Vice President, Customer Experience, Freeman [moderator]

Customer Experience is Everybody’s Business

19 June 2014



Treating People with Kindness

“One theory says that if you treat people well, you're more likely to encourage them to do what you want, making all the effort pay off. Do this, get that.Another one, which I prefer, is that you might consider treating people with kindness merely because you can. Regardless of what they choose to do in response, this is what you choose to do. Because you can.”

-Seth Godin


What is Customer Service vs. Customer Experience

Customer ‘satisfaction’ is not enough. People want to be ‘wowed’ by the entire experience

Understanding customer expectations are different for attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors

Association management models: membership service, attendee service and exhibitor service all create the customer experience


The Business Case for Customer Focus

Companies that focus on service outperform their largest competitors – outperforming them in a 1 year period by 26% gross margin and 85% in sales growth

Organizations whose customer engagement scores place them in the top 25% of comparable industries tend to outperform in profit, sales and growth by 2:1

Companies that strive to engage employees grow their earnings per share (EPS) at 2.6 times the rate of those who do not

SOURCE: Human Sigma – John H Fleming, Ph.D and Jim Asplund


Creating a Culture of Customer Experience

Why culture/vision/values matter

Growing from grassroots up

Ensuring everyone is engaged

Understanding what the customer wants and needs

Communicating early and often


Engaging Suppliers and Vendors

Understanding every phase or touch point affects the customer experience

Making thoughtful selections—taxi service, hotels, F&B, etc—that affect the event experience

Offering a first-time exhibitor program to ensure personalized service

Balancing big expectations with big labor rules


Huddle US (Uncompromising Service)

Quick 5-10 minute team talk on how to motivate outstanding customer service

Content in the form of a “playbook”Delivers face-to-face customer service reinforcementFirst focus is on front-line employees and union labor


thinking ALOUD

How are you engaging your suppliers and vendors to create a consistent customer experience?


Turning Complaints into Compliments

Why planning and training matters

Setting and managing expectations

Developing customer trust

Saving the experience even when things go wrong; service recovery


Consistent Customer Service Training


Tracking and Measuring Performance—and Setting New Goals

Why satisfaction/experience surveys matter

Using feedback to make immediate changes

Identifying future areas to improve

Developing a Customer Service Index


thinking ALOUD

What are your biggest challenges in tracking customer service—and steps for improvement?


Providing Acknowledgements and Recognition

Why internal/external recognition matters

Acknowledge model behaviors

Tell team members what they are doing right

Seek feedback from team to improve programs

Charting a course to the JD Powers Award


thinking ALOUD

Open Forum


Customer Experience: Best Practices

Establish vision and values/standards

Communicate roadmap with internal stakeholders

Engage suppliers and partners

Providing ongoing training

Create a ‘first-time’ program for attendees and exhibitors


Customer Experience: Best Practices

Resolve customer discrepancies quickly—and escalate when needed

Track and measuring success—and areas for improvement

Recognize individual contributions and accomplishments—and highlight behaviors you want others to emulate

Create “job shadow” days for cross-functional training

Empower team members to make suggestions—and provide issue resolutions

Providing a high-quality Customer Experience is a journey…not a destination


Additional Resources

Jeff Toister , author, “Service Failure: The Real Reasons Employees Struggle with Customer Service and What You Can Do About It”

Seth Godin blog www.sethgodin.com

Mac Anderson, author, “Customer Love” and “212o of Service – 10 Rules for Creating a Service Culture”

Chip Bell and John Patterson blog http://www.taketheirbreathaway.com/

http://www.taketheirbreathaway.com/




Alan Steel [email protected] Laurie Lutz [email protected] McSorley [email protected] Wild [email protected]

Customer Experience is Everybody’s Business

19 June 2014


@freemanco #dcthinkthurs alan steel, cheerleader-in-chief, jacob k. javits center laurie lutz, vice...

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