Where they’ve spoken
Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba have spoken at hundreds of conferences, company events, association meetings, company seminars or their own workshops on how to create customer evangelists. (Read their bios.) Each works closely with event organizers to customize their presentation so it matches the needs, challenges and language of the audience and its industry.
Here's a partial list of some of the company events at which they have delivered keynotes or workshops:
Topics
Creating customer evangelists
It’s the holy grail of marketing: customers who evangelize your product or brand to friends, colleagues and family with authentic emotion and conviction. They are customers who put their own reputations on the line and have nothing to gain except, perhaps, happiness from helping someone discover the joy of your brand. Recognizing and finding these elite customers who power your sales is a challenge for almost any organization. The cultural meme of “customer evangelism” that authors Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba conceptualized in their book best-selling book “Creating Customer Evangelists” has spread to hundreds of organizations around the world that use it as a barometer of their marketing efforts. This entertaining and provocative presentation shares convincing evidence of why customer evangelists matter and how organizations can attract more of them using the right strategies and tactics.
In this presentation, Ben McConnell or Jackie Huba will explain:
- The correlation between customer evangelism and revenue growth
- The 7 clues to understanding who your evangelists are
- The 6 strategies to creating more of them
- How example companies create and embrace their evangelists
The future of marketing: User-created everything
Newspapers and magazines are closing. Television and radio networks are losing viewers and listeners. If it seems as if the entire media landscape is going through cataclysmic change, you’re right. Traditional one-way media is losing its dominance to the democratizing principles of new media: outlets whose defining mission is for users to create and share information, including their experiences with products, brands and services. Millions of people are reviewing companies on Yelp, products on Amazon, services on Twitter and customer experiences on Facebook and MySpace. These content creators are citizen marketers, and they are changing the nature of what it means to be a marketer. This presentation explains why it's necessary for organizations to adapt to this rapidly changing cultural landscape.
In this presentation, Ben McConnell or Jackie Huba will explain:
- Why Google manages your reputation, not your PR department
- The 4 types of citizen marketers who create content about products and brands
- Ideal ways to connect and maintain relationships with citizen marketers
Word of mouth: The most effective marketing in an advertising-drenched world
Heavy doses of advertising may work for some of the world’s largest brands and their corresponding advertising budgets, but what about everyone else? What about organizations that rely primarily, if not exclusively, on word of mouth as their advertising? How do they compete in a marketplace where the typical American is exposed to 5,000 advertising messages per day? Based on material from their seminal books on word of mouth, “Creating Customer Evangelists” and “Citizen Marketers,” authors Ben McConnell or Jackie Huba present a framework for building a brand or company that’s worth talking about, from having the right purpose and values to developing the kind of story that people will easily understand and spread. Word of mouth that builds brands isn’t based on stunts and gimmicks, it’s based on a company demonstrating its buzzworthy values through the product/service experience. With inspiring and relevant examples, this presentation is the motivation for companies to start doing more of the right things that get customers talking.
In this presentation, Ben McConnell or Jackie Huba will explain:
- The cost of acquiring customers through traditional advertising
- Why word of mouth is the best indicator of revenue growth
- How a well-defined purpose creates its own advertising
- The elements of a brand or company story that spread
- How companies in various industries create word of mouth for their company
Social media and your customers
Social media is like the youngster who does homework while listening to an iPod, talking on a cellphone and updating a Facebook profile—all at the same time. There are multiple inputs and outputs. Nearly instantaneous conversations. Some do’s and a lot of don’ts. There’s also the sheer volume of social media sources: Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Twitter, and tens of millions of blogs, some of which are creating fast-rising stars of new brands, or helping older ones find new life—and new customers. But what if your organization wouldn’t know a Twitter if it pecked them in the head? Based on material from their book “Citizen Marketers,” which documented the rise of customer-driven social media, authors Ben McConnell or Jackie Huba explain this new playing field in easy-to-understand way and how marketers should be, or shouldn’t be, involved.
Booking information
Call their Austin world headquarters at (512) 495-9707 or email your preferred speaker directly: ben **at** benmcconnell.com or jackie **at* jackiehuba.com
What meeting planners say
"Thank you so much for coming to inspire our team. Your material was insightful and compelling. We were privileged to have you share your learning and wisdom with us."
-- Susan Sobbott, SVP & GM, Lending and Network Development, OPEN: Small Business Network, American Express
"Ben McConnell was a hit at the 2003 PBS Development Conference! Our attendees were captivated by his upbeat and inspiring
presentation. Ben crafted a presentation that was relevant to our audience and engaged them with the concept that was easy to grasp and
get excited about."
-- Anna Flye, senior manager of development, PBS
"Jackie was a consummate professional, came well prepared -- even conducted pre-event interviews with attendees -- and delivered a great presentation that people loved. I strongly recommend her."
-- Bill Lee, president, Customer Reference Forum
"Your presentation was absolutely perfect for the audience and the occasion. It had something for everyone, which was one of my goals for the series. You inspired several to sign up for the rest of the series, and the unsolicited feedback we've received so far calls your presentation 'the best program CABLE has ever had.' "
-- Karen Williams, president, CABLE
"When I first heard Ben speak at a conference here in Virginia, I knew he'd be a perfect fit as the keynote speaker for my own company's annual users group conference -- and I was right! Not only did his presentation get extremely high marks, but the extensive prep work he did prior to the conference received much praise from the customers and company staff he interviewed. His research proved especially invaluable as a basis for a special post-keynote session he led for our customer and company CXOs to explore the topic of "citizen-marketer" in greater depth. Next year's speaker has a very hard act to follow! Now I'm an evangelist for Ben; I've already recommended him to several groups who I know would benefit greatly from hearing his message."
-- Bridget Serchak, senior marcomm strategist, TMA Resources
"The information and insights you shared at our sales meeting were both interesting and inspiring. You gave our salespeople a renewed hands-on focus toward their customer communications. And your preparation was very thorough. It was impressive how you were able to relate to our brokers in their industry vernacular, and to speak to their situations knowledgeably."
-- Ron Brown, vice president of Foodservice Sales, C. H. Guenther/Pioneer
"The feedback we got on your presentation was sensational, and we're evangelizing about you already. Whoever invites you [to speak] is getting someone who does their homework and delivers big time."
-- Nora Nealis, executive director, National Cleaners Association
"As an event planner, nothing is better than having your customer (Z-CoiL) task you with tracking down Ben McConnell to be the keynote speaker for their First Annual Dealers Conference. I immediately read Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba's book 'Creating Customer Evangelists' and began to apply many of the principles. Listening to the message being presented live to the conference participants was an all time career high!"
-- Terri Giron-Gordon, GenQuest, Inc.
"Thank you very much for making your presentation available to our dealers. The feedback I've received from both dealers and Z-CoiL staff is overwhelmingly positive. Everyone is buzzing since your presentation! We thoroughly enjoyed having you as our guest speaker."
-- Andres Gallegos, CEO and president, Z-Coil Footwear
"Thank you for keynoting our conference. It was a smashing success starting with your amazing presentation!"
-- Kiran Balladin, Canadian Marketing Association
"Thank you for a great presentation. Nothing but rave reviews from attendees and staff. You got the audience involved from the beginning; attendees connected immediately and stayed rapt throughout the conversation. You were fantastic!"
-- John Capotosto, conference planner, American Bankers Association
"Thanks for your program Monday night. You have been getting rave reviews from the people who were there. Somebody stopped me in our (very slow) elevators yesterday to say that it was the best CoF program we have had yet."
-- Jody Lentz, director of outreach, Executive Discovery, and coordinator for Nashville chapter of Fast Company magazine's readers network, Company of Friends
"Thank you, Ben. Your presentation was compelling and educational, and you sold more books than any other author (at the conference)!"
-- Bruce Ranes, organizer, Integrated Media Assocation conference for public broadcasters
"Attendees said that the strategies you shared with them were not only relevant, but something that could be implemented immediately."
-- Kurt Thompson, district manager, Chicago, Administaff
