Opportunity in Disguise

When you are in the middle of a problem, the last piece of advice that you want to hear is "look for the opportunity." Instead, your reaction is to get "caught up" in the problem and wallow in it. I'm certain that most Packer fans and players felt that way after the game with Dallas last night.

I know. I have been there and done that.

Unfortunately, wallowing in the problem not only sets you back but also prevents you from moving forward. When a problem concerns a customer, this is a dual-edged sword. If you expend a great deal of energy and time reviewing and discussing a customer's problem, your focus remains on the problem rather than on the solution. In doing so, you waste both time and energy, and you very likely lose a customer.

However, if you look at the problem as an opportunity to further develop your customer, you will make that happen. To do so, step into your customer's shoes and look at the problem from his or her point of view. If you were that customer, how would you feel? What would you want to have happen? Ask you customer these questions. Usually, the customer wants a great deal less than you think.

Studies have shown that customers who complain and have those complaints satisfied become even better customers. I was speaking with Deb from Denny's Appliance this week, and she mentioned a customer who had purchased an entire kitchen of appliances from her a couple of years ago. That's a very good customer, isn't it? Recently, the customer came in because of a problem with one of the appliances, a microwave. Since the company which made that particular microwave is under new ownership, the part that would fix the microwave is no longer available, making the microwave unfixable. This problem was not Deb's responsibility, but, if she wanted to develop that customer, she had to assume the responsibility.

What did Deb do?

Deb looked at the problem from her customer's point of view and realized that what her customer wanted was a workable microwave. Her customer didn't care about responsibility or blame. Her customer didn't care if a company had been sold or parts were no longer available. Her customer just wanted a microwave that worked. Realizing this, Deb gave her customer what the customer wanted.

She gave the customer a new microwave. Now, she has a customer for life.

At this stressful time of year, customers seem to want or demand more than ever. Some days many of us feel that they demand too much. And some do. Most, however, just want to be taken care of from their point of view. Usually, they want less than you are willing to offer. While this may make you frustrated, remember that it offers you opportunities to further develop them as customers.

Remember that problems are truly opportunities in disguise.

That's why last night the real winners of the game were the Packers. By losing the game, the Packers are forced to review their problems, thereby discovering opportunities. Dallas, on the other hand, is less likely to see their problems because of the complacency created by winning. Winning doesn't teach you anything. Winning doesn't force you to look for ways to improve. Winning doesn't show you the opportunities. Yes, it's great to win, but losing points to opportunities in disguise.

Whether in football or with customers, capitalizing on those opportunities in disguise ultimately gives you the most profitable win, doesn't it?

Show Your Passion

Watching Brett Favre play football on Thursday, I was stuck by his passion. When a play goes right, he is thrilled. When a receiver catches a clutch pass, he is excited. When a runner weaves through the defenders to make yardage, he is jazzed.

And he shows these feelings. He jumps up, runs to congratulate the players, and embraces them. His face beaming, Favre exudes his enthusiasm. He is having so much fun playing football that he makes watching him and his team fun, too. As a viewer, his passion for the game and enthusiasm for his teammates suck me in and make me smile. Seldom does an adult exhibit the antics that Favre displays. In fact, I cannot think of having seen another adult do these antics. Usually, children employ them, and, when they do, they make me smile.

I smile, and I suspect you do, too, because we feel good when we see these antics. We love to see a display of passion. Like moths to a flame, enthusiasm pulls us in and makes us feel good. Have you noticed how good you feel after being around an enthusiastic person? Often, you have a smile on your face, don’t you? Sometimes, you are reluctant to leave that person’s presence. Being near an enthusiastic person is like taking an emotional bath in positive energy.

It just feels good.

While most of us enjoy what we do, in the crush of everyday routine we can easily forget to show our enthusiasm and passion. We may not even realize that we have drifted away from showing our enthusiasm. Think about it. When was the last time that you showed your enthusiasm? If you realize that you have not done so recently, take a lesson from Favre and follow his lead.

First of all, celebrate your successes and those of your team, no matter how small. Find them everyday.

Then, make physical demonstrations of your enthusiasm for these successes. Take a clue from Favre. Jump up, move quickly, and hug someone.

Most importantly, do this in front of employees and customers. Make it a public display. Pull them in to feel your passion and enthusiasm.

Showing your enthusiasm and your passion is one of the best marketing moves, both to employees and customers, that you will ever make. Not only will your employees and customers feel your passion, but that feeling will encourage them to work harder for you and to do more business with you. Your enthusiasm makes them feel good. Making someone feel good makes you memorable.


After all, Favre has broken lots of records, but what makes him memorable is his passion and enthusiasm for the game. Every sportscaster comments on this, and that is high praise indeed. Favre is having fun, and, by doing so, he makes it fun for his teammates and fans.

Do the same for your employees and customers.

Make Time for Gratitude

For the past several years, I have had the privilege of sharing many conversations with Ralph Hudson, MD, retired. Here is a man, who, seventeen years after his retirement, is warmly greeted by those with whom he has come in contact, whether patient, professional, family, or friend. Here is a man, who, through his “back porch conversations” in Nursing Matters, continues to contribute his wisdom to the heath care profession. Here is a man who, in his dealings with others, always expresses genuine concern for their welfare. Ralph truly cares about those he meets, and they know it. While Ralph has many admirable traits, his foundation is thankfulness, which he practices every day.

At Thanksgiving, however, Ralph demonstrates his thankfulness in two very unique ways. He applies to Thanksgiving, his favorite holiday, the practices that many of us apply to Christmas. He writes a special Thanksgiving poem and hands it out with a box of sumptuous Georgia chocolates. If you are fortunate to be a recipient of Ralph's thankfulness, you feel special indeed. You also feel mightily thanked. His thankfulness is so memorable that, in my mind, he has become synonymous with Thanksgiving.

Thank you, Ralph.

Isn't he a wonderful role model for all of us?

Stop for a moment and think. When was the last time that you thanked someone? Did you thank the wait staff at your last dining experience? Did you send a thank you note to someone today? Did you thank your spouse, your child, a friend, or a co-worker for something that he or she did today?

For that matter did you receive a thank-you today? Was it spoken, written, or e-mailed? Was it an extra thank-you or one done as a routine? I recently received a beautifully hand-written thank-you from Becky of Becky's Olive Salsa for the Profitable Marketing Insight that I wrote about her. Did that thank-you make me feel great! I grinned from ear to ear for quite a while. I pinned it up on my bulletin board. I noticed it everyday as I walked past. Becky's thank-you made her and her product more memorable than ever to me. Even more, she made me feel good. When you make someone feel good, that person will do more business with you and recommend you more often, right?

Most of us who practice thankfulness, me included, do not have Ralph's diligence, which, by comparison, makes his thankfulness all the more notable. As Ralph knows, there is no traffic jam on the extra mile of thankfulness. In fact, it's generally a rather lonely road that few travel. You will meet Ralph and his ilk there. You will also reap the benefits which you receive from being thankful.

I recently heard some people attempting not to complain for twenty-one days. Instead, I recommend that you, and they, give an extra, genuine thank-you every day for twenty-one, or more, days. Thankfulness is an attitude that you develop and exercise daily. It makes you richer and your business more profitable. While highlighted by Thanksgiving, gratitude remains the ultimate gift whatever the season, whatever the day. Use this Thanksgiving as your first day of learning to make time for gratitude. Do it.

Thank you for reading this Insight.

The Ultimate Failure of Business

I heard a toy store owner relate to a reporter today that parents walking into her store are asking to see "any toys NOT made in China." After this most recent toy scare in which children receive the effect of the date rape drug from swallowing Aqua Dots, who can blame parents? Every parent's instinct is to protect his or her child.

Pet owners have also experienced scares recently after the loss of several pets to tainted food. Since I had been alerted to beware of the contents of pet food years ago, I am not among them. After reading warnings about the content of pet food and the origins of that content, I heeded the warnings and researched which companies offered nutrient-rich, naturally-produced foods. Consequently, I now feed my dogs food from companies that I researched.

However, as consumers we do not have time to research the companies of all the products that we buy, and, therefore, we place a high level of trust in the stores from which we purchase products. We trust them to do the research for us and to stock products that are safe for us and for our loved ones, whether human or animal. I recently ran across a wonderful example of this trust in action. Sandy, the lady who orders and stocks the pet food at Festival Foods, told me that recently she had called to check on a backorder of a dog treat. She was told that the boat was delayed getting into port.

"Boat?" Sandy exclaimed. "I thought this was American made!"

Obviously, it wasn't. Sandy told me that she no longer stocks that treat. She was concerned about the safety of pets whose owners shop at Festival. Sandy is working to earn and retain the trust of her customers. As a customer, I greatly appreciate her efforts.

Sandy is an excellent example of what we all must do for our customers. We must do the research that our customers cannot do. We must keep our eyes and ears open so that we know what is going on and respond appropriately either by stocking or not stocking that product to ensure the safety of our customers. We must remember the trust placed in us by our customers and exercise diligence so that we uphold that trust. While I realize that there will be examples of issues that we could not foresee, such as toy store owner’s knowing the unsafe contents of Aqua Dots, having the safety of our customers as our top priority benefits both our customers and our businesses.

After all, our customers and our businesses are interconnected. We rise and fall together. Beyond the ethics of looking after the well-being of our fellow man, on a practical level keeping your customers safe means that they will return to do more business with you. If the business that they transacted with you did not harm them, they will return. Getting customers back to transact more business is profitable and develops them as customers. As Peter Drucker says, "The sole purpose of business is to develop a customer."

What the toy store owner experienced was the opposite. Customers walking into that toy store requesting to see “any toys NOT made in China” were un-developing themselves as customers of toys manufactured in China. Their loss of trust in Chinese-produced toys drove them to be certain that they were not buying a toy that might hurt a child whom they loved.

Selling customers something that hurts them or their loved ones un-develops a customer. It is the ultimate failure of business.