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Steven Van Belleghem
Co-Founder and Partner at Nexxworks
Bruges, Belgium
Steven Van Belleghem is an international keynote speaker, author of multiple bestsellers and an entrepreneur.
These past years Steven has given more than 1,000 keynote presentations at events in over 40 countries. His core expertise is the future of customer experience. The combination between customer-centric thinking, the latest technologies and the human touch is the guiding principle in Steven’s stories.
Steven is an entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of inspiration agency Nexxworks and social media agency Snackbytes. As an investor he is also involved in the fast-growing digital agency Intracto and AI scale-up Hello Customer. Finally, Steven is also on the board of directors of Plan International. In addition to his entrepreneurial activities Steven is also a part-time marketing professor at the Vlerick Business School and a guest lecturor at London Business School. His opinion is often shared in media like Forbes, Warc, The Guardian,…
Steven has authored five international bestsellers and has sold more than 150,000 books. His work has been translated into seven languages and he is the recipient of a variety of awards (most innovative marketing book, best marketing book, best international business book).
Dear CEO, to understand the customer, you have to become the customer
Steven Van Belleghem
September 25, 2023
A few years back, I had the pleasure of interviewing Duncan Wardle who used to be the Head of Innovation and Creativity at Disney for many years. And he told me one thing that I will never forget, and that some CEOs might perhaps find quite extravagant:
Nike’s Secret Recipe: Unlocking the Magic Behind their Revolutionary CX
Steven Van Belleghem
September 13, 2023
As one of the titans in the sports industry, Nike deeply understands how to create an extraordinary customer experience to connect with its consumers on an exceptionally personal level. The brand has a multi-faceted approach, tackling CX from many sides: from high-tech personalization and holistic lifestyle coaching to robust community building, radical inclusivity, and strategic partnerships.
Three things we can learn from Patagonia’s customer culture
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September 05, 2023
In the hopes of inspiring companies all over the world to make that transition into a bright and shiny diamond,...
The post Three things we can learn from Patagonia’s customer culture appeared first on Steven Van Belleghem.
What CX leaders should know about artificial empathy
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June 27, 2023
It’s complicated First of all, the health sector is pretty notorious for its lack of empathy. Stephen Trzeciak and Anthony...
The post What CX leaders should know about artificial empathy appeared first on Steven Van Belleghem.
First Principles Thinking: The Secret Sauce Behind Apple’s CX Success
Steven Van Belleghem
June 06, 2023
Apple has a reputation for being one of the most innovative and most customer-driven companies out there, but it’s interesting to see that most of their products were not “new” in the sense that no one before them had created something similar. They were ‘only’ new in the sense that they took existing products, stripped them down to their essence and made them 100% simpler, more powerful and more user friendly.
5 ways to create a strong customer centric culture
Steven Van Belleghem
June 06, 2023
Having a customer centric culture is the true north of every successful company out there. But I’m not going to sugarcoat it: it’s not easy to build a culture that always puts the customer first. It takes dedication, leadership, trust, generative listening, continuous improvement and – that’s the good news – celebration.
5 thing we can learn from McDonalds about creating a fantastic customer experience
Steven Van Belleghem
May 26, 2023
When people think about great CX, they might not immediately think about a fast food giant like McDonalds. But they are truly unique in their industry when it comes to using digital assets to create seamless experiences, innovate at the fringes with the technologies of the future, make their supply chain and restaurants more sustainable and create better lives for their employees. Few companies are so agile, flexible and daring when it comes to adapting to changed customer behaviours and a transforming market.
What brands should do today to keep themselves relevant in the era of Generative AI
Steven Van Belleghem
April 25, 2023
Over the years, personalization has become a bare minimum demand. According to a recent McKinsey study, no less than 70% of the customers think that it is just a normal thing. In fact, if you do not personalize your communication and your offering, they simply won’t understand that anymore. No surprise that companies that are great at personalization, can increase their revenue with 10 to 15%, according to that study. The best in class even increase it with 25%.
This is what ChatGPT will mean for customer experience
Steven Van Belleghem
April 18, 2023
People are talking and writing a lot about ChatGPT: how it will disrupt search, the impact it will have on business and even on people’s jobs, how ethical is it etc. But very few people are thinking about how it will affect or improve the customer experience. So that’s what I wanted to write about today.
Tags: Customer Experience, Marketing, Generative AI
Why customer experience is a key driver of adoption for Temu
Steven van Belleghem
March 30, 2023
Temu – the shopping app and e-commerce platform from Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo – is probably the most popular downloaded (in the US) app you never heard of. Yet, it currently has more downloads than Amazon, TikTok, Instagram or even Shein.
5 unique lessons from top CX brand Glossier
Steven Van Belleghem
March 29, 2023
The story of the Glossier brand is pretty impressive. In 2010, Emily Weiss started the makeup and skincare blog “Into the Gloss” (ITG) in her own free time, while she was working at Vogue. She worked on it every day between 4.00 and 8.00, after which she fully focused on her paying job as an editorial assistant. As the platform grew, she left Vogue in 2013 to focus on creating a curated e-commerce platform for ‘Into the Gloss’.
5 unique lessons from top CX brand Glossier
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March 27, 2023
So when Weiss founded direct-to-consumer makeup and skincare brand Glossier, it already had a cult-like following from her blog. Within...
The post 5 unique lessons from top CX brand Glossier appeared first on Steven Van Belleghem.
5 non-obvious CX-driven companies that have expanded their influence sphere
Steven Van Belleghem
March 20, 2023
For the past few weeks, I have been working on my next book on customer experience and one of the things I most loved writing about is how the influence zone of brands is increasing.
Traditionally, brands were really focused on acting within the influence sphere of their own company and their own industry. They tended to merely monitor what was happening on a macro kind of level, but not really act on it. Today, you see that this is completely changing, especially after some of this year’s more impactful geopolitical events. Brands no longer have the “luxury” of ignoring the outside world. Customers expect them to help solve global problems. Of course we all know the usual suspect examples like Nike (and Colin Kaepernick), Patagonia, Orsted, Danone or Interface, but I really wanted to dig up some fresh, non-obvious company cases.
My favourite customer experience metaphor ever: The Oxpecker and the Rhino
Steven Van Belleghem
March 15, 2023
In my last book, The Offer You Can’t Refuse, I described how companies ought to invest in three different axes – on top of offering a great product or service, obviously, which is a given – in order to be able to react in an appropriate manner to the new generation of customer expectations:
Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Marketing
A story about Indian Customer Culture: Impactful CX in turbulent times
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March 01, 2023
Sewa This Indian society-driven business approach is deeply rooted into the concept of Sevā or Sewa – which means service...
The post A story about Indian Customer Culture: Impactful CX in turbulent times appeared first on Steven Van Belleghem.
Why the supplier experience is crucial for creating fantastic CX
Steven van Belleghem
February 27, 2023
Though there is so much CX-related content available about the benefits of treating your employees and your customers right, somehow the relationship with suppliers seems to be underdocumented. It’s something we take for granted. As if suppliers can only be viewed in terms of efficiency and cost cutting, with very little regard for the people behind these companies and the impact that squeezing their budgets to a minimum has on the end customers.
Why you need to train your team in the basics of customer experience communication
Steven Van Belleghem
February 14, 2023
Today, all of us are feeling the pressure of the market. There is scarcity in terms of all kinds of resources. Buying power is drastically going down. Customers are worried about their budgets, society, geopolitical imbalance and the environment. That means that the role of customer experience will only keep expanding. And that’s why I believe that it’s more necessary than ever to train your team in the basics of CX communication.
Why the “Peter Principle in Technology” is crucial for building great CX
Steven Van Belleghem
February 03, 2023
Lately, I’ve been obsessed with the Peter Principle. For those of you who need a reminder: it observes that employees tend to be promoted in an organization to their level of incompetence. In other words, at some point, employees will reach a level of responsibility that they are not capable of handling, which then will lead to a decrease in performance. But it’s not the employee part that I want to talk about, I want to address the limits of technology in an evolving world.
The Never Normal Customer
Steven Van Belleghem
January 31, 2023
My friend and Business Partner Peter Hinssen has been talking and writing a lot about the Never Normal for the past few years. The concept first started out as a play on words on his book the New Normal which explained how digital was becoming the new normal, about 10 years ago. But post-pandemic, it took on a whole new meaning, referring to an era of great volatility, uncertainty and unpredictability under the continuous threat of seismic shocks and ensuing systemic shifts. An era in which we find ourselves in a continuous cycle of change and adaptation.
How to foster and “open door button” culture in CX
Steven Van Belleghem
January 24, 2023
I want to illustrate with two incidents in everyone’s “favorite” places in international travel, which can really teach people a lot about customer experience and empathy: customs and security. A couple of months ago, I found myself in a German airport, having flown in from Thailand and on my way to a connecting flight to home. However, my incoming flight was late, and when I got off the plane, boarding had already started. Being in such a rush, I asked the security guard – I think very politely – if he could help me to move through security in a faster way, seeing that my flight was already boarding and there were a lot of people before me. But my somewhat desperate appeal seemed to have triggered something in him and had the total opposite effect as a result. In fact, he did pretty much whatever he could to make sure that I would miss that flight. He performed extra security controls, really dove into all of my bags and it took so long that I did miss my flight. That’s situation A.
13 of the most popular Customer Experience blogs
Steven Van Belleghem
January 17, 2023
I am always looking for interesting sources to update my customer experience knowledge. To kick start 2023, here you can find some of my favorite customer experience blogs. If I miss someone, please let me know.
15 free trend reports from big brands to inspire your 2023 CX strategy
Steven Van Belleghem
January 10, 2023
As I’ve been working on my next business book about CX, I’ve done a lot of research in the past few weeks and bumped into a lot of interesting trend reports. To offer some inspiration and to help you with your good intentions for the New Year, here are 15 trend reports of some of the most renowned and respected brands:
The most common mistake in building an Offer You Can’t Refuse
Steven Van Belleghem
December 19, 2022
These are difficult times for both companies and individuals. Post-pandemic, mid Russo-Ukranian war, mid climate crisis, mid new cold war, we’ve been dealing with some pretty big challenges like inflation, soaring energy prices, supply chain problems, raw material shortages, water deficit etc.
And so it’s no surprise that customers are turning towards companies and expecting them to do well for society. They want them to use their power, their talent and their resources to create positive change for the world. That’s why, for instance, we see an increasing amount of companies moving into really useful industries like healthcare, climate tech or education. Their value proposition is transcending their product and service and moving into a broader realm of influence: that of nature and society. And this approach works really well if you include your customers in that story.
Why customer culture has replaced technology as the holy grail
Steven Van Belleghem
December 05, 2022
As you know, I’m a big fan of how technology can really enhance the user experience and boost the convenience to a maximum. But I also feel that many of the technologies that we have all been so excited about in the past couple of years are currently bouncing against some sort of 90% barrier of expectation. Let me explain. Each of these emerging technologies – like AI, VR, IoT, 5G etc. – promised amazing features and benefits. And, on many aspects, they diddeliver amazing results. But in many other domains, there is still a huge gap between the cool experiments and a truly convenient customer experience. Just think about hotel adverts following you like a drunk barfly over every website you visit, while you already recently booked that hotel.
10 Customer Experience for 2023 (and beyond)
Steven Van Belleghem
November 28, 2022
These are difficult times for consumers, companies and their employees. The post-pandemic and politically unstable world of recession has an impact on many. It is no wonder that we see quite a few companies making hard decisions and looking into cost cutting. That’s only normal in the current context. But I also believe that the type of budget cuts which result in a decreased customer experience are extremely dangerous. Because your competitors may not have made the same decisions. And because CX is not something that you can turn on and off like Christmas tree without suffering some major consequences.
The Offer You Can't Refuse
Lannoo Campus
September 08, 2020
The Offer You Can’t Refuse is named by Forbes as one of the 10 must read business books of 2020!
This last decade has been characterized by the introduction of 4G, social media and mobile services. These technologies have given rise to a new minimum in terms of customer experience. Customers expect ease of use, friendly and empathic staff, omnichannel services and competitive prices. In the years to come, customer experience will reach a whole new level. Naturally, technology (5G, quantum computing, robotics and AI) will play a key role in customer expectations, but it goes way beyond that. Invisible and automatic interfaces will become a necessity but the ultimate ease of use will no longer be enough to come out on top. Automation is but the first step. But what if customers start to have expectations that go beyond convenience? In addition, companies will have to play an active role in their customers’ life journey. As a company how can you help consumers’ dreams come true and eliminate the obstacles in their day-to-day lives? And finally, companies have the opportunity to tackle concrete world problems together with the customer. The world is facing unprecedented challenges: climate, healthcare, government budget deficits, mobility… How can a company involve its customers in the solution to these problems? The combination of automation, being a partner in consumers’ lives and solving actual social issues will be the guiding principles for the successful business of the next decade. For consumers, the combination of all these elements constitutes an offer they can’t refuse.
Tags: Business Strategy, Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty
Customers The Day After Tomorrow
Lannoo Campus
October 10, 2017
Customers the Day after Tomorrow is a story about the future of customer relations in a world of artificial intelligence, automation and bots. In this book, companies find out what the investment axes are to win the heart and business of customers in the next five to ten years.
Tags: Business Strategy, Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty
When Digital becomes Human
Kogan Page
April 08, 2015
There is an urgent need for an extreme transformation of the customer relationship. Customers live in a world of self service, big data, customer automation and the integration of the online & offline world. If your organization fails to implement the digital relation, your future becomes very uncertain. Succeeding in the digital transformation will not be enough. As a consequence of the digital evolution, there is also a need for the human transformation of your customer relationship.
Thinking about the role of humans versus machines, thinking about the role of the warm human touch and considering the power to connect people with people, are the key challenges in this domain. ’When digital becomes human’ is a story about the combination of the digital and the human transformation in your customer strategy. This story will take you on a journey to the future. It is provocative, exciting and scary. Enjoy this amazing view on the future of marketing! When digital becomes human received the award for ‘Best Marketing Book of 2015’.
Tags: Business Strategy, Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty
The conversation Company
Lannoo Campus and Kogan Page
March 01, 2012
The Conversation Company will help your organization become a business in which people are the key driver of growth, sharing engaging content and building the company’s culture and business objectives.
People now expect any brand to have a ‘human’ face and you need to define a clear set of values for both employees and customers, incorporating them in your marketing so that all company communication reflects the DNA of your organization.
The Conversation Company is a story about company culture, the power of word-of-mouth and the role of social media in your organization.
Tags: Business Strategy, Change Management, Marketing
The conversation manager
Lannoo Campus and Kogan Page
March 01, 2010
Mobile devices, new digital technologies and the increasing popularity of social media all contribute to the ever-growing gap between internet-savvy consumers and traditional means of advertising. With the old tried-and-fall behind, need to find novel ways to engage with the new-sprung breed of consumers.
To do this, learning to listen and communicate with your consumers is critical. Based on four years of primary research, the Conversation Manager explains the evolution of the modern consumer and clearly demonstrates why traditional advertising no longer works. Illustrated with an extensive number of examples of advertising campaigns, this book is full of practical tools to help you transform your company strategy and kick-start conversations with your customers.
Tags: Business Strategy, Change Management, Marketing
2 Book Chapters
Chapter in the phoenix and the unicorn
Peter Hinssen
February 03, 2020
This is a book about the Phoenix, about those companies that – just like the mythical bird – are able to rethink themselves in cycles: time and time again they rise from the ashes of the old, and come out stronger than ever before. They are the Walmarts, the Volvos, the Disneys, the Apples, the Microsofts, …
Chapter in the day after tomorrow
Peter Hinssen
February 07, 2017
In ‘The Day After Tomorrow’, Peter writes about an exponentially changing world and its consequences for organizations of Today. He introduces those pioneers who managed to move (way) beyond Tomorrow-thinking in innovation and were able to change the course of entire industries. Above all, he writes about the business models, the organizational structures, the talent, the mindset, the technologies and the cultures needed to maximize our chances for survival in the Day After Tomorrow.
From CX to XC
Steven Van Belleghem
September 08, 2019
Those who’ve read my blogs, listened to my podcasts or follow ‘Steven’s week’, will know that I’ve become exceedingly focused on automated buying, personalized AI platforms and the future of customer experience in these past few months.
I talked and wrote a lot about how AI platforms like Amazon Alexa will change our relationship with customers, when they move in between us: about the impact on our brands, our communication, trusted gatekeepers, marketing to machines, subscription models as a possible solution and the importance of customer reviews. So I thought it would be nice to offer you some inspiration on the matter by bundling and adapting some of my favorite recent blog posts in an e-book. You can download it here.
I hope it will help you figure out what the future of customer experience will look like in the following years and how your company can prepare for that.
Tags: AI, Customer Experience, Digital Transformation
7 Keynotes
Full Keynote: The Future of Customer Experience in B2B markets by Steven Van Belleghem
YouTube
May 31, 2021
The most frequently asked question: Steven, do your models also work in a B2B world?
The short answer: YES!
The long answer: this video
Especially for all my friends in B2B markets I made this video about the future of customer experience in B2B. The story is based on my latest book 'the offer you can't refuse'. This video only contains B2B examples. 100% B2B in customer experience.
Enjoy!
If you like my work, subscribe to my channel.
Check out my Instagram at @StevenVanBelleghem
8 customer experience trends for 2021
Steven Van Belleghem
December 01, 2020
Which customer experience trends will shape 2021? What will CX look like in 2021? If you ask me, these 8 customer experience trends are going to be huge next year. From customers’ mental wellbeing to the scaling of local businesses, and from zero thinking to the added value of entertainment, this is a small taste of what we can expect. Enjoy and let me know what you think!
Best of Steven Van Belleghem 2019
Steven Van Belleghem
January 05, 2020
Welcome guys! This video features the best scenes of Steven Van Belleghem's 2019 keynotes on the future of customer experience. Enjoy!
1. What if the customer is no longer part of the customer journey? - 00:04
2. Escaping the bubble to understand customer value - 02:03
3. Content streaming war: Netflix vs. Disney - 05:44
4. Discovering new companies: Toutiao - 06:59
5. The easy years of digital are over - 09:17
6. The evolution of work - 12:45
7. How Walmart is fighting back against Amazon - 14:07
8. The fantastic digital mindset of Domino's Pizza - 16:26
Don't forget to subscribe if you are interested in more content on the future of marketing & technology!
Tags: Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty, Digital Disruption
Compilation from keynotes in 2019
Steven Van Belleghem
December 01, 2019
The best scenes from 2018 presentations: Keynote speaker Steven Van Belleghem on the Future of customer experience. In 2018, Steven gave more than 100 keynotes in more than 25 countries. His topics are the link between technology and customer experience. His keynote presentations are about the future of customer experience, artificial intelligence and customer experience, and much more.
Please check out these 11 short clips from keynote speaker Steven Van Belleghem on the future of customer experience.
Steven Van Belleghem at the President Obama event in Amsterdam. "Customers the day after tomorrow"
YouTube.com/stevenvanbelleghem
April 04, 2019
On September 28 2018, President Obama came to Amsterdam for a presentation. Steven Van Belleghem was asked to give a keynote presentation at the beginning of the event. Steven shared an update of his 'customers the day after tomorrow' keynote presentation.
Steven his presentation talks about the future of customer experience and customer centricity. He discusses the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on customer experience.
Steven Van Belleghem is an international keynote speaker. His core expertise is about the future of customer experience. If you would like to see more from Steven, please subscribe to this youtube channel, or check www.stevenvanbelleghem.com.
Tags: Customer Experience, Business Strategy, Customer Loyalty
Dealing with increasing customer expectations
Steven Van Belleghem
March 15, 2017
This was a short keynote in the opera building in Ghent. I talked about the increasing expectations of customers in a world of AI and how to deal with that as a company. Enjoy!
Steven van Belleghem: “I Don’t Believe AI Will Serve as the Ultimate Differentiator for Organisations”
Engage Customer
September 13, 2023
An interview with CX enthusiast and keynote speaker, Steven van Belleghem
In the era of Generative AI, everyone is scrambling to adopt the latest technology to make themselves stand out from the competition. And, while this will certainly make a difference in 2023, we must ask ourselves whether it will continue to serve as a differentiator when everyone adopts it. In an interview, CX enthusiast and bestselling author Steven van Belleghem shared his thoughts, claiming that the true distinguishing factor going forward will be exceptional customer experience. Read the full interview and find out what he thinks about the skills crucial for success in the industry, the key challenges in 2023, and the future of CX.
CMOs: 5 Key CX Trends To Harness In 2022
Forbes
December 31, 2021
I recently met with Steven van Belleghem, one of the world’s leading thought-leaders, speakers and authors on customer experience to discuss what key trends CMO’s and their teams need to be taking seriously as we head into a new year.
six things leaders are getting wrong about digital transformation
https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2021/11/17/six-things-leaders-are-getting-wrong-about-digital-transformation/?sh=673107cc14b8
November 17, 2021
The offer you can't refuse
TelePerformance
April 28, 2021
We are in hard times! Even though we are on the road to this new normal, we see companies struggling to keep their head above the water. According to Steven van Belleghem, "March 2020 was the biggest digital transformation course the world has ever seen", and we're living a completely different life, where business and consumers are still adjusting their approach. Many companies saw opportunities to transform the way they ran their business and stood out. In this podcast, Steven highlighted the top-three elements companies need to establish to give their customers an offer they can refuse neither today nor post-pandemic. He also shared highlights on business evolution in the past months and the best adoption performed by companies across the globe.
Tags: Digital Transformation, Digital Disruption, Innovation
10 most Frequently Asked Questions of customer experience
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February 03, 2021
People have asked me thousands of questions about customer experience over the years. And I thought this would be a nice time to put the most popular ones together. So here you go: the 10 most frequently asked customer experience questions!
My 12 golden guidelines for CX
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January 28, 2021
What should every company keep in mind, when trying to build the ultimate customer experience? Here are my 12 golden guidelines for creating a fantastic customer experience.
Special guest appearance: Matthew Brennan
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January 04, 2021
Matthew is a speaker and writer focusing on Chinese mobile technology and innovation. In particular, he’s known for analysis of social e-commerce and WeChat, China’s famous super app.
Enjoy our conversation!
The future of technology with Steven Van Belleghem
Developer weekly podcast
December 23, 2020
This episode is brought to you by me. If you like this show and want to support it, please visit my courses on Pluralsight and buy my new book "200 Things Developers Should Know", which is about Programming, Career, Troubleshooting, Dealing with Managers, Health, and much more. You can find my Pluralsight courses and the book at www.developerweeklypodcast.com/About
Steven believes in a bright future where companies play the long-term game with their customers. His passion is spreading ideas about the future of customer experience. Steven believes in the combination of common sense, new technologies, an empathic human touch, playing the long-term game and taking your social responsibility to win the hearts and business of customers over and over again.
Steven is the author of multiple international bestselling books including ‘The Conversation Manager’, ‘When Digital Becomes Human’, ‘Customers the Day after Tomorrow’, ‘The Offer You Can’t Refuse’.
8 CX Trends for 2021, by Steven Van Belleghem
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December 07, 2020
Which customer experience trends will shape 2021? If you ask me, these 8 trends are going to be huge next year. From customers’ mental wellbeing to the scaling of local businesses, and from zero thinking to the added value of entertainment, this is a small taste of what we can expect. Enjoy and le
Steven’s week 185: News about DeepMind scientific breakthrough, Facebook buys Kustomer and more!
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December 04, 2020
Welcome everyone! In this week's episode: Google’s DeepMind AI reaches a breakthrough as it can determine 3D shapes of proteins, Facebook acquires customer service platform Kustomer, digital channels represent more than half of US ad spendings and Facebook rebrands Libra cryptocurrency to Diem. En
Digital Excellence podcast
digital excellence podcast
December 02, 2020
n this Thinkers50 Brightline Initiative Podcast, Stuart Crainer interviews Steven Van Belleghem, author of Customers The Day After Tomorrow, The Conversation Manager and When Digital Becomes Human. The two discuss how to attract customers in a world of AI, bots and automation.
Crainer posits that customers have almost become products in today's business environment. Van Belleghem explains that in the age of Big Data, the shift was inevitable. He argues that we have moved past the age of mobile first to the age of AI first, and that we have the . . .
Steven’s week 184: News about Bring Back Friday at Ikea, virtual healthcare and more!
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November 27, 2020
Hey everyone! This week, I share interesting stories about Ikea’s wonderful Bring Back Friday action, virtual healthcare appointments which seem to be here to stay, and an amazingly realistic AI news anchor on South Korean tv. Hope you like it!
Steven’s week 183: News about Google Pay's major make-over, social commerce booming and more!
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November 20, 2020
Hi everyone! This week I discuss Google Pay's major make-over, how social commerce has skyrocketed in 2020, why Spotify acquires podcast company Megaphone and how the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit is causing a major chess revival.
Steven’s week 182: News about Apple Watch data, China watching big tech and more!
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November 13, 2020
This week I’m talking about how Apple Watch is proving to be an excellent tool for medical recovery follow-ups, China is keeping a close eye on the growth of its big tech companies, Singles Day sales reached € 48 billion in just 30 minutes and JBC brings a digital Sinterklaas to Belgian kids. En
Steven’s week 181: News about... fake news, Pokémon Go, Burger King supports McDonald's and more!
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November 06, 2020
Hey guys! In this week’s show: social media working overtime to counter fake election news, Pokémon Go is still alive and kicking in 2020, Burger King campaign wants people to support McDonald's, the Facebook ad ban is not affecting the company’s financial results at all, and my first thriller
Steven’s week 180: News about Shopify & TikTok collaboration, Instacart spectacular growth and more!
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October 30, 2020
Hey everyone! This week I talk about the Shopify & TikTok partnership that marks a new step in social commerce, Instacart’s growth embodies a new high in online groceries and the Alibaba spin-off Ant Financial Services achieves the largest IPO ever! Stay safe and see you next week.
Steven’s week 179 : News about Tesla’s full self-driving car, early Amazon Prime Day and more!
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October 23, 2020
Hey everyone! In this episode: B2B is embracing online sales, the new date for Amazon Prime Day is changing the entire US holiday season, Tesla rolls out driverless car software and plant-based meat experienced a massive breakthrough during the pandemic. Enjoy!
Steven’s week 178: News about Apple’s new HomePod Mini, Disney Plus streaming and more!
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October 16, 2020
Hey everyone! In this week’s show: does Apple’s new HomePod Mini have what it takes to compete with Alexa? MediaMarkt brings online live shopping to Europe, Disney is skipping movie theaters to take new movies directly to Disney Plus and YouTube is showing some strong retail ambition. Enjoy!
Steven’s week 177: News about: Apple Store, Big Tech monopolies and more!
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October 09, 2020
Hey folks, welcome to a new show! In this week’s episode: growing App Store revenues show a new level of digital usage, big tech monopolies are under pressure in the US and executives agree that a customer centric purpose is more crucial than ever. Enjoy the update!
Steven’s week 176: News about growth of Twitch, Amazon's new payment system and much more
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October 02, 2020
Hey everyone! In this week’s episode: Twitch gaming livestreams experiences a huge boost in usage, Ring’s home security drone, Target is hiring 130.000 extra people for the holiday season online sales and Amazon launches a hand reading payment system! See you next week!
In-depth interview about my book "The Offer You Can't Refuse" with Francesca Vanthielen
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September 29, 2020
Driven by technological innovations, customers’ expectations have completely transformed over the last decade. In my new book The Offer You Can’t Refuse, I try to illustrate how companies in all sectors – from HR to the healthcare industry and even governments – can take their customer servi
Steven’s week 175: News about Disney+’s experiment, Amazon Care and more
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September 25, 2020
Welcome everyone! Disney+’s Mulan experiment is a massive success, Walmart is still in the TikTok race, Amazon may go public with its healthcare service, the big tech companies tackle discrimination on social networks, a cheaper Tesla is coming up and Microsoft wants to introduce a mental health m
Steven’s week 174: News about Singapore contact tracing, Facebook Campus and Ray-Ban smart glasses
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September 18, 2020
Hey everyone, welcome to Steven’s Week #174! Singapore is looking at Bluetooth technology to improve COVID contact tracing, Oracle and TikTok finally close data storage deal, citizenM introduces ‘Netflix for hotels’, Apple wants to become our personal healthcare assistant, while Facebook gets
Steven’s week 173: News about Wonder Lab, Apple's new keyboard and China blocks TikTok sell-off
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September 11, 2020
Welcome everyone! In this week’s show: Walmart creates spectacular virtual toy store Wonder Lab, Apple is saying goodbye to the traditional computer keyboard, Amazon launches Alexa for Residential to help out in maintenance issues, China blocks the TikTok sell-off and can management books have a s
Steven’s week 172: News about TikTok acquisition, Facebook Horizon and more!
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September 04, 2020
Welcome back everyone! In my first episode after the summer break, I talk about Walmart entering the TikTok acquisition race, the Toyota-backed company SkyDrive testing a flying car, Zoom’s unbelievable financial results, Netflix will start offering first episodes for free, and Facebook will publi
Steven’s week 171: News about Google fact-check labels, Facebook ad boycott and more!
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June 26, 2020
Hey everyone, welcome to the last show before my summer break! In this week’s update: Google introduces a fact-check label for images, some big brands are launching a Facebook ad boycott and Google’s ad revenues drop for the first time in its entire history. See you in September!
The offer you can't refuse
Steven Van Belleghem
September 15, 2020
Steven Van Belleghem launched a new book about the future of customer experience. The title of Steven his new book is 'The Offer You Can't Refuse'. In this video, Steven shares the key message of this new story: he talks about the future of customer experience and inspires people to bring their customers an offer they can't refuse.
What does the Offer You Can’t Refuse stand for? It’s all about deleting boundaries for your customers and finding ways to create a perfect transaction. We are at the beginning of a new chapter in customer experience and customer service, where companies are becoming a partner in life and digital convenience is the new normal.
When Digital Become Human
Steven Van Belleghem
October 17, 2018
This is a full keynote based on the story of my latest book 'when digital becomes human'. Presented this on the biggest retail conference in Istanbul. Enjoy!
Tags: Customer Experience, Business Strategy, Customer Loyalty
Facebook versus TikTok (owned by Bytedance) - by Steven Van Belleghem and Pascal Coppens
YouTube
October 13, 2021
Facebook versus TikTok (owned by ByteDance) is one of the most exciting battles in the world of technology today. What can we expect from these two giants? China-expert Pascal Coppens and I take a look at this epic rivalry.
Steven's week 216: News about the Facebook outage, Netflix gaming and more!
YouTube
October 08, 2021
Welcome! This week I talk about Facebook's outage and the dependency questions it raised, TikTok owner ByteDance is building an e-commerce platform and Netflix looks ready to enter the gaming world. Enjoy, and see you next week!
Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Leadership
How can you convince your senior leadership to invest more in customer experience?
YouTube
September 22, 2021
Steven Van Belleghem is an international keynote speaker. Over the past years Steven has given more than 1,000 presentations at events in over 40 countries. His core expertise is the future of customer centricity and customer experience. The combination between customer-centric thinking, the latest technologies and the human touch is the guiding principle in Steven’s stories.
2022 Predictions for Digital Marketing
Thinkers360
November 22, 2021
This past year, NFTs have become a real hype. If you’re not familiar with the concept: they are ‘one-of-a-kind’ assets in the digital world that can be bought and sold like any other piece of property but lack a tangible form of their own. People really started to notice the phenomenon with the sale of Mike Winkelmann’s – aka Beeple’s – digital piece of art ‘EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS’ for a whopping $69,346,250. And then or course there was Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and Square, who sold his first tweet “just setting up my twttr” as an NFT for over $2.9 million.
The NFT trend is still mostly a gimmick but I believe that they hold the promise to move beyond the current ‘exciting’ collectibles phase and fundamentally change the customer loyalty landscape. The reason is that they can hold smart contracts, which could play an important role in boosting customer engagement. Kings of Leon, for instance, were the first band to release an album as an NFT and their tokens - also including 18 unique-looking golden tickets - unlock special perks like limited-edition vinyl and front row seats to future concerts. Not surprisingly, CX guru Gary V, is also experimenting heavily with this: his VeeFriends collection of NFT animal drawings includes a smart contract offering, for instance, exclusive access to his events.
But the most interesting potential of NFTs truly lies in the concept of branded economies, which could trigger a genuine paradigm shift in customer loyalty. Today, most loyalty systems are out of balance: we all know that more benefits go to the company than to the customer. NFTs, on the other hand, will involve the customers a lot more, who will then become part of the journey. For instance, as a frequent flyer, if I had an NFT stake in a company, we will both have a shared interest instead of contradictory ones. If the company does well, the value of the NFT will rise and then I will do well too. If they win, I win. If they lose, I do too. And so, as a customer, I benefit when the brand performs better, making me an ambassador.
Keep an eye on NFTs. They have extraordinary potential to disrupt the future of marketing.
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