Buzz Builder

I've Stopped Blogging to Focus on Finishing My Book and Where You Can Follow Me in the Meantime

Blog followers have asked me why I'm not posting as much as I have done so in past years. This question deserves a response...

I'm pleased to report that I've been making progress on a book in a parable format about how to form connections that make life better from personal and professional standpoints. I've been thinking about writing this book for years but other activies from wrangling a toddler to blogging have proven to be powerful distractions.

It is clear that I need to let a few things go in order to give my book the focus that it needs to be completed. That's why I'm temporarily discontinuing this blog. On January 1, 2013, I will have completed the book, and I'll reengage as a blogger.

In the meantime, if you want to see what I'm thinking, I encourage you to follow me on Twitter or sign up for The Connector's Way, my new monthly eNewseltter (inaugural article below):

The Buzz Bulletin Is Becoming The Connector's Way

"The only constant in life is change."
Heraclitus (Greek philosopher, 535 BC - 475 BC)

Thank you for being a loyal reader of The Buzz Bulletin. After ten years, I'm changing the name and focus of this eNewsletter to The Connector's Way.

Why? "Buzz" has become a buzz word and its pursuit can be time-consuming and unproductive.

Twitter. Facebook. YouTube. LinkedIn. Tumblr. Pinterest. Instagram. With so many options, social media can distract professionals and companies from forming authentic relationships that lie at the heart of long-term business success. Real-world connections with partners, prospects and customers are what sustain lifelong loyalty and referrals, and these don't often correlate with the number of "likes" on Facebook or "followers" on Twitter.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy posting videos online, "tweeting," blogging and "linking in."  But "old school" techniques for making personal and professional connections still work. The Connector's Way will cover classic and cutting-edge ideas for cultivating connections that lead to better relationships, sales and word of mouth.

"The Meet Department"

While walking near the meat counter at my local grocery store, I heard a voice boom out. "What's up? How are things in the advertising world?" Peeking from above the tall counter was Willie, a diminutive butcher with a megawatt smile.

It had been over a year since I last spoke with Willie about advertising. It was an interesting conversation in which we both agreed that too many companies focus on advertising over customer service.

I told Willie how much his memory impressed me. He laughed. "Well, I'm glad you're impressed. My kids hate it because I use it to remind them to finish their homework before going out."

Willie remembers his conversations with customers because he realizes that it makes them feel important. He knows that this small act helps his store stand apart from its competitors and helps foster loyalty. "After all," he said. "Who doesn't want friendly service and having somebody remember what they like?"

Common sense, right? Yet too many frontline service workers are apathetic, even rude. Grocery stores spend billions of dollars on marketing campaigns to attract new customers and keep old ones coming back. It takes just one unfriendly worker at the butcher or checkout counter to create a negative impression that will keep customers away. (Just ask my wife, who refuses to go to the grocery store nearest to our house because of the negative attitude of the produce people. Considering the price of their organic wares and my daughter's voracious appetite for fruit, they are missing out on a chunk of change!)

Willie is just one member of an outstanding customer service team. His colleagues often ask how my daughter is doing or chat with me about local sports teams they know I follow. While the topics of conversation vary, they make me feel more like a friend than a customer. No wonder I spend so much of our family's grocery budget in their store and recommend it whenever I get the chance.

How do you connect with customers?

In future issues of The Connector's Way, I would like to feature stories and ideas from you and other readers on how you build connections with customers that are a rewarding from personal and professional standpoints. Please call or email me with your suggestions. 

The Power of Pancakes or How to Connect With Customers‏

"Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends." - Walt Disney

Business revelations tend to come when I least expect them. Recently, I had one about the power of connecting with customers while I was eating a stack of pancakes at the Cameo Cafe in Portland, Oregon.

Focus on First Impressions

When I entered the restaurant, it was buzzing with laughter and conversation. Owner Sue Gee dazzled me with her smile and welcome: "I haven't seen you here before. Where are you from?" Before I could answer, she enthused: "You look like you're from New York City!"

When I told her that I was local, she laughed: "Well, I'm still glad you're here."

Gee greeted everybody with similar good humor. Regulars got hugs and shout-outs such as "Great to see you!" and "It has been too long!" Keying off Gee's positive energy, the other servers threw themselves into welcoming customers like they were arriving at a party.

"If you don't have fun at work, life just isn't interesting," Gee told me.

Boost revenues with the addition of an enthusiastic front line staff. Hiring and training people to make a stellar first impression will pay huge dividends.

Make People Feel Special

While I was eating at the counter, Gee and the other servers kept my coffee mug filled while showering me with attention. They asked me three times whether I was enjoying my breakfast. Despite working hard on a very busy day, they bantered with each other and their customers in a fun and relaxed way.

Gee popped by my table and asked me to guess how long she had been in business. "Twenty years!" she exclaimed before I had a chance to answer. "I'm having a party to celebrate in a couple of weeks. It would be great to see you there. Bring the family and enjoy our buttermilk pancakes on the house."

At that moment, Gee made me feel like a long lost relative. A few weeks later, she endeared herself to my daughter by delivering to the table a pancake shaped like Mickey Mouse.

Customer appreciation events don't have to be expensive to yield a high return on investment. Still, their popularity has diminished. You'll stand apart from your competitors when you find creative ways to demonstrate to your customers how much you appreciate them.

Invite Them Back

It was a struggle to get up after downing my gigantic breakfast. As I waddled towards the door, Gee held it open. "Thanks for coming. Promise me that I'll see you at our party or some other time soon!"

As I walked towards my car, I tried to remember the last time a business owner or manager took the time to bid farewell with such gratitude. I couldn't recall a single time that even came close.

Instead of spending huge sums of money trying to attract new customers with clever marketing, focus first on making sure that your existing customers feel appreciated...and that you genuinely look forward to seeing them again.

When you're in Portland, give the Cameo Cafe a try. They'll feed you good food and fill your mind with great ideas on how to connect with your customers.

When Customers Give You Lemons, Make Lemonade

The following is from the April 2012 edition of my Buzz Bulletin eNewsletter (subscribe for free here to get monthly stories, tips and strategies for building your business with word of mouth marketing - I promise that I'll never share your email address)...

Online reviews can make or break a business. To guarantee success, companies must monitor their online reviews closely and react quickly.

Recently, I was referred to a doctor who was interested in hiring a public relations firm to create buzz for her medical practice. Immediately, I did a Google search. Just below the doctor's website was a link to a Yelp page with multiple negative reviews from current and former patients.
  
I always look at Yelp reviews as dispassionately as possible. Disgruntled employees or irrational customers often use opinion websites as a place to lodge unfair or exaggerated grievances. Usually, if a business has 80% to 90% positive reviews, I don't place much stock in the negative ones (unless they are highly specific and come from credible reviewers).

In the case of the referred medical practice, however, a third of the reviews are negative (i.e., one or two stars out of five). Disturbingly, the complaints are quite similar and focus on poor bedside manner and opportunistic billing practices. The unhappy patients are believable since their Yelp profiles indicate that they post more positive reviews than negative reviews.

Instead of hiring a PR firm, the doctor should concentrate on improving her practice. In fact, any business that delivers poor service and/or products should not spend money on PR or any other form of marketing. Money and attention should be used to improve the customer experience which in turn fuels positive word of mouth and sustains long-term profitable growth.

Why? Because word of mouth is more powerful than clever marketing. According to ACNielsen, 78% of people view recommendations from friends and colleagues as more trustworthy than any form of marketing. McKinsey & Company published a report noting that word of mouth is now a "significant influence" on two-thirds of all buying decisions.  

Recent purchases confirm these statistics. I bought two protective screens for my iPhone from RadioShack and neither adhered well. While I would never buy from that manufacturer again, I will go back to Radio Shack since the store clerks were friendly and fast in processing my returns.

I went online to find a better solution. Not surprisingly, I found that Amazon had more user reviews than any other website so that's where I purchased my MediaDevil screen protector which had the highest number of positive reviews in its product category.

Since I'm all thumbs when it comes to installing items that require finesse, my wife Ellen, who follows instructions with an admirable focus, applied the screen protector. Despite using great care, she was unable to apply the screen protector without the formation of annoying air bubbles between the protector and the screen.

After turning to YouTube to watch online tutorials from MediaDevil about how to avoid air bubbles (a brilliant use of online video), she applied the second screen protector perfectly and it is working well.

Shortly after installing the screen protector, I received an email from MediaDevil, something I've never gotten from a vendor selling through Amazon, asking whether I was satisfied with the product and encouraging me to post a review. I wrote back with details concerning the installation experience. Within 12 hours, a company representative responded with an apology and a notification that she had just dropped a replacement in the mail from company headquarters in England. Now that's service!

Having just received not one but two replacement screens from MediaDevil (and a couple of delicious English taffies), I have joined the ranks of hundreds by posting an Amazon review of the company's excellent product and stellar service.

While it's nearly impossible to avoid sour reviews entirely, smart companies are adept at turning those lemons into lemonade to galvanize business success.

Word of Mouth Not Advertising Is the Best Marketing for Verizon's Mobile Services

Last year, when I bought an iPhone 4S, I had to wade through the confusing marketing claims of Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint to choose a carrier. I went with Verizon because my friends with Verizon seemed pleased with their service and didn't have a problem with dropped calls. In contrast, my friends with AT&T had very little good to say about it. One friend in the San Francisco Bay Area even told me, "I love my iPhone except the phone part since almost half my calls are dropped midway through converations."

Unfortuantely, none of the mobile phone carriers do an effective job marketing the features and benefits that they offer. In fact, Verizon is particularly ineffective in its advertisements as this funny Saturday Night Live spoof illustrates (a 15-second commercial precedes the skit):

Building Customer Connections

The following is from the February 2012 edition of my Buzz Bulletin eNewsletter (subscribe for free here to get monthly stories, tips and strategies for building your business with word of mouth marketing - I promise that I'll never share your email address)...

“People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.” - Theodore Roosevelt

Suffering from a cold that just wouldn’t quit, I ripped open a box of Cold-EEZE lozenges. A plain card from Ted Karkus, the company’s CEO, dropped out: “Cold-EEZE really works. I promise! I believe in it so much, I changed my career to run the company. I’d love to hear from you. Get well sooner, Ted.” The note didn’t provide a cure, but it did impress me as an authentic attempt to form a personal connection.

With multiple products and services in nearly every purchasing category, customer loyalty is essential for generating the repeat and referred business that fuels long-term success. While there is no universal formula for building loyalty, customers tend to support companies that care about them and their communities. The following three companies are doing a great job connecting with customers and their tactics can work for many different types of businesses.

Monitoring Satisfaction

How often do the institutions that collect fees from us check to see whether we’re satisfied? Too often, we’re viewed as annuities rather than customers. That’s why the phone call that I get twice a year from GoDaddy, which we use to register and host websites, does much more to cement my loyalty than their multimillion dollar Super Bowl advertisements of questionable taste. I’m always impressed with the friendliness of GoDaddy’s customer service representatives when they ask me whether I’m satisfied and what the company could be doing better to meet my needs.

Supporting the Community

In every Whole Foods, there is a prominent bulletin board or display showing the local organizations that the store supports as well as how many dollars have been raised for each group. These displays often include pictures of Whole Foods employees engaged in volunteer activities or thank you letters from those who have benefited. While many companies contribute generously to their communities, too few share what they’re doing effectively. The scope and quality of Whole Foods’ local giving is well-articulated on its website.

Rewarding Supporters

Too many businesses fail to recognize customers who refer their friends and colleagues. Those that do, stand apart. Recently, my wife and I enjoyed a terrific night out at a local restaurant with great food, wine and music. We were there with approximately 100 other people who had referred business to the Dennison Capen Group, a thriving real estate practice in Portland, Oregon. While the cost of the dinner was significant, the goodwill it generated will surely translate into referrals (in fact, the dinner prompted me to make a referral that I might have otherwise forgotten about!).

There are as many ways to build customer connections as there are different types of businesses. The key to success is to find a few ways that resonate with your customer base and stick with them to maximize results.

Growing Customers for Life

The following is from the January 2012 edition of my Buzz Bulletin eNewsletter (subscribe for free here to get monthly stories, tips and strategies for building your business with word of mouth marketing - I promise that I'll never share your email address)...

“If you treat people right they will treat you right - ninety percent of the time,” 
Franklin D. Roosevelt

Do you negotiate on an annual basis with your phone, Internet, cable and other service providers? If not, you’re probably paying more than you should. You are also missing out on a valuable lesson in how not to cultivate loyalty. 

Last week, I called our longtime phone and Internet provider to see whether I could lower my monthly bill since the promotional rate I negotiated last January was due to expire. Only after insisting on speaking to a higher-level customer care representative did I learn about a new promotion that will save me $40 per month.

Initially, I felt a thrill that my negotiating prowess had saved me nearly $500/year. Then, I was annoyed. Why should I (or any other loyal customer) have to be so aggressive to save money? Why didn’t the company automatically offer me the best possible deal?

In his excellent book The Ultimate Question (a new revised edition came out in September 2011), Fred Reichheld described bad profits as those generated when companies realize short term financial gain that jeopardizes customer goodwill. Clearly, this is the case of service providers that rely on uninformed and/or busy consumers to not find the best possible deal.

Yet, when consumers discover that they’ve been paying too much (and many will, thanks to the Internet), they feel burned and start looking for alternatives. It’s hardly surprising that people switch phone, Internet and cable providers with great frequency.

Companies that do right by their customers stand to win tremendous loyalty and referrals. If you have long-term customers who might be interested in a new deal or service, don’t wait for them to find out on their own. Extend a special invitation and let them be the first to benefit.

You may find that what you offer is far less important than how it is offered. Last summer, I went to the car wash and the clerk told me that he was going to wash my car for free. Surprised, I asked why and learned that I had washed my car nine times and the company always offered a free tenth wash. Even better, they were tracking my car washes automatically.

How can you surprise and delight your loyal customers with offers they don’t expect? Pull it off and you’ll not only ensure their loyalty but also guarantee that people will be talking about what a great business you operate.

Does Marketing Trump Sales Training for Companies Seeking Sales Growth?

I will be recording a video discussion with Anthony Miller, founder of Guru Sales Training, about whether marketing or sales training is more important for companies seeking sales growth. Before meeting with Anthony, I’m using this post to share my initial thoughts and I hope to hear what you think so I can refine my points.

To be clear, I value sales training. Every company I worked for offered training of some sort—and I always signed up because I had a lot to learn. For many years, I thought that selling was an ability that some people had and others didn’t. I didn’t think that being a good salesperson was something that could be learned. But once I learned from sales training to think about selling as a process, I started to manage my efforts and saw my sales increase dramatically while feeling much less pressure.

Having thus benefited from sales training, I am the last person to denigrate its value. As far as driving revenue, however, marketing trumps sales training for many reasons. Here are my top three:

Opportunity

Before the Internet, buying choices were simpler. Whether we wanted a book, an airline ticket, an insurance policy or practically any other product or service, most of us knew where to go. If we wanted to expand the universe of possibilities, we turned to the Yellow Pages (a book that most people under 30 probably never open and are more likely to use as door stop).

With fewer shopping choices, the differentiator between successful and failing companies was often the ability to turn sales opportunities into actual purchases. Today, in contrast, we live in a world with many options. Buyers are one computer click away from discovering hundreds if not thousands of sellers offering the same or comparable products or services. The best sales people in the world will not be successful if their companies fail to break through the commercial clutter and attract prospects and past customers with effective marketing campaigns.

Credibility

Do you like having a sales person try to sell you something? Many people, myself included, are inherently suspicious when sales people tries extol the features and benefits of a certain product or service over others since we believe that they will say anything to close a sale.

In contrast, good marketing, such as a well-written, clearly organized, search engine optimized website with lots of third party veracity (i.e., positive press and client testimonials), provides us with valuable information that we can utilize to make an informed buying decision without any sales pressure.

Quality

As a salesperson, my pet peeve was spending time with somebody who was a poor prospect. Every day, millions of salespeople worldwide are expected to pitch their products or services to people who aren’t viable buyers. While some of these pitches will work due to the law of averages and tenacity, there is a lot of sales effort wasted on people who are unlikely to buy.

Successful companies take time to study their customers’ interests and behaviors and create products, services, and marketing that fulfills these needs. There is nothing better for creating a steady stream of outstanding prospects than excellent products and services which are communicated clearly in the right marketing channels.

Do you feel that marketing trumps sales training for companies seeking growth? If so, do you agree with my reasons or do you have others? Alternatively, if you don’t agree, please let me know so I can shore up my arguments before recording the video with Anthony that I’ll post to this blog.

Finding a Suit and Discovering Customer Service Best Practices at the Nordstrom Half Yearly Sale for Men

In my typical flurry of New Year’s resolutions, I decided to upgrade my look so I invited my wife Ellen on a mission to find a new suit at the flagship Nordstrom store in downtown Portland, Oregon running its Half Yearly Sale for Men. I wasn’t the only who made this resolution as the men’s department was packed.

After wandering about for ten minutes without even hearing a single “hello,” I finally located a salesperson and requested assistance in finding a two-piece suit that could accommodate my extra long arms. While he answered my questions directly, he didn’t give me reason to hope that I would find a suit in my size. I left the store feeling especially disappointed as I had a lot of luck at past Nordstrom sales and I was surprised that I couldn’t find anything in my size.

However, with the power of a freshly-made resolution coursing through my veins, I couldn’t give up the search. I cajoled Ellen to accompany me to Portland’s Lloyd Center Nordstrom to see whether I would fare better – a good call since I had a completely different experience which landed me great clothes and a valuable customer service lesson.

At the Lloyd Center Nordstrom’s, three people in the men’s department greeted us promptly in a friendly yet non-pushy manner. We requested time to look around and this was honored. When we asked a salesperson for help to find a navy blue two-piece suit, he suggested that we consider a charcoal gray one since it could serve me better in formal and non-formal uses and he thought the color would go better with my skin tone. He was right – the suit looked great. And, he reassured me that it could be altered to fit my frame. 

As the tailor measured me for alterations, Ellen recommended shirts that might go well with the suit. She said that I should consider a trimmer cut in a color (purple) that I never seriously thought about because my grandmother had loved dressing in it from head to toe as often as possible.

The salesperson, who certainly heard our conversation, suddenly appeared holding three dress shirts with purple elements. To my surprise, I actually liked two of them. The store didn’t have either model in the extra-long size I needed but the salesperson called around to other stores until he found my size while we waited. Then, he arranged to have the shirts shipped directly to our house at no additional charge.

Now, one suit and two shirts later, my confidence in Nordstrom as a place for quality goods and great service has been restored. However, if I had given in to my initial inclination to give up on the brand after my disappointing experience in the first store I visited, I’m sure that a lot of time would have passed before I shopped at Nordstrom again – especially since I’m moving to more online shopping.

Special sales and offers are effective at attracting past customer and prospects; however, they don’t guarantee success. The key is to have well-trained employees with friendly attitudes who treat buyers well and show them how to find what they want even if it means doing little things like tracking down shirts to fit a guy with excessively long arms.

 

A Simple Recipe for Business Success in 2012

The following is from the December 2011 edition of my Buzz Bulletin eNewsletter (subscribe for free here to get monthly stories, tips and strategies for building your business with word of mouth marketing - I promise that I'll never share your email address)...

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that  the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." - John F. Kennedy

Have you demonstrated to your customers how much you appreciate them?

This time of year, it's typical to develop plans to attract new clients to meet your growth objectives. Yet evidence suggests that focusing on those who have made you successful will have a bigger payback.

The American Society for Quality found that businesses are simply not serving their customers adequately as reflected in a survey about why individuals and companies stop purchasing from a particular provider: 

• 1% die
• 3% move away
• 9% switch to competitors
• 14% leave due to dissatisfaction with a product or service
• 68% quit because of a perceived attitude of indifference

The 68% figure jumps out due to its enormity and how easily it can be avoided. For many businesses, simply doing the job for which it was hired is enough to keep most customers satisfied. 

But why stop with providing the minimum acceptable level of service? Companies that commit to the good care of their customers and partners will not only retain their current customer base but also expand through positive word of mouth.  

In the words of football great and accomplished businessman Roger Staubach, "There are no traffic jams along the extra mile." 

November and December is a time when companies send out holiday cards thanking customers. It is equally important to demonstrate gratitude to those who support your business throughout the year.  

As I write this on a cold day, I'm keeping warm with a fleece jacket that I received from OCSC Sailing, the country's largest single-location sailing school and our client for the past five years. I love that the words "Team Member" are written underneath the OCSC Sailing logo on the front. This year we landed outstanding publicity for OCSC Sailing in both mainstream and social media, and it feels wonderful to have our efforts recognized.  

OCSC Sailing's example has inspired me to reach out to our clients with greater consistency to let them know how important they are and how much we value and appreciate their business. The feedback that I receive in return is uplifting and motivates me to provide even a higher level of service.  

With the support of your satisfied customers and those who will rave about you, may you have much success in 2012!

Garbage Company Executive Picks Up After His Driver's Mess and Generates Goodwill

Poor service is the principal driver of negative word of mouth. However, companies can turn a detractor into a promoter with simple words said with sincerity at the right time. The following guest post from Ellen Galvin, my wife, business partner, and author/writer illustrates this point beautifully.

By Ellen Galvin

Sixteen. That’s the average number of people a customer will tell about a bad experience, according to American Express. Personally, I think that number is low. Once a business has gone out of its way to lose my trust, I’m not shy about voicing my displeasure.

That said, I do believe in giving a business an opportunity to address the problem at hand. We all have bad days—days when our technology crashes, the weather doesn’t cooperate, an employee wakes up on the wrong side of the bed. But it is how a company addresses the problem that determines whether customers speak positively or negatively about the experience.

Take our local waste management company. We’ve been on Portland Disposal & Recycling’s residential route for seven years. While I’m not thrilled about the rate hikes, I’ve been about as happy as a garbage customer can be.

That is, until a few weeks ago when a surly new driver roared up the street. I knew right away he was not digging his job—and so could my 3 year-old daughter, who has decided it is her duty to identify grouchy people and make them smile.

“Hello, Mister Garbage Man!”

“How are you?”

“I’m over here!”

“Thank you for taking our trash!” she yelled loudly, from the front porch.

The response? Silence. After making eye contact, the driver added further insult to injury by slapping a red tag on the can to identify it as overweight (which was funny, since I had carried it to the curb myself. In fact, it was lighter than it had been in weeks thanks to a new recycling initiative by the City of Portland).

The red tag, I could live with. But dismissing a three year old who still believes in the magic of garbage trucks? Please.

I went inside and typed up a letter which, I concur, sounds old-fashioned. But again, I believe in giving a business a fair chance to make things right—which does not include slamming them on social media in the heat of the moment.

Two weeks later, the owner/manager of the company called me to apologize and explain what had happened. He didn’t make excuses and he didn’t deny the problem. He wasn’t in a hurry to get me off the phone, either. Instead, he acknowledged that the changeover to the city’s new recycling program had been a difficult one for his company and its 34,000 residential customers. Drivers had been forced to change routes and learn new procedures. Everyone was stressed, and I was not the only customer who had complained.

And, although the company owner said that he had already had a talk with his driver, he acknowledged that there was more training to do.

Then, he said what too few companies say: “Customer service is everything to us. It’s all that we can do. I will see to it that our drivers are better ambassadors of our company.”

His response reminded me that any company—even one that collects trash—can deal with customer complaints in a classy manner that instills loyalty and generates positive word of mouth.