Volume 6 Issue 1

ARE YOU READY

Hung over from the 20th century is the cry that everything is moving at uncontrollable speeds and we, as marketers in the "new world" adapt... innovate... improve... change. Despite the best of intentions, however, we haven't mustered the courage to take that first dreaded step toward tomorrow.

Many techniques had promised easy, successful. We are all well aware of TQM (Total Quality Management), the Team approach, staff Empowerment, corporate Re-engineering, Open-Book management. Each guaranteed to work forever (certainly 'til tomorrow). Each promised to provide "The Solution" to our corporate malaise. And while each offered improvement for the short term, over the long haul there doesn't seem to be one single management technique that can propel a company into tomorrow and enable it to sit back to watch success and growth happen unconditionally.

Corporations need more than a quick fix. They need ongoing sustenance. They need a plan of action-short and long term. It was with this in mind that I began preparing "Look Out! Here Comes Tomorrow."This program is based on the premise we must be willing to ask ourselves the questions that must be asked. We must be willing to answer them honestly, create a strategy plan based on these answers and then just do it!!!... But we're not. Wer'e not changing before we must!

"Look Out! Here Comes Tomorrow" is a bold program that encourages and facilitates changing. In its keynote format, it defines today's marketplace parameters and highlights the ongoing macro and micro market changes that impact every business, organization and association. It emphatically raises tough questions - questions as pointed as... if there was one thing you could change in your business, what would it be? Or questions as revealing as... what is your mission statement, according to your staff?

This program advocates a plan and its successful execution. When presented as a half-day program, the keynote is followed by a participants' workshop that encourages hands-on discussion.

"Look Out! Here Comes Tomorrow" encourages innovative, adventurous thinking, opens possibilities not previously contemplated, stimulates action and instigates change. Participants are abuzz... with questions... with solutions... with ideas... with suggestions. They become motivated to ASK... ANSWER... PLANE... change. They are ready for tomorrow, by re-engineering for growth today.

If you have any questions or would like help propel your company forward, please get in touch. I would be delighted to talk with you.

RECENTLY OVERHEARD

Comments from those in the know.

"Just as reading diet books is a substitute for losing weight, reading management books is a substitute for good management."
Vanderbilt University Professor Terrence Deal,
Author of Leading with Soul, on the desire by some executives to find quick-fix business solutions

"Technology always starts out as a solution in search of a problem. No one needs this stuff yet. Billions of dollars will be lost in this market."

San Francisco new-media analyst Denise Caruso, referring to the Internet.

DO YOU HAVE ANY "BEST" CUSTOMERS?

The rewards of focusing in on your best customers are very big indeed.

In today's marketplace, where it has become a virtual impossibility to be all things to everyone, it seems essential to become and remain of consequence to our best customers. They are the customers that traditionally buy from us or use our services more frequently, buy higher margin goods or services and engage in larger transactions. In general, our best customers generate higher profits over the lifetime of the relationship than do casual customers.

Research has shown the value of these customers to be 3 times the value of an average customer. In terms of gross margin dollars, for every $100 collected from an average customer, $300 is collected from a "best" customer. To better appreciate the consequences, extrapolate these figures over the lifetime of your customer relationships. It doesn't take much to realize the value of the best.

To keep our best customers, we must learn about them, and continue to learn about them (because they change). Find out who they are... what their needs and wants are... what their likes and dislikes are... what they're doing differently today than they did yesterday and why... Find out what will precipitate new needs and wants?

Use this valuable information to provide "the right" services... to sell "the right" products... to develop "the right" innovative loyalty programs... to offer desirable bonuses... to create "value-added" strategies... to build effective positioning... to engage in providing solutions rather than just product/service selling.

Focusing on our best customers promises such rich rewards that the steps toward success are worth climbing.

• Capture (and update constantly) customer information and transaction or service data on an appropriate database system.
• Ensure your senior management team is on side and trained to move the relationship forward.
• Hire frontline employees whose customer vision is in sync with your corporate vision.
• Train and empower staff to provide excellent service. Just like personal relationships... business relationships, when they're developed to the benefit of all, they bloom and grow, nurture and sustain.

DILBERT'S 10 RULES OF ORDER

1. I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow is not looking good either.
2. I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by.
3. Accept that some days you are the pigeon and some days the statue.
4. My reality check bounced.
5. On the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the escape key.
6. I don't suffer from stress. I am a carrier.
7. Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, because you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
8. Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
9. Don't be irreplaceable - if you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.
10. The more crap you put up with, the more crap you are going to get.
11. When you don't know what to do, walk fast and look worried.

THE DALAI LAMA'S INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIFE

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements Involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three R's: Respect for self, Respect for others, and Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

ASK SAM

Q: I want my customers to feel my staff and I am really interested in them. How can we demonstrate that interest?

A: Demonstrate it in your attitude. Customers are able to quickly distinguish between your interest and your indifference. Studies show that customers disappear because: 1% die; 3% move away; 9% defect to a competitor; 5% interest changes; 14% are unhappy with the product; 68% encounter staff indifference. Combat a destructive attitude with these suggestions.

1. Acknowledge Customers Immediately
   Show customers you realize they have entered your store even if you are serving another customer, talking on the phone, stocking merchandise... Acknowledge their presence with a word or two, a smile, a wave. (The same technique you use when a friend enters your home works well.)
2. Greet Warmly
   Look directly at the customer, smile, and offer greeting words. This demonstrates both interest in your job and interest in your customer and their need.
3. Show Positive Body Language
   Relaxed but attentive posture (not looking to escape), eye contact (focused on customer), expressions of warmth (smile, head nodding), demonstration of empathy and interest (touch to arm), all confirm a positive attitude.
4. Modulate Your Voice
   A friendly, non-threatening, soft-spoken tone translates in the customer's mind to trust and assurance of helpful intention.
5. Choose Your Words Carefully
   Match your customers' choice of words and speech patterns (short phrases and simple diction look for the same in return). Words create a connection.
6. Attitude Is Visible Everywhere
   No matter where in the business you work, your attitude will either strengthen customer bonds or drive them away. - on the phone - customers hear the smile and interest demonstrated. - on delivery - attitude reflects on the entire organization and remains a lingering impression. - in another department - attitude is inter-departmental.
7. A Positive Attitude Is Powerful
   Wolfgang Puck, well-known chef explained attitude very clearly: "I always tell my cooks that one of the main ingredients in their food is the waiter, because it is the waiter who presents the food to the customer."

SAM SOUND BYTES

"Changing is tough. Not changing is terminal"

"Today it's not size that intimidates the competition - it's speed."

"Customer Service Secret #1: Treat your customers like your life depends on it, because it does."