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Haven’t You Got Smaller Fish to Fry?

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A Guest Post by
Rosemary O’Neill

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If you’re a small business or a consultant, Fortune 500 clients are a rush. Impressive logos can adorn your sidebar, you can impress your grandma with how successful you are, and credibility is yours. However, it’s very important to treat every customer as if they are your “marquee” client.

And here’s a secret:

The small fry customers aren’t used to being treated like a VIP, so they are easier to delight.

Here are a few more reasons why the small fish deserve TLC:

  • Small fry grow up to be big – that lower-tier administrator you’re dealing with may get a promotion or move to another company and suddenly be the decision-maker.
  • The neighbor effect – the woman who runs that small business could refer you to her neighbor, who is VP of Something Important at a Fortune 500.
  • Large quantities of small fry make a steady revenue stream – if you’re reliant on the good graces of a few big companies for your revenue, you’re in a precarious position.
  • Smaller organizations can be easier to deal with – it’s much easier to get access to the decision-maker at a smaller organization.

Never burn bridges – if you try every day to delight everyone who comes in contact with your business, including the “nobodies” with no money to spend, you are building goodwill equity that comes back to you when you least expect it.

If you pay close attention, your individual small fry will build into a net-bursting haul.

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Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work on the Internet. Check out their blog. You can find her on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Are Your Customers Embedded?

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A Guest Post by
Rosemary ONeill

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Last week, my husband and I went out to eat at a new restaurant. It was obviously a family-owned affair. While we were waiting for our food, a guy appeared out of the kitchen hoisting aloft a plate of hot wings. He said, “these are for anyone who wants to try them.” Of course, I had to try them, and they were excellent.

I asked the guy what they were called. He said, “I don’t know, they don’t have a name yet, what do you suggest?” I laughingly said, “call them Rosemary’s Wings!” He said, “we just might do that.”

Do you think I might be curious to revisit that restaurant to see whether my wings are on the menu? You bet. And if they are, do you think I’m likely to return again and again? Yessiree.

That restaurant has the same opportunity all business owners have—to literally embed customers in the business. At my company, we’ve had a long-standing tradition of making little gestures that weave customers into our daily work; naming features after them, using their names on documentation, hiding “Easter Eggs” in the code, and thanking them for suggestions that lead to new software features.

Once a customer has been “embedded,” they have a feeling of investment that is very hard to break, as if your business is their personal project.

What are you doing to make it personal? Is there a small crazy gesture you can make that will earn you a customer-for-life?

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Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work on the Internet. Check out their blog. You can find her on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Always Give People More Than They Bargained For

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A Guest Post by
Lou Imbriano

I grew up in East Boston in a three-decker dumbbell tenement building. My grandparents lived on the first floor and we lived on the third floor. We spent a lot of time on the first floor with my grandparents and ate dinner there practically every night. My grandmother was a seamstress and worked piecework in Boston, and my grandfather worked construction, tended bar, and worked at Suffolk Downs race track as a pari-mutuel teller. He juggled all of these jobs to make ends meet, and needed all three because of the seasonality of the work. What he really wanted was to own his own breakfast place and sandwich shoppe.

When I was about 9 or 10, he scraped together enough money to rent a store near the square and purchase all of the items needed to get things going. I used to walk to the store every chance I got to watch him in action. He loved making food for people and seeing them enjoy every bite. The shop wasn’t a cash cow, but he took great pride in it, and enjoyed owning his own place. One day, I noticed that a couple of firemen were there getting sandwiches and my grandfather told them it on was on the house. Another day, I saw him do the same for a couple of policemen, and then one day I saw him not charge a very popular business man in the city.

So one day, when we were alone, I asked my grandfather why he gave away sandwiches to certain people. Why didn’t he charge them? He sat down with me and said, “Louis, it’s a very small price to pay for their loyalty.” He proceeded to tell me that those folks were out in the community and people trusted them, so when they talked to folks about lunch, they will think of his store and mention it fondly. He also said that, especially with the police and firemen, if there was an emergency, they will be quick to respond, because of how nicely we treated them. Being a naïve child, I asked, “Isn’t it their job to respond quickly?” He agreed that it was, and that they probably would anyway, but by treating them nicely and with respect, the likelihood was that they would pay a little extra attention to us, and the store.

My grandfather further explained, “You see Louis, everyone thinks that if you give people what they bargained for, you have been fair and done your job. But, there is more to it than that. If you give people more than they bargained for, and the better of the deal, they will always think of you first, and they will always speak positively about your business.” My grandfather never went to college, never studied business, never got a masters, but he had a PhD in people. My grandfather’s words and actions stuck with me and his demeanor when interacting with customers strikes a chord even to this day.

When we opened TrinityOne, we threw a huge launch party for 800 people in the Castle at the Park Plaza Boston. It was quite a gala event with all of the bells and whistles. When we were planning the event, the head of security for the venue was laying out all the rules, regulations and protocols for the night, and stated that we had to hire a police detail with two officers. I immediately said to him, “Hire six.” He pushed back and said, “But you only need two.” I repeated, “Hire six; it’s a small price to pay for everything to run smoothly.” And it did. I have my grandfather’s wisdom to thank for that and many other similar instances. His words are always present: “Always give people more than they bargained for.”

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Lou Imbriano, the Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of the New England Patriots football team from 1997-2006, is President and CEO of TrinityOne, a marketing company specializing in creating strategy for corporations to maximize revenue generation through building customer relationships and custodians of the brand. Formerly a radio and TV producer, he has appeared on numerous radio and television programs. Lou has been profiled on Forbes.com as one of their “Names You Need to Know” and has written multiple columns for the Sports Business Journal. Lou, who teaches sports marketing at Boston College, is based in Boston, MA and is the author of the newly released Winning the Customer. Lou can be found at LouImbriano.com

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Did You See the Netflix Movie that Bombed?

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As a business owner, you oftentimes have to put things out there and see what sticks.

What does stick can prove profitable, while other attempts can fall on deaf ears. Anyone remember the new Coke?

For business owners, effectively communicating with your customers and potential customers can mean the difference between turning a profit, breaking even and even going under.

Upset Customers are bad for Business

As many of you know, Netflix alerted subscribers a few months back that it was going to employ separate prices for its DVDs-by-mail and streaming video plans.

The end result would be a significant price increase for its customers, with the least expensive bill for customers who sought both services going from $10 to $16 a month. While $6 a month doesn’t sound like much, that is $72 a year that could go for other indulgences.

With the price increase kicking in this month, many Netflix subscribers indicated they would be turning elsewhere for their DVD and streaming video needs. Upset customers bombarded the Netflix site with countless comments, along with a barrage of tweets via the hashtag #DearNetflix.

According to the most recent data, it appears a significant number of those subscribers are holding true to their word.

Netflix recently trimmed its subscriber forecast for the present quarter, reporting it now expects to conclude the period with 24 million customers, some one million less than it had forecast just a few weeks back. When Netflix ended its second quarter at the end of June, it reported having 25.6 million global subscribers.

So, how did Netflix respond to this issue in hopes of righting the ship?

In yet another public relations nightmare, the company said it was separating its DVD mail rental and video streaming services, renaming the new DVD service Qwikster (the streaming service will remain under the Netflix name). Individuals who choose to both rent and stream videos will be required to log in to a pair of different sites and get two different credit card charges.

Research Ahead of Time Potential Fallout Issues

Not only have many subscribers expressed their dismay with the price increase, but they also were probably left scratching their heads as to the new name for the service.

As it turns out, Netflix apparently did not do enough research on the name Qwikster ahead of time, or officials would have known that the Qwikster name on social media venue Twitter is currently held by a male whose avatar is that of Elmo displaying a joint. Oops!

So not only now do you have a company upsetting many of its subscribers by hiking the costs for its popular service, but now you leave them confused with the name change, not even apparently taking the time to check and see who might hold that label on one of the most popular social media sites. Again, oops!

Due to the company’s recent gaffes, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings issued a statement to customers upset with the price increase for the service in recent weeks. “I messed up,” he remarked on the company blog and in an e-mail to subscribers. “I owe everyone an explanation.”

Running a successful business takes time and effort, but above all, the ability to always be one step ahead of the game.

In this instance, it appears Netflix and the changes it enacted, are getting tuned out by a large percentage of customers.

Photo credit: benzinga.com

Dave Thomas writes extensively for business.com, an online resource destination for businesses of all sizes to research, find, and compare the products and services they need to run their businesses. Among the topics he writes about is business cash advance.



Deeper Shade of Viral: How 1 Brand Hero Delivered an Irresistible Experience

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A True Story of How to Win a Life-Long Advocate

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Now, more than ever, growing brands search for connections that mean something to their customers and the people who help their business thrive. The good ones reach to their employees to put human values inside their value proposition.

That isn’t a new thing.

And the brands that long for their messages to “go viral” might check out this story. It happened over 25 years ago, yet it’s so powerful, memorable, and moving that I think of it and repeat it every time I see the FedEx logo. I still choose FedEx over the others, because of this one event. I still forgive their occasional mistake as an accident. That’s a lifetime customer relationship and since I’m still telling the story, in my book I’d call that hugely viral.

In the last century, when Federal Express was at its peak performance. I was working at home right after my son was born. The work in my hands was on a drop-dead deadline that day. I called FedEx for a pickup because I was not going to be able to deliver the package myself.

We were in a suburban disaster – a fast-rising flood. Hours after the rain, we watched from our second-floor balcony as the water from the Des Plaines River in the parking rose above the door handles of our only car. My husband, my infant son, and I were waiting to hear when we’d be evacuated and for how long?
Then the phone rang. It was the FedEx man. He was on a high spot across the street. “Ma’am, I have a delivery. Do you need this package today?”
“I’m sorry. Yes, I do and I have one going I out too,” I explained the uncertainty, the deadline, and the evacuation.
“No problem,” he said. Then he confirmed the entrance he should use. The door was on a slope above the water line still.
I hustled to ready what I had to send. Then I went on the balcony, just in time to see a young man holding package over his head, walking through water that was up to his chest. Amazing! The neighbors on their decks were as transfixed with the image as I was.
We met at the door. We did the business of trading packages. Then he went back out. As he stood on the stoop, he thrust the new package up over his head and before he set off through the flood again. He surveyed my neighbors with a huge grin and shouted,

“We not only deliver. We pick up!”

He Delivered More Than a Package

That day that FedEx man delivered more than a package to the people who saw him. He delivered hope and trust to folks silently wondering when they would be evacuated, how long it would last, and what would be waiting when we got back.

He was a hero to people who were in distress. He saw what he saw – opportunity not a problem. He knew what he knew – he could use his power to refuse or do something outstanding, heroic, and incredibly cool. And with a huge and generous grin, he walked through four feet of water to make things work better than they were supposed to work.

He was living the values of company. Their tagline at the time was “Relax, it’s FedEx.”

If that same experience happened today, all of us watching the FedEx man in the water would have taken pictures and video with our smart phones. In seconds, we would have uploaded the pictures and video with the caption “We not only deliver. We pick up!” to YouTube, Flickr, Twitpic, and Twitter. Within seconds, thousands of people would be sharing his quote with the picture or the video.

What the FedEx man did was irresistible and shareable by definition. He made everything easy. He made me feel good about being part of it. And he left me with a story that I’m proud to pass on. It’s an unforgettable feeling when a guy is willing to trek through half a block of river water for you. You can bet I became a fiercely loyal FedEx customer.

FedEx built their brand on a company community of employees who were the value in their value proposition. It’s hard to compete with a community like that. The true stories about FedEx hero employees made them the company we trusted, relied on, and got to know as our friends. We didn’t think about other options until the heroes started to look the same as “the guys” who delivered packages from the lower priced brand.

And because my experience with the FedEx man actually happened, I’m still sharing it 25 years later.
Will you even remember the Old Spice Man in 5 years? Human relationships are a deeper, more lasting shade of viral.

Whether you’re a brand of 1 or 1,000,000, the deeply loyal relationship you make with your customers can outlast any single offer, product, or incident.

What is your brand doing to build a winning community?

Be irresistible.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Need help building that winning community? Work with Liz!!

How to Produce a Fireworks Display or Launch into Social Media Without Experience

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Our Customers Face Situations Like This All of the Time

As I uploaded the photos from this year’s fireworks show over the lighted North Bridge on the Chicago River, I began to think of the event. It’s quite a business to put on a 15-20 minute display of fireworks. As I considered the teams of people and the skills that were needed, a thought kept occurring, suppose that a client said to me …

Your charge, should you decide to keep working with us, is to pull off the best fireworks display the city has ever known!

The more I thought about the idea, the more I realized that the question I was pondering isn’t so different from what we ask new social media managers every day of the week.

5 Questions for Putting on a Fireworks Display or Launching into Social Media

A great fireworks display is the result of planning, preparation, resources, and timing. The pyrotechnical art of combining noise, light, smoke and floating materials into design that burns with colored flames and moving sparks is a display of teamwork, technique, strategy and tactics in action! And that’s just to get the display in the air!

Beyond that crowd control and the traffic are a consideration. At the event I attended, the show was visible from the lake, the river, the streets, the pier, and a double decker bridge. The distraction of fireworks while people are managing transportation could cause more than minor accidents.

No wonder the colorful, brilliant displays are symbols of celebration, which often lead to competition!

I don’t know a thing about putting on a fireworks display. I don’t know makes them work, what’s dangerous, and what’s just for show. I don’t know what things cost and don’t have pyrotechnical experts in my most intimate networks.

Yet I’m an intelligent person.I’ve run a business. I’m good at asking questions.

What follows are 5 questions I would ask to make sure that I would know I was making an intelligent, solid and outstanding investment to pull off the best fireworks display (or social media launch) the city (or the industry) has every known.

  1. The mission and the vision: What does “the best fireworks display” or “the best social media launch” look like” in it’s visible and measurable result? Before we set out on a quest, we have to know what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. I might not know how to produce a great fireworks display, but I know how I define one. Leaders take the time to articulate the vision and the mission to ensure that everyone who joins the quest is moving toward the same destination and to ensure when we communicate our vocabulary means the same things.
  2. The team: Who will bring the expertise, commitment, and the thinking to share the risk and share the benefits? Leaders reach out to people who can contribute to the thinking, not just the building. We look for folks who “get” the seriousness of the work and the fun of being part of building something no one can build alone. Start with the question, “Have you ever held a job – run a business – where if you made the wrong decision many other people beyond yourself would be hurt?” People who know their business can explain the controls they put in place to ensure right decisions and mitigate the risk. Experienced candidates can give simple explanations that show solid thinking about where the possible problems in your exact situation.
  3. The resources and quality standards: What do we need to do the job right — what adds quality and what adds cost? A wise boss once said to me, “Spend as much as it takes to do the work well and not one penny more.” When we ask about tools and resources, we can’t separate out the definition of quality.

    Quality is the customer experience, not in the builder’s standards. If the customer cannot see, feel, hear, taste, touch, smell, understand, or perceive meaning from the difference, we are not adding quality — we are adding cost.

    Read that bold paragraph again. Quality is in the customer experience.

  4. The systems and logistics: Who will own which part of the process to achieve optimal results? It’s easy to get this one backwards. Any production process needs to be talked through considering both values — the big picture order in which the stages must occur and the flexibility within each stage that allows the highest performance from the team. In any complicated production, every step has different time-goal orientations. It takes longer to produce the art than the words that might go with it. When one person’s output relies on another person’s input, it’s important to talk through the way the work flow will travel, how we’ll track it, and who will report on things that break or jam up.
  5. The time-frame: What’s a realistic time frame to get the fireworks display (or social media launch) done right, allowing flexibility for unforeseen detours? Inside any discrete event or first-time project is a new decision, a problem, or a complication that we didn’t foresee at the outset. Making room for such adventures from the beginning builds strength into the infrastructure, allows us to under promise and over deliver.

It’s only natural when we’re working on something truly exciting, that we want to get up and running. Making things happen is thrilling! However, watching things break isn’t quite as much fun. To get more of the first and far less of the second, take the time to do the planning and ask the right questions. The right questions can lead to a production that moves as seamlessly as water flowing on a summer day.

Even if you don’t know a thing about putting on a fireworks display or running a social media launch, the right questions can get to you to a successful outcome far more quickly than hoping you’ve found the right expert to do it for you. After all, it’s about a unique and spectacular outcome that serves the customer.

Did I forget any questions that you use to keep your projects in the success column?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!