Whether discussing the future of customer service and marketing to a room of 5,000 industry leaders in Tokyo, chatting about journalism to an assemblage of college students at a conference sponsored by the US Embassy in Chile, or offering suggestions to NASA Director Charles Bolden as a member of the NASA Civilian Advisory Council, when Peter Shankman talks about the future, people listen.
Peter has offered his unique vision on the future of customer service and marketing in talks for companies as diverse as Saudi Aramco, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Hyundai Motors, and Taj Hotels, in addition to hundreds of other corporations around the globe. Peter is a frequent contributor to CNN, FOX News, and CNBC, and is often used as a resource for articles in major print and online media worldwide.
Peter began his career as one of the founding editors at America Online in the mid-90s, when the Internet was just capturing the world’s imagination. Recognizing the vast game-‐changing potential of this new technology, Peter returned to New York in 1998 and launched The Geek Factory, Inc., a Public Relations and Marketing firm catering to high-‐tech, startup, and Internet based clients. In 2001, the Factory was acquired by a larger PR agency, and Peter moved on to consult for companies such as American Express, Sprint, The US Department of Defense, Royal Bank of Canada, Snapple Beverage Group, Saudi Aramco, NASA, Walt Disney World, Abercrombie and Kent, The Ad Council, Discovery Networks, Harrah’s Hotels, and hundreds of others, focusing on high-‐level marketing, advertising, and communications projects across the globe.
In 2007, Shankman launched the social media startup, Help a Reporter Out, (HARO) which quickly became the de-facto standard for thousands of journalists on deadline, who were looking for sources. HARO offers more than 250,000 sources around the world the opportunity to be quoted in the media, and is currently the largest free source repository in the world, sending out over 1,200 queries from worldwide media each week. In June of 2010, HARO was acquired by Vocus, Inc. (NYSE: VOCS)
Peter is the author of four books: Zombie Loyalists: How to Use Amazing Service to Breed an Army of Loyal Customers” (Palgrave/Macmillan, Feb, 2015) Nice Companies Finish First: Why Cutthroat Management is Over, and Collaboration is in, (Palgrave/Macmillan, 2013,) Customer Service: New Rules for a Social Media World (Que Biz-‐Tech 2010,), and Can We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts That Work--And Why Your Company Needs Them (Wiley and Sons, 2006.)
Peter sits on the boards of several companies, both public and private, and is an angel investor specializing in wearable technology and digital communications.
Born and raised in New York City, Peter still resides there with his beautiful wife and daughter, and NASA the Wonder Cat, all of whom consistently deny his repeated requests to relinquish the couch. In his limited spare time, he volunteers with Best Friends Animal Society, and is a B-‐licensed skydiver, an Ironman Triathlon finisher, and probably eats way more pizza than is good for him.
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 Hardcover
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 Zombie LoyalistsUsing Great Service to Create Rabid Fans
Palgrave Macmillan Trade
Imagine an army of customers who will do your public relations, marketing and advertising, without being asked, each and every time they give you their money. These are Zombie Loyalists. They are ready to buy what you sell, respond to your email offers and demand that their friends to do the same. |
 Hardcover & Paperback
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Nice Companies Finish FirstWhy Cutthroat Management Is Over--and Collaboration Is In
Palgrave Macmillan Trade
In Nice Companies Finish First, Shankman, a pioneer in modern PR, marketing, advertising, social media, and customer service, profiles the famously nice executives, entrepreneurs, and companies that are setting the standard for success in this new collaborative world. |
He will show multiple examples of companies big and small "getting it" to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of new business, and also cautionary tales of companies who didn't and paid a hefty price.
You'll learn: why transparency in all forms of your business will actually help you grow; why relevance starts with brevity, and how to get there; how to be "top of mind" to each one of your customers, whether they're shopping in your store, online, or via telephone; how something as simple as being "one percent better than the norm" can translate into thousands of dollars in new business, each and every day.
Ain't No Customer Like a Zombie Customer! Imagine a world where relationships are forged, sales are made, and new and repeat business is driven, all by the customers you currently have. Imagine a world where the one true differential of your business isn't price or location, but rather, customer service. It's already here, and if you're not focusing on it, you're going to be eliminated. Welcome to the world of the Zombie Loyalist, customers who, when treated well, will do your PR and Marketing for you to their network, automatically, every time.
Forget Yelp. Forget Trip Advisor. The new review will be every single customer, online, every single time, without a second thought. As networks become ubiquitous, and every customer's actions are public for the world to see, whether new customers choose you or your competitor will be entirely based on how you've already treated others in their network. The opportunities for new customers and revenue growth are huge - but so are the pitfalls.
In this funny and actionable talk, Peter Shankman discusses how you can create Zombie Loyalists for your own business - and breed each customer to bring all of their friends to you as well, every single time.
—Forbes.com
"Shankman contends that in the long run, leaders who show loyalty, optimism, humility, and a reverence for customer service will create both profits and a happy workforce…He explains how their thoughtfulness and willingness to collaborate helped them create solid bottom lines for their businesses and happy workplaces."
—Upstart Business Journal
“The book’s anti-Machiavellian approach is trendy and humanistic, and it bears repeating by thought leaders.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A corporate consultant argues that kinder, gentler corporate leaders and corporations are winning out over older, tougher images of take-no-prisoners leadership...A smoothly put together business leadership primer.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Excellent, thought-provoking book for a new generation of leaders.”
—Booklist
“As CEO of one of the fastest-growing clothing lines in the world, I greatly admire Peter Shankman’s strategies and techniques, and have implemented many of them at SCOTTEVEST. I highly recommend this book if you are a business owner or entrepreneur trying to build a unique brand and truly productive work environment.”
—Scott Jordan, CEO, Scottevest
“Shankman has put in a wakeup call for leaders to examine each of their daily interactions from the bottom to top. Through memorable examples, he offers straightforward and practical advice on how to conduct oneself in a way that will lead to win-win relationships with the people that matter most – essentially everybody in our world.”
—Leigh Thompson, professor, Kellogg School of Management and author of Creative Conspiracy.
“Fresh thinking that feels familiar. And it should – we’ve been told ‘play nice’ since we were kids. But Peter expands the thought to encompass flexibility, compassion and the secret sauce: collaboration.”
—Cathy Calhoun, president, North America, Weber Shandwick
“Peter is FABULOUS! We heard so many positive things like ‘best speaker we ever had’ and ‘that was so much fun.’”
-Staten Island Chamber of Commerce