Create Content With a Point-of-View!

Do you find yourself yearning for or craving good stories from the companies you buy from? I do. I love Trader Joe's and Zappos for those reasons. Their provide brilliant content which absolutely reinforces what they are about. Patagonia is one of those companies and here's perspective on how they do it:

Does Your Content Marketing Have a Point-of-View? Patagonia's Does.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for reading.

Best,

C.B.

Customer Loyalty Resources

How important is customer loyalty to you? Assuming it is, you may enjoy learning about 5 customer loyalty resources:

Customer Loyalty: 5 Marketing Blogs to Follow

I'm very proud to say that I'm included in the list. :-)

I'd love to hear what you think.

Thanks for reading.

Best,

C.B.

Customer Loyalty Blogs To Follow

Here are 5 marketing blogs with focus on customer loyalty that you'll enjoy!

Customer Loyalty: 5 Marketing Blogs to Follow

Thanks for reading!

Best,

C.B.

11 Ideas for Connecting With Customers....

How do you connect with customers?

Here are ideas I came across...

11 Ideas for Connecting With Customers - Not All Based on Technology!

I'd love to hear what you think!

Best,

C.B.

Customer Loyalty & Social Media: Customers Rock Video Series

Becky Carroll from Customers Rock! and author of the forthcoming book The Hidden Power of Your Customers: 4 Keys to Grow Your Business Through Existing Customers invited me to participate in a video series back in 2008 about customer loyalty and social media.

I only recently [re]discovered the series and have been blown away with how relevant the comments are. When I think how much has happened since October 2008 [note: that's before Simple Marketing Now for me], the perspectives below make me appreciate  how timeless the topic is and how particularly suited the tools of social media are to building relationships and developing loyalty with customers.

That's why I'm sharing with you all eight of the video clips in Becky's series and hope you will watch each one. Most are under a minute in length; the longest  is 1:25 minutes. Speaking to Becky and answering the question "how does social media impact customer loyalty?" are some of the finest social media practitioners, all equally passionate about customer service, customer experience and what the tools of social media make possible for connecting with customers. All that's missing is Becky answering the question!

Frank Eliason, then with Comcast as @ComcastCares on Twitter; now with Citi


John Bernier from Best Buy and co-creator of @Twelpforce


Logic + Emotion's David Armano now with Edelman Digital


Connie Reece from Every Dot Connects


Mack Collier from Viral Garden and MackCollier.com


C.B. Whittemore [yes ;-)]


Chris Brogan from ChrisBrogan.com


Brian Solis from @BrianSolis.com 


Gary Vaynerchuk from garyvaynerchuk


Thanks, Becky, for creating this video series about customer loyalty and social media and for inviting me to be part of it. It's timeless!

What's your take on social media and customer loyalty?


P.S.: Happy Valentine's Day!

Luxury Marketing: It Surrounds Us!

Touch of Luxury originally uploaded by spaghetti.princess.
So many luxury marketing opportunities around us. How delicious!

With the consumer in control, it behooves us to take luxury seriously. A consumer who has so many options before her requires an unforgettable experience every time she interacts with us.

In return? Her loyalty.

Not an easy feat as Chris Ramey explained in What Luxury Marketing Can Teach Us - An Interview ...

That unforgettable customer experience goes hand-in-hand with Nordstrom-like customer service. Impeccable attention to detail and follow-up second to none. All touches that women notice immediately and that men appreciate greatly - although they may not verbalize it so succinctly as we learned in Bernice Kanner & Marketing To The Sexes. [AmEx discovered in doing research that women were better able than men to articulate their needs, leading to richer discussion. Women think more expansively, uncovering benefits and positionings that the company hadn't considered. In so doing, AmEx learned that by designing for women, they appealed to men, too.]

Last May, I attended a session sponsored by the The Luxury Marketing Council, New York Chapter on customer service. The speakers, Evan R. Hirsh and Robert S. Reppa, from Booz Allen Hamilton shared recently conducted research on The Luxury Touch, published in strategy+business magazine, in which they "reveal four principles of customer service that help luxury brands like Ritz-Carlton, Nordstrom, and Lexus stand apart."

According to their article: "Superb service is the indispensable ingredient of successful high-end brands" which deliver such outstanding levels of service day-in/out because of their organizations' commitment to customers. Customers occupy the center of all decisions. They are the reason for being.

MarketingProfs in their 1/14/2008 issue of Get To The Point on Customer Service the Lexus Way refers to Mavericks At Work with additional details and links on what makes Lexus so unusual in its luxury touch. I hope you note what to me is the biggest reason for superb service: increased loyalty. That's right.

Andrea Learned in Men and Women Are Like-Minded Luxury Shoppers reminds us that "we live in a world of abundance, and EVERYONE now expects/demands much more relevance and higher standards of service from brands. And, brands have to listen, because they are now scrambling to keep, let alone grow, their markets." An opportunity certainly comes from appealing to men shoppers using techniques and approaches originally refined while marketing to women.

She refers to the Wall Street Journal's 12/15/2007 article titled Male Bonding - Women's luxury labels go after men;diamonds at Harry Winston, Lilly Pulitzer ties by Ray A. Smith. Says the article: "The labels say one of their ultimate goals is to get men to shop more like women -- making more impulse purchases and being open to items they didn't intend to buy when they walked into the store. Many men nowadays know what they're looking for when they step into a store and are unlikely to pick up anything extra."

Not only are these brands introducing new product lines, but they are "revamping their store designs to appeal to men. Louis Vuitton is creating "masculine spaces" in its new stores that can be seen from the entrance, complete with armchairs, laptops (for customer use) and giant television screens that broadcast financial news..."

And, further, "Men want to enter a store and immediately understand where they belong," says Mr. Beccari. "He doesn't like to look for things. He wants to make a choice rapidly, not take half an hour."

What I consider fascinating with all of this is that if you design your store to appeal to a woman - our core constituent especially in categories home-related - you will take her [male] constituents into account, plan for their well-being with chairs and TVs, and generally create a space where both can relax and go about the business of shopping as effectively or efficiently as each prefers. The result? You've also created a comfortable male space.

Another suggestion I greatly appreciate is how "Hermès is changing the way it groups men's products in its stores, putting all of the items together rather than separating some by category. So men's watches on display, for instance, would no longer be mixed with women's watches." Creating relevant adjancencies makes sense. It's how I want to shop.

And stores that make an effort to understand how I shop, and how I want to be treated are the ones that will earn my loyalty.

So, tell me. Do you see how you can improve your business with the Luxury Touch?

Carpet can be a luxury. So why not sell it as such? Why not create an experience that surpasses that of Nordstrom or Lexus?

What's there to lose?

Technorati Tags: luxury touch marketing to women carpet flooring customer experience customer service loyalty lexus Del.icio.us Tags: luxury touch marketing to women carpet flooring customer experience customer service loyalty lexus

Reaching People Who Move

Fascinating article in the September 24, 2007 issue of AdAge by Megan McIlroy titled "Pre-Moving Targets. Study: Consumers spend big before they change residences" that got me thinking about the purchasing dynamics associated with a move.

According to the article, 40 million people move every year. Per a survey, you are better off targeting those people BEFORE they move rather than after.

Now - no surprise - the publisher of the Official Mover Savings Guide, which ERA 1, Coldwell Banker and Century 21 send out to over 2 million movers every year, conducts the survey.

The article details the following points:

+ In the 3 months before and after a move, people spend more than those not moving will spend over 5 years.

+ That represents a little over $100 billion per year, or on average approx. $10k in the first six months.

+ 40 million consumers move per year [approx. 16 to 17 million households].

+ 66% of households moving make most of their big purchase decisions BEFORE they move.

+ Approaching movers before they move is 10 to 20 times more likely to generate a purchase decision than doing so after the move.

In thinking over the information, I'm not hugely surprised, although I've never stopped and thought through the implications.

I remember behaving similarly the last time I moved: planning, preparing, measuring, anticipating, considering and buying before moving. We ordered carpet for four different rooms, a new sofa for the family room. We reupholstered existing furniture. Once we moved, it was unpacking, rearranging, organizing and identifying a few unmet needs, but very few major ones.

I suggest that these dynamics are applicable to any major life event: before you adopt a pet, don't you rush off and find carriers and beds and dishes and toys? What about before a baby is born? Isn't there a flurry of activity buying furniture, redoing a room, putting in new carpet, acquiring strollers, car carriers, accessories, toys and clothing?

Carpet and flooring decisions represent major purchase decisions, decisions that take place BEFORE a move as the soon-to-be-home-owners imagine possibilities for their new home, try ideas on for size, and make those glorious purchasing decisions to turn that piece of property into their own unique, personal statement of individual style.

How do you connect with people who move in your community - before their move? Are realtors your best friends? What about moving companies? What works best to connect with people who move?

For that matter, how do you connect with people anticipating not just a move, but any major event?

Technorati Tags: marketing reaching pre-movers carpet flooring
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The Mindblogging Age of Conversation

Leave it to the amazing Arun Rajagopal in Oman to come up with the most amazing opportunities to highlight The Age of Conversation.

This time he came up with: It’s MINDBLOGGING today!

Here is his description of the whole affair:

We are the cover story of the Dubai-based Khaleej Times ‘Weekend’ magazine today! What an awesome way to celebrate ‘AOC’. KT’s feature writer Pratibha Umashankar pulled out all the stops to write ‘Mind Blogging’, a brilliant story on ‘AOC’ that also explores the following questions:

o What are the advantages of blogging?

o The implications of ‘blooking’ both commercially and from a readership point of view vis-à-vis conventional publishing

o The future of blogging and citizen journalism

o Implications of blogging in terms of news value

Mind Blogging’ will expose readers in Middle East not only to ‘The Age of Conversation’ but also to the world of social media and conversational marketing.

This 9/28/07 Khaleej Times "Mind blogging" article by Pratibha Umashankar is available online via this link. Or, you can download a pdf from Arun via this link [more photos in this version!]. The article is great fun and adds additional perspective on The Age of Conversation.

Also, if you haven't already, consider reading The Age of Conversation Roundup for a taste of the topics [or slices] covered within the book.

[BTW, Arun went to great efforts to gather photos for this piece. Despite physical distance and time zone differences, he tracked us and our photos down.

There I am -- middle top row, yellow shirt -- posing for my self portrait with Age of Conversation. Many fellow authors posted similar shots on flickr.com.

Thanks, Arun!]

What an amazing age we live in that creates this kind of mindblogging connection and conversation across the globe thanks to a virtual cooperative work of love! I'm in awe.

How might you create such mindblogging wonder?

How might you connect those in your community - employees, suppliers, long-time customers, future customers - as tightly and warmly?

Think of the sense of connection you might feel toward an alma mater, a town, a church, a fraternity or sorority, a culture, a family. Doesn't that transcend time?

Well the community from The Age of Conversation not only transcends time, it also transcends place.

I wish this sense of community upon everyone I know.

That is how mindblogging it is!

N.B.: if any of you are train aficionados [as I am], do check out Arun's amazing photos and video clips of Indian Railways.

Technorati Tags: The Age Of Conversation Arun Rajagopal Khaleej Times ‘Weekend’ magazine social media marketing
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Abandon All Expectations Ye Who Shop Here?

Expectations go hand-in-hand with anticipation. They matter deeply as Adam Lawrence from Work. Play. Experience explains in this comment to Shattering Expectations II:

"Neurologically, anticipation takes place directly in our pleasure centre, along with only three other emotions: fear, rage and the prey-pursuit urge. It's dangerous to disappoint such a deep-rooted emotion."

He directed me to More On Anticipation. Check out the final paragraph: "This does not mean that the fun stops at the gate to Disneyland, but it means that the anticipatory enjoyment we experience before arrival is truly happening at a deeper level to the - presumable more social and cerebral - joys awaiting beyond."

In other words, anticipatory enjoyment - or expectation - matters especially in retail environments, where the level of anticipation translates into customer loyalty [and profitability] for the retailer!

[Coincidentally, Dan Hill's Body of Truth: Leveraging What Consumers Can't or Won't Say,which I've just started reading, echoes these points.]

Hence the need to pay close attention to the messages we send our customers - deliberately and accidentally. These messages affect their expectations, and their expectations of us are what differentiate us from the price-based commodity experience down the road. Right?

Shattering Expectations II generated discussion on How Far Would You Go To Prevent Disappointment? The author, Bill Gerba, although he admits to oversimplifying and playing devil's advocate, makes startling comments about consumers and their expectations of retail experiences:

"I think that her [CB's] high expectations led to a more severe disappointment than she might have felt if she wasn't so enamored with this particular retailer in the first place."

If high expectations lead to more severe disappointment, does that mean that consumers should be satisfied with mediocrity? Hmmmm.

Now, isn't marketing about raising expectations? About differentiating ourselves from the competition? Don't we expect our points of differentiation to be truly unique and sustainable - so our customers can count on them day in/out, and anticipate their availability?

Gerba refers to Jet Blue and its early 2007 NYC fiasco [see JetBlue weather woes not yet overcome] and writes that "the airline had such a tremendously positive reputation that a glitch that would have merely upset another airline's customer base got JetBlue's passengers really, really angry. In short, JetBlue's customers -- just like IKEA's -- felt a more severe disappointment because their expectations were so high to begin with."

It's an interesting premise. I consider it flawed. I doubt that anyone stuck for 8 or 9 hours in an airplane - not to mention in the conditions that these passengers were in - would ever consider their plight a "glitch." The reality is if it hadn't been for that reservoir of loyalty and good will, combined with Jet Blue's immediate reactions, the airline wouldn't be in business today. As it is, the airline is still recuperating from the after-effects [see S&P Lightens Up on JetBlue].

Because of its customers' high expectations, JetBlue continues to push itself [see JetBlue Differentiates Its Business Again], further differentiating itself from the competition.

Yes, high consumer expectations can be problematic; they require constant attention. Forget complacency. That's the kiss of death. Resting on any laurels? That is so passe'! Not really interested in listening to what your customer has to say? You're in trouble! Not willing to consider what you are doing from your customer's perspective? You will definitely shatter expectations.

Nonetheless, high customer expectations separate mediocrity from greatness. They lead to loyalty and a strong likelihood of long term viability. They lead to satisfaction, which sure beats dissatisfaction! In fact, I reread an early post titled I Can't Get No Satisfaction about the First Annual Retail Customer Dissatisfaction Study. Major finding: customers will talk about bad experiences; customers will avoid stores because of bad experiences. So, you absolutely do want to prevent disappointment!

[That subject led me to the 2nd Annual Retail Customer Dissatisfaction Study by NextUp's Doug Meacham.... Dissatisfaction, per the actual 2nd Annual Retail Customer Dissatisfaction Study, results primarily from interactions with salespeople..... Read it!]

Getting back to IKEA, IKEA gets 'it' on many fronts, but fails on others as it did in Shattering Expectations II with its cafeteria. Despite a situation out-of-its control, it had an opportunity to not just meet expectations, but to surpass them. Instead, IKEA sent a message that screamed indifference to its customers.

And indifference or a perception of indifference drives customer defection. By 68%. Staggering....

For those who aren't familiar, IKEA draws consumers from considerable distances. Entire families go as a group, and IKEA wants these people to stay as long as possible because the longer they stay, the more likely they are to buy. For that reason, it has created play areas throughout the store, including a 'magic forest' for older kids, as well as a cafeteria [also with a play area] full of Scandinavian treats [also sold in-store].

The cafeteria represents a major draw and convenience. The lack of it matters. Especially, unexpectedly. 8.5x11 inch typed signs taped to barriers in front of a darkened cafeteria on the busiest shopping day of the week don't adequately convey to consumers EXPECTING that service any level of regret.

Had IKEA considered the situation from their customer's perspective, it might have reacted with a human touch. Perhaps a smiling employee to communicate to consumers a sense of "I care that I've inconvenienced you" while acknowledging a problem and offering solutions [hey, they sell cookies, so spread some cookie love. CK knows how to do that!]. What a low cost solution with an element of fun.

[For a really scary IKEA story, read David Polinchock's Ikea Experience. And, BTW, have you ever noticed how many broken samples and displays IKEA keeps on the floor despite samples being the best way to sell products and promote their durability? Hmmm].

The new rules of the game require that we constantly meet and exceed our customers' expectations. Why? Because consumers run the show. They are in control. They have plenty of options for spending their hard-earned resources. What they don't have is excess time or tolerance for mediocrity.

So, I may return to IKEA. But, not regularly. And no longer as a destination with my parents or my daughter. And definitely no longer for fun.

My expectations have been shattered.

Technorati Tags: IKEA, marketing, customer experience, retail experience, loyalty

Trying Ideas On For Size

Mix match originally uploaded by rebbcat.
"There are more sales lost in the dressing room than perhaps in any other place in the context of the store." So writes Teresa Méndez from The Christian Science Monitor in High-tech dressing rooms become virtual reality. New technology should make it possible for customers to solicit opinions from friends remotely as she quotes Paco Underhill. "It's a retail space where, on average, a shopper spends 3.5 very important minutes."

The article goes on to describe high tech developments to reinvent the "lowly fitting room" via a 'social retailing mirror.'

The notion of fitting rooms intrigues me. I've certainly noticed more seating outside of fitting rooms to accommodate those waiting - for example, Macy's with curved benches, and Urban Outfitters with living room settings. And, although Forthe & Towne has shut down [see Gap to close Forthe & Towne from 2/26/2007], I love what they tried to accomplish with their dressing room statement.

Dresser's Oasis from BusinessWeek Online Sept. 2005 explains visually how "Fitting rooms are the venue for the actualization of a woman's personal taste and style. Forth & Towne makes them fabulous." This 9/20/2005 BusinessWeek Online article by Andrew Blum explains it further in Forth & Towne: The Store's the Thing At Gap's new women's apparel chain, architectural design -- notably the dressing room's central placement -- is defining what the new brand is. This is where "the real stage is the fitting rooms" with the store literally designed around them. In VisualStore on Forthe & Towne -- "New concept offers a shopping sanctuary for the fashionably mature woman" from 12/5/2005, Anne DiNardo, Associate Editor, further describes the store concept with wonderful dressing room photos.

Even though the store is no more, I want to dwell on the dressing room.

NRF Stores states in Give Customers Some Space by Lorrie Grant from April 2007 that "Fitting Rooms are fast becoming inviting spaces with large changing and waiting areas furnished with plump sofas, fresh-cut flowers, art and entertainment. It's all part of a big effort to connect emotionally with the customer and increase loyalty and sales."

And, although Target perhaps doesn't represent the extreme of what Grant describes, The Curious Shopper asks How does my butt look? in appreciation for "what no average residence contains. That infinitely wise, truth-bearing, all-knowing and all-illuminating butt mirror."

Pshaw, you say! What does all this have to do with flooring stores?

In my humble target-woman-consumer opinion, I suggest that dressing or fitting rooms have a lot to do with flooring stores. Not in the sense that flooring stores should get into the apparel business. However, definitely in terms of offering consumers the equivalent of an apparel store fitting room: a place that encourages the consumer to try product on.

This is particularly relevant for ideas, concepts and products that have little to do with commodity transactions, that have everything to do with fashion!

A fitting room, dressing room, changing room - all represent names for a place where a consumer can comfortably consider different product ideas and try them on for size. If the idea fits, the consumer buys it.

Isn't that what we want consumers to do in a flooring store? We want to encourage them to consider possibilities, to try flooring ideas on as a solution to what they want to achieve in their homes. We don't want them to simply walk in and purchase the lowest cost whatever and never return...

Stores that understand have created dedicated areas where consumers can try on ideas, spread out fabrics, match up paint swatches with carpet samples and other flooring options. We aren't talking high tech here. It's a simple concept: at the very least a table and several chairs. Warm lighting would be helpful, perhaps even a board for pinning ideas up on. And, then, assuming your consumers engage fully with your retail experience [after all that is what you have created], they actually choose to linger in your store.... You might offer them coffee or water, and any other of the tools of hospitality that reassure them that they are welcome.

Are you convinced? Go on. Encourage your shoppers to try your ideas on for size. You may actually generate relationships and sales.

Technorati Tags: Paco Underhill, retail experience, Forthe & Towne, fitting rooms, changing rooms, carpet/flooring, loyalty

Book Review: How To Talk To Customers

So much of effective communication - with customers, co-workers, family, and friends - is a function of the impressions we create.

Imagine consciously creating only great impressions... Tempting, isn't it?

How to Talk to Customers: Create a Great Impression Every Time with MAGIC by Diane Berenbaum and Tom Larkin from Communico Ltd. provides the means for doing just that.

Reviews of this book appear on Service Untitled, The Innovative Marketer [which includes a podcast], Customers Are Always, Customers Rock!, Drew's Marketing Minute, and Make It Great. I started reading it while attending the Disney Institute session that led to STORY Brings Brands To Life. The session repeatedly referred to magic vs. tragic impressions and reinforced how critical it is to create a positive impression with customers - exactly what Berenbaum and Larkin discuss in their book.

[Customers Rock! features an in depth 2-part interview with Diane Berenbaum. How To Talk To Customers - An Interview with Diane Berenbaum Part I offers an overview on the company, MAGIC and customer service.]

MAGIC stands for Make A Great Impression on the Customer. More specifically,

Make a connection to build a relationship; then Act Professionally and express confidence. Get to the heart of the matter by listening and asking questions. Inform and Clarify what you will do. Finally, Close with the relationship in mind.

MAGIC is about maximizing positive interactions and managing how others perceive us. It offers tools to start out a relationship or interaction on the right foot, and extend the goodwill so that even if the outcome isn't perfect, every other aspect of the interaction will have been more than satisfactory. We leave our customer with a great impression of hard work and goodwill.

According to the authors, how we communicate is the most dominant factor in our relationship with others. Think how often we fall into unsuccessful communication patterns because we aren't looking, listening and perceiving from the other's perspective. [If you haven't, consider reading Deborah Tannen's books about society and language].

The solution entails listening, empathizing with the other, taking a collaborative approach [after all, we're trying to identify a solution], and then framing the communication in terms of community and relationships. We consciously choose our attitude. An attitude of indifference is so powerful that it is the reason why 68% of customers will stop doing business with us. If customers perceive that we don't care, they are done with us. On the other hand, satisfied customers stay, return and promote us to others. They represent loyalty's Holy Grail!

Tone of voice, how we listen and body language work together to create the right communication environment. That's what leads to making a great impression and establishing a constructive middle ground between us and the customer. The goal -- especially in retail -- is to create a long term relationship with subsequent interactions rather than just a one-time transaction.

MAGIC words or phrases are personal, specific [how can I help, when...] and empathetic, unlike tragic words or phrases that put distance, create uneasiness, imply lack of action or responsibility, are impersonal, vague and unclear, and/or use inappropriate slang.

The authors describe 4 levels of listening [Customers Rock!'s An Interview With Diane Berenbaum - Part 2 addresses listening in more detail as well as the 33 points of MAGIC]:
1. A transactional dialogue focused on task.
2. Rapport building which asks questions.
3. Creating a sense of warmth and perception. This has an empathy focus.
4. Attention or intuitive. The listener remain largely silent and exudes patience.

Most business communications occur at levels 1 and 2. Level 4 captures close relationships where trust and mutual respect exist [think of a parent trying to help a child work through a difficult situation]. Level 3 is the goal in business. The listener is attentive, non judgemental, and genuinely recognizes the other's feelings and perspective. The listening is empathetic with the listener trying to perceive the big picture.

Some tips: be sure to use the customer's name, stay with the customer until the end [i.e., the worst is having someone hang up on you after a 20 minute phone ordeal when you still have questions], and then follow up!

Do you realize that only 4% of dissatisfied customers actually complain? The remainder just leave and spread the bad news. Those who complain, yet are satisfied, become 8% more loyal than if they had had no problem. Resolving problems then represents an opportunity to build relationship.

From a retail perspective, the salesperson represents the ultimate message in-store. This is particularly true in a consultative selling situation where the salesperson must communicate knowledge in way that provides VALUE to customer.

[Note: for a flooring retailer focused on selling fashionable solutions for a consumer's home, be sure that your salespeople exude design sensibilities.]

A great impression comes from using welcoming words with an upbeat tone, at a moderate pace. Body language is positive [smile, appear upright/open, make eye contact, offer a firm handshake]. Think about the great impressions others have had on you. What did you notice that you reacted so positively to?

The strong focus on empathy and listening had me wondering whether gender ever comes up with MAGIC. Are women better at it than men? In training, in listening skills, in communication skills? Here is what Diane Berenbaum had to say:

"We find that MAGIC is gender-neutral. We focus instead on communication style. Our individual communication styles can influence our interactions and their outcomes. Both men and women share two distinct styles of communicating: Directive and Supportive, though we all have different degrees of preference.

Generally speaking: When communicating with a Directive Style, the focus is on telling, conveying facts and getting something done. This style is task-centered. When communicating with a Supportive Style, the focus is on listening, connecting and seeking understanding. This style is relationship-centered.

One style is not necessarily dominant in either gender. An emphasis on either style can be appropriate or inappropriate depending on the situation, the role or the relationship. Truly effective communicators read their audience and blend the two styles to achieve their purpose.

We have a choice in how we respond to any situation or contact. The focus of MAGIC is to understand your style preferences and develop the ability to draw on both directive and supportive communication styles as the need arises."

Interesting. It particularly makes sense when you think that at different times we may just as easily be in customer mode or in supplier mode.

Erica Stritch from Communico [who provided me with a complimentary copy of the book] also invited me to attend a webinar titled Shift into High Gear: 4 Drivers to Rev Up Quality and Consistency in Call Centers during which Tom Larkin, Senior Vice President of Communico Customer Service Training and co-author of How To Talk To Customers; Jason Checketts, Manager of learning and development at Wells Fargo; and Monica Kelly, quality analyst, account services at Colonial Supplemental Insurance teamed up to provide tips on how to achieve exceptional service consistency.

The webinar brought up the loyalty effect resulting from employees who stay with an organization. Their tenure creates value for the organization. MAGIC not only creates satisfied customers who stay with you, but it also develops satisfied employees who remain and create even greater value with customers. That's magical!

By the way, I witnessed MAGIC firsthand with Tom dealing ever so gracefully with technical issues.

If you're intrigued with the subject matter, in addition to reading the book, consider subscribing to the Communico Newsletter.

Can you imagine a more critical skill than figuring out how to talk to customers? I can't.

Technorati Tags: How To Talk To Customers, customer service, loyalty, customer experience

Connecting Via 8 Random Things About Me

Lucky Eight originally uploaded by pattybarratt.
I've been tagged. Not once, but five times...

Would you believe that I hoped to accumulate 8 tags before sharing 8 random things about me?

Seriously, though, a crazy travel schedule made it difficult to immediately acknowledge One Reader At A Time's Bob Glaza's tag in Pursuing Happiness - Tag you're it, My 2 Cents' David Reich's tag in Tag, I'm It, closely followed by Sticky Figure's Steve Woodruff's tag in Tagged for 8 Things, and Conversation Agent Valeria Maltoni's tag in 8 Random Things About (Brand) Me, and now Greg Verdino's tag in Meme Games Are Gr8!.

In Tag, I'm It! , I shared 5 things about me. This time, although I share 8 more things, rather than be randomly non-sequitur, I prefer to use my 'things' to connect with friends in the blogosphere!

Here goes:

Valeria Maltoni has to be the ultimate Renaissance Woman. I feel a strong cultural connection with her, and thought she would appreciate my musical quirkiness. When I work, I prefer to listen to classical music - oftentimes Baroque. Next comes Bluegrass, especially with the mandolin [David Grisman and Jerry Garcia playing together are the best!]. Other times, I love the weekday programming from WFUV [just like Terry Starbucker!]

David Reich - captures the essence of the ultimate New Yorker - not to mention the consummate PR professional. I believe he would appreciate that not only do I celebrate 20 Year Relationships, but I've started my 25th year living in the NYC area, and my 15th year with the same company -- the whole time involved in some aspect of Wear-Dated. Although I was born in DC, I have lived in the Bronx and Brooklyn -- just a few blocks from where my Dad was born and just a street away from where he grew up. [BTW, he has a PhD in Intellectual History. His dissertation addressed Tocqueville's approach to history. If you need a freelance historian, let me know.]

Who else enjoys spinning? No, not that kind of spinning [although I've seen lots of beautiful spinning equipment]; this kind of spinning! I know that Bob Glaza loves cycling and like to think that I share some of his cycling zen while spinning.

Do you remember the dancing baby from Ally McBeal? BL Ochman in 10 Best Geeky Dance Videos reminded me of a time - my first big Wear-Dated upholstery summit in 1998 - when I agreed to be videotaped doing the dancing baby. This was then prominently featured at our final night dinner event in the candids. All for the greater good of the brand [Hmmmm, I wonder if Image Zone has that in digital format?]. Perhaps that explains my willingness to Elf Myself?

Like Steve Woodruff, I love puddingstone.

Greg, I had a [minor] accident practicing for my driver's license -- somewhat comparable to your Disney World speeding ticket? [I blame it on the automatic transmission I was forced to use for the test -- my Mom taught me using a stick shift].

I love airplanes, trains - as Arun Rajagopal knows - and firetrucks [so does my daughter!]. My preferred airplane seating is by the window, allowing me to gaze out the window, headset on playing my iPod favorites, watching for cloud or geographic patterns. I do some of my best thinking from there, not to mention tons of uninterrupted reading!

Finally, Drew and Gavin, The Age of Conversation is the most amazing experience! It's a first from so many perspectives as well as a live case study in how powerful social media can be in rallying people from far reaches of the globe, in seemingly unrelated fields, around a wonderful cause: our children and our future. What an honor to be a part of something that is so much greater than the sum of the individual 103 parts. If you haven't already, buy the book. You won't regret it! [It's also the reason that I am getting to know Anna Farmery, who started this meme via Lew Green!]

Borrowing from Greg, I tag from The Age Of Conversation:
- Ryan Rassmussen
- Katie Chatfield
- Craig Wilson
- I can't believe that Ann Handley hasn't yet been tagged

And, from Peter Kim's top marketer list, I tag:
- Peter Kim
- The Marketing Excellence Blog's Eric Kinst
- Bernaisesource's Dan Greenfield
- AttentionMax's Max Kalehoff

And, for those of you who haven't been 'tagged', consider how you might use this kind of approach to bring your employees closer together. What about to engage customers in conversation and better understand how you add value to their lives?

How does what you do connect with them?

It's an interesting way to cement relationships.

Technorati Tags: relationship building, meme, retail experience, loyalty

Blogs: Conversation & Connection Enablers

070322blogher originally uploaded by Chookooloonks.
Wow! Talk about witnessing firsthand the power of conversation and connection that social media makes possible...

The first BlogHer '07 Business Conference in NYC this past March 22-23, 2007 brought it all to life. And, it was amazing.

I witnessed a multitude of blogging forms:

- live blogging [experience the entire conference via this BlogHer link thanks to live bloggers]
- video blogging [Beach Walks with Rox]
- photoblogging [e.g., Chookooloonks whose photo anchors this post]
- corporate blogging [e.g., Staci Schiller from Wells Fargo's The StudentLoan Down, Cisco's Blogs@Cisco, ...]
- personal business blogs [like Flooring The Consumer]
- small business blogs [e.g., Gift Basket Business]
- blogs to promote solutions to social issues [e.g., New Demographic addresses racism and how to eliminate it]

All those participating in social media agreed that the power comes from the conversations that develop which then create connections around the conversation. And, although relatively new [2004 saw the creation of the term 'Web 2.0', flickr.com [the photo sharing site where photos can be tagged and consequently searched on by tag name] and the blogswarm created by the Kryptonite bike lock failure [see The pen is mightier than the....u-lock]; 2005 is when GM started its GM Fastlane blog and YouTube started], as of early 2007, Technorati now tracks over 72.7 million blogs and it continues to grow.

I attended a breakout discussion about the changes being forced on traditional marketing tools [like press releases]. Social media, blogs, tags, podcasts, links, keyword searches, etc. allow for a more versatile and relevant way of connecting information with relevant audiences. The following documents helped illustrate some of the new possibilities for PR in a social media world courtesy of SHIFT Communications:

+ Social media press release template
+ A press release based on the template above: Belkin press release.
+ A template of what an online newsroom would look like: social media press room template.
+ And, SHIFT's press release based on the template above: SHIFT press room.

[Thanks to Megan Garnhum for capturing this session at The Press Release Must Die.]

Not only did I get to meet several of the bloggers included in my blogroll:
+ Mary Hunt from In Women We Trust - her account of the conference appears here: BlogHer Biz 2007
+ Yvonne DiVita from Lip Sticking [and Lena West from Xynomedia often found guest blogging at Lip Sticking]
+ Toby Bloomberg, the most gracious Diva from Diva Marketing Blog

But, I also had a chance to live the magic of connection made possible through the intensity of blog conversation later Friday evening at an event organized by CK [promoted here Bloggers Take Manhattan] during which I met:

+ Valeria Maltoni from Conversation Agent who details it all in The Manhattan Connection
+ CK from CK's Blog who describes it here: It's A Fact!
+ David Reich from My 2 Cents
+ Toby Bloomberg was there, too [see Beyond Fabulous Blogger Happy Happy Time].

And, meet new friends:
+ Matt Dickman from Techno//Marketer captures it in Magic in Manhattan [Matt, thanks for taking so many photos! My daughter enjoyed them.]
+ Lori Magno from Moda Di Magno - Blog for Stylish Living
+ Rebecca Edmonston, a.k.a. Red, CK's cousin and talented actress, who blogs at Red's World
+ Mark Goren from Transmission Marketing
+ Fard Johnmar from Healthcare Vox

I look forward to continuing this conversation online and connecting offline again soon and hope you will consider how best to create conversation with your customers so you,too, can connect and establish a relationship with them!

Technorati Tags: BlogHer Biz, SHIFT PR, Mary Hunt, Yvonne DiVita, Toby Bloomberg, Valeria Maltoni, Christina Kerley, David Reich, Matt Dickman, Fard Johnmar, Lori Magno, Rebecca Edmonston, Mark Goren, social media, marketing, Megan Garnhum

To Rock or Not To Rock at Customers Rock!

!Rock'n'Roll! originally uploaded by L.A. Woman.
Becky Carroll from Customers Rock! graciously invited me to contribute a guest post to her blog.

My starting point for the post - which you can view for yourselves at To Rock or Not To Rock - came from my last post of 2006 titled Happy 2007 From Wear-Dated!

Within that post, I included the following: "retailers in all industries can remain competitive by focusing on 'value-added' strategies, such as loyalty programs that reward customers" and "consumers want experiences, not just purchase transactions. They want memorable events that make them feel appreciated and create a positive emotional experience while getting something of value."

Becky asked me to elaborate on these points.

As I thought about them, I considered the notions of defining and creating value [which Jeffrey and Bryan Eisenberg explore in Call to Action: Secret Formulas to Improve Online Results]. I asked myself -as a consumer- what is it about an organization that makes me feel passionately about that organization over another?

The long and the short of it is that it all has to do with whether an organization truly believes that customers rock.

Advertising Age featured a special report on loyalty on March 20, 2006, discussing different approaches to building loyalty. Many of these approaches include card programs, so it's interesting to discover the differences between a Starbucks gifting/loyalty card vs. a Chico's Passport Club. Regardless, success requires looking outside of the category for innovation, focusing on simplicity and constantly reevaluating and reinventing with the customer in mind to create a memorable positive experience.

Here are the articles in that report:
+ The Big Payoff, subtitled "Customer retention is the mantra, but marketers quickly appreciate you have to win them and keep winning them over and over" by JAMES TENSER.

+ Latte reward: Cards add up at Starbucks, subtitled "With single b-to-b order of 100,000 cards, effort fills bottom line to brim" by KATE MACARTHUR.

+ Retail lesson: Small programs best, subtitled "Some grocery efforts flounder but specialty stores build on benefits" by MYA FRAZIER, Contributing: James Tenser, Tricia Despres.

+ Four to follow by Tricia Despres. The four being: American Airlines, Buick, Citibank and Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

I end this post the same way I ended my guest post:

I bet you can come up with your own customer rocking examples that have earned your loyalty. What about your own organization? How do you nurture your customer relationships? Do customers rock, or do they not - and how do you demonstrate that?

Thanks, Becky, for the opportunity!

Technorati Tags: Customers Rock!, loyalty, customer service

20 Year Relationships

20th originally uploaded by Marvin (PA)
Today my husband and I celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. A milestone celebration, and I am - unfortunately - away on business...

Milestones often put things into perspective. They can also lead to musings [particularly when traveling!].

Have you considered what it takes to maintain a longterm relationship - be it in a marriage or a customer relationship?

Here's my list:

Definitely, two willing partners.

An ability to learn from one another and adapt to changes - in circumstances and within one another.

A genuine desire for the best for the other.

Total honesty and total respect.

An ability to laugh together and to emphathize with the other.

Acknowledging responsibility and learning from mistakes.

And a desire to work things out rather than walk away.

Which organizations can you think of that can be proud of the milestones they've achieved with their customers?

Nordstrom comes to my mind given how many people from multiple generations speak with reverence about their relationship with the store. And, I bet that Jack Mitchell's [author of Hug Your Customers and CEO of Mitchells of Westport, Richards of Greenwich and recently Marshs of Long Island [high end clothing retailers] organizations do, too [see A Good Hug Is Worth... and Hugs or Relentless Customer Focus]. I bet they have celebrated many 20 year [or more] relationships with their customers.

How do you go about building milestone relationships with your customers?

Technorati Tags: customer service, loyalty

Banish the Hard Sell - Focus on Value, Not Price!

Carpets originally uploaded by bdoubleu.
The flooring industry - as do many industries - struggles with selling VALUE. A frequent approach is to go right for the jugular and immediately push a low-priced product. Barely has a customer set foot through the door that she hears "Have we got a great deal for you! Let me show you. You can't get it for less anywhere else!"

Sound familiar? Doesn't it make you feel all warm and fuzzy? You start relaxing because you know that someone has YOUR best interests at heart, right? There's no way you'll wind up with a lemon, right?

WRONG! You know that the dreaded HARD SELL is upon you. You steel yourself for an antagonistic and hostile transaction. You get tense, suspicious, and prepare yourself to run out the door at the earliest opportunity. And, you count your fingers before leaving the store - just in case someone got away with something while you were watching...

Imagine if it were different... You are greeted respectfully and courteously, made to feel at home... You are asked about your project, your dreams, your ideas. A serious attempt is made to understand you and figure out how to bring you meaning and value via product recommendations. Wouldn't that be fantastic?

Many of the flooring trade shows and conventions attempt to address that very issue and Surfaces was no exception [e.g., Why Amazing Shopping Experiences Matter]. Given that the hard sell tops the list in creating a really negative shopping experience [think used car sales], flooring stores able to get away from price, from commodity and from hard sell stand to gain the eternal gratitude of women consumers around the country! And eternal gratitude means repeat purchases and strong referrals -- all of which lead to increased profitability! Ironically, banishing the hard sell to focus on value rather than price remains a really hard sell for most flooring retail sales associates.

Warren Tyler - another Surfaces presenter - offered the following advice in his presentation titled Selling Value - Not Price:

Successful retailing is about uniqueness. What is it about your flooring retail store [and brand] that is truly different from the competition? What is it that you offer consumers that enables you to sell at a higher profit margin? If you have nothing unique, then you can only sell based on price - not an easy game to win! [See The Water Droplet Girls with a most appropriate quote by Patrick Hanlon, author of Primal Branding: Create Zealots for Your Brand, Your Company, and Your Future.]

Never forget that flooring represents a fashion solution to create a beautiful home for the consumer. If you can help her put together a beautiful home, you are offering her value. If you can offer her value, then price is a non-issue.

If you cannot, then price will be the main issue. And, if she shops price, she neither likes you nor trusts you. [Say goodbye, then, to repeat purchases and referrals!]

Surround yourself with sales associates whose passion for home furnishings and creating a beautiful home is contagious! And keep their knowledge fresh by exposing them to ideas! Either through the home furnishings trade press, through manufacturer and supplier trainings, by visiting creative homes, via the internet even reading design books bookstores or the library. Consider inviting local design schools to send their students in to do projects for credit, or having local designers do the store windows.

[By the way, here are the Color & Fashion Links from the sidebar of Flooring The Consumer: Color Marketing Group, Iconoculture, Living In The Box, Michelle Lamb: Connecting the Dots, Sensational Color, spheretrending.com, The Cool Hunter - News, The London Trend Report, The Runway Scoop, trendwatching.com , World Trend Events from trendwatching.com in case you need some ideas.]

Always change the vignettes, and the windows! The windows are the soul of the store [read about Linda Fargo's windows in Engaging the Consumer... Via Store Windows]; they are there to entice the consumer. This is a FASHION business, and unfortunately, the most common floor covering window decoration is the back of a carpet rack. Yuck! What message does that send your consumer? [One flooring store by me has had a "Grand Opening" sign for the past 2 years. The lighted Rudolph stays in the window all year round; luckily the lights aren't turned on until November.]

Remove fluorescent lighting. It's ugly. Not only does the product look ugly, but the consumer does, too! Use incandescent lighting instead.

Tyler bemoans the excessive choice of beige as a carpet color. "Beige does not a WOW factor create! How can anyone sell a home without a WOW factor? Never sell a plain room. You will lose your consumer and all of her friends."

Selling a WOW factor requires a sense of design. It requires passion for the consumer and what you can help her create. The benefits are enormous:
- it discourages comparison shopping
- it separates you from your competition
- it inhibits price shopping

More importantly:
- it generates many more referrals [new customers who refer even more customers]
- it inspires customer loyalty [and a relationship filled with a multitude of transactions]
- it puts your salesperson in control
- it establishes your store as a decorating source
- it leads to higher sales and greater profits and commissions.

Remember that product and price are the least important items in a store IF you can develop a relationship with your consumer and understand better what she is trying to achieve. Then, help her achieve that vision and you will be offering her absolutely priceless value!

[For the history behind -or under- Don Bailey Carpets, pictured above, see He bared it all to cover floors in the 5/15/2004 issue of The Miami Herald by Nicholas Spangler. It's a good story.]

Technorati Tags: Warren Tyler, Don Bailey Carpets, carpet flooring, retail experience, selling value, marketing to women

"Sorry pumpkin" - The LabCorp Saga Continues

The Ugliest Pumpkin originally uploaded by Yemenia.
If you remember from Hall of Shame Inductee: LabCorp, I had a not-so-good customer experience with my daughter right before the New Year.

Bruce Friedman at LabSoftNews picked up the story in Customer Criticises LabCorp for Bad Blood Drawing Experience.

Jan. 15th I received an email from Pamela Sherry, Senior Vice President Corporate Communications at LabCorp, saying "I saw the blog and the concerns it noted, and would very much like to check into the service at the LabCorp site you mentioned in the blog. Is it possible to forward to me the address of the site?"

I responded back with general information about the location [I was traveling], and heard nothing further.

Well, I guess someone checked into the service at that site because the next thing I know I receive the following anonymous comment:

"Sorry pumpkin, actually not supose to say first and last names. Hippa Violation! It's a cinch you don't know anything about what goes on behind those walls and you have total and complete tunnel vision, I would like to say I am sorry about your experience but since you make to attempt to understand what other people may be going through, I see no reason to give you any sympathy at all. By the way did I say whinner?"

Although taken aback at first, I'm grateful that this LabCorp employee took the time to comment. It gives me the opportunity to address his/her points and also touch on the bigger picture that LabCorp, in following up, either didn't get or didn't communicate effectively [to 'Sorry pumpkin'].

By the way, this LabCorp facility reminds me of how the NJ Department of Motor Vehicles used to operate: people would come in, take a number, and sit for 2 or 3 or 4 hours until their number was called [remember BeetleJuice?]. DMV employees were NOT nice about that either. There was a machinery at work that had nothing to do with the human beings it serviced. Now, I walk out of my local Motor Vehicles Office 7 minutes after walking in; everyone treats me professionally and respectfully and I have even been offered to have my picture retaken 3 times. How's that for service?

Getting back to my note from 'Sorry pumpkin' - my one reply from LabCorp. It indicates to me that LabCorp assumed they had an easy situation to fix: be nicer or do better. Most certainly not! It's an infrastructure problem, not a "tell your employees to be nicer to the customer" problem. Which clearly upset 'Sorry pumpkin'... when s/he was told that.

Let's start with waiting time. I experienced a 2 hour wait. The woman next to me, a regular, stated that 2 hours is the norm whenever she comes. A 2 hour wait is simply NOT acceptable, especially when a good number of the tests involve a patient producing their own specimen. I accept that it takes longer when the phlebotomist [thanks, Bruce!] must draw blood, but we're still talking minutes not hours.

So, what is the root cause of a standard 2 hour wait time? That's what LabCorp needs to get to the bottom of. Are more people needed? Do triage systems need to be implemented? Then make it so. But, 2 hours are neither acceptable nor happy solutions. ['Sorry pumpkin' and LabCorp may believe LabCorp has to fill the waiting room 'hopper' with a 2 to 3 hour supply of people just to be efficient. The NJ Department of Motor Vehicles proves you don't!]

'Sorry pumpkin' brings up accepted LabCorp procedure for addressing people. If it is a "hippa violation" to use both first and last names, then use an honorific. "Mr." or "Ms." and a last name work quite well. In fact, that conveys a great deal more respect than belting out a first name - that people didn't recognize as theirs - from the inner sanctum of an office area. First names are appropriate in a more intimate setting [i.e., 1:1 or at most with 3-4 people present] when there is opportunity to develop a relationship.

Which brings up the layout of the office. If LabCorp can't hire enough people to dedicate someone to the waiting room window to process people, then it should create another system so employees aren't forced to belt out names from an unseen area to keep the system moving. Do work spaces need to be rearranged?

No, I don't know what goes on behind the LabCorp walls, and I don't really want to know. I'm sure that a lot of dedication and hard work and professionalism are taking place, but I'm also sure from 'Sorry pumpkin's' note that a broken system is at work: the folks behind those walls have it way worse than the customers in the waiting room. 'Sorry pumpkin' is not a happy employee.

If LabCorp looks through the eyes of its consumer, it cannot in complete honesty consider this experience impressive or worth holding up to the world as the end all and be all for obtaining urine and blood tests - something that I used to be able to do in my doctor's office, with familiar people, in the time that I normally spend with the doctor for a routine physical [i.e., within 40 minutes and lots of other things happening at the same time]. I particularly sympathize with all of those other folks - many of them sick and elderly - who must wait 2 [or more!] hours of their lives for every test they have to take in a LabCorp facility. Is that acceptable? I say not.

So what to tell LabCorp? More important than anything else, build an infrastructure that allows employees to service customers in a reasonable and humane way and don't ask them to put a polite and caring face on the failure to do so. Maybe that does mean more employees, maybe it will be less efficient. OR, maybe not. But the process has to be designed to put that customer experience first, not last. Only then can the other, also important issues in employee/customer interaction be addressed. If this is not done, people will begin to resist going to a LabCorp facility. Certainly, I will. And, any competitor who offers a better [and SHORTER] experience will eat LabCorp's lunch.

If done correctly, that infrastructure will foster employee loyalty. It can be done. Consider these perspectives from John Moore at Brand Autopsy relating to employee loyalty.

+ In Reichheld on Employee Loyalty, John extracts this quote from his book TRIBAL KNOWLEDGE (Kaplan, 2006):

"There is no better spokesperson for a company, product, and brand than someone who is happy with his job and respected by his employer and peers. A happy employee will, in turn, make customers happy."

+ From TRUE BELIEVERS article abstract referring to an article titled "TRUE BELIEVERS: Passionate Customers can Transform your Company" by Amy Barrett from the Winter 2006 edition of Business Week’s SMALL BIZ supplemental magazine. Here is the quote I found relevant:

"You can't create [customer] loyalty if your employees aren't putting your customers' needs front and center. Think long and hard about how you want customers to be treated, and then set firm rules about who you'll hire to work with them. Continuous training of employees is crucial to keeping them focused on customers."

Let's be clear on who is to blame [as long as we're assigning blame]. However comical 'Sorry pumpkin''s response, s/he IS NOT TO BLAME. 'Sorry pumpkin' is in an impossible situation - provided with inadequate tools to accomplish the task at hand. So, again, Shame on LabCorp for creating an evironment so bad that 'Sorry pumpkin' has nowhere else to turn than to his/her customers to express frustration. LabCorp executives should go be their own customer! Be referred for a legitimate reason by a physician and go experience the process. Maybe then will LabCorp get the big picture!

Technorati Tags: LabCorp, customer service, customer experience