Terrific Trading

A 26% improvement by changing a few words

by Jurek Leon

More and more travellers are being asked to reuse their towels, to help conserve resources, save energy and reduce the amount of detergent-related pollutants released into the environment.  In most cases, this request comes in the form of a card placed in guests’ bathrooms.

A survey of the messages conveyed by dozens of request cards from a wide variety of hotels around the globe reveals that these cards most commonly attempt to encourage towel recycling efforts by focusing guests almost exclusively on the importance of environmental protection.  Guests are almost invariably informed that reusing their towels will conserve natural resources and help spare the environment from further depletion and disruption.  This information is often accompanied by eye-catching environment-related pictures, ranging from rainbows to raindrops to rainforests.

Customer communication in tough times

What message are you giving to potential customers, past customers – to get them to come back and to talk about you to their friends – and your employees?

My heart was lifted when I came across two recent examples of how fellow ‘Terrific Tips’  newsletter readers have been communicating to customers in these ‘tough times’.  Read on, because there are some wonderful lessons in their comments.

First Richard Raven, national sales and marketing manager for Coromal Caravans www.coromal.com.au , quoted in the media after the South Australian Caravan and Camping Show, the first in a series of shows held around Australia each year.

In Retail? Then pick up the phone!

When did you last get a phone call from a retail store?  Was it in the last week?  In the last month?  Since the beginning of the year?

No, I didn’t think so.  Yet, times are supposed to be a lot tougher than they were 12 months ago.  So, why is it that less than one in a thousand people working in retail stores even think to phone up a past customer?

Now, for a retailer running an ‘everything under $5s’ shop it’s not going to be cost effective, but if the bulk of their stock sells for more than $50 why wouldn’t they and their team take it in turns to phone 5 customers?

“But, people don’t like getting cold calls”, we hear them say.  It’s not a cold call.  The reason the store has their number is because they are a past customer.  That makes it a warm call.  And they are not phoning up to sell to them (that’s right, the purpose of the call is to stimulate increased business but not by selling.  I will explain in a minute).  They are doing what all good friends do, they are keeping in touch.

What could they phone the customer about if it’s not to sell to them?

The 80/20 Year

I hereby declare 2009 the 80/20 year.

In recent years I’ve come across far too many business owners, managers and workers who work too many hours for too little real benefit and are nothing short of battle weary.  And this has been during the so-called economic good times!

As times are getting tougher you need to think differently and take some tough decisions.  Stop doing the things that you think you should be doing and concentrate on the few things that bring you results.  In other words follow the 80/20 rule. 

In December I read for the third time, ‘The 80/20 Principle’ to remind myself of just how simple this can be – though simple doesn’t mean easy, because it involves changing habits.  Consider these comments from author Richard Koch.

“There is no fun in work unless you can achieve a lot with a little.  If you have to work 60 or 70 hours a week in order to cope, if you feel that you are always behind, if you’re struggling to keep up with work requirements, then you are in the wrong job, or doing it completely the wrong way!”

“If you like your job and your customers, but are not coasting to glory, you are probably spending your time in the wrong way.  What is the 20% of your time when you achieve 80% of your results?  Do more of it!  What is the 80% of your time when you achieve little?  Do less of it!  The answer can be as simple as that, although implementing the change will require you to break all your normal habits and conventions.”

Word Of Mouth Marketing (Part One)

by Jurek Leon

“My business wouldn’t be where it is today if it wasn’t for word of mouth.”

Most people agree with this comment. Typically, depending on the industry or profession, people estimate that between 30% and 80% of their new business comes from word of mouth or referral, with the majority at the higher end.

Yet, when asked what program they have in place to stimulate and develop word of mouth marketing, managers typically say that they rely on satisfied customers spreading the word.

In other words, they leave it up to chance.

Lexus and Word-Of-Mouth

by Jurek Leon

This article, from the ECustomerServiceWorld UK newsletter, www.ecsw.com, raises the question - What are you and your team doing that's extraordinary enough to get people telling stories about your organisation?

"A man was trying out a Mercedes and a Lexus from two dealers. After thinking long and hard he told the Lexus dealer 'Thanks, but I've chosen the Merc.'

Two weeks later, he gets a call while driving his new car.

'Hi. It's the car dealer here. How's the Merc working out for you?'

'Great'. Just one niggle - the cigarette lighter doesn't work. You said you'd let me know when the part was in stock to fix it.'

'Right: I'll call you back in a minute.' A few minutes later the Merc driver receives another call. 'It's me again. If you want to pop by tomorrow morning, our engineers can fix that lighter for you, sir.'

'Great. I'll be round to the Mercedes franchise tomorrow,' says the customer.

'Oh, this isn't the Mercedes dealer, sir. I'm the guy who showed you the Lexus,' says the caller.

Lessons From Inspirational Businesses In Rural Australia

By Jurek Leon

I’ve just been reading “Good Enough Never Is” an inspirational new book about rural business success.

Written by Peter Kenyon, it comprises 20 case studies of ordinary rural people who dared to be different and have become out-of-the-ordinary rural entrepreneurs. The author examines the attitudes, behaviours and skills that set them apart from most business operators in rural and outback Australia.

Not only is this book an inspiring and entertaining read, it is a tool for self-analysis of yourself, your business and your local community. Not just for rural dwellers either. There is much that city folk can learn from the amazingly resourceful people in our regional areas.

Let me give you a glimpse of the contents.

How To Stimulate Word Of Mouth (Part Two)

by Jurek Leon

If you want to get good word of mouth you have to give people something to talk about.

This is something we love to work on with our clients in workshops and seminars to help them spread the word in low cost ways. If we can do that for your company, business group or community, please do get in touch. Meantime, lets explore some examples.

Unfortunately good quality products and friendly service don't get talked about beyond an occasional comment to friends or family on the day of the experience. There needs to be something else to bring the experience back to mind; a trigger that prompts your customer to follow up with comments about the quality and service and why people should buy from your organisation.

A classic example of this is the 'Teddy Bear' story about my experience in Denmark, Western Australia. Anytime anyone in my part of the world mentions going to Denmark (the town not the country) I am reminded of the Teddy Bear story and then tell people about Chimes Health Resort and the 'real' reasons it is a great play to stay. Email me at info@terrifictrading.com if you would like a copy.

Word Of Mouth Marketing Examples (Part Three)

by Jurek Leon

In Part Three of this word of mouth marketing series of articles I’ve included some down to earth examples of techniques used by ordinary businesses to get extraordinary results.

Use local media to talk up your events
The UK 2005 Farm Market of the Year can be found in the village of Orton in Cumbria. All the produce sold at this accredited farmers market is from a 50-mile radius. And up to 45 local farmers, growers and producers share their fresh produce and their knowledge with customers on the second Saturday of each month come rain, hail or shine.

At least that’s the promise.

On 8th of January 2005 they weren’t able to live up to that promise. The north west of England was hit by storms and suffered severe flooding. Market manager, Jane Brook, turned this negative into a positive by sending a news release to her local paper titled “We’ve Broken Our Promise”. And this was the headline that the paper picked up, going on to emphasise the points Jane made about all stalls being set up prior to 9.30am and there right up to the 2.30pm closing time, with information on the special events and happenings at the next monthly market. A newsworthy angle that got people talking and helped bring them back to the markets. Check out www.ortonfarmers.co.uk. It’s an impressive site with lots of examples of how they build customer relationships.

Word of Mouth Ideas (Part Four)

by Jurek Leon

Ask And Ye Shall Receive
There are three key reasons that happy customers don’t regularly spread positive word of mouth about businesses.

They get caught up in other things and just don’t think to mention it.
Related to this, no-one specifically asks them so they forget to mention your company and how happy they are in dealing with you.

Every time they ask you how business is you seem to be flat out so they assume that the last thing you need is more customers!

Particularly with professional businesses, this third point holds true...especially if it has taken a while to get an appointment to see you. Let people know that you have the capacity to expand your business and are always interested in gaining more clients like them. They will be shocked, assuming that more clients would just mean more stress for you. So, be careful that you are getting the right message across to your potential ambassadors.

Word Of Mouth -- You Just Never Know Who Your Customers Might Be Talking To

by Jurek Leon

In today's internet linked world you just never know who your customers might be talking to.  Word of mouth goes a lot further than 10 to 14 others if the experience isn’t deemed acceptable.  It may reach 10,000 or 14,000 others with a few taps on the keyboard.

In the same way, when you get it right, you never know who you might be impressing.  So, it pays to follow these rules:

Remember that our primary purpose is to encourage the customer to come back - The Boomerang Principle.

When we come into contact with any customer our objective is to have the customer thinking and feeling "I’m glad I talked with you." 
Melody Vargus, editor of the USA ezine About Retail Industry, probably the most widely distributed retail newsletter in the world, shared an experience with tens of thousands of readers where one of her colleagues went shopping for shoes and came away sorely disappointed.

As you read this ask yourself, 'Could this happen in my organisation? '

Checklist for Your Print Advertisements and Brochures

by Jurek Leon

I am not an advertising specialist.  But I do know a fair bit about the practicalities of selling and of communicating effectively with customers.  And for more than 25 years I have listened to and studied the work of some of the world’s most respected marketing and advertising practitioners.

Here is a 3-page checklist covering questions that come up again and again in my workshops and seminars. I do hope the answers I’ve provided will be helpful to you.  But please don’t follow any of these suggestions without first reading and acting on the points in the final sub-section.

Have you tested different headlines?

In a print advertisement, the headline is ‘the ad’ for the ad’.  This is what flags the reader down.  Advertising specialists will tell you that 80% of the value of an advert is in the headline.  If the headline doesn’t flag the reader down, it doesn’t matter how compelling your copy is, they won’t be attracted to read it.