Creating a
Purpose Driven
Culture
Wendi Sturgis
CEO, Yext Europe and
Chief Client Officer
#LSA19

Purpose
Local Search Association
February 25th, 2019

WENDI STURGIS
CEO, Yext Europe, Chief
Customer Officer
@wendicsturgis
Today’s Presenter

Company

‘80s / ‘90s: PCs ‘90s / ‘00s: Internet ‘00s / ‘10s: Mobile, Cloud NOW: Conversation & AI

AI services provide structured answers
Blue
Links

A new channel for customer engagement
1st –Party Web Traffic
73% of high-intent traffic
is going to new services
Search, Maps, Directories, Voice, Chat
Study of 20,107 business locations conducted by Yext in February 2017. “High-intent traffic” represents mobile searches for nearby businesses.

20162015 201820142012201020082006200420022000199819961994 20172013201120092007200520032001199919971995
More customer interaction points
than ever with new consumer services
Print
1440
CONNECTED CARS
SOCIAL
MOBILE WEB
GPS
SEARCH
EMAIL
WEBSITE
ECOMMERCE
CRM
CONNECTED HOME
CHAT
VOICE
MOBILE APPS
MOBILE MAPS
MOBILE FIRST
AR / VR

Web Direct Channels Search, Maps, Directories Chat Voice
Digital Knowledge Management (DKM)

Digital Knowledge Management Drives Customer Success
ENGAGE CUSTOMERS
IN THE LAST MILE
IMPROVE WCM
PERFORMANCE
DRIVE REVENUE FROM
MICRO-EXPERIENCES
14.45x ROI
from online orders
15% OF ORGANIC ORDERS
from local pages
63% MORE ACTIONS
like Get Directions and Clicks-to-Call
186% MORE CLICKS
to website
44% MORE TRAFFIC
to doctor pages on steward.com
174% MORE IMPRESSIONS
for locations.dennys.com
Qdoba, Comcast, and Steward metrics were computed by the customer in whole or in part without involvement or verification by Yext. Qdoba returns reflect the value of online orders in October 2017 relative to the cost of the Yext product; historical value of online orders attributable to the channels prior to the implementation
of Yext products have not been excluded. Comcast percentage measured as of Fall 2017; Steward percentage increase measured in the five months since implementation of the Yext product. CorePower Yoga, VRG, and Denny’s percentages were computed by Yext and represent increases over the 18 months, 9 months,
and 2 years since the implementation of the Yext product, respectively. These metrics are illustrative only and may not represent the experience of any other current or future customer and are not a guarantee of results. All or a portion of returns or percentage increase may be attributable to factors other than Yext’s products
such as general economic or industry conditions or other customer initiatives.

Web Chat Voice
Marketing HR Real Estate OperationsCMS CRM
Direct Channels Search, Maps, Directories

Team

We set a goal to be the best CS team EVER in NYC

Customer Success Purpose: Results
Metrics Values
NPS 65-72
Gross Retention 90%+
Employee Turnover <10%

HOW WE ROLL

What are the values that define how we work
with Clients?
• Responsive, thorough, detail-oriented, and proactive
• Advocates, trusted consultants, and experts
• Get it done mentality
• Go-to-person for all needs
• Innovative
• Problem solvers and solutions focused
• Confident
• Client-centric at all times
• Creative and willing to customize
• Empowering

An Incomplete List of Tactical Actions We Can Take
• Focus on knowledge sharing
• Being present - paying attention in trainings,
being on site with clients
• Communicate clearly
• Ask for help
• Set expectations - both internally and externally
• Utilize tools at hand - gainsight, chatter, etc.
• Be diligent with record keeping

CUSTOMER SUCCESS PURPOSE
Successful and happy Customers, that simple. Amplified Message of
those successful and happy customers. Boom!
At Yext that includes:
Customer
Advocacy
Customer
Engagement
Customer
Education

Customer Success Purpose: Customer Advocacy
• What is Customer Advocacy?
• Customers or agencies who publicly
support or recommend your brand’s
offerings
• Why is Customer Advocacy
Important?
• Longer partnerships – increase in customer
health
• Increased revenue – revenue growth
influenced by advocates and upsells
• Increase Yext awareness through word of
mouth by telling colleagues and people
outside of work
Powerful case
studies and
references during
sales cycle
Attract new
customers
Retain customers
Increase customer
lifetime value
“83% of satisfied customers are willing to refer
products and services, but only 29% actually do”
-Wharton Business School

Customer Success Purpose: Customer Advocacy
Activity Impact
CAB
• Launched Yext’s first Client Advisory Board of 14 clients
• Sounding board for Product, Beta Tests, User Community
Sales References • Large, Global set of Customer Advocates
Earnings Call
References
• Implemented process to collect client permission to
mention company on public quarterly earnings calls
Customer Showcases /
Case Studies
• Customer Showcases Live on Yext.com Website
• 100+ Case Studies referencing Customers & Facts

Customer Success Purpose: Customer Engagement
(Always On NPS)
Differences
• Cadence (Monthly vs. Manual effort every 6 months)
• Target customers (Segmented by start date vs. all clients)
• Number of questions (One vs. Six)
NPS Program
• Rolling ‘Always On’ Approach
• Monthly Survey to segment of clients
• Send single NPS Question
(See Above) semi-annually
to each client:
• One at 3 months
(Post Implementation)
• One at 9 months (Pre-Renewal)
Impact
• Monthly Cadence will enable
more contextual feedback
• Feedback at targeted points in
the customer life cycle
• Scalable process requires less
heavy lifting on regular basis

What Our Customers Say
“Truth be told the enormity
of what Yext offers is not
something that the folks
within our four walls have
the bandwidth to focus on.
We had to find a vendor
who’d be our watch dog for
us — hold our hand, ensure
we are doing the right
things,” says Dillon. “Yext
has done that for us, and
then some. Everyone on
the team from top to bottom
is fantastic.”
“The service element of
what Yext offers is a really
big deal. From the
beginning, Yext’s team
showed such a willingness
to help me solve my core
problems,” praises Stahl.
“They are forward-thinking
and consistently go above
and beyond to make sure
we are optimizing our local
presence and identifying
potential opportunities for
improvement. We rarely
have to ask the questions
because they continually
anticipate what we’re
looking for.”
“The team at Yext has been
great to work with! Any time
I run into a problem with
Facebook, a duplicate
listing, or an issue with a
publisher, I let them know
and they take care of it
immediately,” says
Reinhardt. “They really
have been an extension of
what I do for KOA local
marketing, without my
having to hire another
employee.”

Customer Success Purpose: Results
Metrics Values
NPS 65-72
Gross Retention 90%+
Employee Turnover <10%

You.

My Inspiration

Dale Carnegie: What’s Old is New Again
1. Become genuinely interested in other people. ...
2. Smile. ...
3. Remember that a person's name is, to that
person, the sweetest and most important sound
in any language. ...
4. Be a good listener. ...
5. Talk in terms of the other person's interest. ...
6. Make the other person feel important –
and do it sincerely.

The Little Things
1.Be Kind to Everyone
2.Honest
3.Take an Hour a Week to Help Others
4.Walk the Talk
5.Own Mistakes in Totality

Selling Through Curiosity with Barry Rhein
A few key things that have made us
more human:
• You have to earn the right of a
relationship
• Put the time in
• RBE efforts
• True intellectual curiousity

TAKEAWAYS
MISSION ATTACHED TO BIG PROBLEMS
RELENTLESS FOCUS ON CUSTOMERS
BALANCE PROCESS AND HUMANITY
CURIOUSITY