Tech in Motion: Orange County kicked off 2014 with hilarious and brilliant startup advisers, Shervin Talieh and Thomas Knoll.
Since the dynamic duo met through a discussion on Quora, they have been busy helping companies across the United States through their four-month-long speaking tour, Voice of the Customer. They finished off their tour right here in Orange County at the brand new tech hub and co-working space, the Eureka Building, in Irvine.
After an awesome hour of networking with startup enthusiasts and tech professionals, the group sat down to hear Shervin and Thomas speak about how everyone from small startups to huge companies need to make an effort to build relationships with customers. In a world of automated messages, they stressed the need to leave behind scripts in exchange for unique dialogue with customers. For example, next time you drink a sip of your favorite drink at Starbucks, think about how you felt when they made the extra step to know your name. As Shervin and Thomas explained, Starbucks does not take your name to increase efficiency, but rather to release the bonding hormone, Oxytocin. The nationwide addiction to Starbucks is a great example of how building a personal emotional connection with a customer will ultimately make the customer spend more money and refer more customers.
Taking an extra step to care about your customers doesn’t have to be difficult either. Thomas explained how his voicemail greeting requests that everyone who leave a message also answer a short question. Callers were asked to leave the title of their favorite book. Learning this small fact about everyone who called allowed a more human side of each individual to be revealed. By the end of the night, everyone in the audience was excited to try these new tips to make their own startup more successful!
Tech in Motion: Orange County would like to thank Shervin Talieh, Thomas Knoll, the Eureka Building, Workbridge Associates, and Jobspring Partners for one great event! Want to hear more from Shervin or Thomas? You can find them on twitter @calitalieh and @thomasknoll.