thepukkapanda

[thepukkapanda]

Ready for Takeoff - A Story of Change: Personal and Professional

My journey to motherhood began a year ago. I chose to take some time off from my career to plan and enjoy a series of both personal and professional life changes. On the personal part, we traveled to Spain, got engaged in Hawaii, I remained fit during pregnancy with daily Pure Barre, gave back through volunteering at New York Cares, and we welcomed our new son Parker on February 22nd, 2017.

As for professional changes, I attended the Dreamforce conference and became a certified Salesforce Administrator. I completed the implementation of Salesforce Service Cloud for Shake Shack, and continue to give back professionally by helping nonprofit, Hope Over Heroin connect with people more effectively through Salesforce.

Parker is now three months and my new consulting business is born, The Pukka Panda. The Pukka Panda started a few years ago as a blog to share stories of my personal customer experiences aligned to business.  

Pŭkka is a British term for authentic or genuine - and what you get with me - a genuine smile and connection. Panda has always been a nickname of mine and a simple way for me to explain how to pronounce my name to the Starbucks barista, Randa: Panda with an ‘R’.

 The Pŭkka Panda is a new step, with many more exciting events to occur in the next few months; I will marry my true love and amazing partner in life whom provides constant joy and encouragement to me with everything - reminds me to always live in the moment. We will move into a new home here in Brooklyn and together embark on our new life journey.

 In our interactions with family, friends, co-workers and companies, we all go through similar daily changes and events. In the midst of Alexa, Siri, and the Internet of Things,  The Pukka Panda will create an effective and authentic experience with the customer at the center.

Authentic Across Your Different Devices and Connections

As a working mom, professional, and soon to be step-mom and wife - we all have different personas of how we perceive the world and interact with others. What remains consistent is the desire for a personal and authentic connection. 

Whether we are on our mobile phone dropping the kids off, waiting for a flight on a video conference call using our iPad, no matter the device - we want a simple way to connect for an effortless experience.

In the last 14 years, I have led teams in service delivery, customer service, network infrastructure, and product. I have a passion for improving the interactions with customers and the systems that support it - making them more efficient and consistent across all departments.

The Pukka Panda will provide an outside perspective to improve the processes and tools companies use to connect their business operations and customers. I will help fill the white spaces in the organizational structure when handing off between roles from sales through to customer service and billing.

The Pukka Panda brings technology and operations together to create a cohesive customer journey across all communication channels using cloud applications like Salesforce.com.

Read my professional story for more information on my past journey and experience. I look forward to helping companies improve customer interactions through a positive and authentic experience. If you know of any businesses that would benefit, please give me a call - 646.634.2114 or forward them to my contact page.

[thepukkapanda]

#mondaymotivation hack for your bucket purse storage NYC strategy. Running out of space for bulk toilet paper and paper towels? They fit perfectly into purses and help keep the shape while storing in your closet. Be sure to leave some Spring fin colors out for your next trip or just to brighten your dreary Winter day. I stock up on this bag style since they are perfect to double as laptop tote and will fit my baby gear. #gamechanger #nyclife #brooklyn #toryburch #bucketbag #tote #storagehack #love #aliceandolivia #anyahindmarch #fashion #style #charmin (at Park Slope Historic District)

[thepukkapanda]

#tbt to sunnier and warmer days - what a fun day this was going to the @aliceandolivia #nyfw2016 presentation. I can't wait to see the rainbow 🌈 of clothes coming out soon. The character and color of A&O clothes puts a smile on your face. Clothing is your personal art. I can believe I thought my belly was showing at 3 months in this photo. 😂 #fashion #colorful #aliceandolivia #staceface #red #nycstyle #nycfashion #smile #beautiful #positive #fashionisart #3monthspregnant

[thepukkapanda]

It's My Birthday! 4 Ways Brands Can Learn From My Tory Burch Experience

[thepukkapanda]

29 week Baby bump and @aliceandolivia Basquiat collection new yoga pants for my birthday Pure Barre class @purebarreparkslope - Been waiting for these for months. Thanks to @juliek_rosen for the best experience and getting them delivered to my door just in time. Love when A&O does art collaborations - and it all supports @cfda - they feel great for being the first yoga pant in the collection! #fashionisart #art #basquait #nyc #brooklyn #aliceandolivia #cfda #yoga #splits59 #purebarre #birthday #imgettingold

[thepukkapanda]

I can't believe it's been a month since my baby shower! What a perfect time with friends and family. Loved taking a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge with some that came from out of town. #love #family #bestfriends #brooklyn #brooklynbridge #7monthspregnant #babyshower #nyc #babyboy #pregnant #3rdtrimester

[thepukkapanda]

And the winner goes to @bergdorfs - hands down the best holiday windows. Perfectly executed with style and details. What a great way to start the week! Thanks @karinagulesserian for a fun morning. #holidaywindows #holidayseason #nycstyle #bookclub #green #5thavenue #nyc #christmas #fashion

[thepukkapanda]

Scrolling through my photos and found this gem. I love finding street art at my feet. Peace on Earth! Happy Holiday season everyone. To sunny days and happy #staceface steps along the way. Don't forget to read the post on why you should shop small and local all year long! - ☝️link in profile. #tbt #streetart #nyc #smile #positive #shopsmall #holidaycheer #love #springinmystep #sunglasses #peaceonearth #holidayseason

[thepukkapanda]

Today should not be the only day you #shopsmall and #shoplocal - check out my new blog post link in profile on why you need to shop small all year long. #smallbiz #sbs #smallbusiness #localbusiness #brooklyn #parkslope #dianekane #nyc #personalshopping #smile #nobigboxstores

[thepukkapanda]

Why You Should Shop Local & Small All Year

‘Alexa, please place order for Charmin toilet paper’.

I wait for the smile and ‘hello’... It doesn’t come.

I wait for the satisfaction of touching and feeling my new toilet paper… I don’t get it.

Okay, toilet paper is probably not the best example - you get my point.

We recently got an Amazon Echo. While it is fantastic for the daily news briefings, the weather, and newly discovered reading of audio books from our library, I am a big fan of walking into a store for close to 90% of my purchases.

With Amazon, you are getting the price, what about the value? The value of a moment. The value of seeing someone smile other than the UPS driver that drops off your shipment just to create another box to throw in the recycling.

Here are a few reasons why you should shop local and small all year, not just on Small Business Saturday.

Establish a Personal Connection

This is my favorite. When you walk in the store, they remember you. You have the opportunity for an authentic conversation and smile. They email or text you directly about sales versus being controlled by the latest AI personalization technology.

Socialize at Community Events

After you establish the personal connection, you get to experience events at the local store which benefit the community and allow you to meet more people - and get more smiles.

Exercise and Save Money

Get off your couch and take a walk to your local store. Take an adventure on the train and interact with the real world. You will be a lot closer to your 10,000 step goal.

Save money. When you are local, you can think about it and go back on your way home from work instead of buying online and forgetting to return - after not knowing the real quality that is now the reality with fast fashion.

Limit Your Choices

One of the biggest benefits of local boutiques includes curating the best products to save you time. This is one of the main reasons I am not a fan of big box stores. See more in my post Limit Choices To Increase Sales by 600%

Instant Gratification

You can touch and feel it. I am a fan of physical touch. It is my top love language. You also get to bring it home immediately. Even if Amazon Prime got it to your door in two days, you may end up with the infamous ‘We missed you’ sticker left on your door. Or it goes missing from your hallway.

 I am not alone. Even though there is an increase in mobile shopping, the reality is people use all channels during their journey to the final purchase. See stats in the picture below for in-store preference.

 I encourage you to embrace local direct and small stores when possible to support the community. The experience is just so much better than big box stores.

Yours Truly,

The Pukka Panda

[thepukkapanda]

Love this collaboration with @aliceandolivia @thisisstory and Rugrats. How cute? I used to love watching Rugrats. I recognized the skirt before I saw the note. #love #collaboration #fashion #nyc #style #fun

[thepukkapanda]

Love all the color at the @aliceandolivia show today! So excited to see more bell bottoms for next year. #ss17 #nyfw #nyc #fashion

[thepukkapanda]

#staceface flats for the commute and heels for the show! Looking forward to @aliceandolivia presentation this afternoon. #nyfw

[thepukkapanda]

And the back of the jacket... Of course a panda is in the middle!

[thepukkapanda]

Finally finished my patch jacket! If you haven't had a chance, check out my most recent post #ontheblog www.thepukkapanda.com about how Pure Barre is Pure Brilliant. Get an authentic butt without the Victoria's Secret photoshop fail.

[thepukkapanda]

Use Platforms As The First Step To Your Customer Journey

In my last post, I wrote about how people have limited capacity in choices. It is hard to expect people to download your specific business or consumer application when it is much simpler for them to visit just a few and see the majority of what they need.

Instead of expecting to be one of the chosen, embrace the different platforms available to your brand category with the goal of the best experience over the evolution of consumption and brand awareness.

In the day of information overload, join the crowd on the platform - just do it better than the others.

Evolution of Customer Experience

For new businesses, it is how you get your brand attention or may be the platform that truly enables you start your own business (think Uber and Etsy). For existing businesses like Playboy which removed nudity to conform to platform rules,  it is how you adapt and stay relevant to your audience. Once the user connects to your brand, consider how you convert them with a consistent user experience, and ultimately convert them to a loyal advocate.

Let’s follow a few personal stories with three simple steps of the customer experience; connect, convert, and keep.

Brand Recognition & Relevance: Connect

As a business, the Platform is clearly a great tool to connect with customers. Conform or be left behind. For consumers, it is how you find the hottest new trends either within your career or personal interest.

Feedly is one of my favorite platforms for content consumption. I can easily read articles related to technology and UCaaS that support my role as a Product leader, about fashion trends of my interest, or those that intersect the two passions. It is my one stop shop to connect to brands and continually stay relevant.

Upon first use of Feedly, I chose categories like Business, Entrepreneurship, Tech, Inspiration, and Fashion. I became most interested in Fashion when I moved to NYC almost four years ago from Chicago. Outside of a few new brands, I mostly only knew mainstream brands with large online presence and brick and mortar stores. That is, until I was introduced to ‘The Blonde Salad’ through the Fashion section of Feedly.

Since I am one year shy of the ‘Millennial’ label, Facebook had been my choice of platforms until a few years ago when I started using Instagram more frequently. Since I learned about ‘The Blonde Salad’ on Feedly, I started to follow Chiara Ferragni. Chiara Ferragni is the woman behind ‘The Blonde Salad’. Through her blog, she has successfully built a business (TBS Crew - The Blonde Salad Crew), created a million dollar brand (Chiara Ferragni Shoe Collection), HBR first blogcase study was on her, is recognized as one of the Business Of Fashion 500influencers, and more! 

Needless to say, Chiara and her brand were successful in connecting with me through the combination of Feedly, Instagram, and Facebook.

When you continue to deliver consistent content and messaging that supports your brand image, it is the first step to convert the audience.

User Awareness: Convert

Once users are aware of your brand, it is important to deliver a consistent user experience across different platforms. It is your opportunity to convert them to a paying customer.

Chiara does exactly that - she delivers consistent and relevant content to her audience of more than 4 million followers on Instagram alone. Feedly, Facebook, and Instagram follow the same posting schedule with just the right amount of variation. She publishes a healthy balance of publicity for other brands while marketing her own shoe collection. Obviously, I have purchased a few of her shoes…

PSFK is another example of a website that delivers content across platforms consistently well. After learning about them on Feedly, reading them via Pocket on the Subway, they successfully converted me as a loyal reader when I purchased tickets to their ‘Future of Retail’ event in NYC - which was a fantastic!

Not only is consistency of content across platforms key, you absolutely must be certain that your integration works flawlessly or you will do more harm to your brand. Incorporate platform regression tests with every release to be aware of the exact user experience across platforms.

As shared in my last post, Forbes has an area to improve related to functionality - as in it doesn’t work when you transfer it from Feedly to Pocket. Due to this bug in their integration, I no longer read Forbes articles. A nice quote on your landing page is fine if it doesn’t interfere with the ability to actually read your content. On the other hand, think if it really creates value or is just noise on the page annoying the user.

Once you convert the customer from doing well in the right areas, keep up the good work to gain a loyal one.

Loyal Consumer: Keep

If you do it well enough and win their loyalty, they should prefer to go direct to your website or application. At that point, your brand can even influence complementary brands - similar to the loyal following that Salesforce and Google attract with their App Exchange.

When a consumer chooses applications and complementary products based on your brand, they are the ultimate loyal and sticky customer.  I personally don’t like malls or departments stores whether it is online or brick and mortar - way too many options. Instead, I find brands that I prefer, go direct and stick to them. I don’t see the need to buy the brand from a department store when I am happy with their personal service. Just like frequent flyer miles, being loyal to brands has its perks.

As a loyal customer, I trust the recommendations of my chosen brands; Alice & Olivia, Tory Burch, and Chiara Ferragni. While Chiara Ferragni was the only one I truly discovered on a platform vs. a visit to the store, each of them personally posts favorites on Instagram. It is a bonus when they also interact personally with you via comments. Brand referral compensation businesses like RewardStylemake that loyalty even more valuable to the brand.

Now that platforms like Instagram enable us to learn about international brands, and platforms like Farfetch do a great job sourcing them, the next problem to solve are the international shipping tariffs…

Which brands did you learn about through a platform? How did they connect, convert, and keep you as a customer?

Yours Truly,

Randa Green

For similar posts, visit www.thepukkapanda.com

[thepukkapanda]

How Pure Barre Is Pure Brilliant - Get An Authentic Toned Butt With No Risk of The Victoria’s Secret Photoshop Fail

In honor of my 100th Pure Barre class, I thought I would share why Pure Barre is Pure Brilliant. I am no stranger to organized classes… Gymnastics through high school, Pilates, Aerial Silks, Martial Arts, Spin, and more - excluding those I took when I was young as I can assure you I didn’t critique business structure and experience until I entered the business world.

The Mind Body platform must have a monopoly on these classes as most of them use it as their system to enable payments and scheduling. What a great idea to allow the experts to focus on their core business! While they all use the same platform, it is the experience you have when you go to the class that makes all the difference.

Believe me, this franchise is killing it! Out of all of these places, I have not seen the level of experience in which you receive at Pure Barre. The branding, messaging, consistent approach, thoughtful motivation, guidance of technique, and attention to subconscious details through organization are all on point.

I am all for the statement ‘no pain, no gain’. Whether it is business, personal, or fitness - you need to push yourself to see the difference. There are no short cuts.

On my first visit, I walk into the front door to a welcome smile at the front desk. As typical behavior for me, I arrive early. I am pleased to see that it is not packed with people exiting the previous class. They brilliantly schedule 30 minutes between classes to avoid the mad rush of people at the switch of a class.

#1 Organization - Pay Attention To The Details

Pure Barre has an attention to detail and has everything ORGANIZED!

After I signed the waiver, purchased my Pure Barre sticky socks, they sit down with me to explain the concept of tucking your hips, how we will start with the most movement during the warmup and progress through each muscle group with tiny movements.

They conveniently sell everything you need to attend class in case you forgot, or just need to add to your wardrobe since you attend class so frequently. My forgetfulness is to blame for my sticky socks while the latter is responsible for my leggings and Pure Barre brand tops. I am hooked.

#2 Consistent - People, Classes, and Locations

After over 100 classes, every instructor CONSISTENTLY sits down with new students to explain the Pure Barre concept, introduces themselves, confirms there are no injuries which they are not aware of, and follows the routine perfectly for the remainder of the class. While consistent, they each add their own personality and flair to make the class unique.

Personality makes a difference at any business. I am drawn to personality. Even if I like a brand, I will not shop or do business with those that are rude. Just not my style.

One of the biggest reasons I continue to go day after day is that I am in pain EVERY SINGLE TIME, you work your muscles until they fatigue and shake - all in about 2-3 minutes per muscle group.

We start with 15 minute warm up for abs and weights.

#3 Emotional Connection - Understand and Motivate Your Audience

The MOTIVATION begins in the first part of class, and continues throughout as the instructors learn names and provide positive praise for technique well executed.

"This is your first big challenge. You have 90 seconds in this plank. This is your time. Take this time to set a goal for yourself. Leave everything else at the door..."

You have an option to use no weights, 2, 3, or 5. Whichever you choose, you will feel the pain when doing the technique properly. In fact, 3 pound weights never felt so heavy with small movements and ultra fatigue.

More MOTIVATION

"Only 30 more seconds until you are done with weights and can stretch your arms. You can do anything for 30 seconds. That's 10, 2, 3, 4..."

Your brain immediately grasps onto the CONSISTENCY and meaning of the count to 10 that ends each exercise and often feels like eternity.

The person at the front desk enters the room to help pick up our weights as we do an arm stretch with the stretchy tube. Another great example of ORGANIZATION and TEAMWORK.

Next we move into about 9 minutes of thigh work. Who is counting? Your thighs literally shake from the fatigue which proves that it is making a change.

"Down an inch, up an inch, now tuck and tuck. Down an inch, up an inch, now tuck, tuck deeper. Smile. It helps."

Yes. Yet another time when smiling does really help! There is a perfect balance of relaxation, pain, repetition, variation, and mental encouragement.

#4 Guidance - Provide An Opportunity To Learn

I learned during a recent ‘Breaking Down The Barre’, session which is free monthly at my Pure Barre studio, that you can literally take the class with your eyes closed since they provide such great verbal GUIDANCE.

Remember, if your customers are confused or don’t know how to use your product, it can lead to a poor experience. In addition to the free monthly class, Pure Barre does a fantastic job at correcting form during the class, and are available after class to assist. (Since they don’t schedule back to back classes, they are ORGANIZED to enable instructors to remain after class)

A big thigh stretch has never felt better! Just a few short minutes of drifting into la la land, and it is time to tone the butt. Or, commonly referred to as ‘The Pure Barre Ledge’. You know, the one that got Victoria Secret into all that trouble for screwing up their photo shop.

And, why wouldn’t the music be perfectly timed to all the exercises! Brilliant. I may have been caught dancing and singing to a few of the great tunes, but who is watching when you can take the class with your eyes closed?

"Close your eyes and let the music take you to the end..."

As we finish toning our butts and making funny faces from the pain, the instructor places the perfect quantity of BRANDED pink mats in the middle of the room to prepare for the deep abs part of class.

#5 Brilliance Indicator: Relaxation - Make Your Audience Comfortable

Pure Barre challenges me to RELAX my mind. If my mind starts drifting off to think about work or whatever else is going on, I lose my form.- and am luckily corrected by the  instructor. In order to get the most out of the workout, you need to concentrate and focus on the form.

The lights are dimmed at this point. DETAILS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

"Grab a mat and place it about 3/4 against the wall. Sit in a slouchy position so it feels like you are in front of the TV balancing a bowl of popcorn on your stomach. Now take your right leg and pull it up to your face..."

Okay. You will just need to go to a class to learn about this part. It is magic! You learn how to move your legs with your abs. I am not joking!

The music bumps up a bit for a faster pace of ab work against the wall.

"Now scooch that newly toned butt all the way back against the wall so there is nothing between your butt and the wall"

The lights are now turned completely off to encourage more RELAXATION.

"It's time for abs and cool down. Grab your matts and head to the center of the room... sit at the edge of your matt, legs out with a 3/4 length bend at the knees, toes together, heels apart, on your toes, now sit up straight and round your back to a c-curve.."

During cool down, the instructor drops of wipes for your ball and matt. Once again, a DETAIL that makes leaving class so much easier!

Class after class, instructor after instructor, my experience is the same each and every time! There is a reason I have gone to an average of about 15-20 classes per month since October… And, it may or may not be that they include a COMPETITIVE factor into the mix.

#6 Competition - Give Them Something To Win

Pure Barre incorporates COMPETITION into the program to MOTIVATE people in a different way. Twice in the past 5-6 months, there has been a sign up on the wall to post your name and put a sticker each time you attend a class.  When you hit the goal quantity of classes, you are entered to win - great prizes like an unlimited year of classes. The bonus is public recognition that you made your target.

As a reminder, here is why I am a true believer of why the Pure Barre franchise is Pure Brilliant, and you should either check it out or learn from their experience.

Organization - Pay Attention To The Details

Consistent - People, Classes, and Locations

Emotional Connection - Understand and Motivate Your Audience

Guidance - Provide An Opportunity to Learn

Relaxation - Make Your Audience Comfortable

Competition - Give Them Something to Win 

As a consumer, do you notice and appreciate these 6 areas?

As a business professional, how do you incorporate these tactics into your business? Do you have any plans to change processes to include them?

Yours Truly,

Randa Green