Join me LIVE (no cost) at an amazing online summit
Honored to be the keynote speaker for Amazon Web Services (AWS) for their big, boffo customer experience day virtual summit: The Human Touch in a Digital World
If you care about customers (and you do), please tune in on April 30. Four different tracks based on your company and your experience. Big thanks to AWS for doing this, and for making it available to anyone at no cost.
I'm on the list
Also a privilege to be named one of the 12 digital marketers to follow in 2025, by Landingi. Some very smart friends and colleagues are on this list as well.
The Big Mistake Business Leaders Usually Make
Praise is massively overrated.
Praise FEELS great.
But it teaches us VERY little.
Because in almost every case, we already know what we're good at, right?
To have that ratified offers psychic benefits, but not much opportunity to improvement.
This was one of the messages in my keynote speech last week to OXXO. To put it simply, they are the 7-11 of Mexico but far more dominant.
With 23,000 locations in the country, OXXO is one of the best-known and most valuable brands in all of Mexico.
Here's me, in front of the location closest to my house in Puerto Vallarta (although there are 5 within 3 blocks)
OXXO is unquestionably good at customer experience. Their Net Promoter Score is 86+ (which is super high for retail). They also sell Electrolit Coconut, which is my third favorite beverage in the country.
One of the best ways Oxxo can continue to grow is to make sure they are delighting the 14% of their customers who would NOT currently recommend them to friends.
And the way you can do that is to EMBRACE complaints.
The reality is that for every 100 dissatisfied customers, only FIVE will complain.
Mathematically, this means that for every complaint you get as a business, on average 19 other people had a similar issue, but stayed mum.
Not because they aren't sufficiently irked, but because they don't CARE ENOUGH to say something. It's so easy to change to a different store/brand/bank/groomer/whatever that for many people it's simpler to just switch allegiances rather than engage in constructive conflict via feedback provision.
THAT'S what kills businesses: apathy (not ire).
When I was running my global consultancy, Convince & Convert, we worked with Pella Windows & Doors. They are a large, successful business. Very high satisfaction rates, especially for custom work.
But at the beginning of every executive team meeting, they started not with financial results. Or anniversaries. Or the pledge of allegiance.
They started every meeting by reading a customer complaint.
They choose to reinforce to all executives that even when they are doing well, they disappoint customers every day.
Wow.
This is why customer negativity and complaints are so crucial to your business, as well. And mine, for that matter.
Because complaints are rare.
Because they likely represent the views of more than the sole customer that communicated the issue.
Because they provide the raw material for operational improvement.
Sure, it's nice to celebrate your wins. And you should. I do, too. I'm not a monster.
But it's a better business practice to not just focus on negativity, but wherever possible truly embrace and solicit customers to go on-record with any disappointments.
What can you do - operationally and culturally - to embrace complaints and stop making the big mistake most business leaders make: focusing too much on positives and not enough on negatives?
The Books Report
Janelle Barlow's signature work on customer feedback is one of the best-selling books in the customer service/customer experience genre, and for good reason. Her 3- step formula is a terrific how-to for any business.
This 3rd edition of A Complaint is a Gift is a fantastic read, and a great companion to my book, Hug Your Haters.
Jay's Faves
As alluded to above, I have a deep passion for Electrolit (especially the Coconut flavor).
For me, it's about 8x better than Gatorade. And while some people say the coconut version is "like drinking sunscreen" I put it in the "piña colada, but make it water" category.
It's everywhere in Mexico, and quite a bit cheaper. But the fact that it's now available on Amazon gives me great joy. And I hope you give it a try!
Speaking as a tequila consultant, there is no better hangover cure. Guaranteed.
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