Finding Your Competitive Advantage In a Post COVID-19 Economy

As the pandemic transforms into an endemic we are all left with one big question, what’s next? This question is especially important for small business owners as we face an economy that has changed drastically and often over the last two years. Shoppers have changed how they consume products and services and how they determine which businesses they wish to support. To continue to thrive as business owners, we need to be sure of our next steps and how we can fit into the economic landscape of a post pandemic world.

In this virtual summit, the Wyoming SBDC Network has invited experts Dan Gingiss and Marc Willson to talk about determining how your business’ competitive advantage will help you move forward successfully.

You can also join us for a Q&A panel featuring our advising staff. Our regional advisors will discuss the successes they’ve seen throughout the pandemic and answer any questions you may have about your business and the future of small business ownership in Wyoming.

All Sessions No cost

Session 1: 10:00 am – 11:00 am   How A Remarkable Customer Experience Can Be Your Best Sales and Marketing Strategy

Let’s face it: Competition is tougher than ever these days. Competing on price is a loser’s game — just ask the two gas stations across the street from each other. And competing on product is getting harder and harder as almost everything is copyable — just ask your favorite ride-share company.

So what’s left? How can we stand out in a crowded marketplace that is constantly evolving?

In this fun and engaging keynote, customer experience coach and former Fortune 500 executive Dan Gingiss will teach the audience how customer experience can be your company’s ultimate differentiator, creating a competitive advantage that cannot be copied. You’ll learn how to: 1) identify the types of experiences people share most often and why; 2) apply an easy, 5-step framework for creating remarkable, shareable experiences; and 3) leverage examples from many other companies across industries that have been successful with these simple, practical, and inexpensive ideas.

Your business CAN compete on customer experience. When you create a remarkable experience for your customers, they become your best marketers and salespeople. The result is more customers, who stay longer, spend more, and recommend your company to others.

You’ll walk away from this keynote inspired to go back to work the next day with actionable steps to create a deeper connection with your customers. And Dan Gingiss doesn’t just talk about experience, he creates one for the audience, too!

Presenter:  Dan Gingiss is an international keynote speaker and coach who believes that a remarkable customer experience is your best sales and marketing strategy. His 20-year professional career included leadership positions at McDonald’s, Discover and Humana. Dan is the author of two books, The Experience Maker and Winning at Social Customer Care, and is the host of two shows, the Experience This! podcast and The Experience Maker LinkedIn live show. Learn more about him at www.dangingiss.com

Session 2: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm  Wyoming SBDC Advisor Panel and Q&A

Join us for a panel discussion with our advising and leadership team about strategies that worked for entrepreneurs in the wake of COVID-19’s effects on the Wyoming economy. Panelists will include the business advising staff that you know and love as well as organization leaders. Submit questions at registration and we will answer them live throughout the panel.

Presenters:  All business advisors, Jill Kline and Paul Johnson

Session 3:  2:00 pm – 3:00 pm  A Guide For Retail Renewal Requires Secret Sauce

In this webinar we will explore in an interactive forum, what opportunities lie in the wake of a tumultuous couple of years for small business retailers and restaurants. What are the trends and lessons we should take away from the pandemic and how to use them to benefit our businesses. I believe the wise business owners will succeed from merging new concepts with original thinking and practical skills. Develop your 2.0 strategy for the remainder of 2022 and beyond. We will take a macro and micro look at our current situation. It is time to back to what we do best, entertaining our customers with immersive, Instagrammable experiences, aka retailtainment, that must bring the brand alive in a way that digital alone can’t! That’s where your secret sauce becomes an integral part of your customers’ experience. Customers don’t remember what you told them, they remember how you made them feel.

Presenter:  A published keynote speaker, Marc Willson brings 4 decades of experience to bear helping retail, restaurant and tourism-related small businesses refine and promote their concepts to the public. In 1975, Marc started his retail career as co-owner of the largest distributor of Earth Shoes in North America. Since then he has held executive positions with retailers such as Britches of Georgetowne, Crown Books, Wilson’s Leather, Circuit City, The Bicycle Exchange, Ecampus.com and Storetrax, Inc. Most recently, he traveled to Dallas, Texas to open the world’s first energy efficiency store for Current Energy, LLC, a company funded by Ross Perot, Jr. The Willson Company was re-established in 2009 as a Small Business Strategy consulting group. Marc was contracted by the Virginia SBDC in 2009 as a Retail and Restaurant Industry Strategist developing into a small business revivalist. He has traveled throughout the country delivering the award winning STAMP program with over 500 seminars and assisting over 3000 retailers, restaurants and hospitality businesses.