Customer Experience University - Winning Loyalty & Engagement One Customer at a Time
New York Times #1 bestselling author, Joseph Michelli, Ph.D., shares customer experience, leadership, and business insights from Mercedes-Benz, Starbucks, Ritz-Carlton, Zappos, Pike Place Fish, and many more. At The Michelli Experience, we help front-line employees, managers, and senior leaders deliver relevant and engaging service experiences. To that end, we provide keynote and workshop presentations, short-term and extended consulting services, and bestselling books to meet your needs.
Episodes

4 days ago
4 days ago
In this episode, Dr. Joseph Michelli explores how leaders can harness emotional intelligence (EI) to enhance their effectiveness and influence. He emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, self-regulation, and empathy in building team trust and loyalty. By practicing clear and empathetic communication and adapting to change, leaders with high EI can steer their teams through challenges with resilience and foster a supportive culture.
Dr. Michelli highlights that an emotionally intelligent leader excels in managing relationships and inspiring and motivating others, ultimately enhancing team performance and organizational success.
Listeners can obtain a detailed infographic based on this podcast from Joseph's website. Additionally, those wanting to speak to Joseph are encouraged to contact him directly. If you find value in this podcast, please like, rate, comment, share, or subscribe!

Thursday Mar 13, 2025
The Long Game: Building Sustainable Customer Loyalty
Thursday Mar 13, 2025
Thursday Mar 13, 2025
In this episode, Dr. Joseph Michelli discusses the importance of building customer loyalty for sustainable business success. He outlines effective strategies such as consistently delivering reliable service, engaging customers beyond transactions, and creating emotional connections through gestures like surprise and delight—a concept he explored in depth in "The Starbucks Experience." Dr. Michelli emphasizes that loyalty is cultivated over time through trust, value, and emotional resonance, stressing the importance of acting on customer feedback and investing in community causes that reflect the brand’s values.
Listeners can access a detailed infographic based on this podcast from Joseph's website. Additionally, those wanting to speak to Joseph are encouraged to contact him directly. If you find value in this podcast, please like, rate, comment, share, or subscribe!

Thursday Mar 06, 2025
Empathy: The Heart of Exceptional Leadership
Thursday Mar 06, 2025
Thursday Mar 06, 2025
In this episode, Dr. Joseph Michelli delves into the essential role of empathy in effective leadership. He shares practical tips for cultivating empathy, such as practicing active listening and understanding before acting and leading with compassion to build trust and inspire loyalty among teams and customers. Dr. Michelli explains how tailoring leadership approaches to individual needs and honing emotional intelligence can significantly enhance organizational performance and customer satisfaction.
Listeners can access a detailed infographic based on this podcast from Joseph's website. Those who want to speak to Joseph are encouraged to contact him directly. If you find value in this podcast, please like, rate, comment, share, or subscribe!

Thursday Feb 27, 2025
Building Loyalty Beyond Transactions: The Power of Shared Values
Thursday Feb 27, 2025
Thursday Feb 27, 2025
In this episode, Dr. Joseph Michelli discusses how brands like The Ritz-Carlton and Zappos cultivate customer loyalty through shared values and emotional connections. He emphasizes the importance of defining and living your brand’s core values, showcasing authenticity, and engaging customers meaningfully to align deeply with their values and needs. Dr. Michelli highlights strategies for building trust and celebrating customer advocates to reinforce their importance to the brand.
Listeners can obtain a detailed infographic based on this podcast from Joseph's website. Also, those wanting to speak to Joseph are encouraged to reach out to him directly. If you find value in this podcast, please like, rate, comment, share, or subscribe!

Thursday Feb 20, 2025
How AI Enhances Customer Experience Without Losing the Human Touch
Thursday Feb 20, 2025
Thursday Feb 20, 2025
In this episode, Dr. Joseph Michelli explores the critical balance between artificial intelligence (AI) and human interaction within customer experience strategies. Drawing from his consultancy with prominent customer-focused brands like Zappos and Mercedes-Benz, Dr. Michelli shares actionable insights on how businesses can leverage AI for efficiency while maintaining the genuine human connections that customers cherish. He discusses the importance of AI in handling routine tasks, enriching employee capabilities with AI insights, ensuring AI tools reflect the brand’s personality, and maintaining clear pathways for customers to reach human support.
Listeners can access a detailed infographic based on this podcast from Joseph's website. Those who want to speak to Joseph are encouraged to contact him directly. If you find value in this podcast, please like, rate, comment, share, or subscribe!

Thursday Feb 13, 2025
Navigating the Talent War: How to Attract Top Talent in a Competitive Landscape
Thursday Feb 13, 2025
Thursday Feb 13, 2025
In this episode, Dr. Joseph Michelli delves into the modern challenges of attracting and retaining top talent, drawing on his extensive experience with companies renowned for their people-first cultures, such as Zappos and Mercedes-Benz. He outlines effective strategies for building a purpose-driven workplace, enhancing employee experience, and maintaining flexibility—all crucial for standing out in today's competitive job market. Dr. Michelli highlights the importance of transparency and the thoughtful use of technology in recruitment, emphasizing that a genuine commitment to an employee-oriented culture is key to attracting quality talent.
Listeners can obtain a detailed infographic based on this podcast from Joseph's website. Also, those wanting to speak to Joseph are encouraged to reach out to him directly. If you find value in this podcast, please like, rate, comment, share, or subscribe!

Thursday Feb 06, 2025
The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership
Thursday Feb 06, 2025
Thursday Feb 06, 2025
In this episode, Dr. Joseph Michelli explores emotional intelligence's (EI) crucial role in leadership, drawing on his insights gained while consulting for high-profile companies like Ritz-Carlton and Mercedes-Benz. He shares how leaders can enhance their self-awareness, regulate reactions, and foster open communication, which collectively builds a culture of trust and innovation. By mastering EI, leaders can inspire greater loyalty and performance within their teams and customer interactions.
Listeners can access a detailed infographic based on this podcast from Joseph's website. Those who want to speak to Joseph are encouraged to contact him directly. If you find value in this podcast, please like, rate, comment, share, or subscribe!

Thursday Jan 30, 2025
Sustainable Growth: Balancing Expansion and Excellence
Thursday Jan 30, 2025
Thursday Jan 30, 2025
In this episode, Dr. Joseph Michelli discusses the principles of sustainable growth, drawing on his experiences with leading companies like The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and Zappos. He emphasizes the importance of scaling wisely—not just quickly—by staying grounded in core values, investing in people, and meticulously planning for scalability. Dr. Michelli highlights how sustainable exceptional customer experiences drive growth and involve balancing expanding revenues and nurturing relationships.
Listeners can obtain a detailed infographic based on this podcast from Joseph's website. Also, those wanting to speak to Joseph are encouraged to contact him directly. If you find value in this podcast, please like, rate, comment, share, or subscribe!

Thursday Jan 23, 2025
The Loyalty Equation: How to Turn Transactions Into Advocacy
Thursday Jan 23, 2025
Thursday Jan 23, 2025
In this episode, Dr. Joseph Michelli discusses the profound importance of cultivating customer loyalty in today’s competitive business environment. Drawing on his experiences with companies like Starbucks and Airbnb, he highlights that true loyalty extends beyond repeat business—it involves transforming customers into brand advocates who actively promote and support your company.
Key strategies covered include consistently exceeding customer expectations, fostering emotional connections, and offering authentic, meaningful rewards for loyalty. Dr. Michelli emphasizes the role of frontline employees in shaping customer perceptions and the significance of empowering these team members to deliver exceptional service.
Additionally, the podcast delves into the importance of leveraging customer feedback to build trust and using memorable moments to enhance customer relationships. These insights aim to guide leaders in creating a loyalty-enhancing culture that values deep, lasting customer relationships over mere transactions.
Listeners can obtain a detailed infographic based on this podcast from Joseph's website. Additionally, those wanting to speak to Joseph are encouraged to contact him directly. If you find value in this podcast, please like, rate, comment, share, or subscribe!

Thursday Jan 16, 2025
The AI Advantage in Customer Experience: Balancing Automation and Empathy
Thursday Jan 16, 2025
Thursday Jan 16, 2025
In this episode, Dr. Joseph Michelli explores the critical role of artificial intelligence (AI) in enhancing customer experience while emphasizing the importance of preserving human connections. He discusses how AI can streamline operations and personalize customer interactions but warns against allowing it to replace genuine human empathy. The episode outlines strategies for integrating AI to augment human efforts, ensuring that technology enhances rather than detracts from customer relationships.
Dr. Michelli provides insights on using AI for routine tasks while allocating more complex, emotionally sensitive interactions to human staff. He also stresses the importance of transparency in AI applications, training for staff on AI collaboration, and continuously iterating AI tools based on customer feedback to better align with company values and customer expectations.
Listeners can access a detailed infographic based on this podcast from Joseph's website. Those who want to speak to Joseph are encouraged to contact him directly. If you find value in this podcast, please like, rate, comment, share, or subscribe!

Retain Customers & Gain Referrals
If you are a customer experience professional, business leader, or entrepreneur with limited time for podcasts, Customer Experience University is for you! These 3 to 5-minute weekly episodes are designed to help you think and act in ways increase customer loyalty and drive word-of-mouth business.