Latest news with #emotionalconnection
Hospitality Net
6 days ago
- Business
- Hospitality Net
How to Create a 'Remember When' Experience that Keeps Customers Coming Back
Why do customers go back to the companies they love doing business with? That's what we asked more than 1,000 customers in our annual customer experience research, and here are some of the top reasons: Employees who are helpful and knowledgeable A friendly experience (thanks to employees) A convenient and easy experience A personalized experience Employees who show empathy Customers can decide to return based on any one or a combination of these experiences, or anything else they deem to be positive. And as good as these experiences are, are they good enough to get customers to return? Recently, I read a MarTech article about creating emotional connections through CX memories and how B2B and B2C brands are winning over customers with 'memory-driven CX.' The point of the article was that, more than just creating a good experience, it is the memory of the experience that drives repeat business and potential loyalty. Some companies understand this better than others. Consider Netflix, which once a year sends its subscribers a 'What We Watched' summary of the shows and movies they watched. Or Starbucks, which sends its 'members' a free drink or food item for their birthday. These companies (and many others) have engineered a follow-up experience that recalls the experience, creating a Remember When Moment. This moment triggers a memory and hopefully creates an emotional reaction that gets the customer to want to repeat the experience. You don't need to be a big brand like Netflix or Starbucks to do this. Here's a simple five-step process to get you thinking about how to create the Remember When experience: Create an Experience Worth Remembering: If you don't have that, stop here and start working on your overall customer experience. Identify Key Touchpoints: Your journey map will help you identify your main interactions with your customers. (If you haven't created your customer journey maps, stop here and do so!) Enhance the Key Touchpoints You Want the Customer to Remember: Not all touchpoints need to be memorable. Sometimes it's just a few – maybe even just one. Identify these key interactions and engineer them to be memorable. For example, a restaurant might bring a small plate of chocolate with the bill, capping off a wonderful dining experience. Last impressions leave lasting impressions. Design a Follow-Up Campaign: Similar to Netflix, remind customers why they love doing business with you. Don't combine this with a sales pitch; this is meant to create the Remember When experience. Measure the Impact: Be sure to find out if the customer agrees with your memorable moments. Furthermore, determine if the follow-up campaign is working. I've written about the I'll Be Back experience. If you want your customers to come back, create the experience that gets them to do so. Then remind them about the experience. That will help get customers who say, 'I'll be back,' to actually come back. (Note: This is a shorter version of a similar article I wrote for my week column. CLICK HERE to read the original article.) Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep's customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at Connect with Shep on LinkedIn. Shep Hyken Shepard Presentations, LLC. View source
Hospitality Net
03-06-2025
- General
- Hospitality Net
EHL Innovation Rewind: Sarah Marquis on Why the Future of Travel Must Be Felt, Not Engineered
While attending the EHL Open Innovation Summit in Lausanne, we met with Sarah Marquis, National Geographic Explorer, to talk about the future of travel and what makes it truly meaningful. In our conversation, she reflected on the importance of emotional connection, the irreplaceable value of walking, and how real travel is never about technology but about presence, feeling, and being part of the natural world. Which technology or innovation do you believe will have the biggest impact on travel and hospitality over the next 5 to 10 years? From my point of view, the real impact will not come from outside technology. It will come from within—the experience itself. What I look for when I travel is a boutique moment, a one-to-one connection with the locals, something deep and human. I want to sit in the best coffee shop, drink the local drink, feel the air, hear the language, and see life pass by. Travel should be about emotion and diversity. That is what makes it magical. It is not just moving from one place to another. It is about living, breathing, and feeling a different world. That is the kind of experience we must protect and encourage. What would it take for us to stop compensating for our environmental footprint and start actually healing the system? So far we have approached this the wrong way. We want to look green but we often do not take the real steps to be in harmony with the planet. I can speak from my own experience as a survivalist and explorer. I have hunted for food and survived off the land. I have also made the conscious choice to stop taking from nature. On one expedition in Australia, I came to a canyon with only three fish in a pond. I was starving, had lost five kilograms, but I chose not to eat them. That moment changed me. It was the start of my path to veganism. The next step for humanity is to rise in consciousness. When that happens, we will know what to do. It will not be about ticking boxes. It will be about harmony and awareness. You have explored places most people can only dream of. Is there an ethical way for others to experience these fragile ecosystems? Yes, and it starts with walking. Walking is the human speed. Our senses are made for it. When we walk, we experience everything more deeply and disturb the environment the least. I have learned this over 25 years. Another way is to work with the locals. In Mongolia, I was guided by a Mongolian who took me into his family. It was a real experience. Involving indigenous people leads to more authentic, respectful, and meaningful travel. Travel takes time. It cannot be rushed. Do you think virtual or augmented experiences, like VR, can substitute or prepare us for the real experience of nature? No. For me, there is no such thing as a digital experience of nature. That is not an experience. It is a preview. I live between two worlds—one where I wear nearly the same clothes every day, and one where I am out in the wild, not washing for three months, living off the land. When you are really out there, unmapped, breathing the land, you become part of it. There is no substitute for that. Our bodies have senses. Our heart is our core. That is where experience happens. We cannot feel that through a screen. Instagram, iPhones, VR—they show us something, but they do not let us live it. Is there a right or wrong way to tell a story about a destination? Yes. An experience is not just about the destination. It is about what you feel. I remember being in Italy, in a horrible train station coffee shop at 4 in the morning. I had an espresso in a paper cup, and it was one of the best I have ever had. Not because of the coffee, but because of the moment. That was the experience. The smell, the taste, the tiredness, the place—it all came together. That is what travel is. You do not think experiences: you live them. About the EHL Open Innovation Summit 2025 This interview was recorded during the EHL Open Innovation Summit in Lausanne, where Hospitality Net joined as official media partner. The event brought together a global mix of thinkers and doers to explore the future of hospitality, food, and travel through open innovation. What made it special was the mix of ideas, formats, and people. It was not only about tech or talks. It was also about people showing up, working together, and sharing energy in real time. Key Figures 385 participants 48 speakers and contributors from more than 20 countries 7 innovation challenges collectively addressed 45 sessions 25 student volunteers 15 F&B startups letting us taste the future 1.5 days of connection, learning, and co-creation Key Insights from the Summit
Entrepreneur
30-05-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
10 Storytelling Strategies That Make Startups Impossible to Ignore
Stats alone can't achieve success; strategic storytelling helps startups stand out by creating emotional connections. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. The scene repeats itself at pitch competitions worldwide. Founder after founder drones on about features, specifications and market size. Technical brilliance is on display, yet audiences quickly disconnect. Then comes an outlier: a founder who begins not with metrics, but with the story of why their company exists. The energy shifts. People lean forward. They connect. This is the power of strategic storytelling in action. Related: Why the Lost Art of Conversation Is the Business Skill You're Overlooking Stories outperform stats — every single time Human brains are wired for narrative, not numbers. This has been true since the time language was born. People continue to tell stories that were told by their forefathers. But stats, not so much. Think about Patagonia, for example. They sell outdoor clothing. But if they'd only sold products, the brand would've barely survived. But today, Patagonia makes over $1 billion in annual revenue just because it connected its brand with the story about helping the environment. And this is neuroscience. Researchers confirmed that audiences remember facts wrapped in stories much better than statistics. When people listened to pitches containing either bare facts or narrative, 73% of people forgot about the statistics, while only 32% of people forgot stories over the course of a day. The takeaway is simple: companies that do not strategically deploy storytelling operate at a severe competitive disadvantage. So, how can you weave compelling narratives into your startup's DNA? Here are ten concrete approaches that successful brand storytellers use to stand out in crowded markets. 1. Lead with your founding frustration, not solution Every great startup begins with a problem that frustrated someone enough to take action. Warby Parker's origin story resonates because it began when one of the founders lost an expensive pair of glasses and couldn't afford to replace them. This frustration revealed the monopolistic nature of the eyewear industry, making their mission to disrupt it instantly relatable. Don't hide the struggle that birthed your company. That initial frustration connects more powerfully than any feature list ever could. 2. Position your customer as the hero Effective brand stories don't position the company as the hero. They cast the customer in that role, with the brand serving as the wise guide that provides tools for success. Structure your narrative so customers see themselves in the protagonist role, with your startup as the essential ally in their journey. This approach transforms your product from just another tool into a critical element of your customer's success story. 3. Create a narrative arc with tension and resolution Stories without conflict fall flat. Your brand narrative should acknowledge the tensions, challenges, and obstacles that exist in your market. Nike's storytelling doesn't showcase athletic perfection – it highlights the struggle. Their "Winning Isn't Comfortable" campaign focuses on sore muscles and early mornings rather than victory podiums. This tension creates authenticity that resonates with audiences who know firsthand that transformation requires difficulty. Identify the core tension in your market narrative and position your startup as the path to resolution. 4. Humanize your brand through vulnerability and authenticity Perfect brands create suspicion. Human ones build trust. Share the setbacks, pivots, and failures that shaped your journey. Authenticity creates the credibility that polished marketing speak cannot achieve. When founders openly discuss challenges they've faced, it builds deeper connections with audiences who appreciate transparency and resilience. 5. Turn data into a narrative with emotional context When you must share data, wrap it in a story. Spotify's "Wrapped" campaign turns personal listening data into narratives about each user's year in music. Rather than presenting dry statistics, they create an emotional journey that users enthusiastically share, turning data visualization into powerful storytelling. Find the human meaning behind your metrics and communicate that narrative rather than raw numbers. Related: 4 Storytelling Elements to Elevate Your Brand in 2025 6. Cultivate and showcase customer stories systematically Your most convincing narratives will never come from your marketing department. Develop systematic approaches to gathering, curating, and showcasing customer narratives that validate your value proposition. Create dedicated channels for users to share their experiences and integrate these authentic voices throughout your marketing ecosystem. 7. Create physical manifestations of your brand story Digital storytelling needs a physical touch too. Think of Airbnb. They've created immersive experiences that embody their mission of belonging anywhere. The physical manifestation of their brand story extends from their headquarters design to the events they create worldwide. Identify opportunities that carry your narrative in physical experiences that customers can touch, feel, and remember. 8. Align internal culture with external storytelling Brand narratives collapse when employees don't embody the story you're telling. Your company culture, hiring practices, and operational decisions must reflect and reinforce the story you tell externally. With this alignment, every customer interaction authentically reinforces your brand narrative, creating consistency across all platforms. 9. Evolve your narrative while maintaining core truth Your story should grow with your company, not remain static. TOMS has evolved its storytelling from its original one-for-one shoe donation model to a broader commitment to community improvement. While their approach has matured, their fundamental commitment to social impact remains intact. Develop narrative continuity practices that allow your story to adapt to the changing market as well as your changing business, without losing its essence. Related: Are You a Lost Leader? Get Back on Track By Following These 4 Tips to Lead With Strength and Conviction 10. Connect your brand to larger cultural movements The most powerful brand stories transcend individual products to connect with broader cultural currents. Dove's "Real Beauty" campaign succeeded precisely because it tapped into the larger cultural conversation about unrealistic beauty standards. With this campaign, they positioned their brand as a meaningful participant in an important social dialogue. Identify the larger cultural narrative your startup participates in, and articulate how your brand advances that broader story. The competitive edge of strategic storytelling Products increasingly resemble one another these days, and the only differentiator is your story. So, while competitors push feature development, you can build psychological moats along with features that others can't break into. The distinction is clear: you can either remain another forgettable platform, or become a memorable brand with a story worth telling.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
X-Origin AI Introduces Yonbo: The Next-Gen AI Companion Robot Designed for Families
X-Origin AI Launches Its First AI Companion Robot Yonbo on Kickstarter—Meet Your Most Understanding Digital Life Partner for Lifelong Companionship. LOS ANGELES, May 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- X-ORIGIN-AI specializes in the R&D of consumer-grade AI robotics, breaking the constraints of AI as a mere tool and advancing human-machine interaction from utility to emotional connection. Addressing the needs of users across all life stages—from children to adults and elderly people—it builds an intelligent companion ecosystem powered by personalized AI models, ensuring everyone has a digital partner that truly "understands them." Its first product, Yonbo—a smart AI companion robot designed for families with children—has completed development and entered mass production. This highly anticipated product officially launched on Kickstarter on May 22, 2025, already attracting widespread attention from industry observers and early tech adopters. Behind X-Origin AI stands a world-class team with deep expertise in robotics and global operations. Founder and CEO Dr. Li Yunzhou, a robotics expert and seasoned entrepreneur, previously led his team to win China's first international robot combat championship. The Vision Behind Yonbo: Why X-Origin AI Is Rethinking the Future of AI Companionship When asked why he founded X-Origin AI, Dr. Li emphasized the company's clear mission: "To empower everyone with a digital partner that truly understands them." It aims to advance AI-human symbiosis and pioneer a new wave of human-machine interaction. According to Dr. Li, X-Origin AI has built a hardware technology framework for the AI era, spanning system data layers, terminal tech layers, and application layers, enabling more efficient creation of "intelligent" hardware products. Current AI toys and desktop robots often offer homogenized functionalities, primarily relying on conversational large models. However, Dr. Li believes high-quality AI companionship requires emotional perception and personalized understanding to deliver genuine "emotional value." Simply wrapping large models in hardware shells falls short of true "companionship." The future of AI hardware lies not in superficially integrating large language models (LLMs) into traditional devices but in redefining hardware from the ground up with intelligence—leveraging LLMs' analytical power to enable hardware to "listen," perceive emotions, and understand contexts, then translating these into real-world functionalities. X-ORIGIN-AI employs an edge-side model control system to deliver personalized assistance, creating a system that interacts with LLMs. It processes the robot's sensory data to form bionic memories that mimic human brain logic. Enhanced by personalized memory and visual-modal data, this allows LLMs to provide more precise interactions, while the robot's physical expressions and movements enable higher-quality human-machine engagement. Additionally, X-Origin AI's self-developed, AI-driven operating system empowers developers to build diverse intelligent agents on the Yonbo development platform. Users will benefit from frequent OTA (over-the-air) updates, continuously expanding Yonbo's capabilities. What Sets Yonbo Apart in the World of AI Robotics? In the growing field of companion robots, Yonbo redefines "companionship" through a groundbreaking blend of emotional intelligence, personalized interaction, cutting-edge multimodal AI, and diverse content—including storytelling, gaming, role-playing, interactive learning, and a functional upgrade platform. Yonbo's core experience lies in its natural, fluid conversational ability. Unlike robots limited to scripted dialogues, Yonbo allows interruptions and dynamic turn-taking, making interactions smoother and more human-like. It listens, adapts, and responds in real time, just like a caring companion. Beyond that, Yonbo can "feel." Its smart emotion-detection system senses user moods and adjusts its tone and behavior accordingly, offering comfort, encouragement, or lively engagement. Yonbo's true uniqueness stems from its long-term bionic memory. Each night, it summarizes key daily interactions and selectively retains important events, user preferences, and shared moments, deepening personalization over time. Powered by X-Origin AI's proprietary Customized Lifelong Learning Model (CLLM), it tailors every interaction to individual personalities and needs. With fully integrated multimodal capabilities, Yonbo seamlessly processes voice, text, and visual inputs. It recognizes objects, interprets facial expressions, engages in games and storytelling, and even understands children's doodles—responding with empathy and emotional awareness. Beyond companionship, Yonbo supports emotional well-being. Its built-in psychological assessment and guidance system helps users better understand and manage their emotions. By offering gentle insights and emotional support, Yonbo isn't just a robot but a trusted daily ally. Combining empathy, intelligence, and adaptability, Yonbo isn't just catching up to the future of AI—it's redefining what "companionship" means. Summary of Revolutionary Features Multimodal AI: Integrates voice, text, and vision for holistic world understanding. Deep Interaction: Understands every sentence and responds with lifelike tone, gestures, and expressions. Long-Term Bionic Memory: Daily summaries key information like humans while filtering out useless information. Emotion Detection: Senses user moods and tailors responses for optimal support. Emotional Support: Built-in psychological assessment and guidance models to offer emotional support. Rich Content: Regular OTA upgrades deliver endless surprises. Looking Beyond Kickstarter: X-Origin AI's Vision for the Future After Yonbo's Kickstarter launch on May 22, X-Origin AI will pursue an ambitious roadmap for growth and innovation. Dr. Li outlined three key priorities: Advance Core Tech: Strengthen edge-side multimodal AI's analytical power and hardware feedback, optimizing emotional interaction and bionic memory. Global Expansion: Leverage Kickstarter momentum to enter major markets (especially the U.S. and Europe) via e-commerce and localized support. Developer Community Growth: By opening its OS interfaces, X-Origin invites developers to co-create a robust ecosystem integrating hardware, content, and services—unlocking new user experiences. Looking ahead, X-Origin's ambitions extend far beyond children's robotics. With its personalized AI models, the company envisions a full-scenario product line for all ages, delivering a digital companion that truly "gets you." Through these strategies, X-Origin AI is poised to lead a new wave in consumer AI robotics—redefining daily companionship and bringing emotionally intelligent machines closer to reality. X-Origin Yonbo is now live on Kickstarter, with exclusive discounts for early backers: View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE X-Origin
Forbes
25-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Memory-Driven CX: Creating A 'Remember When' Experience That Drives Loyalty
Helpful employees play a key role in bringing customers back. Why do customers come back to the places where they love to do business? Our annual customer experience research ranked the top experiences that get customers to come back: The decision to come back could include any one of these or a combination of items on this list—or anything else that the customer experiences the first or last time they did business with the company or brand. The point is that it's not the experience itself that drives loyalty—it's the memory of the experience that truly determines loyalty. This subtle but powerful distinction explains why some businesses enjoy fierce loyalty. The customer's memory creates an emotional connection that transforms a simple transaction into one of many interactions—in other words, a repeat and/or loyal customer. A recent MarTech article about creating these emotional connections through CX memories and how B2B and B2C brands are winning over customers with 'memory-driven CX' included some compelling ideas that validate this concept. The article emphasized the power of a sentence that starts with the words, 'Remember when. …' It turns out that the memory of a good experience can boost dopamine in the brain, and the result is that customers are more likely to trust and stay with the brand. And that is the basis of an emotional connection. Dopamine is a chemical the brain releases that makes you feel good. This chemical release potentially happens twice: during the actual interaction with the brand and when the customer recalls the interaction at a later time and date. This doesn't happen by accident. Just as a brand can be purposeful about giving the customer an experience worthy of remembering, it can also be purposeful about getting the customer to recall the experience. Certain companies have done this at scale. Chewy, the online pet supply retailer, sends birthday cards to its customers' pets. The cards are often personalized with the pet's name. Starbucks sends its 'members' a free drink or food item for their birthday. It also celebrates 'coffee anniversaries,' reminding customers of when they first joined its rewards program. Netflix sends a 'What We Watched' summary of what its subscribers have watched in the past year. You don't have to be a recognizable brand to do this. Any size company—in any industry—can do the same with a little thought and this five-step process: When customers are excited about their experience, they say, 'I'll be back.' Taking that to the next level is doing something that gets the customer to think back on the experience, creating a 'Remember When' dopamine reaction moment. That reinforces the original (or last) experience the customer had with you. By deliberately creating experiences worth remembering and then helping customers remember those memories, you are increasing the chances of the customer coming back. And the more they come back, the more likely they are to become a coveted loyal customer.
