About Shaun
Over the last decade, Shaun has been a key catalyst in expanding management focus from the tactical issues of customer service to the much wider and strategic issue of customer experience. He has developed some of the latest thinking and practice around this subject, helping organisations world-wide to create a compelling customer experience that achieves brand differentiation and long-term customer loyalty.
Over the last 25 years, he has built up a wealth of practical experience with organisations throughout Europe,Asia Pacific and the US, working with senior executive teams on key issues such as brand strategy and implementation, leadership, customer experience and organisational alignment. Shaun has worked within a diverse range of sectors, including both business-to-business and business-to-consumer organisations. These include retail, telecoms, travel, leisure, professional and financial services, technology, automotive, manufacturing and the public sector.
Sample Topics
Living the brand – the move towards holistic marketing;
Uncommon Practice - differentiating your brand;
Bold, how to be brave in business and win;
Managing your customer experience – turning your customers into advocates;
Aligning your organisation – harnessing the power of your people;
See, Feel, Think, Do - the power of instinct in business;
Publications
See, Feel, Think, Do - the power of instinct in business
Managing the Customer Experience
Uncommon Practice
Bold, how to be brave in business and win
Testimonials
"The audience reaction was overwhelming. I think the greatest testimony to your presentation however is in the scorecard: never before have we had a speaker whose rating has consistently gone off the end of the scale. I'm sure even your average is higher than 5 out of 5!"
Michael Barrett, Conference & Research Manager, Tax Free World Association
"Shaun made a real difference to our conference in Cologne and the discussions we were able to have there. His insights were very thought-provoking and all the more powerful because of the time and trouble he took to make them relevant to us and to our business. It was impressive for us to see the effort he invested in getting to know us in order to ensure that his messages landed appropriately. His commitment is much appreciated. We are on a journey of discovery and he helped us on our way."
Sandra Ling, Transformation Manager, BP European Fleet Services
"The delegates awarded your presentation the highest score of any external speaker. You not only met my expectations, but also the expectations of my customers, which is what really counts. I would therefore like to thank you again for your contribution to our successful conference."
Hugo Koppelaars, Commercial Director – Global Account Management, TNT
Read More
Shaun Smith has spent the past ten years helping organisations from Brazil to Singapore to create a compelling customer experience that achieves brand differentiation and long-term customer loyalty. Shaun's reputation as an expert in the creation and application of customer experience improvement strategies led to him co-authoring three critically-acclaimed books that help define this relatively new business discipline. His first book 'Uncommon Practice', researched and written in partnership with Interbrand, examines those companies that create exceptional customer experiences. His second book 'Managing the Customer Experience', reveals how leaders can build this kind of competitive advantage for their own organisations. Shaun's latest book 'See, Feel, Think, Do - the power of instinct in business', co-authored with Andy Milligan, explores how highly successful business leaders and entrepreneurs use the power of instinct to keep themselves in tune with the customer experience and achieve outstanding business results. Shaun is also contributing author to The Economist's 'Brands and Branding' and the creator of two critical diagnostic tools that have been used by some of the world's largest organisations: the Customer Experience Management+T survey (CEM+T), and the Organisational Alignment Survey (OAST) - diagnostic tools that, respectively, enable organisations to evaluate and improve their customer experience and align their people with company values and strategy. Shaun began his career in the airline industry, where he became Head of Customer Service, Sales and Marketing Training worldwide for British Airways. He later moved to Hong Kong to head up Cathay Performa Consulting, where he specialised in airline customer service strategy, before starting his own company providing customer service consultancy to international organisations in Asia. He returned to the UK in the late 1990s as Senior Vice President of The Customer Experience Business, a specialist consulting division of Forum Corporation, a leading provider of workplace learning. Over the last 25 years, he has built up a wealth of practical experience with organisations throughout Europe, Asia Pacific and the US, working with senior executive teams on key issues such as brand strategy and implementation, leadership, customer experience and organisational alignment. Shaun has helped both business-to-business and business-to-consumer organisations improve their performance in sectors including: retail, telecoms, travel, leisure, professional and financial services, technology, automotive, manufacturing and the public sector. Shaun has featured a number of times on the 'Ask the Expert' programme on CNBC and is a sought after international speaker on key business issues such as brand leadership and differentiation; the alignment of Marketing, Customer Service and HR to create customer-focused change; motivating and training employees to deliver the brand. Shaun's own customer experience practice, smith+co, has become a global player in defining and implementing customer experience strategy. The firm's approach is firmly rooted in the 'keep it simple' ethos, steering away from proprietorial paradigms, complex methodologies or seven magic bullets; instead the approach is refreshingly straightforward, always pragmatic and, when convention needs to be challenged, sometimes controversial.
