Shaun Smith

Shaun Smith’s background

He’s a consultant, author and speaker who believes passionately that customer experience should be a central strategy, not a short-term tactic. His influence has changed the way business leaders think about customers and in particular how they can achieve brand differentiation and long-term customer loyalty through the customer experience.

Shaun has been a key catalyst in expanding Management attention from the narrow focus on customer service to the much wider and strategic issue of customer experience. He has developed some of the latest thinking and practice around this subject, helping organisations worldwide create a compelling customer experience that achieves brand differentiation and customer loyalty. Over the last 30 years, he has built up a wealth of practical experience with organisations throughout Europe, Asia Pacific and the US, working with senior executive teams on key issues such as brand strategy and implementation, leadership, customer experience and organisational alignment. Shaun has worked within a diverse range of sectors, including both business-to-business and business-to-consumer organisations. These include retail, telecoms, travel, leisure, professional and financial services, technology, automotive, manufacturing and the public sector.

He is co-author of five critically-acclaimed business books:

‘Uncommon Practice – people who deliver a great brand experience’, researched and written with Interbrand, examines those brands that create exceptional customer experiences.

‘Managing the Customer Experience – turning customers into advocates’ (co-authored with Joe Wheeler) reveals how leaders can build this competitive advantage for their own brands.

‘See, Feel, Think, Do – the power of instinct in business’ (co-authored with Andy Milligan) explores how highly successful business leaders use the power of instinct to achieve results.

‘BOLD – how to be brave in business and win’ (co-authored with Andy Milligan). The book tells the story of 14 brands that are transforming their markets through innovating the experience they provide to their customers and their employees. The book (awarded the CMI Business e-book of the year) is accompanied by an app which allows readers to compare their own organisations with the BOLD brands featured.

Shaun’s new book, ‘On Purpose – Delivering a branded customer experience people love’ (also co-authored with Andy Milligan) will be published in November 2015. This book is aimed at leaders who want ideas, insights and practical approaches to define and deliver their brand purpose in a world which is disruptive and digitalised, where customers are increasingly demanding consistency across multiple channels and where consumers are favouring brands they admire for what they stand for, not just what they sell.

Shaun is also contributing author to The Economist’s Brands and Branding and author of the Employee Experience Survey and the Customer Experience Management+™ survey – research tools that enable organisations to evaluate and improve their customer experience and align their people with company values and strategy.

Career Summary

Shaun began his career in the airline industry working with British Airways in a number of senior customer service and operations roles. He became Head of Customer Service, Sales and Marketing Training worldwide for British Airways at the time the airline was becoming privatised in the mid-1980s and was one of four senior managers on the Steering Group that managed the highly regarded ‘Putting People First’ initiative. He later moved to Hong Kong as Managing Director of Cathay Performa Consulting (a subsidiary of The Swire Group) where he led a team, consulting with major organisations throughout Asia in the area of service strategy.

Whilst working in Hong Kong, Shaun was appointed as Group Advisor to Inchcape Group, consulting to over 30 business units covering marketing services, retailing, shipping services and motor distribution to help them move from competing on price and product to competing on customer service. Over the next five years he was responsible for designing and leading deployment worldwide, working closely with the individual BU Managing Directors and their teams.

Shaun returned to the UK in the late 1990s as Senior Vice-President of the Forum Corporation, when he ran Forum’s customer experience consulting practice. In 2001 Shaun founded the highly regarded customer experience consultancy, Smith+Co, which is firmly rooted in the ‘keep it simple’ ethos. Smith+Co has worked on customer experience initiatives for leading brands like Burberry, Premier Inn, PayPal, O2, Westpac, Symantec, Best Western, Waterstones and IHG.

Shaun has featured a number of times on CNBC and CNN and is sought after to speak internationally on key business issues. He has chaired and moderated events for a number of leading brands. He is a Fellow of the Professional Speakers Association and a Member of the Global Speakers Federation. Shaun was recently presented with the PSAE (Professional Speaking Award of Excellence). He has also appeared a number of times at the prestigious London Business Forum. His approach is refreshingly simple, authoritative and always stimulating.

Speaking and Consulting Clients

3M, Adobe, Arcadia, Argos, Ascott Group, Astra Zeneca, Best Western, Big Yellow, BMW, BP, Bright Horizons, British Airways, Burberry, Cable and Wireless, Carphone Warehouse, Care UK, Cathay Pacific Airways, Canon, Cincom, Citrix Online, Colliers CRE, Convergys, Clifford Chance, Dimension Data, EMC2, Estee Lauder, FIAT, Ferrari UK, FitPro, FNB, Generali Group, GlaxoSmithKline, Great Universal Stores, Harcourt Corporation, Holmes Place, Homebase, HSBC, IBM, IHG, Inchcape, ITT Sheraton, JCB, Kana, KIA, Leo Burnett, Les Mills, London Stock Exchange Group, Lukas Bank, Manulife, Microsoft, National Australia Bank, NatWest, Norton, O2, OCBC Bank, Omnicom, Oracle, PayPal, Premier Inn, Provident Finance, Prudential, PwC, RBS, Rentokil-Initial, Rexam, RightNow Technologies, Sainsbury, Salesforce.com, Satmetrix, Schroders Investment management, SDL, Serco, Shangri-La Hotels, SigmaKalon, Symantec, Sytner Group, The Hyde Group, TNT Express, Toyota, TOFAS, Transversal, UCB, Vidus, Vodafone, Waterstone’s, Westpac, Whitbread, YPO.