Dan Gingiss: The Experience Maker

Customer experience keynote speaker and consultant helping brands turn everyday interactions into memorable moments that drive loyalty and word of mouth.

Quick Facts:

Highlights:
  • 20+ years leading CX and marketing at McDonald’s, Discover, and Humana
  • Known for turning small moments into high-impact, shareable experiences
  • Action-focused keynotes with case studies and repeatable frameworks
  • Emphasis on loyalty, referrals, and growth through customer-centric design


Formats Available: Keynote 45–60 min. Executive briefing 30–45 min. Half-day workshop. Multi-session CX coaching for teams.

Preferred Audiences: Executive teams, marketing and CX leaders, operations, customer support, product, franchise networks, and growth-focused organizations seeking competitive differentiation through experience.

Outcomes:
  1. A clear playbook for identifying friction and elevating moments across the journey.
  2. Practical tactics that increase loyalty, reviews, and referrals.
  3. A shared, customer-centric mindset that aligns leaders and front-line teams.
Reviews: (10 reviews)
5/5
  • Travels from: Chicago, Illinois

Talent Services

Keynote Topics:

How A Remarkable Customer Experience Can Be Your Best Sales and Marketing Strategy

Competition is tougher than ever these days. Competing on price is a losing game — just ask the two gas stations across the street from each other. And competing on product is getting harder and harder as almost everything can be copied — just ask your favorite ride-share company.

So what’s left? How can we stand out in a crowded marketplace that is constantly evolving?

In this fun and engaging keynote, customer experience speaker and former Fortune 500 executive Dan Gingiss will teach the audience how customer experience can be your company’s ultimate differentiator, creating a competitive advantage that cannot be copied.

Your business CAN compete on customer experience. When you create a remarkable experience for your customers, they become your best marketers and salespeople. The result is more customers, who spend more, are loyal longer, and recommend your company to others.

You’ll walk away from this keynote with the inspiration and the tools to go back to work and create a deeper connection with your customers. And Dan Gingiss doesn’t just talk about experience, he creates one for the audience, too!

Dan’s audiences:

  • Learn the types of experiences people share most often and why.
  • Apply an easy, 5-step framework for creating remarkable, shareable experiences.
  • Leverage examples from many other companies across industries that have been successful with these simple, practical, and inexpensive ideas. 

AI is revolutionizing businesses everywhere, but how can it be leveraged to further enhance the customer experience? In this captivating keynote, customer experience expert Dan Gingiss explores the transformative power of AI to go way beyond chatbots.

From hyper-personalization and predictive analytics to advanced virtual reality and next-generation customer service, discover how leading companies are using AI to delight customers and stay ahead of the competition.

Dan’s engaging demonstrations, real-time audience interactions, and compelling stories, including a memorable opening and finale, will leave you inspired and equipped to harness AI’s full potential to elevate your customer experience strategy.

Key Takeaways:

  • Unlocking Hyper-Personalization: Learn how AI can anticipate customer needs to create seamless, personalized experiences.
  • Harnessing Predictive Analytics: Discover how AI can analyze customer behavior to optimize your operations.
  • Exploring Cutting-Edge AI Applications: Witness how AI-driven experiences can redefine customer interactions both today and in the future.

The Intersection of Diversity, Inclusion & Customer Experience

How well do you really know your customers? In almost every business across every industry, customers have become more diverse than ever before.

Whether you know it or not, your customer base is diverse in almost every way imaginable: gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, political affiliation, family structure, existence of disabilities, and more. And the spending power is staggering:

  • The LGBTQ+ community has $3.2 trillion in purchasing power. That’s “trillion” with a “T”.
  • African American, Asian American, Native American and Hispanic consumers have a combined $4.9 trillion in purchasing power.
  • One in four people in the United States have some form of disability, and the global purchasing power of people with disabilities is $8 trillion.

So how can businesses authentically engage with different communities to gain their loyalty and hard-earned dollars? By giving them a place to BELONG. In this eye-opening and myth-busting keynote presentation, customer experience experts Dan Gingiss and Shonnah Hughes teach audiences why belonging matters and how it equates to business growth. They make the case that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is more than just good hiring practices; it’s about building products and services with your diverse customer base in mind and being inclusive in your marketing.

Audiences will learn:

  • What it means to BELONG and how to create it at your company.
  • Specific examples of companies authentically embracing diverse customers.
  • How diversity and inclusion leads to better products, improved customer experience, and higher profits.

We all know that support staff are at the forefront of driving great customer experiences. But the one thing that customer-centric companies understand well is that great CX is not the job of customer-facing teams alone – everyone has an equal role to play.

This session will explore how all teams in your organization are in the “customer experience business,” and how driving such a culture forward is key to organizational success.

You’ll learn:

  1. How different teams such as marketing, finance, and legal shape the customer experience; real-life examples of the  impact of non-customer facing teams on the end customer; how a company-wide commitment to CX improves customer loyalty.
  2. Your customers don’t care about your organizational chart or which department handles what. They look at your company as a single entity, and expect that everyone — from the front-line customer service agent to the legal department to the custodial staff — is focused on making their experience remarkable.

Looking to take your team’s customer experience game to the next level?

 In this dynamic and interactive session, participants don’t just learn about the WISER framework—Witty, Immersive, Shareable, Extraordinary, and Responsive—they put it into action. Your team will roll up their sleeves and start brainstorming simple, practical, and inexpensive customer experience ideas that can be implemented right away.

 This isn’t just a workshop—it’s an idea-generating engine that taps into the creativity of everyone in the room. Guided by Dan, attendees will brainstorm fresh, actionable ideas for each of the WISER steps. By the end, you’ll have a long list of inspired, customer-focused improvements created by your own people, ready to take back and implement.

 Empowering, energizing, and packed with creativity, this workshop ensures that everyone leaves feeling like an Experience Maker, ready to bring these new ideas to life and share them across the organization.

Ready to unlock the power of your customers’ voices? Imagine transforming raw customer feedback into a goldmine of insights that propel your business forward. The Voice of the Customer Amplifier workshop does just that – and more.

In this high-impact session, you’ll:

  • Dive deep into real customer interactions across all channels
  • Uncover hidden pain points and opportunities for excellence
  • Perform root cause analysis to prevent future service interactions
  • Engage your leadership team in collaborative problem-solving
  • Develop actionable strategies to elevate your customer experience

Prepare for an energizing, eye-opening experience featuring your actual customers that will unite your team and ignite passion for customer-centric innovation. You’ll leave feeling inspired, aligned, and equipped with the tools to drive meaningful change.

 The result? Dramatically reduced call volumes, lower operational costs, higher satisfaction scores, and a customer experience that your customers will want to tell others about.

 There’s nothing quite like the literal voice of your customer; it will revolutionize your business! Quarterly sessions recommended, monthly for optimal impact.

Talent Short Bio

Dan Gingiss is a globally recognized customer experience expert who shows organizations how to transform ordinary touchpoints into extraordinary brand moments. With 20+ years in marketing and CX leadership at McDonald’s, Discover, and Humana, he blends practical, enterprise-tested strategies with engaging storytelling.

Dan’s philosophy is simple: remarkable experiences are the best marketing. His keynotes and advisory programs equip teams to design customer-centric journeys, reduce friction, spark positive conversations, and convert satisfied customers into vocal advocates.

Audiences leave with actionable frameworks, real-world examples, and step-by-step plays they can implement immediately to elevate retention, referrals, and revenue.

Dan Gingiss is a globally recognized customer experience keynote speaker, consultant, and author, known for his unique ability to turn ordinary customer interactions into extraordinary experiences. His philosophy centers on delivering remarkable customer experiences that not only meet but exceed expectations, transforming passive customers into enthusiastic brand advocates. Dan has spent over 20 years working with leading global brands, helping them differentiate themselves in a competitive market by focusing on customer-centric strategies.

Having held leadership positions in marketing and customer experience at companies such as McDonald’s, Discover, and Humana, Dan brings a wealth of practical experience and insights. His presentations offer actionable takeaways, proven strategies, and real-world examples that empower businesses to create memorable customer experiences. Dan is dedicated to showing organizations how delivering great customer experiences leads to loyalty, word-of-mouth promotion, and long-term growth.

Dan Gingiss’s expertise in customer experience stems from his two-decade career leading marketing and CX initiatives at several Fortune 500 companies. His extensive background includes deep dives into digital transformation, customer feedback mechanisms, and social media engagement. Throughout his career, Dan has been laser-focused on customer satisfaction, mastering the art of turning customer insights into tangible business outcomes.

Dan Gingiss is widely regarded as an authority in the field of customer experience, and his authority comes from both his thought leadership and practical, on-the-ground experience. As a keynote speaker, Dan has spoken at numerous high-profile events around the world, including Social Media Marketing World, Customer Contact Week, and CX Network. He is recognized for his engaging, dynamic speaking style and his ability to break down complex CX strategies into easy-to-understand, actionable insights.

Dan Gingiss’s trustworthiness as a keynote speaker comes from the consistency of his message and the proven results of his work. Over the years, Dan has garnered the trust of not only event planners and corporate leaders but also thousands of customers whose lives and experiences have been positively impacted by the strategies he promotes.

His approach is always backed by real-world examples, case studies, and a commitment to helping companies realize the power of a customer-first mindset. Dan’s transparent, data-driven insights enable companies to measure and track the improvements that come from focusing on customer experience, further solidifying his trustworthiness.

Dan is also known for his collaborative approach—working closely with businesses to understand their unique challenges before providing tailored solutions. Event planners and audiences alike know that Dan Gingiss brings valuable, actionable advice to the table, making him a trusted name in the industry.

Dan Gingiss is a powerful force in the customer experience industry, with a career that spans two decades of proven success. His expertise, grounded in real-world experience at Fortune 500 companies, makes him an authority on delivering exceptional customer service. His thought leadership, bolstered by keynote presentations, podcasts, and publications, has helped countless businesses transform their customer experiences.

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Talent Videos

AI Meets Customer Experience: Expect the Unexpected | Dan Gingiss Keynote

Dan Gingiss introduces his newest keynote, blending AI with customer experience to showcase four real-world use cases that revolutionize how businesses engage, serve, and delight customers.

In this playful, high-energy keynote teaser, Dan Gingiss (with a cameo from his AI avatar) unveils AI Meets Customer Experience: Expect the Unexpected. While the hype around artificial intelligence continues to grow, Dan emphasizes that the true differentiator is not just the technology, it’s the customer impact.

The keynote focuses on four practical use cases where AI transforms CX:

  1. Hyper-personalization – AI anticipates customer needs and preferences, creating seamless personalized journeys. Example: a coffee shop knowing your order before you do.
  2. Predictive analytics – Using AI to analyze customer behavior and optimize operations, helping brands predict demand and eliminate friction.
  3. Advanced virtual reality – Shopping and service experiences powered by immersive, futuristic environments (think Ready Player One applied to retail).
  4. Next-generation customer service – Adaptive AI systems that pivot in real time to handle inquiries and resolve issues at scale.

Attendees can expect interactive demonstrations, real-time engagement, and memorable stories that bring each use case to life. Dan promises an epic opening, a powerful finale, and practical takeaways that will leave leaders thinking differently about how to integrate AI into CX strategies.

Key Moments

00:00 Playful intro with Dan and his AI avatar debating who’s real
00:35 Announcement of new keynote: AI Meets Customer Experience
01:00 Framing: AI is powerful, but customer impact matters most
01:20 Use case 1: Hyper-personalization (anticipating customer needs)
01:45 Use case 2: Predictive analytics (behavior insights, optimization)
02:10 Use case 3: Advanced VR (immersive customer journeys)
02:30 Use case 4: Next-gen customer service (real-time adaptability)
02:55 Keynote features: demos, interaction, storytelling, opening & finale
03:20 Closing CTA: Book Dan Gingiss to transform your CX with AI

Discover why customer experience, not price or product is the most powerful differentiator for brands in today’s marketplace.

In this keynote clip, Dan Gingiss emphasizes that people only share two types of experiences: really good ones or really bad ones. He illustrates this with humor, noting that nobody ever tells a friend about a “perfectly average restaurant.”

Gingiss argues that competing on price is a losing game and that product differentiation has become increasingly difficult. The real battleground, he says, is customer experience. A memorable experience not only delights customers but also sparks word-of-mouth promotion, which is more powerful than any marketing campaign. In fact, he jokes that if he never has to run another traditional marketing campaign again, it will be too soon because the best marketing comes from customers themselves sharing positive stories.

However, he notes with concern that two-thirds of consumers cannot remember the last time they had a good experience. This gap presents a massive opportunity for businesses willing to prioritize CX. By being the brand that delivers consistently remarkable experiences, companies can stand out and build lasting loyalty.

Gingiss reassures leaders that great customer experience doesn’t have to be difficult, expensive, or time-consuming. It doesn’t require a massive multi-year transformation. Instead, it begins with building a culture of customer-centricity, where every employee regardless of role considers how they can improve the customer’s day. From front-line staff to back-office operations, each interaction contributes to the overall experience.

He closes by underscoring that every employee has the power to make a difference and that when organizations collectively focus on enhancing experiences, they not only win customers but also create advocates who drive growth.

Key Moments

00:05 – Customers only share great or terrible experiences.
00:30 – Competing on price and product is unsustainable.
01:00 – The true differentiator: remarkable customer experiences.
01:30 – Word-of-mouth is more powerful than traditional marketing.
02:00 – Two-thirds of consumers can’t recall their last good experience.
02:40 – CX doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated.
03:10 – Every employee can positively impact the customer experience.

In this keynote, customer experience leader Dan Gingiss explains why price and product are no longer enough to win loyalty and how remarkable experiences are now the most powerful growth strategy.

Dan Gingiss, introduced as one of the world’s top 30 customer experience professionals, takes the stage with a simple but powerful message: “There is something far more effective than another marketing campaign — a remarkable customer experience.”

He begins by pointing out a truth most leaders know but rarely act on: competing on price is a race to the bottom, while competing on product or service has become nearly impossible in industries where offerings are commoditized. What’s left, Gingiss argues, is the one differentiator that cannot be copied as easily: customer experience. Not only is it more sustainable, it’s also the cheapest and most efficient way to grow and retain a business.

The key, he says, is recognizing what customers actually share. People don’t talk about average moments; they share really good or really bad experiences. This insight gives companies an enormous opportunity to stand out simply by providing positive, shareable moments.

Yet Gingiss highlights a troubling statistic: two-thirds of consumers cannot remember the last time any brand exceeded their expectations. Despite interacting with dozens of companies each week, most people are left uninspired. While this reality is “incredibly sad,” he frames it as a massive opportunity. For organizations that choose to prioritize CX, it means the bar is set low and the ability to surprise and delight customers is within reach.

He emphasizes that customers today want relationships, not transactions. They are looking to connect with brands on a deeper level, to feel valued beyond the purchase itself. By focusing on relationships, engagement, and care, companies can transform customers into advocates.

Closing on an empowering note, Gingiss reassures the audience that creating remarkable experiences doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. It’s about being intentional and human. Every person in the organization has the potential to be “the experience maker.” His challenge: “Go forth and create remarkable experiences for your customers.”

Key Moments

00:10 – Dan Gingiss introduced as a top 30 global CX professional.
00:30 – Realization: customer experience is more powerful than marketing campaigns.
01:00 – Why price and product are no longer winning strategies.
01:30 – The power of experiences as the true differentiator.
02:00 – People share only really good or really bad experiences.
02:40 – Two-thirds of consumers can’t remember their last great experience.
03:30 – Consumers seek relationships, not transactions.
04:10 – Creating remarkable experiences doesn’t have to be hard or expensive.
04:40 – Call to action: everyone is the experience maker.

Dan shows why people share only the best and worst moments and how to engineer simple, human touches that tip sharing in your favor.

Dan Gingiss frames a powerful equation: Expectations + Emotion = Willingness to Share. When brands exceed expectations, they create positive emotion and customers eagerly share because genuinely great experiences are still rare. When brands merely meet expectations, emotion flatlines; there’s nothing “remarkable” to remark on. When brands miss expectations, negative emotion drives high sharing, often amplified on social media. The solution: flood the market with positive moments so “the lovers are louder than the haters.”

Dan illustrates how small signals shape big perceptions, using signs and micro-moments. A witty Manhattan storefront sign communicates honesty and personality; a harsh “no courtesy cups” notice triggers distrust and a mental spiral about corner-cutting. Policies can exist without sounding punitive, tone matters. He contrasts a gas station’s “Customer service is priceless” message with fast-food refill warnings that go viral for the wrong reasons.

He spotlights elegant design fixes that anticipate real behavior: a busy restaurant replaces “push/pull” with “in/out” on swinging doors to prevent collisions; a hotel’s motion light guides guests at night; a bakery’s oversized trash opening fits cups—but purposely not trays, solving two pains at once. He shows how brands can turn mistakes into marketing ASOS reframes a printed typo as a “limited edition,” earning massive engagement. Even a urinal “target” proves you can craft an experience anywhere.

Shifting to social care, Dan explains that customers now “talk back,” and responsive brands win advocacy. He shares Crock-Pot’s rapid, empathetic response to a TV-fueled backlash, turning anger into public support. At Discover, mimicking a customer’s playful tone and resolving the issue converted a skeptic into a loyal cardholder within 13 minutes—still happy years later.

Dan closes with seven practical actions: be available where your customers are; don’t fear complaints (they reveal what to fix); truly listen beyond survey scores; respond to everyone (except trolls); show empathy publicly; fix root causes to reduce service volume; and tightly align marketing with service so campaigns and care reinforce each other. The throughline: design for positive emotion, remove friction, and make sharing your ally.

Key Moments

00:00 Equation: Expectations + Emotion = Sharing
00:35 Why great experiences get shared (and “meh” doesn’t)
01:10 Make lovers louder than haters; tone of signs/policies matters
02:05 Micro-moments: witty storefront vs. punitive “no courtesy cups”
03:00 Refill-rule backlash examples and viral pile-ons
03:45 Positive signals: “Customer service is priceless”
04:10 Simple design wins: “In/Out” doors; nightstand motion light
05:05 Intentional constraints: trash opening fits cups, not trays
05:40 Turning mistakes into marketing: ASOS typo “limited edition”
06:10 Experience anywhere: urinal target, IKEA experiential ad
06:45 Social care power: This Is Us/Crock-Pot empathy turnaround
07:30 Discover case: 13 minutes from skeptic to customer (long-term)
08:20 Seven actions: be available, embrace complaints, listen, respond, empathize, fix root causes, align marketing + service
09:30 Call to act: engineer positive emotion and shareable moments

Talent FAQ's

Yes. He tailors examples, metrics, and frameworks to your audience and goals.

Yes. Interactive virtual keynotes and workshops are available.

Experience design, reducing friction, voice of customer, social sharing, and turning service into marketing.

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