Episode Summary
I’ve been collecting your questions all season long for this special Q&A season three finale! In this episode, my second-in-command, Alix Steinberg, joins me to ask all your burning questions. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the topics we covered:
- Do you think other celebrities and musicians have started to copy Taylor Swift’s strategies?
- What was your favorite CX story that came out of 2024?
- Do you have a pre-keynote routine you follow before you go on stage?
- My business is in its early stages, and I’m still trying to figure out who my ideal customer is. How can I narrow my focus without losing potential opportunities?
- What is the craziest thing that has happened to you as a keynote speaker?
- If someone only has 10 minutes a day to work on improving customer experience, where should they focus their energy?
- As a real estate agent, it’s really frustrating when friends or family choose to work with someone else to buy or sell their homes. I understand some people might feel uneasy mixing business and personal relationships, but do you have any strategies for making them more comfortable working with me? How can I position myself as their best option without putting pressure on them?
Check out these resources mentioned during the episode:
Customer Interactions You Can Easily Elevate to Create Superfans
5 Customer Experience Lessons from the Eras Tour
Interested in participating in the origin story makeover episode? Email hello@brittanyhodak.com
Listen to the Episode
Transcription
Brittany Hodak [00:00:03]:
Hello, and welcome to the Creating Superfans podcast. This is a very special episode, the last episode of season 3. You already know I’m Britney Hodak. I’m a speaker, author, and entrepreneur obsessed with all things customer experience. And all season long, I have been telling you that if your customers are not telling their friends about you, you’re in trouble. That’s why this podcast exists to help you turn more of your customers into super hands. And in this very special episode, I am answering questions from you, listeners. So I’ll be talking about some of the things that you need to know to win 2025, answering questions that you have about marketing, branding, sales, customer experience, and all the things.
Brittany Hodak [00:00:44]:
And I’m joined for this very special episode with one of my favorite podcast guests of all time, my partner in crime, my second in command who works alongside me with all of the things that I do, the one, the only, the amazing, Alix Steinberg. Hey, Alix. What’s up?
Alix Steinberg [00:01:00]:
Hey. Thanks for having me back.
Brittany Hodak [00:01:02]:
Yeah. Thanks. You are you are by far the most booked guest on the Creating Superfans podcast and I think one of the most popular as well. So thanks for coming back.
Alex Steinberg [00:01:12]:
Thank you.
Brittany Hodak [00:01:14]:
So Alix, you handle all of the things for me it’s not an exaggeration when I say all of the things and one of the things that you handle is social media and over the past gosh probably what like 2 months or so you’ve been asking people for questions, for feedback across all of our social channels and DMs when you’re talking to people about other things. So thank you for collecting and consolidating all of these fun questions over the past several weeks, and thanks for reading them, on the show today.
Alex Steinberg [00:01:42]:
Yeah. We got some really good questions. So are you ready?
Brittany Hodak [00:01:45]:
I’m ready. Let’s dive in, and these are these are gonna be new to me. I’m, hearing almost all of them for the first time. Some I’ve I’ve seen in my DMs when I’ve been poking around in socials, but, yeah, I’m excited.
Alex Steinberg [00:01:57]:
Okay. Question number 1 comes from Hannah, our good friend and guest from season 2 of the podcast. She asked, what was your favorite CX story that came out of 2024?
Brittany Hodak [00:02:09]:
Oh, thanks for that question, Hannah. That’s a great one. You know, probably my favorite story just because of how many texts and emails and calls that I got from people was the announcement that the government is mandating some of the things that have been really annoying to customers for so long. So the kind of doom loops of how long you can wait on hold, mandating how quick somebody is gonna be able to get resolution or to talk to a person, some of the things about making it as easy to unsubscribe from a service or opt out as it was to subscribe or opt in. And I love I love these for a couple of reasons. Number 1, because, like I said, people that I’ve not talked to in years were like, hey. This is what you do. Right? Customer experience, look what the administration is doing, or look what Congress is doing.
Brittany Hodak [00:03:00]:
But number 2, because it sort of gives people a reason to cheer and be like, yes, we’re doing some things, things that are so annoying, like, finally people are taking action. So I think that’s probably one of, if not my very favorite customer experience story of the year.
Alex Steinberg [00:03:17]:
Yeah. That was a great one too. That made me happy. Yeah. But do you
Brittany Hodak [00:03:20]:
have a favorite? I know Hannah asked me, but I’m curious, Alix.
Alex Steinberg [00:03:23]:
Do you have a
Brittany Hodak [00:03:23]:
favorite story from this year?
Alex Steinberg [00:03:25]:
Okay. One of my favorites was Starbucks. When they, came out, their new CEO wrote a message, and he said, basically, he wants to make the experience a lot more personalized again because it got so, basically, high-tech that they lost a lot of their personalization. And so I love Starbucks, and, I know they used to write their you know, the customer’s names on their cup, and they spell it wrong, and it was a whole thing. And then they went totally away from that. So I’m excited to see how they kind of go back to their roots and make it more of that unique cafe experience instead of, like, a really fast grab and go where it’s just really impersonal. So I’m excited to see what they do in 2025. And speaking of 2025, our next question comes from Susan, and she said, what’s one thing I can do in the new year to set myself up for success?
Brittany Hodak [00:04:15]:
Thanks for the question, Susan. You know, I I’m working on a newsletter right now about this this very topic, and I’m gonna give 2 answers because there’s 2 that come to mind. Number 1 is to ask yourself, what is the problem that is bothering my customers and prospective customers the most? Like, what is the thing that’s keeping them up at night that’s stressing them out? Because if you obsess over the problems that your customers have and find a way to solve them, to show up and help them, everything else will fall into place. So that’s number 1 is, like, what is the problem that you should be obsessed with because your customers are obsessed with it? It’s making things harder for them or or more frictionful. I don’t know if that’s a word. But, like, they they need a solution. Be obsessed with finding a solution to their problems. And then the number 2 thing that I’m gonna say is if you really wanna set yourself up for success, be thinking about who are the people or the companies that don’t yet know that you exist but need to, either because of your ability to solve this problem they have or for any other reason.
Brittany Hodak [00:05:22]:
Maybe it’s just people you really wanna work with. Something that I have done for several years is I go into every year with what I call my high five list, and the high five list, it’s funny. I named it that the first time years ago because I was like, I wanna high five these people. Like, I wanna know them and also because there were 5 people put that I put on the list. So I go into every single year with a list of 5 people that I tell myself by the end of the year, these people hopefully will be friends with me, but at a minimum will know that I exist and know that I can add value into their world. So think about who are 5 people that don’t yet know you but need to, and then start to think about how can you show up and add value for them. Not to reach out and be like, hey. Be friends with me, but how can you show value before you ask for anything? How can you position yourself so that those people, once they find out you exist, think, wow.
Brittany Hodak [00:06:09]:
They’re awesome. I can’t wait to talk to them. Let it be their idea, not your idea.
Alex Steinberg [00:06:15]:
Love that tip. Next question comes from Daniel. I own a small ecommerce business, and I want my customers to feel more connected to our brand. What are some simple things I can do to make them feel valued? Oh, I
Brittany Hodak [00:06:29]:
love this one. Well, congratulations, Daniel. I know it’s so hard to run an ecom business. I would ask yourself, what are all of the touch points that you can make feel special? I talk in my book about this idea of every moment either being a positive, a negative, or a neutral, and the overwhelming majority are a neutral. So if you have an ecom business where you’re shipping things to people, what does the experience feel like when they get it? Is there a physical package? If so, what are you doing to add some surprise and delight on the outside of the package even if it’s just a fun message? On the inside of the package, what are you doing? Are you sending messages along the way to let people know not just, you know, hey. Your package is gonna be here on Tuesday, but introducing them to some of the things behind the scenes. So maybe that’s the people who worked on what it is that you’re selling or the origin story behind what it is that your company does and why it’s different and unique. So ask yourself, what are all the moments that you or your product or service are in front of your customers, and then how can you take some of those neutral ones and elevate them into ones that people will either laugh or smile or chuckle about or wanna share?
Alex Steinberg [00:07:36]:
Yeah. And we’ll put in the show notes a link to a blog post we did, that basically lists the 10 overlooked customer experience interactions that, you can elevate. So I’ll put that in. Basically, talk about
Brittany Hodak [00:07:49]:
This is why I love having you. I completely forgot we did that, but you’re right. That’s a great resource.
Alex Steinberg [00:07:53]:
And I think that might have been our first episode of season 3. So there we go. Alright.
Brittany Hodak [00:07:58]:
You have homework, Daniel. Thanks for the time you did now. Homework.
Alex Steinberg [00:08:03]:
Next question. I was hoping we would get something about Taylor Swift, and we did. Jose said, do you think other celebrities and musicians are starting to copy Taylor Swift’s strategies?
Brittany Hodak [00:08:15]:
So, Jose, I think every musician, brand, entrepreneur on the planet has been trying to figure out how to copy Taylor minimally for 2 years, since she broke Ticketmaster, but probably many of them even longer than this. But here here’s the thing. The DNA of what makes Taylor successful can be somewhat studied, but not replicated exactly. And I didn’t say that very eloquently, but the thing about customer experience is that when it really works, it works because it’s unique and special to you. So, yes, everybody should be inspired by what Taylor has built, but it’s not gonna be a copy paste. And I think one of the funny things is how many people have tried to, like, make friendship bracelets work for their brand. And, yeah, in a niche way, that’s gonna connect to tailored audiences maybe, but the reason it works is because that’s something that’s organic and meaningful and important to that fandom. So you don’t need to be like, let’s make friendship bracelets, and then we’re gonna make 1,000,000,000 of dollars.
Brittany Hodak [00:09:17]:
It’s what is our friendship bracelet? Like, what is the thing that we can do to make our community feel connected and engaged? So for people that wanna look at Taylor and say, how do I copy it? A, there’s Alix. You may know them. I know we’ve done a couple of podcast episodes and newsletters where we’ve talked about Taylor and some of the brilliant things that she’s done, which we can link to in the show notes. But the question is, how do I show my fans that I love them the same way Taylor shows her fans? How can I make people feel as valued and as special and as part of the story in whatever it is that I do, whether you’re an entertainer or an entrepreneur or somebody working in customer experience? Like, how can you replicate the feeling, not copy and paste the exact strategy?
Alex Steinberg [00:09:59]:
Yeah. I love that. I think, something that Taylor does well is, like, she she and her fans have, like, sort of, like, inside jokes. Like, she’ll do subtle nods to them where it’s, like, if you know, you know type thing. Like, the friendship bracelet thing was from a lyric. Right?
Brittany Hodak [00:10:14]:
Yeah. And I didn’t think that, like, fans started doing it. That was something that Taylor came up with. That was a 100%, like, by fans, for fans, and by her. Which Yeah. That’s that’s a a great lesson is, like, social listening. Like, if you have
Alex Steinberg [00:10:27]:
a brand
Brittany Hodak [00:10:27]:
and you’re lucky enough that your customers are doing things, don’t send them cease and desist letters and say, stop doing this. You’re infringing on my IP, which I think most brands don’t do that now. They’ve, like, all been smart enough since in social media, but that was common. Like, I still remember 5, 6, 10 years ago, you would take somebody who was a passionate super fan of your brand and turn them into somebody who hated you by being litigious instead of saying, you are awesome. Thank you for tattooing your logo on my body. Let’s talk about how we can work more closely together.
Alex Steinberg [00:10:58]:
Mhmm. Yeah. That’s a great point. Okay. Next question comes from Sarah. She said, you’ve worked with so many brands. What’s the craziest or most creative customer experience idea you’ve ever pitched?
Brittany Hodak [00:11:11]:
Pitch? Okay. Great question. Thank you. Did you say Sarah this question is now? This isn’t well, so I I’ve pitched a few variations of I don’t I don’t know if I’ve told the story on this podcast or not, but when I was in college, I set a Guinness World Record, and it was something that I’d always randomly wanted to do. Like, I thought, wouldn’t it be cool to have a Guinness World Record? And then when a few months before graduation, my thesis project sort of fell apart, I because I’d been following this band, and we were gonna do this big project together, and then the band broke up. And so I was like, what is a project that I can do and hopefully graduate? And I had the idea to create the world’s largest Christmas stocking and fill it with toys for kids in need. And it was amazing because it led to me working really closely with Toys for Tots, which is an organization that I still, 20 years later, have an incredible relationship with. Just actually made a big donation to them.
Brittany Hodak [00:12:07]:
Today, I always like to do that in December and even throughout the year. So I, many times, have pitched the idea of doing a world’s largest, world’s most, like, mass participatory, like, let’s get the most people to do x y z or whatever. And that is, like, usually, I will have especially if it’s an event or a conference where I’m like, okay. What if we had the most people that could do this, or what if we made the largest this or something that has that sort of, like, crazy media attention component to it? Because I know from doing it firsthand, like, I set that record when I was in college, it caught on like crazy. Like, we were on the Today Show, and they talked about it on good morning with Nick. And we were doing all of these really fun things. So, I definitely have been known to pitch, like, a world’s largest or world’s most people doing whatever. And then the other thing that I that I oftentimes will say to people is, why don’t you have a mascot? Because I am a huge fan of costume mascots.
Brittany Hodak [00:13:07]:
Again, total bias, I used to be a mascot. My first job was as a giant bumblebee named Sting. But interesting and I don’t think I even told you this, Alix. I was at an event, last month, and somebody was talking to me, and they said, we wanna make a mascot. And I was like, alright. Tell me about why you wanna make a mascot. And it was a project they were working on on the side. And after listening to him talk, I was like, I don’t think you need mascot.
Brittany Hodak [00:13:29]:
Like, what? I I don’t think that adds anything. And he was like, yeah. But it would be so great. And I was like, yeah. But you just told me you’re targeting seniors, like like like older people, not like seniors in high school. And And I was like, I don’t think you need a costume mascot unless you’re gonna try to go to events where their grandkids are. Like, I don’t think that makes sense. And he was like, you know, I’ve read your book, and I can’t believe you’re telling me I don’t need a mascot.
Brittany Hodak [00:13:49]:
And I was like, I don’t I just you know, they’re not right for everybody. But when they’re right, they can be right in a big way.
Alex Steinberg [00:13:56]:
Very true. Okay. Next question comes from Rachel. She said, what is the craziest thing that has happened to you as a keynote speaker?
Brittany Hodak [00:14:06]:
I actually saw this one come through. This one, I think, Rachel, you are on TikTok. You asked this question. I’ve had a couple of crazy experiences. It’s always wild when there’s a big disruption and you’re on the stage. A couple of times I’ve been speaking and there have been Amber alerts. One time I was speaking, and there was a actually, more than one time, there have been fire alarms. But Yep.
Brittany Hodak [00:14:30]:
One time in particular, which, Alix, were I think you were were you at an event where this happened that time?
Alex Steinberg [00:14:34]:
Yeah. We were in Indianapolis a couple years ago.
Brittany Hodak [00:14:37]:
That’s right. So we were in Indianapolis. There was a fire alarm. And it’s funny because in the first time it happened to me, I realized everybody was looking to me like I was supposed to know what to do, and I didn’t know what was going on. And but then I realized, like, okay. Well, I’m, you know, I’m the one, like, on stage with the microphone right now. So this particular time in Indianapolis, as I’m I know you know, there was a fire in the kitchen. And we didn’t know that at the time.
Brittany Hodak [00:15:00]:
All that we knew was there was a fire, and they started making an announcement that everybody had to evacuate. So it was, like, 100 and 100 of people who had to evacuate this hotel, and we were on the second or third story. And so everybody had to, like, go down the stairs and out on the street. And then when we came back in, the meeting you know, I had said to the meeting organizer, like, what are we gonna do? What’s the plan? Because it was about halfway through my keynote. And she said, I want you to tell a joke about what happened and then pick up where we left off and go through it. And, oh, by the way, we need you to stretch and go longer because the fire was in the kitchen. And so now they’re trying to get sandwiches for all these people delivered from, like, a catering partner nearby. I don’t remember that.
Brittany Hodak [00:15:42]:
Yeah. They needed I think this was the one you’re at. I was gonna say another time it was in Vegas, but it I’m pretty sure this was the Indianapolis one Okay. Where it was like, we can’t we can’t dismiss people to lunch until there’s a lunch solution for them because the fire in the kitchen had made, like, the foam or whatever that puts the fire out, and so it ruined all the food. And so it was like, can you stay on stage long enough for now instead of, you know, noon or whatever? We’re gonna have to break at, like, 12:30, because they’re, like, hurriedly trying to put, like, cookies and oranges and, like, wraps and boxes at a catering partner down the street.
Alex Steinberg [00:16:15]:
I don’t know how I missed that one, but, yeah, that’s a pretty crazy moment.
Brittany Hodak [00:16:19]:
Yeah. Hopefully not a no more
Alex Steinberg [00:16:21]:
of those in 2025. Mark asked, my business is in its early stages. I’m still trying to figure out who my ideal customer is. How could I narrow my focus without losing potential opportunities?
Brittany Hodak [00:16:34]:
Oh, great question. Well, Mark, I would say number 1, ask yourself, who do you want to work with? Like, who is your ideal customer? And if you have worked with a few different customers already, maybe you’ve started to realize that there are certain problems that you like to solve or certain parts of a customer’s life or journey where you just feel more called to help. So start there with what feels good. A quote from Rory Vaden, who was a guest on this podcast Mhmm. Gosh, probably season 1, maybe season 2. Yeah. Yeah. A quote from Rory that I love is you are most powerfully positioned to serve the person you once were.
Alex Steinberg [00:17:11]:
I love that quote.
Brittany Hodak [00:17:13]:
It’s so good. Right? It’s so true. And for anybody saying who do I focus on or who’s the customer I wanna serve, especially if you are in a role where you walk alongside your customer. So whether, you know, you’re in sales or service, but somebody that’s not just, like, doing a transactional thing but really, like, experiential relational, think about what you’ve learned, what you’ve overcome. And if you’re in a role where you can help people that are trying to do the same thing that you’ve done, then that’s a really great place to start.
Alex Steinberg [00:17:46]:
Awesome. Catherine asked if someone only has 10 minutes a day to work on improving customer experience, where should they focus their energy?
Brittany Hodak [00:17:56]:
Oh, well, thank you, Catherine. Okay. I’m gonna give you 2 answers, and I think you could probably do on most days, do both of these in 10 minutes. So number 1, make sure you talk to at least one customer every day. I don’t know what your business is. Catherine, I don’t know if you’re in a customer facing role, but if you’re not, make sure you put yourself in a position to talk to a customer, whatever that looks like in your job. And number 2, write to one customer every day. Say thank you to one customer.
Brittany Hodak [00:18:25]:
So whether that is an email, whether that’s an in person interaction, whether that’s sending a thank you note, make sure every day you are showing gratitude to at least one customer.
Alex Steinberg [00:18:35]:
Okay. I’ve got 2 real estate questions coming up. The first one is from Joey. This is this can be applied to many entrepreneurs, but he asked, how can I stay top of mind for past clients so they recommend each their friends? So anyone who works with customers once and then probably not again for a really long time, how do you stay top of mind with them so that they’re referring you?
Brittany Hodak [00:18:57]:
Great question, Joey. So the role here shifts dramatically after closing. Right? Like, during the process, which, Alix, I would love to hear your thoughts on this because I know you and your husband, Aaron, are looking for a house right now. Yeah. So a lot of times, people go through the process of working with a realtor. They buy their house, and they’re like, cool. Done. You know, I’ll think of you again when I wanna buy another house or have a friend who wants to sell a house, maybe.
Brittany Hodak [00:19:26]:
Rather than having a shift where it’s, wow. I worked with this great person who helped me buy this house. I want to continue to have an ongoing relationship with them. Now as a realtor, the way that you do that is by planting the seeds of how you’re gonna continue to be able to be really valuable for them moving forward. Not like, hey. I wanna sell houses to all the people you know, but, hey. I know a lot of people who’ve moved into this neighborhood. I’ve got some great intel on the great restaurants to go to on the place that you, like, may wanna take your dog now for doggy day care because your old ones are across town.
Brittany Hodak [00:20:00]:
Like, how can you be helpful? So anybody who’s in a role where it’s, like, very working close together and then not because the sales cycle ends like in real estate, ask yourself, how can you make recommendations or referrals or introductions that are gonna be important to that customer on an ongoing basis until they need you again? Because you wanna have them save your number in their phone, think of you, be the one that they text when they have questions about things. So I think it’s really about establishing that you’re gonna bring value long term, not just for the thing that they just wrapped up with you.
Alex Steinberg [00:20:36]:
That’s a great answer. Sam had the other real estate question. So she said, as a real estate agent, it’s really frustrating when friends or family choose to work with someone else to buy or sell their homes. I understand some people might feel uneasy mixing business and personal, but do you have any strategies for making them feel more comfortable working with me? How can I position myself as their best option without putting a pressure on them? I’ve seen this quite a few times at different real estate groups. So
Brittany Hodak [00:21:04]:
I have had people talk about this too. And first of all, Sam, I just wanna say I’m sorry, like, this has happened to you. It sucks. I know I know that it sucks. I have a few thoughts. Number 1 is when it happens, don’t be afraid to ask why and not in a way that’s going to make your friend or family member feel, you know, attacked, but just say, you know, hey. I’m really I’m really curious what what was it about, and then whoever the person they hired, that made you think they’d be a really great fit for you? Because sometimes the honest answer is people are gonna say, I was embarrassed about my credit score, or I didn’t wanna have to see my taxes for you to, like, see what I make, or I’ve always been told that you shouldn’t mix business and pleasure. Like, a lot of times, it is not anything to do with your perceived performance or what they think would happen, but we tell ourselves that.
Brittany Hodak [00:21:55]:
Right? Like, that lie inside our head is, like, I’m not good enough. I’m not doing this or they hate me or whatever. Right. So the first thing I would say is when it happens, instead of just being, like, oh, that sucks. Now I can’t talk to my cousin ever again. I’m like, do the do the the thing that I’m I’m advocating for, which is, like, have the conversation. Something that I’ve heard people say before when they’ve talked about why this has happened is that they didn’t realize that family members or friends were, like, trying to talk to them about it, and they felt a little shut down. So for instance, if a cousin says to you like, oh, you know, what do you think about the housing market? And you’re like, I don’t wanna talk about work at Thanksgiving or whatever.
Brittany Hodak [00:22:40]:
Like, in your mind, something that was just an offhanded, like, I don’t wanna think about that or, oh, I’m so stressed out or I’m so busy, to them is you signaling, like, I would rather keep our relationship personal than professional even though you would never have, like, meant that in that moment. But it’s interesting how like, what’s what’s that saying? There’s, like, 3 sides to every story, like your side, their side, and the truth. Yeah. Like, things that in your mind that you, like, maybe don’t even remember happening. You’re like, what do you mean you asked me a random question at a football game 9 months ago that, you don’t remember happening, but to them was a signal of, like, oh, they don’t want any more clients, or they hate, you know, having to, like, show houses on the weekends or whatever. So, you should always ask. And then the last thing that I’ll say on this is I’ve I’ve had, real estate agents wanna, like, fight me over this when I’ve said this. Like, this is not designed to be, contentious at all.
Brittany Hodak [00:23:38]:
But, like, some of the things that people put on their Facebook pages, and I’m like, what are you doing? Like, why are you doing this? And agents are like, this is my page. I’ll say what I want. And I’m like, yeah. You can say anything you want, think anything you want, but just know that, like, the impact is people are taking anything that you say or do online and synthesizing that as like, is this the person I wanna work with? This is not the person I wanna work with. So, like, be mindful. For everybody, like, this is a great reminder for everybody, and it’s not this is not just about, like, political stuff. This is about, like, anything that you think in a in a moment is, like, maybe funny or, you know, like, I’ve seen so many real estate people posting we’re we’re, we’re recording this episode in in December of 2024. I’ve seen a lot of people that are, like, posting about the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder or, I guess, we have to say, like, suspected murder in ways that I’m like, what are you doing? Like, you should not be, like, pro murder on your Facebook page.
Brittany Hodak [00:24:40]:
You’re a real estate agent. So just be mindful of the things that you’re doing because a lot of times, when people aren’t choosing you, it’s maybe because of a perceived lack of etiquette of, like, the things that you’re gonna share in a space that you in I told you, like, real estate people sometimes come at me and are like, oh, why are you telling me to do this? Like, it’s a free country. I’ll say whatever I want. I’m like, yeah. You can say anything you want, but just know that there are consequences to saying what you do. So, that is and not to suggest, Sam, that’s why anybody hasn’t worked with you, but I know there are some people that I’ve seen post things that I’m like, oh, I will not be coming to you when I need something done because, you just posted about, like, a horrible client that you’re working with. Like, how can I expect you to be, to to have any kind of confidentiality with us if you’re literally on a public forum right now, like, complaining about somebody that you’re working with, like, don’t do that?
Alex Steinberg [00:25:30]:
Right. Right. Okay. I’ve got one more kinda longer question, and then we’ll do some lightning round questions to finish it up. So Theo asked, our marketing team is focused on customer acquisition, but I feel like we’re neglecting the post purchase experience. What’s a simple way to shift our focus and ensure we’re creating super fans?
Brittany Hodak [00:25:49]:
Oh, I love it. Well, the fact that you’re asking the question tells me that you’re already thinking about it. You’re already focused on it, I would ask yourself, what do all of those post purchase touch points look like? How many of them are transactional in nature versus relational or experiential in nature? So if the only time somebody is hearing from you is because you’re reaching out to sell something new, to upgrade, to extend the contract, or the only time they’re hearing from you is because they’re reaching out with a problem or a question, then that means there are probably a lot of opportunities for you to have strategic, intentionally planned moments that are about adding value, creating surprise and delight, extending the relationship. So and I know it’s really easy to say that and really hard to execute on that when you’re like, where where is that time gonna come from? Or, like, how am I gonna find, the the extra hours in the day? But it is so important. And quite honestly, when you can keep a customer, you save so much time that you’re not having to try to, like, replace that customer that left with a new one that I promise the time will materialize. So look for ways that you can intentionally say, what are the moments that we can love on our customers as they go through the journey? How do we operationalize that? Who on the team is owning those touch points? And then just have fun designing them. Let the team have ownership. I was on a call with an insurance company yesterday, and they had people who they had just gone through my 6 weeks to super fans master class, and they were talking about the fact that there are all of these touches that they’ve never operationalized before.
Brittany Hodak [00:27:17]:
And one of them was a like a walk through for, like, when somebody comes on board and they’re appraising things. And they’re like, oh, we should have a gift that we take of, like even though they’re not officially in the family yet, like the when somebody moves to a new neighborhood and you’re like, here. Welcome to the neighborhood. Here’s here’s your thing. So, look for those moments that are either happening, but there’s no pizzazz or aren’t always happening every time and schedule those out.
Alex Steinberg [00:27:41]:
I love those ideas. Okay. We’ve got a little bit of a lightning round. Number 1, if you were to describe your approach to customer experience in a single song title, what would it be? I think this is because a couple years ago, we shared an Instagram post, like, 5 Taylor Swift songs that describe customer experience, or I think we did, like, blink 182, or we made a few of those, which was pretty funny. So this person wants to know which song describes your approach to customer experience.
Brittany Hodak [00:28:08]:
I love this question. It could also be because every song title or every chapter and every heading in my book is a song title. There’s, like, a 100 something song titles. Okay. I want you to want me. Cheap truck.
Alex Steinberg [00:28:21]:
It’s a good one.
Brittany Hodak [00:28:22]:
I realize it sounds a little can I say thirsty on this podcast? I guess I can. But that’s that’s it. I want you to want me. We want we want our customers to want us and not our competitors.
Alex Steinberg [00:28:33]:
Love it. Mine would be All the Small Things because I think that was the one contribution I made to the song titles for your book. I think you had Every Little Thing is Magic or whatever. And then I was like, what about All the Small Things by Blink 182? And he made the switch. So You made That would be nice.
Brittany Hodak [00:28:49]:
1,000 contributions to my book, but that I think was the
Alex Steinberg [00:28:52]:
one song song, please.
Brittany Hodak [00:28:53]:
I was like, you made it so much better. But the the really funny thing too for anybody listening to this, Alix is about 10 years younger than me, and I didn’t realize how many songs there were with, like, vastly different songs, but the same title separately. And my husband is 10 years older than me. And so there were some songs that I was thinking about it. And, Alix, you were like, are you talking about this song? And I’m like, no. This song. And it happened the other direction too with my husband where, it was funny.
Alex Steinberg [00:29:18]:
It’s funny.
Brittany Hodak [00:29:19]:
And when we were making, like, the Spotify playlist of the book titles, I know there were some that you were like, okay. Which of these 3 songs called this did you meet?
Alex Steinberg [00:29:26]:
Yeah. I’m I’m also just, like, not good with song titles or not, you know, up to speed on music much. Okay. Next, do you have a bucket list of brands or industries you’d still love to work with?
Brittany Hodak [00:29:39]:
Yes. Number 1, NASA. Please call me NASA. I would love to speak to everybody in your organization. I am a super fan. Number 2, Doctor Pepper, just because I’m such a super fan. Number 3, Chili’s. Alix, I don’t know if you know this.
Brittany Hodak [00:29:59]:
Once upon a time, it was the goal of me and Jeff to eat at a Chili’s in every state.
Alex Steinberg [00:30:04]:
Oh my god. I feel like you’ve told me this once. It’s so funny.
Brittany Hodak [00:30:07]:
So many of our friends made fun of us. One year we did a Are they
Alex Steinberg [00:30:09]:
in every state?
Brittany Hodak [00:30:11]:
I no. They’re not. They’re in, like, 44, 45. But at the time, we were like, oh, maybe they’ll be in the rest, or we can just, like, you know, take it with us on a plane and eat it there. We never we I think we got to, like, 20 something. But 1 year, we made a calendar, and it was just us in front of Chili’s in different states. It was like, here we are in Hawaii.
Alex Steinberg [00:30:25]:
Here we are in Idaho.
Brittany Hodak [00:30:27]:
Here we are in New Jersey. Here we are in wherever. And our friends were like, okay, you guys.
Alex Steinberg [00:30:31]:
Oh my god. I love that.
Brittany Hodak [00:30:32]:
Yeah. So Chili’s, if you’re listening.
Alex Steinberg [00:30:34]:
Yeah. That’s a good one. Do you have a pre keynote routine that you follow before you go on stage? Great question.
Brittany Hodak [00:30:42]:
Oh, that is a great question. You know, I need to be more intentional about I just got back from an event with a great group called Impact 11 where we were talking about sort of rituals, and, there was a really great suggestion of, like, to stand up against a wall so that your posture is great. And I was like, oh, that’s that’s a good one and, like, breathing exercises and stuff. But, no, I think the closest thing that I have to a pre speaking ritual is I always record a video for my kids because a lot of times, sound check is, like, during when they would be going to school and I don’t get to talk to them. So I record a video where I show the room and then send it to them, which I know, Alix, you’re always frustrated because you’re like, hey. You didn’t get any videos of the room before for social. And I’m like, how do I always forget to do it for social? And I do it, and I know sometimes I have to send you the video of me, like, talking to my kids, and then you have to work your magic. But I’m gonna try to be better about that in 2025 and get you the stuff that you asked for.
Alex Steinberg [00:31:34]:
What was your favorite event you spoke at in 2024?
Brittany Hodak [00:31:39]:
Oh my gosh. How am I gonna pick one event?
Alex Steinberg [00:31:41]:
I know. I I’ve got one. I can Okay. You go first. Give you time. So, I mean, I don’t get to go to a ton of events, but when they’re in Nashville, I usually get to go. So we worked, for Real Annas. They came to Nashville, and I was just so inspired by all the women in that organization.
Alex Steinberg [00:31:59]:
Some of the stories that they told, I was just blown away, and I went home and was, like, telling all my friends, like, have you heard of Rialana’s? Because they don’t really exist in the northeast where I’m from. So they genuinely made me a super fan, and it was just a really fun event. Everything was pink. They had a Dolly Parton impersonator. It was just a really great time.
Brittany Hodak [00:32:18]:
That was a really, really good one. And we had Rihanna on the podcast after this, so we’ll link to that in the show notes too. Okay. I’m gonna cheat it. I’m gonna give 3. 2 were because of the venues where it was just like a pinch me moment of, like, how is this my life? How is this my job? So one was for Orangetheory at the Grand Ole Opry. Yeah. Another was at the Moody Theatre in Austin where they film Austin City Limits or ACL Live.
Brittany Hodak [00:32:43]:
Yeah. So both of those were just absolutely insane. And then the third one, I will say, very different, was at, like, a Hilton in Pittsburgh for a brand called Eaten Park, which hopefully I’ll have one of their executives on season 4 of the podcast, so stay tuned. Yeah. But what was so cool about it is they had their create a smile champion. So that’s one of their brand promises is to create a smile, and they are, it’s a it’s a hospitality group that has 3 different restaurants under the hospitality group. Most of them are this brand called Eaten Park, and they had people some of them had been at the company for 50 years. Some of them had been there for just a few months, but they were voted by their teammates as a create a smile champion for that restaurant.
Brittany Hodak [00:33:32]:
And it was so cool to get to meet and talk to and learn from and teach to these create a smile champions, but the reason it was one of my favorite events, if not my very favorite event of the year, is that there was a moment before my keynote where all of the create a smile champions came into the ballroom, and everyone from the CEO and chairman down were, like, throwing party poppers and doing the, like, noise makers and clapping and cheering,
Alex Steinberg [00:34:01]:
and there
Brittany Hodak [00:34:01]:
was so much music and lights, and these people got to run through it like they were, like, coming on the field at the Super Bowl. And then later in the same event, every single one of them was acknowledged, with, like, their picture on the big screen and letters being read from their coworkers of why they were the creative smile champion by the CEO, and they were, like, chanting everybody’s name. So it would be like, Derek, Derek, Derek for, like,
Alex Steinberg [00:34:28]:
50 people. Cute.
Brittany Hodak [00:34:29]:
It was so awesome. And to see I mean, the like, there were employees crying. There were employees saying, like, this is the best day of my life. I can’t believe this is happening. Everybody was filming it, and it was so cool. And you could feel the love that the organization had for their teammates. And it’s such a great reminder of, like, your brand is what it is because of the people on your team, especially the ones who are on the front lines talking to customers day in, day out, making experiences happen, and I don’t always get to see that side of it. Like, a lot of times, I’m speaking to the executive leadership team or the sales group, and while I love that and it’s amazing, it was so cool to get to watch this brand celebrate the amazing champions that do what they do every single day to make their brand so beloved.
Alex Steinberg [00:35:12]:
Wow. I love that story. That is amazing. I loved working on that event too. I just didn’t get to go. So those are some of the things that I miss out on, so that’s really cool.
Brittany Hodak [00:35:20]:
And they sent me home with, like, a lot of cookies.
Alex Steinberg [00:35:22]:
Yes. I was just about to say, I did get one of the cookies that you
Brittany Hodak [00:35:25]:
Dozens and dozens of cookies. Yes. They sent me home. Well, they have their very famous cookies that you can you can order online. They’re incredible. But they sent me home with 5 dozen, and I had gone to eat at a restaurant the night before just to get a sense of what it was like. And I bought a dozen of their, like, really good cookies. So that was probably my kids’ favorite event that I did of the year too, because we were enjoying the cookies for a long time.
Alex Steinberg [00:35:46]:
Okay. Last question is, which pillar of the supermodel is your favorite one to talk about?
Brittany Hodak [00:35:54]:
Ugh. All 5 of them. This is an impossible question. E. E, exceed expectations. That’s my favorite. Because there are always new things that we can come up with, and it never ends. Like, experience, never ends.
Brittany Hodak [00:36:06]:
We have to level up all the time. Alright. What’s your favorite letter?
Alex Steinberg [00:36:09]:
I will go with s. Start with your story. Because, anytime you lead origin story workshops where you help people develop their origin story, it’s always so fascinating. People are amazed. It’s just it’s a really fun topic, and you always learn a lot about people in the audience. And, also, I think it’s really important for everybody to work on.
Brittany Hodak [00:36:29]:
I love that one too. It’s funny. I call it, like, my party trick of being able to help people with the margins raised. And, Alix, I’m gonna go on the record and say you advocated for us to do an episode of the podcast Yeah. The season where we do story makeovers live, and we just couldn’t make it work with the calendar because it’s been so crazy. But I’m gonna commit to that for season 4 where we will have people have origin story makeovers on the podcast. So we’ll get a handful of people and we’ll record them, and it’ll be a really, really fun, cool session. And speaking of season 4, we are gonna go on a little bit of a hiatus.
Brittany Hodak [00:37:04]:
I have an insane travel schedule for the Q1 of the year, which I am very, very grateful for, but we have, I don’t know, what is it, 23, 24 events in the Q1? I don’t even know. There’s, like, a lot of speaking travel.
Alex Steinberg [00:37:16]:
Yeah. You’re so fully booked. I don’t know.
Brittany Hodak [00:37:18]:
Like, 20 something events. Yeah. So if you’re listening to this, I hope that I get to see you on the road in 2025, and I promise that the 4th season of creating super fans will be back soon. I promise it will be worth the wait. We’ll have the episode that we just talked about and many, many more interviews with some of my favorite authors and leaders who are working every single day to get their customers talking and turning them into super fans. So before we wrap season 4, Alix, anything that you have to say or anything else that we should tell our friends?
Alex Steinberg [00:37:52]:
If you are interested in having one of those story makeovers, please email us. You can just do hello at brittneyhollodak.com. I’ll put it in the show notes. If you have any other guest suggestions or topics, we would love to hear it. This is obviously for you guys. So whatever topics you’re interested in, just let us know, and we’ll try to fit those into season 4.
Brittany Hodak [00:38:10]:
Awesome. And I’m gonna say if you enjoyed this episode, please rate or review it. That’s one of the things that I always forget to ask for, but it is so important. So if you love the podcast, please give us a 5 star review. If you don’t love the podcast, please lie. I’m kidding. Don’t do that. But whatever whatever you think to show, please leave an honest review.
Brittany Hodak [00:38:31]:
Those help us a lot. And as Alix said, if you need anything before we’re back for season 4, reach out. Hello at brittneyhornach.com. We are always happy to hear from you.
