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2025 Agenda

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

5:00 P. M. – 6:30 P. M. 

Pre-Conference Session and Check-In
Younes Conference Center
416 W Talmadge Road, Kearney, NE 68845

4:00 P. M. – 6:00 P. M. 

Exhibitor Setup | Younes Conference Center South
416 W Talmadge Road, Kearney, NE 68845
Tables will be assigned and indicated with business names.

6:30 P. M. – 7:30 P. M.

VIP Reception

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

7:00 A. M. – 9:00 A. M. 

Registration | Younes Conference Center South
416 W Talmadge Road, Kearney, NE 68845

8:00 A. M.

Exhbitor Booths Open

8:00 A. M. – 9:00 A. M. 

Continental Breakfast and Networking

9:00 A. M. – 9:15 A. M. 

Conference Welcome

9:15 A. M. – 10:00 A. M. 

Keynote Speaker – Chelsea Pietz

10:00 A. M. – 10:15 A. M. 

Networking Break

10:15 A. M. – 11:00 A. M. 

Concurrent Sessions

Sales is a process and an intense and thoughtful focus on customer service is part of that process. The sale isn’t done simply because you closed or someone bought from you. The ongoing piece of sales is your follow up and continued service and value that you bring in addition to your product or service. Customer service is the bare minimum. It’s answering the phone, an email, a text. It’s providing an answer to a question.

Customer experience is doing all of those things, but always considering the impact of HOW you do those things will have on new and repeat business. We have opportunities every day to do what we should do vs. doing what we want to do. Business and customer service are no different.

We make mistakes, we unintentionally miss when it comes to expectations of our products or services, it’s when those things happen that we must do what we should do versus what we want to do. Ego and pride not only get in the way of making good business decisions they go one step further and make you believe that the decision being influenced by your ego and pride is the correct decision for you and your business.

Takeaways:

  1. How to develop a better process.
  2. The difference between customer service and customer experience.
  3. Doing what you should do vs. doing what you want to do.

Intro: Customer-Centric Content and CX Strategies Make All the Difference

  • Social media can seem vast and daunting, but it doesn’t have to be.
  • I’m going to show you cutting edge strategies for turning clicks into customers with real-life case studies to back them up
  • Learn how to:
    • Craft content that captivates your audience
    • Leverage social media platforms for maximum impact
    • Create unforgettable customer experiences
    • Build brand loyalty and drive sales

Compelling Content Fuels Sales

  • Targeted content can drive leads and conversions across diverse business segments.
    • Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.
    • Rather than just pitching your products or services, content marketing helps potential customers see how you can solve their issues.
    • The true power of content is its ability to build relationships — relationships are built on trust and trust drives revenue.
    • Our industry is all about relationships and we try to reflect this in our social media strategy. Social media is a giant referral system and everything we do is geared toward building relationships and loyalty.
    • Working with influencers, whether they’re well-known or more niche, is a great way to build relationships more organically and connect with a broader audience.

Unboxing Experiences Ignite Engagement

  • Diving into the art of creating unforgettable brand interactions by using unboxing concepts.
    • Target influencers within our footprint to receive boxes with giveaways to engage their audiences and build our brand awareness with younger demographics.

TikTok and Social Engagement Boost Local Businesses

  • See how a “Be Kind” campaign used social media to create cost-effective, interactive experiences.
  • We leverage trending topics (Ex: Stanley Cups) to engage audiences
  • We use TikTok to show off and support our small business customers
  • We also use TikTok a recruitment tool (Ex: day in the life of an employee videos)

Turning Reviews into Raving Fans

  • Learn how responding to reviews builds brand trust and customer satisfaction.
    • Reputation management: it’s important to influence what and how people think of your brand.
    • Consistency is key: we listen to customer feedback, respond promptly and keep doing it.

Conclusion

  • Your marketing efforts will pack more of a punch when you find areas for personal connection.

11:00 A. M. – 11:15 A. M. 

Networking Break

11:15 A. M. – 12:00 P. M. 

Concurrent Sessions

Learn the execution of your core values and what that can look like day to day. 

Here are three takeaways on how you can incorporate core values as part of owning them more in the way you lead each day.

  1. Review your core values regularly. This process helps us to better know them, live them more naturally and act them when put into different situations.
  2. Be intentional with core values. Take one of your core values and make it an intention for the day and look at ways to enhance your own values
  3. Incorporate core values into your message. Look for examples and make notes with respect to performance reviews, providing feedback in e-mail or shared notes and showing gratitude and praise to others face-to-face.

12:00 P. M. – 1:00 P. M. 

Lunch

12:15 P. M. – 12:30 P. M. 

Tourism Wow Presentation
John Ricks

12:30 P. M. – 12:45 P. M. 

Best Nebraska Local Product Award
GROW Nebraska

12:45 P. M. – 1:15 P. M. 

All Businesses Start Out Small – A Panel Discussion

1:15 P. M. – 1:45 P. M. 

Networking Break

1:45 P. M. – 2:30 P. M. 

Concurrent Sessions

2:30 P. M. – 2:45 P. M. 

Networking Break

2:45 P. M. – 3:30 P. M. 

Concurrent Sessions

3:30 P. M. – 3:45 P. M. 

Networking Break

3:45 P. M. – 4:15 P. M. 

Keynote Session and Closing Remarks

4:30 P. M. – 6:00 P. M. 

Networking Happy Hour
McCue’s Taproom
2008 A Avenue, Kearney, NE

Networking Happy Hour at McCue's Taproom
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