Hi David, tell us about yourself and your background and how you got to the CX space?
I am an attorney, entrepreneur, and CEO of both DealRockit and the strategic management firm, CSuite Advantage. DealRockit was founded with the intention to create the first-of-its-kind digital CX solution offering the tools for enterprises, entrepreneurs, and investors to interact and transact in unprecedented ways. While app developers, investors, and entrepreneurs have changed the dating game, no one has managed to tackle a way to match and connect like-minded individuals and businesses in a one-stop-shop for customer acquisition and business development until now. What started as an idea to connect small businesses has grown to encompass all areas of networking, collaboration, and productivity, creating a virtuous cycle where everyone wins. DealRockit’s novel technologies solve significant business problems, acting as powerful growth engines that pull others with it.
Online commerce was booming in 2020; how did it affect brands’ D2C strategy? – What should be the main focus for brands this year?
When the economy fully reopens will brands be able to hold their online D2C commerce gains and growth while continuing to grow in-store traffic and revenues without conflations or distractions. Brands must recognize that some of their online gains have come from necessity and strong in-stock positions, consumer’s stockpiling, faster delivery options, and less competition from smaller competitors wiped out by mandates.
David’s checklist for CX strategy
In your POV – What is the ultimate checklist for a good Customer Experience strategy?
In the race to deliver the best customer experience and accelerate growth, does your organization provide value through:
- Reinventing how businesses scale & digitally engage
- Cementing relationships & aligning interests
- Creating deeper partnerships & collaborations
- Accelerating customer experience & growth
- Solving the business inclusion problem
- Fast-tracking technology and digital innovation to avoid being left behind
How much has the role of the CX Executive in the social distancing era – what role digital transformation has in this crisis?
Moving past COVID-19 requires new digital solutions that revolutionize how businesses scale and engage. Before the pandemic, we foresaw a digital world and set out to create a new business ecosystem and technology encompassing all areas of networking, collaboration, and productivity that raises everyone’s game.
This new remote intensive world we find ourselves in today requires CX executives to move out of their comfort zones and offer new solutions that solve the customer’s most valuable problem in a way they’ve never experienced before. To that end, playing it safe is no longer a viable option. Change is in the air and CX executives must be its leader. In times like these doubling down on efficiency and protective reactions, rather than committing to real CX innovation is understandable but unacceptable as technology and digital innovation drive fundamental change across the business landscape. The choice is clear: innovate or be left behind.
What was the biggest lesson you learned in 2020?
The biggest lesson I learned in 2020 is that one can never go wrong heeding the wisdom of Henry Ford and Steve Jobs. Ford said: “If I’d asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, ‘A faster horse!'”. Decades later Steve Jobs famously stated: “Our job is to figure out what they’re going to want before they do” and then show them the finished product.
With that in mind, and well before COVID-19, we envisioned a digital world where firms can rapidly accelerate growth and customer experience without having to leave homes or offices. One that revolutionizes business development and connects business stakeholders in unprecedented ways. DealRockit’s novel technologies and inclusiveness solve significant business problems, acting as powerful growth and CX engines that pull others with it.
2020 was the year of webinars and online events, what was your favorite one?
No particular webinar comes to mind as most memorable. I try to listen, learn, and move outside my comfort zone as much as I can. Thus, the webinars and online events I attend must meet this criterion. Many times, I find a good article more beneficial than many of these webinars.
It looks like working from home is going to stay with us for the foreseeable future, how should CEOs gear up to the changing times?
Clearly, this is not the time to play it safe. Rather, the opposite is true. Leaders need to step up, be unconventional and take dramatic action or be left behind. Echoing these sentiments, Johnson & Johnson’s CEO Alex Gorsky stated: “This is a bit of a moonshot for J&J going forward, but it’s one we feel is very, very important for us to be doing at this period in time.”
Gorsky makes it clear that doubling down on efficiency and survival mode amid disruption is far too risky. Not coming up with new growth, customer experience and innovation strategies is unacceptable. Failing to develop external partnerships and new business/product models that focus on stakeholder value is a non-starter. It is imperative to create a virtuous cycle where everyone wins, demonstrating how much more your business can and will do. It is time to drop the silos and reach for the stars — not unlike the Manhattan Project or the Space Race — and do something big for your organization and your customers.
Last but not least, what is your favorite CX metric?
Sales and number of exception calls/requests received.
