There's been a lot of discussion about production quality. Now do not misunderstand. I firmly believe there is a time and place when you need high end production and wouldn't allow a client to skimp.
But sometimes, you can capture the spirit and the story telling…and not spend a fortune.
Check our The Marketing Minute's friend Phil Gerbyshak tell us about a webinar series. It makes you smile. (Had me actually laugh out loud) It gives us a hint of what the webinar series might be like.
You know how we say that marketing isn't rocket science? Well, it isn't. But sometimes it is about the science of understanding your consumer. Paco Underhill, in his best selling book The Science of Shopping, identified a significant negative motivator for shoppers.
The butt brush. Yes, the butt brush.
According to research, a shopper, especially a woman shopper, is far less likely to buy something if her rear end is bumped or brushed, even lightly, by another customer, while they are both looking at a display.
The net result of this research is that stores need to be very aware of creating wide and clear aisles.
If you aren't in a retail business, how does this apply to you?
In every industry, there is the equivalent of the butt brush. Some little, seemingly insignificant factor, that makes your customer decide to shop or buy elsewhere. Something that just makes them a little uneasy.
Can you identify what it is for your business? If not, spend some time watching the shopping and buying patterns of your clients.
Look for clues. Or better yet, ask. A slight shift in your selling environment, materials, pitch or product may result in a measurable jump in sales.
Do you have a personal "butt brush" story? Something that turns you off as a consumer?
If you want to make an agency person or consultant cringe, just whisper "RFP"
I have to wonder what level of mistrust or what horrific deed was done years ago that forced someone on the client side to create the first RFP. They are torture for the applicants and I can't imagine much fun on the client side.
I flew to San Francisco yesterday on United. (Only one mechanical delay, so they are improving.)
One of my pet peeves is when the flight attendant is doing her safety spiel….no one listens. They keep talking, reading or whatever, but they are not listening.
Do I think most of us need to hear the speech again? No. I just think it's incredibly rude. (props to Mom and Dad for the manners lesson).
So…I always make a show of putting away whatever I am reading and pay rapt attention. I always hope I am setting an example and others around me will follow suit.
Well, the guy I was sitting next to on this flight did not. He calmly kept reading his magazine, completely ignoring the flight attendant.
Oh, did I mention he was a United employee in full uniform?
If your employees don't get it and don't care about setting a good example, your customers never will. What rule/expectation do you need to reinforce with your employees next week?
All too often, companies dodge the problems. Or they recite company policy when a sincere "I'm sorry" would actually heal the situation. There's no empathy. Just rhetoric. And that just won't cut it.
Do your employees understand how you want them to deal with the situation when a client is angry or disappointed? Have you not only told them but modeled the behavior?
All too often, marketing messages get lost because they are packed like sardines with other marketing messages. There is no place that is less forgiving of that than a logo. A successful logo captures the essence of a company with one quick mark. According to Paul Rand, here's what a good logo must do.
It should be timeless. It should be flexible so as the company evolves, the meaning behind the logo can evolve too.
It should be a mark that can be interpreted by anyone, almost anywhere.
It should send a clear message.
It should work in all media, in all colors and black/white combinations.
Above all else, it should be simple, recognizable and relevant.
How does your company's logo stack up?
If you're wondering who Paul Rand is, he's the man who designed some of the most recognized logos in our culture: UPS, Westinghouse and IBM.
One of the marketing/sales concepts that I preach all the time is give a little first. If you want someone to give you their valuable time or attention, let alone their money — you give first. A free sample to let them taste what they can have for themselves.
Jill, as you'd guess, is a master at this technique.
In launching her sales conference (November 5-6, Mpls) geared specifically for women, Sales SheBang, she has put together an incredible Goody Bag, filled with free e-books on the art and science of selling, all written by Jill herself.
I'm no fool so I downloaded each and every e-book. Each one is an excellent primer on a different aspect of selling. Check out this grid of insights from one of Jill's e-books.
There's content for staff meeting or two right there!
In a recent e-mail exchange Jill said something that I think is very indicative of who she is as a person. She said, "I am in my "mentoring" years and willingly share what I have to help others in any way that I can."
On the surface, it makes sense. We want our customers to be satisfied. Measuring customer satisfaction has become an industry of its own, with recognizable names like JD Powers and other similar institutions in the forefront.
Tracking and understanding a customer’s attitude about a company or product can be very insightful. It gives the consumer a chance to vent or point out product performance issues or the opportunity to spotlight a good or not so good customer service system or employee. But what customer satisfaction does not indicate at all is what the consumer will do next time they’re faced with a buying opportunity.
Customer loyalty, on the other hand, is not based on opinion or attitude. It is a measure of commitment and is a much stronger indicator of future buying choices. It is also quantifiable. If one of your customers has been consistently buying a specific product or service every month for the past year and suddenly their buying pattern changes – their loyalty might well have been compromised.
Loyalty can be used for projecting future sales, what will be bought next and revenue estimates. For a small company, you probably just need to flip through your receivables to detect loyalty patterns. For larger companies, there are mathematical techniques that you can use with your accounting system to track, trend and nurture loyalty.
A good business wants to pay attention to both satisfaction and loyalty. Satisfaction will help you identify what is or isn’t working day to day. Loyalty can help you look ahead and more accurately know what your consumers will want and be able to devise strategies to hang onto those customers long term.
So of course, the question is….how do you create customer loyalty? Think of a business that you are absolutely loyal to. You'd rather fight than switch. What did they do/say to earn that depth of commitment from you?
And boy, look at what we've been able to do together!
Today is this blog's first blogiversary and so I've spent this week honoring some people who have been in front of the line, leading the dance and keeping us on beat. Because I sure didn't get here alone!
But without a doubt — the biggest thanks go to you. The people who come here to teach, talk, ask and share.
Anniversaries are, by their nature, about numbers. Technorati rankings, subscribers, etc are important but what I'm really proud of it are the numbers we've generated together this year.
There's not one thing on this list I could have done alone. I am so honored and grateful that you've been a part of it all.
Age of Conversation 103 authors Over 1,300 copies sold Over $10,000 raised for Variety, the Children's Charity
Conversations 446 conversations started 2,835 comments Many more to come!
So my friends….in the end, the conga line has gotten pretty long. And I couldn't be happier. Thank you for enriching the conversation. I hope you'll stick around for year #2!
Thank you to all commenters, including the following:
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=20e578e4-a2cc-422b-bca9-9b37eba57429)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=1108740f-5546-49cf-83bf-3f493fd82ab8)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=8a7b44f5-21c9-449e-bbce-e52113beff51)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=521b6369-3ed1-4580-ab53-41747316a144)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=09aac024-63ea-475e-88f5-b2f26526ddae)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=11ea4d60-fb70-4cd1-a191-fd6b07bfb673)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=406e5eea-c1e4-4a7e-9571-8f8d2660af61)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=ce3bb3b3-c9b8-4291-bc5f-d7edc23a617e)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=9e655076-aca9-4989-9a9c-873ece3a5388)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=8fec7ba1-62ad-4438-81dc-22890c1363c0)