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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Design Customer Custom Product 105

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2022

Most businesses spend big money testing their brand logo, catchy marketing phrases, and demographics, but spend little time training and validating that their employees can and do deliver exceptional experiences to their customers. Keep your team happy to create engaged customers. Build relationships and stop surveying customers.

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Customer Custom Services Training 123

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

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2017

First customers are critical. Your first customers for any product or service form your reference base, the important group of allies that your marketing and sales people rely upon when attempting to create buzz and make a mass market for a new product. Make your customer a partner in the process.

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Customer Custom Resource Sales 243

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

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

Berkonomics

MARCH 11, 2021

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. But do include at least one specific question about your product to be sure the respondent is an actual customer. Why it’s a great question.

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Customer Custom Case Study Email 218

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

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. READ MORE>>.

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Customer Custom San Diego Training 113

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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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

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

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>>.

Customer 113

Customer Custom Software Development Los Angeles 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

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

AUGUST 9, 2019

Los Angeles-based fintech startup Dave , which offers up an online banking service which helps users build their credit, announced on Thursday that it has named Mia Alexander as its new VP of Customer Experience. Alexander was most recently VP of Customer Experience at Green Dot, where she had been for over 16 years.

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Customer Custom Los Angeles Report 113

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 22, 2021

Every business I know is intimately familiar with outbound marketing, or pushing your message out to customers through email, newspaper, and television advertising. Only a few really understand the process and value of inbound marketing, for pulling customers to your brand. Don’t just monitor – engage customers.

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Customer Custom Marketing Social Media 172

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

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

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 offers up point of purchase financing at auto dealership service centers, optical practices, dentist offices and specialty healthcare services.

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Customer Custom Funding Los Angeles 113

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 2, 2022

Many entrepreneurs think that adapting to the new technologies, like smart phones and Internet commerce, are the key to attracting new customers. High-technology product startups, without customers, don’t make a business. Solis outlines the heuristics of social psychology that are key to building positive customer experiences today.

Customer 122

Customer Custom Social Media Technical Review 122

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.

Customer 113

Customer Custom Services Conference 113

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2023

Businesses see this as the Holy Grail for finally being able to predict who, where, and when customers will buy their existing solutions, and what their future solutions must look like to be attractive. For example, Google’s Ngram service has already datafied over 5.2 quintillion bytes a day.

Customer 115

Customer Custom Social Media Research 115

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>>.

Customer 113

Customer Custom Services Training 113

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

Most leaders agree that poor customer service is a business killer today, in terms of lost customers, reduced profits, and low morale. Yet the average perception of customer experience has not improved. You have to start with hiring only people who are willing and able to make serious customer service happen.

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Competition Services Startup Training 99

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. Contrast that with a VC conversation I had.

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Customer Custom Venture Capital Software Review 341

Berkonomics

AUGUST 18, 2016

[Email readers, continue here…] Later, as CEO of a fast growing computer software company with over thirty employees in customer service alone, I did learn the lesson, as I sat in on customer service calls on occasion to get a more complete understanding of the process, pressures and opportunities for improvement.

Customer 120

Customer Custom Services Press 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 22, 2020

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.

Customer 127

Customer Custom Marketing Content 127

socalTECH

MARCH 14, 2018

As 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. What's the biggest lesson you've learned about retaining and keeping your customers using the subscription model?

Customer 166

Customer Custom Conference Social Media 166

TechCrunch LA

MAY 3, 2022

Upgrade’s e-commerce marketplace has two sides: one that enables consumers to choose a vetted stylist and have their wig colored or customized based on their desired look. However, although they are providing such significant value, a lot of them operate with limited funding and resources, which ultimately affects the customer experience.

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Tool Customer Custom Marketing 179

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2020

The world keeps changing, and visible business strategies that worked well in the past, including being the premium brand or low price producer, simply don’t get the customer loyalty they once did. Today, customers are looking for real relationships, a memorable shopping experience, and satisfaction of a higher purpose.

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Customer Custom Satisfaction Examples 133

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2020

Attracting the right customers is the key to success in business, whether you have a new startup or a mature enterprise. For example, Xerox tried to broaden the use of "xerox" as the standard term for "photocopying" to extend their existing customer segment into office automation and all kinds of computing.

Customer 123

Customer Custom Technical Review Examples 123

TechCrunch LA

JULY 9, 2019

Doctours , a Los Angeles-based online platform for booking trips and treatments for medical and dental care around the world, is expanding its services to 35 countries. The company also offers specialized medical tourism insurance to all of its customers, according to O’Shaughnessy. O’Shaughnessy wrote in an email.

Customer 225

Customer Custom Training Los Angeles 225

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2020

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.

Customer 124

Customer Custom Startup Course 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2020

They forget that adapting their company and themselves as their customers evolve is the key to long-term survival. Think of Blockbuster and Toys ‘R’ Us , both of whom missed customer changes and the move to online. Create an overt strategy to react to emerging customer trends. Remember when you were a startup?

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Customer Custom Examples IBM 143

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2023

Customers buy from people, not companies. That means relationships with team members, investors, customers, and vendors. Entrepreneurs who like to be argumentative, complaining, or disagreeable, will have a hard time closing a contract, investment, or a customer contract. Investors invest in people, not ideas.

Customer 90

Customer Custom Outsource Development Entrepreneur 90

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 2, 2018

Santa Barbara-based property management software developer Yardi continues to add to its long list of customers, saying late last night that it has added a new customer in London. Financial details of the win were not announced.

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Customer Custom Santa Barbara Software Development 113