Blogs That Make You Think

Marijean Jaggers from StlWorkingMom took me completely by surprise last week when she awarded Flooring The Consumer a Thinking Blogger Award.

As Marijean notes in her post, she works for the Standing Partnership, the PR firm that corporate Solutia [my company] works with. She and I finally started talking/emailing after Sue Cannon, our common Solutia contact, urged us to talk. I was certainly eager to do so as Marijean not only has podcasting experience, but is equally intriged with social media newsrooms! In the process, though, we clicked - that's the magic of the blogosphere - and I hope to hook her up with my niece who will be atttending University of Virginia Nursing School in the fall. Thank you, Marijiean, for this honor!

Getting back to this wonderful award - I was curious as to the origin of the award. After a little research, I came across Ilker Yoldas' blog titled The Thinking Blog and the post announcing the Thinking Blogger Awards. It's an antidote to memes that don't necessarily relate to a blog's mission... How fascinating!

So, in the spirit of honoring those blogs [and bloggers] that make me think, [note: these are mostly blogs and bloggers I became aware of thanks to the Z-list!] I award this to:

- Reshma Anand from The Qualitative Research Blog

- Bob Glaza from One Reader At A Time

- David Reich from My 2 Cents

- Tim Stock at Brand Noise

- Liz Strauss from Successful and Outstanding Blog whom I met while in Chicago last week and whose conversation continues to percolate in my brain.

I am always grateful for opportunities to look at the world with a new set of eyes, or to consider the new with a wise set of eyes, and these are some of the thoughtful bloggers whose blogs keep me on my toes....

Here are the participation rules for the Thinking Blogger Award:
1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).

Who makes you think? Who turns the world upside down for you so you see it from a totally different perspective?

Technorati Tags: Thinking Blogger Award, marketing

Half Full or Half Empty?

Definitely totally full to almost overflowing!

Tom Vander Well from QAQNA recently tagged me in Is Your Glass Half-Full? referring to Ramblings From a Glass Half-Full's Terry Starbucker and What's in Your Glass (The Starbucker Meme)?

In thinking about what is in my glass, I decided to focus on what gets me going in the morning. Some other day, I'll address the other dayparts....

Terry asks that we answer the following questions:

1. How full is your glass?
2. What kind of glass is it?
3. What's in the glass?
4. Reasons for #1, #2, and #3

For #1, see above.

For #2, well, my glass is a carefully crafted ceramic mug created by my husband. He's a potter and pays careful attention to shape, weight, balance, texture and the overall visual aesthetics. I like a lot of coffee at the beginning of the day, so this mug holds the right quantity without being too heavy.

[The goal of a good potter is to create the lightest pot possible without affecting the integrity of the vessel, but that also looks the weight that it is. No surprises for the user.]

For #3, I drink coffee in the morning with .... lots of milk. Probably 2/3 milk to 1/3 coffee. I heat the milk up separately before adding the coffee and the end result should smell like caramel. No sugar. [Note: If I'm on the road, a venti non-fat Starbucks latte does the trick.]

My reasons for all of the above?
Morning sets the stage for the whole day which I see full of possibilities - ideas to absorb and share, gnarly issues to unravel, delightful surprises and unexpected improbabilities. The more I engage all of my senses, the faster my brain gets into a groove. So, holding my husband's mug in both hands, feeling the surface texture, while inhaling the smell of caramel coffee and admiring the abstract glaze patterns offers me a full sensory experience in anticipation of endless possibilities for the day!

I wonder what Brain Based Biz's Robyn McMaster would say?

For a marvelous visual interpretation of Starbucker's question, do visit Elizabeth Perry's woolgathering: half full. And, consider letting me know whether your glass is half full or half empty. How would your customers describe your glass? Would the two match?

In turn, I tag:
Reshma Anand from Qualitative Research Blog
Laurence-Helene from Blog Till You Drop!
Lori di Magno from Moda di Magno Blog for Stylish Living
Marc Goren from Transmission Content + Creative
Matt Dickman from Techno//Marketer

Technorati Tags: Starbucker Meme, customer experience

Innovating with Experience Co-Creation for Blue Oceans

Neptunian world originally uploaded by Krispy-Kris.

Innovation truly matters. When done well - by radically simplifying and maximizing value for the customer - it leads to Blue Oceans, as we learned in Part I of Francis Gouillart's discussion, Innovating with Blue Ocean Strategy and Experience Co-Creation.

This next part in Gouillart's presentation focuses on Experience Co-Creation - or involving the customer in defining or creating the value to focus on, first from a strategic perspective, and then at the process level.

Progressive Insurance is both the lowest cost and fastest growing US insurance company, ahead of GEICO and Mercury Auto Insurance. Progressive's success results from creating unique customer experiences. In thinking carefully about which elements of the car insurance experience to focus on and re-design, it identified 4 'experience environments' to reinvent:
- the accident site experience
- the "repair/claims settlement" experience
- the "getting an on-line quote" experience
- the "share my driving habits" experience

Accident Site Experience
Progressive first created a Blue Ocean around the accident site experience by sending its immediate response vehicles complete with adjuster to the accident scene. Not only did a branded Progressive vehicle make a strong visual splash at the scene, but the adjuster was prepared to settle accident claims at the accident site thereby eliminating [or at least minimizing ] the accident 'hassle-factor'.

In the process, Progressive generated value not only for the consumer, but also for itself. And, since each accident is unique, elements of co-creation were taking place in that value creation.

From Progressive's perspective, its presence at accident sites helped prevent fraud schemes. It learned what truly matters to customers after an accident and reduced loss payments by not having to involve doctors or lawyers in the settlement process.

The customer appreciated that hassles were reduced at the distressful accident scene [noteworthy particularly from an industry that tends to create hassle rather than eliminate it]. Progressive acted more like a friend [showing up in person] than a faceless organization and quickly took care of details. It also decreased accident costs by not forcing the customer to call a doctor or lawyer and creating an environment of trust and transparency around the settlement.

NOTE: the notions of trust, fairness, transparency play a big role in successful co-creation.

Repair/claims settlement experience
Progressive further innovated the repair/claims settlement experience through a breakthrough concept called concierge service. Customers could now entrust repairs and claims settlement entirely to Progressive via an easy and transparent concierge level of claims service that involved the customer in creating the solution to fix the damage.

This, again, captured value for both parties. For Progressive, it learned about customers' preferences during the claims settlement process, helping them manage a strong network of repair shops and health care providers. It reduced repair cost overruns by not having to absorb unexpected surprises often revealed during repairs. For the customer, not only did Progressive create an easy and transparent repair process, but it let the customer be in control. Progressive acted as an advocate within the repair network without forcing the customer to accept a second rate solution. The result: approx. 90% customer satisfaction ratings.

Getting an on-line quote experience
Progressive encouraged customers to get on-line quotes and compare them to competitor prices under 'Progressive Direct'. This generated more engagement between the user and Progressive, more comparisons and more exploration of options -- definite co-creation. For those who might shy away from this, look at your own behavior. Don't you comparison shop? And those sites or stores that help you comparison shop, don't you remember them and talk about them and probably buy from them? [It also reminds me of the cafeteria approach to building individual health care benefits plans to help control costs.]

Once again, both parties benefited. Progressive gained a broader perspective on the marketplace, understanding better how quotes trigger action. It learned when it won vs. lost so it could modify offerings and improve close rates. It also tapped into a larger pool of applicants, allowing it to better select risk better and lower loss ratios [i.e., risk profiling]. This dramatically decreased the cost of market research and of attracting new customers [i.e., less switching and more word-of-mouth endorsements]. The customer saved considerable time by getting direct quotes online, easily comparing other options, and not over-paying out of ignorance.

Drive Insurance
For those customers who preferred to purchase their insurance through agents, Progressive also offered an improved experience, benefiting all three parties. Not only did it reduce its own costs in interacting with agents, but it also those of agents through Drive Advantage. Customers appreciated that they could choose which channel to obtain insurance from.

Through Drive Advantage, Progressive attracted better agents; it gained better market and customer behavior knowledge. Progressive reduced processing costs because agents enrolled in Drive Advantage used Progressive's technology tools. What a way to create a competitive advantage!

On the customer side, Progressive willingly accommodated customer preferences and ensured that, whichever the choice, quality remained at the forefront. Any additional costs represented peace-of-mind and time savings for the customer.

Share my driving habits experience
The latest innovation allowed Progressive policyholders to collect and share data on their driving habits TripSense to qualify for a discount at renewal time. The customer completely controlled the process. TripSense may track the data, but the customer reviewed it and decided whether to share it.

Interestingly, through TripSense, Progressive had the beginnings of community. For parents worried about their children, the tool generated data to coach them into becoming better drivers. Good drivers were rewarded through a discount [i.e., greater fairness in pricing], while Progressive reduced its claim losses.

The data was priceless. Having access to detailed driving records allowed the company to better understand what drove accident and claim costs, how to improve underwriting and pricing criteria, and how to reduce overall claims cost by understanding driver habits and increasing the likelihood of attracting better drivers.

As you can see from the value curve to the left, Progressive created an amazing win/win proposition through economic co-creation.

Cost and risk became extremely low for Progressive. This included:
- the cost of attracting quotes
- the cost of processing applications thru agents
- the cost of claims settlement thru claims concierge
- reducing losses thru TripSense

For the customer, the 'experiences of value' rose dramatically [and remember, this is insurance]:
- the ease of getting online quotes, and the reassurance that quotes are fair
- the ease of applying thru an agent
- a sense of control in the repair and claims settlement process
- an increased sense of fairness and control thru TripSense

Experience co-creation at a strategic level was not only powerful in delivering value to the customer and generating intense loyalty, but also delivered a deep Blue Ocean.

Let's take it to a different level. Co-creating a new experience at the PROCESS level is also powerful as the following examples illustrate especially in gaining market insight and building communities.

For those of you who might not yet fully appreciate the Blue Ocean possibilities of web 2.0 and social media, this is a big deal. Here's why: web 2.0 allows for community building -- think Harley-Davidson HOG groups or Apple and iPod users where like-minded people come together around a topic they are equally passionate about. Together they come up with better solutions; they form alliances around their common interests; they trust one another and engage in word-of-mouth referrals; they influence one another's purchases..... [See Blogs Are Not Social Media for additional perspective.]

Gaining Market Insight:
The most powerful example of how co-creation leads to powerful market insights come from Dell and its abysmal fall into Dell Hell created by its terrible customer service record. Jeff Jarvis' BuzzMachine brought it to people's attention and -eventually- to Dell's. Their initial reaction was denial, then anger, and finally acceptance. Dell has created its own blog to address consumer issues [Direct2Dell] and engaged in robust interaction with its consumers, learning a great deal about the marketplace in the process.

Another example comes from Starwood Hotels and its aloft hotel in Second Life where it invites Second Life residents to participate in the design of the hotel. This represents an extremely different approach to conducting market research. Although a test concept, Aloft - when it opens in real or first life - will be the product of co-creation.

Building Communities:
In terms of building communities, Gouillart brought up TripAdvisor. It's the largest online travel community. It's totally transparent, offering real traveler perspectives on hotels. Photos, comments, experiences provide a check on otherwise lofty and unrealistic marketing materials. Feedback occurs instantaneously. It's totally authentic because the community believes so strongly in the value that it provides through truthful reviews.

Another example consists of a 'different kind of travel agency'- ClubTourism which co-creates events and trips. Established in 2004 primarily with on older Japanese populations [particularly women] in mind, it now numbers 7.6 million members. It differs from traditional travel agencies in that it focuses not only on the trip, but also on the before and after. In so doing, it creates clubs with a 'travel friends circle' feature and has led to the propagation of additional clubs.

Having examined how experience co-creation leads to Blue Oceans, it's important to realize that customer value is defined by experiences and not by products and services. The products and services may be important, but what truly matters is the experience we deliver to our customers as they consider the product and service options we offer.

Further, the experience customers have comes from the interactions with us, not from our processes. The beauty of interactions is that they require co-creation, by their very nature. Because each interaction is unique, it cannot be staged or made predictable. However, our processes set the stage for the interaction and for experience co-creation.

So, to start on this journey, consider opening up ONE customer facing process [e.g., call center, sales process, design, ...] to co-creation, and then the rest will follow.

Technorati Tags: Francis Gouillart, Experience Co-Creation, Blue Ocean, innovation, marketing, customer experience, Progressive Insurance

Innovating with Blue Ocean Strategy and Experience Co-Creation

Blue Ocean originally uploaded by kater_wg.
Innovation. Trying new approaches to the tried and true. Keeping an open mind. Nurturing Creativity. It really matters. On the personal front as well as in business.

Back in April, I shared I Have Met The Mouse and STORY Brings Brands To Life, a result of a magical DisneyWorld day courtesy of Maritz, that included a half day session with the Disney Institute.

As fantastic as the Disney Institute part of the Maritz meeting [observations from our field trip to the Magic Kingdom coming soon], what really sparked my imagination was listening to Francis Gouillart, President and Co-Founder of Experience Co-Creation Partnership, best-selling author and leading authority on strategy, and innovation [and intensely involved in INSEAD and the University of Michigan].

Gouillart, in his presentation, addressed Innovation from the perspective of the Customer's Experience and the invaluable role that "Co-Creation" [i.e., involving customers in the creation of value] plays in identifying distinct points of competitive differentiation.

Take that one step further and Experience Co-Creation becomes the process through which one arrives at a "Blue Ocean", based on the book Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim, Renée Mauborgne from INSEAD, to which Gouillart contributed, about creating truly innovative businesses. Per Wikipedia, blue oceans represent "untapped and uncontested markets, which provide little or no competition for anyone who would dive in, since the markets are not crowded. A "red ocean", on the other hand, refers to a saturated market where there is fierce competition, already crowded with people (companies) providing the same type of services or producing the same kind of goods."

To truly innovate, one needs to reinvent through simplification what one brings to the marketplace. It's not about line extensions or further segmenting the business. In fact, segmentation tends to be bad for innovation. Rather, it's about coming up with radically new ways to grow the market. [Note: 80% of innovation happens at the low end of the market; 20% at the high end.]

[Interestingly, aspects of this discussion remind me of the MarketingProfs.com Book Club discussion [see Book Club is Back: Round #2 and in the Ring with Al and Laura Ries] of The Origin of Brands: Discover the Natural Laws of Product Innovation and Business Survival and convergence vs. divergence. According to CK, "... opportunities are not found where most people and companies look—that is, in the convergence of existing categories like television, the computer, cellphones and the Internet. Instead, opportunity for new brands lies in the opposite direction ... [via] “divergence,” which explains the miniscule survival rate of so many new brands)."]

The traditional approach to innovation wants to keep adding, which adds cost, further segments the market into a smaller customer base, and doesn't add comparable value. It's much better to SIMPLIFY.

Take Cirque du Soleil. Is it a circus? Well, in some sense yes. But, it has done away with animals [50% of the cost structure]; it eliminated star performers [another 20% of cost], reinvesting in magnificent costumes, unusual music, brilliant choreography. It borrowed from theater to tell a story. The end result is something totally different, in its own category and that viewers value highly -- enough to pay a significant premium. In other words, Cirque du Soleil has created a Blue Ocean.

It has built differentiation based on distinct value elements.

Yellow Tail represents another example: a casual Australian wine offering simplicity and consistency via few choices, an innovation in a market where complexity and inconsistency are the rule. The result is that Yellow Tail has grown market share in a short period of time, without significant advertising expenditures, over a multitufe of better advertised other choices, imports, etc.

Critical to building a Blue Ocean is creating a VALUE CURVE that looks at value through the eyes of the customer. It's not about the product benefits or the manufacturing benefits. It's about what matters to the customer.

For wine, the key elements of the customer's experience include:
- price
- wine, science, connoisseur dimension
- image
- aging quality
- heritage and prestige of vineyard
- wine complexity
- range of products
- ease of drinking
- ease of selection
- fun and adventure

The traditional value curve for premium wines ranks all of these elements high and on a similar level; for mid-market wines, medium. But, for Yellow Tail, price is slightly above mid-market, wine science/connoisseur dimension, image and ageing quality are stripped; heritage/prestige, wine complexity and range of products [3 to 7] are mid/low, and ease of drinking, ease of selection and fun/adventure extremely high! [ 3 elements that don't even factor into traditional wine experiences!].

Formule 1 breaks the hotel paradigm of the 'etoile' [star] rating system for hotels. Formule 1 is a low budget french hotel owned by Accor Hotels [also owns Motel 6 in US].

The elements of customer experience for hotels includes:
- eating facilities
- architectural aesthetics
- lounge appeal
- room size
- 24 hour receptionist
- room furniture/amenities
- bed quality
- hygiene
- silence
- price

Traditional hotel chains offer a relatively similar ranking across all of those elements, higher for a 2 star hotel, and lower for a 1 star. Formule 1 on the other hand offers no eating facilities, zippo in atmosphere or architecture; room size is based on the Japanese model; imagine a self-serve kiosk [think self check-in at the airport] rather than a live receptionist, and relatively little in room furniture/amenities. However, those elements that do matter to the traveler [bed quality, the cleanliness of the rooms, and silence] have been pumped up dramatically, and the price closer to that of a 1 star hotel, but significantly below that of a 2 star hotel.

Again, this represents a value curve viewed through the eyes of the consumer where poorly valued elements have either been eliminated or significantly reduced and resources focused to significantly enhance highly valued elements. The full experience has been examined in terms of the customer's interactions with the "experience environment" [i.e., the company] to determine which aspects matter and which don't, to then create a solution where both company and customer win.

Up to this point, we've looked at organizations where the company fully controls the delivery of the experience. Imagine, though, taking that one step further and involving the customer in the design of the experience. In other words engaging in co-creation to deliver a blue ocean.

In my mind, this represents a significant paradigm shift. As consumers, we are used to being mostly passive absorbers of stuff, services, experiences. Think of a visit to the doctor's office: don't you do what the receptionist, nurse, doctor tell you to do? [fill out this form, step on the scale, etc...]. We are essentially on the receiving end and simply deal with the situation. [I find that the more automated an option I have -e.g., self-checkout, ATM, online- the better I can deal with a situation over which I otherwise have no control.]

Today, though, we are seeing a world where individuals/customers are not only highly connected, but also extremely well-informed [often better than salespeople], increasingly active in the purchase process, and ready to make decisions. We no longer need or want to be passive recipients. We prefer to be a part of the process. We want the interaction with the companies we care about to be unique experiences. And, ideally, we want to be involved in the creation of that experience with the company [i.e., co-created]. Think Build-A-Bear.

To illustrate, consider Sumerset Houseboats in KY, a manufacturer of custom houseboats. For years, customer satisfication hovered at 70%. Why? By analyzing the points of customer interaction, Sumerset decided to include a camera during the manufacturing process. It educated purchasers. It also gave purchasers a sense of pride of ownership. Customer satisfaction has increased to 90%. The camera concept created a platform for interaction and winds up benefitting both parties. For the company, it limits rework. For the customer, it means a differentiated customer experience.

Another benefit that Sumerset sees is the creation of customer communities [think Harley Davidson] both on the customer end as well as the company side, decreasing marketing costs. The collective community becomes a source of R&D. Value increases and it's that much easier to sell more [think of iPod/iTunes where people sell the product, they talk up the benefits, create and share playlists, etc.].

The next installment in Innovating with Blue Ocean Strategy and Experience Co-Creation will look at co-creating a new experience first at the strategic level and then at the process level.

Technorati Tags: Francis Gouillart, Experience Co-Creation, Blue Ocean, innovation, marketing, customer experience

Passion in Baseball, Business and Flooring

Who doesn't admire Passion? It engages us and fires our imaginations. It leads to intense conversation; it draws others in. It's fun! It's contagious!

Cindy Wilson, our Wear-Dated Representative for Orange County, CA, exudes passion on a multitude of fronts. In this case, it's about 'her' Angels.

Here is her story, and - yes - there is a connection to flooring!

There are some smells that just send me to my “Happy Place”: books in a book store, new crayons, fabric stores, plumeria and gardenia flowers in Hawaii, grass that has just been mowed... The ultimate is the smell of grilled hot dogs and just popped kettle corn which tells me that ahhhhh, it’s must be baseball season! And baseball season means that MY Anaheim Angels (notice that I am a little old school, no Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for me!) are getting ready to play.

I circle the date the pitchers and catchers report for spring training; I circle the date the rest of the players report; I circle the date official play starts! I vote for the All-Star players (All Angels, of course).

I dust off my Rally Monkey, Angels jerseys -- one white with red and blue trim and one red with blue and white trim and both bedazzled with rhinestones! (I like baseball, but I am still pretty girly!) . I have a red watch and red deck shoes. My husband has his jersey and several Angels T-Shirts. I made fleece blankets for us and our (adult) children out of MLB Anaheim Angels fleece. Now, mind you, we live in Southern California. It is really hot most of baseball season. You may ask, who needs a fleece blanket in August? We absolutely do!

The minute I walk inside the stadium, it's a marketing frenzy to engage, meet the immediate needs, stoke the future needs and generally extend the Angels magic for an average 40,000 people in attendance every night for the Angels. The days of baseball simply having ads along the outfield fence are long gone. They are still there, but not as prominent.

Anyone entering Angel stadium at the Home Plate entrance sees two huge Angel baseball caps framing the entrance. The Angels Home Plate entrance also showcases the World Series Trophy immediately in front of the Angels Store. There you can buy everything Angels that you can think of: Jerseys and T-Shirts with your favorite player's name; caps, baseballs, baseball cards, bats, pictures, stickers for your car, even Rally Monkeys!

Many games now have “give away promotions”. Fridays are Big Bang Fireworks from Wells Fargo Bank. Recently, we went to a game where everyone got a TY Beenie Baby Rally Monkey. In the next couple of weeks a clock shaped like an Angels Jersey will be the Wild Rivers Waterpark and KFROG-FM promotion. Memorial Day will have more Fireworks and a duffle bag giveaway by Frazee Paint and 102.7 KISS-FM.

Walk inside Anaheim Stadium and the bright “ribbon” around the park flashes with bright colors. The names of former Anaheim Angel players appear and dance around the stadium. Fans cheer for their favorites of days gone by. Anaheim has 2 Jumbo trons in the outfield. The outfield also boasts a giant “A” made to look like a huge rock formation with a fountain. Anytime a player hits a home run on the Angels, fireworks shoot out from the fountain.

During the game, ads run on the ribbon. In between innings, at times, commercials will run on the jumbo tron. Arrowhead Water, Wells Fargo Bank, Hawaiian Airlines, Linder’s Furniture are some of the names that appear on the ribbon and move around the stadium. Mike Scioscia, the much beloved manager of the Angels and the former catcher for the LA Dodgers is the pitchman for Howard’s Appliances. The big screens are his favorite according to the ads, but you can get a fridge and a stove there if you really want them. Two of the Jumbo tron ads feature former Angel players. One is Bobby Grich; he is in the commercial for Roger Dunn Worldwide Golf Shops. I don’t golf, but I know who Bobby Grich is and I remember the ad! The other is Bob Boone, former Angel catcher, 7 time Gold Glove winner who played 2225 games including 4 All Star Games. He's also owner of B & B Mill Sales [note: website BBMillSales.com is still under construction], a flooring store on 1700 N. Main St. in Orange, CA [Tel: 714.685.0060, 714.685.0070].

Bob opened this store with his dear friends, Bill and Jodi Case. They have a magnificent showroom with choices in every type of flooring that you could ever want: carpet, tile, stone, marble……. Would you like granite counter tops? They can help you! Need carpet tomorrow? They have stock. In the showroom, they have set up a beautiful living room -- nice leather couches, faux fireplace. Also, a working kitchen and eating area. Big screen TV. What would be playing on that TV? How about a game?

As a fan of the Angels and the Wear-Dated Rep for B & B Mill Sales, I can truly see the value of a great player from my favorite team talking about my product. In fact, I patronize many of the places that advertise at the stadium.

I have personally witnessed countless potential flooring buyers in the store, asking if Bob is in, if Bob could sign their baseball cards, jersey or pictures. But, the best part of B & B Mill Sales is not only that Bob Boone might be able to sign your baseball card. It's also that the whole staff will make you feel that you are important to them. They will treat you like family…….Angels fan or not!

Thanks, Cindy, for bringing the Angels magic to life for us all.

What strikes me [no pun intended] is the local aspect of Cindy's and other Anaheim Angels fans' enthusiasm. As large a community as 40,000 people per game, each shares a strong passion for all things Angels related. Any organization choosing to associate itself with the Angels must share that passion. It must exude it at individual store locations. In other words, it must 'walk the talk' [or rather 'play ball'?]. B & B Mill Sales certainly does, and we admire that!

What do you feel passionate about in your business? How do you showcase that passion to your customers and engage them? Are you contagious?

Technorati Tags: Anaheim Angels, Bob Boone, Wear-Dated, carpet/flooring, passion, marketing, BB Mill Sales

Unwrapping Jonathan Tisch's Chocolates On The Pillow

If you remember from Book Review: Chocolates On The Pillow Aren't Enough, I had followup questions for Jonathan Tisch author of Chocolates on the Pillow Aren't Enough: Reinventing The Customer Experience. He addresses those here:

How has the book affected the evolution of the Loews Hotel customer experience? Did some examples/case studies hit home more than others? Which ones?

Since my father and uncle opened Loews Hotels 65 years ago, we have seen so many trends come and go. We’ve also seen the industry expand to one of the most popular around the world as part of the growing travel and tourism industry. But the more things that have changed, the more things have stayed the same.

In light of changing trends and expanding industries, we have always prided ourselves on our customer service record and understanding the needs of those who choose to stay with us, whether they are traveling by themselves or with their families, on a business trip or on a vacation.

But we also have spent a great deal of time understanding who our customer is and what the brand Loews Hotels means in the minds of consumers. We discovered that we are known for our service and hence we have taken initiative to find ways to upgrade the service that our coworkers can offer. We instituted training programs, such as Living Loews and Genuine Personal Engagement, which give our coworkers the tools necessary to do their jobs. We are continually looking at other ways to support the brand and any brand extensions that can come from the Loews Hotels name.

RE: the chapter on diversity. Some hotels have made a big effort in recognition of women's changing roles in business [and increasing work-related travels] to attract them. How is Loews reacting? Has that caused any friction and how have you addressed that? What about other non-traditional groups?

We have always tried to ensure the safety and security of our customers while also understanding that, in this post-9/11 world that we live in, transparency has become a very important issue. So as it relates specifically to female travelers, we do everything we can to offer them the accommodations to make them feel comfortable and give them the opportunity to accomplish their goals for that particular trip.

We also have broadened our understanding of the diverse nature of our customers by offering programs such as Loews Loves Kids, where we encourage our travelers to bring their families on business trips, in addition to vacations. We were also the first in the industry, in terms of a chain-wide program, to encourage the traveler to bring along their favorite pet through the program we call Loews Loves Pets.

Consumers' value equations are changing across categories including hospitality. They expect more for less money, and are getting it. How is Loews reacting?

The consumer today is so well-educated and understanding of their specific needs that value can be delivered at any price point. For example, there are some consumers who are interested in getting a $100 room per night who also expect $100 worth of value.

But as this global expansion continues in our industry, there are those consumers who are willing to pay $500 to $600 a night for their room and also want a specific return in value. As a value proposition is really in the mind of a particular traveler, it is incumbent on us to offer that value or even expand on that value when someone stays at a Loews Hotel. While price is an element, customers can differentiate between price and value. They understand that a great customer experience adds value and are willing to pay a premium for it.

There are so many travelers aware of what’s cool, hip and chic who are going to college and shopping at the Gap and going to Ikea and Target that we are seeing a very well-educated consumer today who wants value, but once again that value might be at a very different price point.

What are the various tools that Loews uses to monitor consumers and changes in the marketplace? Which are most valuable? How do you manage all of these tools? How do you transfer the insights to the organization? How do you keep the process fresh?

We ask our senior managers to always be aware of what they are hearing in their lobbies and hallways. We also seek out customer feedback, and really try to monitor the trends in the industry.

It also comes from my extensive traveling, seeing what our competitors are doing and reading lots of trade magazines, online publications and blogs. General consumer publications are also helpful, in terms of where the traveler wants to be located and which amenities she desires.

We also do a variety of focus groups, in addition to requesting direct feedback, which we have now migrated to doing electronically because the consumer is much more comfortable filling out a questionnaire with a few clicks than using a pen. With these methods in place, we have a pretty good idea of what the consumer wants.

Quite candidly, one of our challenges is that with only 18 properties we do not have representation in all major U.S. cities. The individual guest or meeting planner who is happy with a Loews hotel might want to use one of our properties in a city in which we’re not represented – it is a bit frustrating for us because we are very proud of the Loews Hotels brand and our record for serving the needs of our customers independent of locality.

Wow! Great food for thought. Thank you, Jonathan! Thanks, too, to Rachelle Lacroix of Fleishman-Hillard.

In addition to these two posts, I hope you've had a chance to experience an in-depth perspective on the book and the author made possible through the blog book tour. It took place the week of May 21st at the following blogs:

Brand Experience Lab, including a report from a live presentation by Jonathan in NYC
Customers Rock!, with questions submitted by Becky's readers
The Engaging Brand, Anna Farmery's podcast
Conversion Rate Marketing Blog, two-part podcast with Bryan Eisenberg
Vacant Ready, Q&A with Chris Clarke
Lipsticking, Q&A with Yvonne Divita
Experience the Message, Q&A with Max Lenderman
Customer Experience Crossroads, Q&A with Susan Abbott
Chocolates On The Pillow Aren't Enough: Blog Book Tour and her podcast interview with Jonathan addressing touch points, Living Loews, partnerships, the criticality of human interactions, and other valuable nuggets.

Now that you've experienced Chocolates On The Pillow Aren't Enough, are YOU ready to reinvent your customer experience? Have you taken advantage of these unbelievable opportunities to stretch your mind so as to figure out new ways to truly enhance the experience you offer your customers?

Technorati Tags: Jonathan Tisch, Chocolates On The Pillow Aren't Enough, customer experience, word of mouth marketing

BlogTippingDay - June

Happy June 1st! Just in time for BlogTipping Day as proclaimed by Easton Ellsworth of Business BlogWire in Announcement: May 1, 2006 will be blogtipping day!

This month's BlogTipping relates to the customer experience. The questions and thoughts below force soul-searching and honest assessment.

+ Stephanie Weaver wonders Do people care about "customer experience" yet? It looks like we've only just begun.

+ Greg Verdino asks Do you make your customers uncomfortable? and says "It is our obligation to see each and every action through our customers's eyes and do what we can to make them feel comfortable. Comfortable doing business with our companies, supporting our brands, with the product choices they've made. " How comfortable are you to do business with?

+ If you're not quite sure, then watch this video clip on David Armano's Logic & Emotion titled Breaking Up with Advertising. It puts into perspective our traditional methods of pushing a message onto the consumer.

+ Techno//Marketer Matt Dickman explains the benefits of Web 2.0 for Marketers:It's the community, stupid! "Web 2.0 is...about leveraging communities around your brand to add value to you customers." It amplifies the interaction, making mass communications look flat and oh-so-limited in comparison.

+ David also discusses Creating Compassionate Designers. Regardless of the field you operate in, read this article. It applies to all of us who truly believe in creating a meaningful customer experience.

+ Alan Thys captures his thoughts on How to delight your customers (10 thoughts). Anyone have additions to this list?

+ Tom Vander Well asks Do You Leave the "Customer" Out of "Customer Service?" What are you measuring? Does it really matter? "What is really important to the long term success of your business is knowing what YOUR customers expect and then meeting/exceeding those expectations."

+ Maria Palma brings up The One Thing That Scares Customers Away... Indifference. Avoid it at all costs.

On the retail experience front, Conversation Agent, Valeria Maltoni, shares No Advertising... And Thriving, Retail Style describing Anthropologie's non-traditional approach to retail. Here, too, passion for the consumer's experience matters. I frequently refer to Anthropologie in presentations, given how unique their approach to retail. If you don't know them, then do so immediately.

On the marketing-to-women front, Michele Miller from WonderBranding: Marketing to Women shares this priceless video clip guaranteed to have both men and women in stitches [I have tested it on both]: A Guy Thing. Someone here spent time understanding this particular customer experience...

Flooring Toe Taps of Amazement go to:
+ Steve Woodruff from StickyFigure for creating the Marketing Bloggers Portal and organizing the many terrific marketing blogs into such a user-friendly format.

+ Arun Rajagopal pays tribute to the authors of The Age of Conversation in Getting to know 'Age of Conversation' authors - 8 & finito!. It took him 8 separate posts and a great deal of research into approx. 100 authors, but he did it. [For more information on The Age of Conversation, please refer to The Conversation Age - Enabled.]

From a big picture perspective, consider the following:
+ Daria Radota Rasmussen from MediaBlog shares a Few Slides on Life which, using PowerPoint, offers a poetic perspective on the meaning of life. Talk about an unusual way of creating a customer experience....
+ Marijean Jaggers from StlWorkingMom has been working on a fantastic project about Helping the Homeless in Charlottesville. Every one of your customers has a voice. Are you listening?

June marks the official beginning of Summer. To add to the fun -- and for my Wear-Dated associates who missed the original hoopla on this -- here is the official link to the original Diet Coke/Mentos experiments: eepybird.com & the Diet Coke/Mentos experiments [this link takes you to the original and -in my opinion- best of the experiments]. Do check out the section on The Science [for educational fun with your kids, of course]. You'll learn more that you thought possible on the interactions between sodas and candy.... [Thanks to Arun for the reminder!]

Happy June!

Technorati Tags: blogtipping, marketing, customer experience, retail experience, marketing to women

Ahhhh.... Now A Viral Garden Top 25 Marketing Blog!

Mack Collier from The Viral Garden has been posting a listing of the Top 25 Marketing Blogs for the past 58 weeks based until now on Alexa rankings.

Here is when he started on the compilation: Viral Garden's Top 25 Marketing Blogs. It's really fascinating to read the commments, look at the list and be amazed at how many folks had just created their blogs at that point, and how many have done so since then... 58 weeks ago is not that long ago in people years.

I remember coming across the list and being stunned by the wealth of resources to explore. And, then, Mack started the Z-list.... [See Methinks Z Listers Are Winning] creating another amazing list of resources to explore.

Well, Flooring The Consumer has hit the big league coming in at #19 of the Viral Garden's Top 25 Marketing Blogs - Week 58. I can now proudly 'wear' the 'served fresh weekly' icon.

And, Mack, thanks for changing the ranking system from Alexa to Technorati! [Thanks, too, for the Z-list!]

Here are the standings for Week 58 based the new ranking system [conceivably, this could be considered the Top 25 T-List]:
1 - Creating Passionate Users - 8,460
2 - Seth's Blog - 8,452
3 - Gaping Void - 3,728
4 - Logic + Emotion - 1,406
5 - Daily Fix - 947
6 - Converstations - 914
7 - Drew's Marketing Minute - 800
8 - The Viral Garden - 742
9 - Jaffe Juice - 736
10 - Church of the Customer - 710
11 - Diva Marketing - 706
12 - Duct Tape Marketing - 701
13 - Servant of Chaos - 671
14 - What's Next - 666
15 - Influential Interactive Marketing - 651
16 - Hee-Haw Marketing - 648
17 - Brand Autopsy - 618
18 - Community Guy - 571
19 - Flooring the Consumer - 563
20 - CrapHammer - 560
21 - Customers Rock! - 547
22 - Shotgun Marketing - 534
23 - Coolzor - 532
24 - CK's Blog - 525
25 - Tell Ten Friends - 521

Note: This list is now based on Technorati "Authority" rankings, relating to how many blogs link in to each blog. The higher the number of links, the higher the blog ranks.

Mack, thanks for keeping things so interesting!

Technorati Tags: Top 25 Marketing Blogs, The Viral Garden, Marketing,

Customer Focus in Good Times and Bad

Desert Morning originally uploaded by Mr. Geoff.
Carrol Lasswell, our Wear-Dated Representative in Phoenix, AZ - whom you may remember from Mining March Madness - shares the following wisdom from one of her flooring dealers.

Now, you'd have to be hiding under a rock to be oblivious to how tough things are out there. Between rising gasoline prices, spiraling healthcare costs, the drop in housing and housing-related activities, escalating global tensions - to name a few - we all have a lot on our plates. Despite all that is negative, here's a tale of someone who is focusing passionately on the customer:

I wanted to share a statement with you that one of my dealers made.

This dealer - as are most flooring retailers - is down significantly compared to last year. However, no one has been let go [the usual response to bad times]. And the attitude in-store remains upbeat despite the slowdown in business.

I commented on this and the owner told me: "When times challenge you, the best thing to do is focus on all of the challenges you bring to the business and to the customer."

At first, this made very little sense to me. He could tell I didn't get it.

So he explained further: "We sell fashion and comfort. We often try to sell passion, but passion is developed, not sold. "

"We give the customer choice after choice and expect her to easily make decisions in a business that most will never understand. We need to help her."

"We provide her with delays and must dos that are for our benefit rather than hers. We need to limit these."

"Keeping the business simple and providing true customer service will get us through the hard times. That means supporting our experts, keeping our staff, selling the right products and providing exceptional service to the folks who are in the market. It means that we continue to advertise, meet customer expectations, adapt to the times and treasure every footstep that comes through our doors, keeping ourselves in a position to excel. If we do our job right, then times - good or bad - will manage themselves."

Now at the end of the day what I walked away with from this dealer is:

+ We need to keep ourselves ready to be the best we can be - regardless of the market environment. Positive attitude and approach will carry us through.

+ Good times and tough times require the same customer focus, but not necessarily the same approach.

I think each person takes away something different from this advice. I walked out of this store feeling that I had been given not only insight into a owner's passion for the customer and the business, but also a chance to review my own.

Thank you, Carrol, for sharing this wisdom.

How do you express your passion and customer focus regardless of whether it's good times or bad?

Technorati Tags: retail experience, customer experience, carpet/flooring, Wear-Dated

12 Lessons From The Giant: What NOT To Do

Wal-Mart Nogales, AZ originally uploaded by djcn0te.
Whenever I have a Wal-Mart experience, thoughts percolate. I'll come home, shake my head and mentally walk through every step to recap all that was unimaginative, uninspired and unpleasant. And, then, I'll compare it to the whimsical, delightful and thoughtful experiences that I inevitably have at Target.

So, when I read this 4/30/07 Business Week cover story titled Wal-Mart's Midlife Crisis - Declining growth, increasing competition, and not an easy fix in sight by Anthony Bianco many of those percolations led to the following brew of lessons and observations about what NOT to do if you are serious about providing a consistently memorable and delicious consumer experience.

Early on, the article declares: "For nearly five decades, Wal-Mart's signature "everyday low prices" and their enabler—low costs—defined not only its business model but also the distinctive personality of this proud, insular company that emerged from the Ozarks backwoods to dominate retailing." But, what worked so successfully for so long, is no longer the magic formula.

The article refers to "botched entry into cheap-chic apparel", and "overdue improvements such as the store remodeling program launched last year"... More fundamental, though, is whether Wal-Mart is alienating those who brought it to the dance in pursuit of Target consumers.... Hmmm.

Regardless of those speculations, here follow my 12 lessons on what NOT to do if you are truly committed to delivering a memorable customer experience:

From a store perspective:
1. Don't allow your stores to become dingy, un-cared for, dated or unpleasant. Have a store remodeling plan in place and be sensitive as to whether you need to speed your cycle up or not. Consumers pay attention and it is critical to have an ongoing plan to keep stores looking fresh, fashion focused, engaging. Consider having an 'expiration date' [see Change And The Store Experience].

2. Don't create an environment that burdens your consumer. Make sure your stores are clean and uncluttered, that product can easily be located, that you minimize any kind of wait time [checkout, delivery, installation...]

3. Don't become complacent and think that good enough is OK. Banish mediocrity! Mediocrity goes hand-in-hand with indifference, and indifference drives consumers away.

4. Don't fall in love with expansion and lose sight of existing stores and customers. Great size is not necessarily a plus. Better to extract more value from existing resources, than always try to pursue new ones.

5. Don't understaff your stores. It sends a bad message.

From a strategic perspective:
6. Don't focus completely on being the lowest priced retailer. Price represents an ephemeral competitive advantage. Better to focus on your total experience to the consumer and the total value package you offer her.

7. Don't be a schmuck. Rather, be honorable. Be a good corporate citizen and community member. Be good to your employees who are your customer ambassadors. Be good to your customers who are your community and business ambassadors. Be honest and stay focused on how your business can improve your customers' lives.

8. Don't lose touch with the marketplace. Be aware that the marketplace changes constantly, that competition gets better, and don't ignore who your most critical customer is [hint: a woman].

9. Don't have tunnel vision. Do integrate your back-end [yes, controlling inventories remains critically important] into the whole of your operation to deliver the best possible experience to your staff and customers.

10. Don't ever underestimate the power of quality, convenience and customer service. They represent value to your customer.

11. Don't ever alienate your core customer base. Otherwise, you are dead in the water.

12. Don't wing it! Have a plan and integrate all of your elements to deliver that plan consistently and successfully to your customers.

In case you don't believe that focusing solely on price isn't enough: "To the selective middle-income shopper, quality, style, service, and even store aesthetics increasingly matter as much as price alone. "Here's the big thought Wal-Mart missed: Price is not enough anymore," says Todd S. Slater, an analyst at Lazard Capital Markets."

I chuckled at how Sam Walton made decisions for the carpet in his stores: "Aesthetics counted for so little that when the retailer finally put down carpet in its stores it took care to choose a color that matched the sludgy gray-brown produced by mixing dirt, motor oil, and the other contaminants most commonly tracked across its floors. To Wal-Mart, the beauty of its hideous carpet was that it rarely needed cleaning." Wow! How practical! No maintenance needed...

I compare that with the bright Target red carpet I saw being made at Mannington Carpet where we were informed that Target has a terrific maintenance program [one more reason to shop Target] and takes great pride in its red carpet and keeping it clean.

[The new simulated-wood vinyl floors that I experienced in Wal-Mart Plano: Like No Other Store! and newer stores may be aesthetically more pleasing, but it also requires considerably less maintenance than the hideous never-maintained carpet.]

In case you don't believe that the people aspect of your business matters: "While the look of its stores is primarily a function of how much Wal-Mart chooses to spend on them, the retailer is unlikely ever to come up with an ambiance conducive to separating the affluent from their money without changing its whole approach to labor. The chain's dismal scores on customer satisfaction surveys imply that it is understaffing stores to the point where many of them struggle merely to meet the demands of its self-service format."

Now, here is a thought. Wal-Mart may cater primarily to 45 million low income Americans, but aren't they, too, entitled to excellent service? What kind of message does that send?

The article mentions "In the past few years, Scott has reluctantly brought Wal-Mart out from behind its Bentonville barricades. Virtually from scratch, this famously conservative company has built a large public and government relations apparatus headed by Leslie A. Dach, a veteran Washington political operative of pronounced liberal bent." The 4/2/07 issue of The New Yorker in Annals of Spin. Selling Wal-Mart. Can the company co-opt liberals?? by Jeffrey Goldberg focuses on the public and government relations work [and the many PR challenges created...]. Although it seems more about suggesting that Leslie Dach sold out to Wal-Mart, the interesting information comes at the very end where we realize just how bare bones and subsistence-based the Wal-Mart model is and how much it is dependent on frequency of transaction for profitability....

"Mona Williams, the chief spokeswoman for Wal-Mart, disagreed. When she was asked why the company could not simply give two-dollar-per-hour across-the-board raises to its store employees, her reply was free of obfuscation. “Wal-Mart’s profit per associate is six thousand four hundred dollars,” she said. “If we were to pay two dollars more an hour to associates, that would cut four thousand dollars out of our per-employee profit. If anybody ever stopped to do the math, they’d see this. It would take two-thirds of the profit if we gave everyone two dollars more.” She added, “You could raise prices, but what about the woman who is shopping for Easter shoes for her kids? We can’t raise prices on her.”

Are you convinced yet that the 12 lessons from the giant on what NOT to do are sound? Here follow examples of retailers taking these lessons to heart:

+ The 05/14/07 issue of Boston.com Macy's sees food as the way to the wallet: in-store restaurants and cafes enable customers to take breaks without leaving the store premises, improving the Macy's experience and creating a strong point of differentiation. "The longer retailers can keep customers in stores, the more they will spend, said James Dion, president of the consultancy Dionco Inc. 'Combining services so shoppers can grab a bite to each and shop in one place plays right into the lifestyle of a lot of consumers.'" [Sounds like something Paco Underhill would say!].

+ USA Today's Fast repair a priority at Geek center article by Dylan T. Lovan, on 05/13/07 describes the new warehouse/repair center opened in Kentucky specifically to speed up repairs and give "the customer a better experience".

+ The 5/23/07 issue of The Seattle Times features Nordstrom: A fashion-forward future by Monica Soto Ouchi describing enhancements [e.g., perpetual inventory system] and ongoing improvements [e.g., remodeling and relocating stores] to maintain its strong customer service reputation.

Midlife is certainly no time to become complacent. In fact, complacency is what leads to crises. To avoid the level of complacency that Wal-Mart seems to have adopted, consider Martin Linstrom's 10 components to creating strong brands in Religion: Inspiration For Brands from Branding Strategy Insider. They certainly reinforce the 12 lessons from the giant on what NOT to do and offer sound advice on how to deliver a memorable customer experience.

Technorati Tags: Wal-Mart, Martin Linstrom, retail experience, customer service, customer experience