The Experience Strategy Podcast

Today we're sitting down with the Director of Retail CX at Clayton Homes, Michael Stanton. Clayton Homes is a Berkshire Hathaway Company that provides more homes to families than any other housing company in America. Michael's noticed, like many other experience strategists, that our inner circles are shifting. In addition to families, Clayton now sells more homes to friends, siblings, and others, who are redefining the buying experience. The questions Clayton Homes is asking are questions we should all be asking. Here are a few you might want to consider: Who is in my customer's inner circle? How is that inner circle going to participate in the buying process and the use of the product? How can we support our customers in making values-based and aspirational decisions? How do we effectively digitize the decision-making process?

John Doll, from the Enterprise Design team at Edward Jones, had a very rough day recently. His rental car was broken into. What ensued was one of the highest drama CX stories we've heard in a while. Grab a hot cup of tea and listen to this dishy story of processes failed, jobs not done, and opportunities missed. Yes, this is a story of customer disservice, but it's also one of employee disservice, and most importantly, it's one we can all learn from.

On this very special episode of The Experience Strategy Podcast, Dave Norton and Aransas Savas are getting meta as they are joined by the producer of this podcast and the Founder and CEO of Produce Your Podcast, Traci DeForge. Traci is a pioneer in the world of podcasting and has created a thriving business in helping companies translate their services into audio formats that grow their brands. The industry is changing, though, and her clients' needs are evolving, so in this conversation, we help her identify powerful new ways to serve her clients, boost the value of the time they- and their audiences - spend together, and even find a creative new way to use existing processes to deepen customer insight as her business and the category grows. Three impactful questions every business owner, or experience strategist, can ask to learn how to better serve their customers: Did we succeed at the job the customer wanted to be done? Was the customer engaged in the experience? Did the customer feel like the experience was a good value for their time? If you are ready to have more impact on your customer and your business, please listen to this episode!

Experience strategists are navigating increasingly complex decisions. Customer journeys are increasingly complex, channels are proliferating, expectations continue to rise, and data is abundant. How do we help our companies make the best decisions about how and where to spend money? Craig Lutz is uniquely well positioned to help us answer this question. Craig has been a data scientist and researcher at Qualtrics since 2007 where he has conducted thousands of conjoint analysis projects with Qualtrics. He is also the designer of Qualtrics' conjoint analysis DIY technology, the author of Exploring Conjoint Analysis and a prominent thought leader on innovative quantitative research methods. We are thrilled to announce that he also recently joined our team at Stone Mantel as Conjoint Advisor! In this episode, Dave and Aransas talk to Craig about how he helps teams like Google, Goldman Sachs, Uber and others make the decisions that really matter for customers, based on powerful analytics and what shifts when companies understand that time really is money. You'll hear: How Conjoint analysis can be used to get underneath what customers really care about and how it can be used to predict and change behavior How Uber used these tools to design a radical new rider loyalty program How Google: uses Max Diff to predict how customers will spend money How Goldman Sachs used it to inform their employees experience by optimizing their benefit packages - and tailoring them to each individual office in ways that saved money while increasing real and perceived value How conjoint could be a really groundbreaking understanding how and where customers spend their precious time How Max Diff relates to Clayton Christensen's Jobs to Be Done Theory Check out the Experience Strategy Trend Report for more information on how to bring the power of context to your customer insight portfolio https://www.stonemantel.co/trendsreport BIO: Craig Lutz has been a data scientist and researcher at Qualtrics since 2007. He has been a frequent presenter at conferences on the subject of quantitative research methods and has conducted thousands of conjoint analysis projects Qualtrics/ customer over his time there. He also designed and developed Qualtrics' conjoint analysis DIY technology. Craig graduated from BYU with a degree in Actuarial Science with a minor in Mathematics. Craig and his wife Karrie have 5 kids and reside in Orem, Utah.

On today's episode of Experience Strategy Podcast, hosts Dave Norton and Aransas Savas will prove to you that your business needs a strong strategic POV on your customer experience in order to thrive. Listen in to hear how brands like @Apple, @W Hotels, and @Best Buy's Geek Squad used a compelling experience POV to innovate and drive business success. KEY TAKEAWAYS One of the key elements of an experience strategy is a point of view statement. The POV statement describes the near future needs of your customers and how your company is going to dedicate resources to meet those needs in a unique and compelling way. There are a variety of ways to create a POV statement including a declarative statement, an insight statement, a story, a theme, and a comparison. Once you have the statement you can begin to build frameworks that help your organization to make better decisions regarding experience

Today we are joined by Jake Haupert and Jorge Perez, thought leaders and entrepreneurs in transformational travel. We explore why travel is the perfect launchpad for the transformation economy; how transformational experiences differ from our traditional ways of looking at categories like healthcare, finance, retail, technology and beyond; which customer types seek transformation and why they value it. Most importantly, we talk about how to effectively deliver on transformation. GUEST BIOS Jake Haupert: He's passionately advocating for new ways of believing, being, doing, and traveling that positively impact our lives, how we are with others, and how we relate to our planet. Travel today has become devoid of intention, integrity, meaning, and purpose, resulting in personal experiences lacking their full potential which, too often, reinforces boundaries, worldviews, and practices rather than stretching and evolving them. Despite our good intentions, unintended consequences have contributed to our current social and ecological crisis rather than catalytic to human development, healing, and collective prosperity. Jake believes the time is now to change that and invites you to join him. Jake is currently most excited to be participating in the "Transformation Economy Collaborative" led by Stone Mantel, an experience strategy company, and convening a roundtable of travel-specific brands. Jorge Perez: A passionate traveler and sustainable development promoter. A pioneer on conservation through adventure travel and private land conservation, with more than 20 years of experience in these fields. Founder of Tierra del Volcan, an Award-winning travel company that offers life-changing adventures that leads to legendary moments in Ecuador, South America. Adventure guide. Former president of The Ecuadorian Ecotourism Association. South America ambassador for the Transformational Travel Council and vice chair of the board of TTC. Ambassador for Adventure Travel Trade Association. Panelist and conference speaker at events like; ATWS, TNC private Land Conservation expo, TIES Ecuador, Ela Travel Show.

Experience Strategy and Branding Strategy sometimes reference similar ideas and frameworks, but often don't complement one another in execution, for the good of the customer. Catherine is the Co-Founder of the branding agency, clarkmcdowall. Catherine has been a thought leader in brand strategy, architecture and innovation since the 90's. Her work is built on the fusion of art and science, left and right brain… or what she calls "intelligence and imagination". Her work has helped shape some of the world's biggest and most innovative brands. Today, we look at the possibilities and pitfalls of these two approaches, and the magic that is possible when they find their rhythm and dance in harmony. KEY TAKEAWAYS Successful brand strategy helps you define the character of your company. Successful experience strategy helps you define the needs of your customer. The two have the potential to work in partnership, or end up creating confusion for customers. Empowered employees enable the brand and experience dance to be harmonious. (Spoiler alert: it's not just about consistency, but about actually supporting employees with the technology to support customers. See @southwestairlines for more on this point.) GUEST BIO Catherine is the Co-Founder of independent NYC-based branding agency, clarkmcdowall. A true pioneer in the business of branding and innovation, Catherine came to New York in the late 90s and quickly established her reputation as a thought leader in brand strategy, architecture and innovation. She joined forces with Paul McDowall in 2001, creating clarkmcdowall – an original agency built on the fusion of art and science, left and right brain… or what they call "intelligence and imagination". Together, they have built a powerful team of talented individuals and helped shape some of the world's biggest and most innovative brands. Catherine leads the strategic direction for the agency's work and oversees the business. She is committed to supporting women in the pursuit of their ambitions, and is proud to have a long fostered women-majority leadership group.

Historically, customers expected categories like hospitality and healthcare to support their wellbeing. Today, categories as wide-ranging as finance and electronics are expected to design for wellbeing. Don't think you're in the wellbeing industry? Think again. Cultural shifts and crises have changed the game. In this episode, we are joined by Sallie Fraenkel, the founder of Mind Body Spirit Network, and the former CMO & COO of SpaFinder and EVP for the Global Wellness Summit. Together we look at how changing customer expectations influence the perception of your experience and specific ways that you can meaningfully integrate wellbeing for your customers and company. KEY TAKEAWAYS A decade ago, customers sought pampering from experiences. With time, that has become less differentiating. In fact, it's become a functional job to be done. Now, customers demand a more systemic understanding of their needs. They want companies to deliver products that support their total wellbeing. To meet the wellbeing needs of customers, look at the role you play in their life systems. Understanding those intersections will help you better serve them as you synch, coordinate and align with their lives. Use moments of intention and reflection to understand what your customers value, and where they most need you to support their systems. GUEST BIO Sallie Fraenkel is the founder of Mind Body Spirit Network which was founded in 2014 to offer consulting services to wellness-oriented businesses and networking events for wellness-oriented individuals. Sallie's passion for wellness travel and tourism has led her to destination spas and resorts around the world where she has created numerous trips, tours and experiences for wellness industry-insiders and travelers. Between 2004 to 2014, Fraenkel served as CMO & COO of SpaFinder and EVP for the Global Wellness Summit. Her first career was in the entertainment industry where she ran the home entertainment division for Showtime. As a leader in the industry, Fraenkel serves on several boards including the Transformational Travel Council, GSN Planet, NYSPA, One Well World, Well Defined and Vacayou. Fraenkel draws upon the expertise of many professionals with whom she has collaborated during her career. She values creativity, ingenuity, authenticity, integrity, and connection in her work and that of others.

Experience Strategy has expanded over the past decade to include a wide range of disciplines: CX, UX, Patient Experience, Employee Experience, Service Design, and so many more. With all these exes running around, experience strategy can sometimes sound like a country & western song. Today we are joined by Gary David, a Professor of Sociology, and Professor of Information Design and Corporate Communication at Bentley University, and the voice of ProfessorEXP on Twitch. We look at how we can learn from cultural ethnography to tame the wild west of exes by learning shared languages and measuring what really matters. KEY TAKEAWAYS Disintegrated systems cost everyone: customers, companies, and employees It's tempting to rely on standardized metrics like NPS, but they often oversimplify and mislead paths in their understanding of customer needs. To measure what really matters, continue asking "why" and "to what end" to find metrics that matter for both the customer and the company. "Do you want to have measurable impact or real impact?" ~Gary David It's up to experience strategists to become multi-linguists who understand the intention behind different disciplines. Higher education is a prime example of disintegrated systems. To integrate, as with companies, employee and customer metrics must reward integration. BIO Gary David, a Professor of Sociology, and Professor of Information Design and Corporate Communication at Bentley University. He is the founder of ethno-analytics, LLC, a consultancy that focuses on integrated design and experience alignment. He has worked with major companies and small community organizations to help create better experiences for all stakeholders. He is a keynote speaker and organizational educator at garyconnects.com. He also is an educational livestreamer on Twitch under the moniker ProfessorEXP. He co-hosts Experience by Design podcast, where they explore 'experience designs of all kinds.'

Chip Conley, legendary hotelier, was dubbed the Modern Elder at Airbnb because he was twice the age of the average Airbnb employee and as curious as he was wise. As the internal mentor to the young Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, Chip got to see the value of intergenerational collaboration in a company that has now grown to be the most valuable hospitality company in the world. His bestselling book "Wisdom@Work: The Making of a Modern Elder" is a testament to rethinking the value of having 5 generations in the workplace and why more companies are doing their best to encourage their older workers to stay in the workplace longer. In this episode of The Experience Strategy Podcast we talk to Chip about his vision of the future, for experiences, our aging population, and our ways of working. Listen in to hear more about The transition from a #ExperienceEconomy into a #TransformationEconomy Transformational Travel Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs for customers and the intersection with @ClaytonChristenson's Jobs to be Done KEEP LEARNING: Experience Strategy Trend Report The Modern Elder Academy Wisdom @ Work by Chip Conley Peak by Chip Conley