The Fine Art of Memory Sculpting reveals the surprising science behind indelible impressions – teaching business leaders how to strategically shape customers’ perceptions and memories to create lasting competitive advantage.

“Disney World was specially engineered to be hell on Earth.” - Jon Picoult, in a keynote clip describing how Disney masterfully sculpts customer memories to leave visitors raving – despite long lines, high prices, and scorching heat.  (Watch until the end to see an example of how he customizes his keynotes – in this case, for the Dealer Conference of the world’s largest farm equipment manufacturer.)

If you are looking for creative ways to turn more prospects into customers, and more customers into lifelong fans – this keynote delivers actionable strategies they can immediately apply.

If you’re aspiring to satisfy your customers, then you’re aspiring to mediocrity.  That’s the fascinating premise behind this keynote, and it will fundamentally change how you think about creating a successful, beloved business. 

Jon explains why building customer loyalty requires not just satisfying customers, but impressing them – forging indelible memories which drive the repurchase and referral behavior that is the lifeblood of any thriving business.  With fascinating case studies and engaging stories, he reveals the 12 proven, science-based principles that legendary companies use to create truly impressive brand experiences – the kind that turn more sales prospects into customers, and more customers into lifelong fans.

Whether you serve external or internal customers, you’ll emerge from this program with specific, actionable ideas for turning your organization’s customer experience into its greatest competitive advantage.

A great customer experience is like a beautifully choregraphed performance.  As with any performance, an important part of this one involves what goes on backstage – in the work environment and with the leaders who shape it. 

In this insightful keynote, Jon highlights the parallels between how great companies cultivate engagement with customers, and how great leaders accomplish the same with their workforce.  He explains how leaders, via their own personal behaviors and the workplace constructs they create, have an unparalleled opportunity to encourage customer-focused behaviors throughout their organizations.

Lots of companies fly the “easy to do business with” banner.  Few ever actually fulfill that promise, as most consumers can attest.  In this fascinating talk, Jon reveals how great companies make it not just easy – but completely effortless – for people to do business with them. 

Using eye-opening statistics and amusing real-world examples, Jon explains why an effortless customer experience is such a rare and powerful competitive differentiator.  In addition, for versions of this keynote geared towards leadership audiences, he explains how to eradicate distracting, unproductive effort from the workplace, so employees can keep their focus where it belongs – on their customers.

The key to delivering a great customer experience?  It’s all in your head!  That’s because creating a great impression on customers isn’t just about shaping their experiences, it’s about shaping their memories. 

In this fascinating program, Jon describes how great companies capitalize on cognitive science to influence how customers perceive and remember their experiences, driving the repurchase and referral behavior that’s at the heart of any successful business.  From improving sales close rates to building positive word-of-mouth to enhancing employee engagement – you’ll find the principles outlined in this program to be invaluable.

In 2008-09, during the height of the Great Recession, Hyundai Motors increased its market share by a remarkable 40%.  Starbucks lost half its market value during that same economic downturn, yet emerged stronger from the recession, outperforming the S&P 500 by more than six-fold.

Just a few years after the Covid-19 pandemic’s Great Cessation decimated the air travel industry, Delta Airlines bounced back strong, delivering a shareholder return that was more than twice that of its peer group.

These are just three examples of companies that skillfully leveraged Customer Experience strategic principles to not just survive a period of crisis, but to thrive in the aftermath.  In this fascinating and timely program, Jon reveals the techniques that smart companies use to strengthen customer loyalty during even the most challenging times. 

Many businesses focus on what they do, but fewer focus on why they do it. In this keynote, Jon opens people’s eyes to the powerful concept of a purpose-driven brand – an organization whose “reason for being” goes well beyond traditional financial measures of success. It’s a strategy that’s worked exceptionally well for legendary companies like Patagonia, USAA, and Southwest Airlines. In this session, you’ll learn how to apply the same approach to your business.

Back in 2011, Netflix announced a large price increase and a spin-off of its DVD rental business. Customers revolted, leaving in droves. The company’s stock price fell by over 75% and took years to recover. In this amusing and educational program, Jon uses the Netflix debacle to illustrate key principles for successfully navigating both customers and employees through significant change.