D-6 Does Not Work

Posted on by Scott

This afternoon I made a trip to the office vending machine for a little chocolate fix. I tend to go for Snickers, occasionally opting for Twix. If chocolate doesn’t feel right, I’ll go with a PayDay. Well, as you can see from the picture, an earlier visitor had gone looking for their favorite snack and left disappointed. So they left a note. “D-6 does not work” They even dated it 11-27.

Instantly, I felt a wave of panic. “Oh no, what if D-6 holds the Snickers? I’ve got to have my Snickers!” It turns out slot D-6 holds salty peanuts. There were plenty of peanut bags in the slot, so I imagine the issue is mechanical. Lucky, Snickers are in slot D-0. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Dropping my quarters into the coin slot, I began to feel sympathy pains for my unfortunate co-snacker. I’ve been in their shoes plenty of times. You probably have too. Remember?

It’s mid-afternoon and you’re sitting at your desk when the craving kicks in. “I need something sweet,” you think. “Just a little something to take the edge off and tide me over until dinner.” You check your pockets to make sure you have change. And on your way to the vending machine, your mind settles on a choice.

Then you arrive only to find that the machine is out of order. Or your number choice is all emptied out. Or the machine keeps spitting your crumpled dollar bill back out at you. Or, occasionally, the worst fate of all. Your selection gets hung up. It dangles there – resistant to any amount of machine shaking – until you cough up another round of payment.

A trip to the vending machine encompasses the myriad range of emotions a customer can feel when interacting with any business. These emotions can be broken into three distinct phases of the interaction.

Initially, there’s the lead-up. This phase involves everything that happens prior to the actual interaction. In the case of a vending machine visit, there’s the craving for somethign sweet, the frantic search for spare change and the eventual settling of the mind on a desired product.

Next comes the actual interaction. In the case of my frustrated co-worker, I imagine emotions such as surprise and confusion came into play as their preferred selection proved to be unavailable.

Finally, there’s the post-interaction phase. Walking away from the vending machine, you might feel satisfaction or even elation (like when someone else leaves their change in or an extra candy bar drops into the bin). Of course my coworker felt dissatisfied, frustrated and possibly even angry.

It may seem like a small thing, but empathizing with a person’s emotional state as they interact with your business is an important part of designing a superior customer experience. The key is imagine the emotions you want the customer to feel at each stage and then put strategies in place to ensure they encounter a scenario in which those emotions come into play. You also need to imagine the emotions you don’t want a customer to feel and design processes that keep them from evolving.

Were I a vending machine owner, I would want my customers to feel satisfied with not only their purchase, but their experience. I would not want them to feel frustrated or angry. Therefore I would design processes to ensure the best emotions come into play and reinforce their decision to visit my machine. After all, I’d love for them to come back day after day.

Here are a couple of things I might do to ensure the best emotions were felt by users of my vending machine.
• I’d keep track of inventory to know how often I needed to restock to ensure everyone’s favorites were available when they wanted them.
• I’d check the mechanics of each button frequently to make sure delivery was actually taking place.
• I’d post a note letting users know how to get their money back in case of a malfunction.
• I might even run periodic “sales” by discounting certain products to provide an element of surprise every now and then.

All of this ran through my head in the seconds it took for my coins to fall into the machine. I pressed D-0 and the machine’s display instructed me to try another selection. Uh, oh. I tried again thinking perhaps I’d accidentally hit two buttons at once with the same result. So I tried D-1 (Peanut M&M’s), D-2 (Twix) and D-3 (Plain M&M’s) all with the same result. The entire D section is out of commission.

Frustrated and still hungry, I decided to punt. I pressed E-4 and a PayDay dropped down. I walked away an unhappy customer.

What emotions do your customers feel as they anticipate interacting with you? What about during or after the interaction?

What emotions would you like for them to feel?

What steps will you take to ensure your customers feel the emotions necessary to reinforce their buying decision?

The Magic of Experience

Posted on by Scott

In 1966 Walt Disney quietly began buying up swampland in central Florida. Today, millions of people every year travel from all over the world to visit that swampland – and they pay a premium to do it. Ask your kids where they want to go on vacation and odds are Disney World makes the short list.

Disney World doesn’t have the most thrilling rides. It doesn’t have the tastiest food. It doesn’t have the most convenient location. And it sure doesn’t have the lowest price tag. So why is it that 70% of the guests in the park at any given time are repeat visitors? Why is the average family willing to save for two and a half years to make the trip?

Walt Disney knew that in order to build the best theme park, he couldn’t compete the same way the other guys do. He knew that if he built a great new ride, someone else would just build a better one. If he lowered his price, the competition would simply lower theirs to stay on the game. Disney knew that these strategies were expensive and ineffective.

Disney knew that the only way to win was to provide an experience unlike any other park – an experience so engaging it could only be described as “magical.” And so Disney World remains the ultimate example of customer experience. Their culture revolves around this goal. Let,me give you a couple of examples:

– Disney cast members never say “I” or “they.” They always refer to “we” because the team as a whole is responsible for the customer’s experience.

– Street sweepers receive a minimum of 2 weeks training – not to learn how to use a broom,mbut to learn about the park – where an attractions located, the start time of the parade, etc. – so they can quickly answer a guest’s question.

– High traffic areas are painted every night, with painting timed carefully to dry by morning, so they remain clean and fresh for every guest.

– Everyone’s job description, regardless of position, includes the same two items at the top of the list:

1. Keep the property clean.
2. Create happiness.

Disney challenged his employees to examine every aspect of the customer experience and do what they could to make it better. He knew that it would take the entire team, working together, to make the “Magic Kingdom” a reality.

Now consider your last customer’s experience. Was it “magical” or forgettable?

How can your team work together to create a better experience for your customers?

And what can you do differently as an individual to create some magic for those you serve?

A Matter of Ownership

Posted on by Scott

My wife Susan recently shared a sad customer service experience with me. She and my oldest son Andrew were in the middle of a full-days’ worth of appointments. They realized that in order to have anything to eat before dinner, they would have to pick up something and eat on the run. Spying a fast food chain nearby, they pulled into the driveway. Susan ran into the restroom while Andrew approached the empty counter to place their order.

Well, my wife came out and Andrew was still standing at the counter. No one had taken his order. No one had even acknowledged him standing there. They waited for a few more minutes, watching as employees busied themselves with cleaning, stocking and other chores. Finally, they turned and walked out of the restaurant.

Most organizations say they put the customer at the center of everything they do. But when you experience the service provided by the average business, you see this just isn’t the case. In all honesty, most businesses enact processes and policies designed to maximize their convenience, not the customer’s. Why is there such a disparity between what’s promised and what actually takes place?

Part of the problem is a lack of ownership.

Ownership involves seeing your job and the service you provide from the outside and taking personal responsibility for the satisfaction of your customer. It means putting someone else’s needs and satisfaction before your own. Ownership occurs when you take on someone else’s burden as if it were your own. You quite literally own it.

Ownership is at the heart of customer service. When ownership is present, customers see you as an advocate or a partner. They want to do more business with you. When ownership is missing, customers want to leave and never come back.

Identifying a lack of ownership is easy.

Ever contacted a business with an issue only to be transferred around several times? That’s a lack of ownership.

Ever left a voicemail for a coworker without receiving a return call? That’s a lack of ownership.

Ever left a place of business because no one acknowledged your presence, or asked to help you? Needless to say, that’s a lack of ownership.

Ownership is both an individual trait and part of an organization’s culture. Effective leaders know the value of ownership and cultivate it in their organization. So how do you build a culture of ownership? Start by asking yourself these three questions:

What does ownership look like in my organization, department or job?

What policies and procedures do we have in place that prevent people from taking ownership?

What can I do today to model the concept of ownership to my team?

The Yin & Yang of Sales & Service

Posted on by Scott

Wells Fargo made headlines this week after bank analyst Dick Bove went on record regarding a series of frustrating experiences. After wrangling with the bank for months, Bove finally concluded that they are only interested in “seeking new customers and selling them more products and not getting bogged down by offering service.”

A Wells Fargo spokesperson downplayed the issue by citing an ambiguous customer satisfaction number. But having worked in the banking business for several years, I’ve heard many reports from former Wells Fargo employees about the heavy-handed sales management tactics that force employees to shortcut service for the sake of meeting their sales quota. This story illustrates the often contentious relationship between sales and service. Many believe that the ideas work in opposition – that selling and providing good service can’t be achieved simultaneously.

As a sales manager, I believe strongly in having clearly defined goals. But service does not have to be sacrificed in order to achieve sales targets. Here are three tips to make the marriage between sales and service work.

1. Focus on service. Nobody likes being sold to, and selling is an aspect of business that is hard for many employees to get comfortable with. So when the focus of an interaction is on selling something, nobody walks away feeling good about it. But service is different. Customers want help. They want someone who’s on their side – working to help solve their problem.

And most employees naturally want to be of service. Helping people feels good. It just so happens that helping a customer often includes educating them about a product or service that they don’t have. When viewed as part of customer service, selling becomes easy.

2. Set sales goals with the customer in mind. When you set sales quotas for specific products, it pressures employees to sell customers things they don’t need. For example, setting a goal of 10 credit card applications a day for a banker can cause them to feel as if they have to shove an application in front of every customer they meet, even if a credit card is not right for them. This is not customer-focused selling.

Rather, set goals that give the employee leeway in what products are offered to each customer. Train them to engage the customer in a conversation about their needs and drams in order to uncover products that help move them closer to their own financial goals. Focus on helping the customer reach their goals and you’ll reach yours.

3. Remember when not to sell. Selling is important, but not at the risk of offending, and potentially driving away, your customer. There are times when selling is not appropriate. For example:

  • Your company has made a mistake that has caused the customer inconvenience.
  • The customer is distracted, agitated or in a hurry.
  • The customer has waited an abnormally long period of time for service.
  • Any situation in which you would not appreciate a sales pitch.

Selling is an important part of the growth process for an organization. But so is service. Try viewing the concepts of sales and service as complementary, rather than opposing parts of the customer experience and you’ll achieve sales and service harmony.

Passing the Baton

Posted on by Scott

Coming into the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, the American 4X100 relay teams seemed like a lock to win gold. The women’s team had recently posted the best time of the year and had their eyes set on a new world record. The men’s team boasted some of the fastest 100 meter sprinters in the world. In the end, though both teams came up short. The men finished second. The women didn’t even finish the race.

The deciding factor in both races? A botched hand-off. You see, in relay racing, passing the baton is everything. A smooth hand-off takes timing, skill and communication between the runners. A smooth hand-off helps maintain speed as one runner takes over for another. The slightest hiccup can be costly.

The men’s team was certainly faster than their competition. But they hadn’t practiced passing the baton and didn’t communicate well. The poorly executed hand-off put them in third place going into the anchor leg. Maurice Greene ran an incredible lap, quickly moving into second place. He was about to pass the leader but ran out of track. Britain’s team beat the United States men by one one-hundredth of a second.

The women’s relay team took three attempts to pass the baton following the race’s second leg. By the time they got it right, they were outside the allowed hand-off zone and were immediately disqualified. They could only watch in tears as the other three teams finished the race without them.

Four years later, the USA teams looked poised for a huge comeback. But apparently neither had learned their lesson. Amazingly, both the men’s and women’s 4×100 relay teams not only failed to pass the baton, but actually dropped it. Once again, they’d underestimated the importance of the handoff.

Now think about your team. How well do they pass the baton?

I’ll bet you have some star players on your team. But it doesn’t matter how much talent you have on board if the hand-offs aren’t smooth. Do you lose sales because of poor communication between front-line and support staff? Do your customers get frustrated because their issue takes too long to resolve? Do projects get stalled because someone doesn’t know when to let go of or accept the baton? Does the competition seem to beat you in spite of inferior talent or products?

Here are three steps for improving your hand-offs:

1. Identify the hand-offs that are critical to your business.
Ask yourself (better yet, ask your team) these questions:
~ Where does the sales/service delivery process most often get stuck?
~ What are the biggest sources of customer frustration?
~ Why does it take so long to get ______ done?

2. Determine the best way to execute them.
~ Map out the process as it exists today.
~ Zero in on the steps that cause the delay/breakdown/frustration.
~ Map out a new process to eliminate/improve the problem area.

3. Practice, practice, practice.
~ Communicate clearly how hand-offs are to be conducted.
~ Make sure every player on the team understands their role in the process.
~ Hold team members accountable for executing the process as communicated.

Everyone wants to be on a winning team. Your customers are no different. Make perfecting hand-offs part of your game plan and they’ll reward you with a gold medal.

Leadership Lessons from Paul Revere

Posted on by Scott

“Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere…”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

It was 237 years ago today that Paul Revere mounted his horse and took the ride that made him famous. For years, the American colonists had been trying to shrug off the rules and heavy taxes imposed by the British. Thanks to incidents such as the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party, tensions between the American militia and British occupational forces had reached a boiling point. Revere and other members of the “Mechanics” served as couriers, relaying information between leaders of the American resistance in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New York.

Revere and his colleagues kept careful watch over the movements of the British, looking for signs that further oppression, in the form of military action, was imminent. When word came that British troops were advancing from Boston to Lexington with the intent of arresting John Hancock and Samuel Adams, Revere was sent to spread the word – alerting the colonial militias along the way. The ride was successful and set the stage for the American Revolution.

The success of Paul Revere’s mission hinged on the ability to communicate quickly and effectively in a time of crisis. Sound familiar? In today’s business environment, where news travels around the world in an instant, timely and effective communication is critical. Here are three lessons in communication I feel we can learn from this historic event.

1. Be prepared to communicate. The time to plan your communication strategy is before a crisis hits, not in the heat of the moment. Revere and others had been watching the British for some time. They knew their own vulnerabilities and spent some time thinking like the enemy. By anticipating likely scenarios, they were able to develop response plans – including what and how to communicate.

Several months earlier, the colonists had been caught by surprise when British soldiers marched on the Powder House, removing a cache of gunpowder. The reaction was widespread panic and leaders established a series of communication strategies to prevent this type of unanticipated movement from happening again. When the time came to act, Revere and his companions knew exactly what to do. No time was wasted figuring out what needed to be said or who would deliver the message. Everything had been determined in advance.

2. Keep the message simple. Popular belief holds that Revere rode through the countryside shouting “the British are coming!” While this is false (British troops were everywhere and secrecy was critical to ensure the message reached as many people as possible), his actual message was just as simple. Going door-to-door, Revere and the other riders passed the message “The Regulars are coming out.”

This simple message conveyed everything a local militiaman needed to know. The British troops – Regulars – were on the move. Gather your weapons and prepare to defend your family, your land, and your property. The simplicity of the message also meant that it could easily be passed from town to town. A more complicated description of the British movements could easily have been confused resulting in misinformation and disorganization.

3. Plan multiple ways to communicate. Boston was the hotbed of British activity. Revere knew that, should events escalate quickly, he might not be able to escape the city to pass the word along. So another rider, William Dawes, also carried the message; leaving Boston by a different route. Having more than one communicator increased the chances that the message would get through. And should both manage to deliver their message, as was the case, communication would be achieved even more rapidly.

In addition, Revere also planned for an alternate method of communication should no one be able to leave Boston. He had arranged for a simple set of signals to alert the “Sons of Liberty” located across the Charles River to any British movement. He knew that the troops would either advance “by land,” marching to the west and then north toward Lexington, or “by sea,” crossing the Charles River in order to shorten their march. Once the British intentions became clear, Revere ordered two lanterns hung in the bell-tower of Christ Church in Boston.

Effective communication is difficult under any circumstance. Communicating in a time of crisis, when others are counting on swift and accurate information is even harder. But by preparing in advance, you can be ready to meet the challenge – just like Paul Revere.

A Comeback Story: How to Bounce Back From Service Defects

Posted on by Scott

Last night, my alma mater, Western Kentucky University, played in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Hilltoppers played Mississippi Valley State for the 16th seed in their bracket and a chance to face Kentucky in the second round.

By all accounts, it was an ugly game. With 28 turnovers and 30% shooting, WKU played the part of a losing team – right up until the final five minutes. That’s when the comeback happened. Down 16 points, the team managed to rally and came away with a 59-58 win.

Comeback wins are exciting to see. While it’s stressful to see your team fall apart, the thrill you get watching them pull it back together is priceless. Comebacks happen in business too. Whether the breakdown occurs with a single customer or is widespread, a well executed recovery can make things right. In fact, research has shown that a customer who experiences a problem, but has that issue resolved to their satisfaction, becomes more loyal than someone who never experiences a problem in the first place.

Here are a few tips to help you pull off a come-from-behind win.

1. Apologize. Occasionally I run into self professed “experts” who claim you should never apologize to a customer. They say that admitting you are wrong leads to concessions and a customer base that takes advantage ot you. Apologizing, they say, shows weakness and hurts your place in the competitive landscape.

What a bunch of malarky. When you screw up, the customer knows you screwed up. Refusing to apologize doesn’t hide the fact that something went wrong. Saying your sorry simply communicates that you acknowledge the error. It allows you to move from stating the problem to solving it. When you dismiss the issue (or worse, try to spin it as the customer’s fault), you show that you are out of touch have no concern for the value your customer is supposed to be receiving from their relationship with you. Apologizing doesn’t make you look weak; it shows you care.

2. Acknowledge the impact. Have you ever had someone who keeps explaining the problem even after you’ve apologized for it? That’s an indication that you haven’t properly shown enough empathy. In order for you to move the conversation past the customer’s frustration and into an agreeable resolution, you have to demonstrate your understanding of the extent to which the problem affects them.

Vocalize one or two of the impacts this issue will have on your customer’s time, finances, reputation or family. This gives your apology some meat and aligns you with the customer so that you can start working together again. You can;t start down the road toward a resolution until you’re both on the same page.

3. Explain what happened. There’s a tendency when resolving a customer’s issue to move directly from issue identification to problem solving. But customers want to know that we recognize the root cause. They want to see that we’ve determined the gap in the process that caused the breakdown. Otherwise, they may assume that we’ve simply applied a band-aid solution to a much bigger problem. There’s no confidence that the issue won’t arise again in the future.

I’m not advocating that you engage in a mole hunt or start blaming other departments in fron tof your customer. That shows a fractured organization – one that is likely to encounter additional problems. But a simple explanation of the underlying events that led to the issue can show your customer that you’ve done your due diligence and start to restore their confidence.

4. Agree on a solution. It’s important that you communicate with the customer in a way that allows them to agree to the course of action being taken to resolve the problem. Even if your response is painfully clear, you still need to ask for their agreement.

Customers often feel out of control when they bring a problem to your attention. They feel victimized. Asking for their agreement to a solution restores a measure of control. It also positions you as a partner rather than an adversary.

5. Thank them for bringing the issue to your attention. A customer who alerts you to a problem is doing you a favor. Most of them grumble, walk away and take their business elsewhere – never giving you the opportunity to salvage the relationship. To make matters worse, they start to tell their friends about the rotten service your company has provided. Your reputation is taking hit after hit and you still don;t even know there was a problem.

When a customer tells you about a gap in your service, consider it a gift. And since every gift deserves a “thank you,” give them one. Let your customer know how much you appreciate the fact that they brought this problem to your attention so that it can be addressed. Let them know how other customers will benefit thanks to their action. Let them know how much you value their business.

Even the best organizations have bad days. Problems are bound to arise. Service stumbles happen. But if handled properly, the realationships involved can be strengthened as a result. Oh, and Go Hilltoppers!

Bad Passes & Missed Free-throws: Mistakes That Can Cost You the Game (And How To Avoid Them)

Posted on by Scott

Basketball has long been my favorite sport. Although I never played organized ball, I’ve always been drawn to the fast pace, the feats of athleticism and the drama of a close game. Of course, having a high-schooler on the local basketball team probably has something to do with it too.

I’m always amazed at how many games are won by the wrong team. By that I mean that the better team, at least according to the stats (and conventional wisdom), loses. How is it that the teams with all the talent, the best coaching, and the home crowd so often come up short – hanging their heads while the underdogs celebrate?

Usually, when a championship calibre team suffers a defeat, it’s not because of some sudden explosion of talent from the other bench. Rather, it comes down to fundamentals – basics of the game that don’t receive much attention until a failure to execute them results in disaster. There are certain aspects of the game that can spell ruin for even the greatest team – whether its on the basketball court or in business. Here are three problems to watch out for, and how to avoid them.

1. Bad passes. The handoff between departments is an important part of handling any customer interaction. Whether its transferring a customer call, or the movement of documents from one area of responsibility to another, great care should be taken to ensure that “passing the ball” is handled properly. Nothing is more frustrating to a customer than to see great service suddenly go bad because someone dropped the ball.

How to avoid this problem:
– Identify your danger zones – steps where the ball is passed from one person or department to another. Engaging in some simple process mapping will force these into the open.

– Develop strategies to ensure tasks (and customers) crossing through the danger zone don’t fall through the cracks. Implement checklists, notification systems or other accountability measures to make sure important items aren’t missed and customer confidence is maintained.

– Once your new process is established, communicate its importance, making sure to emphasize how each individual contributes to the success of the team. Train everyone involved. Conduct skill drills and role plays to make sure they understand how the work is supposed to flow. Don’t forget new employees. Don’t let a service breakdown be their introduction to the desired process.

– Review the process regularly to make sure it reflects any changes to technology, regulations or customer expectations.

2. Missed free-throws. Free-throws are those easy-to-get-right transactions and activities that occur every day; things like getting the order right, showing up on time, and returning a phone call when you said you would. Customers expect you to get the little things right. Take care to hit the mark on the easy stuff and they’re more likely to trust you when it comes time for something involving a greater degree of risk. But fail to execute on the simple things and your credibility will suffer.

How to avoid this problem:
– Set expectations you know are attainable, not ones you think you can meet. Give yourself some wiggle room. Leave plenty of room for appointments to run long rather than shoe-horning meetings into every available bit of free time. If you think you can get an answer by lunch, tell your customer you’ll call them by the end of the day.

– Develop systems to make success almost guaranteed. Use your calendar to schedule return phone calls and set an alert so you won’t miss it. Design quality checks into the order-filling process so that you can deliver with confidence. Prepare back-up systems so that customers aren’t left in limbo because the one person who can help them came down with the flu.

3. Failure to rebound. Problems happen. Despite your best efforts, you will miss the mark occassionally. So, being ready to bounce back from a miss is critical. When service issues arise, your ability to rebound can turn a customer whose faith has been shaken into an advocate for life. In fact, research has shown that a customer who has experienced a problem, and has subsequently seen that problem resolved to their satisfaction, is more loyal than one who has never experienced a problem to begin with. Customers understand that mishaps occur; but they expect you to respond appropriately.

How to avoid this problem:
– Identify where service breakdowns are most likely to occur. Every business has them. You should know what your’s are. If you don’t, ask a few customers. They’ll tell you where you fall short.

– Develop automatic rebound strategies for these issues. Specify an appropriate response to each service issue. When problem “A” happens, we respond with solution “B.” When “X” occurs, we do “Y.”

– Train your employees and empower them to execute the strategies you’ve developed. If you’re smart, you included them in both the problem identification and solution development phases, so adoption should be easy. People are more likely to buy into solutions they helped develop.

Too many times, we focus on our newest product roll-out, the latest store remodel or the shiny new technology; when all our customers want is for us to execute on the little things that affect them most. Invest the time and effort necessary to shore up these base-level expectations and you’ll create a foundation of trust upon which to highlight your organization’s product or service.

From Problem to Promise: Taking Advantage of Hidden Oportunities

Posted on by Scott

I just returned from a three day business trip to San Antonio. The Alamo is the number one tourist attraction in Texas, drawing over 4 million visitors, including me, every year. But it’s the city’s number two attraction – the River Walk – that always captures my attention. What started out as a problem area became a major economic benefit.

The San Antonio River loops through downtown. When a horrible flood claimed fifty lives in 1921, plans were drawn up for a flood control system to help divert water away from the area. The downtown loop would be paved over as a storm sewer. As work began on the flood control channel, a new idea for the downtown bend was proposed. Rather than covering up the river, the new plan called for highlighting it. The new, safer loop of the river would be surrounded by shops and restaurants ushering in a wave of commercial development and tourism.

Today, an expanded River Walk is the home of numerous hotels and specialty shops. Thousands of people each day take a ride on a River Walk Taxi or Cruise Barge. And numerous conferences and events take place there year-round.

I love how this problem wasn’t just fixed, but turned into a competitive advantage. As I thought about this turnaround, I was reminded of other cases where opportunity rose from frustration.

My favorite examples of this type of innovation come from The Walt Disney Company. They have perfected the art of turning problems into opportunities.

What’s the worst part of any theme park ride? It’s the time spent waiting to get on. Well, at Disney, they recognized this source of frustration and added video monitors that explain the story upon which the ride is based. It’s done so well that the time spent in line becomes part of the attraction. They also created the Fast Pass – a system that lets you reserve a spot on the more popular rides then visit something else instead of waiting.

And when you look at your pictures from vacation, who’s always missing? The family member taking the picture. Disney addressed this by hiring hundreds of photographers and stationing them around the parks at the best photo spots. Now everyone gets to be in the picture and Disney has a new revenue stream.

And it doesn’t stop once you leave at the end of the day. Don’t know where you parked the car? Disney’s parking lot attendants can get you to the right section based on the time you arrived at the park. Lock your keys in the car? Disney has locksmiths that can get you in quickly. It’s no surprise that Disney is the number one vacation destination for families. They don’t just fix problems – they turn them into strategic opportunities to grow revenue and increase customer satisfaction.

So, what’s your problem? I’ll bet your organization has a few of these hidden opportunities as well. Every business has obstacles that get in the way, barriers to customer satisfaction, stumbling blocks that get in the way of excellence. I challenge you to identify them and then forget about fixing them. Maximize the opportunity.

Where Is The (Customer) Love?

Posted on by Scott

20120214-204110.jpgYesterday was Valentines Day. If you’re among the 62% of adults who celebrated the holiday, good for you. I looked up a few statistics regarding the holiday and found that here in the United States, we spent about $448 million on candy, bought 58 million pounds of chocolate, and mailed 150 million cards.

Although commonly associated with love and romance, Valentine’s Day has evolved into much more. My oldest son, a high school Junior, spent the day delivery gifts and singing “Val-O-Grams,” most bought by parents for their kids. My youngest headed off to school with a box of Valentines for her classmates and snacks for the class party. My wife even scored a few Valentine’s Day gifts from some of her students who wished to express their appreciation for her.

So here’s my question for you – Who got some of your love this week? Your significant other? Your kids? Your parents? Your friends?

How about your customers?

When’s the last time you told your customers how much you love them? When’s the last time you did something special for them – no strings attached? That’s right, sales pitches and discounts posing as customer appreciation don’t have quite the same impact as a stand-alone “Thank You.”

When customers feel appreciated, they become more than satisfied, they become loyal. They become advocates. They stick around longer. They buy more. They refer their friends and family to you.

But they have to sense that the love you’re giving them is sincere. The best gifts are those offered without condition or expectation of something in return. And they don’t have to cost you much, if anything.

~ Mail a hand-written note to the customer you just spoke with. Tell them how nice it was to meet them.

~ Send a card to a customer on the anniversary of their first order with you. Thank them for their continued business.

~ Cut out a press clipping about a customer, or better yet – one of their kids, and send it to them along with your congratulations.

~ Shoot off an email to a customer – just because. Tell them you were thinking about them and hope they are doing well.

~ Copy an article about a customer’s business or hobby and send it to them.

~ Buy a book related to their business and send it to them with a personal note written on the inside cover.

There are thousands of ways to show your customers some love. Implement one of these ideas each week and see how much of that love comes back.