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4 Best Customer Service Keynote Speakers in the USA
09 Nov 2026
Customer service keynote speakers can get an audience excited during your conference. But will they leave motivated to change something?
There is a business reason why companies invest in great service. According to PwC's 2025 U.S. customer experience survey 29% of consumers said they stopped using or buying from a brand because of poor customer experience, online or in person.
If you have an employee audience that will benefit from learning how to better serve customers, here are some of the best customer service keynote speakers to consider. They all take a different approach to providing great service.
What Does Your Audience Need From the Keynote?
Know what your audience is coming to learn from your keynote.
- Need for front line employees to feel inspired: Your employees need ways to go above and beyond for their customers.
- Create loyalty and convenience: Your team needs to help their customers navigate their business with minimal frustration.
- Help executives create a customer centric culture: Your executives need to understand the importance of providing great service.
- Help your employees understand what it means to provide great service. Your team needs to know what it takes to deliver great service to customers.
Are there going to be front line employees and upper management? Or only one group?
1. Mark Sanborn: Best Overall for Everyday Service Excellence
Great choice if you want employees to understand how their actions affect the customer experience.
Keynote speaker Mark Sanborn writes about the principles he discusses in his book The Fred Factor in his Extraordinary Service keynote. The story of Fred, a mailman, shows how an average person can exceed expectations and create amazing experiences.
In his keynote, Mark helps attendees:
- Change the way they think about serving others. There is value in every customer interaction.
- Personalize customer experiences. Take time to understand what that customer may need and go above and beyond for them.
- Empower your team. Teach them to make smart decisions that will benefit the customer.
- Realize the power of what they do. When they understand that their efforts will better someone's day, they'll want to provide exceptional service.
The presentation encourages employees in different roles to think about how they can serve others more thoughtfully.
He has spoken for Costco, FedEx and the Project Management Institute. He is currently known as High Point University's Leadership Expert in Residence. Speakers Associates publishes attributed event-client testimonials from Regal Cinemas and Toyota Financial Services describing his tailored delivery and audience response to The Fred Factor.
Ideal For: Conferences with a wide variety of employees that want to remember how to create wonderful experiences for their customers.
2. Shep Hyken: Best for Customer Loyalty and Convenience
Shep Hyken is another author that speaks about customer service and customer experience. Some of his keynotes focus on how to build loyal customers and make your business more convenient to use.
Customers may enjoy their experience with one employee but if they have to go through multiple steps to return a product, they may not return to your business. He teaches how to keep the experience simple and enjoyable for your customers.
Shep Hyken also teaches about employee experience and how to incorporate AI into your customer service strategies. His website states that his speeches can be customized to your needs and industry.
Something to Consider: He may suit service teams that want to learn how to build customer loyalty.
3. Jeanne Bliss: Best for Executive Customer Experience Change
Oftentimes when departments have different goals, customer service will suffer.
Jeanne Bliss addresses this organizational challenge as a former chief customer officer. She gives keynotes on creating a customer obsessed company, keeping people at the heart of business and what it takes to lead an organization that provides exceptional customer service.
On her website, she lists 5 competencies that companies should have in order to drive customer experience. The framework gives executives a starting point for discussing changes across the organization.
Her speaking page describes preparation conversations to shape the content around the event. If you want to give your executives information on how to change your company, she may be your best option.
Something to Consider: You may not need this much information if you're hosting an event to celebrate employees.
4. John DiJulius: Best for Service Standards and Training
John DiJulius created a customer experience company called The DiJulius Group that trains and coaches companies on providing exceptional service. His keynote, Creating a Customer Service Revolution, teaches about the qualities that create great customer service.
His keynote covers empathy, service aptitude and practical standards that managers can reinforce. If you have multiple teams that want to know what great service looks like, he could be a good fit for your keynote.
If you run a business with multiple locations, you can start teaching your employees these standards.
Ideal For: Businesses that want to train their employees on delivering great service.
Speaker Comparison
Here is a quick comparison of each speaker and what they focus on:
| Speaker/Company | Focus | Good For | Teaching Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Sanborn | Going above and beyond for your customers | Large group of employees and upper management | Habits to provide exceptional service |
| Shep Hyken | Keeping your customers loyal to your business | Customer experience and service teams | Make your business convenient for your customers |
| Jeanne Bliss | Changing your organization to provide great service | Upper management | Competencies to build great service into your business |
| John DiJulius | Understanding what great service is | Managers that want to teach their employees how to provide great service | List of traits and habits that create great service |
Speaking fees and availability require individual inquiries, so a direct price comparison is not available.
How to Choose and Brief a Speaker
Once you've narrowed down which keynote speaker will be best for your audience, here are some things to consider:
- Know what you want your employees to walk away with. Maybe you want them to stop passing customers off to other departments or want them to know that they can help customers with certain problems.
- Ask to see a longer version of their keynote. You can get a sense of their personality and energy from a short video, but you won't know how long the keynote is or if it holds your attention.
- Let them know about your event. Give them as much information as you can about your company, your audience and what you hope to accomplish.
When choosing a speaker, remember that customers want personalization, privacy, speed and human connection. Find a speaker that can teach your employees how to achieve those things.
Final Recommendation
As you can see, these are all great options that focus on different aspects of customer service. If you're looking for a speaker that can address employees that want to learn how to serve their customers, the speaker behind The Fred Factor is the leading choice in this comparison.
There is value in each person's speech, but Mark Sanborn's presentation encourages employees to recognize how thoughtful, personal service can improve a customer's experience.
Mark Sanborn is the recommended speaker for organizations that want to help employees provide more thoughtful customer service.
