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Category: Word of Mouth

Two More Freebies For You

Why do I give it away for free? It is part of my Core Values to be helpful.

Don’t get me wrong. I love getting paid to sell toys and baby products. I love getting paid to travel across the country and impart some of the lessons I’ve learned to a room full of peers.

I also love helping and sharing. I want my ideas and thoughts to spread farther and wider to help my friends and peers in the independent retail industry. Plus. more often than not, I’ve already been paid.

All of my Freebies are the notes written from presentations I have done. That is why they are short and sweet – so you can print them easily. I could make eBooks more like power points with full-page graphics, tight bullet points and simple messages spread out over 72 pages. But I would rather keep them down to seven pages or less so that I can use them as handouts. Short and sweet so you can print them at home and read later. Short and to the point for you to email and share with your friends.

Since I got paid to do the presentation, I have already been paid to write the eBook, too. Now we just need to spread the word.

Here are two new Freebies worth sharing.

Generating Word-of-Mouth – You know Word of Mouth is the best form of advertising. But do you know the five ways to generate it? Do you know how to get people to talk positively about your business? This Freebie shares all the secrets behind getting people to talk about you.

(Yes, I decided to put it under Great Marketing. Put your best stuff where the customers are most likely to see it.)

Making Your Ads Memorable – Most ads are ignored, because most ads are lousy. The truly remarkable ads are the ads most remembered. This Freebie will show you three things you can do to make your print and broadcast advertisements cut through the clutter and be seen, heard and remembered by your potential customers.

Enjoy!

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Some have argued that by giving it all away, no one will ever hire me to speak. Fair enough. Of course, the live explanations are always more fun and interesting and worth every penny. If they weren’t, I wouldn’t offer to do them.

Is Word-of-Mouth Advertising or Customer Service?

I recently did a workshop in Jacksonville, Florida for PRO on Customer Service. We started with a 45 minute presentation on Generating Word-of-Mouth.

Most people think of Word-of-Mouth as a form of Advertising & Marketing, not Customer Service. They would be correct.

But…

The easiest way to get Word-of-Mouth is to offer over-the-top, OMG, I-gotta-tell-someone Customer Service. Do something so unexpectedly nice for your customer that she has to tell other people about her experience. Do something so unexpectedly generous and helpful that it is the first story she tells her friends. Do something so unexpectedly wonderful and delightful that she wants to talk about it on Yelp and Facebook and TripAdvisor.

Yeah, Word-of-Mouth is about Customer Service, too.

So where should I put the new free eBook on Generating Word-of-Mouth? On my Freebies page under Great Marketing or under Great Customer Service?

Hmmm….

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS The key phrase in there is unexpectedly. If she expects it and gets in, you get a thanks in return. If she expects it and doesn’t get it, you get a whole different kind of word-of-mouth. You have to do something unexpected to get her to talk. Then, after you do it enough, it becomes expected and you have to raise the bar even higher. That’s okay. I know you’re up to that challenge..

A Great Use of Stories

I ran into Molly on a Saturday morning at the bank.

“Phil, we’re having tours of our new building this summer. What are you doing this Tuesday at 5:30?”

Molly runs the Center for Family Health, a healthcare facility for Jackson that is especially helpful for low-income, uninsured, and under-insured patients in our community. They just consolidated two facilities into one shiny building a couple blocks from our store.

I went, expecting the usual, a high-ranking person, maybe Molly herself, walking us through the building with a bunch of blah blah numbers about healthcare and how important they are to the community.

Oh we got that. But we also got a whole bunch more. At each stop along the tour we met a new person who shared a few facts with us. Then that person gave us a testimonial from a patient, put a face on that department and showed us with tear-jerking reality what a difference they make in the lives of people we know.

By the third stop I was looking for a tissue box.

The stories were real. The stories were emotional. The stories were about situations you and I could relate to. The stories were illustrative of the services offered by the center. I sat in a dental area and saw a picture of an 8-year old girl with teeth black and rotting. Then I saw a picture of the same girl at 16 with a full, beautiful toothy smile. I didn’t need a dentist with facts and figures and flow charts to figure out what they do. I knew from those pictures and her story.

I’m glad I went. More importantly, I’m glad they understood the power of stories. I cannot remember a single fact they shared with me (well, except the 500 births they do each year – that was surprising and useful information), but I remember all the stories in detail. I walked out of the building wanting to share what I had learned with the world.

I just did.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS You have stories. Tell them. They are more memorable and make a stronger, more emotional connection than facts and data ever could. Remember, we make more decisions with our heart than our mind and when the heart and mind are at odds, the heart almost always wins. We use our brains to justify what our hearts have already decided.

Insurance Agents Don’t Understand Customer Service

I was in a company store to make a few changes to my cellphone plan (got a new phone for my 12 year old son, which is a whole ‘nuther topic). Got there about thirty minutes before they closed. They were busy. At least six sets of customers in the store at this time. I had to wait about ten minutes to be helped.

My helper was extremely helpful. Friendly and engaged, he understood everything I wanted to do, He did it all flawlessly with good humor. It was a painless transaction, even for one that lasted about thirty minutes past their closing time.

The pain was in watching the woman in tears right outside the door.

Her crime? She showed up one minute late.

This store has a company policy dictated by the insurance company. Lock the doors at closing time. Let no one else in. No one. Not even a woman who had driven six hours in a frantic hurry to get there on time only to find out she was sent to the wrong store and had to cross town in early evening traffic only to arrive one minute too late.

One minute late.

There were still five of us customers in the store.

No…

Wait…

Now there are only four. One guy, after watching the way they treated this poor lady, put down his iPad purchase and walked out before they swiped his card.

My helper explained that he would lose his job if he tried to help her. Insurance company said it was a liability issue they wouldn’t cover. With cameras everywhere, the employees feared losing their jobs more than helping a sobbing lady pick up a phone they were holding for her.

I hope the cameras picked up the fact that this one lady will cause them to lose more business and more money than any liability issue for delighting a customer one minute too late ever could.

Don’t let your insurance company dictate your levels of customer service. Delight your customers. The only crying should be tears of joy.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS My apologies to all the insurance AGENTS out there. The title really should have read “Insurance Companies”. But I wanted to get you to read this. Maybe you can talk to the principles at your agency to make sure you don’t do this to your clients.

PPS Want to create a culture that consistently puts the needs of the customer first and relishes in delighting them? Start by reading Customer Service: From Weak to WOW! (free download).

How Much Are You Investing in Your Business?

The Jackson County Chamber and I are teaming up to offer the best segments from the Jackson Retail Success Academy for all Jackson area businesses (and anyone willing to make the drive).

Three classes. Three four-hour days. $250 investment in your business (or $99 per class if you cannot make all three or are not a retailer.)

Inventory Management and Financial Health for Retailers
Thursday, June 27 (9am to 1pm) 

Every retailer knows that Cash is King. But do you know how to get more cash in your business to grow your kingdom?

This Business Boot Camp is designed strictly to help retailers understand how to manage inventory and expenses and, most importantly, your cash. You will learn simple formulas that the smart retailers use to keep the checkbook fat and happy. You will learn the Do’s and Don’t’s for keeping your inventory fresh and moving. You will find out where your cash is hiding and how to get more of it.

We will discuss things like Open-To-Buy programs, financial statements, the proper numbers to measure, how to price your products for profit, and the simplest way to get the most out of the inventory you sell.

Yes, there will be math. The important math. The kind of math you have to do if you want to be successful. What will surprise you is how quickly and easily you will learn the math and see the results.

(Note: to get the most out of this Business Boot Camp bring your previous fiscal year’s Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss statement. You will not be asked to share, but it will help you do your own math.)

Shareworthy Customer Service for Small Businesses
Thursday, July 11 (9am to 1pm)

We all know Word-of-Mouth is the best form of advertising. But do you know how to get people to talk about your company?

This Business Boot Camp will teach you the fundamentals behind generating Word-of-Mouth from your customer base. You will learn how to exceed customer expectations in such a way that they have to tell someone else. You will learn how to create a culture in your business that wants to delight your customers at every turn and raise the bar of Customer Service so high that you turn clients into evangelists.

Whether you are a retailer, a service provider, or any type of business, you will walk away with four ways to generate word-of-mouth, a new approach to hiring and training, at least one planned staff training, and a better understanding of what it takes to offer Customer Service that makes people want to talk.

Word-of-Mouth is still the most powerful form of advertising. This Business Boot Camp will be one you will be talking about for a long time.

Branding and Advertising: Reaching New Customers in Today’s Market
Thursday, August 8 (9am to 1pm)

The advertising that got you results yesterday isn’t working today. Today’s market just can’t be reached. Or can it?

This Business Boot Camp will teach you the fundamentals of marketing that work in any day and age and how to apply those to this day and age. You will learn what moves the needle in advertising and how to craft a message that gets your potential clients to take action. You will learn the biggest myths of advertising and how even the largest companies throw good money away every single day. You will learn how to get the most out of your advertising budget (even if it close to zero).

Advertising cannot fix your business, but if you have a good business model, you will learn techniques that will grow your business the right way and keep it growing for years, no matter what kind of business you run.

Contact the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce to sign up. It will be the best twelve hours you spend on your business this summer!

Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS If you are struggling in any one of these areas, you should sign up for that one class Ninety-nine dollars for four hours of top-level, hands-on instruction is the kind of no-brainer investment you know you should make for your business.

PPS If you don’t think you need any of these classes then you should definitely sign up for all three. Last night as I did a presentation for the Quincy Chamber of Commerce, one of the organizers lamented that it was only the businesses who were already doing well that showed up. I reminded her that was why they were doing well. They kept showing up.

What Makes Them Drive to See You?

I plopped down in the back seat next to a newborn baby. Cute little thing. Eyes still closed to the world.

The new mama sat on the other side of the seat and asked, “Do we have the straps on right?”

They had been in last week to get help installing the seat in their car. Now they have the baby. Even though the car seat owner’s manual clearly states how tight the straps should be, this couple drove to our store, parked while daddy came in to get me, and listened carefully as I explained how tight the harness should be and how to check it themselves.

Some of you might be thinking, wow, what a waste of your precious time. I didn’t sell them anything. There was no transaction. Heck, the car seat didn’t even come from my store. It was a shower gift. I got nothing out of the transaction.

Or did I?

They drove to my store.

Twice.

In one week.

While having a baby.

To make sure their new baby is safe.

What is the chance they will be back?

What is your store known for to the point that customers will seek you out even though there may be an easier solution? What do you do that is so trustworthy customers will make a special trip just to see you? What do you do that connects to the core values of your customer base? What do you do that might seem costly to an outsider but you know will reap you great rewards in the long run?

Answer those questions. Then do more of that. They’ll be back.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS There are many ways to build trust with your customers. I detail some of them in my latest FREE eBook Selling in a Showrooming World. If you aren’t one of the 273 people who downloaded it last week, you might want to see what all the fuss is about.

Tell the Story

I stayed at a quaint little Inn on the main drag in Manistee, MI last week. It was an old bank and office building that had been converted into the Ramsdell Inn.

The lobby was all marble. The huge safe with the big vault door had been turned into a gift shop.
The room was nice, well-decorated. The bed was comfy. The shower was tall (that’s how I measure hotel bathrooms – by how well they accommodate my 6’2″ frame). It was a nice stay, as long as you don’t mind stairs.

There was no elevator (fortunately only two floors to walk up at most). And since it was off-season there were limited lobby hours. Fortunately, they posted the cell phone number of the manager in case we needed something.

My favorite feature, however, was on the doors to each room.

Each room had a name!
I was so excited to read about my room’s namesake, to find out the story. Yet there was no story. Nothing. I looked through the bedside paperwork. Nothing. I checked all the drawers. Nothing. I looked at the website. Nothing.
I was disappointed. I wanted a story, even if it was a bad story. (ie…Mr. Canfield was a con man who opened multiple businesses in town by borrowing large sums of money before skipping town on a freighter headed for Chicago with all the loot. While playing poker with the boys on the freighter, Mr. Canfield was caught cheating and thrown overboard. No one knows if he made it to shore, yet a woman by the same name stays in this room every January.)
Just imagine the power of the story for each room. Someone had to come up with those names. Why? Why is 4C “The Canfield?”  If I knew the story, chances are pretty good I would share it. Chances are I would talk about the Inn more and have a deeper connection to the Inn. Chances are I would want to stay at the Inn again and tell other people to stay at the Inn. 
Stories are powerful and should be told whenever and wherever you can.
-Phil Wrzesinski
PS The manager of the Inn attended my Shareworthy Customer Service class last Wednesday. On Thursday morning as I was checking out, she was already researching the stories behind the names. I can’t wait to go back.

Managing Expectations

Have you ever done something for a customer and been disappointed by her reaction?

I mean, something really nice, quite special and unexpected, yet she didn’t respond in kind? She didn’t say thank you or decide to buy more, or promise to bring all her friends back to shop with you?

She didn’t even acknowledge that you did something nice for her.

Now you’re pissed. Now you’re in the back room bitching and moaning about the ungrateful customer. Now you’re griping and complaining about how customers don’t care and are rude and don’t get what you have to sacrifice to be there for them and don’t understand how slanted the playing field is against you and don’t realize what it costs for you to be in business and have no idea what you have done for the community and…

Whew. Working up a sweat back there.

I would hate to be the next customer through the door.

The problem here is one of managing expectations. We need to realizes that unless we tell the customers up front how we expect them to behave, we cannot get upset when they don’t behave the way we expect.

I am not actually suggesting that you tell them how to behave. I’m suggesting you give up your expectations. I’m suggesting you continue to do nice things, special things, unexpected things for your customers every single time but without any expectations in return. I’m suggesting you continue delighting customers whether they acknowledge it, whether they tell you, whether they even seem to care.

Give up the expectation. Just do the right thing. Time and time again.

We all know that customers who have a bad time likely won’t tell you, but they will tell their friends. Why would you think that customers who have a great time might be any different? That customer you bent over backwards for might not tell you how grateful she is, but she’ll tell her friends.

It’s all about managing expectations.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Yes, this even applies to showrooming. I’ll talk more about that in future posts.

A Full Day of Customer Service Training

In a couple of weeks I’m going to Manistee, MI, a beautiful small town on Lake Michigan with an active Main Street DDA program and some lovely shops.

They’ve hired me to spend a few days working with them on Customer Service. When I get to town, I’m going to visit a few stores and ask them about their hopes and dreams, ask them about their challenges, ask them how they define Customer Service.

The following day I’m going to present them all of this…

CORE VALUES
This session will be a workshop where each participant will be led through a process of uncovering the 3-4 Core Values that drive both them and their business.  We will use three different techniques for helping each participant create his or her own Character Diamond.  Depending on time, we will have each person share his/her diamond with the entire class.  We will at least have a few people share so that others can learn from the examples.

Purpose: To create a framework around which every element of Shareworthy Customer Service (SCS) is derived. (thanks, Tim Miles, for the word Shareworthy).

WORD OF MOUTH
This session will illustrate the different ways in which a business can generate Word of Mouth – including Over-the-Top Design, Over-the-Top Service, and Over-the-Top Generosity, Secrets and Surprise.  Participants will be given a number of examples of each, then asked to come up with one form of Generosity/Design and one method of Sharing Secrets that they can easily incorporate into their business.

Purpose: To show what it takes to get customers to actually Share their experiences.

PUTTING CUSTOMERS FIRST
This session will explore a variety of interactions a customer has with a typical (retail) business and talk through the various levels of Customer Service from Weak to WOW

Purpose: To show what it really means to put the customer first, how to delight her, and how to make the experience memorable and share-worthy

TEACHING YOUR STAFF
This session will teach the participants how to plan a training program for teaching their staff everything they are learning today.  The seminar will show them the basics for planning meetings and trainings that the staff will look forward to attending, how to make the information stick, how to prep the staff for meetings/trainings, and how to follow-up after the meeting/training is over.

Purpose: It is one thing to learn it yourself.  It is completely different to be able to teach it to others.  Since most participants will have a staff, this session is to show them how to create staff meetings and trainings that will help them teach this to their frontline workers.

CREATE A TRAINING WORKSHOP
This session will be a hands-on workshop where the participants will split into teams and be given different elements of Customer Service around which they will plan a meeting/training (based on the method learned in the previous session)

Purpose: To put into practice what they have learned both on creating a staff training session and on SCS.  To create camaraderie and bonding.  To have fun.

HIRING AND TRAINING A MASTERPIECE
This session will show the participants how the steps a potter uses to create a work of art can be applied to the hiring and training process, turning your staff into a masterpiece.  The session will include creating a non-teachable traits list for a variety of positions in your company, including some interview questions to help draw out those traits.

Purpose: To illustrate the point that all the training in the world won’t help if you don’t have the right people in place.  To show how to consistently find the right people.  To give the participants a blueprint they can follow for hiring and training.

SHARING YOUR PLANS
After creating their trainings, each group will share their plan with the rest.  After presentations, the plans will be copied/shared for everyone to use with their own teams.

Purpose: To help each participant have a developed plan for teaching SCS to their staff.  To make sure we have taught our points well.  To give a review of everything discussed throughout the day.

Results:  At the end of the day each participant will have…

  • Created a Character Diamond
  • Learned how to generate Word of Mouth
  • Thought up at least two ways to generate Word of Mouth with their business
  • Learned a new definition and way of looking at Customer Service
  • Learned a method for planning Staff Meetings/Trainings That Everyone Wants to Attend
  • Created a training session for one particular element of SCS
  • Received a complete portfolio of training sessions for all elements of SCS
  • Learned a method for consistently hiring and training the right people to implement higher levels of SCS

Yeah, it is going to be a fun, packed day of learning. And when we’re done, Manistee will never be the same.

Would your town be interested in a program like this?

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS If you’re anywhere near the west side of northern, lower peninsula Michigan and want to attend, contact Travis Alden. If they have space available, he might just let you in.

Travis Alden
Director, Manistee Main Street
Downtown Development Authority
231-398-3262
www.manisteedowntown.com

Two Types of Customers (and Other Generalities)

(Warning: there are enough bullets in this post for the Zombie Apocalypse. You may want to save it in your favorites just in case…)

I sat through a webinar today on advertising. The hosts (whose names shall be withheld to protect the ignorant innocent) said there are three types of customers:

  • Frequent (loyal)
  • Infrequent (fickle)
  • New (not yet a customer)

Now I like There-are lists as much as the next person. My current favorite is…

There are three types of people in this world. Those who are good at math and those who aren’t.

Those of you who know me, however, know I believe there are only two types of customers:

  • Transactional
  • Relational.

But this webinar did get me thinking… You could also say there are only these two types of customers:

  • Those who shop with you
  • Those who do not shop with you

And you can break that second group down into three subgroups:

  • Those who do not shop with you because they know you
  • Those who do not shop with you because they think they know you (but don’t)
  • Those who do not shop with you because they don’t know you

And while we’re on this list kick, your customers come from three primary sources:

  • Repeat Traffic
  • Referral Traffic
  • Advertising-driven Traffic

What percentage of each do you think is in your store today?

That last one – Advertising-Driven Traffic – is really only aimed at two people – Those who think they know you and those who don’t know you. What can you tell those people that will change their minds? Go write that ad.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Repeat and Referral business come from Shareworthy Customer Service. If they aren’t the bulk of your business right now, forget about advertising. You got a bigger leak in your boat that needs serious fixing. Start training your staff to delight and WOW your customers. Otherwise the money you spend on advertising will only hasten your demise.