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Author: Phil Wrzesinski

Using Quotes to Train Your Staff

I love quotes. One of my favorites is this beauty from Eleanor Roosevelt…

“Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.”

I use quotes during staff meetings. I use them in all my presentations. I use them in our team newsletters. I use them here in this blog. I often wonder, however, if my staff is getting the same ideas from the quotes as I do.

So I decided to test it.

I took 17 quotes (yes, a random number on purpose) that in my mind fell into three different categories. I printed three sets of them on individual cards and split my staff into three teams. I gave a set to each team and asked them to group the quotes into three categories – any three they wanted. They could use whatever criteria they chose to group the quotes such as content, timeline, length, alphabetical. I expected they all would sort by content, which they did. I then asked them to explain their categories and rationale for putting the quotes where they did. Finally, I asked them to explain what those quotes meant to them and the business.

Here is where it got interesting…

First, all three groups came up with the same basic categories – Big Ideas, Customer Service, Money. That wasn’t surprising, as those were the three categories in my mind when I chose the quotes (except that what they called Money, I called Sales).

Second, however, they didn’t all put the same quotes into the same categories. One had a quote in Money that another group had in Customer Service that the other group put in Big Ideas. Same quote, three different categories.

Third, I got both of the results I wanted. We had a fascinating discussion about the quotes, what they represented and how they applied. We were discussing ideas. I also got to peek into how they think about the quotes and about the store. The insight just from labeling the last group Money was important. It was a reminder to me (and to them) that we sometimes think and sell out of our own pocketbooks instead of the customer’s and that they look at Sales as Money. We’ll be exploring those concepts in future days.

We finished the meeting with a discussion of what Big Ideas means to their jobs and to delighting the customers. That’s always a discussion worth having.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS If you would like a Word doc with 69 of my favorite quotes I have culled over the years, shoot me an email.

Two Strategies for Independent Retailers

I’m reading a fascinating book called The Man Who Wore Mismatched Socks about an indie brewing company in England fighting against the big corporate brewery who is trying to buy out and destroy all the competition.

Sound familiar?

In the book, the current head of the indie brewery says something profound…

“As you get bigger, you get more average.” -Archibald Gack

How many times have we seen that the biggest company in our industry is really making quite average products? (Put your shoes back on. You don’t need to count them all.)

Contrast that statement with this one said by a customer in an indie retailer.

“They must be the best because you see them everywhere.” -unknown customer

Customer perception is since a product is everywhere it must be the best. The reality is more often than not, the products sold everywhere are really quite average. There is better stuff out there.

This begs two questions…

  1. Do you differentiate yourself by not carrying the most popular item in the category, thus flying in the face of customer perception?
  2. Do you carry the popular items to draw the traffic and then try to upsell to the better items?

Both strategies can work, but they each work with a different crowd.

Use the first if you only want to go after the innovators and early adopters, the people who only want the best. They are a small market, but they pay top dollar to be first or to have the best. You can make a lot of money off of them as long as you stay at the top of the market and as long as you continually advertise your cutting edge expertise.

Use the second if you want to go for the early and late majority. They are a much larger crowd, but they have more options to find what they want. And usually what they want has been commoditized so your margins on the everywhere items will be smaller and your profit will be based on your ability to upsell.

The markets are different for each of these strategies. Know which one you’re in so that you’ll know who you’re trying to attract.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS You can trying being in both categories. Unfortunately, the message usually gets lost in advertising. When you advertise the popular items, you lose the innovator crowd. When you advertise the innovative items, you lose the popular crowd. That’s why it is better to pick one and do it better than anyone else.

Reinvention as a Strategy

I was out in Las Vegas last week for a trade show. I hadn’t really been on the strip in a few years. Things had changed.

The casinos were still there, still filled with blinking lights and maze-like aisles of machines. The fancy restaurants still stood guard on the edges of the gambling areas. The shows still crowded the walkways with ticket-goers waiting for something special.

But there were three changes I noticed.

  1. Every casino had empty gaming tables. Not just one or two that they chose not to open, but whole pits of empty tables.
  2. Every casino had a burger joint. Not just some food court burger to grab on the go, but gourmet burgers. Expensive compared to the McDonald’s experience, but a bargain compared to the $59 bone-in rib-eye. 
  3. Every casino had a Night Club. Loud dance music pounded the casino walls, almost drowning out the cacophony of digital music from the slot machines. Oh sure, some casinos had clubs before, but that wasn’t where the party was. The party was wherever someone got hot on a craps table or roulette wheel.

I remember going to Vegas in the days of the $1.99 steak dinners and $5 buffets. I remember going to Vegas when rooms were so cheap, they were almost paying you to stay. But times changed and Vegas reinvented itself into a high-priced, upscale city with Broadway shows, hundred-dollar meals, and $25-minimum tables.

Vegas is doing it again.

Gambling is down, but traffic is strong, so they are finding new ways to get the customers’ money. Everyone wants to party, but not everyone wants to play, so night clubs and mid-priced restaurants are on the rise. I saw one casino where they had removed a whole section of gaming tables to put in “outside seating” for the night club. You could enjoy the music, drink and talk with your friends, and even watch the remaining gamblers.

The lesson here is simple…

If you aren’t getting the customers’ money the way you used to, reinvent yourself and give your customers what they want now, not what they wanted a few years ago. The smartest, most successful companies are already doing it.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS I know some of you are going to say that Vegas has always had night clubs. You’re right. but they were an after-thought behind Shows, Restaurants and Gaming in all the promotions. Now they are front and center. Now they are taking over gaming areas. Now they are top-billed on the marquee. You gotta admit that is new.

It’s All About the Story

One final thought from my trip to Walt Disney World…

I took two teenage boys to the land of pink princesses, Frozen queens, and fairy tales come true. I took two roller coaster freaks who think Cedar Point (a mere 2.2 hour drive from us) is the Mecca of amusement parks to the land of talking mice, mermaids, and musicals. I took two teenage boys on rides that one would expect them to find more boring than the 21 hour drive we took down I-75.

My older son summed up his experience in two words, “My Childhood!”

My younger son only needed one word, “Epic!”

Walt Disney World delighted an entire family including two boys who on the surface wouldn’t seem to fit their demographic. But Walt knew what he was doing. It’s right here in this quote I took from an area under construction…

“It is my wish to delight all members of the family, young and old, parent and child.” -Walt Disney

How did he accomplish that? It’s all about the story.

We didn’t go on a roller coaster. We took a limo across town to get to the Aerosmith concert.
We didn’t go on an up-and-down thrill ride. We visited a haunted hotel in the Twilight Zone.
We didn’t go on a water ride. We were told the story of Br’er Rabbit.
We didn’t go on a G-Force simulator ride. We flew a spacecraft to Mars.

From the moment you got in line, the story was being told. Costumes, decorations, and activities while you waited were all designed to tell you the story. No detail was spared.

Were the rides as thrilling as Millenium Force? No. But they were every bit as fun. Even DINOSAUR, which my son likened to “driving on Michigan roads”, was fun enough to do it twice.

The lesson here is that the story sells it. The story makes it far more exciting, memorable, and likable than it is on its own. The story wins the heart. Most importantly, when you include the customer in the story, when you make her story your story, you’ll win her heart and all the members of the family, just like Walt.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS It isn’t as hard as you might think to come up with stories that include the customer. Just get the customer to start her story and then add your store and product stories to the narrative.

The Waiting Game – Disney Style

We waited in line for Space Mountain and played video games while we waited.

We waited in line for Toy Story Midway Mania and were transported to a room with larger-than-life toys and a story-telling Mr Potato Head while we waited.

We waited in line for Mount Everest Expedition and explored a museum of Yeti artifacts and stories while we waited.

We waited in line for the Hollywood Tower of Terror and watched a Twilight Zone video while we waited.

We waited in line for Test Track and designed our very own test vehicle while we waited.

We waited in line for Soarin’ and played an interactive screen game with our fellow line mates while we waited.

We waited in line for The Great Movie Ride and watched movie trailers while we waited.

We waited in line for the Aerosmith Rock N Roller Coaster and watched a 3-D short telling us a back story to our ride while we waited.

We waited in line for the Seven Dwarves Mine Ride and made music with water while we waited.

Most theme parks have you wait in line like cattle, mindlessly walking back and forth through the maze of barricades just for a few minutes of thrills. You hate the wait. You use Fast Pass or whatever other method the park offers to avoid standing in line.

Walt Disney World, however, turned this necessary evil into a back story, into an educational journey, into a team-building exercise, into an amusement all of its own. A couple times I was thankful we didn’t have a Fast Pass, just so that we wouldn’t have missed the stuff in the line. WDW turned the necessary evil into an enjoyment. That’s why they call it the Magical World of Disney.

Every business has that necessary evil. Do you know what is yours? How can you make it better?

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS The back stories were my favorites. They made the rides much more enjoyable. But that’s a post for another day.

Making Memories One Guest at a Time

Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom averages around 47,000 visitors a day. Everything about the park, however, is designed to make one person feel special, not 47,000. Let me explain.

There were four young children on my left. My family sat to my right. We were all parked on the curb halfway between Main Street and the Cinderella Castle, waiting for the Electric Parade.

Many Disney characters were in the parade including Mickey and Minnie, Cinderella, and even Alice in Wonderland.

As Alice passed us by, she pointed to the children in the double stroller on my left and said, “Oh twins, how adorable!”

From the excitement that arose next to me, you would have thought they had just won the lottery. And in a sense, they did. Alice singled them out and made them feel like they were the only ones in the park at that moment. It only took a few seconds. But they will be talking about it for a lifetime.

No matter which Disney employee we met, each one treated us as if we were the only guests there. That’s the true magic at the Magical Kingdom.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS This is actually harder for store owners to master than for your frontline employees. As the owner, you’re constantly watching everything going on. But if you really want to impress the heck out of your customer, enough so that she says WOW and brags about you to her friends, you have to put the blinders on and give her that you’re-the-only-one-here-and-I’m-so-grateful-to-be-able-to-help-you laserlike focus.

What You Have in Common with Disney

I spent last week at Walt Disney World. As with any theme park, there are always upgrades being done. But instead of just “pardon the dust” signs, Disney plastered their walls with Walt-isms. I snapped this picture of one while chasing my boys to the next ride…

“We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” -Walt Disney

Then Roy Williams, aka The Wizard of Ads, hit me with this Monday Morning Memo (if you haven’t subscribed to this free email yet, you are missing out big time!!).

To sum up Roy’s Memo… 93% of successful companies have been successful because of their ability to improvise and adapt. 

Keep moving forward.
Keep opening up new doors.
Keep doing new things.
Keep going down new paths.

It works for Disney. It works for 93% of all successful companies. It will work for you.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS I have many thoughts, stories and ideas from my trip that I will be sharing over the next few days. Forgive me if I gush too much. Walt is one of my heroes. You’ll definitely like the stories.

Better Than When They Came In

The New York Times did an interview piece with fashion icon Michael Kors and famous restaurateur Danny Meyer. (You can read the whole interview here.)

Danny summed up great customer service in one line…

“Great hospitality is taking however we three felt before we came here and making us feel a little better when we leave.”

Are you making your customers feel better than when they came in? Do that one thing consistently and your business will grow.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Here are some ideas for things you can do that will definitely make your customers feel better.

Have You Tried This?

Another restaurant closed in town. They posted a wonderfully grateful goodbye on Facebook, thanking everyone from the staff to the suppliers to the customers to the city leaders (well, okay maybe not that last one). They even apologized for the inconvenience of closing. They said they gave it their best shot but just couldn’t make a go of it.

One of my staff, when hearing of the closure asked a profound question…

Why didn’t they try something else?

They had the kitchen, the staff, the liquor license, a small group of dedicated followers. Why didn’t they try something else?

They had a premium location downtown, a banquet room (a couple of them), parking out back. Why didn’t they try something else?

They had ambiance (although a little loud), great window seating along the street, outdoor seating, gigantic fish tank seating, and really cool bathrooms. Why didn’t they try something else?

Two things I didn’t see happen. They didn’t change the menu. They didn’t change the pricing. Two complaints I heard the most (besides how loud it was with all the wood floors and vaulted ceilings) were the menu and the pricing.

You gotta get those two right.

The right menu (products).

The right price.

Get those wrong and all the rest doesn’t matter. If you’re doing everything else right and your business is failing, chances are you got one of those two wrong. Why don’t you try something else?

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS I get it that they may have chosen a menu/pricing consistent with the type of restaurant they wanted to be (their brand), but there is a lot of wiggle room within “fine dining” and “upscale” and “top-shelf” and “gourmet” and “specialty” and “unique” and “quality” to work with your particular crowd. Also, it may be that it wasn’t the actual menu and pricing that caused the problem but the perception of the menu and pricing. Perception is reality, folks. You gotta win the perception battle.

PPS I’m sad to see them go. I’m not trying to criticize them, but to help you learn from their experience.

Moms, Mobile Phones, and the Transactional Customer

I have been bombarded with companies selling me on the merits and benefits of Mobile Marketing. The main focus is sending out texts with coupons and deals to people in the vicinity. Some of these companies are offering me packages less than $20/week. Others want me to commit to thousands a month. They have the statistics that show they will bring me gold.

“Lies, damned lies, and statistics.” -Mark Twain

Kids Today magazine just had an article this month with even more statistics on mobile that I found quite enlightening and worth exploring deeper.

Here is the first statistic from the article:

“According to the latest data from comStore, overall mobile purchasing accounted for 11% of e-commerce spending in 2013.”

E-commerce spending, depending on your source, is anywhere from 3% to 10% of all retail purchases, so mobile purchasing is anywhere from 0.3% to 1.1% of all retail purchases. Before you drop a load of your advertising budget on mobile, keep that in mind. Shopping on their phone is an incredibly small percentage of all retail sales.

But what about coupons they get on their phones and then bring into the store?

Here is the second statistic:

“Nine out of ten moms take notice of advertisements on their smartphones. One-quarter clicked to get a coupon after receiving a mobile ad and 15% of moms clicked on the ad to go to the website.”

In other words, almost all of the moms saw the ads, but 75% of the moms did not take the bait, 85% of the moms were not enticed to go to the website. Now, don’t get me wrong. Twenty-five percent is still a pretty good click-thru rate. But remember who is clicking – the Transactional Customer – the mom who believes she is the expert on the product and knows more about it than you do. These moms are loyal to one thing only – the deal. They have no loyalty to your store and only buy from you when you have a sale.

But aren’t all moms all about the price?

Here is the third statistic:

“More than half the moms, 53%, say coupons are appealing in a mobile ad; while 23% want a deal that is located nearby.”

Once again proof that roughly half the population in any category, including the technologically savvy new moms, is interested in the deal (Transactional Customers) and the other half is more interested in the trust factors (Relational Customers).

When you plot out your strategy, decide which customer you want to attract and proceed accordingly. While your competitors go after that 53%, remember that there is a lot of business to be done with the 47% who don’t find coupons on their phones appealing.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Don’t think of me as anti-technology. Smartphones are here to stay. You need a website and it needs to be optimized for mobile. You need social media as one part of your relationship-building portfolio with your customer base – and many moms are using their smartphones as their primary tool for social media. You also need to be smart about where and how you spend your money. Your most loyal customers are not loyal because of your coupons, they are loyal because they trust you. Before you buy a mobile marketing plan, make sure you’ve put enough effort into building that trust and that the mobile plan reinforces that trust, not undermines it.