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Ken Schmidt
Former Director of Communications Strategy for Harley-Davidson Motor Company
Ken Schmidt
Former Director of Communications Strategy for Harley-Davidson Motor Company
Biography
When customers can’t associate any positive human qualities among possible suppliers, they know they can buy from anyone and be satisfied with what they get (quick: name an industry where this isn’t reality).
Instead of fighting this dynamic, most businesses roll over, mimic their competitors, use price as a weapon and unwittingly weaken their competitiveness — along with any chance of creating customer loyalty. Which means, in every industry, the doors are wide open for dominators to emerge.
This is a dynamic Ken knows intimately and capitalized on in his leadership role in the against-all-odds turnaround of Harley-Davidson Motor Company. In his supercharged, high-energy speeches, Ken inspires companies and individuals to become dominant competitors by becoming memorable – not for what they make or do, but for who they are. In more than 1,000 keynotes around the world, he’s shared his proven techniques for harnessing simple drivers of human behavior to create customer experiences that delight, build reputations, fuel preference and foster tattoo-worthy levels of loyalty.
He’s the author of Make Some Noise: The Unconventional Road to Dominance, host of the Tailgating with Geniuses podcast and co-founder of Torque Sessions Leadership Training. In everything he does, he lives by his credo of, “Never do what’s expected, make yourself as noticeably different as possible and have a lot more fun than you’re supposed to.”
Speaker Videos
Ken Schmidt: Make Some Noise Philosophy
Ken Schmidt: 3 Questions Drove Harley Davidson Turnaround
Speech Topics
Make Some Noise: Change Directions, Open The Throttle & Dominate Your Marketplace
“Being known for what you do – no matter how well you do it – makes you a replaceable commodity,” says Ken Schmidt. “Competitive dominance comes when your market knows you for who you are, associates you with positive human attributes and rewards you with their loyalty.” This talk is rooted in the highly unconventional ideas that drove Harley-Davidson’s transformation and unlikely return to dominance, as Ken and his team shifted the company away from its commoditized “product-first” mindset to a fiercely committed “people-first” mindset that takes advantage of key drivers of human behavior. Ken’s high energy, humor, amazing visuals and actionable take-aways abound as he shows businesses of every size and scope how to tap into the behavioral drivers that ignite employee and customer passion, build marketplace preference and fuel tattoo-worthy levels of customer loyalty.
AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS
- Discover the three questions that most directly impact your reputation and competitiveness
- Transform your company mindset toward being known for who you are vs. what you do
- Master how to harness drivers of human behavior to create preference and loyalty
- Uncover the secret to being memorable so customers refer you to others
- Learn the true meaning of misunderstood terms like “customer experience” and “loyalty”
Building Tattoo-Worthy Customer Relationships
We’re not wired to be loyal to products or services, no matter how well they perform. We’re only capable of being loyal to people and to well-managed brands that successfully humanize their presence by creating emotional resonance with us – even if our prices are higher. It’s time for your customers to evolve from “folks who buy from us,” into “loyal friends who recommend us without being asked,” which means your relationships with them have to evolve from superficial to meaningfully permanent. Customers come and go, but loyalists, like Harley-Davidson tattoos, become part of you and never leave.
Fierce Loyalty: Dominating in a Commoditized Market
When customers care more about what they’re paying than who they’re buying from, businesses lower prices to stay in the mix and leaders ask, “Whatever happened to loyalty?” They ask the same question as they struggle to attract and keep employees in the era of the “Big Quit.” The problem is clear: Businesses of all sizes need to understand the drivers of loyalty and how to harness them if they’re going to be dominant in increasingly commoditized, hard-to-hire market spaces. This is a how-to, natural follow-up to any of Ken’s presentations.
Thrive Among Thorns: Untapped Growth Opportunities for Financial Services
Ken Schmidt’s most requested topic from financial industry clients. With little differentiation among competitors, it’s no wonder potential clients opt to work with “whoever’s closest to my house,” instead of “whoever can best serve my needs.” Or stay away altogether. Where others see futility, there are unprecedented opportunities for growth. Here’s how to change the culture of your financial services business to stand out, create demand and client loyalty in your local markets, fuel marketplace advocacy and take advantage of the look-alike/act-alike competitive environment.
Rev Up Your Reputation: Be Memorable, Preferred & Talked About
What does it take to get your customers to share compelling stories about your business and recommend it to others? Specifically, what would you want them to say? Engaging stories, paired with distinct and unexpected language, are highly memorable and help shape perceptions, boost advocacy, and drive demand. Ken Schmidt knows that powerful stories are essential for distancing your business from competitors and building a rock-solid reputation. In this presentation, Schmidt outlines simple, actionable strategies for companies to develop their own distinctive voice and create stories that resonate, leading to lasting differentiation and loyal, vocal customers. What are your customers saying about you right now?
AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS
- Elevate the likeability of your business by crafting stories that delight customers
- Uncover the three core elements behind every memorable story that’s ever been told
- Learn how to craft vocabulary that breathes new life into the seemingly familiar or mundane
- Find your three most memorable and distinguishing storylines
- Discover simple tools that encourage employees to become storytellers
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