Customers/Clients Archives - Page 19 of 35

Do your customers think you’re a “10”?

April 26, 2010

In the drive up windows of one of the country's largest banks — there is a sign. "Please honk if we've delivered a "10" customer service experience."

I've never heard anyone honk or honked myself. Now…I want to honk. I feel bad about not honking. I can see that the tellers are being very friendly. They use my first name. They enclose a pen in the little tube so I don't have to ask to borrow one. But here's the thing. That's not being a 10. That's just being good. Being a 10 isn't about being good — it's about being spectacular.

For those of you over 40, you will remember the movie 10 with Bo Derek. The premise of the entire movie is that Bo Derek is so extraordinary that Dudley Moore makes a complete and utter fool of himself.

Check out the trailer (e-mail subscribers, click here) and then we'll talk about how Bo relates to marketing and our customers.

According to the movie, Bo wasn't just pretty. She wasn't satisfactory. She was stunning. She was so remarkable — she made everyone stop and notice.

That's what I want the bank tellers to be. Not friendly. Not doing their job. But remarkable. Do something that I can't help but tell others about. (Who is going to say…"boy, the bank teller called me Drew today.") Dare to be remarkable.

What does that look like? It looks like a small gesture that says you know who I am and appreciate me and my business enough to do something that most would never even think of doing.

Include a dog treat with my receipt because my dog is with me? Nice but not remarkable. Include a dog treat because you remember that I have a black lab, even when she isn't with me… remarkable.

Send me your newsletter, chock full of helpful hints? Nice but not remarkable. Drop off a book you think I will enjoy because you know that I grew up owning horses… remarkable.

Include a free sample when you ship my order to me? Nice but not remarkable. Include a packet of flower seeds that will grow perfectly in my climate with a note saying you can imagine how happy we are to see Spring after a miserable winter… remarkable.

Then, I will honk my heart out. I will tell everyone about your business. And, I will love you enough to never leave…no matter how much your competitors woo me.

That's a 10. And that's why we rarely (figuratively or literally) honk our horns for the companies that serve us.

The bar is set pretty low

April 16, 2010

Image by Thomas Hawk via Flickr

In marketing, we talk a lot about being remarkable. We want to delight our customers. We want to create moments that they can't help talking about. In short — we want to stand above our competition in a way that we become the brand of choice.

I'm here to tell you — we don't have to be on all too high a step stool do just that.

Earlier this week I was in Mt. Kisko, New York conducting a social media workshop for an advertising agency. After we were done, the agency owner and I decided we needed some caffeine, so we swung through the local Dunkin' Donuts.

What I witnessed in those next 15 minutes could be a half day case course on customer care and employee relations. I'll try to sum it up.

It's around 5:00 in the afternoon, so most of the people in line (and there was a significant line) were just buying some form of coffee. There were two guys behind the counter and a manager who flies in with supplies (milk, syrups etc) and then flies out.

It's taking them forever to fill anyone's order or advance the line. People seem pretty frustrated with the two clerks — neither of whom seem to actually know how to make many of the coffee drinks. Worse…as they are getting it wrong, they're sort of giggling about it — clearly uncomfortable. But they're not asking the manager for help, which I observe and think is a bit odd.

Finally, it's my turn to order. I order the two coffees and the guy has to ask me 3 times what I ordered. Meanwhile, the other clerk is taking an order from an old man who is clearly agitated. The manager walks by (carrying more milk) and the old man says to him in a very loud voice, "this is the worst Dunkin' Donuts I have ever been in!" (Now before you keep reading…stop and ask yourself if a customer said that to you in front of a room full of customers…how would you react?)

The manager looks at the old man and in a very sarcastic voice replies, "thanks for the compliment." The old man shakes his head and then commences to shout at the clerk because he's making the wrong coffee. I'm thinking to myself two things: First…blog post heaven and second, this can't get any worse.

I was wrong.

After the old man leaves, muttering under his breath, the manager says to the two clerks — "if that old guy ever comes in here again — you tell him to go someplace else." In the next breath, he adds, "and if you two would stop talking to each other and listen (and then he shouts for some emphasis) LISTEN to the customers — you wouldn't be getting all of these orders wrong." He continues to berate his clerks for a couple more minutes and then storms into the back of the store.

As you might imagine, the two clerks gave him a look that pretty much substituted for the finger and get back to trying to fill the order. Now I get why they didn't ask him for help.

Meanwhile, I am holding up a $10 bill because we got our coffees (mine was wrong but it wasn't worth the drama of saying so) but no one has taken my money. Both clerks nod at the other guy when I ask who I should pay. I practically have to insist that someone take my money. Finally, the kid who filled our order starts to ring us up. I remind him of what we ordered. My coffee alone should have been $3.95 but somehow he ends up charging me $4.20.

The point of this incredibly long tale? Here are some of my takeaways:

Without training and setting a good example — no employee can be successful
Secret shopping is a vital investment if you own a retail establishment
The manager/leader of an organization sets the tone for everything that happens
As customers, our standards and expectations are incredibly low (which means it should be easy to exceed them.)
Some people just should not have "front of the house" jobs
It only takes one bad experience can taint the consumer's impression about the entire brand (I see and think about Dunkin' Donuts in a totally different way now)

The whole experience was a train wreck. Are you so sure that your management team and front line employees would fare better? Are you really sure?

How to get more Facebook fans

April 13, 2010

I saw this promotion late last night as I logged onto Facebook and I thought it was worthy of sharing it with you.

Everyone seems to want more Facebook fans…but really you actually want Facebook fans who know a little bit about you or are willing to try what you've got to offer.

That's what makes this Kraft Macaroni and Cheese promotion so smart.

On my NewsFeed page, I noticed this ad to the right. It offered me a free box of Mac and Cheese (hello…cheesy explosion to boot!) if I'd become their fan.

Now I will confess two things. 1) I really love Kraft's Mac and Cheese. 2) I would have never even thought to fan their page without this free offer. If the ad had simply said..please be our fan, I would have ignored it.

Lesson: If there's not a very apparent "something in it for me" we don't go around fanning pages.

So, I clicked on the become a fan button and was taken to their fan page.

I almost left because I could not see how to get my free coupon.

Lesson: Be blatantly obvious and then some. We are only going to look for about 5 seconds.

Fortunately, others had either been smarter or more persistent, so as I scanned the messages, someone had said – go to the third tab (wall, info and voila..free cheesy)

So I stuck with it long enough to click on the Get The Coupon button.

From there, I was taken to this capture screen where Kraft got the goods on me… my name, address (so they could mail me the coupon) and the holy grail — my e-mail address.

They also snagged a bit of demographics in the check boxes below.

Lesson: If you're offering something of value, don't be afraid to ask for something of value in return.

I'm betting they scored a huge number of new fans. And now for about the cost of a click, they are actually putting product in the new fan's hands. Think of what most businesses pay to get a consumer to give their product a try.

Compare and contrast this effort — where Kraft not only gets you to sample their product but also gets your contact information and some demographics to the lady standing in the grocery store, handing you a little cup of the mac and cheese.

How would you rate the relative value?

Trends shaping 2010: Dang it, we’re getting old!

March 15, 2010

Back in December, I wrote about some of the trends that would be influencing all of our businesses in 2010. I thought it might be helpful to look at some of these trends a bit more closely.

Let's dig into the trend that we've actually been anticipating for the past several years. After all, we've known that the baby boomers are such a huge group — there's no way their crossing into the 65+ category wouldn't throw our society a curve.Look at these facts:

By 2020, people over 65 worldwide will outnumber children under the age of 5 for the first time.
By 2020, 22% of western civilization will be 65+.
The ratio of workers to retirees will continue to fall. Today it’s 3:1. By 2030, it will be just over 2:1.

So what does that mean for all of us?

Shifting away from our youth focus :

For so long, mass marketing has been all about the young. As this trend takes hold, marketers are going to shift their attention to those boomers. Remember, this group of seniors is tech savvy, active and has quite a bit of disposable income. Even products that are typically designed for the youth market will be aimed at seniors, like motorbikes and technology.

Simplified, smarter products :

We've already seen companies like Jitterbug simplifying technology for a senior's physical limitations and that's just the beginning. Now, there's going to be a huge new market for smarter products that accommodate senior's needs.

For example, there are canes and walkers being created with GPS technology built right in. Wonder what will be next?

Subtle safety products:

This era of seniors isn't ready to slow down or think of themselves as elderly. Most of them are still quite active and aren't going to see themselves as someone who needs to be taken care of. But let's face it, as we get older — we need a little assistance.

Ford and other car manufacturers are working on technology that can detect if the driver is getting drowsy (a major cause of car accidents with seniors behind the wheel). As soon as the car senses the driver is not alert, it automatically lowers the temperature in the vehicle to wake up the driver.

Here's another one — Thermador is developing a stove top that automatically shuts off as soon as the pot is lifted off the burner.

New problems/opportunities brought on by the volume:

In the good old days, when someone got a little older, their family rallied around and took care of them. But with families scattered across the land and with fewer offspring per family — many boomers are going to be on their own.

3 of the 10 industries with the fastest employment growth are tied to this trend.

Home healthcare
Elderly and disabled services
Community care facilities

There are also all kinds of senior concierge companies cropping up. They'll do everything from take someone to the doctor and take notes, to putting up your Christmas decorations or running errands.

How can you take advantage of this?

That's the real question. As with all trends the question is not whether or not they're true but what we're going to do when they come to pass. How can your business capitalize on what's coming? How can you be come indispensable to this huge market?

Do you inspire customer service tales?

March 9, 2010

Everyone loves to tell a good story. Stories teach, they inspire laughter and the bring about change. As consumers, we love to tell stories about the people we buy from — good, bad or ugly.

If I stopped 10 of your clients/customers today and asked them to tell me a story about your company's customer service — what story would they tell?

Would it be as compelling as this story about Frank? (E-mail and RSS feed subscribers, click here to watch the video)

If after watching the video, you had to honestly answer no — ask yourself this: What could I do on a consistent basis that would get my customers to the point where they couldn't stop themselves from telling the story?

A big thanks to Laynie Kelly for telling me about this video!

Relentless follow through

January 26, 2010

One of the biggest relationship killers is silence.

Do you know that most businesses lose the opportunity to get a new client simply because they don't respond to an inquiry? That's right…return a phone call, answer an e-mail and voila — you get a client. The percentage of businesses that fail to respond to a new business inquiry is staggering.

If you have a problem that the client is counting on you to solve…regular phone calls to provide updates will help you keep a client. Even if the solution is a sticky one.

The final deliverable of a big project is finally in your client's hands. Do you check in to make sure they're delighted?

When was the last time you just jotted a note or picked up the phone to say "thank you" for your business and your trust?

Chasing a perfect prospect who just isn't ready to buy? How long do you keep reaching out before you give up and just assume they're not worth the effort?

I can hear you now…I'm just so busy…I mean to call. I'm just not good at following up. Some people are just naturally better at that.

Horse Pucky. (I told you I was working on ramping up my vocabulary!)

Relentless follow through happens when it is planned. When it's part of your sales cycle. That's the head part of the equation. But it also has to be part of your culture. That's the heart part. It's about caring enough.

After all — we know that most buying decisions (and client retention decisions) come down to that. Caring. A buyer (and your current customers) really wants to look you in the eye and ask — do you care enough?

That's the differentiator. And that's what relentless follow through demonstrates.

Do you have a call to make?

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.com

Social media = letting others in

January 18, 2010

Over the past few months, I have been delivering quite a few presentations on social media to groups (conferences, conventions etc.) of business leaders.

One aspect of embarking into the waters of social media that seems to give most of them some sort of tick is the idea that you have to relinquish some control.

You can't take advantage of the connectivity, reach and viral nature of he beast without also being willing to connect, reach many people and let others share. It's like wanting to enjoy the sensation of flying over the water in a boat at high speed but without the engine noise. It' the "other people" part of social media that provides its power.

Here's what I think of as social media's price of admission:

You have to be willing to spotlight and amplify other people's voices:

Many business owners seem to want to mute their employees and customers. That doesn't work in social media. Not only do you need to "let them" talk but you need to invite it. You have to allow comments. You are the topic of conversation somewhere. This is just about allowing it to happen (and encouraging it) in your digital home.

You have to be willing to be imperfect:

You need to be willing to be imperfect (like Dominos). You need to be transparent and that takes some courage. But let's be honest here. Everyone already knows you're not perfect. And…will actually respect and love you all the more for just admitting it. It's not how or whether you screw up. It's what you do next that matters.

You have to be willing to let others change your direction:

Viral means letting go. It means tossing an idea or program out into the social media space and inviting other people to pick up the ball and run with it. Sometimes, they go where you think they'll go…and sometimes they'll surprise you.

I'm pretty sure the FourSquare folks (a location based social network) hadn't anticipated that Marcus Brown would create the International Day of the Toilet — and encourage his worldwide network of friends to all create "water closet" venues on Foursquare. The interesting thing is — will FourSquare shudder at the news or help promote the idea?

There are plenty of other things you need to do to create a successful social media presence. But…if you can't swallow these three, don't even get started. Social media is nothing if it's not about inviting other people into the party.

Which of these three is toughest for you?

Is it in your kiss?

January 8, 2010

Remember the song that Cher sang in 1990 called the Shoop Shoop song? (here's a link to a YouTube video that I can't embed…by the way, check out her boots!) The song asks the age old question — how you can tell if he loves you so.

According to the lyrics, it's not in his eyes, his charms or even his warm embrace — it's in his kiss.

In other words… there comes a point in time when you just can't fake it. Apparently in romance, it's in the kiss.

But in business and marketing, it's when things get screwed up.

It's easy to fake customer love when everything is going well. The money is flowing, the product is selling and love abounds. But, when your back is against the wall — your brand's true colors show. You just can't help it.

It's like Martin Luther King said (and I am sure he was referencing marketing/branding):

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience,
but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

As we launch the new year, I think every business leader should ask these questions:

When things go wrong….

What do my actions teach my employees?
What do my actions say (loud and clear) to our customers?
What do our policies reinforce in our clients?

Because let's face it…our own actions, how our employees act (after all, they are mimicking us) and our policies are a direct result of our choices. Conscious or not.

If you don't like the answers to any of the above, the time to correct that is right now. Before something goes wrong.

What’s your marketing lagniappe?

December 28, 2009

My blogging buddy Stan Phelps has always preached the word of having a "marketing lagniappe." He wrote about it in a guest post back in April and now he's decided to write a book on the topic.

In short, lagniappe (pronounced lan-yap) is a creole word, originating in Louisiana and literally translated means 'the gift.'' It refers to a small unexpected extra gift or benefit presented by a store owner to a customer at the time of purchase. The people of Louisiana have embraced the term and have broadened the definition to include any time a little something extra is given.

Stan's point is that every company should have some lagniappe in their culture, brand and marketing efforts.

Here's the recipe for creating a marketing lagniappe:

Here are the four main ingredients:

Unexpected – the extra benefit or gift should be a surprise. It is something thrown in for good measure. Think 'surprise and delight'.
Relevant – the item or benefit should be of value to the recipient. Make sure that the item or service is a true benefit. It shouldn't be a one size fits all proposition.
Unique – if it's a small token or gift, try to select something that's rare, hard to find or unique to your business.
Authentic – many times it comes down to the gesture. It becomes more about 'how' it is given, as opposed to 'what' is given. The small gift or extra communicates that you care about your client and you appreciate their patronage.

Let me give you a few examples from the McLellan Marketing Group culture:

Fresh baked cookies: If you come to a meeting at MMG, you're going to be served warm (fresh from the oven) M&M cookies. An added dash of double lagniappe — the M&Ms in the cookies are only the three colors (purple, green & orange) from the MMG logo.

Who Loves Ya Baby Day? For years, we've had an internal celebration for Valentine's Day called Who Loves Ya Baby Day (think Telly Savalas for those of you old enough to remember Kojak). Now — we share that celebration with our MMG clients. On Valentine's Day — each client receives a special Valentine's treat with a note from us — telling them how much we love them. Yup — love them. If we don't love them, we don't want to work with them.

Charity Adoption: Every year, as an agency we put out an RFP (last year we have over 50 applicants) and adopt a charity for an entire year. We ask some of our vendors to join us and in total, the charity will receive over $100,000 of marketing counsel, design, help and stuff.

Marketing lagniappes can't be artificially manufactured. They need to come from the heart (see #4 from the list above). It's about actually wanting to go above and beyond. It works because it's genuine.

Stan is looking for some examples to put in his book. And I'm betting that many of the Marketing Minute readers (that's you!) have either done or seen some great examples of marketing lagniappe.

Check out this PPT presentation (be sure to watch the short video embedded in the middle as well) and then if you have some examples — reach out to Stan and share.

Marketing Lagniappe – "In Search of Your Purple Goldfish"

View more documents from Stan Phelps.

Why not tell the world what you're up to? Or give someone else some props for their marketing lagniappe? And as you've been reading this, if you've realized that you can't point to something that you're doing to give that "little gift" — I'm hoping that's making you feel a little uncomfortable.

If you won't make your clients feel special and appreciated…someone else will.

Meanwhile…why not tell us here in the comments the best marketing lagniappe you've ever received? I'd love to hear some!

P.S. By the way…I think you can and should have some marketing lagniappe tricks up your sleeve for your employees as well.

Image courtesy of shutterstock.com

Are you good enough to even try it?

December 18, 2009

I've been both hustling and bustling to get my Christmas shopping done. One of the items I have purchased at many different retailers is a gift card. I'm guessing most of you have bought more than one this holiday season so you know how easy it is.

You select the card design of your choice, you carry it up to the check out, you request a dollar amount and voila, you have a gift card. Pretty standard.

But not always.

I was at my bank earlier this week, making a deposit when I saw a display for VISA gift cards. I needed one for a gift so I thought…great, I'll just get it here.

When I told the teller what I wanted, she was more than happy to sell me the VISA gift card. Here's how the process went.

I pulled my credit card out of my wallet. "Oh no, sir. We can't take a credit card for the gift card." Turns out they could….but it had to be a cash advance. So I had to sign a form for that. I smiled and said, "no problem."

Then, I had to fill out a different form with my name, address, etc. on it so they could register the gift card. I smiled and said, "no problem."

Then…I had to read a 2 page disclosure and sign it. I smiled and said, "no problem."

10 minutes later, I had my $50 gift card. I could have bought the exact same card at my local grocery store or Walgreen's in 30 seconds.

I kept saying "no problem" but — for that bank, it was a big problem.

A problem of lost esteem. (I'm a good customer and I had to sign 3 different forms to buy a stinking $50 gift card?)
A problem of changed perception. (if it takes them that long to sell a gift card…how long would it take them to make a house loan?)
A problem of a bad association. (Every time I see that particular teller…what do you think I will remember?)

And they probably made $1 on the transaction, if that.

Many businesses, in an attempt to be everything to everyone or perhaps to squeak out yet another few pennies of profit — do things that they're not good at. If you're guilty of this — stop it. If you aren't great at it, don't do it. And if you know you can't at the very least — be as good as your average competitor — for the love of God, don't do it.

Whenever we step away from our sweet spot — the thing/things that we excel at (and that our brand should be associated with) we do damage. We damage our reputation, we damage our relationships and we damage our ability to be perceived as the best.

Next time you want to add a product or service to your offerings…ask yourself the very difficult question. Are we good enough to even try this?

If you can't be better than most — don't.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

« Previous 1 … 17 18 19 20 21 … 35 Next »