Behind the Keynotes
Episode 8: Nurturing Customer Relationships
Episode Episode 8: Nurturing Customer Relationships
Watch or Listen to This Episode
Study Guide
Lesson Notes
In the final episode of our series, two of our experts dive deeper into customer experience. We have discussed organizations, teams, leaders, and the world at large, and now, it’s time to focus on the most crucial relationship in business.
Building Customer Relationships
Defining Hospitality and Service
Will Guidara differentiates between service and hospitality. Service is about delivering a product efficiently, such as ensuring the right meal reaches the right person at the right time. Hospitality, however, is about making customers feel seen and valued. A simple way to distinguish the two is by asking: does this action make the recipient feel recognized as an individual? If so, it’s hospitality. Companies that integrate hospitality into their service create deeper customer connections and long-lasting relationships.
Pain Points in Customer Experience
Will Guidara highlights that true commitment to customer relationships eliminates pain points. The main issue is that many businesses discuss the importance of customer service without making it a real priority. Common pain points arise when companies fail to invest in customer experience, either through a lack of resources or focus. To succeed, businesses must take genuine, deliberate action rather than just talking about service improvements.
Keeping Your Promise and Adding Emotion
According to Steven Van Belleghem, there are two crucial elements to customer experience: Keeping your promise in terms of product, quality, service, and communication, and creating an emotional connection. It’s not just about delivering what was promised but also about ensuring customers feel valued and engaged. Companies that differentiate themselves by adding emotional depth to their service build stronger, more lasting relationships with their customers. Sustainable growth stems from delivering value in a way that resonates emotionally.
No More Segmentation—One Size Fits One
Will Guidara emphasizes that great customer experiences stem from recognizing that “one size fits one.” Personalization is the key to making customers feel valued. Similarly, Steven Van Belleghem argues that traditional segmentation is outdated. Instead of categorizing people by demographics, businesses should leverage technology to offer hyper-personalized experiences. AI now allows for customized interactions, making each engagement more relevant and meaningful. Businesses that embrace this shift will strengthen their relationships with customers and increase their chances of successful customer encounters.
Take Action
Interrogation of the Guest Journey
Will Guidara conducted an “interrogation of the guest journey” to refine every customer interaction at his restaurant. Initially, his team identified 35 customer touchpoints, but after deeper analysis, they found over 120. This allowed them to focus on different touchpoints and enhance each moment of interaction.
This method can help you identify the touchpoints that feel most mundane and usually get little attention, and turn those into delightful moments of generosity and hospitality. It’s important to examine and refine every detail of the customer journey to create more meaningful interactions, differentiating your business from competitors.
Change to Positive Communication
Steven Van Belleghem argues for a shift towards positive messaging in customer communication. Many businesses communicate what they will not do for customers, but negative messaging is ineffective. Instead, companies should find engaging, uplifting ways to interact with their audience.
People crave positivity and predictability. Businesses should incorporate this mindset by ensuring their communications, emails, and interactions contribute to a positive customer experience. The small details matter, and adding positivity at every touchpoint enhances customer relationships.
Ask Yourself
Am I making customers feel seen and valued through personalized customer experiences?
Moving beyond outdated segmentation and embracing hyper-personalization allows businesses to meet individual needs, making interactions more relevant and meaningful. Ensure you focus on hospitality, not just service.
How can we add more emotion to our customer interactions?
- Emotionally engaging customers creates memorable experiences and strengthens brand attachment. How can you enable your team to create a more generous and personalized customer experience?
Am I paying attention to every customer touchpoint, especially the less obvious ones?
As Will Guidara suggests, businesses can differentiate themselves by creating unexpected value in moments that often go unrecognized. What would these moments be in your business, and how can you enhance them?
The Episode in 3 Quotes
“I believe the greatest things happen when you make people feel seen.” – Will Guidara
“At the end of the day, if the customer does not value the things that you do, you’re not gonna get sustainable growth, you’re gonna go out of business.” – Steven Van Belleghem
“The best customer experiences happen when you don’t treat them like a commodity. When it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, the greatest customer experiences take place when you recognize that unreasonable hospitality is one size fits one.” – Will Guidara
Further Learning
Episodes List
What does it take to lead with courage and effectiveness in today’s world? In this inspiring episode, leaders like Chris Voss, Bozoma Saint John, and Adam Grant explore how to embrace imperfection, foster trust, and develop character traits like humility and generosity.
Discover how asking the right questions, learning from mistakes, and building team trust can help you lead with clarity and purpose, even during times of uncertainty. Packed with actionable advice, this episode will inspire you to take your leadership to the next level.
Key Topics:
💡 Embracing imperfection as a strength
🤝 Building trust and psychological safety in teams
🎯 Leading through uncertainty with purpose
In this insightful episode, renowned leaders and thinkers—including Adam Grant, Sanna Suvanto-Harsaae, Kim Scott, Bozoma Saint John, and more—explore how leadership is evolving in the face of technological, social, and organizational transformation.
Discover how to navigate the complexities of remote work, harness the power of AI, foster human connection in a disconnected world, and maintain flexibility while striving for long-term goals. With practical advice and profound insights, this episode equips leaders to stay ahead in a rapidly changing environment.
Key Topics:
🌍 Leading in the age of complexity and disruption
🤝 Building connections in a hybrid work world
🤖 Embracing AI for better outcomes while preserving quality
🛠️ Rethinking leadership skills to drive impact and resilience
💡 Maintaining transparency and emotional intelligence in leadership
Conflict doesn’t have to be destructive—in fact, it can be a powerful driver of growth and innovation. In this episode, experts like Adam Grant, Kim Scott, and Bozoma Saint John unpack how to harness conflict for productive debates and team alignment.
Discover the difference between task and relationship conflicts, learn to foster open communication, and find out how to prevent backstabbing within teams. This episode offers practical tools to turn disagreement into a strength.
Key Topics:
⚡ Using conflict to drive innovation
🗣️ Encouraging healthy dissent within teams
💬 Leadership strategies for resolving disputes
A vibrant company culture is essential for success, especially during periods of growth and change. Join leaders like Bozoma Saint John, Kim Scott, and Will Guidara as they share how diversity, empathy, and feedback can transform your organization.
From aligning culture with strategy to cultivating strong relationships within teams, this episode explores the practical ways leaders can create environments where innovation and trust thrive.
Key Topics:
🌈 Embracing diversity and inclusion
🤝 Building a culture of trust and feedback
🚀 Aligning culture with organizational goals
In a world filled with rapid change and unpredictability, how do leaders maintain focus? Morten Hansen, Bozoma Saint John, and others tackle this question, offering actionable insights on balancing short-term agility with long-term vision.
Explore how experimentation, adaptability, and learning from setbacks can help you turn uncertainty into an opportunity for growth. This episode is packed with practical advice for leaders navigating today’s volatile landscape.
Key Topics:
🔮 Balancing long-term vision with short-term adaptability
🧪 Embracing experimentation to stay ahead
💡 Turning setbacks into valuable lessons
Effective communication is the foundation of great leadership. From mirroring and labeling to fostering feedback, this episode reveals powerful tools to connect authentically and inspire your team.
Join thought leaders as they share how to build cultures of Radical Candor, lead debates, and foster an environment where ideas flourish. Whether you’re managing one-on-one conversations or team meetings, this episode will help you master the art of communication.
Key Topics:
🗨️ Mastering Radical Candor for better conversations
🤔 Diminishers vs. multipliers: Which one are you?
🔄 Practical tips to improve team communication
To grow in a rapidly changing world, leaders must unlearn outdated beliefs and embrace a mindset of curiosity and continuous improvement. Drawing inspiration from Daniel Kahneman and Jim Collins, this episode explores how to rethink past assumptions and adapt to new realities.
Discover how to celebrate being “less wrong,” maintain momentum with the “20-Mile March,” and create environments that foster curiosity and resilience. This episode will challenge you to think differently about leadership.
Key Topics:
🧠 Finding joy in learning from mistakes
📈 The “20-Mile March” for consistent progress
🎯 Creating a culture of curiosity and growth