1)    CRM – The solutions in this field are wide and varied. Whether you are a small operation or a multi-national behemoth, knowing your customers and housing that information in a central location is essential to successful customer relationship management. Birthdays, anniversaries, favorite restaurants, number of kids, names of children are just a few examples of details which you can store and access later to really show your customers you care enough to know them personally!

2)    Video – This is a great way for you to archive communication to your customers that they can access at their leisure. It also helps position you and your organization as value focused and subject matter experts. The key in accomplishing this feat is to make sure the videos are anything but sales related. (Quick Tips, How-Tos, Do-it Yourself)

3)    Email – We have all been victims of spam and nobody likes it! That’s not what we’re talking about here. Instead, use email as an effective and efficient way to communicate with your customers (articles of interest, valuable information and/or advancements relative to your product or service, celebratory occasions in their lives,  etc.) The key here is to ensure that it’s personalized. Your customers should WANT to open a message when they see it’s from you.

4)    Social Media – If Facebook were a nation, it would be the 3^rd largest in the world! Use these frequently traveled platforms to engage your customers. Through social networking sites to geo-specific “check-in” sites, you have an opportunity to interact with your customers. A thought out and well executed plan is required to ensure that you get the full potential out of this effective medium.

5)    – This is not a fad! As smartphones become an ever-increasing part of our daily lives, apps provide an additional touch-point to your customers! Just like video, email and social media you must ensure that your app is delivering value at every turn. This will keep you and your organization top of mind before, during and after the purchase cycle.

Everyone in the country is about to be assaulted with a barrage of consumer centric “buy-me” communication from the dawn of “Black Friday” until the last store closes and the shelves are empty on Christmas Eve. That makes it the perfect time of year to let your customers know how grateful you are for the relationships you have built with them and their loyal patronage! Here are a 5 ways to Give Some Thanks to your customers this year:

1.     Personal Note – It may seem simple, understated and maybe even undervalued considering how much your customers spend. In the world of quick-fire email, texting and twittering – taking the time out of your day to stop and hand write a note let’s your customers know that you value them. Be sure to do this early so that you beat the greeting card avalanche that is sure to follow Thanksgiving Day.

2.     Gift – It doesn’t have to be lavish or extravagant, but it should be of value. So opt out of choosing a fruitcake and instead provide something that will make your clients think of you with a smile when they use it. Need ideas? Gas cards, Gift Cards from a business of one of your customer(s), iTunes Gift Cards etc.

3.     Lunch – Take clients out to lunch! Busy professional, then order lunch in for the decision maker and their staff – this is sure to make you an instant hero.

4.     Client Feature – Have a newsletter? Add them. Have a reception area? Post some information. Email? Add a quick testimonial about them just underneath your signature line!

5.     Donate – Do they have a charity they support? Make a small, unsolicited, donation to a charity, cause or foundation that your customer supports in their honor and not only are you showing your gratitude; you are helping make the world around you a better place to live in to!

Any of these ideas can also be applied to your vendors and staff! Don’t forget, there are many parts that keep your machine running…take care of all of them and they will run efficiently and effectively far longer than if they are neglected.

P.S. – Thank you for all of your comments, ideas, suggestions, stories and feedback! Here is a FREE GIFT from us as our way of saying Thank You!

Having a bad leader on your team can be just as scary, but far more challenging to identify, especially if they are a “top performer”! Here are a few traits to look out for:

Lacking Clear Vision & Direction

Many times, high levels of individual performance can make a person appear like they are a good candidacy for leadership. However, their vision may not go any further than their personal performance goals. It is important to ensure that they see their role in relationship to the departmental and organizational performance. Can your candidate tell you how they impact the company’s strategy and how they emulate the company mission? How do they react when faced with challenges that involve multiple team members? It is easy to stick to the proverbial “path”; but how do they act when they come to a fork in the road?

Their “Performance” Gauge Needs Calibrating

            This can be a tricky one! These individuals will often seem like they have “a lot on their plate” maybe appear as though they are “always taking on challenges head-on”. While this may legitimately be the case at times, no one who is going to make a good leader will be in this state all of the time, or even a majority of the time! These members of your team are often overstating the challenges facing them so that they always seem like their achievements are larger than life. You may often hear them over-using the term “Over Promise & Under Deliver!”

Failure To See, and Develop, the Potential in Others

            As members of a team with individual responsibilities, goals and performance metrics, it can be easy to allow this one to fall under the radar. But if your candidate for leadership is often described as a “lone wolf”, “one-man show” or a “jack of all trades” around the shop – then chances are you have someone who hasn’t learned the true value of TEAM! While individual performance and accountability are paramount for leadership, so is the ability and skill set to identify, nurture and develop the talents and skills of other members of the team. While this may be seen as a trait applied from the top down; the importance of implementing amongst the peer group is an essential key to organizational success as well. If your candidate for leadership can’t do it now – then they will surely have a hard time with members of your leadership team in other departments.

Keep an eye out for these traits as you move through the process of identifying leadership talent in your firm and you will help keep your “Dream Team” from turning into a Nightmare!

Over time as we worked with some of our Sales Training and Coaching clients we realized there was a recurring theme for those organizations that were dealing with challenges specific to customer satisfaction and retention.

Customers would show up to their proverbial (and sometimes literal) door and instead of receiving a great customer experience (pleasant greeting, timely communication, accurate order placement, attention, follow-up etc.) the “Treat” – instead they were getting a “Trick”!

Growing up, we would always remember the houses that offered the generic candy vs. the Snickers, Mr. Goodbars, Blow Pops and other name brand goodies that had the highest bargaining value when it came time for trading at the end of the night (my personal favorite were Recee’s Cups). However, we also remembered, and made conscious effort to avoid, the houses that gave out the Tricks: toothbrush, old candy (probably left over from last year), pennies (yes there was a lady who actually gave 1 penny to each kid)! Not only did we remember and avoid these houses, we told other kids to do the same and the word would spread like wildfire through the neighborhood. We would return to school and trade success stories with our friends about the loot we had acquired and as well share information about the “tricksters” as well. Our story was not unique, it was a pattern that was repeated all around the country!

We have since grown up, as have all of the other kids that were ringing door bells decades ago. However, some of our behaviors haven’t changed! When customers solicit products and services for our business and personal needs we are saying “Trick or Treat!” (this time with cash in hand). As the product or service provider, that is your opportunity to fill our proverbial bags with goodies that we will run back to our friends and brag about. Alternatively, if you provide less than a valuable customer experience or worse, a misleading or predatory one, then you will be perceived as a Trickster.

Make no mistake about, while your customers may have come to your door once because your light was on, if what they receive is not perceived as a Treat, then they will not return. Worse yet, they will tell all the other “kids” in their neighborhood…not to make the same mistake they did! You probably won’t get your parking lot “toilet papered”, even worse, instead you will probably never see those eager customers again!

Engage existing customers…they will reward you for the experience and will feel rewarded themselves!

Traditionally the fan buying experience began shortly before the inception of a given season, peaked at the height of the team/individual performance and fell off as the season ended. Franchise owners, retailers, restaurants, bars, media outlets all waited patiently for their share of the customer’s expenditure to make its way into their pockets.  However, with the boom of fantasy sports over the last two decades, there has been a revolution in the volume and frequency with which customers/fans interact with the brands they are loyal to.

In his book “Fantasyland: A Season on Baseball’s Lunatic Fringe,” Sam Walker describes how initial versions of Rotisserie (Fantasy) baseball were developed in the early 1960s by Bill Gamson, a research associate at the Harvard School of Public Health.

According to NFLPlayers.com, the first fantasy football league was formed in 1963 by Oakland Raiders co-owner Bill Winkenbach, Oakland Tribune sportswriter Scotty Sterling and editor George Ross, and Bill Tunnell, a member of the Raiders’ public relations office. It was named The Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League.

Fast forward to today:

-       More than 29 million people over the age of 12 participate in fantasy sports leagues which include baseball, football, hockey, basketball, golf, soccer, NASCAR.

-       Consumers spend $800 million directly on fantasy sports products

-       Fantasy Fans generate an additional $3 billion worth of media products related to the hobby (such as DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket and XM Radio’s coverage of all MLB baseball games).

-       12% of Americans attended a MLB baseball game per year (whereas 60% of fantasy sport players attended at least once)

-       9% attended a NFL football game (47% of fantasy players)

-       8% attended a NBA basketball game (28% of fantasy players)

-       4% of Americans attended a NHL Hockey game (27% of fantasy sport players)

These are customers who are more engaged, more passionate and more likely to spend money!

The good news is – your business can apply the same model!

There are 3 key success drivers in this model:

Ownership

People get emotionally engaged with something they feel they have a vested interest in. By creating “fantasy ownership” the fantasy league concept has provided fans a chance to feel like they have some “skin in the game”. This yields a more proactive and involved fan base. With each decision they make and each action they take, it is far more calculated and emotionally charged. Fans have been screaming themselves horse for decades and decades cheering their teams on. They have uttered countless criticisms when franchise ownership and/or coaching staff make unpopular decisions. For the first time in the history of professional athletics, the customer feels like their voice is more powerful than ever before.

Customer surveys are a great way to hear what your customers want. Maybe it’s a process, product, or service revision or improvement. However, to help create a feeling of “ownership” you will need to highlight when a customer’s insight is being implemented.  Via company website, newsletter, in-store signage, or advertising campaigns are all “stages” where customers can feel like their voices are being validated and they are receiving credit for their contribution.

Community

“Birds of a feather…” Fantasy leagues have flourished on international platforms like ESPN, Fox Sports and Yahoo!  By providing an additional sub-community for fans, the frequency of customer to customer conversation increase. The more your customers are talking about your brand to one another the more readily it becomes top-of-mind. They essentially become your sales force, convincing themselves and their co-horts with every high-five, victory text message, or “expert insight” blog post that your brand is worth dedicating attention and loyalty too!

Social media sites have given companies a turnkey solution for creating online communities where customers can talk about your business’ products, service and overall experience. But don’t let the fun stop there! Your company’s home URL, newsletter, trade-shows, networking events, community events and even on-site at your facility are all options for places where your customers can gain a sense of community as they share their common experiences (and love) for your organization.

Reward

With almost $4B a year in financial impact, it may seem like it is the franchises, venues and media outlets that are getting rewarded. However, this is a two-way street if ever one existed! Remember the three key questions of customer satisfaction:

1) How much do your customers spend?

2) How often do they return to spend it?

3) Do they tell others about their experience and urge them to become customers too?

All data shows that fanstasy league players outperform their non-fantasy counterparts in every one of these categories. It is worth noting, that the leagues, franchises, and venues themselves have not added any additional incentive to the mix!

Simply put, the fantasy league experience of Ownership & Community has resulted in customers who are happier, more loyal and more rewarding clients for the leagues, teams and venues they call their own. Create opportunities for your customers to have a voice that is heard, a platform to express their happiness with others and a system for all of it to be well executed and you too will see your profitability goals go from Fantasy to Reality!

5 Things Your Business Should Learn from NetFlix’s Price Increase Problems

Recently Netflix, a movie rental company, raised their prices. Using the power of the internet, the voices of more than 10,000 angry customers were heard on the company’s blog! Many of these customers will make their way to one of the many competitors in the marketplace.

Here are some lessons to be learned to prevent the same fate from happening to your organization:

1)   Communication is a Two-Way Street. While Netflix made efforts to communicate to their subscribers and new customers that a price increase was imminent, they forgot the cornerstone of conversation – LISTENING! There were rumblings amongst the customer base from day one. Every business knows that price increases are seldom welcomed and at times are unavoidable. However, if your price increase strategy is being met with broad based resistance and anger, it may be worth revisiting the timing and strategy of implementation. The last thing you want on your company blog, social networking pages and newswires is an onslaught of angry customers as they publicly march out of your door and into your competitors!

2)   Know Your Perceived Value. While Netflix customers were assumingly happy paying their previous rate, they were most certainly not happy with the VALUE of the new subscription plans. Statistically we know that, for every 1 of the 10,000 angry customers that left making noise, there were another 10 that left in silence! Many departing customers complained about an increase that resulted in as much as a 100% increase in cost for rental subscription packages. The problem here is that there was not an increase in product or service to match. If a price increase is in your organization’s future, start working TODAY to increase perceived and actual value of your firm. Customer service, billing & payment options, customer and product support, more client touch points, loyalty or rewards programs – these are a small sampling of ways to improve value.

3)   Strategy is Critical. Netflix raised pricing for all customers, new and existing. Many price increases are first rolled out to new clients. Then, at some point in the future (usually with the shift in the calendar year) pricing is raised for current customers as well. Many firms offer their most aggressive discounts to new customers to get them in the door which leaves your current client base feeling undervalued and not appreciated. “Brush stroke” price increases can have the same effect! If Netflix would have increased their prices first to new customers, current customers may have felt more valued for their loyalty and would have more likely accepted future price increases with empathy instead of apathy.

4)   Look at Your Competition. Are your competitors offering more products and/or services while keeping their pricing the same? How far off from market pricing norms are you now and how far off will you be after the increase? Are you pricing yourself out of the market?How easy is it for your customers to leave in the event they are unhappy with the price increase? Pricing aside, what is your true competitive advantage in the marketplace? These are just a few of the simple, yet often ignored, questions that firms can first answer to ensure that they are not setting the organization up for a customer exodus after the price increase roll-out.

5)   Timing is Everything. With an economy that continues to trend downward, unemployment still at record highs in many parts of the country and a weakening currency, many would say that now is the wrong time to charge more. Many of these factors represent reasons why people chose to initiate a subscription to Netflix ensuring a more cost effective solution to a night out of entertainment. While some, or all, of these conditions may represent cause for many businesses, and maybe even yours, to roll out a price increase make sure that you are sensitive to timing. Pay attention to the purchasing cycles of your customer base, the environments of their markets and their overall spending confidence.

If a price increase is inevitable, paying attention to the lessons above will help ensure maximum success as your company navigates through this often painful and challenging process!

What has your firm done to help ensure a smooth transition through a price increase?

It’s Football Season! How Well Does Your Sales Team Know The Playbook?

One of my friends spent his childhood playing little league football, dreaming of the day that he would step onto the field as an NFL player. He continued on this path through middle school, high school and on into college. After years of drills, repetition and going the extra mile, the day came where he finally made it into the “big leagues”.  He wasn’t the fastest, largest or hardest hitting player on the field, however, he had a successful 10 year career in the NFL. When I asked him what he attributed his longevity and success to, he said that he “always knew the playbook”.  He went on to describe how knowing the play is like knowing a dance. And when your “dance partners” are all upwards of 200 lbs. and charging down the field with the intent to do bodily harm, it is best that you know EXACTLY HOW TO EXECUTE! He watched many “talented players” not maximize their potential because they just understand the importance of committing to knowing how to execute the plays.

That got me thinking about some of the sales teams that I have lead and trained and how the same rule had applied! Time and time again, I came across talented, and at times seasoned, sales professionals that simply were not maximizing their success because they didn’t understand the process (playbook). Deals that were lost because of lack of follow-up, agreement executions that were stalled due to poor time management,  money left on the table because of weak negotiation skills – I could go on and on with the parallels. It was amazing!

However, the alternative was true as well. I came across those sales people who may not have had the “natural talent” but were committed to learning and sticking to a winning equation. They learned the system, applied the system, welcomed constructive criticism, constantly sourced expertise from those around them, came in early, stayed late, under promised, over delivered and constantly had a portfolio of satisfied clientele. Often times they may have not been identified as the “first round pick” but they were very frequently considered the “go to” members of their sales teams. These professionals represent the building blocks of lasting success in any sales organization!

The first thing to ensure is that you have formal processes in place! Here’s a quick process audit to ensure that you are setting your team up for success:

1)  What is the process for prospecting new customers?

2)  What is the process for on-boarding new customers?

3)  What is the process for contract negotiation or offering pricing variances?

4)  What is the process for tracking customer interaction?

5)  What is the process for time management?

Noticing a trend? You should…every company, regardless of size, age or industry of operation should have formal processes in place for all areas of their business! If not, how are you and your team expected to accurately gauge their effectiveness? So, you know what your processes are – How well does your team know the “playbook”? Do you have a group of individuals out in the field all chasing goals on their own, not operating in support of one another and the organization? Or do you have a team, moving together in unison, to accomplish dominance over your competitors ultimately securing your firm’s position as a leader?  Work on ensuring that each of your team members understand the process and the critical role they each play and you will surely find yourselves celebrating like champions!

However, one of the tenants that successful and experienced professionals, business owners and organizations all over the world share in common is that they continue to enrich their knowledge base! One of the most condemning things I have heard business owners say about investing in the training of their seasoned and potentially valuable talent in their firm is that they are dated fixtures on the team because “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

With the ever changing pace of technology, customer behavior and economic environments, not committing to continuing education and training is a death warrant to both a career and an organization. Many professions require the ongoing pursuit of professional certifications, licensing or continuing education units to maintain and retain credentials. However, we are in the age of information exchange and availability. Technology has created a platform so that information, expertise and best practices from virtually every industry can be harnessed to maximize success.

Take this quick audit to see how you, or your company, are pacing on the pursuit to staying cutting edge in education and enrichment:

1)    Do you have industry publications readily available for sourcing trends, insights and updates?

2)    Are you a member of an industry, position specific, or geography specific professional network?

3)    What of your current expertise gives you the “competitive advantage”? What about your competition?

4)    What was the last professional question you couldn’t answer? Why?

5)    What are your position or industry enrichment and continuing education goals?

These are just a sampling of questions to get you started and on the right track. Your experience is only as good as the pertinent knowledge that it is married with. Make a commitment to augment the valuable lessons and skills of daily execution with a continuing education plan and you will ensure that you and your organization are never dubbed “old dogs”!