The other day I happened to be in my old neighborhood. On my way to a meeting, I stopped in at one of those little stores with great service that I miss shopping at. The store sells authentic Asian foodstuffs and for a foodie like me, it is a great place to stock up on those items you can’t get anywhere else.
Once I finished and was juggling all the jars and cans of yummy goodness, I went to the checkout counter and paid. As the owner was handing back my change she then asked me if I would like fresh chili peppers. ‘Sure’ I said & opened my wallet again. Upon seeing me do this she said that no, she was giving them to me because she thought they would go well with the items I purchased and then proceeded to give me a recipe off the top of her head to be sure I used them correctly & would enjoy the meal.
I was suddenly struck by the Customer Delight concept. Something I read about often in my marketing publications and the like – but it was right here, in action, in front of me. How delightful!
And think of how much better small businesses are positioned to overtake the big monolithic, bureaucratic corporations in this very important area. Remember that it can take up to 10x more to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one. So take care of your customers! They are the source of referrals for you and can keep your pipeline full.
A few months ago I read the now famous “Hug Your Customers” book by Jack Mitchell, CEO of Mitchell's/Richard's clothing stores here in Connecticut that is a very high end store with a legend following from affluent circles. Mr. Mitchell tells a story of Paul Newman’s little girl visiting the store many years ago & riding a bicycle they kept in the ‘children’s area’ of the store to keep the little ones occupied while their parents shopped. He says that Paul Newman told him months later that the money he spent on the suit that happened to be on sale was now full price when he added in the cost of buying his daughter that same bicycle!
Think about how many times you have wished for better service? Better treatment and perhaps even more [some?] respect by retailers or customer service folks on the phone. Imagine the goodwill that is spread by doing so. By giving more than is expected, you are indeed delighting your customers. Treating them well, going above & beyond may not put cash in your pocket today, but it will pay off.
As has happened before, this morning I received a call from someone who was referred to me by a current client. That client is so delighted with my service that she recommended me to my now new client! How delightful is that?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Telephone techniques to enhance your marketing campaigns
Crazy as this may sound, I have witnessed so many instances of businesses shooting themselves in the foot with their own telephone.
I saw an ad (4 color, magazine - VERY expensive!) for something I was interested in. I call their phone number & was greeted (well, barely) with a surly, rather annoyed voice who gave off the impression that she'd rather be anywhere else on earth than there, doing her job.
Not a good start.
I asked some questions to which I received one & two word, clipped responses with a few "I don't knows" sprinkled in.
What the heck happened here?
Well, I can guess one of several things:
1. The business owner did not keep their employees in the loop about this new ad campaign & therefore they were not trained how to answer potential inquiries;
2. The employee was aware & didn't care;
3. The business owner doesn't have thorough hiring practices.
OK, so let's tackle them one by one:
1. If the business owner didn't tell their employees, then this must change. Your front line employees can make or break you - be sure it's the right one. Give your employees the tools they need to do their job on your behalf. Tell them about the ad, give them a copy to keep by the phone, tell them to expect more calls when the ad comes out. Go through mock phone calls to identify potential questions so you can create the responses. Finally, write an inbound phone script for them to keep by the phone. Believe me, it will pay off.
2. If the employee was aware & didn't care, this is an easy problem to solve. A heart to heart may be necessary to get the employee on board. If this doesn't work, show them the door. This is your business! There are many, many thousands of great workers out there who are now unemployed.
3. If this last possibility is the answer here then consult with a human resources professional so that you can put good hiring practices in place that will enhance the image of your business and will support your marketing efforts.
As they say on "Millionaire", the phone is your life line to your prospects and customers. Make sure it doesn't kill your business.
The outcome for me? I will not be giving them my business. Too bad too because the ad was great. Probably even cost them a thousand dollars or so. It's sad to waste an opportunity like this.
Perhaps Affordable Marketing Solutions can help. We offer on-site marketing training for employees and communication scripting to make the most of your telephone opportunities.
Conact us today at http://www.myaffordablemarketing.com to see how.
I saw an ad (4 color, magazine - VERY expensive!) for something I was interested in. I call their phone number & was greeted (well, barely) with a surly, rather annoyed voice who gave off the impression that she'd rather be anywhere else on earth than there, doing her job.
Not a good start.
I asked some questions to which I received one & two word, clipped responses with a few "I don't knows" sprinkled in.
What the heck happened here?
Well, I can guess one of several things:
1. The business owner did not keep their employees in the loop about this new ad campaign & therefore they were not trained how to answer potential inquiries;
2. The employee was aware & didn't care;
3. The business owner doesn't have thorough hiring practices.
OK, so let's tackle them one by one:
1. If the business owner didn't tell their employees, then this must change. Your front line employees can make or break you - be sure it's the right one. Give your employees the tools they need to do their job on your behalf. Tell them about the ad, give them a copy to keep by the phone, tell them to expect more calls when the ad comes out. Go through mock phone calls to identify potential questions so you can create the responses. Finally, write an inbound phone script for them to keep by the phone. Believe me, it will pay off.
2. If the employee was aware & didn't care, this is an easy problem to solve. A heart to heart may be necessary to get the employee on board. If this doesn't work, show them the door. This is your business! There are many, many thousands of great workers out there who are now unemployed.
3. If this last possibility is the answer here then consult with a human resources professional so that you can put good hiring practices in place that will enhance the image of your business and will support your marketing efforts.
As they say on "Millionaire", the phone is your life line to your prospects and customers. Make sure it doesn't kill your business.
The outcome for me? I will not be giving them my business. Too bad too because the ad was great. Probably even cost them a thousand dollars or so. It's sad to waste an opportunity like this.
Perhaps Affordable Marketing Solutions can help. We offer on-site marketing training for employees and communication scripting to make the most of your telephone opportunities.
Conact us today at http://www.myaffordablemarketing.com to see how.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Circulation down? Help me renew!
In an effort to clean up my desk & get things off my plate I tackled my in box very early this morning. One of the items "to do" was to renew a magazine subscription. Simple, right?
The publisher made me an offer for an early renewal - I would get 2 free gift subscriptions & a cookbook. Great, sign me up!
So, I go gather my friends' mailing addresses & fill in the form to send them gift subscriptions. I fill out the rest of the renewal card & then...I can't find the reply envelope.
OK, no big deal right just use my own envelope. So, I grab one & put a stamp on it along with my return address sticker & when I begin to address it, guess what? There's no address ANYWHERE on the renewal card. Front, back - really, nowhere!
Next, I figure I'll wait until 9AM & call. Yikes - no phone number!
As a last resort, I figure well at least I can renew online. Alas, once again, there is no URL anywhere to be found.
Now, I'm annoyed. I just wasted precious time & a stamp! Never mind, I was looking forward to doing something nice for 2 good friends.
This publisher is one of the oldest magazine publishers around - simply put, they ought to know better. They missed 3 tremendous renewal opportunities. Doesn't anyone proofread this stuff on their end?
Lesson? If you want someone's money then make it easy for them to give it to you. This means giving them options. Consumer behavior has evolved to the point where they want to choose how to be in touch.
Smart marketers who understand this will thrive. The rest, well...not so much.
The publisher made me an offer for an early renewal - I would get 2 free gift subscriptions & a cookbook. Great, sign me up!
So, I go gather my friends' mailing addresses & fill in the form to send them gift subscriptions. I fill out the rest of the renewal card & then...I can't find the reply envelope.
OK, no big deal right just use my own envelope. So, I grab one & put a stamp on it along with my return address sticker & when I begin to address it, guess what? There's no address ANYWHERE on the renewal card. Front, back - really, nowhere!
Next, I figure I'll wait until 9AM & call. Yikes - no phone number!
As a last resort, I figure well at least I can renew online. Alas, once again, there is no URL anywhere to be found.
Now, I'm annoyed. I just wasted precious time & a stamp! Never mind, I was looking forward to doing something nice for 2 good friends.
This publisher is one of the oldest magazine publishers around - simply put, they ought to know better. They missed 3 tremendous renewal opportunities. Doesn't anyone proofread this stuff on their end?
Lesson? If you want someone's money then make it easy for them to give it to you. This means giving them options. Consumer behavior has evolved to the point where they want to choose how to be in touch.
Smart marketers who understand this will thrive. The rest, well...not so much.
Monday, July 27, 2009
A lead is a terrible thing to waste
Over the past several weeks I have had the opportunity to speak with several potential clients. One of the standard questions I always ask someone is what they do with their leads. Not surprisingly, I often get one of the following answers:
1. What leads? Anytime someone contacts you but has not yet done business with you their information is a lead. In other words, you have the right (unless they have said otherwise) to contact them & stay in touch until they are ready to buy. Keep these leads in a file of some sort whether it be electronic or on paper in a file drawer somewhere labeled "leads" - just KEEP them somehow.
2. I threw them out. Ouch. Leads (treated well) are your next customers. Never purge your files. If you've been in business for several years, chances are you will have a nice supply of lead contact information. This information can range from simply a phone number, to an email address, or just a mailing address. Keep them & keep in touch with them - somehow!
3. Quickbooks is my database. While not technically a lead, old customer files should ALWAYS be kept. Never purge your Quickbooks files without printing them out & storing them in a file folder somewhere - again marked "leads". Someone that purchased from you once is likely to purchase from you again provided all went well during their first experience with your company.
The overarching lesson here is that leads should become part of your ongoing marketing. On average, it takes 3-5 "touches" for a consumer to make a purhase decision. That number moves to 9 or 10 for a business purchase decision. Taking into account the economy, the number of touches may now be higher. Treating your leads right & staying in touch with them is the key to growing your customer base.
Bottom line: Leads are your next customers!
1. What leads? Anytime someone contacts you but has not yet done business with you their information is a lead. In other words, you have the right (unless they have said otherwise) to contact them & stay in touch until they are ready to buy. Keep these leads in a file of some sort whether it be electronic or on paper in a file drawer somewhere labeled "leads" - just KEEP them somehow.
2. I threw them out. Ouch. Leads (treated well) are your next customers. Never purge your files. If you've been in business for several years, chances are you will have a nice supply of lead contact information. This information can range from simply a phone number, to an email address, or just a mailing address. Keep them & keep in touch with them - somehow!
3. Quickbooks is my database. While not technically a lead, old customer files should ALWAYS be kept. Never purge your Quickbooks files without printing them out & storing them in a file folder somewhere - again marked "leads". Someone that purchased from you once is likely to purchase from you again provided all went well during their first experience with your company.
The overarching lesson here is that leads should become part of your ongoing marketing. On average, it takes 3-5 "touches" for a consumer to make a purhase decision. That number moves to 9 or 10 for a business purchase decision. Taking into account the economy, the number of touches may now be higher. Treating your leads right & staying in touch with them is the key to growing your customer base.
Bottom line: Leads are your next customers!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Vehicular Marketing
A few weeks ago I had an experience on the road that highlights the need for organizations to train their employees & for small business owners to become acutely aware of the practice of humane driving.
In a nutshell, I was on my way to what turned out to be a very painful medical experience. It was early in the morning & it was raining. I was anxious, hungry & frightened. I was in a new neighborhood & so wasn’t familiar with the streets. In addition, long stretches of road were almost forest-like with no addresses visible from the road.
When the address suddenly popped up, it was already too late for me to turn into the driveway, so I drove just past the address & pulled into the parking lot of a very well known company (of which I am a current customer!!) to make a U-turn & drive back a block.
As I did this, one of the company’s trucks was headed into the lot behind me. What happened next blew my mind, irritated the bleep out of me & made my already horrible morning even worse.
Choosing not to give me the three seconds of time I needed to turn around, the driver honked this obnoxious horn causing me to hit my head on the roof of my car of out sheer fright, then yelled an unpublishable obscenity out his open window & then topped it all off by showing me his disdain with a hand gesture out the window – you know which one I mean. This was the worst PR imaginable for this company & completely undermines their TV commercial, great website, etc. So, I figure that hand gesture could cost this company a loss of marketing dollars somewhere in the $100,000 - $200,000 range.
Huh?!?!
OK, so once my heart resuscitated, I blew it off. Clearly this guy was a jerk & it certainly was not personal. But it did tick me off that this very guy could be the next one to come do the service in my home & that he certainly expects ME to be polite to HIM.
Over the following few weeks, I began to notice more & more of this behavior by drivers “on the clock” using a company branded vehicle. Even worse, business owners themselves who drive vans or pickup trucks with their lettering all over it are doing the same thing!
I happen to have several construction clients right now who drive similarly branded vehicles & because I am doing their marketing I know firsthand how tough it is for this & similar industries right now. Why, in any sane world, would you cut people off on the road, drive recklessly or aggressively while you are trying to market your services? Don’t you think that people notice these things? Do you really believe that person to whom you just gave the international high sign is going to call you & invite you into their home & then PAY you to do work for them?
For larger companies with branded fleet vehicles – the same message goes out to you. Except – because there are so many more of your trucks on the road, your marketing liability is much greater. As was the investment made to paint/letter/brand your trucks or vans. Again, why in any sane world would you allow your drivers to act like this on the road?
Do you even know how your drivers behave on the road? If you don’t your business may be suffering & you will NEVER know why. Perhaps you have the best website, polite receptionist, efficient scheduling & pretty good pricing but business is down. Maybe this could be the reason?
Don’t you care that the $5,000+ per truck signage & branding you invested in is EXACTLY the reason for your downfall?
From experience with a home repair service client, I know that there are GPS tracking systems (VERY, VERY expensive) that companies invest in to put into their trucks so they can track drivers on the road to give customers estimated times of arrival (or know how long their drivers took for lunch). But that’s not enough. In fact, that could be the very root of the problem itself. If all you care about is time, then your drivers WILL likely behave badly on the road in an effort to “beat the clock.”
So please, for the safety of all of us & for the best investment you can make in your branded vehicles, train your drivers (or yourself!) to become the person that puts their hand out the window to graciously wave someone in ahead of them during a traffic merge as THIS is the gesture that may make your phone ring with a grateful person at the other end who happened to notice & called to do business with you because of your good neighbor attitude. In fact, they may think to themselves, “Gee this nice person is someone I’d trust to be in my home.”
After all, isn’t that the reason you branded your vehicle in the first place?
Safe driving & happy marketing.
Randye Spina
www.myaffordablemarketing.com
In a nutshell, I was on my way to what turned out to be a very painful medical experience. It was early in the morning & it was raining. I was anxious, hungry & frightened. I was in a new neighborhood & so wasn’t familiar with the streets. In addition, long stretches of road were almost forest-like with no addresses visible from the road.
When the address suddenly popped up, it was already too late for me to turn into the driveway, so I drove just past the address & pulled into the parking lot of a very well known company (of which I am a current customer!!) to make a U-turn & drive back a block.
As I did this, one of the company’s trucks was headed into the lot behind me. What happened next blew my mind, irritated the bleep out of me & made my already horrible morning even worse.
Choosing not to give me the three seconds of time I needed to turn around, the driver honked this obnoxious horn causing me to hit my head on the roof of my car of out sheer fright, then yelled an unpublishable obscenity out his open window & then topped it all off by showing me his disdain with a hand gesture out the window – you know which one I mean. This was the worst PR imaginable for this company & completely undermines their TV commercial, great website, etc. So, I figure that hand gesture could cost this company a loss of marketing dollars somewhere in the $100,000 - $200,000 range.
Huh?!?!
OK, so once my heart resuscitated, I blew it off. Clearly this guy was a jerk & it certainly was not personal. But it did tick me off that this very guy could be the next one to come do the service in my home & that he certainly expects ME to be polite to HIM.
Over the following few weeks, I began to notice more & more of this behavior by drivers “on the clock” using a company branded vehicle. Even worse, business owners themselves who drive vans or pickup trucks with their lettering all over it are doing the same thing!
I happen to have several construction clients right now who drive similarly branded vehicles & because I am doing their marketing I know firsthand how tough it is for this & similar industries right now. Why, in any sane world, would you cut people off on the road, drive recklessly or aggressively while you are trying to market your services? Don’t you think that people notice these things? Do you really believe that person to whom you just gave the international high sign is going to call you & invite you into their home & then PAY you to do work for them?
For larger companies with branded fleet vehicles – the same message goes out to you. Except – because there are so many more of your trucks on the road, your marketing liability is much greater. As was the investment made to paint/letter/brand your trucks or vans. Again, why in any sane world would you allow your drivers to act like this on the road?
Do you even know how your drivers behave on the road? If you don’t your business may be suffering & you will NEVER know why. Perhaps you have the best website, polite receptionist, efficient scheduling & pretty good pricing but business is down. Maybe this could be the reason?
Don’t you care that the $5,000+ per truck signage & branding you invested in is EXACTLY the reason for your downfall?
From experience with a home repair service client, I know that there are GPS tracking systems (VERY, VERY expensive) that companies invest in to put into their trucks so they can track drivers on the road to give customers estimated times of arrival (or know how long their drivers took for lunch). But that’s not enough. In fact, that could be the very root of the problem itself. If all you care about is time, then your drivers WILL likely behave badly on the road in an effort to “beat the clock.”
So please, for the safety of all of us & for the best investment you can make in your branded vehicles, train your drivers (or yourself!) to become the person that puts their hand out the window to graciously wave someone in ahead of them during a traffic merge as THIS is the gesture that may make your phone ring with a grateful person at the other end who happened to notice & called to do business with you because of your good neighbor attitude. In fact, they may think to themselves, “Gee this nice person is someone I’d trust to be in my home.”
After all, isn’t that the reason you branded your vehicle in the first place?
Safe driving & happy marketing.
Randye Spina
www.myaffordablemarketing.com
Friday, May 22, 2009
Marketing: It’s no longer a choice – it’s an ethical responsibility
Now, more than ever as an employer it is absolutely a moral imperative to engage in some form of marketing for your organization.
Why?
You have an obligation to your employees to do so. Imagine telling employees that you can not afford to keep them when it turns out you could have. If only you had engaged in marketing as part of your business strategy.
What would your employees or suppliers or family think if you don’t?
They will think that you rested comfortably on your laurels hoping for the best rather than taking a proactive stand and that you did not do enough to salvage your organization.
What can you do?
Be creative. What other market segments can use your product or service? How can you get referrals from existing or previous clients? How can you communicate with your stakeholders inexpensively to let them know of special promotions or new products and services? Can you repackage existing products and services to promote them in a different way? Can you exploit your competitive advantage to its most effective use?
To give up is simply not an option. Not now. Not when so much is riding on it and when so many people are depending upon you and looking to you for leadership.
Don’t disappoint them, or yourself. Get started on some of that marketing today so that tomorrow, your organization will still exist.
Randye Spina
Chief Solutions Officer
Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC
www.myaffordablemarketing.com
randye@myaffordablemarketing.com
Why?
You have an obligation to your employees to do so. Imagine telling employees that you can not afford to keep them when it turns out you could have. If only you had engaged in marketing as part of your business strategy.
What would your employees or suppliers or family think if you don’t?
They will think that you rested comfortably on your laurels hoping for the best rather than taking a proactive stand and that you did not do enough to salvage your organization.
What can you do?
Be creative. What other market segments can use your product or service? How can you get referrals from existing or previous clients? How can you communicate with your stakeholders inexpensively to let them know of special promotions or new products and services? Can you repackage existing products and services to promote them in a different way? Can you exploit your competitive advantage to its most effective use?
To give up is simply not an option. Not now. Not when so much is riding on it and when so many people are depending upon you and looking to you for leadership.
Don’t disappoint them, or yourself. Get started on some of that marketing today so that tomorrow, your organization will still exist.
Randye Spina
Chief Solutions Officer
Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC
www.myaffordablemarketing.com
randye@myaffordablemarketing.com
Friday, December 5, 2008
Collaborative Marketing
The other day I received a postcard from a B2B firm selling integrated database web hosting services. Normally, I most likely wouldn't have looked twice at it, as these offers are so abundant, however, the photography was extraordinary.
The "picture" side of the postcard had no words, simply a very beautiful photograph of 3 penguins - Mama, Papa & baby - with the sunlight shining just right in a wonderful winter landscape. Printed on high gloss stock it was very impactful.
I turn it over to read it and in small letters below the offer, the company credited the photographer and even gave his website. I was very impressed & thought to myself that if this company works that collaboratively with a photographer (& they're not even selling creative services), then imagine how well they will work with me & my cients! They won me over. I plan to keep this postcard in my archive of "if I ever need a service like this" file for future reference.
Interestingly, I just had a very negative experience with someone who refused to give me public credit for work I was about to do for him as a subcontractor. It was a bad & hurtful experience, especially coming from someone I have worked with before. I was stunned at the inflexibiity of this person who runs a virtual agency. Without collaboration, there is no virtual agency, there's just 1 person scrambling around trying to fill holes for their client. Sadly, this is probably the end of our relationship.
I don't understand this posture at all. Some of my recent collaborative experiences have been wonderful & rewarding. For example, on my print collateral material I have the printer put "printed by...." along with his email. It's in a small font at the bottom & gives him a platform to get more promo.
Recently, a client asked me to work with someone who he thought might be somewhat my competition in some areas, but he wanted us to work together on his behalf. He treaded very lightly during the initial phone conversation & I had to giggle. I told him that my professional ego was very much intact & that he is the client & if he wants me to work alongside someone he knows well who has the right connections for us to give him what he needs, then it's OK with me. Turns out, we're not competitors & she is lovely & I now have extended my network by getting to know her. It was a good experience for everyone with creative ideas flowing which produced a final project for the client that he is thrilled with. His collaborative attitude even extended to putting links on his new site for all of us. What's better than that?
Before starting my own marketing firm, I had many years of being on client side & I have seen the advantages of working with a collaborative team. There are many for both the client and the parties involved. So, I'd like to offer some tips on how to work well in a team:
1. Work with the best in each field so both you & the client create the very best end product possible
2. Leave the egos at the door when you walk into a team situation - you do what you, & I do what I do - we're all professionals & should know better
3. Give direction & set deadlines then let everyone do their job & come back with their best work & ideas that you may never have even thought of
Finally, let's all take a page from President-elect Obama's playbook. After announcing his latest Cabinet picks he said that the likes to work with strong personalities who have strong opinions and are the best at what they do. This then produces the best results (& new ideas) for the American people.
Or, in the case of marketing it produces the most successful campaigns for the client. And...isn't that the point?
The "picture" side of the postcard had no words, simply a very beautiful photograph of 3 penguins - Mama, Papa & baby - with the sunlight shining just right in a wonderful winter landscape. Printed on high gloss stock it was very impactful.
I turn it over to read it and in small letters below the offer, the company credited the photographer and even gave his website. I was very impressed & thought to myself that if this company works that collaboratively with a photographer (& they're not even selling creative services), then imagine how well they will work with me & my cients! They won me over. I plan to keep this postcard in my archive of "if I ever need a service like this" file for future reference.
Interestingly, I just had a very negative experience with someone who refused to give me public credit for work I was about to do for him as a subcontractor. It was a bad & hurtful experience, especially coming from someone I have worked with before. I was stunned at the inflexibiity of this person who runs a virtual agency. Without collaboration, there is no virtual agency, there's just 1 person scrambling around trying to fill holes for their client. Sadly, this is probably the end of our relationship.
I don't understand this posture at all. Some of my recent collaborative experiences have been wonderful & rewarding. For example, on my print collateral material I have the printer put "printed by...." along with his email. It's in a small font at the bottom & gives him a platform to get more promo.
Recently, a client asked me to work with someone who he thought might be somewhat my competition in some areas, but he wanted us to work together on his behalf. He treaded very lightly during the initial phone conversation & I had to giggle. I told him that my professional ego was very much intact & that he is the client & if he wants me to work alongside someone he knows well who has the right connections for us to give him what he needs, then it's OK with me. Turns out, we're not competitors & she is lovely & I now have extended my network by getting to know her. It was a good experience for everyone with creative ideas flowing which produced a final project for the client that he is thrilled with. His collaborative attitude even extended to putting links on his new site for all of us. What's better than that?
Before starting my own marketing firm, I had many years of being on client side & I have seen the advantages of working with a collaborative team. There are many for both the client and the parties involved. So, I'd like to offer some tips on how to work well in a team:
1. Work with the best in each field so both you & the client create the very best end product possible
2. Leave the egos at the door when you walk into a team situation - you do what you, & I do what I do - we're all professionals & should know better
3. Give direction & set deadlines then let everyone do their job & come back with their best work & ideas that you may never have even thought of
Finally, let's all take a page from President-elect Obama's playbook. After announcing his latest Cabinet picks he said that the likes to work with strong personalities who have strong opinions and are the best at what they do. This then produces the best results (& new ideas) for the American people.
Or, in the case of marketing it produces the most successful campaigns for the client. And...isn't that the point?
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