Hugh van Praet

Your very own customer experience specialist!

My name is Hugh van Praet, Principal at Guiding Progress. I like to say that I found my professional purpose in helping individuals and businesses elevate their performance.

After several years as a sales executive with companies such as Oracle, IBM, and smaller high-tech start-ups. I knew I had more in me, and that’s why I decided to create my own path in January 2017 as an employee and customer experience specialist, and as an award-winning mentor to CEOs of SMEs and Corporate Leaders.

I have lived and worked in North America and Europe.

Empower Your Tech-Oriented SME with Strategic Commercial Development Support

Welcome to Guiding Progress, where we specialise in guiding technology-oriented SMEs through pivotal commercial development stages. Our consultancy & interim management company focuses on three critical areas:

Assess & Design your local and global Go-To-Market strategy.
Elevate or define your partnership strategy for maximum impact.
Address operational commercial challenges to streamline your growth.

Primarily servicing services companies and SaaS vendors, we excel in refining partnership strategies and optimising sales cycles with a customer-centric approach, propelling sustained company growth.

By collaborating with us, our clients create an environment that not only fuels business expansion but also attracts top talent and retains the best team members. We prioritise enhancing the customer experience, creating a workplace where employees flourish and contribute to the company’s long-term success.

Let’s take the first step together by understanding your goals and exploring how we can assist in your journey towards growth and improvement.

My ideal individual clients

You need a professional sounding board

The freedom of being able to make all the decisions can also be a curse. Sometimes you just need to bounce ideas around and hear a different voice.

Digital vs Human part

Digital isn’t replacing the human part of relationships. The human part is becoming more valuable, but how to leverage that in the digital world.

Networking opportunities

Working for yourself doesn’t have to mean being alone. Join a community like-minded of entrepreneurs and sales professionals to leverage best practices.

My ideal individual clients

You need a professional sounding board

The freedom of being able to make all the decisions can also be a curse. Sometimes you just need to bounce ideas around and hear a different voice.

Digital vs Human part

Digital isn’t replacing the human part of relationships. The human part is becoming more valuable, but how to leverage that in the digital world.

Networking opportunities

Working for yourself doesn’t have to mean being alone. Join a community like-minded of entrepreneurs and sales professionals to leverage best practices.

My clients might be going through

Global competition has made CX hugely important in retaining clients and encouraging customer loyalty. Find out how you can inspire your employees to go the extra mile and provide the best customer experience.

Poor customer retention

High staff turnover is disruptive, expensive, and doesn’t make for a good customer experience. We’ll help you identify why you’re hemorrhaging staff and what you can do to stem the flow.

High employee churn

Modern-day employees and customers want to know what your company stands for. Your mission and vision must be clear to all and evident in the way you operate.

Cultural confusion

Improving customer experience is key to any successful business. The biggest challenge is how to do that best, not only in person but also through digital channels — improving the human part of sales online.

Choosing the right technology

The success of any new product, service, or direction depends on everybody pulling together in the same direction. This is a key facet of leadership, and you must get it right from the off. We’ll make sure you have a clear strategy and set of plans to lead you to success.

New product launch or new market

4 Customer Experience Mistakes Businesses Make

While helping businesses as a customer experience specialist, I’ve identified a few common mistakes that can quickly turn a positive customer experience into a negative one.

Besides these common mistakes as an example, please feel free to download “How to Build Effective Customer Experience Feedback Surveys” with the link below.

1. Not Asking For Feedback

One of the most common mistakes businesses make is not asking for feedback from their customers. This can be a missed opportunity to learn about what your customers want and how you can improve your business.

2. Not Listening to Feedback

Even if you do ask for feedback, it won’t do you any good if you don’t listen to it. Make sure you take the time to read and understand what your customers are saying. This will help you make the necessary changes to improve your business.

3. Not Responding to Feedback

Another mistake businesses make is not responding to feedback. This can make customers feel like their feedback is not important to you. (Make sure you take the time to respond to feedback, even if it’s just to say thank you.) But to react appropriately and not like 61% of all employees, they need to buy into the ethos and values of the company they represent.

4. Not Being Empathetic

Empathy is one of the most important things in customer service. So, remember to take the time to put yourself in your customers’ shoes and see things from their perspective.

Companies that trust us

For YOU

Coaching, Mentorship for Managers, Employees and Other Professionals

We help middle managers or business owners in two areas:

Build clarity about how they can grow their profession or business.
Enhance skills needed to get there.

We do this through a seven-week program, as mentioned in the “For You” tab. Our experiences with Oracle, IBM, startups, and receiving a mentorship award allow us to call ourselves “employee experience specialists” and “customer experience specialists”.

Why Guiding Progress?

Our mission as a customer experience specialist is to help businesses of all sizes reinvent the way they think and operate. We see business success as the result of a series of behaviors.

We’ll work with you to identify simple changes that will supercharge performance, customer experience, and ROI, embracing the digital revolution and harnessing the power of human connection.

Our values are Do More with Less, Embrace & Drive Change, and Build Open & Honest Relationships.