Canadian keynote speaker, business advisor, editor of TheCoolHunter.net

Working globally, focusing on customer experience, design, trends, branding, innovation, tourism and retail

Tuija Seipell  (@tuijaseipell)

business advisor

Tuija Seipell is a Canadian keynote speaker and business advisor who is both passionate and inspiring.

As the long-time editor of TheCoolHunter.net, Tuija looks at things from a position of authority. She understands that complicated is easy, but simple is hard. And she knows that simplicity wins with customers. She often encourages companies that are worried about the customer experience they provide to first fix the basics, since the wow that many businesses seek can (and must) wait.

In her work as a business advisor, Tuija is typically the person who brings the customer into the discussion. She recognizes that the Customer Experience (a currently trendy and often-misunderstood concept) is whatever the customer experiences personally, and often not what a business claims it is.

Coach and Advisor to International Startups

An Enthusiastic International Ambassador

Photo by Terhi Tuovinen, House of Lapland

Tuija enthusiastically accepted an invitation from the House of Lapland to serve as one of their six Lapland Ambassadors. These people promote the region through words, deeds and actions, and Tuija is the only one who resides outside of Finland.

Helping Plan and Create a Visitor Experience

Tuija discussed the importance of values as the basis of customer experience and branding at two brainstorming workshops in Rovaniemi, Finland. The mandate of the group, assembled by the Finnish National Parks Service, was to create “one of the most unique visitor centers in the world.”

Events Industry Judge and Advisor

For four years running, Tuija served as a distinguished international judge for Evento, the event industry’s annual awards gala in Helsinki. One year she she gave a presentation that advised business leaders ask What if instead of What is, since “facts” often kill good ideas. The following year, she presented an award to Finland’s First Lady, Jenni Elina Haukio.

Featured in Kauppalehti OPTIO

Tuija was the subject of a feature article called Cool Hunter & Design Blogger Tuija Seipell Creates Trends in Kauppalehti OPTIO magazine. Read a PDF of this article HERE (in Finnish). OPTIO covers social issues as well as business and economic events, reaching Finnish consumers throughout the country.

Helping Celebrate the First Inn

Tuija has worked with numerous hotel and hospitality clients, and was invited to speak at the Seipel 260 Celebration in Turku, Finland. This event celebrated Johan Reinhold Seipel, who opened the country’s first hotel in that city 260 years ago. Seipel is unquestionably the Father of Finland’s hotel industry and may be a distant relation. Inset: Tuija with architect Benito Casagrande who is responsible for preserving and restoring Seipel’s historic building among many other highly regarded projects.

International Guest TV Panelist

Tuija appeared as an international guest panelist on YLE1, Finnish National TV, to discuss and debate Customer Service in that country. Watch the full program HERE. The segment with Tuija begins at 28:43 (in Finnish).

Celebrating Life in the Arctic: SIIDA

Interior: siida.fi | Exterior: jacadatravel.com

As both a speaker and a consultant, Tuija helped to develop the expansion strategy and customer experience of SIIDA, located in Inari, Northern Lapland. SIIDA is a combination of The National Museum of the Finnish Sámi and the Finnish Forest Services Nature Centre. Located 260 km (162 miles) north of the Arctic Circle, it draws more than 100,000 visitors per year. Inset: As a result of her work as a Lapland Ambassador, Tuija connected with Liisa Holmberg, a respected leader in the Sámi community.

Offering Practical Advice: Focus and Simplify

This YouTube video is an excerpt from a 2018 Stockholm presentation in which Tuija Seipell, Canadian keynote speaker, business advisor and editor of TheCoolHunter.net discusses business strategy and the need to focus and simplify everything for the customer, user or guest. Video opens in a new window or in the YouTube app.

“Big Picture” Guidance for Smaller Businesses

Not every event on Tuija’s calendar involves hundreds of people and a large venue. She welcomes the chance to lead a hands-on customer experience workshop for small and mid-sized businesses, and participant feedback indicates that participants both value and follow her practical “big picture” advice.

Advising and Encouraging Finnish Design

Customized Benchmarking Study Tours

In association with Ted Topping, president of Creative Insights Inc., Vancouver, Tuija has organized and hosted several Customer Experience Benchmarking Study Tours in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia. This unique form of hands-on learning expands horizons, sparks ideas and inspires change. International clients include: METRO Department Stores from Singapore; tourism, business and civic leaders from Rovaniemi, Finland; executives from SRV Rakennus, a leading developer and innovator in the Finnish construction industry.

Benchmarking Cx Best Practices