Steven Van Belleghem Keynote Speaker

Expert on the future of marketing and customer relationships
Award-winning and best-selling author of business books
Guest Marketing Professor, Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School (2010-present)

Steven Van Belleghem's Biography

Steven Van Belleghem is a thought leader on the transformation of customer relations and the future of marketing. In 2012, Steven founded the inspiration company B-Conversational. He gives strategic advice to companies around the globe, helping them better understand the world of conversations, social media and digital marketing. In addition, he helps clients set up long-term inspirational programmes to shift mindsets and enrich the knowledge of their teams.

Steven started his professional career in 2000 as a research assistant at the Vlerick Business School, where he remains a guest marketing professor to this day. He is an expert in guiding companies through the smart use of technology in customer relationships, without losing sight of the human side of business.

In 2001, Steven became one of the first employees to join InSites Consulting, an innovative start-up in the online research industry. Over the next eleven years, he worked his way up to become one of the company’s managing partners and shareholders. During this period, the company grew from just 8 staff to 130, with branches in five countries.

Steven is a best-selling author of six influential business books on customer experience and digital transformation. He shares his ideas through his books, his popular social media channels, and his engaging keynote presentations. His most recent book, The Diamond in the Rough (2023), explores how organisations can uncover hidden opportunities to create exceptional customer value, and was recommended by Forbes as the number one must-read business book for 2024. His book When Digital Becomes Human received the CMI Management Book of the Year Award (2016) and highlights the need to digitise the customer relationship without losing the human touch. His earlier books, The Offer You Can’t Refuse (2020), Customers the Day After Tomorrow (2018), The Conversation Company (2012) and The Conversation Manager (2010), are award-winning best-sellers.

Steven has inspired world-leading companies such as Disney, Mastercard, Mercedes-Benz, Booking.com, Heineken and Salesforce with his visionary approach to customer experience. He believes in combining common sense, new technologies, an empathetic human touch, playing the long game, and taking social responsibility to win the hearts and loyalty of customers time and time again.

Cx Strategy: The offer you can’t refuse

Having a great product and offering good service is a minimum requirement in today’s market space. It’s your ticket to ride, not your ticket to win. And the same can be said about digital convenience.

Convenience is a commodity these days: if you have it, ‘fine’; if you don’t, it becomes a negative differentiator. Buying a quality product in a convenient way creates a strong transactional relationship but if you want to give your customers ‘an offer they can’t refuse’, you need to do more.

Creating a Strong Customer Culture: The diamond in the rough

There is a big paradox in the world of customer experience right now: every company has wonderful intentions to make their customers happy but in reality the quality of execution is often average to low.

In many cases, the best intentions don’t progress beyond the PowerPoint presentation. Over the past twelve years, Steven has spoken extensively with thousands of CX professionals and his conclusion is that most companies are a ‘diamond in the rough’ in terms of customer experience: they want it so badly but they don’t succeed.

Transform the role of humans in CX: When digital becomes human

There is an urgent need for an extreme transformation of the customer relationship. Customers live in a world of self-service, big data, customer automation and the integration of the online & offline world.

Failing to implement the digital relationship puts your company’s future on the line. A successful digital transformation is key but it will not be enough.

Customer Experience and AI: Customers the day after tomorrow

Artificial Intelligence has the power to change the customer relationship forever. We all believe tech is cool and shiny but our focus on the tech part can blind us to other aspects.

In this keynote Steven demonstrates that not tech but customer benefits should be the guiding star in your decision making. Using AI to create faster than real time service, hyper personalized offerings and the highest convenience levels possible generate value for your organization.

He advises global organisations on the future of customer relationships and marketing, helping leaders navigate digital transformation while maintaining a strong human connection.
He combines entrepreneurial experience and academic insight as founder of B-Conversational and guest professor at Vlerick Business School to deliver practical, strategic guidance.
He helps organisations harness technology, data and social media to build meaningful, long-term customer relationships that drive loyalty and growth.
He is a best-selling author whose work, including The Diamond in the Rough and When Digital Becomes Human, translates emerging trends into actionable frameworks for business leaders.
His keynotes equip leaders to rethink customer experience, embrace innovation and create sustainable competitive advantage in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.