Mareli Smit
Mareli Smit
Hi, I'm Mareli Smit! I’m the Program Director for the Brand Warrior initiative at Brandlove, where we create transformative experiences for employees and customers. I also run our Customer Experience Mastery program, giving CX leaders the tools for success. I’m also the author of "It's About Time" a guide to designing your life. Outside work, I enjoy cooking, mountain trails, and relaxing by the beach. I'm passionate about guiding individuals and teams to success. Let's connect and start a conversation!
Finding hope when work feels like survival
In a recent client session, someone said something that landed so heavily in the room I couldn’t shake it: “We’re constantly in protection and people-pleasing...
Don’t Send Your Frontline into Battle with a Spatula: Setting Your Team Up for Success in Customer Experience
We often admire a company’s brand promise – bold, aspirational statements about excellence, care, and customer delight. But when you scratch beneath the surface,...
From hold music to human touch: the truth about your call centre experience
Lost in translation Let’s be real - calling a call centre is probably the closest thing we’ve got to modern-day torture. The whole experience is...
Unlocking the Power of Accountability in Leadership
As leaders, one of the most crucial skills we must master is accountability. It’s a term that’s often easier said than done, but let's...
The Hidden Heroes of Customer Experience
Photo credit: Ron Lach (Pexels) Every member of your team contributes significantly to the creation of lasting memories. It is my belief that employees...
Why Your Customer Experience Strategy Falls Short (And How to Fix It)
When it comes to creating outstanding customer experiences, we often hear the same stories of struggle: "Our brand is facing a crisis," or "We...
The Ingredients for Memorable Customer Experiences
Think back to your last truly amazing positive customer experience. Do you still remember the person who made it exceptional? Can you picture their...
Customer Experience: don’t get trapped in the drama triangle
Photo Credit: Mareli Smit Think about the last drama or action movie you watched. The characters in films that frequent our screens usually...
unLEARNing’s since the Pandemic
123RF Connection. Being Real. Caring. These are deep-seated qualities that are important to me at home and work. It has been...
The employee of the future – think big…start small!
Image credit: Brandlove Customer Experience (Pty) Ltd. As an introduction at all of our workshops, we ask delegates to tell us their name and...
Surrender brand control to future proof your business
Copyright Brandlove Customer Experience (Pty) Ltd. Once upon a time there was a picture perfect authentic brand… As customer experience professionals, we are always on...
The customer of tomorrow – don’t keep your head in the sand!
My sons (6 and 8 years old at the time) watched a programme called Miles from TomorrowLand which I caught a glimpse of the...
Customer experience journeys without emotion built into it will make companies cry in the end.
Tambov, Russian Federation - March 24, 2015 Lego figure heads on black background. Studio shot. Copyright: rosinka79 / 123RF Stock Photo/] There are many...
Do you talk about great CX or do you do great CX?
We've all been there. That grudge payment we have to make. And on top of it, to make it, we need to...
AI is already here – we just call them Transformers!
Image:Copyright: josefkubes / 123RF Stock Photo In my line of work we do a lot of mystery calls and immersions and I am always amazed...
The Customer Experience ripple effect
In celebration of Global CX Day on 5 October 2016 it is perhaps time to look at Customer Experience with a different lens on...
Those ‘idiots’ are your brand ambassadors!
Marketing as we know it is changing We all know the 4 P’s of the marketing mix: product, place, promotion and price. But I want...
What is this CX thing everyone is on about?
I was recently introduced to a new way of looking at business and customers as a whole. As a marketer at heart this paradigm...