I’ve been handling marketing and sales consulting for 18 years, and in that time, since the late 1980's, the world has changed. Yeah, we all knew that that would happen, but I don't think many of us could have guessed the ways in which it would.
I won't get into the whole 9/11 discussion, even though that one would fit into any entry, whether on business or personal happiness or world peace or whatever. But I will get into the one that I still find most amazing -- the shortage of skilled people.
I grew up in eastern Canada, and my heritage as much as the fresh air and salt water and sense of humour (that's "humor" for my American readers) is the expectation that good work will be hard to find. We all grew up thinking we'd have to put in 120 resumes to have any hope of getting a job, and if you did find something you'd better hang on to it, because the next job might be a long way off.
Today, we have a world where, even in some of the most remote communities in this area, jobs are going unfilled and businesses are turning down projects because they don't have the skilled workers they need.
For many companies, that turnaround has had disastrous results. They may have created a great business model and carefully researched their marketplaces, but suddenly find they cannot get the workers they thought they'd have. Whether its for a production line or a senior marketing position, companies are suddenly finding that good help is hard to find, and more expensive than it ever used to be.
How about you? Are you feeling the pinch of not having the skill sets you need? How is it affecting your marketing plans? Your growth curve? What are your creative solutions? I've heard some interesting stories, and will share them in an upcoming entry But for now, email me if you have a challenge -- or a solution -- to share. Let's see what we can learn from each other.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Price Gouging, dressed up as Customer Service
I spend a lot of time traveling. About two weeks every month in hotels. New York, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, Toronto, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Saskatoon. All the spots you'd expect. So I've become a bit familiar with the tricks of the trade that hotels, airlines, and car rental companies employ to win me over. For the most part, I feel these companies do a good job. And I'm generally a very loyal consumer. My hotels are almost always Marriott. My cars are almost always Avis. My airline is almost always Air Canada.
But one thing in particular irks me to the point of my considering switching companies.
When I check into a hotel and my company is paying as much as a few hundred dollars a night to have me there, I do expect that if that hotel has me as a Platinum member, then they will want me to know I am appreciated. So they put a little basket of chocolate goodies in my room, and a fridge full of drinks, and then they even tuck in a little card saying that these conveniences are there to let me know they appreciate my stay. And then they mark up the price of everything by 300% or more.
That's appreciation? And what's with saying "Thank you" by charging me $12.95 a day to have Internet access in my room? And charging me a dollar a minute if I want to print out a page or two at the hotel business center? Believe it or not, I was at a copy center in a top hotel in Atlanta, and as the clerk totaled my order, she asked me if I was staying at the hotel or came in from the street. When I asked why, she said that the hotel added another 30% for guests. They were actually charging people who were already giving them $200 a night, 30% more than people who were not giving them anything! Is this really customer service?
Why not just come right out and admit it, and print on that card, "Dear Guest. Thank you for staying with us. We know that at 2:30 in the morning, if you working on a paper or watching football, or just can't sleep, that you're probably going to be tempted by all this stuff sitting here. And there's no way you're going to go out for a drive when we have it all right here in your room. So we have inflated our prices on items that already have a pretty good profit margin, to three times more than what you'd pay in any store. Please dig in and enjoy. "
How about a new plan? Let's put the same basket in there with all the same goodies, but put in a new note, telling me you appreciate my being there, and I can therefore have one item from the basket at no charge for each night that I stay. What does that cost the hotel? Maybe 40¢ a night? What does it earn them? A much more impressed customer, who will pay them back by giving them $200 that same night. The math makes sense to me.
Let's lose the price gouging. Or at the very, very least, please stop telling me that you're doing it in appreciation for my business. I'd get that level of appreciation by sleeping in the back alley.
But one thing in particular irks me to the point of my considering switching companies.
When I check into a hotel and my company is paying as much as a few hundred dollars a night to have me there, I do expect that if that hotel has me as a Platinum member, then they will want me to know I am appreciated. So they put a little basket of chocolate goodies in my room, and a fridge full of drinks, and then they even tuck in a little card saying that these conveniences are there to let me know they appreciate my stay. And then they mark up the price of everything by 300% or more.
That's appreciation? And what's with saying "Thank you" by charging me $12.95 a day to have Internet access in my room? And charging me a dollar a minute if I want to print out a page or two at the hotel business center? Believe it or not, I was at a copy center in a top hotel in Atlanta, and as the clerk totaled my order, she asked me if I was staying at the hotel or came in from the street. When I asked why, she said that the hotel added another 30% for guests. They were actually charging people who were already giving them $200 a night, 30% more than people who were not giving them anything! Is this really customer service?
Why not just come right out and admit it, and print on that card, "Dear Guest. Thank you for staying with us. We know that at 2:30 in the morning, if you working on a paper or watching football, or just can't sleep, that you're probably going to be tempted by all this stuff sitting here. And there's no way you're going to go out for a drive when we have it all right here in your room. So we have inflated our prices on items that already have a pretty good profit margin, to three times more than what you'd pay in any store. Please dig in and enjoy. "
How about a new plan? Let's put the same basket in there with all the same goodies, but put in a new note, telling me you appreciate my being there, and I can therefore have one item from the basket at no charge for each night that I stay. What does that cost the hotel? Maybe 40¢ a night? What does it earn them? A much more impressed customer, who will pay them back by giving them $200 that same night. The math makes sense to me.
Let's lose the price gouging. Or at the very, very least, please stop telling me that you're doing it in appreciation for my business. I'd get that level of appreciation by sleeping in the back alley.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Are You Creating Friends?
I had a marketing company for several years, with a team that was truly exceptional. Alex, Andrea, Shelly, Nicole, and others were people whom I took great pride in, and they in turn clearly took great pride in the work they were doing.
From time to time I would call them together for an emergency meeting, and announce that a major competitor had gone after one of our key clients. We had to switch quickly into defense mode, and search for ways to wow the customer and win their support.
Of course, the team knew after the first time we did this that no such attack was actually underway. But it was still a valuable exercise, allowing us to identify ways to super-please our clients, before the threat ever loomed.
I still think back on that exercise whenever I ask a prospect why they are leaving their current supplier. I want to know what threat ruined that relationship. And what still surprises me is that, in almost every single case, there was no competitor swooping in to destroy a previously happy relationship. The damage had come from within. Clients were generally leaving suppliers because those suppliers simply were not keeping them happy. There was insufficient effort. A lack of passion. An absence of fanaticism.
How about your clients? If I asked them what they thought of you, would they rave? Would they recommend you? Would they tell me that they don't even want to hear about any other suppliers, because they're so happy with you? Or would they be all too happy to hear about my company, and what we can do for them?
Here's the key question. If they did tell me things they didn't like about you, do you know what those things would be? Do you know where your trouble points are? Unless you actually asked your clients these questions recently, you might be surprised by the answers they give. Most businesses spend too much time selling what they sell instead of asking what their clients want.
So don't wait for the exercise to become reality. Take your top clients out to dinner. Ask tough questions. Learn. Change. Win. If you don't ask questions, someone else will. And your client will answer. Because they're hungry, and they appreciate the attention.
From time to time I would call them together for an emergency meeting, and announce that a major competitor had gone after one of our key clients. We had to switch quickly into defense mode, and search for ways to wow the customer and win their support.
Of course, the team knew after the first time we did this that no such attack was actually underway. But it was still a valuable exercise, allowing us to identify ways to super-please our clients, before the threat ever loomed.
I still think back on that exercise whenever I ask a prospect why they are leaving their current supplier. I want to know what threat ruined that relationship. And what still surprises me is that, in almost every single case, there was no competitor swooping in to destroy a previously happy relationship. The damage had come from within. Clients were generally leaving suppliers because those suppliers simply were not keeping them happy. There was insufficient effort. A lack of passion. An absence of fanaticism.
How about your clients? If I asked them what they thought of you, would they rave? Would they recommend you? Would they tell me that they don't even want to hear about any other suppliers, because they're so happy with you? Or would they be all too happy to hear about my company, and what we can do for them?
Here's the key question. If they did tell me things they didn't like about you, do you know what those things would be? Do you know where your trouble points are? Unless you actually asked your clients these questions recently, you might be surprised by the answers they give. Most businesses spend too much time selling what they sell instead of asking what their clients want.
So don't wait for the exercise to become reality. Take your top clients out to dinner. Ask tough questions. Learn. Change. Win. If you don't ask questions, someone else will. And your client will answer. Because they're hungry, and they appreciate the attention.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Do you "get it"?
I had a great meeting yesterday. Met with Nigel Edelshain, CEO of Sales 2.0, a company in Montvale, NJ that provides outbound telesales services for B2B clients.
Nigel and the folks at Sales 2.0 "get it." They see the huge ties that bind sales and customer service together. They encourage their clients to make sure they deliver great customer service. They know that it costs five times more to bring in a new customer than it does to sell additional services to a client you already have.
With figures like that, you'd think that more companies "got it." But you don't need to spend much time waiting on hold for "customer service" departments, or desperately searching "Contact Us" pages to find even one phone number, to realize that far too few companies get it at all.
And, sadly, there are more things that those companies probably just won't get. They won't get your business. Or my business. Or the business of others who like to be treated with respect and gratitude for the dollars they leave behind.
How about you? Operating a business or not-for-profit? Maybe "just" operating a family? Try smiling and saying thank-you with every interaction. Try listening hard to feedback, and correcting any things that bug people. Try "service with a smile" that actually does have a smile. You might be surprised at the smiles that pop up in return. And the rewards that come with them.
Don't think of it as customer service. Think of it as sales. Because that's exactly what it is.
Nigel and the folks at Sales 2.0 "get it." They see the huge ties that bind sales and customer service together. They encourage their clients to make sure they deliver great customer service. They know that it costs five times more to bring in a new customer than it does to sell additional services to a client you already have.
With figures like that, you'd think that more companies "got it." But you don't need to spend much time waiting on hold for "customer service" departments, or desperately searching "Contact Us" pages to find even one phone number, to realize that far too few companies get it at all.
And, sadly, there are more things that those companies probably just won't get. They won't get your business. Or my business. Or the business of others who like to be treated with respect and gratitude for the dollars they leave behind.
How about you? Operating a business or not-for-profit? Maybe "just" operating a family? Try smiling and saying thank-you with every interaction. Try listening hard to feedback, and correcting any things that bug people. Try "service with a smile" that actually does have a smile. You might be surprised at the smiles that pop up in return. And the rewards that come with them.
Don't think of it as customer service. Think of it as sales. Because that's exactly what it is.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Let's Make Our Customers Really Mad
Silly title, eh? Who would really set out to make their own customers mad? Virtually every company today recognizes the importance of great customer service. But, as we have all seen when we tried to reach a living person in some of those same companies, there are lots of automated systems and "forced" email connections out there, instead of real voices or even a hint that there are actually people working at those companies.
What's going on? The answer is, of course, financial reality. Friendly, professional, breathing agents, who can efficiently handle calls and even boost sales orders, are expensive. Having a person on your front line who makes your customers and callers feel like you really do care about them will cost you some money.
But down deep, we all also know that not having those people out there can cost a lot as well. You may be saving money, but you're losing customers. Your cost-reduction numbers may be earning a few pats on the back, but those sales levels and customer satisfaction ratings just keep taking the shine off things.
It's time to reconsider the high cost of saving money. Customer service is available at some level to fit virtually any budget. Tacamor, for example, can give you live-agent capabilities that you probably thought you could never afford, and we do it with a level of quality that rivals the most expensive services out there. And frankly, there are lots of other great call centers out there too (although I have to admit that I haven't found one yet to match our quality at the prices we're quoting!) So, while it may be scary to make that investment if you've been "saving money" until now, remember that there is not much that is scarier than an unhappy customer.
So call a call center. Talk to a real person. Get a quote. Rediscover customer service. And make sure your customers know that you made their satisfaction your priority.
What's going on? The answer is, of course, financial reality. Friendly, professional, breathing agents, who can efficiently handle calls and even boost sales orders, are expensive. Having a person on your front line who makes your customers and callers feel like you really do care about them will cost you some money.
But down deep, we all also know that not having those people out there can cost a lot as well. You may be saving money, but you're losing customers. Your cost-reduction numbers may be earning a few pats on the back, but those sales levels and customer satisfaction ratings just keep taking the shine off things.
It's time to reconsider the high cost of saving money. Customer service is available at some level to fit virtually any budget. Tacamor, for example, can give you live-agent capabilities that you probably thought you could never afford, and we do it with a level of quality that rivals the most expensive services out there. And frankly, there are lots of other great call centers out there too (although I have to admit that I haven't found one yet to match our quality at the prices we're quoting!) So, while it may be scary to make that investment if you've been "saving money" until now, remember that there is not much that is scarier than an unhappy customer.
So call a call center. Talk to a real person. Get a quote. Rediscover customer service. And make sure your customers know that you made their satisfaction your priority.
Monday, August 6, 2007
So how exactly has your CRM improved your life?
Ever stop to think about just how much your CRM program costs your company each year? How much money do you invest? How many hours did your management team devote to its selection, and your IT team to its implementation? How many dollars did all of that total? And how many more hours and dollars are spent now, day after day, month after month, to keep it all running and collecting and distributing and updating?
Wow. You must be enjoying some great outcomes to keep justifying those costs. So what are they? Not just general benefits, like "We gain a better understanding of our clients" or "We anticipate client needs and respond to them in a timely manner." In real life, what specifically did all those investments do for you today? Yesterday? What positive changes can be seen today because of your CRM? Go ahead; make a list. I'll wait for you in the next paragraph.
Ah. You're back. How did it go? Are you smiling? Feeling your findings would make your CFO happy? If so, great. But if no, then maybe it's time to take a good hard look at just what it is that your CRM is lacking. After all, if you can't see the benefits, then why are you wasting the money?
Let's get back to the drawing board. Let's make something great. And let's make sure it pays.
Wow. You must be enjoying some great outcomes to keep justifying those costs. So what are they? Not just general benefits, like "We gain a better understanding of our clients" or "We anticipate client needs and respond to them in a timely manner." In real life, what specifically did all those investments do for you today? Yesterday? What positive changes can be seen today because of your CRM? Go ahead; make a list. I'll wait for you in the next paragraph.
Ah. You're back. How did it go? Are you smiling? Feeling your findings would make your CFO happy? If so, great. But if no, then maybe it's time to take a good hard look at just what it is that your CRM is lacking. After all, if you can't see the benefits, then why are you wasting the money?
Let's get back to the drawing board. Let's make something great. And let's make sure it pays.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Making Saturday Morning Pay
Saturday morning. Time to be with the family, or maybe organize the house a bit after a busy week. Definitely not a time to be thinking about work. But what if just a few minutes -- just five minutes, literally -- could make an impact on the rest of your week. Would it be a nice habit to tuck into your Saturday morning?
I have to admit that I just find I am in a different mode every Saturday morning. I wake up ready to get things done. But on too many of those Saturdays, noon rolls around to find that I have not accomplished anywhere near as much as I thought I would. So I make it a point to make just one contact each week, usually by email but sometimes by phone, with someone who I think could use a pick-me-up. Just a quick note to thank them for something they did in the past week, or to congratulate them for a job well done. Doing that as a separate function, after hours, is often seen as being far more sincere than the same words would have been if they had been said as everyone was walking down a hall or just looking for things to say on an elevator.
Give it a go. And let me know what happens. A few minutes on a Saturday morning can be a great way to set the mood for the rest of the day!
I have to admit that I just find I am in a different mode every Saturday morning. I wake up ready to get things done. But on too many of those Saturdays, noon rolls around to find that I have not accomplished anywhere near as much as I thought I would. So I make it a point to make just one contact each week, usually by email but sometimes by phone, with someone who I think could use a pick-me-up. Just a quick note to thank them for something they did in the past week, or to congratulate them for a job well done. Doing that as a separate function, after hours, is often seen as being far more sincere than the same words would have been if they had been said as everyone was walking down a hall or just looking for things to say on an elevator.
Give it a go. And let me know what happens. A few minutes on a Saturday morning can be a great way to set the mood for the rest of the day!
Starting Out
So you're reading a blog. My blog. Just a few years ago it would have been pure science fiction to think that I could jot down a few words at home, and within seconds those words would be available to people around the world. The technology is mind-boggling.
And what is even more amazing is that you're probably not boggled at all. And neither is anyone else. It's not really a big deal any more. There's food for thought... in today's world, the measure of achievement is how much you get taken for granted.
How about you? How good are you as a company? A friend? A spouse? A parent? Feel taken for granted? Don't be offended; it just shows that you're so dependable that people expect you to be good. So take it as a compliment. But find a better way to compliment those who mean most to you.
And what is even more amazing is that you're probably not boggled at all. And neither is anyone else. It's not really a big deal any more. There's food for thought... in today's world, the measure of achievement is how much you get taken for granted.
How about you? How good are you as a company? A friend? A spouse? A parent? Feel taken for granted? Don't be offended; it just shows that you're so dependable that people expect you to be good. So take it as a compliment. But find a better way to compliment those who mean most to you.
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