Customer Experience

The disconnect between sales managers and reps in 2025 is wild. Manager: "Just pick up the phone!" Rep: *sends 47 emails, 12 texts, 3 LinkedIn messages, and a carrier pigeon* Sound familiar? 😅 After 20+ years in sales, I've watched this communication gap grow wider every year. But here's what both sides are missing: It's not about choosing ONE channel. It's about understanding WHICH channel works WHEN. The most successful reps I've seen? They've cracked the code: **First 24 hours:** • Email → Sets professional tone • LinkedIn → Shows you've done homework • Text → Only if they've given permission **Days 2-5:** • Phone call → NOW it's time (they know who you are) • Voice note → Personal touch that stands out • Video message → Shows real effort **The truth?** Your manager's right - calls DO convert better. You're also right - cold calling blind is dead. The magic happens when you warm them up FIRST. Think of it like dating: You wouldn't propose on the first date. So why are we calling strangers without context? **My top 3 strategies that actually work:** 1. The "Permission Play" End every email with: "Would a quick call tomorrow at 2pm work to discuss?" (They expect it now = higher answer rate) 2. The "Multi-Touch Warm-Up" Email → LinkedIn view → Call within 48 hours (They recognize your name = 3x more likely to answer) 3. The "Context Creator" Reference their LinkedIn post before calling "Saw your post about X, had a thought..." (You're not a stranger = conversation not pitch) Here's the brutal truth: Managers: Your reps aren't lazy. They're adapting to how buyers ACTUALLY buy in 2025. Reps: Your manager isn't wrong. The phone still closes more deals than any other channel. Bridge the gap. Use both. Win more. What's your take - Team Phone or Team Omnichannel? P.S I'm running a FREE 6-week LinkedIn Social Selling Bootcamp starting Monday 15th Sept, grab a free spot here https://lnkd.in/eVmxsMbM

Experiences over Products, the Gen Z way. For Gen Z, luxury isn’t about the product in a box, it’s about the story they can live, share, and post. Experiences now define status, fueling demand for exclusive events, pop-ups, and limited-edition drops that feel like moments, not merchandise. +71% of Gen Z would rather spend on an experience than on a product. +75% of Gen Z beauty consumers say a brand’s values and storytelling shape their choices. >>Experience over product << This generation wants to be sold a feeling, not a SKU. A life-changing vibe beats a logo every time. +43% higher engagement & sales when brands deliver limited drops and collab-driven experiences. +58% of Gen Z prefer interactive retail, pop-ups, AR try-ons, in-store activations, over traditional counters. >>Decline of traditional brand loyalty << Only +22% of Gen Z beauty consumers call themselves loyal to a single brand. Instead, experience-driven loyalty programs outperform point-based systems by 2.5x. They’re not moved by heritage or name recognition. What hooks them? Dynamic experiences, emotional storytelling, and cultural relevance. Loyalty today is built through access, exclusive invites, immersive content, and rewards that feel personal. >>Strategic Takeaways<< Don’t just sell products, design moments, for this generation, the experience IS the luxury. +Use pop-ups, gamified storytelling & social sharing, retail is a playground. +Launch collabs, turning drops into cultural events. +Elevate reality with AR try-ons & interactive packaging. +Build community with invite-only drops & fan experiences, creating shareable packaging & moments. Featured Brands: Chanel Beauty Fenty Beauty Glossier Gucci Miu Miu Louis Vuitton Rhode Skims Simihaze beauty #beautypackaging #beautybusiness #beautyprofessionals #experienceretail #luxuryexperiences #genz

Do you sometimes feel frustration, as you are building a product to get the management off your back, rather than address the users? Here are 6 ways to become user-centric again: 1) Prioritize in a transparent way This is a great place to start. If your backlog is prioritized based on data and potential opportunity, risk, and cost, it will be easier to put forth user-centric initiatives ahead of those that came from upstairs. At the very least, you will have a good basis for an educated discussion. 2) Utilize users' perspective using user stories and personas If your team understands the users and their problems, it will be easier to craft something great that will later appeal to the same users. Just keep up the empathy of creating something by people for other people, and not get some metric magically go up! 3) Understand user problems If everyone in the company can see the themes that come from user feedback, it will be way harder to ignore it in favor of some corporate nonsense. Let those voices be heard by everyone! What if there are 100,000s of voices? Here is where this post's partner comes in: Productboard , and their new release: Productboard Pulse. It's a powerful new tool you can use either as a standalone solution or to elevate your work within an existing Productboard product management suite. This new AI will help you make sense of all the feedback and comments, quickly transforming them into actionable, user-centric tasks. Check out the comments for more details :) Now, back to the post: 4) Have the NPS and user ratings at the forefront The same goes for a single metric representing the general product sentiment. If the number is low or, worse, is going down and everyone can see that, the responsible Product Manager has to react. 5) Focus on your product goals Now, upstairs mandates might not be the only distraction you face when trying to improve your product. To survive them all, focus on one thing: your product goals. This will allow you to demonstrate you are doing what you are asked for and you can use user feedback and points 1-4 to pursue those goals. Thus, it's like killing 2 birds with 1 stone. However, you can also simply: 6) Have the confidence to say "No" Not all company/legal/management requests can be ignored. Sometimes changing the law or a wider company initiative will require you to comply and that is OK! However, there will also be times when someone will try to force your compliance. This is where you need to be confident, and exercise your Product Manager's independence, especially when there is no data to support a specific request. There you go! My 6 ways you can become a user-centric Product Manager. Do you put your users first in your product? Sound off in the comments! #productmanagement #productmanager #usercentricity

Elevating Service in Food & Beverage: Keys to Hospitality Excellence The food and beverage industry thrives on delivering exceptional experiences. Whether in a fine-dining restaurant, a bustling café, or a luxury hotel, hospitality staff play a crucial role in shaping guest satisfaction. Here’s a guide to refining service standards and excelling in your role. 1. Understanding Guest Expectations. Guests expect more than just a meal—they seek a holistic experience. This includes ambiance, attentiveness, and personalized service. A warm greeting and sincere engagement can transform an ordinary visit into a memorable one. 2. Mastering Product Knowledge. Knowing the menu inside and out is essential. Staff should be able to recommend dishes confidently, suggest pairings, and address dietary restrictions. It builds trust and enhances the guest experience. 3. Efficiency & Attention to Detail. Precision matters—whether it's setting tables, timing orders, or ensuring that every dish meets quality standards. Attention to small details, such as napkin placements and proper glassware, elevates the overall experience. 4. Clear Communication & Teamwork. Strong communication between staff members ensures seamless service. Efficient teamwork reduces errors and enhances guest satisfaction. Kitchen coordination, order accuracy, and proactive problem-solving are key. 5. Handling Complaints Gracefully. Not every interaction will be smooth, but professionalism is paramount. When guests voice concerns, active listening and prompt solutions demonstrate commitment to service excellence. A well-handled complaint can turn an unhappy guest into a loyal customer. 6. Upselling Without Being Pushy. Strategic recommendations of premium items or combos benefit both guests and the establishment. The key is offering value rather than forcing sales—suggesting a wine pairing or a chef’s special enhances the dining experience. 7. Maintaining Hygiene & Presentation.. Cleanliness is non-negotiable. Proper attire, grooming, and hygienic practices contribute to a professional image and reassure guests of food safety standards. Consistency in presentation reflects a strong brand identity. 8. Staying Motivated & Engaged. A positive attitude makes a difference. Passionate and dedicated employees create an inviting atmosphere. Continued learning—whether through training sessions or observing industry trends—keeps service fresh and dynamic. Hospitality staff in food and beverage are more than servers—they are experience architects. By refining skills, embracing guest engagement, and upholding excellence, professionals can leave lasting impressions that turn first-time visitors into regular patrons.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝟏𝟎-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚 $𝟐𝟎𝟎 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟖 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 Last month I learned of a heavy equipment dealership that just lost a 10-year client. All because a $200 part took 8 days to replace. The customer's excavator sat idle on a jobsite, bleeding money: - $6,000 per day in project delays - $48,000 in total losses - And serious damage to their reputation They immediately switched to a competitor who promised a 24-hour turnaround. When I asked what went wrong, it was deeper than a logistics issue. The dealership's product support team knew the part was in stock, but the manager prioritized newer clients over loyal ones. This isn't just a service failure. It's a catastrophic sales pipeline mistake. The owner was told something that changed his perspective forever: "Your service department isn't just fixing machines, it's nurturing your sales pipeline." REALITY CHECK: The best salespeople at your dealership aren't always your reps. They're your technicians who spot upsell opportunities during repairs. This is where most dealerships lose millions.  They treat their service departments as second class citizens instead of profit generators. The dealers who understand this are: 💡 Training technicians to spot and document upgrade opportunities 💡 Creating seamless handoffs between service and sales teams 💡 Prioritizing longtime customers for rapid response 💡 Building service packages that prevent costly downtime When you realize your product support is actually your most powerful sales tool... Everything changes.

They signed up. They loved the wine. Then they canceled three months later. Sound familiar? For many wineries, younger guests are showing up, having a great time… and dropping off the wine club just as fast. It’s not because the experience wasn’t good. It’s because the model wasn’t made for them. 👉 Today’s under-40 crowd is subscription-fatigued, commitment-averse, and way more likely to choose flexibility over loyalty. But here’s the catch: You can’t just slap on a discount or create a “young members” version without risking backlash from the customers who actually keep your business running. That’s why I loved the concept Vina Robles Vineyards & Winery introduced with their Rookie Club: a monthly one-bottle subscription with text-based updates and social-first events. It's approachable, modern, and built for how younger consumers actually engage. For one of my clients, we’re experimenting with a fresh alternative—not a club, not a subscription, and definitely not more of the same. Let’s just say… it leans more social than structured, more seasonal than permanent, and it’s designed to spark connection without disrupting the value of existing memberships. Because if wineries want to grow loyalty with younger guests, they need to create something that actually fits how they live—and how they buy. What do you think? How can wineries build loyalty and buzz among the under-40 crowd without alienating the over 40 crowd? #wineclubstrategy #dtcadvertising #winemarketing #hospitalitymarketing #retentionstrategy #youngwineconsumers #winedirect

A prospect tells you: "We’re also looking at [Competitor]." Most reps make one of two mistakes: - They panic and start discounting before the customer even asks. - They attack the competitor, thinking that will win trust. The best reps? They guide the conversation...without badmouthing or getting defensive. Here’s how we teach folks to do it at Sales Assembly: 1) Find the gap. Instead of “We’re better because…” ask: “What made you start looking in the first place? What’s missing today?” This gets them to focus on their pain, not a feature battle. 2) Understand their criteria. Instead of “Why are you considering them?” ask: “What’s most important to you in a solution?” You want them defining success in your playing field. 3) Focus on fit, not features. Instead of “We’re better at X,” ask: “What’s been standing out to you in each option so far?” If they highlight something critical you do better, that’s your opening. 4) Help them think ahead. Instead of “They don’t do [X] like we do,” say: “A lot of teams in your space have prioritized [X] because it impacts [Y]. How are you thinking about that?” This frames the conversation around outcomes - not a feature war. 5) Guide the decision process. Instead of “Who’s your front-runner?” ask: “What’s your process for narrowing down options?” If they don’t have a clear decision path, they’re likely to stall. 6) Make the decision feel easy. Instead of “How can we win this deal?” ask: “If you had to make a decision today, what would give you confidence?” This surfaces final concerns...so you can remove them. The goal isn’t to beat competitors. It’s to help buyers feel confident that choosing you is the right move.

When I worked in hotels, I quickly learned that when a guest was truly upset, level 10 mad, about something seemingly small (no lounge chair at the pool, no ocean-view table, no room left in a snorkeling lesson), it was never just about that one thing. I called it the three-door rule: 🚪 Door One: The immediate complaint. The thing they’re upset about right now. 🚪 Door Two: The earlier disruption. Maybe their flight was delayed, their luggage got lost, or their room wasn’t ready when they arrived. 🚪 Door Three: The real reason. The thing that started the downward spiral. Maybe they’ve been stressed for weeks. Maybe this trip was supposed to be perfect, and nothing has gone right. Here’s the key, if you truly listen, empathize, and do everything in your power to help them, Doors Two and Three start to fade away. Their frustration isn’t just about the lounge chair, it’s about feeling unseen, unheard, or like their vacation (or moment) is slipping away. Exceptional customer service, in any industry—is about being committed to unpacking the real issue. If you can do that, you’re not just solving a problem; you’re turning a bad experience into a great one.

"I have seen brand managers get fired over poorly designed brand health tracks." This statement from one of my past mentors continues to haunt me. Before your brand can win the revenue battle, it needs to win the battle of the mind. Jenni Romaniuk, perfectly analogized this: to win an Olympic race, you need to qualify first. In buying situations within your category, do people even think of your brand? That’s what Brand Health Track measures. Unfortunately, brand managers often use Brand Health Track to justify marketing spends to CFOs and CEOs. This reduces the exercise to mere campaign performance instead of truly monitoring and building better brand health. I was guilty of this until my ex-team member Ranjit Raj R introduced me to Better Brand Health (link in comments) and it gave me lot of useful tips to improve, sharing some below... ➡ Design the survey for the category, not the brand Avoid being content with a high awareness score in a narrow sample (e.g., online shoppers aged 25-30 in top 6 cities). This can lead to misleading and confusing conclusions like high TOMA but low market share. ➡ Focus on Total Awareness Instead of obsessing over TOMA, measure Total Awareness (TOMA + Spontaneous + Aided Awareness). Brand growth combines mental availability (easy to remember) and physical availability (easy to buy). High TOMA alone isn’t enough; prompted awareness reveals your true standing. ➡ Measure awareness among non-buyers You might see an increase or decrease in your Total Awareness because of higher fall out of your brand buyers in the sample in that particular dipstick. Higher the brand buyers in sample size, naturally higher the total awareness for your brand will be. However, brands grow when you get many light users who are non-buyers of your brand, buy more often from you and hence measuring awareness within this segment is the true metric to track. ➡ Identity and define Category Entry Points CEPs are statements users associate with when evaluating the category. Measure if your brand dominates these mental associations (e.g., trustworthiness, innovation, recommendations by financial advisors). High mental association but low sales could mean a problem of distribution (physical availability) and vice versa could mean a problem of awareness. ➡ Investigate your latest campaigns Measure "Effective Reach" (People who saw your ad x People who attributed the ad to your brand). Category leaders often benefit from misattribution when smaller players advertise, so track this before making spending, media mix or creative decisions. ➡ Measure word of mouth. Both positive and negative word of mouth impact your brand. This ensures you’re aware if product quality or service issues are stagnating growth, not just creative or media strategies. ➡ Any other way? Brand Health Track can be a fairly expensive and time consuming exercise - other to track growth of your brand which are cost effective and real-time. Link in comments.

The world of Robotics just changed overnight. And it’s been in the works for years. I still remember how excited we were when NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang gave a unique shout-out to Gideon at #GTC21 (check out the video below), hinting at what would eventually happen when the worlds of AI and Robotics collide. Jensen back then: "The signs are clear: accelerated computing doing AI at data center scale will give a giant boost in simulation performance." Jensen today: "Everything that moves in the future will be robotic." NVIDIA Robotics just announced a series of robotics breakthroughs at NVIDIA GTC, with a clear aim of democratizing the building of AI Robots with game-changing foundational components and tools: • Isaac Manipulator, a collection of state-of-the-art motion generation and modular AI capabilities for robotic arms, • Isaac Perceptor, Visual AI for Autonomous Mobile Robot (watch out if you’re building smart AMRs!), • GR00T, a general-purpose foundation model for humanoid robot learning, • a new Jetson Thor-based computer for humanoid robots, built on the NVIDIA Thor SoC, • Isaac Lab for robot learning, • Isaac OSMO for hybrid-cloud workflow orchestration. Mindblowing. 😮 It validates what we at Gideon have believed in for the past 7 years: the future of flexible robots will be powered by advanced visual perception and AI. If you want to build meaningful robotics companies, there’s never been a better time. And it’s never been more important to: 1. Listen to your early customers and focus on adding value to them from day one. Build long-term relationships with their People and help them solve their top problems. 2. Specialize! Focus on solving one specific problem at a time. Do not build universal platforms, trying to tackle many problems at once. When customers hear about your company, they should immediately know you’re the best in the world to solve a specific problem they have. 3. Do not reinvent the wheel; use the off-the-shelf components whenever possible. 4. Data to train your robots is key. Generalized components and platforms will always miss industry-specific data and customer insights you should have access to, so use them to build. It’s your secret superpower and a future growth flywheel. 5. Make sure your robots talk to and cooperate well with other systems. 6. Do not underestimate the complexities of deploying AI robots in the real world, especially in commercial environments. Invest in people, processes, and tools to handle this properly early on. This will make or break you. The real world is nothing like your simulation environment. 7. Partner with key industry players to accelerate your growth (like we did with Toyota Material Handling Europe.) All the building blocks are finally coming together. What is the robot you’ll start working on today? #NVIDIA #JensenHuang #Robotics #AI #AIRobotics #VisualAI #VisualPerception #ComputerVision #GTC24 #AMR #AGV #MobileRobots #HumanoidRobots