Businesses Urged to Rebuild Old School Connection as Customers Look for More Than Transactions

Award-winning entrepreneur, author, and speaker Justin Herald, CEO of Customer Culture and creator of the Service Rebellion approach to customer experience, says businesses across the world are overlooking the simplest and most powerful growth driver they already have: the willingness of their own customers to help them grow.

Herald, who built the global brand Attitude Inc. from just $50, says customers today are more vocal, more connected, and more influential than ever. Yet many businesses fail to harness that goodwill because they have drifted away from the fundamentals that build loyalty: genuine connection, deliberate culture, and real human engagement.

"Businesses think customers are disengaged, but it is usually the other way around," Herald said. "Customers want to feel a connection. They want to feel valued. And most importantly, they actually want to help businesses they like succeed. But the business has to meet them halfway."

A global shift back to the basics of human connection

Herald says the rise of digital noise, automation, and transactional service has created a culture gap between businesses and the people who buy from them. His Service Rebellion philosophy directly addresses this issue.

"We have automated ourselves into disconnection," he said. "We have made everything faster, but not better. What customers miss, and what they respond to, is the old school approach: real conversations, real appreciation and businesses that genuinely care about their experience."

Through Customer Culture, Herald and his team work with organisations of all sizes to rebuild the behaviours, mindset, and internal culture that drive long-term loyalty and customer advocacy.
"The most successful businesses are not the ones with the biggest marketing budgets," he said. "They are the ones that deliberately create a culture where customers feel understood, valued, and part of the brand."
Culture must be deliberate, not accidental
Herald warns that many businesses treat culture as a byproduct rather than a strategic driver of growth.

"Culture is happening in your business whether you shape it or not," he said. "When it is intentional, customers feel it. When it is careless, customers feel that too, and they vote with their feet."
Through his keynote speaking, training programs, and bestselling books, Herald has become a global advocate for businesses rehumanising their service, reconnecting with their customers, and empowering staff to take ownership of the customer experience.
"A culture of ownership and connection turns customers into advocates. A culture of indifference turns them into someone else's customer."
Customers want to help, but businesses must enable it
One of the biggest missed opportunities, Herald says, is referrals.
"Customers are talking about businesses every day, but without a simple way to act on it, the moment disappears," he said.
That problem led him to create ReferUs, a platform that enables customers to send a referral in under ten seconds.
"It is the modern version of saying, 'Here is their number, give them a call.' We did not reinvent referral behaviour. We simply made it possible in the moment when people are already talking about a great business."
But Herald is clear that technology is not a substitute for culture.
"A tool will not fix a poor customer experience. But when you combine genuine connection with an easy way for customers to help you grow, the results are extraordinary."
A return to what has always worked
Herald believes businesses are entering a global connection reset, where meaningful interaction becomes more valuable than digital noise.
"We are seeing a shift back to trust, back to relationships, back to businesses that treat customers like people, not transactions," he said. "Customers want to belong to a business that stands for something, and they want to support the businesses they love."

"Old school connection is not old-fashioned. It is the future."

About Justin Herald

Justin Herald is the CEO of Customer Culture, founder of ReferUs, and the creator of the Service Rebellion customer experience philosophy. He built the global brand Attitude Inc. from $50 into a multimillion-dollar enterprise and now works with organisations worldwide to transform customer experience, internal culture and business performance. Herald is an internationally acclaimed speaker and bestselling author of 8 books.
www.CustomerCulture.com
www.JustinHerald.com

PO Box 314 Pacific Fair, QLD, 4218

Customer Culture, led by award winning entrepreneur, author and international speaker Justin Herald, helps organisations transform the way they serve, engage and connect with their customers. Herald, best known for building the global brand Attitude Inc. from just $50, is the creator of the Service Rebellion approach to customer experience and the founder of ReferUs. Through Customer Culture, he equips businesses and their teams with practical tools, deliberate culture strategies and real world customer engagement skills that drive loyalty, advocacy and long term growth.

This release was published on openPR.