Archives for Great Customer Experiences

Charisma is Going Past Customer Wow . . . Birthdays for 102 year olds at Wendy'' Hamburgers . . . and a Banjo Too

This particular chain of Wendy”s Hamburger restaurants are consistently the most profitable, and productive in the country (actually they are the top . . .but for confidentiality I need to keep their identity secret.) In a few weeks I will be working with a group of their key managers.  In preparation I take a provided lunch coupon to one of their locations for some “research”.  I mean . . . this is a Wendy”s.  How can you make French fries special.As I pull into the parking lot, every space is full.  Finally, w-a-y in the back I find an empty
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Charisma . . . Is it learned or are you born with it?

JFK, Eva Peron, Marilyn Monroe had it.  That charisma that attracts others.  In the case of Monroe, she seemed to be able to turn it on or off at will. There is evidence that companies too have “charisma”.  Is it the difference between Sam””””s Club and Costco?  Of In & Out Burger and McDonalds? So is it something that is learned or are you born with it? I personally believe you can learn it.  Just like an employee of Disney, who is taught how to respond to others.  There are things you (and your business) can do to get this
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If you are a hotel and providing fresh cookes . . . is that enough? In Pursuit of Hotel "Je Ne Sais Quoi" (the special something that guests are looking for)

I pulled into the Ritz Carlton only to have my car descended upon by a crack team of Bell Captains.  By the time I was walking down the hall to my room I had been accosted by at least 8 trained professionals who all had the mad plot of making my customer experience “needle” pin against the “wow” part of the scale. It took me the rest of my three day stay to figure out how they provided an off the chart guest experience.  I thought I would discover some secret technology that allowed them to communicate between themselves about
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How make a Stand Out Voicemail . . . Making a Dent In YOUR Universe – (for those who want more customers, increased sales, and more influence)

It has been said that 80% of all conversations now occur with one person communicating with another, with some sort of technology acting as the go-between. Voice mail! That technology monster that buffers us from those who we can help. Is there a formula for leaving voice mail?  If I left you a voice mail on the value of quick drying paint, you probably are going to delete it in record time.  Even if it is short and to the point.  But if I leave you a message on proven methods to make your vacation twice as fun, without additional
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Beam Me Up Scotty . . . The 3 Types of Marketing and Sales

It was a hot summer day in 1969 when Neil Armstrong said those immortal words, “Hey this place looks like southern Arizona . . . now what?” To stand on a different planet (or moon) is a major “Ah-ha” for mankind.  We have been there before.  Columbus, Einstein, and Captain James T. Kirk.  What? There are three phases to sales and marketing.  Three distinct processes.  Each has a different focus.  All three result in revenue.  But each evokes a different type of customer response. Let’s call them the 3 T’s.  Transaction > Transformation > Transportation Transaction This is the world
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Ice Cream and the Civil War – The Next Steps for Providing the Value that YOUR Members Want

The South attacked from the north.  And the North attacked from the south. What insights from the battle of Gettysburg are there for associations? Consider some basic principles. Transactions grow up into Transformation As business matures, and competition increases, most products and services become more transactional.  Specialized offerings get more competition, which forces everyone to sharpen their pricing, or get some sort of edge.  Eventually products become so generic that the market evolves into a “big box store” or morphs into high value offerings.  Consider the overrun of Sears by Wal-Mart (transaction) and Nordstrom (transformation).  When you want a makeover
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What keeps people from Selling More

Their creative nature. . . .”Squirrel!”  They get distracted Time Management (see #1) Lack of coaching (see #1 & #2) Lack of direction and clarity (see #3) Status Quo maintenance – “this is the way it has always been done” Self Esteem issues To little product knowledge To much product knowledge Lack of faith in the product Lack of a Sales Plan (see #4) Lack of Creativity and Innovation (thinking outside the box) Lack of new ideas (see #11) Lack of new prospects (see #10, 11, 12) Using old methods of selling Don’t understand the market and the new dynamics (our
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The New Rules for Branding – Getting Edgy or Getting Lost in the Noise of YOUR Marketplace

The biggest enemy to your business these days is being average.  With mass customization, free information, and a tight economy, you need to drive your branding image.  What are the new rules for branding? 1 – It must have a plot or a storyline.  Think Disney.  Chipotle has it’s brown bags with stories on them.  Harley is about terrorizing small towns (see previous blog post) 2. It must be unique to stand out.  Unless you have a BHAC (Big Hairy Audacious Concept) you have beige, average, pedestrian. 3. It must fill a need or create a new mind set for
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All of my heart loved Olive My Heart

The only thing missing is a French accent. It was a Friday night and my wife and I and our master chef friend, Judes Smith (Judes Foods) went into the Olive My Heart store in Stow, Ohio.  This is a mini version of the exquisite Olive Oil boutiques found in Nice, or Paris.  They have various “flavored” olive oils and exotic vinegars on shelf after shelf.  It takes just a few minutes to start tasting the possibilities of taking something that is a item and turning it into an experience.  It had all of the experience building blocks down –
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Creating Ardent Customer Fans . . . lessons learned from a Coke Machine, Trader Joes, and Frequent Flyers

Are your customer’s ardent fans?   Do they tell others about your offerings without your prompting? Consider a recent trip I made to a local hamburger place.  These GUYS (5 of them) recently switched their soft drink dispensing machine to a high tech, complex juggernaut.  You put your glass into one slot and then, by pushing various buttons on a screen, get your drink. After inserting my paper cup, I studied the screen, which  is covered with images of choices.  Water, flavored water, the cola and diet cola offerings along with the various lime, cherry additives and on and on and
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