January 31, 2021 • 44 mins
New Year, New You, New Normal: ICONIC Predictions for What's Next
Episode #11
Faced with the pandemic, companies did things that seemed impossible, overnight. And some industries, like ecommerce, experienced growth in 9 months that wasn’t predicted for years. 2021 begins a new year, new you, new normal and with the New Year ahead, Calvin and John remain dedicated to helping businesses and leaders be ICONIC! This episode has only one goal... provide an ICONIC list of predictions for 2021 that will give your business an edge above the competition and help you prepare for what’s next.
- 0:01:35 - Calvin's 2021 Resolutions
- 0:03:51 - John's 2021 Resolutions
- 0:05:48 - Employees over profits
- 0:18:03 - Employees are going to expect more focus on diversity, equity and inclusion
- 0:20:25 - The race to automate and digitize everything will intensify
- 0:30:52 - Customers will continue to demand exceptional experiences
- 0:41:03 - ICONIC Points
To learn more about John Avola and Calvin Stovall, visit iconicpresentations.net. All The ICONIC Mindset episodes can be downloaded at theiconicmindset.com. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please subscribe to our show. Remember to select a star rating and/or write a review for The ICONIC Mindset podcast.
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Don't just be, Be ICONIC!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Introduction (00:07):
Welcome to the iconic mindset podcast with John
Avola and Calvin Stovall.
This is the only place thatuncovers the multiple levels of
iconic businesses and brands.
Every episode reveals thesecrets behind what it takes to
make your business idea ormovement iconic.
(00:27):
Now, here are John and Calvin.
John Avola (00:35):
Hey Calvin.
How are you?
Calvin Stovall (00:37):
John, what's going on?
Good to see you, man.
John Avola (00:40):
Happy New Year!
Calvin Stovall (00:44):
Happy New Year to you.
Welcome to 2021.
Thank you.
2020 is gone.
John Avola (00:51):
We made it.
This is our first episode of2021.
I'm excited.
Calvin Stovall (00:56):
I am too.
I am so fired up about this.
John Avola (00:59):
So today I know we're going to be talking about
a new year, new you, new normal.
We're going to touch on someiconic predictions for what's
next.
But before we jump in, I want tohear from you.
Do you have any new year'sresolutions that you're working
on?
Calvin Stovall (01:24):
I don't really do resolutions, typically.
I do write goals.
I write goals every year.
One of the things that I knowfor sure that I'm going to focus
on is to get back to betterhealth with the pandemic,
wanting to take care of myself,of course, the best I can.
And I wasn't able to get to thegym as much as I used to.
(01:46):
So that will be one of thethings I will ramp back up.
I know we're not fully open yet.
I was doing a little stuff athome, but you know how that is.
I like to go to the gym.
People are there with you.
It just brings a differentenergy to it all.
So that is going to be one thatI'm going to focus on.
(02:08):
And the other thing is, I know Ihave iconic branding and all of
that.
I want to live my brand out morethis year, like wearing wardrobe
with musical artists on it andthings like that and just live
it out a little bit more and Ihaven't done it.
You know how it is, Johnny, noweverybody's a speaker,
(02:32):
everybody's an expert.
I want to find things that areauthentically me that can help
differentiate me from everybodyelse out there in the
marketplace.
So that's another thing that I'mgoing to focus on and, of
course, continue to love my twoboys, but I was going to do that
anyway.
(02:55):
What about you?
What are you going to dodifferent this year?
John Avola (02:58):
Well, I've got one thing to say to you real quick
before we jump into someresolutions I've been thinking
of, because I want to hear thisfrom you.
Can we expect a book in 2021?
Calvin Stovall (03:09):
Yes.
Absolutely.
2021.
We will have a book.
That is a goal.
I can't believe I didn't mentionthat.
I actually wrote it down.
Yes.
There will be a book.
John Avola (03:27):
Our listeners are going to be the first to know.
There's going to be an iconicmindset book of some sort
published in 2021.
Calvin Stovall (03:37):
Yes, it will be.
But what about you?
John Avola (03:39):
All right.
So for me, that's similar.
Similar.
I agree with the goals.
I'm not looking to change a lot,but definitely looking to better
myself forward.
One of those areas is aroundcommunication.
I really want to improve mycommunication skills, to be a
better writer, speaker, betterpodcaster, to study those
(03:59):
professionals that are out theretoday.
What are they doing that setsthem aside?
Just really understand how to bea better communicator.
So I've got that.
Also need to dedicate more timefor some personal development.
Getting into expandingknowledge, educating myself.
I'd love to learn things.
(04:19):
Like specifically home repairstuff that I always hire out.
If the fence needs to bereplaced, I want to go buy a
board and put some screws in it.
You know what I mean?
Get some power tools out.
Buy a circular saw and be sure Idon't cut my hand off.
(04:40):
I want to try some new things.
My last one is just morepersonal and that's just become
more spiritual.
So I just want to make a realeffort to attend some virtual
church and give some thanks.
Calvin Stovall (04:54):
Those are all fantastic goals, John.
You know I'm here to support youin any way I can.
That's awesome.
All right, I guess we'd betterget this thing started.
John Avola (05:03):
Of course, of course.
Well, and speaking of thepandemic and COVID, it's
something we really can'tignore.
We saw companies do things thatseemed impossible overnight.
Look at e-commerce, I'm surewe'll be talking about that
today.
They experienced growth in ninemonths, which wasn't predicted
for years.
And so this episode we want todedicate to 2021 predictions, to
(05:26):
share with our audience what webelieve is next, and help our
audience stay ahead of thecompetition.
So with all of that, Calvin, I'mgoing to jump right in and ask
you, what are you seeing outthere?
What are some of those iconicpredictions that you've come
across?
Calvin Stovall (05:39):
One of the ones that I've seen and which I hope,
which I believe, is going tocontinue, is organizations
putting employees above profits.
What COVID did is force leadersto really focus on engaging
their employees' hearts andminds.
People were working remotely.
(06:03):
And so you had to kind of switchup how you might've typically
communicated with your team.
You couldn't walk intosomebody's cube and have
conversations with them.
You see them in the hallway,meet them at the water cooler,
whatever, that all went away.
So I think you had to reallyfind ways to really engage your
(06:27):
team.
What I think what we ended upseeing, John, is that you had
those leaders who were good atthat already pre COVID, but then
you had those that were not andfound that the old ways of
trying to inspire people wasn'tworking through a screen because
(06:50):
people had other things thatthey were dealing with.
You might've had an employeewhere you might've not had a
strong connection with them inthe office, now all of a sudden
everything has changed.
And now you want to get on aZoom call and say to that same
employee,"Hey, how you doing?" Icall it counterfeit care because
(07:17):
it's inauthentic.
I think what leaders had to dois they had to change.
Those people that were doing itwell, they realized that the old
way wasn't working.
They had to dig deep and theystarted setting up one-on-ones
and doing skip levels and justfinding out ways to keep their
(07:42):
teams together, even though theywere physically distanced.
That's what I'm seeing.
There's more to that, but I wantto hear what you think about
that too.
John Avola (07:50):
Absolutely.
I agree with you.
The entire workforce haschanged.
What's interesting is a lot ofthe cultures that were set in
person have been able totransition into this short term
where the prediction, or whatwe're looking at in the future,
is how is that long-term crisisfatigue going to affect this
(08:13):
remote environment?
Those check-ins on a regularbasis that you mentioned, the
one-on-ones, how do we keep thatgoing?
And what I found was interestingis a study by Forrester that was
done just a couple months beforethe pandemic.
They found that fewer than onethird of companies actually
(08:36):
conducted employee experiencesurveys.
So they have no idea what theiremployees are feeling and that's
in office.
And now, as you mentioned, goingto this remote world, they, the
other two thirds that did nottake that survey, or do not have
any idea of what their employeeswere feeling, they were blind to
(08:59):
what their employees wereexperiencing, and they had a
really difficult time trying toengage them in their work.
The other thing to mention here,too, is that you want to be
proactive, getting the pulse ofyour employees, understanding
how they're feeling, gettinginto their mindset, and helping
them with the productivity,keeping that morale high, really
(09:21):
emphasizing the importance ofculture.
That's what's going to be mostimportant here in 2021.
Calvin Stovall (09:27):
Yes.
I agree with you a hundredpercent.
And the leaders who have donethis particularly well, they've
seen their teams continue toexecute.
Although it's too soon to tell,I bet the leaders that are doing
this well, they won't see amassive flight of employees
(09:48):
leaving once things go back postCOVID.
You know why?
Because they've made theconnection.
They've made an emotionalconnection with that employee.
John Avola (09:58):
It's also brought out the employer's true colors,
right?
So we're talking about thepositivity of those that know
their employees.
But what about those companieswhere it's brought to light
where their employees reallysit, how low they may be on the
priority list?
(10:20):
Companies not putting theiremployees over profits are the
ones who are using the softwareor some type of app to track
employees performance, or signin at any time on their screen,
while they're in the middle ofworking.
That's the last thing you wantwhile everything else is going
on.
(10:40):
That's another perspective, thatif you're not aware of what your
employees want and youremployees are seeing what the
company culture is truly likeduring a national pandemic,
you're not going to retain them.
That's not iconic.
Calvin Stovall (10:59):
That's not iconic.
What COVID did, it pulled theBand- Aid off.
it was authentic.
You have to be authentic, that'sthe second quadrant in the
framework.
Again, authenticity is key.
And I know that trend hopefullywill continue.
I predict more companies will dothat.
(11:21):
I know organizations have tomake money and things of that
nature, but now isn't the timeto focus on stockholders and
quarterly reports and all ofthat.
You've got to really focus ondoubling down your efforts,
focus on your people becausethey're going to remember how
you treated them.
John Avola (11:42):
Yes, they're your frontline.
They represent the company'svalues, its mission.
And we both have said thisseveral times, employees are
your most valuable asset.
Hands down.
I came across this quote.
You know Sir Richard Branson?
(12:04):
Virgin Airlines.
He's unbelievable.
I actually found a quote fromhim that's directly in line with
this prediction, employeesbefore profits.
And he says," when companiesfocus on employees first, in the
end, shareholders do well, thecustomers do better, and your
staff remains happy."
Calvin Stovall (12:25):
That's true.
You can't say it any simplerthan that.
John Avola (12:28):
Listen to Sir Branson.
Calvin Stovall (12:30):
That's right.
Take care of your employees.
They will take care of yourcustomers.
And the profits will take careof themselves.
That is it.
We all had challenges with COVIDand everything.
And we kind of talked offline alittle bit about this, but it
was challenging, just mentallyfor folks.
(12:53):
I saw a recent study on mentalhealth issues.
We know this is on the rise, butthey said 53% of US adults
reported the stress about thepandemic has negatively impacted
their mental health.
So we're talking about one outof every two people.
It was a lot to carry.
(13:14):
I think companies andorganizations that focused on
making sure that they wereproviding resources and support
for employees to help them getthrough that whole thing again,
people first.
John Avola (13:28):
People first.
Calvin Stovall (13:31):
I'm excited that organizations realize that and I
predict that is going tocontinue.
John Avola (13:40):
Employees are looking for it, Calvin.
I came across a study by Aetna.
They found that 89% of employeeswould stay with an employer
longer if they provided mentalhealth support.
90% would stay.
And then it went on to say, twothirds would not work for a
(14:01):
company that didn't have a clearpolicy supporting mental health.
So there are very fewindividuals out there that are
looking for companies that donot have a mental health
awareness as a benefit.
I hate to say this, but it'strue.
Unfortunately, I don't thinkit's over.
Our leaders are going tocontinue to see employees
(14:22):
struggle with anxiety anddepression, burnout, trauma,
grief, due to lost loved onesand sick family members.
You've got to invest in theresources to help your
leadership team get through thisand help coach their employees.
Calvin Stovall (14:39):
Yes.
You've also got to be aware ofred flags.
If you are truly connected andyou have connected with your
employee and you have a greatcommunication between you both,
you will notice when things areoff.
I want to just encourage peopleout there, if you're running a
(15:01):
team and you notice that youtypically have somebody that's
super engaged and they're alwayscontributing, and then all of a
sudden you start seeing drasticchanges in their behavior and
things of that nature, step in.
You don't have to be a therapistor anything.
You just have to care, just haveto care.
And make sure you have someresources to offer them so they
(15:22):
can get some help.
John Avola (15:23):
Absolutely.
And Calvin, you mentioned redflags and neither of us are
psychologists, but I think it'simportant to our audience to get
an idea of what those warningsigns are, what those red flags
may be.
I did a little bit of research,before our podcast.
I just wanted to help ourlisteners out there, because
whether you're leading a team,an organization, or you have a
(15:44):
loved one that's close to you,we all have someone affected by
this.
Calvin mentioned 50%.
Half of us.
One in two people are dealingwith mental anxiety or
depression.
So those red flags real quickly,there's just a couple of them.
If you're noticing someonefeeling very sad or withdrawn
from work, they estimate aroundthat 10 day to 14 day timeframe,
(16:07):
it's something to consider.
If you see some reduction inproductivity, if you're seeing
drastic increases in mood,behavior, personality,
difficulty concentrating,intense worries or fears, if
you've noticed a significant orquick weight loss or gain that
wasn't anticipated or predicted.
(16:29):
And then those that are evencloser to you, if you're seeing
any type of aggression, selfinfliction of pain, and of
course, God forbid, any type ofattempted suicide, these are
serious warning signs that mustbe addressed.
And in that same article thatlists some of those warning
signs, I read that only half ofthose that are struggling with
(16:50):
mental health issues actuallyseek help.
One in two people are sufferingand then one or two people of
that group is seeking help.
Calvin Stovall (16:59):
We've got to stay aware.
2020 was hard on a lot of folks.
I think what it has done is madeus better leaders and more.
It's shown us the importance ofauthenticity, the importance of
(17:22):
empathy and compassion.
And so, again, the pluses ofCOVID.
John Avola (17:29):
And you said it, just simply checking in.
Ask, how are you feeling?
Reminding them it's okay not tobe okay.
Sharing that you're not alone.
Letting them know that there'shelp out there.
Calvin Stovall (17:42):
That's our first prediction.
We will continue to seeorganizations put employees
above profits.
John Avola (17:50):
The next prediction I have goes closely in line with
employees over profits, stillfocusing on employees.
I'm predicting that employeesare going to expect more focus
on diversity, equality, andinclusion.
Back in June, we had a ton ofcompanies stand up openly
(18:14):
against racial injustice ascivil unrest erupted around the
nation.
Racial justice movements startedBlack Lives Matter, and
employees are now expecting moreethnic and gender diverse
workplaces.
Employees and job applicants arelooking for companies that have
policies that will stand out andsay how are their company
(18:34):
culture, employee morale,retention, how are those items
affecting diversity, equity, andinclusion?
Calvin Stovall (18:42):
We're going to call this the year, it's
probably the next five years,the year of difficult
conversations.
Companies have to be aware ofwhat's going on within their own
organizations.
And they've got to be vulnerableand address some uncomfortable
topics.
That's the only way you're goingto make real change.
(19:02):
They have to be self-aware andrealize their biases and
shortcomings, and don't dothings just to check the box.
If you want to make real changeand effect real change, you've
got to have some difficultconversations.
You may have to hire aconsultant to come in and help
you accomplish it.
Do it being authentic and makingreal change.
(19:23):
And don't just check the boxtype.
John Avola (19:25):
Employees want that genuine support.
They're looking at it from everylevel in the organization.
It doesn't have to be yoursenior leaders.
It doesn't have to be yourindividual contributors.
It's a movement that everyonecan participate in.
For those of you, our listeners,that are in a position where
they can influence humanresource type policies.
(19:46):
Now is the time to evaluate yourdiversity, equality, and
inclusion in the workplace.
Map your employee experiences,survey your teams, launch
initiatives.
We're doing things aroundmonthly newsletters, employee
feedback sessions, even some ofour team members just naturally
joined or formed their own bookclub.
(20:07):
This is the time that you giveyour employees the opportunity
to make a difference.
Calvin Stovall (20:11):
That is a major one.
Great prediction.
All right.
So we are moving on to our nextprediction.
I love this prediction.
We are going to continue to seethis frenetic crazy, insane race
to automate and digitizeeverything.
John Avola (20:36):
Everything.
Calvin Stovall (20:39):
Everything is going to be digitized.
John Avola (20:40):
We all want easier lives.
Calvin Stovall (20:47):
And I think that's cool.
Companies will continue to tryto find ways to make customer
experience better and easier,more convenient for the
customer.
And they're going to continue toinnovate and do those things.
The only concern I have is, asyou know, I'm all about making
emotional connections with yourcustomers and making sure that
(21:09):
you differentiate yourselfthrough that customer
experience.
And my concern is if we digitizeeverything, what happens to the
human-to-human interaction?
What happens to that part of it,because really your
differentiation comes from thatexperience that you have with
that customer.
And if you're distanced fromthem, that's a challenge.
(21:31):
That's going to be a challenge.
And the organizations thatfigure out the balance between
that digital and human and stillmake an emotional connection are
going to be the ones that win.
John Avola (21:43):
It's almost defining that perfect ratio.
There's a human touch and adigital touch.
And what is the ultimatecombination of those two, as you
said, to generate the sale or tocomplete the sale.
I have to say, Calvin, I've beenthinking about this a little bit
more, and I may even challengethat thought on the loss of
(22:07):
emotional connection.
Just hear me out, because I'malmost wondering if it boils
down to the industry.
If you look at it from a B to C,business to consumer
perspective.
And I'm thinking hospitalityprobably sits outside of this
theory as I'm thinking out loudright now.
(22:33):
I'm going to set hospitalityaside before you come back at
me! Can a physical human touchgive the person the feeling of
company XYZ knows me, in the waythat you interact with that
company online?
For example, walking into Krogeror Target, I'm not expecting the
(22:57):
greeter to know my name, to askme if I'm going to purchase
another video game or to say,hey, we've got some amazing
sales, go checkout aisle 11, orto know how many loyalty points
that I have.
And hey, if you purchase thisitem, you're going to quadruple
your loyalty points.
But in a digital environment,you can.
(23:18):
When you log in and you visityour favorite store's website,
you can see your name and howmany loyalty reward points you
have.
It'll offer you suggestionsbased on your past purchases.
It'll give you some of yoursales or your purchase history.
And with a few clicks, youselect your item.
(23:38):
And that could be delivered toyou within a few hours or a
couple of days.
But at the same time, thecompany itself has a better
opportunity to know you as aperson based on your digital
interactions than the companydoes having you physically walk
through the door of the store.
(24:00):
Now, going back to the oppositethought in a B2B situation where
you have a sales team, like ifyou're trying to buy a new
product, say a Salesforceproduct, you're going to want
that customer interaction,right?
You're going to want to knowmore about the product, the
tool, how it can help you, whatmore information the sales woman
(24:20):
or man may have.
There's an opportunity there tocreate that connection with your
customers when you're selling aproduct that is going to affect
the business directly.
So I don't know, I've been goingback and forth on, is there
really a loss of connection whenthe company may know you better
(24:42):
and therefore be able tooptimize and digitalize what you
want in a faster manner thanlooking at it from a loss of
emotional connection?
I don't know.
Now you may want to touch on thehospitality industry.
Calvin Stovall (24:59):
That is different.
I hear where you're coming fromand I do think it depends on
what you're buying and how wellthe organization can digitize
the experience.
Every organization is not thatgood at it.
Even the hospitality industryhas challenges with it.
You can go to some hotels todayand you could have stayed with
(25:22):
that particular brand numeroustimes.
And they still don't say,welcome back, thanks for being a
loyal customer.
It happens sometimes, but a lotof times it doesn't.
And so it really depends on howwell t hat technology is being
implemented and how well it'sused.
I do agree with you, but my fearis you can also become a
(25:46):
commodity, if everybody is doingthat.
I believe you c ouldover-digitize.
Too much technology may not begood.
John Avola (25:54):
There's a balance.
Calvin Stovall (25:58):
Again, it's back to the balance.
What has happened isorganizations like Amazon that
have been able to take thatonline experience and truly
personalize it for you.
Netflix has done a fabulous jobat doing that.
We talked about that in anotherpodcast, how well they're able
(26:20):
to look at what you watched,what you like, and then push out
content that you probably wantto see.
I think those things areabsolutely fantastic.
But as these organizationscontinue to do that and
digitize, and pull out the humaninteraction, I think after a
while, if you're not careful,you will become a commodity.
(26:42):
You'll just be like everybodyelse.
And we all know that withbrands, it's an emotional
connection that has to still bein there because that's where,
when things do shift and thingsdo change, you'll still want
that particular brand.
You're willing to pay more moneyfor that brand.
You're willing to travel furtherfor that brand.
(27:02):
So it's all of those thingsthat's wrapped up.
I've loved being able to havethe convenience of having a
digital experience, but I alsowant, sometimes I need, the
human touch.
John Avola (27:14):
The human touch.
That makes sense.
I agree with you.
And I think, it just summarizesaround balance.
It's balance.
Calvin Stovall (27:24):
I'm going to ask you a question.
Do you think if COVID neverhappened, we would be where we
are, as far as technology,online experience, is?
John Avola (27:39):
No way.
Calvin Stovall (27:40):
We were pushed into this situation.
John Avola (27:44):
Yes.
And it has drasticallyaccelerated.
Like virtual assistancetechnologies, those are by far
light years ahead of where wewere before COVID.
People were doubling andtripling down on investing in
these services because that'swhat customers were looking for.
(28:04):
It's interesting about thosechat bot and virtual assistants,
we're just at the beginning too.
It's predicted that as thesetechnologies mature, companies
will leverage their own data.
And then couple that withthird-party data to offer even
more personalized experiences.
Calvin Stovall (28:20):
That's awesome.
Forrester Research has come upwith a phrase called Zero UI.
I guess that means userinterface.
It's basically a transitionalinterface that relies on voice,
gestures, and location insteadof touch.
So it's being applied in a lotof places, ATM's, payment
(28:45):
machines, and actually, you'rescanning restaurant menus now.
So I think we're going tocontinue to see all of this
stuff happening.
John Avola (28:57):
The National Retail Federation found that no-touch
payments for retailers increased70% last year.
Calvin Stovall (29:08):
Because people are just so afraid of COVID now,
it's like nobody wants to touchanything.
John Avola (29:14):
Absolutely.
I agree.
Just to kind of close this oneout, Calvin, I did want to leave
with a note for our listeners,and that is the importance based
on everything we just said onhow quickly companies need to
adopt to these technologies.
And I'm going to say this.
I hope it's not true, but ifyou've got a website that is not
(29:37):
mobile friendly today, if you'repinching to zoom in customers,
if you don't have a website theycan access on a mobile device,
please, please, please stopeverything you're doing and make
that your number one priority.
You need a mobile friendlywebsite.
(29:58):
I just wanted to leave that lastnote.
Calvin Stovall (30:00):
That's important.
And if you create an omni-channel experience for your
customers, all of that stuff isgoing to continue to be
important.
Yes, sir.
You've got to get the websiteright.
John Avola (30:11):
That's your front door.
Calvin Stovall (30:17):
That's your first impression and the lasting
impressions.
Basically to summarize thatright there, John, like you
said, get your technology inorder.
That's how you're going tocreate the experience that your
customers are coming to expectand figure out for your
organization for whatever you'reselling, technology balanced
(30:40):
with human interaction.
John Avola (30:42):
So that's awesome.
I think these predictions aregoing to help our listeners.
What do we have?
One more prediction to close usout.
And that prediction is customerswill continue to demand
exceptional experiences.
Calvin Stovall (30:58):
Yes, they will.
Because a bad experience, theywill walk away.
They're going to be gone.
Shep Hyken, I think a lot ofpeople know him.
He has been in the customerexperience space for a very long
time.
And he did a study, 2020Achieving Customer Amazement
survey.
(31:18):
And his survey found that 96.2%of customers are willing to
leave because of a bad customerservice.
That is a huge number.
Here's the thing though, John.
The funny thing with COVID iswhen it first happened,
(31:42):
customers were givingorganizations grace.
If you dropped the ball here andthere, things weren't going
right, or whatever, you werelike, oh, it's a pandemic.
But I think now people are like,hey, you need to step up your
game.
John Avola (32:02):
I think what you're saying, Calvin, is the customers
have high demands andexpectations.
And if you don't meet theseexpectations, I think I hear the
social media megaphone.
Calvin Stovall (32:16):
There you go.
You're going to get slammed.
We are just increasinglyimpatient.
We just are.
I have one thing that I'vecoined a soundbite culture.
I call the younger generation asoundbite culture because they
communicate through chat boxes,comments, TikTok, Snapchat,
(32:41):
texts.
This one we're talking about nowI call this kind of a microwave
culture where we wanteverything, and I've heard this
called the now customer.
I'm calling it the microwavecustomer because we want it
right now.
Not tomorrow, not in fiveminutes.
I want it right now.
So that's what we're dealingwith.
John Avola (33:03):
What was very interesting to me is, every year
there's the most popular brands,the world's top brands is
published.
And this particular year, 2020,the top three brands were number
one, Amazon.
This is the top three brands inthe world.
Amazon, Google was number two,and Apple is number three.
(33:24):
And I thought about those threecompanies for a moment and all
three of those, Amazon, Google,and Apple have something in
common.
And the commonality betweenthose three companies is that
the customer experience issimple.
There is no friction.
And all three of those companiesare experts in speed to market
(33:48):
and therefore speed to deliveryto your home.
A good example of this, Calvin,and you're going to laugh, is
that I needed an Apple chargerfor my computer.
It died.
The computer's done.
No power.
Oh man, it's the middle of theafternoon.
What am I going to do?
Go to apple.com, search for mymake and model, found the
(34:14):
charger.
At the checkout, it said, wouldyou like this delivered to your
house within the next two hours?
What?
No way.
I had to say yes, just because Iwanted to see if it was real.
You're telling me, you candeliver a charger in my hand in
two hours?
(34:34):
I could make myself some lunch,I would have the charger, and I
wouldn't have to go anywhere.
And Calvin, I'll tell you, ithappened.
Within two hours, a couriershowed up at the door with the
exact part that I needed,charger hand delivered.
Thank you.
Walked away.
Calvin Stovall (34:53):
See, when companies deliver stuff like
that, it creates an expectation.
John Avola (34:59):
Yes, it's so true.
It is.
I think the more that we getinto 2021, in addition to the
convenience and the demand,customers are going to expect
that personalized promotion.
They're going to expect beingcatered to from an individual
level.
(35:20):
It's more so a one-to-one, not aone-to-many anymore.
It's the expectation of thecompany knows who I am, what I
need, and I'm expecting them todeliver what I'm looking for.
Calvin Stovall (35:34):
Absolutely.
I think you've heard me say thisbefore and I usually do it in my
keynotes, I have a quote.
You're only as good as yourcustomer's last Amazon
experience.
That's just a reality and forour listeners out there today, I
want you to understand thatyou're not only being compared
(35:55):
to your competitors.
You are being compared to anyorganization, regardless of
industry, that can create amemorable customer experience
for them.
So I don't c are what you'reselling, the bar has been upped
and you have to step up yourgame.
We're just not talking fodderhere.
(36:16):
This is real.
John Avola (36:18):
And you make a good point.
Like what you just said, it'snot necessarily the competitors
that you only need to be worriedabout anymore.
You need to be worried about anyexperience that can affect your
customer's perception of yourbrand.
Calvin Stovall (36:32):
Absolutely, John, and they're getting those
perceptions from those iconicbrands that are able to do it on
a consistent basis.
John Avola (36:40):
So another example.
My daughter, she needed aspecial kind of pretzels, right?
Because nothing is easy inpre-K.
You can't just go to the storeand buy a bag of pretzels that
anyone would buy.
You've got to have this specialpretzel.
And this teacher, she knowsexactly what she wants.
And these pretzels she wantsare, they're like a waffle
(37:02):
shaped pretzel.
They're square pretzels withkind of a tally in the middle of
them.
And so I searched for a week forthese pretzels.
I'm going to grocery stores,going to Walgreens, going to
CVS.
I'm like, hey, I'm looking forpretzels.
They're like, you're in aWalgreens.
Why are you looking forpretzels?
I looked everywhere.
I'm risking my life out here forthese pretzels.
(37:23):
I'm all PPE, masked, faceshield, gloves, hazmat suit.
I'm just looking for a bag ofpretzels.
So then I head over to Amazon,of course, where I should've
started.
Found them in about two and ahalf seconds.
(37:43):
We're prime members.
But in this case, this item wasthe next day delivery.
I hit this one swipe, buy now.
And sure enough, those pretzelswere at my door.
Amazing, amazing.
Calvin Stovall (38:00):
You see all the time you wasted going to all
those stores?
John Avola (38:04):
I was down to the wire.
I had one day left and sureenough, they showed up the day
before.
So I wanted to share that withyou as another example.
And these trends, I don't thinkthey're going away.
Calvin Stovall (38:16):
They're not, these predictions are real and
they're going to continue.
John Avola (38:18):
They're here to stay.
I know McKinsey and Companypublished a study that found an
overall 30% growth in purchasesonline, but it also revealed
that these trends that we'retalking about are going to stay.
60% of those surveyed intend tocontinue buying online.
47% continue to take advantageof curbside pickup.
(38:42):
Over half of the respondentssaid they're going to continue
getting any type of food andgrocery delivery services to
their door.
So these are all companies thatare thriving in this area of
immediacy and demand andexperiences.
You're going to see that a lotmore too, like sitting down and
watching TV.
Calvin, I know you've got thatbeautiful 96 inch TV, kicking
(39:05):
back, watching the Super Bowlhere in a couple of weeks.
And you'd see a product thatcomes across one of those
amazing commercials.
You want to have the ability topurchase.
Your remote should have a buynow button.
That's where we're headed, realtime response.
Calvin Stovall (39:24):
Yes, sir.
We could talk about customerexpectations all day long, but I
think our listeners get themessage around this one.
So what we want to say is this.
Continue to invest in ways tomake your customer's experience
more convenient, making theirlives easier.
And because our customers aregetting smarter and smarter
(39:46):
expectations are continuing toincrease, you have to make sure
that you're doing things thatare going to keep you in there.
At least that competitive set.
John Avola (39:56):
Take exactly what you just said.
Prioritize the efforts with thebiggest potential for the
consumer.
Train your employees.
Remember employees first andyou're going to be fine.
That's going to work.
It's going to work out.
Calvin Stovall (40:14):
That sounds like a lot though! I mean it is, but
you can do it.
Anybody can do it.
If you want to be iconic, youhave to do it.
John Avola (40:19):
You have to, you have to, if you want to play in
this space.
If you don't, you'll be leftbehind.
There's tools, there'sresources, plenty of opportunity
available to help you.
Calvin Stovall (40:32):
Those were great predictions.
I hope the listeners enjoyedthem as well.
I'm so excited about 2021 and tosee where these organizations
are headed.
I think we're in store for somegreat things this year.
You agree?
John Avola (40:47):
Absolutely.
I'm excited.
I think, just to wrap up maybe aquick overview of the, I think
we went through four, fourpredictions.
Let's do a quick little wrap uphere, summarize what we've said
for our listeners.
So our first prediction wasaround employees above profits.
(41:07):
We talked about how important itis to have your employees first.
We had a great quote from ourfriend, I'm going to call him
our friend, Sir Richard Branson.
How, employees first, everythingelse will follow.
And then we rolled right intothe importance of mental health
and how important it is to beaware of your employees, how
they're feeling, check-in, askhow they're doing.
(41:33):
Be aware of some of those redflags we talked about, right?
Another prediction we discussedwas employees are going to
expect more focus on diversity,equity, and inclusion, how
important that is to have adiverse workforce, map your
employee experiences, understandthat your policies, procedures
need to reflect a diverseculture.
(41:54):
And most importantly, know thatyour employees are expecting
that.
They want to see diversity happen within the workforce.
Then we had a great predictionthat we talked at length about,
which was the automation anddigitizing.
Making our lives easier.
We talked about how simplicityand no friction c an make that
(42:15):
customer experience as easy aspossible.
We went through some c hat botsdiscussion, voice and virtual a
ssistants, and how importantthose are.
And then we finished up today'spredictions with our last, but
not least, b ecause I'm sure wewill have some more, and t hat
is around customers willcontinue to demand exceptional
(42:36):
experiences.
One of my favorite quotes fromyou, Calvin, your e xperience is
only as good as your last Amazonexperience.
Remember customers are smart.
We're all smart.
Don't be trying to pullsomething over them.
They're going to figure it out.
(42:58):
A ttend to their needs.
Anything else, C alvin, you wantto add today?
Calvin Stovall (43:01):
We're hoping that we can do some video so
people can see our faces soon.
That would be great, if we dothese with video.
I'm always hoping that we canget some comments from people to
see if there are any topics theywant us to talk about this year,
John.
John Avola (43:18):
Absolutely.
Yes, we definitely appreciateour listeners.
We want to hear from you.
Calvin did mention, you may beseeing us in video, real time
video.
That's right.
Episode 12 is going to beiconic, but anyhow, until next
time, you know that you can findout more about Calvin and me on
(43:40):
iconicpresentations.net.
Learn more about us, listen toprevious episodes, share what
you think.
There's a contact us form whereyou can reach one of us at any
time.
And Calvin with that...
Don't just be.
Be ICONIC.
Welcome to the iconic mindset podcast with John
Avola and Calvin Stovall.
This is the only place thatuncovers the multiple levels of
iconic businesses and brands.
Every episode reveals thesecrets behind what it takes to
make your business idea ormovement iconic.
(00:27):
Now, here are John and Calvin.
John Avola (00:35):
Hey Calvin.
How are you?
Calvin Stovall (00:37):
John, what's going on?
Good to see you, man.
John Avola (00:40):
Happy New Year!
Calvin Stovall (00:44):
Happy New Year to you.
Welcome to 2021.
Thank you.
2020 is gone.
John Avola (00:51):
We made it.
This is our first episode of2021.
I'm excited.
Calvin Stovall (00:56):
I am too.
I am so fired up about this.
John Avola (00:59):
So today I know we're going to be talking about
a new year, new you, new normal.
We're going to touch on someiconic predictions for what's
next.
But before we jump in, I want tohear from you.
Do you have any new year'sresolutions that you're working
on?
Calvin Stovall (01:24):
I don't really do resolutions, typically.
I do write goals.
I write goals every year.
One of the things that I knowfor sure that I'm going to focus
on is to get back to betterhealth with the pandemic,
wanting to take care of myself,of course, the best I can.
And I wasn't able to get to thegym as much as I used to.
(01:46):
So that will be one of thethings I will ramp back up.
I know we're not fully open yet.
I was doing a little stuff athome, but you know how that is.
I like to go to the gym.
People are there with you.
It just brings a differentenergy to it all.
So that is going to be one thatI'm going to focus on.
(02:08):
And the other thing is, I know Ihave iconic branding and all of
that.
I want to live my brand out morethis year, like wearing wardrobe
with musical artists on it andthings like that and just live
it out a little bit more and Ihaven't done it.
You know how it is, Johnny, noweverybody's a speaker,
(02:32):
everybody's an expert.
I want to find things that areauthentically me that can help
differentiate me from everybodyelse out there in the
marketplace.
So that's another thing that I'mgoing to focus on and, of
course, continue to love my twoboys, but I was going to do that
anyway.
(02:55):
What about you?
What are you going to dodifferent this year?
John Avola (02:58):
Well, I've got one thing to say to you real quick
before we jump into someresolutions I've been thinking
of, because I want to hear thisfrom you.
Can we expect a book in 2021?
Calvin Stovall (03:09):
Yes.
Absolutely.
2021.
We will have a book.
That is a goal.
I can't believe I didn't mentionthat.
I actually wrote it down.
Yes.
There will be a book.
John Avola (03:27):
Our listeners are going to be the first to know.
There's going to be an iconicmindset book of some sort
published in 2021.
Calvin Stovall (03:37):
Yes, it will be.
But what about you?
John Avola (03:39):
All right.
So for me, that's similar.
Similar.
I agree with the goals.
I'm not looking to change a lot,but definitely looking to better
myself forward.
One of those areas is aroundcommunication.
I really want to improve mycommunication skills, to be a
better writer, speaker, betterpodcaster, to study those
(03:59):
professionals that are out theretoday.
What are they doing that setsthem aside?
Just really understand how to bea better communicator.
So I've got that.
Also need to dedicate more timefor some personal development.
Getting into expandingknowledge, educating myself.
I'd love to learn things.
(04:19):
Like specifically home repairstuff that I always hire out.
If the fence needs to bereplaced, I want to go buy a
board and put some screws in it.
You know what I mean?
Get some power tools out.
Buy a circular saw and be sure Idon't cut my hand off.
(04:40):
I want to try some new things.
My last one is just morepersonal and that's just become
more spiritual.
So I just want to make a realeffort to attend some virtual
church and give some thanks.
Calvin Stovall (04:54):
Those are all fantastic goals, John.
You know I'm here to support youin any way I can.
That's awesome.
All right, I guess we'd betterget this thing started.
John Avola (05:03):
Of course, of course.
Well, and speaking of thepandemic and COVID, it's
something we really can'tignore.
We saw companies do things thatseemed impossible overnight.
Look at e-commerce, I'm surewe'll be talking about that
today.
They experienced growth in ninemonths, which wasn't predicted
for years.
And so this episode we want todedicate to 2021 predictions, to
(05:26):
share with our audience what webelieve is next, and help our
audience stay ahead of thecompetition.
So with all of that, Calvin, I'mgoing to jump right in and ask
you, what are you seeing outthere?
What are some of those iconicpredictions that you've come
across?
Calvin Stovall (05:39):
One of the ones that I've seen and which I hope,
which I believe, is going tocontinue, is organizations
putting employees above profits.
What COVID did is force leadersto really focus on engaging
their employees' hearts andminds.
People were working remotely.
(06:03):
And so you had to kind of switchup how you might've typically
communicated with your team.
You couldn't walk intosomebody's cube and have
conversations with them.
You see them in the hallway,meet them at the water cooler,
whatever, that all went away.
So I think you had to reallyfind ways to really engage your
(06:27):
team.
What I think what we ended upseeing, John, is that you had
those leaders who were good atthat already pre COVID, but then
you had those that were not andfound that the old ways of
trying to inspire people wasn'tworking through a screen because
(06:50):
people had other things thatthey were dealing with.
You might've had an employeewhere you might've not had a
strong connection with them inthe office, now all of a sudden
everything has changed.
And now you want to get on aZoom call and say to that same
employee,"Hey, how you doing?" Icall it counterfeit care because
(07:17):
it's inauthentic.
I think what leaders had to dois they had to change.
Those people that were doing itwell, they realized that the old
way wasn't working.
They had to dig deep and theystarted setting up one-on-ones
and doing skip levels and justfinding out ways to keep their
(07:42):
teams together, even though theywere physically distanced.
That's what I'm seeing.
There's more to that, but I wantto hear what you think about
that too.
John Avola (07:50):
Absolutely.
I agree with you.
The entire workforce haschanged.
What's interesting is a lot ofthe cultures that were set in
person have been able totransition into this short term
where the prediction, or whatwe're looking at in the future,
is how is that long-term crisisfatigue going to affect this
(08:13):
remote environment?
Those check-ins on a regularbasis that you mentioned, the
one-on-ones, how do we keep thatgoing?
And what I found was interestingis a study by Forrester that was
done just a couple months beforethe pandemic.
They found that fewer than onethird of companies actually
(08:36):
conducted employee experiencesurveys.
So they have no idea what theiremployees are feeling and that's
in office.
And now, as you mentioned, goingto this remote world, they, the
other two thirds that did nottake that survey, or do not have
any idea of what their employeeswere feeling, they were blind to
(08:59):
what their employees wereexperiencing, and they had a
really difficult time trying toengage them in their work.
The other thing to mention here,too, is that you want to be
proactive, getting the pulse ofyour employees, understanding
how they're feeling, gettinginto their mindset, and helping
them with the productivity,keeping that morale high, really
(09:21):
emphasizing the importance ofculture.
That's what's going to be mostimportant here in 2021.
Calvin Stovall (09:27):
Yes.
I agree with you a hundredpercent.
And the leaders who have donethis particularly well, they've
seen their teams continue toexecute.
Although it's too soon to tell,I bet the leaders that are doing
this well, they won't see amassive flight of employees
(09:48):
leaving once things go back postCOVID.
You know why?
Because they've made theconnection.
They've made an emotionalconnection with that employee.
John Avola (09:58):
It's also brought out the employer's true colors,
right?
So we're talking about thepositivity of those that know
their employees.
But what about those companieswhere it's brought to light
where their employees reallysit, how low they may be on the
priority list?
(10:20):
Companies not putting theiremployees over profits are the
ones who are using the softwareor some type of app to track
employees performance, or signin at any time on their screen,
while they're in the middle ofworking.
That's the last thing you wantwhile everything else is going
on.
(10:40):
That's another perspective, thatif you're not aware of what your
employees want and youremployees are seeing what the
company culture is truly likeduring a national pandemic,
you're not going to retain them.
That's not iconic.
Calvin Stovall (10:59):
That's not iconic.
What COVID did, it pulled theBand- Aid off.
it was authentic.
You have to be authentic, that'sthe second quadrant in the
framework.
Again, authenticity is key.
And I know that trend hopefullywill continue.
I predict more companies will dothat.
(11:21):
I know organizations have tomake money and things of that
nature, but now isn't the timeto focus on stockholders and
quarterly reports and all ofthat.
You've got to really focus ondoubling down your efforts,
focus on your people becausethey're going to remember how
you treated them.
John Avola (11:42):
Yes, they're your frontline.
They represent the company'svalues, its mission.
And we both have said thisseveral times, employees are
your most valuable asset.
Hands down.
I came across this quote.
You know Sir Richard Branson?
(12:04):
Virgin Airlines.
He's unbelievable.
I actually found a quote fromhim that's directly in line with
this prediction, employeesbefore profits.
And he says," when companiesfocus on employees first, in the
end, shareholders do well, thecustomers do better, and your
staff remains happy."
Calvin Stovall (12:25):
That's true.
You can't say it any simplerthan that.
John Avola (12:28):
Listen to Sir Branson.
Calvin Stovall (12:30):
That's right.
Take care of your employees.
They will take care of yourcustomers.
And the profits will take careof themselves.
That is it.
We all had challenges with COVIDand everything.
And we kind of talked offline alittle bit about this, but it
was challenging, just mentallyfor folks.
(12:53):
I saw a recent study on mentalhealth issues.
We know this is on the rise, butthey said 53% of US adults
reported the stress about thepandemic has negatively impacted
their mental health.
So we're talking about one outof every two people.
It was a lot to carry.
(13:14):
I think companies andorganizations that focused on
making sure that they wereproviding resources and support
for employees to help them getthrough that whole thing again,
people first.
John Avola (13:28):
People first.
Calvin Stovall (13:31):
I'm excited that organizations realize that and I
predict that is going tocontinue.
John Avola (13:40):
Employees are looking for it, Calvin.
I came across a study by Aetna.
They found that 89% of employeeswould stay with an employer
longer if they provided mentalhealth support.
90% would stay.
And then it went on to say, twothirds would not work for a
(14:01):
company that didn't have a clearpolicy supporting mental health.
So there are very fewindividuals out there that are
looking for companies that donot have a mental health
awareness as a benefit.
I hate to say this, but it'strue.
Unfortunately, I don't thinkit's over.
Our leaders are going tocontinue to see employees
(14:22):
struggle with anxiety anddepression, burnout, trauma,
grief, due to lost loved onesand sick family members.
You've got to invest in theresources to help your
leadership team get through thisand help coach their employees.
Calvin Stovall (14:39):
Yes.
You've also got to be aware ofred flags.
If you are truly connected andyou have connected with your
employee and you have a greatcommunication between you both,
you will notice when things areoff.
I want to just encourage peopleout there, if you're running a
(15:01):
team and you notice that youtypically have somebody that's
super engaged and they're alwayscontributing, and then all of a
sudden you start seeing drasticchanges in their behavior and
things of that nature, step in.
You don't have to be a therapistor anything.
You just have to care, just haveto care.
And make sure you have someresources to offer them so they
(15:22):
can get some help.
John Avola (15:23):
Absolutely.
And Calvin, you mentioned redflags and neither of us are
psychologists, but I think it'simportant to our audience to get
an idea of what those warningsigns are, what those red flags
may be.
I did a little bit of research,before our podcast.
I just wanted to help ourlisteners out there, because
whether you're leading a team,an organization, or you have a
(15:44):
loved one that's close to you,we all have someone affected by
this.
Calvin mentioned 50%.
Half of us.
One in two people are dealingwith mental anxiety or
depression.
So those red flags real quickly,there's just a couple of them.
If you're noticing someonefeeling very sad or withdrawn
from work, they estimate aroundthat 10 day to 14 day timeframe,
(16:07):
it's something to consider.
If you see some reduction inproductivity, if you're seeing
drastic increases in mood,behavior, personality,
difficulty concentrating,intense worries or fears, if
you've noticed a significant orquick weight loss or gain that
wasn't anticipated or predicted.
(16:29):
And then those that are evencloser to you, if you're seeing
any type of aggression, selfinfliction of pain, and of
course, God forbid, any type ofattempted suicide, these are
serious warning signs that mustbe addressed.
And in that same article thatlists some of those warning
signs, I read that only half ofthose that are struggling with
(16:50):
mental health issues actuallyseek help.
One in two people are sufferingand then one or two people of
that group is seeking help.
Calvin Stovall (16:59):
We've got to stay aware.
2020 was hard on a lot of folks.
I think what it has done is madeus better leaders and more.
It's shown us the importance ofauthenticity, the importance of
(17:22):
empathy and compassion.
And so, again, the pluses ofCOVID.
John Avola (17:29):
And you said it, just simply checking in.
Ask, how are you feeling?
Reminding them it's okay not tobe okay.
Sharing that you're not alone.
Letting them know that there'shelp out there.
Calvin Stovall (17:42):
That's our first prediction.
We will continue to seeorganizations put employees
above profits.
John Avola (17:50):
The next prediction I have goes closely in line with
employees over profits, stillfocusing on employees.
I'm predicting that employeesare going to expect more focus
on diversity, equality, andinclusion.
Back in June, we had a ton ofcompanies stand up openly
(18:14):
against racial injustice ascivil unrest erupted around the
nation.
Racial justice movements startedBlack Lives Matter, and
employees are now expecting moreethnic and gender diverse
workplaces.
Employees and job applicants arelooking for companies that have
policies that will stand out andsay how are their company
(18:34):
culture, employee morale,retention, how are those items
affecting diversity, equity, andinclusion?
Calvin Stovall (18:42):
We're going to call this the year, it's
probably the next five years,the year of difficult
conversations.
Companies have to be aware ofwhat's going on within their own
organizations.
And they've got to be vulnerableand address some uncomfortable
topics.
That's the only way you're goingto make real change.
(19:02):
They have to be self-aware andrealize their biases and
shortcomings, and don't dothings just to check the box.
If you want to make real changeand effect real change, you've
got to have some difficultconversations.
You may have to hire aconsultant to come in and help
you accomplish it.
Do it being authentic and makingreal change.
(19:23):
And don't just check the boxtype.
John Avola (19:25):
Employees want that genuine support.
They're looking at it from everylevel in the organization.
It doesn't have to be yoursenior leaders.
It doesn't have to be yourindividual contributors.
It's a movement that everyonecan participate in.
For those of you, our listeners,that are in a position where
they can influence humanresource type policies.
(19:46):
Now is the time to evaluate yourdiversity, equality, and
inclusion in the workplace.
Map your employee experiences,survey your teams, launch
initiatives.
We're doing things aroundmonthly newsletters, employee
feedback sessions, even some ofour team members just naturally
joined or formed their own bookclub.
(20:07):
This is the time that you giveyour employees the opportunity
to make a difference.
Calvin Stovall (20:11):
That is a major one.
Great prediction.
All right.
So we are moving on to our nextprediction.
I love this prediction.
We are going to continue to seethis frenetic crazy, insane race
to automate and digitizeeverything.
John Avola (20:36):
Everything.
Calvin Stovall (20:39):
Everything is going to be digitized.
John Avola (20:40):
We all want easier lives.
Calvin Stovall (20:47):
And I think that's cool.
Companies will continue to tryto find ways to make customer
experience better and easier,more convenient for the
customer.
And they're going to continue toinnovate and do those things.
The only concern I have is, asyou know, I'm all about making
emotional connections with yourcustomers and making sure that
(21:09):
you differentiate yourselfthrough that customer
experience.
And my concern is if we digitizeeverything, what happens to the
human-to-human interaction?
What happens to that part of it,because really your
differentiation comes from thatexperience that you have with
that customer.
And if you're distanced fromthem, that's a challenge.
(21:31):
That's going to be a challenge.
And the organizations thatfigure out the balance between
that digital and human and stillmake an emotional connection are
going to be the ones that win.
John Avola (21:43):
It's almost defining that perfect ratio.
There's a human touch and adigital touch.
And what is the ultimatecombination of those two, as you
said, to generate the sale or tocomplete the sale.
I have to say, Calvin, I've beenthinking about this a little bit
more, and I may even challengethat thought on the loss of
(22:07):
emotional connection.
Just hear me out, because I'malmost wondering if it boils
down to the industry.
If you look at it from a B to C,business to consumer
perspective.
And I'm thinking hospitalityprobably sits outside of this
theory as I'm thinking out loudright now.
(22:33):
I'm going to set hospitalityaside before you come back at
me! Can a physical human touchgive the person the feeling of
company XYZ knows me, in the waythat you interact with that
company online?
For example, walking into Krogeror Target, I'm not expecting the
(22:57):
greeter to know my name, to askme if I'm going to purchase
another video game or to say,hey, we've got some amazing
sales, go checkout aisle 11, orto know how many loyalty points
that I have.
And hey, if you purchase thisitem, you're going to quadruple
your loyalty points.
But in a digital environment,you can.
(23:18):
When you log in and you visityour favorite store's website,
you can see your name and howmany loyalty reward points you
have.
It'll offer you suggestionsbased on your past purchases.
It'll give you some of yoursales or your purchase history.
And with a few clicks, youselect your item.
(23:38):
And that could be delivered toyou within a few hours or a
couple of days.
But at the same time, thecompany itself has a better
opportunity to know you as aperson based on your digital
interactions than the companydoes having you physically walk
through the door of the store.
(24:00):
Now, going back to the oppositethought in a B2B situation where
you have a sales team, like ifyou're trying to buy a new
product, say a Salesforceproduct, you're going to want
that customer interaction,right?
You're going to want to knowmore about the product, the
tool, how it can help you, whatmore information the sales woman
(24:20):
or man may have.
There's an opportunity there tocreate that connection with your
customers when you're selling aproduct that is going to affect
the business directly.
So I don't know, I've been goingback and forth on, is there
really a loss of connection whenthe company may know you better
(24:42):
and therefore be able tooptimize and digitalize what you
want in a faster manner thanlooking at it from a loss of
emotional connection?
I don't know.
Now you may want to touch on thehospitality industry.
Calvin Stovall (24:59):
That is different.
I hear where you're coming fromand I do think it depends on
what you're buying and how wellthe organization can digitize
the experience.
Every organization is not thatgood at it.
Even the hospitality industryhas challenges with it.
You can go to some hotels todayand you could have stayed with
(25:22):
that particular brand numeroustimes.
And they still don't say,welcome back, thanks for being a
loyal customer.
It happens sometimes, but a lotof times it doesn't.
And so it really depends on howwell t hat technology is being
implemented and how well it'sused.
I do agree with you, but my fearis you can also become a
(25:46):
commodity, if everybody is doingthat.
I believe you c ouldover-digitize.
Too much technology may not begood.
John Avola (25:54):
There's a balance.
Calvin Stovall (25:58):
Again, it's back to the balance.
What has happened isorganizations like Amazon that
have been able to take thatonline experience and truly
personalize it for you.
Netflix has done a fabulous jobat doing that.
We talked about that in anotherpodcast, how well they're able
(26:20):
to look at what you watched,what you like, and then push out
content that you probably wantto see.
I think those things areabsolutely fantastic.
But as these organizationscontinue to do that and
digitize, and pull out the humaninteraction, I think after a
while, if you're not careful,you will become a commodity.
(26:42):
You'll just be like everybodyelse.
And we all know that withbrands, it's an emotional
connection that has to still bein there because that's where,
when things do shift and thingsdo change, you'll still want
that particular brand.
You're willing to pay more moneyfor that brand.
You're willing to travel furtherfor that brand.
(27:02):
So it's all of those thingsthat's wrapped up.
I've loved being able to havethe convenience of having a
digital experience, but I alsowant, sometimes I need, the
human touch.
John Avola (27:14):
The human touch.
That makes sense.
I agree with you.
And I think, it just summarizesaround balance.
It's balance.
Calvin Stovall (27:24):
I'm going to ask you a question.
Do you think if COVID neverhappened, we would be where we
are, as far as technology,online experience, is?
John Avola (27:39):
No way.
Calvin Stovall (27:40):
We were pushed into this situation.
John Avola (27:44):
Yes.
And it has drasticallyaccelerated.
Like virtual assistancetechnologies, those are by far
light years ahead of where wewere before COVID.
People were doubling andtripling down on investing in
these services because that'swhat customers were looking for.
(28:04):
It's interesting about thosechat bot and virtual assistants,
we're just at the beginning too.
It's predicted that as thesetechnologies mature, companies
will leverage their own data.
And then couple that withthird-party data to offer even
more personalized experiences.
Calvin Stovall (28:20):
That's awesome.
Forrester Research has come upwith a phrase called Zero UI.
I guess that means userinterface.
It's basically a transitionalinterface that relies on voice,
gestures, and location insteadof touch.
So it's being applied in a lotof places, ATM's, payment
(28:45):
machines, and actually, you'rescanning restaurant menus now.
So I think we're going tocontinue to see all of this
stuff happening.
John Avola (28:57):
The National Retail Federation found that no-touch
payments for retailers increased70% last year.
Calvin Stovall (29:08):
Because people are just so afraid of COVID now,
it's like nobody wants to touchanything.
John Avola (29:14):
Absolutely.
I agree.
Just to kind of close this oneout, Calvin, I did want to leave
with a note for our listeners,and that is the importance based
on everything we just said onhow quickly companies need to
adopt to these technologies.
And I'm going to say this.
I hope it's not true, but ifyou've got a website that is not
(29:37):
mobile friendly today, if you'repinching to zoom in customers,
if you don't have a website theycan access on a mobile device,
please, please, please stopeverything you're doing and make
that your number one priority.
You need a mobile friendlywebsite.
(29:58):
I just wanted to leave that lastnote.
Calvin Stovall (30:00):
That's important.
And if you create an omni-channel experience for your
customers, all of that stuff isgoing to continue to be
important.
Yes, sir.
You've got to get the websiteright.
John Avola (30:11):
That's your front door.
Calvin Stovall (30:17):
That's your first impression and the lasting
impressions.
Basically to summarize thatright there, John, like you
said, get your technology inorder.
That's how you're going tocreate the experience that your
customers are coming to expectand figure out for your
organization for whatever you'reselling, technology balanced
(30:40):
with human interaction.
John Avola (30:42):
So that's awesome.
I think these predictions aregoing to help our listeners.
What do we have?
One more prediction to close usout.
And that prediction is customerswill continue to demand
exceptional experiences.
Calvin Stovall (30:58):
Yes, they will.
Because a bad experience, theywill walk away.
They're going to be gone.
Shep Hyken, I think a lot ofpeople know him.
He has been in the customerexperience space for a very long
time.
And he did a study, 2020Achieving Customer Amazement
survey.
(31:18):
And his survey found that 96.2%of customers are willing to
leave because of a bad customerservice.
That is a huge number.
Here's the thing though, John.
The funny thing with COVID iswhen it first happened,
(31:42):
customers were givingorganizations grace.
If you dropped the ball here andthere, things weren't going
right, or whatever, you werelike, oh, it's a pandemic.
But I think now people are like,hey, you need to step up your
game.
John Avola (32:02):
I think what you're saying, Calvin, is the customers
have high demands andexpectations.
And if you don't meet theseexpectations, I think I hear the
social media megaphone.
Calvin Stovall (32:16):
There you go.
You're going to get slammed.
We are just increasinglyimpatient.
We just are.
I have one thing that I'vecoined a soundbite culture.
I call the younger generation asoundbite culture because they
communicate through chat boxes,comments, TikTok, Snapchat,
(32:41):
texts.
This one we're talking about nowI call this kind of a microwave
culture where we wanteverything, and I've heard this
called the now customer.
I'm calling it the microwavecustomer because we want it
right now.
Not tomorrow, not in fiveminutes.
I want it right now.
So that's what we're dealingwith.
John Avola (33:03):
What was very interesting to me is, every year
there's the most popular brands,the world's top brands is
published.
And this particular year, 2020,the top three brands were number
one, Amazon.
This is the top three brands inthe world.
Amazon, Google was number two,and Apple is number three.
(33:24):
And I thought about those threecompanies for a moment and all
three of those, Amazon, Google,and Apple have something in
common.
And the commonality betweenthose three companies is that
the customer experience issimple.
There is no friction.
And all three of those companiesare experts in speed to market
(33:48):
and therefore speed to deliveryto your home.
A good example of this, Calvin,and you're going to laugh, is
that I needed an Apple chargerfor my computer.
It died.
The computer's done.
No power.
Oh man, it's the middle of theafternoon.
What am I going to do?
Go to apple.com, search for mymake and model, found the
(34:14):
charger.
At the checkout, it said, wouldyou like this delivered to your
house within the next two hours?
What?
No way.
I had to say yes, just because Iwanted to see if it was real.
You're telling me, you candeliver a charger in my hand in
two hours?
(34:34):
I could make myself some lunch,I would have the charger, and I
wouldn't have to go anywhere.
And Calvin, I'll tell you, ithappened.
Within two hours, a couriershowed up at the door with the
exact part that I needed,charger hand delivered.
Thank you.
Walked away.
Calvin Stovall (34:53):
See, when companies deliver stuff like
that, it creates an expectation.
John Avola (34:59):
Yes, it's so true.
It is.
I think the more that we getinto 2021, in addition to the
convenience and the demand,customers are going to expect
that personalized promotion.
They're going to expect beingcatered to from an individual
level.
(35:20):
It's more so a one-to-one, not aone-to-many anymore.
It's the expectation of thecompany knows who I am, what I
need, and I'm expecting them todeliver what I'm looking for.
Calvin Stovall (35:34):
Absolutely.
I think you've heard me say thisbefore and I usually do it in my
keynotes, I have a quote.
You're only as good as yourcustomer's last Amazon
experience.
That's just a reality and forour listeners out there today, I
want you to understand thatyou're not only being compared
(35:55):
to your competitors.
You are being compared to anyorganization, regardless of
industry, that can create amemorable customer experience
for them.
So I don't c are what you'reselling, the bar has been upped
and you have to step up yourgame.
We're just not talking fodderhere.
(36:16):
This is real.
John Avola (36:18):
And you make a good point.
Like what you just said, it'snot necessarily the competitors
that you only need to be worriedabout anymore.
You need to be worried about anyexperience that can affect your
customer's perception of yourbrand.
Calvin Stovall (36:32):
Absolutely, John, and they're getting those
perceptions from those iconicbrands that are able to do it on
a consistent basis.
John Avola (36:40):
So another example.
My daughter, she needed aspecial kind of pretzels, right?
Because nothing is easy inpre-K.
You can't just go to the storeand buy a bag of pretzels that
anyone would buy.
You've got to have this specialpretzel.
And this teacher, she knowsexactly what she wants.
And these pretzels she wantsare, they're like a waffle
(37:02):
shaped pretzel.
They're square pretzels withkind of a tally in the middle of
them.
And so I searched for a week forthese pretzels.
I'm going to grocery stores,going to Walgreens, going to
CVS.
I'm like, hey, I'm looking forpretzels.
They're like, you're in aWalgreens.
Why are you looking forpretzels?
I looked everywhere.
I'm risking my life out here forthese pretzels.
(37:23):
I'm all PPE, masked, faceshield, gloves, hazmat suit.
I'm just looking for a bag ofpretzels.
So then I head over to Amazon,of course, where I should've
started.
Found them in about two and ahalf seconds.
(37:43):
We're prime members.
But in this case, this item wasthe next day delivery.
I hit this one swipe, buy now.
And sure enough, those pretzelswere at my door.
Amazing, amazing.
Calvin Stovall (38:00):
You see all the time you wasted going to all
those stores?
John Avola (38:04):
I was down to the wire.
I had one day left and sureenough, they showed up the day
before.
So I wanted to share that withyou as another example.
And these trends, I don't thinkthey're going away.
Calvin Stovall (38:16):
They're not, these predictions are real and
they're going to continue.
John Avola (38:18):
They're here to stay.
I know McKinsey and Companypublished a study that found an
overall 30% growth in purchasesonline, but it also revealed
that these trends that we'retalking about are going to stay.
60% of those surveyed intend tocontinue buying online.
47% continue to take advantageof curbside pickup.
(38:42):
Over half of the respondentssaid they're going to continue
getting any type of food andgrocery delivery services to
their door.
So these are all companies thatare thriving in this area of
immediacy and demand andexperiences.
You're going to see that a lotmore too, like sitting down and
watching TV.
Calvin, I know you've got thatbeautiful 96 inch TV, kicking
(39:05):
back, watching the Super Bowlhere in a couple of weeks.
And you'd see a product thatcomes across one of those
amazing commercials.
You want to have the ability topurchase.
Your remote should have a buynow button.
That's where we're headed, realtime response.
Calvin Stovall (39:24):
Yes, sir.
We could talk about customerexpectations all day long, but I
think our listeners get themessage around this one.
So what we want to say is this.
Continue to invest in ways tomake your customer's experience
more convenient, making theirlives easier.
And because our customers aregetting smarter and smarter
(39:46):
expectations are continuing toincrease, you have to make sure
that you're doing things thatare going to keep you in there.
At least that competitive set.
John Avola (39:56):
Take exactly what you just said.
Prioritize the efforts with thebiggest potential for the
consumer.
Train your employees.
Remember employees first andyou're going to be fine.
That's going to work.
It's going to work out.
Calvin Stovall (40:14):
That sounds like a lot though! I mean it is, but
you can do it.
Anybody can do it.
If you want to be iconic, youhave to do it.
John Avola (40:19):
You have to, you have to, if you want to play in
this space.
If you don't, you'll be leftbehind.
There's tools, there'sresources, plenty of opportunity
available to help you.
Calvin Stovall (40:32):
Those were great predictions.
I hope the listeners enjoyedthem as well.
I'm so excited about 2021 and tosee where these organizations
are headed.
I think we're in store for somegreat things this year.
You agree?
John Avola (40:47):
Absolutely.
I'm excited.
I think, just to wrap up maybe aquick overview of the, I think
we went through four, fourpredictions.
Let's do a quick little wrap uphere, summarize what we've said
for our listeners.
So our first prediction wasaround employees above profits.
(41:07):
We talked about how important itis to have your employees first.
We had a great quote from ourfriend, I'm going to call him
our friend, Sir Richard Branson.
How, employees first, everythingelse will follow.
And then we rolled right intothe importance of mental health
and how important it is to beaware of your employees, how
they're feeling, check-in, askhow they're doing.
(41:33):
Be aware of some of those redflags we talked about, right?
Another prediction we discussedwas employees are going to
expect more focus on diversity,equity, and inclusion, how
important that is to have adiverse workforce, map your
employee experiences, understandthat your policies, procedures
need to reflect a diverseculture.
(41:54):
And most importantly, know thatyour employees are expecting
that.
They want to see diversity happen within the workforce.
Then we had a great predictionthat we talked at length about,
which was the automation anddigitizing.
Making our lives easier.
We talked about how simplicityand no friction c an make that
(42:15):
customer experience as easy aspossible.
We went through some c hat botsdiscussion, voice and virtual a
ssistants, and how importantthose are.
And then we finished up today'spredictions with our last, but
not least, b ecause I'm sure wewill have some more, and t hat
is around customers willcontinue to demand exceptional
(42:36):
experiences.
One of my favorite quotes fromyou, Calvin, your e xperience is
only as good as your last Amazonexperience.
Remember customers are smart.
We're all smart.
Don't be trying to pullsomething over them.
They're going to figure it out.
(42:58):
A ttend to their needs.
Anything else, C alvin, you wantto add today?
Calvin Stovall (43:01):
We're hoping that we can do some video so
people can see our faces soon.
That would be great, if we dothese with video.
I'm always hoping that we canget some comments from people to
see if there are any topics theywant us to talk about this year,
John.
John Avola (43:18):
Absolutely.
Yes, we definitely appreciateour listeners.
We want to hear from you.
Calvin did mention, you may beseeing us in video, real time
video.
That's right.
Episode 12 is going to beiconic, but anyhow, until next
time, you know that you can findout more about Calvin and me on
(43:40):
iconicpresentations.net.
Learn more about us, listen toprevious episodes, share what
you think.
There's a contact us form whereyou can reach one of us at any
time.
And Calvin with that...
Don't just be.
Be ICONIC.
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