Archives for Marketing

Why Your Customers Want YOU Sneaky

In the case are four Apple fritters sequestered amongst powdered, Halloween sprinkles, and beautiful glazed doughnuts. I have heard about these legendary treats for years but have never been able to be here on Wednesday, the only day that they are made, to claim one for myself. Because George sells out of doughnuts, all of his inventory, every day by noon… You have to time your arrival on the exact date to get into Apple heaven.
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When shear smarts is Engaging

Sage Lewis is a awesome. The Cleveland Consultants SIG (a group of training and development consultants in NorthEast Ohio) meet this week and the speaker was Sage. He is the only non-professional speaker that I had speak to the Ohio Chapter of the National Speakers Association the year I was president.  So I knew he could connect with a group. He arrived early to set up a projector and computer.   When that didn’t work, we used the large sheet of paper (the screen) instead to graphically record his comments. Energy, enthusiasm and pure subject mater expertise on marketing and the
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To REALLY get a Promotion you have to transfer into this department

They are the best of the best. Handsome and beautiful in a honest, aw-shucks way. They are the troops of the Guest Services department at Disney. These young men and women have the honor of being the host and hostess for visiting dignitaries, for treasured guests. Recently I approached Sarah and Nathanel at Disneyland. They stood in front of a huge sign that posted waiting times for the major attractions. When I asked what it takes to get into the core of Guest Services they responded, “you cannot hire into this group. You must interview and get promoted from other
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The first one to blink will . . . . .

Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella were at the head of the respective lines waiting to perform their magic on the waiting masses of young lasses in Toon Town at Disneyland. It was clear that each “actor” had been chosen from thousands of applicants, since each was indeed an incarnate of their cartoon counterpart.
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“Excuse me. You have a French fry sticking out of your nose.”

Five Guys hamburgers.  Visions of red and white checked decor, with peanuts in shells to distract you while your burger is customized in it’s assembly and you are assaulted with the French fry experience. Assaulted?  By French fries?  Experience? To the uninitiated.  You can pay less to get a hamburger at almost every other fast food joint in town.  But then you are not vacuumed into the experience of a Five Guys . . . “burger and fries” (I know the rhyming is too much).  The added price is worth the price of admittance. There on the wall is the
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The incision is healing.

Who cares if you can type 80+ wpm if you hands are hurting? Carpal Tunnel.  I went in for the procedure on my drawing hand.  Scary stuff if you make your living with magic markers and a lot of Strategic Planning. The interesting part is the Thank You Note that came in the mail last week from my operation room nurses and support staff. Can you imagine that?  A thank you note for my business. Hospitals are looking down the throat of a coming judgment day that goes by the initials of HCAHPS.  This is a fancy way of saying
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What happens when you charge for free things

Can it be that simple? That the customer feels certain resentment about a $1.00 charge for air when the competitor is free. That the customer FEELS like they are being nickel and dimed. (Which would not be hard to do with the price per gallon of gas). When all things are equal, is there an attitude that shifts the customer’s loyalty when customer FEELS like they are being taken?
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Do you know how much fun chocolate is?

There is the science of this brown stuff. Chocolate contains all these awesome chemicals.  Phenylalaine elevates mood and increases amiability and helps the brain manufacture serotonin . . . which is linked to mood stability.  Beside the small amount of caffeine, chocolate also contains theobromine  which makes the nervous system more alert and improves concentration.   For decades, Hershey had a business of extracting theobromine from their discarded cocoa bean shells and selling this compound to Coca-Cola, who then put this powerful chemical in their soft drinks to add pep.  This continued until the 1950’s, when Coke found a less expensive
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