Beyond 9/11

Today is a day of reflection for many of us in the United States. Most of us know where we were 10 years ago when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center.

We look back on the monumental occasions and often let the other, less noticeable events fade away.

Last weekend as I was skimming my emails I found a piece from Seth Godin that reminds us to pay more attention.

May it motivate both of us to make some positive changes in the week ahead:

The Sunday Seth:

Not fade away

Most partnerships don't end up in court.

Most friendships don't end in a fight.

Most customers don't leave in a huff.

Instead, when one party feels underappreciated, or perhaps taken advantage of, she stops showing up as often. Stops investing. Begins to move on.

No, I'm not going to sue you. Yes, I'll probably put my best efforts somewhere else.

Just because there are no firestorms on the porch doesn't mean you're doing okay. More likely, there are relationships out there that need more investment, quiet customers who are unhappy but not making a big deal out of it. They're worth a lot more than the angry ones.

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Who Represents You?

from the Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo:

No, Please No..

Almost 3 years ago I started subscribing to job alerts from Monster.com, even though I was not actively looking, 2008 was a year anything could happen.

Working in the sales world however, as long as I brought in more than it cost to keep me, I was fine.

Anyway, I still get regular job alerts from Monster since I:

• Haven't figured out how to make them stop...
• I have friends who are looking for jobs

This was from a recent email:



Please...please...please...please...Please...PLEASE

Don't hire Hot Shot's.

They give a bad name to all sales people, even the good ones who put their clients needs first.

The term Hot Shot makes me think of this guy: Click here.

Hire professionals, but beware of Hot Shots.

The words of Scott Howard aka ScLoHo

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Becoming Customer Friendly

Great advice recently from Drew:

If you really walked a mile in their shoes…

Posted: 16 Jul 2011 09:47 AM PDT

…have you really walked a mile in their shoes?

We give lip service to wanting to serve our customers better, but I see so many examples where people clearly didn’t bother to even consider their customer, that I wonder.

I’m betting we could walk into any business today and point to things that make life better or more enjoyable for the employees but make the customer feel less important or considered.

Here’s what it might look like if you genuinely walked a mile in your customer’s shoes if you owned/worked at…

A take out food establishment: I’d put all the cold food in one bag and all the hot items in another.

A oil change shop: I’d have more than just car magazines in the lobby.

A CPA/business banker: I’d take the forms I make you fill out every year and put them into excel so you could easily update them rather than re-writing pages and pages of numbers.

A pest control company: I’d show up at your house in an unmarked van so all your neighbors wouldn’t know you had a bug problem.

A movie theatre: I’d have a “in your seat 5 minutes before the show” rule like they do in live theatres.

A lawyer: I’d provide you with a cheat sheet of all the important legal documents you need, have and where they’re stored.

Your financial planner: I’d give you a template that captured all of your financial data (investments, bank accounts, credit cards etc.) to put with your will in case something happened to you.

A clothing store: I’d have a room you could enter and have a store employee take a picture of you (with your phone) so you could get other opinions on the potential new outfit.

Did you notice that none of these changes are a big or expensive deal?

If I can do this with 8 types of businesses — I’m pretty sure we could do it with yours too. Your turn — tell us your organization’s core business and what you’d do differently if you truly walked a mile in your customer’s shoes.

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Missing Someone?

from the Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo:

Where Did They Go?

Ever wonder about the customers you don't have anymore?

Where did they go?

Some have moved out of town.

Some have died.

Some simply don't need what you are selling.

Some have found an alternative.

It's the last one that should concern you the most.

You need to find out what that alternative is and why it became an alternative for your customers.

You also need to find out why you are losing customers.

No matter how many new customers you have coming in your front door, if you can keep them from going out the back door, you should see your profits increase.

Now go do your homework.

The words of Scott Howard aka ScLoHo

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Plug the Hole

from the Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo last week:

Losing It

Do you know how many times your business has lost potential business because they had the wrong person dealing with the public?

A couple weeks ago, my friend Amber made the following comment on Twitter:

If your receptionist isn't friendly when I call or visit, I won't call or visit again.

What Amber stated is not profound, or new.

She simply stated what most everyone feels.

If you are going to skimp on employees, you are probably losing more business than any advertising and marketing program can ever generate, because now with the power of Social Media, those bad experiences have an audience.

Fix it today.

Fix it now.

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Living Below Your Expectations

Some interesting insight from Chris Brogan:

On Days You Don’t Feel Like Marketing

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 03:58 AM PDT

I woke up not really feeling like talking about marketing. In fact, I didn’t really want to market at all. Sure, I want buyers, but today, I just wish they’d show up. Only, we both know that never happens, right? But on days you don’t feel like marketing, maybe there’s something else you can do.

On Days You Don’t Feel Like Marketing

Do customer service. Technically, I could stop the post here, and get my point across, but I’ll write a few more words, just to let it sink in. You see, this is the last thing on most marketers’ minds, and yet, it’s the first thing on your buyer’s mind.

Would I trade a clever offer for amazing service? Absolutely. Here’s an example.

A few days ago, I took my daughter to New York City for an adventure. As part of it, we picked out a dress at Bloomingdale’s and a pair of shoes at Payless. At Bloomingdale’s, we were given great service, and had no fewer than two people looking to help us buy a dress.

At Payless, we had a bored employee traipse past us, pretend to ask if we needed help, and then mumble that every shoe in the store is “buy one, get one half off.” We picked out the single pair of shoes we wanted for our efforts, brought them down to the register, where the same employee ignored us for a minute or so before telling us, “I’ll have to get the manager. I can’t ring on these registers.” So, we waited for the manager.

The manager arrived and said, “You know, every shoe in the store is buy one, get the next pair half off.” I said, “Thanks, I’m all good with this pair.” She proceeds to sigh, as if I’m the stupidest buyer in the world and how could I possibly pass up the chance to get another pair of shoes at half off. Then, she slowly (laboriously slowly) scans in my order, and finishes by asking me for four pennies so she can give me back a nickel, as she’s out of pennies in her drawer.

Prior to this experience, I didn’t have high expectations for Payless. It is what it is: discount shoes. But, I never excuse a price point for poor service. That’s just not allowed in my vernacular.

Perform Exceptional Customer Service

On days you don’t feel like marketing, spend every possible moment thinking about customer service and how you can do it better. Retrain your staff, if you have customer-facing employees. Do something to perk up the experience. Do something to eliminate roadblocks. Whatever. Just do something to bring excellent customer service to your buyers and you’ll find that your marketing isn’t as important on those days.

The same is true for online customer service. Have you made it easy for your buyer to be helped? Look around your site. What are you doing to encourage a sale? I know that when I look around at this site, I’ve got some work to do. But when I look at what we’ve accomplished at Kitchen Table Companies, I see that we’ve done a lot and can do even more to make it a top shelf customer experience.

How about you? What are you doing to improve your customer service?

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Are You Customer Friendly?

Are you sure?

This is from a weekly email I receive, the Wizard Chronicles:

From The Vault in the New Wizard's Tower Libary

Returns Policies and Customer Guarantees

Kick the Devil…

By Sonya Winterbotham, Wizard of Ads partner

"How many of your store policies are based on the assumption your customer might be fraudulent?... When deciding on returns policies and customer guarantees you need to find a balance between protecting yourself and protecting the customer."

A death certificate. The airline actually requested a death certificate for Daniel Kitson to prove his grandfather had died forcing him to change flights. If he could prove it, he could avoid paying the additional airline charges.

“Hi mum, I know you’re in the middle of grieving and organizing a funeral and stuff, but could you just fax granddad’s death certificate through to the airline… cheers”.

If it hadn’t been a comedy show nobody would have laughed. Still it was that “how ridiculous is the world” type of laugh, because we knew this was a true story.

Daniel got me thinking. How often do businesses listen a little too strongly to the devil’s advocate in their heads and make decisions based on the lowest common denominator?

How many of your store policies are based on the assumption your customer might be fraudulent? Do you really believe the world is full of Bart Simpsons trying to rip you off? Or do you know he only accounts for about one percent? But you still say “it’s not worth the risk”.

I recently spoke to a bedding retailer about a 30 day sleep guarantee… If you’re not happy with your mattress within 30 days you return it and get your money back. The devil’s advocate stepped right in, “we can’t afford that, what about the returns?”

In those few minutes what she was forgetting was that nobody buys a bed hoping they’ll have to return it. You buy a bed hoping it’ll give you the best night’s sleep of your life. But knowing you can return it makes you feel safer when deciding on your purchase.

The business generated from this policy will far outweigh the cost of the minimal returns she’ll get over a year. Here’s a business that’s already ignored their devil - Zappos.com – it’s an online clothing and shoe store. Now in e-tailing customers feel even less secure when buying – particular when there’s no option to “try on before you buy”. So Zappos offers free shipping and free return shipping. When you consider that 36% of online shoppers are influenced by returns policies… it’s no wonder Zappos more than tripled sales when word got out. When deciding on returns policies and customer guarantees you need to find a balance between protecting yourself and protecting the customer. Only about one percent of your customer base will ever look for a loop hole… the rest are the good guys… Will you talk to the one percent or will you talk to the other ninety-nine? For every devil’s advocate that’s whispering to you in one ear, make sure you have an entrepreneurial angel whispering in the other.

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You Need These Answers

But are you asking the questions?

I read this last week from Pat McGraw, (it came in my email and I also follow Pat on Twitter) and was a bit envious that he wrote it.

Not really, because he saved me the work!

And that is the whole purpose of this website, Collective Wisdom:

It's a collection of wisdom from others on the subject of Sales, Marketing, Advertising and Media, updated 3 times a day, 7 days a week.

Here's Pat:

5 Steps to Improving your Customer’s Experience

Posted: 23 May 2011 01:00 PM PDT

Knowledge is power – and the best way to educate yourself is to make the time and have a clear plan of action. When you want honest insight into your organization’s strengths and weaknesses, ask potential, current and former customers. And then do a little ‘shopping’ yourself.

Here are some questions to get you started…

Interview a former customers.

• Who did you buy from prior to buying from us?
• What motivated you to buy from us for the first time?
• Were we your primary, secondary or tertiary source?
• Why?
• What did we do well?
• What could we have done better?
• What didn’t we do that you wish we had done?
• Why did you take your business elsewhere?
• Is your new supplier meeting or exceeding your expectations?
• Is there anything we could do to win-back your business?

Interview a current customer that has been buying from you for more than 12 months.

• Do you consider us your primary, secondary or tertiary source for the products/services you buy?
• How did you become aware of us?
• What motivated you to buy from us the first time?
• How have your needs changed since you first began doing business with us?
• Do we consistently meet or exceed your expectations?
• What do we do well?
• What do we need to improve?
• What do we need to do that we currently don’t do at all?
• Who do you see as our competitors?
• Why?
• Would you recommend others to buy from us?
• Why/Why not?

Interview a new customer that made their first purchase from you within the past 30-60 days.

• How did you become aware of us?
• Before buying from us, who did you turn to in order to fill your needs?
• What motivated you to look for a new supplier?
• What is our unique value to you?
• What do we do well?
• What do we need to improve?
• What don’t we do at all but need to offer?
• Who do you view as our competitors?
• When compared with us, what do you see as their strengths and weaknesses?
• What do we need to do in order to strengthen our relationship so we become your primary source?

Interview a prospective customer.

• Who have you been buying from?
• What do you feel they do well?
• What do you feel they could improve?
• What do you wish they did?
• Why are you considering us as a supplier?
• What is your perception of our business and products?
• What are your expectations?
• To date, have we met or exceeded your expectations?
• Ask for specifics.
• What could I do right now to motivate you to buy from us?

Be your own customer. Call and see how your team handles your inquiry. How long does it take to get literature and product information? Does that information answer your questions – or is it missing the mark and need to be modified? Call the wrong department and see if they can quickly get you to the right person to answer your questions. Buy something and see how long it takes to arrive – then try to return it.

Do these things a couple days a week and you will learn how to improve your customers’ experience – and your business will see higher conversion rates, retention rates, order size, order frequency and referrals.

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Feeling Unloved

Unloved is a pretty strong emotion, but it's appropriate as you read the following from the Wizard Chronicles email I received recently.

Why Do Businesses Lose Customers?

The biggest reason may surprise you.

By Steve Clack, CEO of New School Selling

According to well documented studies your business loses customers for the following reasons:

1% die

3% move away

5% leave because of a recommendation from a friend or relative

9% leave because they percieve that another company has better products, serivces or prices than you do

14% leave because they are dissatified with your product or service

Add all of those together and you only have 32%.

That leaves 68% of the customers who defect to your competitors unaccounted for. What other reasons could there possibly be for why customers defect? It is not what you think.

Buckle your seat belt because the answer will knock your socks off. Here it is. Sixty-Eight (68) percent of customers who leave your company and start doing business with another company do so because they feel taken for granted by employees who display an attitude of indifference.

That’s right they don’t feel appreciated, valued or cared for. It is the same reason why many employees leave jobs and why many wives leave husbands. William James, the father of modern psychology, said that the greatest human emotional need is the need to be recognized and appreciated.

In Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs the need to be loved and cared for is the third most basic human need behind the physiological need for food and water and the need for shelter and safety.

In our fast paced dehumanized world employees and customers are starved for a little personal attention that validates their existence.

• What are you doing to teach your employees how to value and appreciate your customers?

• Do you have a customer and employee appreciation practice at your company?

• Do you really care enough about your customers and employees to make the effort to change?

PS. New School Selling Web Based Training New School Selling is changing salespeople. It’s changing their language, their appreciation of the individual, the way they feel about selling, and the way they feel about themselves. And by the way, it’s helping salespeople sell more. Find out more about this web based program.

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3 Times to Say Thanks

My Mom would have called it the ultimate follow up.

The Thank You Note.

From MarketingProfs.com:

Three Ways to Thank Your Loyal Customers via Email

"Unless you were raised by wolves in the wild," writes Karen Talavera in an article at MarketingProfs, "at some point you learned that it is polite to say thank you. It's not merely proper etiquette; it's just downright considerate and gracious."

Customers need to know you're grateful for their business, and adding thank-you emails to your marketing "illuminates the human side of your brand," she argues.

Talavera breaks down the thank-you email into three categories:

The Immediate Thanks. It's important to acknowledge any transaction or communication right away; be sure to do it in a tone, style and design that match the channel in which your customer took action. And don't skimp on the gratitude if they spent lots of money. "Match your thanks, in magnitude, to the action you are thankful for," Talavera advises. "The last time I bought real estate, for example, I received a huge housewarming gift basket, not a lame postcard or text message."

The Seasonal Thanks. Holidays—especially Thanksgiving—are a natural time to thank loyal customers. "[B]ut go beyond national or religious holidays," she suggests. "Are you also thanking your customers on the anniversary of their relationship with you? Of their first purchase? On holidays relevant to them (Mother's Day, Father's Day, New Year's Day, Veterans Day, Grandparents Day)?"

The Surprise Thanks. Even the most jaded customer will likely appreciate an expression of thanks that comes for no particular reason. "To start," she says, "weave a quarterly or (if you're ambitious) monthly thank-you campaign to reward repeat business and customer loyalty." You can establish a regular schedule, keep customers guessing or tie the program to behavior.

The Po!nt: It's OK to show you're grateful. Like friends, your customers won't feel valued if you contact them only when you want something from them. Thank them once in a while.

Source: MarketingProfs.

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Are You Leaving Out The Most Important Part?

Several times a month, I am asked to take part in a survey.

But is anyone really listening to my answers, or is it just a ploy to get my contact info?

Drew has more:

Customer surveys: Tell them what you heard

Posted: 20 May 2011 09:21 AM PDT

…Close the loop on customer surveys

Last month, I wrote a post which suggested that you stop guessing what your customers were thinking and instead (dramatic pause for novel thought) you just asked them. I offered up several different ways you could “survey” your customers from traditional surveys to secret shopping and advisory boards.

But… what I forgot to mention was this:

When you ask your customers (or employees, or vendors) for their opinion or assessments – be sure you close the loop by telling what you learned. Let them share in the insights you gained AND tell them what you are going to do with this new knowledge.

Let’s say that one of the key pieces of feedback you got was that when your customers couldn’t get a hold of their normal account rep, they didn’t know who else they could talk to if there was a problem.

One way to handle that would be to create a contact sheet (headshot, name, title, phone number, cell phone number, e-mail, etc.) of the entire team that works on the client. Write a letter, explaining that this was something you learned during the survey, so you’re sharing this contact sheet with them in case they were one of the people who wasn’t sure who to reach out to if there was trouble.

It doesn’t have to be fancy or formal. A letter from your CEO with these elements would also work just great.

• Thank you for participating in our survey if you did
• Here were the things you loved the most (share the good news too!)
• Here are the top 3 things we learned we could improve upon
• Here is how we’re going to address those items
• Again, thank you. If you have more feedback, please feel free to call me.

You could also write a story for your newsletter or put it on your blog, website or Facebook fan page. No matter what method — be sure you close the loop and let them know that you appreciated their time and that they were heard.

P.S. The other plus of closing the loop is that it reinforces the message that you care about their opinion, you listen when they offer feedback and you are always trying to get even better.

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Are You Friendly with your Customers?

It takes more than a "Like" on your business Facebook page to earn a loyal customer.

It takes building relationships.

Last week on the Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, (click here), I asked 4 questions you should take the time to ask yourself:


If your best customer was also your best friend, what would you be doing differently in your interactions with them?

If your best friend was also your best customer, what would you be doing differently in your interaction with them?

If you treated all of your new customers the way you treat your best customers, what would you need to do differently?

If you treated all of your current customers the way you treat new customers, what would you do differently?

Take a moment and answer those 4 questions.

Write those answers and ideas down.

Only you know the real answers.

Now I have one more question.

If you implemented the changes and ideas you just wrote down, would your business be more successful and your future more secure?

The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo is updated every Tuesday morning at 7am and you can also subscribe free to email or RSS feeds. Click here to go there.

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What's Better Than a "Like" on Facebook?

Real interaction.

Anyone can set up a Facebook Page, but the real beauty of Social Media like Twitter and Facebook is the ability to talk back and forth with individual customers.

Even the unhappy ones.

Check out this study I received this week from Mediapost:

Retailer Follow Up On Negative Reviews Pays Off

According to The Retail Consumer Report, commissioned by RightNow and conducted online by Harris Interactive in January 2011 among 1,605 online US adults who shopped online during the most recent holiday season, consumers who have a bad experience, will not come back. And more than ever, unhappy consumers are turning to the social web to share their complaints.

However, retailers have an opportunity to fight back and use social media to turn unhappy customers into brand advocates, says the report that shows how retailers are using social media to win back customers and drive buying decisions.

68% of consumers who posted a complaint or negative review on a social networking or ratings/reviews site after a negative holiday shopping experience got a response from the retailer. Of those, 18% turned into loyal customers and bought more.

By listening and proactively responding on the social web, says the report, retailers have a chance to turn disgruntled customers into social advocates. The survey found that, of those who received a reply in response to their negative review:

• 33% turned around and posted a positive review.
• 34% deleted their original negative review.

Consumer's, however, have fairly low expectations that retailers will respond to their negative posts. Of the 32% of consumers that did not receive a response to their negative review from the retailer, the survey confirmed:

• 61% of consumers would be shocked if a retailer responded to their negative comment on the social web.

The data underscores that customer experiences shape consumers' decision to buy or not to buy from a specific retailer. After a positive shopping experience, half of consumers cited great customer service and/or a previous positive experience as influencing their decision to buy from a specific online retailer.

• 31% of consumers purchased more from the retailer.

However, poor customer experiences can stop consumers and kill a potential sale. The survey found that, after a negative holiday shopping experience with an online retailer:

• 21% of consumers decided not to buy anything from the retailer.

Social advocacy can also help drive sales, the survey found:

• Nearly a third of consumers researched what customers said on social networking and reviews websites while shopping online.

For those consumers that had a positive holiday shopping experience with an online retailer during the past holiday shopping season:

• 21% recommended the retailer to friends.
• 13% posted a positive online review about the retailer.

The survey found that 38% of consumers turned to the retailer's website for information or support with online shopping. However, one of the top frustrations consumers had when shopping online was a lack of consistent information from retailers. Specifically, 22% of consumers were frustrated by information that was inconsistent between the retailer's website and customer service agents.

And, a summary report from Marketing Charts concludes that retailers focusing on a young customer demographic might want to pay extra attention to results of this report as a high percentage of US youth ages 8-24 uses social networking sites, according to another recent study from Harris Interactive. Results from "YouthPulse 2010 indicate three-quarters of 8-to-24-year-olds use a social networking site and about two-thirds (68%) spend time on a social networking site daily.

For further research on how customer experiences impact the bottom line, including the fact that 85% of consumers said they would be willing to pay anywhere between 5-25% over the standard price to ensure a superior customer experience, RightNow makes the Customer Experience Impact Report 2010 available here.

Image: Ian Kahn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Stop the Wishy-Washy

I ordered a special piece of jewelry for my wife over the weekend from Amazon.

I knew what she wanted.

I knew how much it cost.

I knew when it would arrive.

Would you buy something that you didn't know how much it would cost?

Would you order something that might arrive "someday"?

Seth Godin has more:

Date certain

A powerful marketing tactic: tell me exactly when I'm going to get it.

"This project will be done noon on Tuesday."

"You'll get the shipment at 4 pm."

Fedex has made billions shipping packages that didn't even have to be there fast, they merely needed to arrive at a time that we knew about in advance.

We don't want to hear, "up to 11 business days." We hope you care more about our project than that.

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Give Them Directions to Follow

I posted the original article from Drew last month, and it was so good, it bears revisiting. This is from MarketingProfs.com:

Customers Listen, so Tell Them What You Want

In a post at his Marketing Minute blog, Drew McLellan talks about the frustration he felt every time he made deposits at his bank. "Like most bank drive-throughs," he says, "they have a commercial lane on the far left and then several 'everybody and anybody' lanes to the right of that." The commercial lane at this branch, however, has a few impediments; it curves to the right and is hemmed in by large poles that keep cars from running into the building.

"I [could] never get quite close enough to the drawer (even when ... fully extended) to comfortably put something in it or take out my receipt," he explains. "More than once on a windy day, the receipt ... fluttered off and I [had] had to chase it through their parking lot." As a result, he dreaded the banking experience.

Then McLellan had an epiphany. "[I]t occurred to me that I didn't need to use the commercial lane," he says. "I could use any of the drive-through lanes [that] are straight and utilize the tube/chute thing rather than a drawer with a paperweight in it."

Banking from the regular lane couldn't have been more pleasant, and he realized why he hadn't thought to try it before: He was a commercial customer and went where the sign told commercial customers to go. "Human beings, even incorrigible ones, typically do as they're told," he explains. "We are all, even me, rule followers by nature. We want to get it right."

The Po!nt: If you tell customers what you want them to do, they will probably follow your instructions—just make sure it leads to an experience they'll enjoy!

Source: Marketing Minute.

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Love 'em

It may be comforting to know that if I walk into a Starbucks in Vermont, or Indiana, they will both taste the same.

But then there is also a personal touch that can make it even better:

Retailers on Quest to Rekindle the Personal Touch of a Bygone Era

In days of yore, retailers knew their customers. Sales clerks sent invitations to store events, called when items of interest arrived and had Rolodexes crammed with notes about shoppers' favorite brands and styles. That style of shopping -- an intimate experience, not an anonymous one -- has long been thought dead, driven to extinction by the invasion of the big-box retailer. But now retailers are hoping to recapture some of the old magic.

They're doing so by updating and expanding loyalty programs, which once rewarded shoppers only for frequent purchasing, and by offering locally relevant marketing and merchandising. "We've got a highly educated consumer who is probably more demanding than she's been in the past," said Martine Reardon, VP-marketing at Macy's. "She wants to go to a retailer that understands her, is really relevant to the lifestyle she's living, and really does pay attention."

My Macy's, now in its third year, seeks to be more relevant to consumers by stocking shelves with items popular in local markets -- Elvis Christmas ornaments in Memphis, Tenn., and electric pizzelle presses used to make the Italian cookie in Parma, Ohio, for example.

The program also extends to marketing. Events celebrating the Kentucky Derby have been held in advance of the race at Louisville, Ky.-area stores. And big wins for local sports teams are recognized with ads in the hometown newspaper. This month, Macy's Star Beach Party program will launch in Chicago, targeting college students from 10 area campuses including Columbia College, Northwestern and Loyola. The program pairs texting and pop-up events to lure students shopping for spring break fashions and, eventually, interview suits, the retailer hopes. The program was conceived by a regional executive who saw an untapped audience of 65,000 college students, a Macy's spokeswoman said.

Meanwhile, Food Lion has launched My Food Lion, inspired, in part, by My Macy's, said Cathy Green, president of the Food Lion family of banners, during a recent National Retail Federation conference. The program allows customers to create a profile personalized with relevant specials and recipes.

Worth noting: My Macy's and My Food Lion are separate from those retailers' loyalty programs, Macy's Star Rewards and Food Lion's MVP Card. The former focuses on understanding the customer and delivering desirable products and information, Ms. Reardon said. The latter is meant to reward customers for frequent shopping.

Retailers are also getting savvier about how they use customer information. PetSmart uses its database of email addresses to send out targeted emails with editorial content, as well as coupons. A recent note to reptile owners who typically buy crickets extolled the virtues of worms, included a link to information on reptiles and provided a $2 coupon for any live worm purchase. "Crickets are an important part of a reptile's diet -- but did you know that worms are an even better source of energy?" the email said. "Come on in and ask a store associate to help you design a diet that's just right for your reptile."

Likewise, Sears Holdings has overhauled its loyalty program in the past two years, morphing it into Shop Your Way. The program, which rolled out nationwide in November 2009, now counts more than 50 million members. Shoppers earn 10 points for every $1 spent in store or online and get access to bonus offers and prizes, as well as perks, such as the ability to return items without receipts. The program is cost-effective and gives Kmart and Sears the opportunity to build a robust database of consumers.

"The spectacular growth of Sears' Shop Your Way program is testimony to the ongoing power of a very simple, classic idea: rewarding loyalty based on customer behavior," said Lawrence Kimmel, CEO of the Direct Marketing Association.

More robust databases and better targeted communications will go a long way toward helping retailers recapture the magic of retailing days past. But it's not easy or simple. In the fall, Macy's sent out a mailing with upward of 30,000 different versions. Using information gleaned from its database, the retailer varied the page count and the items promoted. The catalogs varied in size from 32 pages to 76 pages, featuring additional pages of shoes for footwear fanatics or children's clothing for moms.

"What we tried to do was really customize (catalogs) to what the customer is really looking for and her past behavior shows she might want," Ms. Reardon said. "I still have circles under my eyes from it. It was pretty resource intensive. But we learned a lot, and we are going to do similar things in the future."

(Source: Advertising Age, 02/14/11)

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Stupid Stuff

One of my wife's favorite shows is Undercover Boss on CBS. I wonder what the head honcho of FTD thinks about this?

(From Drew):

Things are not rosy at FTD!

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 10:11 PM PST

Happy Valentine’s Day?

Like many of you probably did, I grabbed a couple of the Groupon deals for FTD to help manage the Valentine’s Day floral budget. (Yes, I gave some local florists my money too)

Let me say this — I feel sorry for any business that has killer days like florists do. I am sure Valentine’s Day is a nightmare for them. However… it’s not like it’s a big surprise. So they should be ready for it, right?

When one of the arrangements I had ordered hadn’t arrived at 7 pm, I called their 800 number. The first message I got was that they were very busy and it would be 15 minutes before I could speak with someone. Then, a couple minutes later, the recorded voice came back on the line and said, due to the volume of calls and it being Valentine’s Day, they would not be able to answer my call and promptly disconnected me.

Wow.

I called back and held for over 30 minutes. Somehow, I dodged the hang-up. I have no idea how long I would have continued to wait — I got word that the flowers had finally arrived and so I hung up.

Not a good day for FTD. But wait…

This morning, the flowers are wilted. I am talking D-E-A-D. Even with the coupon, they were $50 so I call the 800 number. This is really how the conversation went.

FTD guy: How may I help you?

Drew: I ordered flowers that were delivered yesterday and this morning, they are all wilted.

FTD guy: I am very sorry to hear that Sir.

Drew: Thank you. What can we do about it?

FTD guy: May I have the order number?

Drew: FRK372912

FTD guy: May I have your full name?

Drew: Drew McLellan

FTD guy: Thank you, Mr. McLellan. May I have your billing address?

Drew : I give him the address.

FTD guy: Thank you Mr. McLellan. May I have your phone number?

Drew: I give him the phone number.

FTD guy: Thank you Mr. McLellan. May I have the recipient’s name?

Drew: I give him the name.

FTD guy: Thank you Mr. McLellan. May I have the recipient’s address?

Drew: I don’t have it handy.

FTD guy: I’m sorry Mr. McLellan but I am trying to verify the order.

Drew: Wait a second — I have told you the order number, my name, address, phone number and the recipient’s name. Isn’t that enough information to verify the order?

FTD guy: I really do need to verify the order, Mr. McLellan. (by now…we’ve had enough Mr. McLellans)

Drew: Seriously — you think there might be two orders with the identical order number, buyer and recipient? You are looking at the order on your computer, aren’t you?

FTD guy: Yes Mr. McLellan, I am.

Drew: Have I gotten any of the questions wrong yet?

FTD guy: No, Mr. McLellan. Should I wait while you get the recipient’s address?

Insanity. Pure insanity. This is a man who is following a script, no matter how ridiculous it is. He doesn’t care about my order, my frustration or my repeat business. (I kept wondering how call center expert Tom Vander Well would react to this.)

I told him I didn’t have the address with me and couldn’t get it. Yes, I was being churlish. But come on. So you know what he made me do to finally verify the order? I will send flowers to the first correct guesser. (But not from FTD)

My point — when something goes wrong, you have a huge opportunity to win a customer for life. (read how Disney says I’m sorry) But you don’t get a second chance. You cannot add insult to the injury. FTD lost more than my $50. They lost the chance to begin to create a love affair with me. That cost them a lot more than $50.

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They Will Talk

The latest from Harvey:

Customer service in the Internet age

By Harvey Mackay

For years, we believed that if customers received bad service, they would pass the word along to 20 or so people. Conversely, if they were on the receiving end of great service, they might tell a few folks, but not in numbers anywhere near the bad-news story.

Enter the Internet. Bad reports can span the globe instantly. Good reports can too, but they are not shared as frequently.

One company that learned this lesson the hard way is United Airlines. In March 2008, Dave Carroll and his band, Sons of Maxwell, were flying on United Airlines from Halifax to Omaha with a stopover in Chicago. At that first stop, a woman seated near the band looked out the window and exclaimed, "They're throwing guitars out there!"

Band members witnessed their expensive instruments being handled roughly. Carroll's guitar alone was a $3,500 Taylor model. Concerned, he approached the flight attendant and was sent to another agent outside the plane. But that person claimed to have no authority and walked away. A third employee at the gate dismissed his complaint, explaining "that's why we make you sign the waiver." Problem: Carroll and the band members had neither been offered nor signed such a waiver.

When he finally got to check out his guitar in Omaha, he discovered the base of the guitar had been smashed. Even a $1,200 repair didn't restore it to its original condition. And Carroll's experience with United as he sought restitution is a horror story that spanned nine months of phone calls, emails, faxes, buck-passing, and a final "Sorry, but we're not paying."

Most of us would have given up at that point, but then most of us aren't as creative as Dave Carroll. He turned it into a career opportunity.

"At that moment it occurred to me that I had been fighting a losing battle ..." Carroll wrote. "The system is designed to frustrate affected customers into giving up their claims, and United is very good at it. But I realized then that as a songwriter and traveling musician I wasn't without options.

"In my final reply to (the United rep) I told her that I would be writing three songs about United and my experience in the whole matter. I would then make videos for these songs and offer them for free download on YouTube . . . My goal: to get one million hits in one year."

Dave Carroll got his one million hits -- and nine million more. Two years later, he passed the ten million mark, and the videos are still enormously popular.

United did take notice, and it was reported on CNN that after 50,000 views, they admitted that it was a "unique learning opportunity" and made the experience part of their training program. At that point, they finally offered Carroll restitution, which he refused and encouraged them to give it to another deserving passenger.

Can any company afford this kind of publicity? United has survived, albeit with a tarnished reputation.

Customer service has taken on a whole new meaning with the rise of websites like Angie's List and Yelp, which provide unfiltered reviews of services and products. Some require subscriptions, others are free. Google your company and see if you appear in the blogosphere. And never underestimate the power of YouTube and Facebook groups.

Undertake a top-to-bottom evaluation of your company. Examine the return policies, the authority given to representatives who deal with the public, the follow-up after a sale, and even more importantly, after an issue has been resolved to make sure the customer is satisfied with the outcome.

Then take a brutally honest look at your top management and reinforce the attitude that the customer may not always be right, but they are always the customer. Message: Excellent customer service is paramount to your success.

Survey your customers and give them the opportunity to rate your service. It's a chance to improve your company without having to hire a consultant. Then, incorporate the changes that you can.

How you serve your customers should never be debatable. When there are unrealistic expectations from a customer, honesty is the only acceptable answer. If you can't make a customer happy, at least help them understand your limitations. Help them find the company that can satisfy them, if necessary. Even if you must absorb the cost, it's probably going to be cheaper than fighting 10,000,000 hits on YouTube.

Mackay's Moral: If you don't serve your customer, they'll serve notice.

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It's Not That Hard

To figure out how to become more valuable to your customers. You have to ask. This is what I do in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and what Pat McGraw does in Baltimore.

Here's Pat:

You Don’t Really Know Your Customers

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 11:00 AM PST

Forget the customer satisfaction survey – you know, the one that tells you that 96% of our customers really like us.

They don’t tell you anything.

Why do they buy from you? Are you their primary source for the products and services you offer? Or are you one of many that they turn to when they have a need?

What customers consider you a primary choice and spend 100% of their budget with your business? Why do they rely on you so heavily?

And why don’t others act the same? Why do they only spend a fraction of their budget with your business? More importantly, how can you motivate them to spend more with you?

One of my first questions for potential employers and clients is about their target audience and customer base. And the typical answer focuses on a demographic/firmographic response.

Our audience is small companies with under 100 employees and $100M in revenue. Or our audience is people between the age of 35 to 50.

Great. That narrows it down. And it really helps with messaging and offers.

Our best offer was a discount. When we lower our price, we see more buyers.

And how many would have bought from you without the discount? And of the first-time buyers that came running when you dropped your price, how many will come back again in the next 90-180 days and make another purchase at full price?

Market research is the bastard stepchild for most businesses. It’s under-funded and the first to go when budget cuts start happening.

Pity. Market research should be ingrained in your business. You don’t need to spend a fortune either. You just need to sit down and think hard about what you need to know in order to improve business. Then you can go out, ask questions and listen. You can learn a lot when you listen, read and ask.

Why do people buy your products and services? What do you offer that they value? What could you offer that they need and can’t find? The answers will help you identify ways to improve services and differentiate your business.

Want an example? Recently I spoke with the customers (prospective, current and former) of a client and learned that they would love payment plans. That’s right – the price was fine. The product was fantastic. But the competition offered monthly payment plans and my client didn’t so the competition was capturing more business.

The cost of offering the payment plan? Minimal. The impact on the business? Triple-digit growth.

How well do you know your customers? And what will you do to gain a deeper understanding so your business can grow?

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Discrimination is Required

My Sunday Seth:

Treat different customers differently

This is difficult if you also insist on treating every customer the same. Or treating every customer the best, which is a better way to describe a similar idea.

No, the only way you can treat different customers differently is if you understand that their values (and their value to you) vary. It's easier than ever to discern and test these values, and you do everyone a service when you differentiate.

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