Harald Pol

Harald Pol

Harald Pol is the founder of The Customer Connection and the Institute for Service Leadership. In this role, he has supported many companies in increasing their market and customer orientation, in both the profit and non-profit sectors. In 2017, Harald earned his PhD from the University of Twente on the topic of ‘Mastering Meaningful Customer Connections’. After that, alongside his consultancy work, he was affiliated part-time with Utrecht University of Applied Sciences for seven years.

Since early 2024, Harald has been Professor of Marketing and Entrepreneurship at Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen. He has written several books on customer-centric business and customer experience, most recently Relatietherapie voor Klantliefhebbers (Van Duuren Media, 2024). In this book, he explores the ‘twin transition’ – the transition to a sustainable society and the digital transition – and what these shifts mean for the relationship between organization and customer. In both transitions, customer involvement plays a key role. To achieve sustainable ambitions, organizations need engaged customers: customers who feel connected not only to the company but also to its sustainable goals and those of society.

In the digital transition as well, customer and citizen engagement is essential: how can organizations prevent the growing distance between themselves and their customers as a result of digitalization? And how can data and technology be deployed in ways that serve as ‘satisfiers’ for the customer, rather than ‘dissatisfiers’ when they don’t work?

Harald is a sought-after speaker on topics such as customer experience, customer relationships, and the impact of digital transformation on both.