If You Don't Take Care of Your customers, Somone Else Will

Recent history has seen the rise of innovation as a key mandate for driving top-line growth in business across multiple sectors. But as organizations have devoted increasing resources and attention to innovation, a critical issue has been ignored in the process. How can you create new value if your company doesn’t have a gut sense for what people outside its walls actually value? Is the challenge facing business today a lack of innovation, or a lack of empathy?

According to the Research Institute of America, up to 90% of dissatisfied customers will not come back or buy again. As part of the session, Jeri Meola will work with the audience to see how empathy can drive change and growth. She dives deep into helping organizations understand their customers–a critical element in decision making, learning, and judgment to support their vision.

About the Presenter

Jeri Meola is a founder and president of SMS, a market research business that helps educate organizations on how to understand and incorporate “Voice of Customer” insights into taking care of their customers.

Over the past 22 years, Jeri has partnered with industry leaders to foster true innovation, bring new ideas to market more successfully, and build loyalty to improve business results. As a trusted VOC advisor with visionary business leaders at 3M, Deluxe, Toro, Imation, and C.H. Robinson, she was recognized by the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.

Jeri is a passionate community advocate who has been a founding member and past Chair of the United Way Women’s Leadership Council, the past Secretary of WomenVenture’s Board, and past Chair of the Minnesota Council for Quality (MCQ). Current affiliations include Minnesota Legislative Committee on Early Childhood Education, Sales and Marketing Executives International, Minnesota Women’s Public Golf Association, Women’s President Organization, adn the Heart Association Go for Red Women’s Executive Team.

Jeri was born and raised in Ohio. She holds an M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Western Michigan University and a B.A. in Psychology from Edinboro University.