Jay Baer opens by acknowledging the unprecedented challenges businesses face in recent years. Escalating customer expectations, he explains, constantly shift the levers of competitive advantage. In past eras, advantages came from social media, content marketing, empathy, or word of mouth. But today, Baer’s research identifies a new reality: the key to loyalty is being the easiest company to work with.

He emphasizes that customers now expect hassles, so organizations that remove friction provide a haven. Drawing from his experience founding five multimillion-dollar companies, Baer connects personally with business leaders, sharing that he too has faced their same challenges. Through extensive first-party research and consumer studies, he discovered what customers care about most today: Quick, Clear, and Kind.

Baer illustrates how even in industries where speed is not a traditional differentiator, unexpected quickness can become a powerful loyalty driver, creating word of mouth. He explains the uncertainty gap when businesses know details customers do not, anxiety builds, and anxious customers hesitate to spend. By offering clarity and proactive communication, companies reduce anxiety and unlock growth.

He concludes that businesses aiming to thrive must master these three unbreakable laws of loyalty. Speed, clarity, and kindness go beyond transactions, forming the foundation of trust and long-term relationships in today’s marketplace.

Jay Baer begins with a striking statistic: 80% of businesses believe they deliver superior service, but only 8% of customers agree. He challenges audiences with a simple question, why isn’t your company among the handful consistently recognized for great service?

Baer reframes customer service from a “necessary evil” into one of the most crucial assets for customer retention and acquisition. In today’s transparent world, service interactions play out in public, making customer experience a “spectator sport.” Success isn’t only about resolving issues, it’s about how onlookers perceive your brand’s response.

His Hug Your Haters keynote, based on his bestselling book and extensive research, uncovers the science of complaints: who makes them, why, and how they do it. Baer demonstrates that complaints aren’t the real threat, ignoring them is. Haters, he argues, may be your most important customers, and caring more than your competitors is one of the simplest paths to growth.

The presentation combines data with humor and customized examples for each audience, all organized around a six-part framework that leaders and frontline teams can implement immediately. Attendees leave with a fresh understanding: customer service is no longer a cost center it’s a vital marketing tool and a differentiator in competitive markets.

Jay Baer’s keynote captures his signature mix of humor, strategy, and storytelling. Introduced as one of the most retweeted digital marketers, bestselling author, and president of Convince & Convert, Baer sets the stage by highlighting his belief in “utility” marketing so useful that people would pay for it.

He explains how customer experience has overtaken price as the key differentiator, and why customer service is the new marketing. With 80% of companies believing they provide excellent service, but only 8% of customers agreeing—he challenges audiences to rethink how they engage with dissatisfied customers.

Through his Hug Your Haters framework, Baer stresses the importance of responding to every complaint in every channel, every time. He emphasizes that haters aren’t a problem, ignoring them is. Complaints should be viewed as gifts, representing not just one unhappy customer but a larger group who stays silent.

Baer shares examples, including a café chain that turns critics into secret shoppers, proving that hate can be turned into help. He underscores that trust is the foundation of all business, without it, nothing else matters. Transparency and openness, he argues, are irreplaceable assets.

He concludes by encouraging attendees to stop trying to be amazing and instead focus on being useful. By asking each morning, “How can I help?”, individuals and organizations can transform relationships, create loyalty, and stand apart in competitive markets.

This lighthearted clip captures Jay Baer as host of Content Feud, a live game show for marketing professionals. Modeled after the classic “Family Feud” format, the game asks marketers to guess the most popular survey responses about trends and tactics in digital marketing.

Baer’s quick wit, playful commentary, and industry expertise keep the energy high. From teasing players about their answers (“looks like a sasquatch captured a child”) to building suspense over high-stakes final rounds, he blends humor with pointed reminders about what marketers should know.

The questions highlight key industry issues, from emerging trends like video and influencer marketing to email subject line best practices. Contestants’ answers are judged with both accuracy and humor, keeping the audience engaged and laughing throughout.

The segment closes with the winning team pulling off a surprise victory, underscoring Baer’s knack for making professional insights memorable through fun and entertainment. Beyond the laughs, Content Feud reinforces Baer’s belief that marketing success comes from both data-driven knowledge and the ability to engage people in creative, human ways.