Blake Michelle Morgan

Customer Experience Futurist, Author, Keynote Speaker

How To Be A B2B Marketer In A Pandemic

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Technology doesn’t stop during a pandemic.

Because of that, VMware needs to stay connected to customers and showcase its multi-cloud technology.

But in the B2B industry, which is traditionally driven by in-person events and marketing, building relationships and growing leads virtually poses a challenge.

VMware CMO Carol Carpenter stepped into her role in the middle of the COVID pandemic and had to quickly move to virtual marketing. Although there have been challenges, she says B2B marketing during a pandemic has also had some positive impacts.

The root of Carpenter’s marketing approach is communication and data. She aims to over-communicate, both …
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How To Build A Loyalty Program In A Post-COVID World

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Loyalty programs are an important part of many brands’ customer engagement strategies, but yesterday’s loyalty programs won’t necessarily be successful today.

According to Francis Hondal, President of Loyalty & Engagement at Mastercard, the recent growth of tech, digital commerce and data have redefined opportunities for brands to serve their customers in the way they expect to be served. Those opportunities have changed even more over the last year with the global COVID pandemic.

One of the biggest trends coming out of COVID is the un-calendarized year, meaning that everything has shifted from when it normally occurs. Things like sports seasons, …
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How Birchbox Meets Customers Where They Are

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The beauty world is full of customers who love to experiment with new products, watch makeup tutorials and spend time finding the best items.

But what about customers who care about their skin and beauty but don’t want to spend the time finding and trying new products on their own?

These are known as casual consumers. They want to try new things but are often overwhelmed or don’t have time for the number of products on the market.

Most beauty companies market to serious consumers, making casual consumers an unserved market, says Ali Edgerton, Birchbox U.S. President. Birchbox was …
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How Urban Air Pivoted To Thrive During COVID

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Running the largest adventure park company in the country comes with challenges—especially during a global pandemic.

There’s no playbook for this type of scenario. But Michael Browning, founder and CEO of Urban Air, knows that speed and innovation always win, which fueled his strategy to react to information quickly as it came in.

Reacting with speed allowed Urban Air to not only survive the pandemic but to thrive and find new ways to expand and grow. 

Browning encourages his franchisees and staff to stay close to customers and get their feedback. Although the indoor trampoline and adventure parks are …
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How To Be An Effective Virtual Communicator

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A year ago, most of us were speaking in meetings full of team members or giving presentations to rooms full of people.

But those faces have now changed to boxes on a screen, and our messages have moved from in-person to virtual.

Being an effective communicator is a challenge on its own, but doing it virtually adds even more complications. According to Matt Abrahams, co-founder and principal at Bold Echo Communications Solutions, virtual communication only accentuates the challenges we’ve always had with public speaking. He says being an effective virtual communicator requires overcoming three challenges:

1. Getting and holding attention…
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How One Mom Created An Organization To Help New Moms

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Just weeks after Sarah Steinhardt had her first baby, she had to make a quick run to the store to get more diapers. On a New York City street corner, diapers in hand, she started crying. It was at that moment she realized how fortunate she was to be able to quickly get the necessities for her baby when mothers around the country didn’t have the same ability.

That experience led Steinhardt to create Welcome Baby USA, a nonprofit focused on providing at-risk and low-income mothers with the essentials for their baby’s first month of life. Welcome Baby partners …
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Branding In The Era Of Racial Justice

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2020 changed the world in many ways, including a renewed push for racial justice and equality in the United States. That demand must now be echoed in how companies brand and market their products. 

With increased calls for racial justice, Kirstyn Nimmo saw how she could bring her marketing expertise and experiences as a Black woman to help brands act authentically and impact racial equality. Nimmo founded Good Worx and consults numerous big brands on social causes.

Branding in the era of racial justice brings unique challenges, but also new opportunities to connect with customers and make meaningful changes.

A …
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An Innovative Approach To The Future Of Returns

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It’s a common experience for online shoppers: an item arrives in the mail, either doesn’t fit or is no longer needed and now must be returned.

But the process of making the return is cumbersome and requires printing shipping labels, packaging the item, making a trip to the post office and then waiting up to a few weeks to get the refund.

With all the advancements in customer experience and online shopping, the return process for many companies has stayed the same—inconvenient and outdated.

But an innovative approach to returns improves both the customer experience and sustainability.

David Sobie …
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Why Search Matters To E-Commerce Now More Than Ever

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E-commerce has seen tremendous growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But with so many customers going online, it’s never been more important for brands to make their products visible.

According to Sarah Hofstetter, President of Profitero, search is the hottest and most important topic in the e-commerce world right now. When customers shop in stores, they tend to browse until something catches their eye. But when customers shop online at places like Amazon, they already have a brand or category they are looking for. Instead of just seeing what’s out there, customers come to buy with an exact purpose …
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Behind The Scenes Of The Early Days Of Amazon

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Before Amazon became one of the world’s largest retailers, it was simply an online bookstore shipping items within the U.S.

But even in its early days, founder and CEO Jeff Bezos had a vision to build earth’s most customer-centric company.

That mentality still holds strong today and is a driving force behind Amazon’s continual success.

Colin Bryar joined Amazon in 1998, just four years after it was founded. Of his 12 years on the Amazon leadership team, he spent two of them working as Bezos’ Chief of Staff, where he had an inside view of what it takes to …
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