Listening to the background music on a commerical for a law firm based in the Twin Cities, I paused. “That music sounds very familiar. Where have I heard it before?” I thought.
This thought nagged at me off and on until I heard the answer on an Eau Claire television station. No, I did not hear that commercial for the Twin Cities law firm; this commercial was for a funeral home. The funeral home runs a consistant schedule, which meant that I had heard the music a great deal. “Hmm,” I mused. “Mixing a funeral home with a law firm is not helpful to either business.”
Although, technically, these television stations are in separate markets, realistically, viewers in western Wisconsin can watch stations from both markets. While viewers in western Wisconsin may not do business with a Twin Cities law firm, the use of the same background music for the firm’s commercial as for the funeral home’s commercial is muddying the message for both in viewers’ minds, whether viewers realize it consciously or not.
The music helps to develop an image in viewers’ minds, and, when the music is used for another business, the image is disrupted, reducing the effectiveness of the commercial. In addition, the music may bring to mind the message from the other business which is using it. Just as with me, the viewer may not be able to place the music, but he or she may pause, focus on the music, and miss the message of the commercial. In fact, the message may not penetrate at all because of the interference of the music.
As I thought about this situation, I was reminded of an e-mail that I received recently regarding one picture that was used on ten different book covers. None of these books shared the same author. They probably didn’t share the same publishing company. None were aware that others had used the same photo for their book covers.
That’s what happens when you use stock photos. Today you may easily go online, find a photo, pay to use it, download it, and apply it to your book cover, Web site, brochure, or any materials. Those photos are called stock photos. They are quick to find and handy to access. Here’s the catch: They are available to all, not just to you. That means you don’t know if and how someone else might be using them. If someone in your market is using them, their effectiveness for you will be reduced. If, horror upon horrors, your competitor is using them, your message and that of your competitor will meld together. Just as with the stock music, you’ll never know who else has them until they show up on a book cover, Web site, brochure, or materials.
How do you avoid having this happen?
The best way is to not use stock photos or music. If you need a particular photo, have a photographer shoot it for you. I know that is not as quick and easy, but it does allow you to make the photo more your own and have it communicate specifics of your business. As to music, every area has many talented musicians, many of whom would gladly write music for your business that would be uniquely your own. These may cost slightly more and may take more effort on your part, but the end result will be better communication for you and no concern about who else is sharing your photos and/or music.
Avoid the “stock” trap. Use only music and photos uniquely your own.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Turning Annoyances into Guarantees
What is one of the biggest annoyances of hiring a plumber? Waiting for the plumber to arrive. I was amazed to catch part of a commercial which addressed this annoyance. “For each minute that the plumber is late, we pay you.”
The second time that I heard this commercial, I made a point to listen for the name of the company, which I learned was Benjamin Franklin Plumbing. I promptly went online and found out more from their Web site. “If there is a delay, we pay you. If we are not on time, we pay you $5.00 per minute, up to $300.00”
This is the company’s guarantee. However, it isn’t the only one. Benjamin Franklin Plumbing also guarantees that
-“If our plumber doesn’t wear shoe covers inside your home or leaves your home without cleaning up, you don’t pay a penny.
-If our plumber smokes or swears in your home or on your property, you don’t pay a penny.
-If a repair fails in the first two years, we will repair it again absolutely free.”
In addition, the company promises “Straightforward Pricing with no unexpected surprises! We will always carefully evaluate your situation and will provide you with an exact price you approve of before any work begins.”
I was impressed with the first guarantee. The additional ones seemed to address each one of the major annoyances that customers have with plumbers. Not only did Benjamin Franklin Plumbing promise not to do these annoyances, they took another step and guaranteed that promise.
That made me impressed enough to share this with you.
Guarantees are a very effective but little used marketing tactic. Sometimes giving a guarantee can be difficult. They can be costly, especially when handing out five dollar bills for every minute that the plumber is late. However, the main reason that they are seldom used is because business and marketing people do not think to use them.
Most businesses focus on discounts to stimulate business. If you asked ten people who had done business with a plumber, I think that nine, perhaps ten, would take the five dollar bill guarantee over a discount. They’d figure the five dollars was a sure thing whereas the discount is off a price that was unknown, so how can they tell if it is truly a discount or not?
As far as the business is concerned, guarantees cost less than discounts if the business does not have to pay out the guarantee. These guarantees force the business to focus on what they promise, which is what the customer wants. Best of all, since the guarantees get rid of the typical customer annoyances, customers will not only be happy with Benjamin Franklin Plumbing but will remember it, too. Likely, they will talk about the company with their friends, stimulating a great deal of word of mouth.
Next time that you want to stimulate business, think about offering a guarantee. What annoys your customer that you can guarantee will not happen with your company?
The second time that I heard this commercial, I made a point to listen for the name of the company, which I learned was Benjamin Franklin Plumbing. I promptly went online and found out more from their Web site. “If there is a delay, we pay you. If we are not on time, we pay you $5.00 per minute, up to $300.00”
This is the company’s guarantee. However, it isn’t the only one. Benjamin Franklin Plumbing also guarantees that
-“If our plumber doesn’t wear shoe covers inside your home or leaves your home without cleaning up, you don’t pay a penny.
-If our plumber smokes or swears in your home or on your property, you don’t pay a penny.
-If a repair fails in the first two years, we will repair it again absolutely free.”
In addition, the company promises “Straightforward Pricing with no unexpected surprises! We will always carefully evaluate your situation and will provide you with an exact price you approve of before any work begins.”
I was impressed with the first guarantee. The additional ones seemed to address each one of the major annoyances that customers have with plumbers. Not only did Benjamin Franklin Plumbing promise not to do these annoyances, they took another step and guaranteed that promise.
That made me impressed enough to share this with you.
Guarantees are a very effective but little used marketing tactic. Sometimes giving a guarantee can be difficult. They can be costly, especially when handing out five dollar bills for every minute that the plumber is late. However, the main reason that they are seldom used is because business and marketing people do not think to use them.
Most businesses focus on discounts to stimulate business. If you asked ten people who had done business with a plumber, I think that nine, perhaps ten, would take the five dollar bill guarantee over a discount. They’d figure the five dollars was a sure thing whereas the discount is off a price that was unknown, so how can they tell if it is truly a discount or not?
As far as the business is concerned, guarantees cost less than discounts if the business does not have to pay out the guarantee. These guarantees force the business to focus on what they promise, which is what the customer wants. Best of all, since the guarantees get rid of the typical customer annoyances, customers will not only be happy with Benjamin Franklin Plumbing but will remember it, too. Likely, they will talk about the company with their friends, stimulating a great deal of word of mouth.
Next time that you want to stimulate business, think about offering a guarantee. What annoys your customer that you can guarantee will not happen with your company?
Monday, June 14, 2010
How Not to Give an Interview
As I was pouring my morning coffee the other day, I caught part of an interview in the morning news. “Did I just hear what I think I heard?” I wondered.
Curious, I grabbed the remote and played the segment back.
“Why do you do this event?” the news anchor asked.
“To put our product out there. It’s a great advertising tool for us as builders.”
“What?!!” I thought. “That is the most uncustomer-focused reply that I have ever heard.”
The gentleman who was being interviewed was representing the area homebuilders in promoting their Parade of Homes. I’m certain that he did not volunteer to do this interview. Likely, he drew the short straw. Or, everyone else refused to do it, either because they were too busy or they had done it before. His unemotional tone of voice and unenthusiastic demeanor instantly proclaimed that he was only doing the interview because he had no choice.
I suspect that he won’t do it again, either. After all, he now can join the ranks of those who have done the interview before and avoid it next time.
His interview points to a very common problem with publicity: Who will give the interviews? When events get established, savvy promoters include on-air interviews in the media mix. They think that the best people to give these interviews ought to be the professionals who are involved in presenting the event. Logically, that works. That logic does not consider, however, that the skills needed to construct a home are not the same skills needed to give a good interview. In fact, these skills may have no intersection whatsoever, which this guy proved.
That does not make him bad; it makes him a bad choice to do the interview.
Whoever is being interviewed first and foremost needs to be excited about the event. He or she should be bursting with enthusiasm. Excitement and enthusiasm are catching and pique interest in viewers or listeners. This is much more important than being in a profession associated with the event.
Secondarily, the person should understand why the customer would benefit from attending the event. What’s in it for the customer to go? What will he or she learn? How will attending help the customer solve a problem?
Thirdly, the person being interviewed ought to come prepared with answers to questions. The questions should previously have been submitted to the interviewer, making that person’s job easier. These questions are a shared platform from which to conduct the interview. They highlight what is important to communicate in the interview. They require thought about how customers benefit from attending the event. Preparing the answers to these questions in advance and bringing that preparation along to the interview makes the interview effective, smooth, and easy for all concerned.
There’s an adage that 90% of life is showing up. That is not true for an interview. For an interview, 90% is preparation prior to showing up. That will enable the person being interviewed to conduct the interview from the customer’s point of view, not from the business’s point of view.
How do you conduct your interviews?
Curious, I grabbed the remote and played the segment back.
“Why do you do this event?” the news anchor asked.
“To put our product out there. It’s a great advertising tool for us as builders.”
“What?!!” I thought. “That is the most uncustomer-focused reply that I have ever heard.”
The gentleman who was being interviewed was representing the area homebuilders in promoting their Parade of Homes. I’m certain that he did not volunteer to do this interview. Likely, he drew the short straw. Or, everyone else refused to do it, either because they were too busy or they had done it before. His unemotional tone of voice and unenthusiastic demeanor instantly proclaimed that he was only doing the interview because he had no choice.
I suspect that he won’t do it again, either. After all, he now can join the ranks of those who have done the interview before and avoid it next time.
His interview points to a very common problem with publicity: Who will give the interviews? When events get established, savvy promoters include on-air interviews in the media mix. They think that the best people to give these interviews ought to be the professionals who are involved in presenting the event. Logically, that works. That logic does not consider, however, that the skills needed to construct a home are not the same skills needed to give a good interview. In fact, these skills may have no intersection whatsoever, which this guy proved.
That does not make him bad; it makes him a bad choice to do the interview.
Whoever is being interviewed first and foremost needs to be excited about the event. He or she should be bursting with enthusiasm. Excitement and enthusiasm are catching and pique interest in viewers or listeners. This is much more important than being in a profession associated with the event.
Secondarily, the person should understand why the customer would benefit from attending the event. What’s in it for the customer to go? What will he or she learn? How will attending help the customer solve a problem?
Thirdly, the person being interviewed ought to come prepared with answers to questions. The questions should previously have been submitted to the interviewer, making that person’s job easier. These questions are a shared platform from which to conduct the interview. They highlight what is important to communicate in the interview. They require thought about how customers benefit from attending the event. Preparing the answers to these questions in advance and bringing that preparation along to the interview makes the interview effective, smooth, and easy for all concerned.
There’s an adage that 90% of life is showing up. That is not true for an interview. For an interview, 90% is preparation prior to showing up. That will enable the person being interviewed to conduct the interview from the customer’s point of view, not from the business’s point of view.
How do you conduct your interviews?
Seven Minutes
As I walked up to my customer’s desk last Friday, the first words out of my mouth were an apology. “I hope that you don’t mind my causal dress. After we talk, I’m headed to XYZ nursery to buy my tomato plants for this season.”
Gesturing away the apology, she replied, “Your dress is no problem.” She hesitated and then added, “I don’t go to that nursery anymore. We had a problem out there last year.”
“Really? What happened?”
“My ten-year-old son really loves plants, and he wanted to go out there last year to get some to put out in the yard. As soon as I could after work, we drove out there. We had barely walked in the door when an employee approached us and said, ‘You have seven minutes until we close.’ I thought, ‘That’s a poor welcome.’ But that wasn’t all. A few steps later, another employee walked up to us and said, ‘You have five minutes until we close.’ No offer to help. No what are you looking for? Just a warning. I was quite surprised and very irritated by this behavior. However, we quickly grabbed a couple of plants that my son wanted and went to check out. The person who checked us out had a name tag on that said manager, so I related how two employees had approached us and given us warnings of the nursery’s closing time. I expected him to apologize, but what he said shocked me. ‘That’s what they are supposed to do,’ he replied. ‘Tell you that the store is about to close.’ As we walked out the door, I explained to my son that this is not the way to treat customers. I am thrilled to say that my son understood. He gets it; he really does.”
I, too, was shocked. “Wow! That’s not smart. Well, I don’t do a great deal of business with them. I buy my tomato plants there every year because I like their selection and the plants seem healthy, but I am amazed that any small business would treat their customers that way.” I paused. “Although, thinking about it, they don’t market to get more of my business so maybe this is not all that surprising.”
This is a great example of how bad word of mouth gets started. I noticed that my reaction to her story was to feel apologetic about doing business with the nursery. In my reply to her, I emphasized that I only bought my tomato plants there, and then I began to think less well of the nursery. Her intent in telling me the story was not to dissuade me from going there, but simply to relate to me, who am always interested in customer service examples, what had happened to her and her son. In fact, she ended our conversation on the subject by saying that “We’re not going back there for a year or two.”
While I’m certain that she does not tell this story to everyone she knows, the fact that the story exists to tell gives an opportunity for bad word of mouth which the management could have avoided. We all have encountered situations when we could not satisfy the customer which resulted in bad word of mouth. However, there are situations such as this which we can control.
You see, how employees act is a result of management. Management sets the tone and gives the example of how customers are treated. In this instance, the employees’ actions came directly from the manager, as he himself stated. I know why he instructed employees to get customers out of the nursery so that they could close on time, and so do you. He was focused on sticking to his scheduled labor dollars by adhering to hours and not paying extra labor or overtime. In other words, keeping expenses in line was a higher priority than generating revenue.
If he wanted to generate revenue, he would welcome those arriving toward closing. Rather than instructing them in how many minutes they had to shop, he could have an employee offer to assist them in finding the plants that they had in mind. With this assistance, the employee could maximize how much is sold and move the customer along toward the completion of the sale. This could all be done in a very helpful, unhurried manner which would accomplish getting the nursery closed as soon as possible but still getting as much business from the customer as possible.
Think about it. She and her son probably would have purchased several more plants had they had assistance, don’t you think? I do. As it was, I’m certain that they felt pressured to find something, pick it up, and get out of there. When they walked out the door with their purchase, they felt so upset about their treatment that they had a bad feeling and were not interested in returning soon, which makes this also an example of bad customer service.
Leaving your customer with a bad feeling which can spawn bad word of mouth is bad for your business. In addition to being bad customer service, it also offers no opportunity for customer development. Through his directives on store closing, this manager put his business in a negative position with this customer. Although she says that they may return in a year or two, I wonder if that will happen. In that two years, she and her son will likely find another business from which to purchase plants, and that business likely will be much more customer-focused.
Take a look at your employees. How have you instructed them to handle customers at closing time?
Gesturing away the apology, she replied, “Your dress is no problem.” She hesitated and then added, “I don’t go to that nursery anymore. We had a problem out there last year.”
“Really? What happened?”
“My ten-year-old son really loves plants, and he wanted to go out there last year to get some to put out in the yard. As soon as I could after work, we drove out there. We had barely walked in the door when an employee approached us and said, ‘You have seven minutes until we close.’ I thought, ‘That’s a poor welcome.’ But that wasn’t all. A few steps later, another employee walked up to us and said, ‘You have five minutes until we close.’ No offer to help. No what are you looking for? Just a warning. I was quite surprised and very irritated by this behavior. However, we quickly grabbed a couple of plants that my son wanted and went to check out. The person who checked us out had a name tag on that said manager, so I related how two employees had approached us and given us warnings of the nursery’s closing time. I expected him to apologize, but what he said shocked me. ‘That’s what they are supposed to do,’ he replied. ‘Tell you that the store is about to close.’ As we walked out the door, I explained to my son that this is not the way to treat customers. I am thrilled to say that my son understood. He gets it; he really does.”
I, too, was shocked. “Wow! That’s not smart. Well, I don’t do a great deal of business with them. I buy my tomato plants there every year because I like their selection and the plants seem healthy, but I am amazed that any small business would treat their customers that way.” I paused. “Although, thinking about it, they don’t market to get more of my business so maybe this is not all that surprising.”
This is a great example of how bad word of mouth gets started. I noticed that my reaction to her story was to feel apologetic about doing business with the nursery. In my reply to her, I emphasized that I only bought my tomato plants there, and then I began to think less well of the nursery. Her intent in telling me the story was not to dissuade me from going there, but simply to relate to me, who am always interested in customer service examples, what had happened to her and her son. In fact, she ended our conversation on the subject by saying that “We’re not going back there for a year or two.”
While I’m certain that she does not tell this story to everyone she knows, the fact that the story exists to tell gives an opportunity for bad word of mouth which the management could have avoided. We all have encountered situations when we could not satisfy the customer which resulted in bad word of mouth. However, there are situations such as this which we can control.
You see, how employees act is a result of management. Management sets the tone and gives the example of how customers are treated. In this instance, the employees’ actions came directly from the manager, as he himself stated. I know why he instructed employees to get customers out of the nursery so that they could close on time, and so do you. He was focused on sticking to his scheduled labor dollars by adhering to hours and not paying extra labor or overtime. In other words, keeping expenses in line was a higher priority than generating revenue.
If he wanted to generate revenue, he would welcome those arriving toward closing. Rather than instructing them in how many minutes they had to shop, he could have an employee offer to assist them in finding the plants that they had in mind. With this assistance, the employee could maximize how much is sold and move the customer along toward the completion of the sale. This could all be done in a very helpful, unhurried manner which would accomplish getting the nursery closed as soon as possible but still getting as much business from the customer as possible.
Think about it. She and her son probably would have purchased several more plants had they had assistance, don’t you think? I do. As it was, I’m certain that they felt pressured to find something, pick it up, and get out of there. When they walked out the door with their purchase, they felt so upset about their treatment that they had a bad feeling and were not interested in returning soon, which makes this also an example of bad customer service.
Leaving your customer with a bad feeling which can spawn bad word of mouth is bad for your business. In addition to being bad customer service, it also offers no opportunity for customer development. Through his directives on store closing, this manager put his business in a negative position with this customer. Although she says that they may return in a year or two, I wonder if that will happen. In that two years, she and her son will likely find another business from which to purchase plants, and that business likely will be much more customer-focused.
Take a look at your employees. How have you instructed them to handle customers at closing time?
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