Shep Hyken interviews Lindsay Pedersen. They discuss strategies for how brands can differentiate themselves by creating authentic, genuine connections with their customers. Top Takeaways: - A brand is its customer experience, and vice versa. The brand and the experience are built on the relationship between a business and its customers. - Advertising and marketing may attract new customers, but it’s rarely the real reason why customers like doing business with a brand. Customers like doing business with companies because of how those companies make them feel. - Many companies focus too much on acquiring new customers rather than retaining the customers they already have. - Every company should ask itself why it is in business. This question becomes especially important if the company keeps losing customers. Create an experience that reduces customer churn. - You must differentiate yourself from your competitors. Be wary of doing this through your product alone; that method is too easy to copy. But if find a way to meet a unique need for your customers, you will find success. - The most important question a company can ask itself is what emotional reward they want the customer to enjoy by choosing to do business with them. There is emotional value in the connection between a company and its customers, and brands must tap into that. Quote: “Businesses don’t make money by impressing people with cool ads. They make money by attracting and retaining customers.” - Lindsay Pedersen Lindsay Pedersen is a brand strategist and owner of Ironclad Brand Strategy who recently authored Forging an Ironclad Brand: A Leader’s Guide. She has advised companies from burgeoning startups to national corporations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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