Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2023

Having the best solution is a good start these days, but a solution alone is no longer enough to keep customer attention and loyalty. Michelli, with inspiring stories on how one well-known company, Mercedes-Benz, made the transition and is profiting as a result. Tie customer experience to all compensation and recognition.

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Customer Custom Startup Competition 106

Berkonomics

JULY 27, 2017

Your customers know what they want more than you do. This week’s insight came from personal experience and from a good friend who advanced the notion of the “teacher-customer” years ago. The customer would be the first to receive the new functionality in a new release. Find one to teach you.

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Customer Custom Design Conference 243

socalTECH

OCTOBER 12, 2020

Santa Monica-based Invoca , which provides call tracking and analytics software, says a new study it ran shows that website experience and customer experience has become much more important in the era of COVID-19, particularly in big ticket purchases. READ MORE>>.

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Customer Custom Santa Monica Services 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2019

Too many business owners still think of “ customer support ” as an after-sale process to rectify customer problems with completed transactions. With the advent of instant communication and social media, customer service starts at the first hint of interest by you, and never ends for repeat customers.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2023

Customer service has traditionally been focused on the resolution of complaints , primarily after a transaction. My recommendations always include adopting a customer mindset, as well as the following steps: Accept today’s definition of relevant customer support. Treat every customer exceptionally before they complain.

Competition 109

Competition Services Customer Custom 109

socalTECH

APRIL 14, 2017

Los Angeles-based streaming television- and video-provider Hulu has selected San Antonio, Texas, as the site for a new customer service center, the company said on Thursday. Honest Company briefly had a large staff doing customer support in Austin, but it closed that office in December after a shift in its business strategy.

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Hulu Sites Customer Custom 100

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2023

Today’s customers demand more than a good product; they expect a great customer experience. A few companies are leading the way, including Apple with their iPad and iPhone, offering irresistible stores with friendly experts, elegant packaging, and customer service that never ends.

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socalTECH

JANUARY 29, 2018

Carlsbad-based satellite Internet services provider Viasat is ramping out its efforts to reach residential and business customers, with a new partnership with service provider Perfect 10. ViaSat said the move comes as it ramps up commercial Internet services from its ViaSat-2 satellite. READ MORE>>.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2023

Entrepreneurs have always believed that their product or service must show real value to customers, but today the smart ones are even able to make their marketing valuable. Now customers seek out people who are willing and able to add value, with expertise and insight, even before they have a product.

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Content Customer Custom Marketing 104

Berkonomics

AUGUST 18, 2016

Over fifty years ago, I was CEO of a record manufacturing company in Hollywood. Then, when my manager of customer service sent a request up the line asking for funds for equipment or expanded staffing, I would understand the need, sometimes offering suggestions for improvement to try before making the investment.

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Customer Custom Services Press 120

Berkonomics

MARCH 11, 2021

Conversely, if less than ten percent say this, those companies or products would have a hard time getting traction in the marketplace. It reminds us that our customers, especially early adapters, must want to continue to use our products to the extent that they “would be very disappointed” if unable to do so in the future.

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Customer Custom Case Study Email 218

socalTECH

MARCH 1, 2018

As part of the lead in to the conference, and as a part of our sponsor relationship with the conference, we're running a series of interviews with speakers from the conference about their experience in the area of recurring revenues, customer service, and similar topics. We respond very quickly to all of our customers.

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Customer Custom Services Conference 113

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 29, 2020

Los Angeles-based HONK Technologies , which is developing an app that helps provide roadside assistance to users, has signed up an insurance firm as a customer. According to HONK, it has signed up Wawanesa Insurance, and will manage the roadside assistance program for the insurance company. READ MORE>>.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 3, 2023

More than ever before, people want to buy from, work for, and invest in companies that matter. It is no longer enough to just have a great product or service. It is no longer enough to just have a great product or service. Seek out only the best potential partners and customer leaders.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2022

Today’s customers are much more in control of their buying decision, as they have more choices and more information than ever before. Bloom’s classic book, “ The New Experts: Win Today's Newly Empowered Customers.” Great startups manage to continually improve the relationship through outstanding follow-on support and service.

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Customer Custom Startup Course 146

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

Two years after the Los Angeles-based fintech startup Dave launched with a suite of money management tools to save consumers from overdraft fees , the company is now worth $1 billion thanks to a nascent banking practice that had investors lining up. “We think the company is quite a bit more valuable than [$1 billion].

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Company Companies Startup Tips 262

socalTECH

MARCH 6, 2020

San Diego-based Cubic Corporation said this week that it has named Min Wei as the company's Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer. Wei has been at Cubic since 2009.

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Customer Custom San Diego Training 113

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 19, 2021

Foothill Ranch-based iBASEt, a developer of software for the manufacturing sector, said this week that it has named both a new Chief Customer Officer and Chief Financial Officer. The company said it has promoted Scott Baril to the Chief Customer Officer role, and named Daniel de Haas as its new Chief Financial Officer.

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Customer Custom Software Services 113

TechCrunch LA

MAY 14, 2020

A little over a year after its graduation from Y Combinator’s demo day, the on-demand construction materials delivery service Curri is beginning to offer its services in all 50 states. The company estimates that it saves its customers roughly half the cost of deploying an in-house fleet for delivery. .

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Services Southern California Seed Funding Demand 217

socalTECH

JULY 7, 2021

Los Angeles-based fintech startup Sunbit announced this morning that it has appointed Bill Walsh as the company's first Chief Customer Officer. Sunbit recently raised a huge, $130M Series D funding round, which valued the company at an $11 billion unicorn.

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socalTECH

MAY 2, 2019

Los Angeles-based financial software developer BlackLine said on Thursday that it has expanded its customer base, adding such notable customers as Volvo, Waymo, AstraZeneca, the operator of Applebee's, and many others to its list of 2,700 companies who are using its products. READ MORE>>.

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Customer Custom Software Development Los Angeles 113

socalTECH

MARCH 5, 2021

Long Beach-based free conference calling service FreeConferenceCall.com says it is launching itself into the video conferencing market, with a new service called Huddle. According to the company, it will allow the first 10,000 customers of the service to pick their own price for whatever they think the service is worth.

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Services Long Beach Pricing Conference 113

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2013

I recently wrote a blog post in which I pointed out that many investors & advisors discourage enterprise startups from having a professional services (PS) business and I think this is a big mistake. I think it’s important for enterprise startups to layer in professional services into your revenue stream.

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Software Review Software Services Company 321

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

For decades, efforts to satisfy customers have been built around demographics – capitalizing on race, ethnicity, gender, income, and other attributes. Customer personalities define customer experience, and sets what they love, and what they hate. There is no one set of exceptional experiences that will work for all customers.

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Customer Custom Social Media Satisfaction 158

socalTECH

JANUARY 14, 2016

San Diego-based MindTouch , a developer of software-as-a-service tools to help companies create self-service, customer support sites, has raised $12M in a Series A funding. MindTouch's software provides customer support search tools, product information, and more to end users. READ MORE>>.

Customer 100

Customer Custom Software Services 100

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 19, 2019

Los Angeles-based Centerfield , a company which provides marketing and customer acquisition to the residential services, business services, and telecommunications markets, says it has launched a new product, called Insights by Scout. Pricing on the new product was not announced. READ MORE>>.

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Acquisition Customer Custom Product 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2020

Today’s customers demand more than a good product; they expect a great customer experience. A few companies are leading the way, including Apple with their iPad and iPhone, offering irresistible stores with friendly experts, elegant packaging, and customer service that never ends.

Customer 150

Customer Custom Design Product 150

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 16, 2021

Here’s one for executives of any company with next generation products in mind. In many companies, there are quiet geniuses, wanting to work on projects outside of the daily focus of the department or company. Technology companies are prime targets for this problem. . First, let’s recognize the problem.

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Company Companies Resource Cloud Computing 156

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2021

Yet, as a business consultant, I often find minimal focus on improving employee engagement and assessing their customer-facing performance. For example, I commonly see metrics to keep track of revenue per employee, overtime, and absenteeism, but I don’t often see measures of overall customer satisfaction with individual employees.

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Customer Custom Technical Review Metrics 147

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 22, 2021

As I talk to many of you in my role as business advisor, I still often hear the concern for maximum return to the business and stakeholders, more than a passion for sustainably enriching the lives of your customers and team. This applies to your own team, as well as customers. Make every customer experience memorable.

Customer 114

Customer Custom Satisfaction Metrics 114

socalTECH

JULY 22, 2014

San Diego-based OneRoof Energy , the solar energy services financing and solar installation company led by David Field, said today that it has tied with "digital services" company Elevate. Accor ding to OneRoof Energy, the move will help extend OneRoof to a "substantial" customer base.

Services 147

Services Company Companies San Diego 147

socalTECH

APRIL 17, 2019

j2 Global said the acquisition will help it grow its global customer base, provide it with access to new markets, and will expand its product lineup. j2 Global said these latest acquisition are not expected to be material to the company. j2 Global said these latest acquisition are not expected to be material to the company.

Company 173

Company Companies Southern California Acquisition 173

socalTECH

MAY 11, 2021

Los Angeles-based HONK Technologies, a startup which provides roadside assistance through a network of third party towing companies, is expanding its support for an existing customer, Branch Insurance. HONK says it began offering up its services to Branch members in 2019. Financial details of the deal were not announced.

Services 113

Services Los Angeles Networking Marketing 113

socalTECH

MAY 8, 2019

Playa Vista-based point-of-sale equipment and software provider Appetize says that its recent move to offer up "self-service" kiosks to its customers, has resulted in its customers seeing more spending and demand.

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Services Software Review Technical Review Demand 133

TechCrunch LA

MAY 3, 2022

The company Winters was working for sponsored her MBA to Harvard Business School, and it was there that she came up with the idea for Upgrade. “I The company, which raised $1.7 .” She grew up in Houston and went on to attend Stanford and major in engineering. Remember Mary J. Blige’s hair at the Super Bowl ? That was via Upgrade.

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Tool Customer Custom Marketing 179

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 17, 2020

Allan Jones’s first startup was Fourth and Grand , a Trunk Club-like service backed by the venture studio and accelerator, Science, out of Santa Monica. What sets Bambee apart from companies like Zenefits and other companies looking to provide human resources services is its focus on the needs of employees as well as employers.

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Services Resource Santa Monica Los Angeles 281

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2014

I spend a lot of time with startups and thus hear many companies talk about their approach to sales and their interactions with customers. From these meetings you can really tell the leaders that care deeply about their customers and those the look down on them. You’d be very wrong. You can’t.

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Customer Custom Venture Capital Software Review 341