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Thanking Others

April 10, 2007 By 13 Comments

thank-you.jpgWriting thank-you notes is becoming a bit of a lost art.  It is almost always a surprise (and a pleasant one) when a sincere and personal thank-you note is received.  Customer service blogger Glenn Ross feels it is so important that he posted on this subject twice in the past month.  First, he posts on using thank-you notes to differentiate yourself from your competitors.   Glenn writes this:

One way to differentiate yourself and your business from your competition is by sending your customers hand written thank-you notes. Now don´t be telling me you don´t have time. If you want to differentiate yourself from your competition, this is one way to do it. Outside sales people can carry a stack of notecards, envelopes, and postage with them and can write them in between appointments or cold calls. Inside sales people can write them during non-peak hours.

Today, Glenn gives us some great resources to help us write those notes.  He doesn’t let us use poor handwriting as an excuse to get away from this, either!

Because my signature is illegible, I’ve ordered notecards with my name embossed on them. Each note takes about 5-7 minutes from first draft to addressing the envelope. It’s time well spent.

I have another resource to add: SendOutCards.  I met one of their distributors, Robert Lipton, recently at a San Diego Chamber of Commerce meeting.  These cards are generated completely on-line, but they are then printed out with your personal message, as well as photos if you’d like, and sent to the recipient based on your schedule.  I tried out Robert’s card site, www.typeclickrelax.com, and sending the card was a very quick process!  Since I do so much on-line, this is a great way to get my thank-you notes (both to customers and partners), as well as congratulations, birthday greetings, and get-well cards completed and out the door.  I didn’t try their handwriting duplication, but you can have them turn your writing into a font and use it to print on the cards; Glenn, you may not want to do that.  :-)  All in all, a pretty cool tool!

Whichever way you do your thank-you notes, just make sure you do them!  You will be remembered for them.

(Note: I am not in any way affiliated with SendOutCards.)

(Photo credit: uploaded by scops)

Filed Under: B2B Marketing, Customer experience, Customer service, Marketing Blogs

Is Ambient Marketing Good for Customers?

April 9, 2007 By 10 Comments

binoculars.jpgI recently attended a luncheon seminar at the San Diego chapter of the American Marketing Association.  The topic was ambient marketing (quick definition: also called guerilla marketing or place-based marketing by some, ambient marketing is marketing or advertising wherever customers happen to be, part of the immediate surroundings).  Presented were thought-provoking examples of good, and not so good ambient marketing campaigns.  There was also a panel of three smart ladies who discussed their views on the campaigns: Marlee Ehrenfeld, MJE Marketing Services,  Michelle Edelman, NYCA, and Maria Kniazeva, University of San Diego.  The panelists shared that ambient marketing campaigns should be entertaining, non-intrusive, and meaningful.  They also should provoke emotions, and according to Michelle Edelman, should provide an experience for customers.  I wanted to share a few photos from campaigns that stood out and share my thoughts as well.  Here we go!

clams.jpgSpar Restaurant, Mumbai, India

This campaign had giant clam shells scattered on the local beach.  When you open the shell, you find a piece of paper marketing the restaurant’s seafood festival.  The panelists liked this campaign, as it involves the customer in the experience.  It is also meaningful and relevant to the restaurant’s seafood festival.  Some feedback from this campaign was that it was too intrusive on a beach, almost like litter. 

watch.jpgBig Pilot Watch, Berlin, Germany

This campaign is a great experiential campaign, as the customer gets to “see” the watch on their own wrist!  The only question here: would someone in the market for this watch (priced around $11,000) ride the bus?

Vijay Sales

bbq.jpgThis sewer grate says, “NEED A NEW BARBECUE?” next to it, with a BBQ fork attached to the side.  Although it looks clever, the association of a sewer with food may turn stomachs.  It may also turn off some customers! Some of the panelists were concerned that someone could even trip on the BBQ fork.  This could be considered “urban spam” by some marketers.

My take: As I viewed the presentation and listened to the panelists debate the campaigns, my mind kept coming back to one idea.  How would these campaigns sit with existing customers?  The blog Shaping Youth had a recent post on how some ambient marketing can have negative repercussions, especially to youth.  I believe that certain ambient marketing campaigns can have negative impact on current customers, especially those that are very flashy or don’t seem relevant.  Customers may wonder why so much money is being spent on a “spectacle” rather than being spent on an improvement of the product or service experience.   Other ambient marketing campaigns can be very entertaining and meaningful, even strengthening the brand experience.

Before you consider ambient marketing, think through the impact it will have on prospects and current customers.  Provocative and exciting campaigns, good.  Engaging visuals, great.  Cool experience?  This is in the eye of the beholder.

Other links: The blogs adrants and branddna often give examples of ambient marketing campaigns.

(Photo credits: binocular photo by andresr; campaign photos courtesy San Diego chapter of the AMA)

Filed Under: Customer experience, Customer loyalty, Marketing Blogs

Let’s Collaborate!

April 6, 2007 By 9 Comments

pencils.jpgYesterday I blogged on the great impact blogs have had for me.  Today, I got to speak to another blogging friend, Steve Woodruff, on the phone.  I am really enjoying meeting fellow bloggers voice to voice.

There are many ways bloggers can collaborate, but writing is one of our key passions.  Have you ever wanted to write a book?  Here is a chance to be part of one!  Drew McClellan and Gavin Heaton have started up an e-book and are inviting us all to take part.  The book will be called The Conversation Age, and it will be written quickly (by the end of April) with each blogger contributing a short entry (a page, or about 400 words).  This should be fast, furious, and fun!  100% of proceeds will go to charity.

Here are the bloggers that have agreed to contribute so far:

If you want to learn more or join in, go over to Drew’s or Gavin’s blogs and sign up!  I am going to be part of it.  Let’s collaborate!

Filed Under: Customer experience

The impact of blogging

April 4, 2007 By 13 Comments

blog.jpgI had a wonderful phone conversation today with Lewis Green of the blog bizsolutionsplus (he posted on it, too!), and it has me thinking about the impact blogging has had on me and my business these past months. 

Blogging has many benefits that both Lewis and I have seen since our early appearances on Mack Collier’s Z-list.  These include invitations to write, requests to review books, speaking opportunities, client leads, and last but not least, new friendships.  Many, many of these have come about only through blogging.  There are people who I now consider friends that I would not have known if it weren’t for this medium and my blog.  I am amazed at how quickly I have been able to swap ideas with some of these folks, both in person (Maria Palma, Stephanie Weaver) and over the phone (Phil Gerbyshak, Mike Wagner).  I have also met several only by email, but the interactions have been encouraging and helpful: Mack Collier, Gavin Heaton and Sharon Sarmiento (from our work on Z-list 2.0!), Drew McClellan, Tim Jackson (who I hope to meet in person soon, as we are both in San Diego!), CB Whittemore (who did a guest post for me!), Todd Andrlik, Kevin Hillstrom (where I am on his “Friends of MineThatData list”), plus my customer service blogging friends from CustServ, QAQNA, ServiceUntitled, and AllBusiness CS.  I know there are others I am forgetting…

I am truly grateful to all of you, and I hope to be able to personally interact with more of you, and my readers, over the coming months.

Thanks for the inspiration on this post, Lewis!

Filed Under: Community

Taking the Customer’s Perspective

April 3, 2007 By 6 Comments

dscn1513.jpgWho is your business focused on?  I saw this sign the other day and contacted the realtor, Tamra Clair, to learn more about her perspective.  

Tamra is a customer-focused realtor based in San Diego.  As we talked about the sign, she shared her customer process with me.  When the escrow closes, the selling agent’s SOLD sign is required to come down.  Tamra then asks her client if they were satisfied with her services, and if so, whether they would be willing to have a “Just Bought” sign put up on the property.  This particular sign has been up since escrow closed in January!  Tamra also throws a party for her clients when they close escrow at the local Karl Strauss brewery.   See her website for a photo of one of these “housewarmings”.

When asked what she feels her customer-focused signage signifies, Tamra shared these thoughts:

The sign says that I helped my client buy this home.  It is about more than just making money.  It is about being more personable.  This business is all about people.

I love this example because it turns the usual “Just Sold” sign around to the other side!  I also love this because Tamra’s clients are so willing to share their experience, and she is willing to ask.  When you help a client, are they willing to be a referral?

When your organization is focused on the customer, it is as clear as a sign in front of a house.  Whose perspective are you taking with your communications? 

Filed Under: Customer experience, Marketing Blogs

SeaWorld Keeps Customers Coming Back

April 2, 2007 By 3 Comments

shamurewards.jpgStarted by Kevin Hillstrom of MineThatData, One Positive Day is the promise to blog something positive the first day of each month.  Here at Customers Rock!, I endeavor to post positively as often as possible, and One Positive Day is a great monthly kick-off.  Last month, I posted on Coldwater Creek.  This month, I look to one of my favorites, SeaWorld San Diego! 

When we first moved to San Diego last year, we decided to get a few season passes to local attractions that we thought we would visit more than once.  These included SeaWorld, Disneyland, and the San Diego Zoo.  Buying an annual pass usually sounds like a great idea, but then, after going once or twice, they often just sit in the drawer, hardly used.  When it comes time to renew the pass, the question in our minds will be whether we got our money’s worth?

SeaWorld San Diego wants to make sure we feel the money spent on our pass was well worth it!  This past week, we received a great postcard from them, reminding us to look in that drawer.  Here is an excerpt:

Your Passport.  You remember, don’t you?  That come-as-you-are, anytime ticket to fun you bought a while back and have only used … once?  Maybe twice?

Already, I am starting to think, yeah, they’re right, I think we’ve only been twice since we got it!  I read on:

Go ahead.  Dig through that drawer in your kitchen, or that purse you put away last year (note: they know me so well!), dust off that poor neglected Passport, and treat yourself, your family or your friends to a little fun in the sun at a place like no other.

I think this is a great postcard serving customers well, and it is a win-win for customers and company.  Customers will benefit from the reminder about their season pass and will probably come to SeaWorld and check out the new shows for the season, with no additional expense required.  SeaWorld will benefit when their customers come back to the park, possibly bring friends, and hopefully purchase some food/drinks/gifts. 

The biggest benefit will come at renewal time.  When a customer looks back at their annual subscription cost (could be for an annual pass, 12-month service contract, etc.), they will wonder whether they received enough value from it to renew again.  This is the magic moment for renewals.  Many companies I have talked with have forgotten to show their customers the value they have received in the past year.  SeaWorld San Diego has started this process early for us (it is about 3 months before expiration), and they are urging us to get good use from the passport.

How do you remind your customers about the value they get from your company?  If you have subscriptions, you should be staying visible to your customers to make sure they feel the subscription has been worth the money.  Even if you don’t have annual contracts, staying in touch with your existing customers will keep you in the forefront of their minds when they need your services next time.

We will go to SeaWorld again soon, most likely to check out their new show, Shamu Rocks! (I love that title.)  Are your customers going to visit you again soon?  When they do, let them know you are happy that they are back.  Like SeaWorld says on the bottom of their postcard, “We’ll be glad to see you again — and you’ll be glad you came.”

(Photo credit: www.seaworldsandiego.com)

Filed Under: Customer experience
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