Customers Can be Your Best “Fortune”
March 31, 2009
If you take the time to understand and appreciate your customers’ needs, you can achieve loyalty and lots of repeat business.
Taking the time to know your customers and anticipate their needs can go a long way to developing loyal customers—ones who may even become some of your best sales people.
Anyone who knows me knows that I love Chinese food. Not the fast-food type that you get at the food court in the mall, but the kind my Uncle introduced me to when I was growing up in New York City.
My passion for authentic Chinese food followed me to Rochester, NY, where I attended college. There, it took me over three years to find a restaurant that was comparable to the one I went to in New York City. From the first visit to Shanghai Restaurant, I was impressed by the quality of the food and level of the service provided.
In fact, this restaurant was the first place I took my wife to for dinner when we began dating. As our relationship developed, so did our love of Shanghai Restaurant. Whenever we stopped in for dinner or for Sunday brunch, we were warmly greeted by the owner, William Sun, and his wife, Julie. A bottle of Wan Fu wine was placed at our table minutes after we sat down, with the waiter confirming our regular order for dumplings.
Because of the great food and warm, friendly atmosphere, we felt it was time to plan a banquet for a group of our friends. Before the banquet, we met with William to select the menu. “Cold Appetizer Plate,” he suggested. “Winter Melon Soup, Buddha’s Special Chicken, Spicy Bean Curd with Pork…” Right down to dessert, he created a menu that sounded great and tasted even better.
Several times a year we would plan a banquet and what amazed us was how each time William remembered every dish we had previously ordered. He would say, “How about Eight Treasure Duck – no you had that last time. Peking Duck? No, you had that two times ago. Ah, how about Mandarin Spicy Duck! You haven’t had that one yet” How he remembered this was beyond our comprehension, but he was always right!
When it came time to plan our wedding reception, there was only one place we could have it…Shanghai. One day late in November we walked into the restaurant and told Julie that we needed to schedule a banquet in May. She gave us both a strange look and asked, “Are you getting married? It’s about time!”
If you take the time to understand and appreciate your customers’ needs, you can achieve the same degree of loyalty that kept us coming back to Shanghai time and time again.
Challenging the Vision: A Tribute to A Musician Who Played To A Different Tune
March 26, 2009
By having a clear vision and direction, this musician was able to be the best he could be.
Having a clear vision and direction is an essential step to ensuring the long-term growth and viability of an organization.
Consider the case of the late acoustic guitarist Michael Hedges. On his many Windham Hill recordings, he literally redefined the musical boundaries of the acoustic guitar. And he would have continued to break new ground had he not been killed in a tragic automobile accident in 1997.
Windham Hill Records founder, Will Ackerman, told the story of how he “discovered” Michael Hedges. “A friend bribed me with movie tickets to a small upstairs room where Hedges was playing in front of 13 people. After hearing one song, I was so impressed that I began drawing up a recording contract on a paper napkin.”
There was no limit to the number of people who praised Hedges’ innovative work as a new age/jazz guitarist. David Crosby of the famed group Crosby, Stills, and Nash called Hedges the greatest acoustic guitarist he had ever heard.
Although Hedges’ style evolved throughout his performing career, he was always fresh, innovative, and a touch over the edge. How did he manage to do this on a consistent basis for over 15 years? The answer can be found on the liner notes of his first album, Breakfast in the Field. Here, in the dedication section, he thanked three of his teachers as follows:
“This album is dedicated to my teachers of composition: E. J. Ulrich who sent me on my way, Jean Ivey who let me go my own way, and Morris Cotel who asked me where I was going and why.”
It is this last question, of course, that is the most intriguing. If you have ever heard Michael Hedges play, you know that he routinely broke new ground in composition and performance. It is doubtful that he would have continued to innovate if he hadn’t constantly challenged himself by asking the question of where he was going and why.
If you don’t have a clear sense of direction in your organization, take some time and develop one. Follow Morris Cotel’s advice and ask yourself where are you going…and more importantly why are you going there. Continually challenge yourself and your group to break new ground. By constantly doing so, you will ensure that your organization is moving in a productive and meaningful direction.
What Happened to Hard Sell Insurance?
March 24, 2009
An insurance agent does what’s right for the customer and builds respect and loyalty over the long term.
It becomes very frustrating when people make it difficult for you to spend your money. Too often we have to deal with people who know very little about the products and services they’re selling. Fortunately, there are times when just the opposite is true.
As in most companies, our health insurance expenses have risen dramatically over the last few years. Recently, it became evident that we needed to review all of our options in this area. As we were displeased with the level of service from our current insurance agent, we decided to ask the agent who handles our life and business insurance, Ron Frederick, of Frederick Insurance, to generate some quotes for several plans he underwrites. At the same time, we also investigated plans offered by several professional associations.
Within a few weeks, we had a file folder packed full of plan descriptions, quotes, tables, charts, and provider lists. Needless to say, making sense out of this collection of paper was difficult. So we made an appointment to meet with Ron Frederick to review all of the options.
As we sat down, he began leafing through each of the plans, commenting briefly on each one: “You don’t want this company; they’re in financial trouble.” “This company takes too long to process claims.” On a couple of plans, he stopped to look at some of the details, and said, “Ah, here are a couple of options.”
After having reviewed all of the plans, he had narrowed the list down to two options: one of the plans that he offered, and one of the “association” plans. He compared each plan point by point, explaining the relative strengths and weaknesses of each one in terms of coverage, convenience, and cost.
Finally, he pushed one of the plans towards us and said, “Unfortunately, this plan should be your first choice. It has better coverage and costs less.” “So what’s unfortunate about that?” I asked. He sighed and replied, “It’s not my plan. But it’s the one you should get.”
His broad knowledge of the various insurance products and of the insurance industry as a whole enabled him to sort through in 45 minutes what would have taken me several hours to do. His willingness to recommend a product that wasn’t his to sell showed me that he was more concerned about what was best for me as an insurance customer, rather than what was best for him as the vendor.
So he lost out on this deal, right? Was the hour of his time he spent a complete waste? Not really. For one thing, we were already his customer on several other policies. But more importantly, we were so impressed with how he handled this situation that we will recommend him to others interested in insurance (maybe even write a story about him) and we will look to him in the future for our other insurance needs.
Doing what’s right for the customer builds respect and loyalty over the long term. Knowing your industry, your products, and your services enables you to provide your customers with the most timely, accurate information that will allow them to make better and more informed purchase decisions. And isn’t that what customer service is all about.
I Was So Busy Listening…
March 20, 2009
Focusing on what’s important can be difficult with all the distractions that surround us. Apparently, I’m one of these distractions.
On my way into the office last week, I stopped by our local Bruegger’s Bagel shop to pick up something for breakfast. I was chatting with the woman behind the counter about how cold it was (15 degrees) and that weather like this was precisely why I didn’t live up north any more. In the midst of this conversation, I ordered a sesame bagel, toasted, with veggie cream cheese.
As we continued talking, I watched as she selected a bagel from the bin, picked up the knife, sliced the bagel in half…and proceeded to spread the cream cheese on the untoasted bagel.
When I reminded her that I’d asked for the bagel to be toasted, she apologized and said, “I was so busy listening, I wasn’t paying attention.”
How many times do we do the same thing – focusing on one thing when we should really be paying attention to another? There are so many distractions to divert our attention, sometimes it’s a wonder we get anything done at all.
Try to avoid all the “bright shiny objects” in your daily travels and focus on what needs to get done – you’ll find it feels much better at the end of the day when you can check the important items off your list, knowing you accomplished what you needed to.
Copy Cat!
March 20, 2009
With all the resources at your disposal, it’s easier than ever to create a killer marketing piece. And there’s one method that makes the process almost effortless.
I spoke a few weeks ago for a local business development council, part of a national network of 39 regional groups, delivering a full-day marketing program to a group of small-business owners and key employees of larger companies. This is always a lot of fun for me, because whenever I have a room full of people who are motivated to succeed, they pay attention, they get what I’m talking about, and they start implementing almost immediately.
As we began the part of the program where we start working on the brochures, letters, and other materials they brought with them, I happened to catch a glance of the tri-fold brochure the client had used to get people to register for the event we were all participating in.
At first glance I thought the brochure looked familiar. As soon as I opened it up, I immediately knew why: it was copied from a brochure I had worked on with another group in the network – the one from Florida. And when I say “copied,” I don’t mean “loosely based on,” I mean copied almost verbatim with only the name of the organization and the specific event information changed.
The reason I recognized it so quickly is that I had spent an hour on a private webinar with the first group’s president and marketing director doing an extensive critique and rewrite of their original brochure.
Now, far from getting upset, I got a big smile on my face, held the brochure up high for the group to see, and praised the client hosting the event for being so clever. Why? Two main reasons with direct application to your business:
- Don’t Reinvent the Wheel – The programs I did for both groups were identical, so, naturally, the same brochure would work for both of them. When I agreed to do the second program, they already knew I had worked with their peers in Florida, so a quick phone call got them permission to use the brochure.
- Start With Something That Works – Not only did they get to use a marketing piece that was already finished, they had one that worked really well because of the time I had spent with them designing it. As a result, the original program in Florida beat the precious attendance record by 56%, and actually generated 94% more revenue!
For these two reasons, it would have been downright foolish to try and create a new brochure from scratch.
As you work on your own marketing materials, do everything you can to avoid starting with a blank page or a blank screen. Pay attention to what you see. Maintain a “swipe file” of samples you can use for inspiration. Participate in coaching and mastermind groups where you can get advice from people who know what they’re talking about.
It’s tough enough creating marketing that works – there’s no need to go at it alone.
Cleaning the Garage!
March 19, 2009
The ability to focus on what is important gives us the opportunity to accomplish a great deal in a relatively short period of time.
The ability to focus on what is important gives us the opportunity to accomplish a great deal in a relatively short period of time. Unfortunately when you focus your effort on the wrong tasks, it can sometimes lead you into trouble.
A few years ago my wife asked me to clean the garage. I said, “No problem!” It only takes about an hour, and it really wasn’t a big deal. Well, one week went by. Then two. Finally three or four weeks had passed, and I still hadn’t cleaned the garage.
As I pulled the car into the garage one Saturday afternoon, I noticed my wife blocking the entrance into the garage. In fact, her arms were crossed and she looked as if she was ready to enter the ring of a professional wrestling match (my son happens to be a great fan so the analogy seemed appropriate).
“Something wrong?” I asked timidly.
“Yes,” she responded, “I thought you were going to clean the garage!!!”
“I am.”
“I thought you were going to do it soon…”
I quickly reminded her about my very hectic travel schedule, rattling off that in the course of two weeks, I had traveled from Raleigh to Sacramento, from Sacramento to Nashville, from Nashville to San Jose, then to Dallas, and finally back to Raleigh. The bottom line was that I really hadn’t been home very much during that period. When I was, I had been packing or unpacking.
I thought I was all set. But then my wife got this very quizzical look on her face, and in a very serious tone pointed at my hand and asked, “What’s that in your hand?”
“This thing?”
“Yes”
“In my hand?”
“Uh huh.”
“You mean this thing I’m carrying?”
“YES, WHAT IS IT?”
“Well, I’m no expert, but it looks a lot like a tennis racquet…”
I’ll let you fill in the rest of the conversation. The point should be clear: fitness is very important to me; cleaning the garage is not. I had time to play a few hours of tennis on a Saturday afternoon; I didn’t set aside an hour to clean the garage.
In business, as in life, you usually find time to do the things you feel are important. You are able to focus your attention and efforts to achieve your objectives. What may be even more important to remember is that you need to be able to select the most appropriate areas to address at any given time. And those may not always be your top priority, as with the case of cleaning the garage.
When you can expend your energy and effort in the right areas, you will be able to make progress towards the important goals in your business and in your life.
Where’s the Docutech?
March 17, 2009
A breakdown in communication about the sale of a piece of equipment resulted in the loss of a satisfied customer.
In a large organization, it is easy to see how there could be a breakdown of communications. But even in a small company, if you don’t make a point of sharing information across groups, the results can have a serious impact on your bottom line.
In order to keep a handle on expenses in our business, we routinely study the value we receive from our vendors in terms of service and quality versus price. As the cost of producing participant manuals for our training programs is one of our biggest expenses, we decided to obtain bids from several area copy centers.
To provide high-quality materials to our customers, we print the manual covers and have the inside pages copied using the Xerox Docutech system. Essentially, this machine accepts postscript files from our computer and runs the copies direct from digital. The effect is that each page in our manuals looks as if it is printed rather than copied.
We received a very favorable bid from a local vendor who could produce these Docutech materials for us quickly and reasonably priced. We began to use their services on a trial basis, and they proved excellent. They were very responsive, produced excellent quality materials, and were easy to work with.
When we needed to produce our next large run of manuals for our Customer Service and Defect Prevention programs, we decided to give the job to the new vendor. As usual, we asked for a proof copy before we proceeded with the large run.
As we examined the copies, something was wrong. The quality was noticeably poor. The type clearly didn’t have the crisp, sharp appearance of a laser output. When we called our sales rep to ask about this, he said he would look into it and call us back.
What he found out was that our books were actually produced on a traditional high-speed, high-quality copier and not on a Docutech. When he was on vacation over the holidays and without his knowing it, the company had sold the Docutech equipment because they wanted to focus the business on printing instead of general copying. The new printer was supposed to be of the same quality as the Docutech. It clearly wasn’t, and we decided to end our relationship with the company.
This lapse of communication between the company’s management and their sales rep, combined with misleading claims by the copier’s manufacturer, put us in a position where we had to scramble to get the materials produced on very short notice by another vendor.
Communication among groups in an organization is critical if you are going to be able to serve your customers effectively. Take a few minutes and find out from your group if there is anything that people in other parts of your company should be aware of. You might have the knowledge and information that can make the difference between keeping and losing a loyal customer.
Time for a Cold Shower?
March 12, 2009
A cold shower demonstrates that when you focus all of your energy and all of your conscious thoughts on a single objective, you can achieve great results.
With all the demands on our time, it is amazing that we are able to accomplish anything meaningful in the course of a day. It would be much easier if we were able to focus our full attention and energy on the task at hand.
For example, think about getting ready to go to work in the morning. You wake up early and decide to use this “bonus time” to start off the day with a relaxing hot shower. The water feels wonderful as it hits your back, and you imagine staying there all morning until you just melt into the floor.
As you’re enjoying the moment, the hot water suddenly runs out; and the water, very quickly, becomes ice cold!
Suddenly your dreams of a leisurely shower vanish, and the only thought in your mind is, “How fast can I get cleaned up and out of this shower?!” Instant focus. All of your energy and all of your conscious thoughts are focused on a single objective. Finish the shower. Now. You become very focused and very efficient.
A sense of urgency can add an incredible amount of focus to any situation. The ability to eliminate unnecessary distractions and focus on the immediate objective is as important for organizations as it is for individuals. Excessive meetings, political infighting, and changing directions all remove focus from achieving the organization’s objectives.
Try to identify the distractions in your environment that affect people’s ability to focus. See what can be done, if not to eliminate them, then at least to reduce their impact. Create an environment that allows your team to focus on what is important.
When you provide a clear direction for the organization and remove the endless distractions and roadblocks, you create an environment in which people can be more effective and produce tangible results.
You Want Me to Pay?
March 11, 2009
We don’t have a lot of expensive habits – until recently, both our cars were 1995 models – but we do enjoy wine. And surprisingly, there’s some good wine being produced in Maryland right now. Not great, but good enough to enjoy without having to spend a small fortune.
If you remember, we had our Mastermind Group meeting in Baltimore a few weeks ago. I had a program in Miami the day before, so I flew directly into Baltimore. Lorie took the car (the new one, of course – it’s fun to drive…and it smells nice!) and drove up to meet me there, with a stop on the way at a favorite local winery. She had called in advance to let them know she was coming, with the intent of buying about a case of wine.
She pretty much knew what she wanted, but they had a few new vintages, so she wanted to sample them to decide exactly which ones she would buy. When they were ringing up her order (14 bottles in all) she noticed a charge for $5.00. When she asked what that was, they explained it was for the tasting fee.
Now, this is a common practice, particularly at wineries where expensive wines are sold, but in almost every case we’ve experienced, the tasting fee is waived if you make a purchase. And if you buy a case, well, it’s not even an issue.
But they insisted that they had to charge the fee because “that’s our policy.” As a minor concession, they reduced the tasting fee to $2.50 when Lorie explained that she really didn’t need to keep the souvenir glass.
Oh sure, she could have made a big stink and probably gotten the fee removed, but it wasn’t worth the time or aggravation on what was an otherwise enjoyable day. There are, however, two great lessons you should take away from this experience:
- Don’t Let “Policy” Get in the Way of Common Sense – It may very well have been their policy to always charge the tasting fee, and there may have been perfectly good reasons for initiating this policy in the first place. But sometimes the process actually prevents you from doing what you know is the right thing for the customer. And this is quite likely one of those situations because of #2…
- Don’t Cut Off Your Nose to Spite Your Face – In that single visit, we bought 14 bottles of wine which cost over $300. We really enjoy their wine, and travel to the area three times a year. We’ve been in this Mastermind group for three years, and will likely stay on board for many more years. For argument’s sake, let’s say it’s five years. $300 x 3 visits per year x 5 years = $4,500. We do like their wine; it is a great value; but we like a lot of other wines too. If we decide that charging us the $2.50 fee was a cheap enough thing for them to do that we say, “Okay, forget them,” then they will have lost $4,500 in lifetime value for a measly $2.50 tasting fee.
Not taking the long view in situations like this is simply bad business. It’s something you want to avoid whenever possible. It creates weak relationships instead of strong ones; it gets people telling bad stories about your business instead of good ones; and frankly, it just makes me mad. Maybe I’d better go and have a glass of wine to help me relax…
Only 60 Calories
March 11, 2009
One of the “occupational hazards” of embracing our style of marketing is that you become a keen observer of everything around you. I can’t tell you how many of our members tell me things like:
Yeah, whenever we walk through the airport, I point at the signs on the wall and say, “Hey – that headline is awful! There’s no benefit, and they don’t even have a call to action!” – My wife thinks I’m crazy when I do this…
But this is a really good habit to get into, since it exposes you to a vast collection of “swipe file” material, and is an incredibly effective exercise for sharpening your own creative abilities. Plus, in my case, it provides a never-ending source of stories for this newsletter and for our monthly Inner Circle 12-page newsletter.
And, of course, this week is no exception. Because I saw an ad for a new “Lite ‘n Fit” yogurt that claims to have only 60 calories, less than a normal container of yogurt. That part, of course, is true – it’s hard to make up cold, hard data like that.
What they left out, however, is that their product comes in a 6 oz. container, when the normal size for a yogurt is 8 oz. It’s easy to have fewer calories when you have a smaller portion. This is similar to other interesting claims I’ve seen, like the 12 oz. package of potato chips with the following copy taking up a very large part of the bag:
Now: 20% MORE
(than a 10 oz. bag)
Well, yeah, 12 oz. is 20% more than 10 oz., but all most people see is the 20% more part. And if they raise the prices 20% to cover the additional product, then all you’re doing is paying more for more chips. No real bargain here – only increased consumption and more money spent on an individual purchase.
Mind you, this is very creative – perhaps a bit murky – but definitely creative, and it demonstrates an understanding of the psychology that drives human behavior.
Are you as clear about what motivates your customers? You don’t have to go quite as far as these two examples, but getting into your customer’s thought processes will help you do a better job at delivering exactly the right product or service, and presenting it in the way that will get the best possible results.
