Customer Contact Week Wrapped Up Its 26th in Las Vegas

Photo byCCW

Esteemed Business Moguls Martha Stewart and Jon Taffer Took The Main Stage At CCW Vegas To Share Insights and Expertise

Customer Contact Week (CCW), the leading hub for customer service professionals, wrapped up its highly anticipated 26th CCW Vegas conference at the esteemed Caesars Forum in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hosted by Customer Management Practice (CMP), and renowned for delivering exceptional experiences, CCW offered attendees access to top-tier keynote speakers, interactive workshops aimed at expanding innovative and groundbreaking skill sets, and extensive networking opportunities.

This year, prestigious keynote speakers included Business Mogul Martha Stewart, Host of Bar Rescue Jon Taffer, BoomChickaPop Founder Angie Bastian, Mint Mobile David Glickman CEO, and more. Below is a recap highlighting the most notable keynotes and sessions during the conference from June 3-6.

CCW Vegas continues to empower our attendees to push the boundaries of innovation and excellence in the customer contact space. It’s an honor to witness the collaborative spirit and the exchange of ideas that define this conference year after year. - Mario Matulich, President of Customer Management Practice (CMP)

Keynotes

CCW Vegas’s main stage featured several keynotes from renowned business leaders, such as:

· Martha Stewart: With her abundant experience as a successful entrepreneur, Martha Stewart’s keynote provided attendees with valuable insights into cultivating authentic, enduring relationships in business. She revealed her secrets to creating resonant and lasting connections with customers.

“I’ve always embraced technology. I’ve listened and adopted. It’s helped me tremendously to build a company and continuously adapt to what’s happening around me.”

“Whatever you can do to make a customer feel treated well is most important, and because I led with that, I have millions of followers and satisfied customers. It’s hard, but it works.”

· Jon Taffer: Bar Rescue’s Jon Taffer, a renowned award-winning hospitality expert, shared one-of-a-kind insights on leadership, innovation, and an entrepreneurial spirit in today’s business environment. Jon’s keynote left attendees with actionable tips for staying relevant and competitive.

“You have AI; the industry is changing. We need to be nimble. If you don’t do things fast, you will be left behind. That’s the world we live in today. Everything you do, give just 10% more. It’s another year of revenue and training results if we can accomplish it. Find that 10 percent. It will make all the difference in your customer service.”

· Angie Bastian: BoomChickaPop Founder Angie Bastian had a conversation that underscored the importance of empowered workplace culture, fueling brand and team success. She offered real-world insights on making impactful business decisions, nurturing strong customer relationships, and fostering a vibrant company ethos.

“We believe in ourselves, but if we’re going to succeed, it’s on us to find a way for others to believe in us too. To have vendors care to deliver on time, to have customers tell us what needs to be changed. We needed investors to believe in us and our team, and mostly, we needed to care for our employees who, in return, would care about our business.”

· David Glickman: Mint Mobile’s CEO, David Glickman, imparted to attendees how he redefined the mobile service landscape with affordable customer-centric innovations that revolutionized the telecom industry.

“When you bring in smart and passionate people, you need them to harness the power of self-actualization. Enabling employees to realize their potential through self-actualization is critical.”

I believe in brands that help people. That puts the customer first with a fantastic profit, excellent service, and best-in-class prices. I think you can’t have a hype growth company without those elements.

· Andrea Jung: Andrea Jung, the longest-serving female CEO in the Fortune 500 at Avon and current President of Grameen America, shared her approaches to modernizing how companies interact with their customers. She provided valuable lessons from her tenure at Avon, where she pioneered a shift towards a dynamic, inclusive brand and harnessed digital technology for expansive customer reach.

“Fire yourself on Friday and rehire yourself on Monday morning. We are all running, driving, creating strategies. Yet, if somebody new came in, they’d look at things differently than people who have been there for a long time. Every day, you should come in and say what got me here isn’t necessarily going to get me there. Transformation is necessary. Once leaders embrace change, the future is quite endless.”

Main Stage Panels

CCW Vegas hosted several main-stage panels featuring insights from active C-Suite leaders. Sessions included:

“The AI and Contextual Data Revolution: Strategies Redefining A New Era Of CX”

· In this session, C-Suite leaders, including Steve Blood, VP of Market Intelligence at Five9, and Lori Bradshaw, Managing Director of Guest CARE at Alaskan Airlines, shared the best practices and expert strategies to leverage contextual data and AI for improved personalized experiences. They explained that It’s no longer just about automating interactions; forward-leaning brands use AI to enhance and power the consumer journey.

“The Future Is Now: How Generative AI Is Reshaping Contact Centers”

· In this panel, ABC News’ Rebecca Jarvis spoke with Jeff Comstock, CVP of Dynamics 365 Customer Service Microsoft, on generative AI’s role in driving a revolution in everything from direct agent support to automated customer services. Attendees gained a rounded perspective, examining both the triumphs and the challenges of generative AI, offering a clear view of the essentials for successful adoption.

“Navigating The Future: Saying Farewell To The IVR”

· This session featured Munil Shah, CTO of Talkdesk, and Amber Scott, VP of Customer Experience at Tuft & Needle. These experts dove into the era of hyper-personalization and how generative AI can adjust content, offers, and recommendations in real-time based on the customer’s browsing history, purchase patterns, location, demographics, and even current emotions.

CCWomen Summit

CCWomen is a staple of Customer Contact Week as female leaders gather to network and discuss leadership strategies to further women in the customer contact industry.

· Sandy Ko, Founder & Principal of CCWomen, led a gathering of trailblazing female executives from across various industries to address the opportunities and challenges that face them in the customer service industry, as well as the future of the industry. Well-respected female leaders such as Radhika Dirks, CEO and Co-Founder of XLabs and Ribo, and Monica Rothgery, former KFC COO, led discussions centered on leadership and empowerment.

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About Customer Contact Week

Customer Contact Week is the premier event series in the customer care industry. Founded in 1999 as Call Center Week, CCW is now the home of customer experience. CCW brings together over 5,000 attendees, 245 solution providers, and over 250 expert speakers.

About Customer Management Practice

The Customer Management Practice (CMP) is a market intelligence firm for executives in the customer management industry and offers a comprehensive suite of events, research, marketing, and business development services.

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