Customers come first, says the good George

Sneak peek into Branded Customer Experience workshop
George Aveling is Group CEO and International Partner of TMI, TACK International in Malaysia and digital learning consultancy, Elementrix. He is a mentor to senior leaders, an organisational leader, writer and a well-respected consultant. Hailing from the land down under, this self-confessed durian and chilli-padi lover has made Malaysia his home for the last 13 years.
MARKETING asked him for an overview about branded customer experience and his workshop on March 26.

What attracted you to the customer experience industry?
I basically felt the idea of training the customer experience industry was an interesting one. Currently, I am transitioning into helping companies with their customer experience culture.
Who is your biggest inspiration when it comes to marketing?
My biggest inspiration is that marketing creates love. An example is the Apple brand. People don’t own Apple, they are disciples of Apple. So even if there is a slight issue with the product, people still love the brand. It’s like a child, no matter how naughty the child is your love is still there.
What are your benchmarks in the customer experience journey?
My benchmark is companies who focus on their customers. I realise that companies that focus on the delivering customer experience tend to be international organizations. Take Amazon as an example. Jeff Bezos, the founder preaches the importance of customer experience and Amazon is constantly coming up with ways to improve this.
I’ve visited Zappos, and they define themselves as a customer experience company. The same goes for companies like Hilton and The Ritz Carlton. Not only do they pay attention to the customer experience, but also to their employees. And it is a well-known fact that happy employees lead to happy customers, which in the end leads to happy shareholders. You achieve sales when you place the customer in the middle of everything.
How much is corporate culture part of the branded customer experience?
Everything. Fundamentally, culture makes the life of management easier. Culture creates a norm of behaviour within the organisation.
What’s in store at your workshop on March 26?
Organisations build brands. Branding and expectations are just half of it. I will be touching on the other half, which is how to maximise the investment that people have come to know as the brand promise.
What do you love about Malaysia?
I look at Malaysia through tourist’s eyes. It’s an exotic country and I enjoy working with the people here. It’s like a sizzling potpourri – the environment, the vibrant culture, the people and the food. When my friends come over, I bring them for the “George Tour” which basically starts at Starhill Gallery and goes through the famous Jalan Alor. And every visitor always tells me they love my tour.
The Branded Customer Experience workshop conducted by George Aveling will be held at the Sime Darby Convention Centre on 26 March 2018. Register by calling Ruby at 03 7726 2588 or [email protected]
Download the pdf here