Through the Eyes of the Customer

Upsell by helping the customer to see the value.

Don’t just sell more; sell more value.

Upselling. 

At the McDonald’s drive-through when you order a cheeseburger, the cashier asks, “Would you like some fries with that?”

At the Best Buy register, the cashier asks, would you like the two-year warranty with that that covers all repairs for any reason? 

At the car dealership, the salesperson highly recommends the leather upholstery and the towing package.

Upselling adds more top-line revenue, and from the company’s perspective, that’s good.  But if done poorly, upselling can alienate the customer, and that’s bad.  Alienated customers don’t come back. 

So, the challenge is how to upsell well, without alienating the customer.  Or better yet, how to upsell in a way that gives the customer good reason to smiling, because they feel that received more value than they originally expected.

That’s exactly how my wife and I felt, after a recent Sunday morning stop at the Starbuck’s in the Barnes & Noble Booksellers #2048 in the Eden Prairie Center Mall in Minnesota.  The woman that took our orders was a master upseller.  But here’s the interesting part about it….  We didn’t feel like we were being sold anything; we felt like we were being offered a better value; we felt that the person who had the information was sharing the information with us, to help us get the best value that we could.  And as customers, we appreciated it in a big way.

So, what was her secret?

She wasn’t selling; she was sharing information  with us; she was helping us to see a way to receive more value.

We ordered four items, totaling $12.55.  But she didn’t simply take our order; with each item, had something to say, that was all  about  us.

Example:

My wife ordered a medium Caramel Macchiato.  The server suggested that for just 30 cents more, we can have a large size.  As  she said that, she held the two cups next to each other, so that we could clearly see how much more Caramel Macciato we’d have for just 30 cents more.  In a very literal sense, she showed us the value.  And we gladly bought it.

Here’s the point:

When upselling, don’t simply suggest the additional item; don’t just ask the customer if they want it, and don’t just tell the customer why it’s a good deal.  Instead, share information in a concrete and visible way, that will make it easy for the customer to see the value themselves.

Help the customer to clearly see the value, and you’ll accomplish two things:

You’ll deliver a better customer experience.

You’ll improve customer loyalty.

And yes, you’ll increase top line revenue.

To upsell well, share information with your customer to  help them clearly see how they can receive more value.

How QR Codes are Used in a 200-Year-Old Mansion

It’s fascinating to see how people lived two hundred years ago.

The McLellan House in Portland, Maine was originally built by a shipping magnate in 1801.  Through the efforts of the Portland Museum or Art, the McLellan House has been preserved as a wonderful place to learn about 19^th century architecture and design.  It's also a great place to learn how QR codes can deliver a better customer experience. 

This past Friday night, my wife and I joined some friends in touring the house, and this was far more than a walk through.   While there were no tour guides within the house, we came away from the tour having enjoyed a complete room-by-room learning experience.

What made the experience so fulfilling was the way that QR codes were placed surreptiously throughout the building; in many rooms and hallways, and on artifacts inside this stately mansion.  The QR codes are used in an innovative way to enrich each patron’s experience, by delivering short contextual videos throughout the tour.  Among them are a video of a master woodworker restoring the flying staircase (shown at left),  and the creation of a painted floor cloth.

Like most consumers, I’ve become accustomed to seeing QR codes printed in magazine advertisements, as a direct link to a webpage, and as a way to draw the reader  farther into lead qualification, or a sales process.

The Portland Museum of Art uses QR codes in an entirely different way; not to sell, but to serve; to serve their patrons with a richer, higher quality experience while touring an exhibit.  This is in fact something that any business can do; using QR codes to deepen customer touch-points in a way to enrich the customers’ experience, and ultimately build customer loyalty.

So, how can you put QR codes to work in your business, in ways that will delight your customers, so that they tell more people about you?  Think of the various high-traffic  touch-points between your company and your customers, and then think about how live videos might enhance that touch-point.

For example, if you sell products that require assembly, consider printing a QR code on the front page of the assembly instructions.  Your customer can take a picture of the code with his smart phone, and be brought directly to an on-line video that shows the customer how to assemble the product.  That would be a lot easier for the customer to follow, than small-font text, wouldn’t it?

Check out this list to learn about some of the cool ways that others have used QR codes.  Then think how you can do something similar for your customers.  

If QR codes can tell the story of a 200-year old building, just think how they can create a rich history for your business.

How Marketing Myopia has Killed the US Postal Service

Times are tough for the U.S. Postal Service, and there’s much concern among Americans over the fate of the US Postal Service, and how to fix what’s broken.

When we look at the USPS, we need to look at it in a larger context.

The USPS began moving mail from sender to recipient in 1775. In that larger context, the USPS was in the communication business.

Roughly 100 years later, the telephone was invented, and gradually provided an alternate means of communication.

About 100 years after the invention of the telephone, email was invented, and provided yet another major means of communication.

Around that same time, Federal Express (now FedEx) was founded as an express courier, who promised to deliver your mail a lot faster that the USPS.

As people and businesses began using these other forms of communication, there were far fewer pieces of mail that needed to be delivered, so the USPS began to see a steady decline in revenue.

But the USPS still considered itself to be in the mail delivery business, even though its customers were communicating began communicating through different channels.

If the USPS saw itself as being in the communication business instead of the mail delivery business, it might have evolved into a very different enterprise than what it is today.

To understand this "myopic mission" of the USPS, it helps to think of the railroads:

Before the Interstate Highway system was built in the 1950’s, people more frequently travelled by railroad. Back then, railroads were a much bigger industry; many more towns had a train station, and daily train service.

Transportation occurred largely by rail. But the big railroad companies didn't consider themselves to be in the transportation business; they considered themselves to be in the "railroad business."

When alternate modes of transportation were developed (highways & affordable air travel), fewer people chose to travel by trains, and eventually, passenger train service all but disappeared.

The Railroad industry failed to evolve and adapt to newer modes of transportation. Hence, it downscaled dramatically.

Similarly, the USPS has failed to evolve and adapt to newer modes of communication. Hence, it is now downscaling dramatically, by closing many of its brick-and-mortar branches.

So, how do we solve the problem?

We solve the problem by eliminating the USPS' non-profitable services, and focus more on those services that the USPS does well.

What else do we do to save the USPS?
We cut back on daily mail delivery, and go to every-other-day, or we outsource USPS mail delivery to another company that already has a fleet of delivery vehicles on the same roads (and in the process, reduce the carbon footprint!)

And we re-define the business in a way that aligns with 21st century communications.

And when the sun sets, if the USPS has gone out of business, its customers and the private sector will adapt, as they always have, with more effective and more efficient solutions.

The message here for any business that ever feared facing extinction is this:  Define your business according to the problem that you solve, and not the product or service that you deliver.  And once you’ve done that, never stop thinking of new ways to solve that problem.

So ask yourself:  What business are you really in?

 

How Dominos Bakes a Better Customer Experience into Every Order

I love when a company surprises me with something that's both cool and convenient.

Dominos did that when I ordered a couple pizzas from their web site last night. 

After selecting the pizza, toppings and crust and, I  clicked “Order.” 

That's when it happened...  

Up popped the “Domino’s Tracker” – an application that shows you exactly where your pizza is in the preparation and baking process.  At first I thought it was nothing more than a novel idea – a little bit like the NORAD website on Christmas Eve, where you can visually track where Santa is at a particular moment, as he makes his annual world tour en route to your house.

That's when it hit me...

The Domino’s Tracker could make my life easier, by telling me when I should leave the house to pick up the pizza, to get it at just the right time.   How many times have you arrived too early, and had to wait around, or too late, after the cheese no longer has that delicious just-melted texture?

With the Tracker on my computer screen (or my smartphone), I could see exactly when the pizza was going into the oven, about to leave the oven, and being boxed and prepared for pick up.

But this blog post isn’t just about pizza; it’s about what a company can do to add value to a normally mundane experience; adding value by making it both fun and functional.  And this concept can be applied to any business, if you can bring yourself to think outside the pizza box. 

Think about the product or service that you market, sell or service.  Now think about all that goes through the customer’s mind, as she goes through the process of researching, selecting, ordering, installing or using your products or services.  What does the customer think about, and what actions does she take throughout the process?  What assumptions does the customer have to make?  What information can you as the seller provide, that would be useful to the customer?  What action steps can you perform for the customer, to make her life easier?

Domino’s went through this same thought process when they created the “Domino’s Tracker.”  It solves a simple, but persistent problem that every customer has after ordering take-out:

“Exactly when will my order be ready?”

But the “Tracker” isn’t only practical.  (Only practical can be boring, and soon taken for granted.)  Domino’s makes it engaging by delivering the information in a fun-to-follow-format that inevitably draws your eyes to the progress meter.  And they make it more personalized by allowing you to select any of several themes for your Tracker.  And you can even change the theme mid-stream, if you like.

Most product companies try to differentiate their offerings by focusing primarily on the product.  But while Domino’s has taken steps to improve its pizzas, they’ve also enhanced the customer experience beyond the pizza, by delivering useful information that every customer can appreciate, and delivering it in a way that’s fun and engaging.

In fact, the next time I order pizza, I’ll probably order it from Domino’s again, just so I can watch the Tracker.  But I’ll also know exactly when to stop watching, and when to start driving to go get the pizza.

 

 
 

 

Fight Inflation by giving more value to your customers.

Every once in a while, we experience an inflection point that makes us stop and say, “Holy %^*#!”

We’ve all been there, right?

It happened to me twice this week.  The first time was at the gas pump.  As I was filling my tank, I looked up and noticed the price per gallon: 

It was over $4.00. 

Granted, that was on the Super Unleaded, but I’d never seen that a price that high on a gas pump in my entire life!  Call me naïve, but it was still an emotional shock.

The second event was less dramatic, but still a sign of the times:  I picked up a bag of Columbian coffee beans – the same 12-ounce bag I always buy, and it had gone up over 50 cents since the last time I bought it – a week earlier.

It’s inflation, and it’s real.  Soon, looking for lower prices will be a futile effort, since rising prices are a moving target.

So what’s a consumer to do?

Look for greater value.   That’s right, instead of searching for the gas station with the lower price, look for the one with the added value – like the dollar-off car wash with the fill-up.  Or the coupon for the free coffee.

When prices climb, smart customers look for added value.

As a company, what are you doing about it?  How can you deliver greater value to your customers?  What can you do differently?  How can you get creative?  What other forms of “overhead” are born by your customer, in the process of finding, buying, using or disposing of your product or service?  How can you deliver additional value in those areas, to reduce the customers’ overall expense?

When you figure it out, don’t forget to promote it, because if the customer doesn’t know, that too, will have been a futile effort. 

Inflation is here.  Customers are feeling it.  Use the opportunity to be more creative, and more innovative, to create more value for your customers.  And remember to tell them when you do.

 
Thanks to the Norwak Reflector for this inflationary photo.

Three Ways that Enterprise Uses the "Convenience Factor" to Win Customers

It's often the little stuff that makes life complicated. 

When a company can make that little stuff go away, they make my life easier.   And when they make my life easier, I remember them.  And I'll do business with them again and again.

Last week, my truck was at the collision center to have some damage repaired.  The insurance company told me they'd pay for a rental vehicle, and that I could go to the rental company of my choice.

Why I Chose Enterprise
So I chose Enterprise, because I knew they'd pick me up, and that would be one less thing that I'd have to worry about.

As advertised, they picked me up, brought me to the agency where I signed some paperwork (which, by the way, was prepared in advance), and off I went.  That was easy. 

Oh, and the agent told me that when I pick my truck  up the following week, to simply leave  the rental at the collision center, so that I wouldn't have to deal with driving the rental to  Enterprise.

A week later, that's exactly what I did.  I drove the rental to the collision center, and left it there.  I  got in my truck, and drove home.  That was easy.

The Convenience Factor
The added convenience that Enterprise offered, at both ends of the transaction, made my experience as their customer, a very positive and painless one.   Two  less rides that I'd need to arrange; two fewer favor requests that I'd need to cash in!

Not once, but twice
It was  the convenience factor that drew me to Enterprise.  I knew they offered the convenience at both ends of the transaction:  They brought me to the vehicle, and they did not require me to bring the vehicle back to them.   

1. A Great First Impression
By doubling  the convenience, they created two opportunities to delight me.    The initial convenience - picking me up - was a very positive first impression.   And you know what they say about first impressions.

2. A Second Impression to Remember
That second convenience - allowing me to leave the vehicle at the collision center created a strong  final impression.  And if the first impression is the most important, the last impression is the second most  important, because it  reinforces the first impression, and solidifies my perception of the Enterprise brand. 

3. Don't Keep Convenience a Secret
Now, what's interesting is that Enterprise isn't the only car rental company that will  pick you up.  There are plenty of others that will.  But I knew Enterprise would, because they make the convenience crystal clear to their customers, through their advertisements.  If the others also do, perhaps I just haven't noticed. 

The convenience factor at Enterprise won me over.  But what about you?  How important is convenience for your customer experience?  And what companies have you seen do it well? 

Is your email marketing this rude?

I received an email today from a guy named Mike.

I don’t know Mike, and I don’t know his company. 

But Mike still sent me an email.  It began like this:

“Dear Jim: 

I'd like to get on your calendar to speak with you about how my company DayBreak can assist your business development efforts.”

I can’t say that Mike had me at hello, because he never said hello.  Mike didn’t bother introducing himself – he just told me what he wanted from me.  (Like I care - I don’t even know this guy!)

Mike’s email went on for three paragraphs – not short, concise, bullet points that I could easily scan and digest, but three self-centered paragraphs that were painful to read.

The first paragraph was all about what he wanted from me, and the great and powerful stuff that his company does.

The second paragraph told me about the great achievements of his CEO.

And in the third paragraph, Mike told me that that he asked his assistant, Beth, to call me to schedule a conference call and presentation.   If Mike really cared about me, and wanted to have me for a customer, he’d call me himself, wouldn't he?

Business development is about developing positive, trusting relationships between two people.  The best way to begin any relationship with another person is to show a genuine interest in that person.  It means being relevant to that person.  And it means delivering value.  Mike’s message didn’t do any of those.

So, what three things can you do, to make a good impression, and convert more prospects into customer, starting with your email campaigns?

1.       Be Relevant by Segmenting.
Don’t send the same email to everyone on your list.  Segment the list by industry, geography, role, or some other criterion.  Then send a segment-specific message to each group.  For example, send a technology-oriented message to the technology companies.
Send a retail-oriented message to retail sector companies.  There was nothing in the email that mike sent to me, that reflected anything unique or relevant to my business.   Segmenting makes your messages more relevant.

2.       Deliver Value.
Whenever you call on a prospect, whether through an email, a phone call, or a face-to-face meeting, deliver something of value.  It may be a point of research from your prospect’s industry; a recent article of interest; anything that your prospect will consider worthwhile knowing.  If you make a habit of delivering value upon every encounter, your prospect will make a habit of reading your emails and taking your calls.

3.       Be Polite.
Your mother was right on this one.  Manners do count.  Even in email blasts.  Draft your emails with a courteous and professional tone, and don’t say anything in an email that you wouldn’t say face-to-face, upon meeting a complete stranger for the first time.  Baseball great Yogi Berra said, “Swing hard.  Just in case you hit the ball.”    Similarly, you might say, “Write polite emails.  Just in case the recipient reads it.”

If email campaigns are a part of your marketing mix, then don’t be like Mike.  Instead, be relevant, bring value, and be polite.  Your prospect will respect you, trust you, and maybe even buy from you.

What do you think?

 
 

3 Christmas Traits that are worth keeping throughout the year.

How many Christmas Traits are there?

A  Google search revealed 2,080,000 results in .23 seconds.  For the sake of brevity, I’ll focus on three.  Three traits that give Christmas its character – Gifting, Humanizing and Symbolizing and how those three traits can drive some positive change in our lives and businesses, when carried forward throughout the year.

Gifting

Giving gifts, for many people, defines Christmas.  Some believe the tradition of gifts began with the Pagan festival of Saturnalia, while others say it started with the Biblical Magi, at the birth of Christ.  The act of gift giving is often associated with “selflessness.” It’s giving something to another person – something they’ll value or cherish, without expecting anything in return. Give unto others, because it’s the right thing to do.

Humanizing

At Christmastime, people treat one another with more respect.  We act in a kinder, gentler way. It’s a day when grudges are forgotten, and mutual respect prevails.  People seem to step away from their guarded selves, become more approachable, and open up to others.  Even Scrooge loosened up on Christmas Day.  When we unleash our kinder, more respecting selves, conversations and relationships become more productive, and good things happen.

Symbolizing

There are plenty of symbols that cause us to think of Christmas - wreaths, nativity scenes, Santa Claus, and plastic snowmen on the neighbor's lawn. One of the most iconic is the Christmas tree.  Theory has it that the Christmas tree began as a tradition in Germany over 400 years ago, and later arriving in Chicago before spreading to the rest of the U.S.  Since then, the Christmas tree industry has continued to grow. 

OK, so there you have it – Gifting, Humanizing and Symbolizing.  Each contributes to the Christmas Experience by stoking our emotions.  These same Three Traits can enrich our personal and professional lives year-round.

How, exactly?

When you think about Gifting, think about giving something of value to whomever your clientele might be; family, friends, employees, co-workers, customers and prospects.  The gift needn’t be anything tangible; just something that will be of value to the other person; something that will make their life easier, remove risk, or add pleasure.  Words, advice, ideas, or just a compliment.  Here’s the bottom line:  with each interaction that you have with another person, provide something of value – value to them. The more you give, ultimately, the more you’ll receive. But first, give for the sake of giving, and give value.

The honesty and respect inherent in Humanizing remove barriers to communication.  And they make both personal and business relationships richer, and more productive. When you think about humanizing, think about taking that same cordial, honest and approachable demeanor that we all have on December 25, back to your workplace in January.  And February.  And each month after that. Respect begets respect, and trust begets trust. 

And finally, there’s Symbolizing.  We all need a symbol of some kind.  Something that reminds the world who we are, and what we’re all about. A trait or attribute that symbolizes what we bring to the world.  What’s your symbol?

Gift-giving, humanizing and symbolizing.  Remember those three words, come January.  Three traits of the Christmas Experience, that can be make your world a better place, year round.

What do you think?

 

How to Warm Up Cold Calling - any time of the year.

A sales rep from ADT knocked on my front door this afternoon. 

He politely introduced himself.

Then he asked me if I'd heard of his company.

Then he told  me that he wasn't trying to sell me anything .

Then he told me about a special offer ADT was making this week - free installation of a security system.  

Then finally, he told me the thing that I was really cared about:  There was a burglary in the neighborhood recenlty.

By the time he metioned the burglary, he'd already lost me.   He could have captured my attention and kept it, but he lost me early on.

So, what are three things that you can do, to earn your cold calls a warmer reception?

1. Lead with the Lead. 
 Begin the conversation with the one thing that your prospect will most likely care about.  That's not you, it's not your company, and it's usually not your product either. For the ADP sales rep,  it was the news of a neighborhood burglary.    He should have lead off with that, but he didn't.  Journalists have an expression:  "Don't bury the lead!"  In other words, don't bury the most salient fact in the third of fourth paragraph.  Start your story with your best attention-grabber, and you'll have your prospect's attention immediatley, before they mentally move on.

2. Build a Bridge.
Carefully connect that Lead story with the reason for your offering.  The ADT rep might have said, "Because there was a burglary in the area, we're installing the sytsems at no cost in your neighborhood, so that you can be protected immediatly.  You'll only be responsible for the monthly service fee." Build a bridge from the Lead Story to your solution, then lead your prospect accross to safety.

3. Confirm the Concern.
Many sales reps will speak at length about their offerings, because they fear that if they stop  talking, they'll be rejected.  After you've presented the problem, confirm that the prospect is indeed concerned about it.  "May I ask what you think about this, Mr. Prospect?"  Qualify the prospect early on, and you won't waste anyone's time, if they're not qualified.  Besides, if they don't care, chances are you won't change their mind, so you may as well move on.

On the other hand, if you lead with your top story, then connect it to your solution, and confirm that the prospect is interested, the conversation can warm up quickly.   If it doesn't, move on.  Cold calling is as much about qualifying prospects, as it is about introducing solutions.

 

How many choices do customers want to have?

I recently attended the  17th Annual Maine Brewers' Festival .  There were 14 different micro-breweries on hand, each promoting a selection of their brews.  While 14 breweries is not a lot according to global brewfest standards, 14 still presented a lot of choice.

The Shipyard Brewery - the largest in the state - had 16 taps flowing.  Those taps poured Export Ale, Old Thumper Extra Special Ale, Shipyard  Light Ale, India Pale Ale, Chaberlain Pale Ale (not to be confused with the India variety),  shipyard Wheat Ale, Brewer's Brown Ale, Pumpkinhead Ale, Prelude Special Ale, Longfellow Winter Ale, and Pugsley's Signature Series XXXX Ale.  Those were the Ales.  There were also varieties of Stouts, Porters, and Barley Wines.

In contrast, there was a relative newcomer, The Run of the Mill brewery staffed by a corps of three smiling servers, in a small booth in rear corner of the Expo.  Their compact booth offered three distinct options:  State Budget Red Ale, Ex-wife Extra Bitter, and Sow Your Oats Stout.  Three clear, distinct options.  Easy decisions.

Customer like choices.  But customers don't like buying decisions to be difficult.  How many choices are too many choices?  We like easy decisions, yet we still like variety.

Is it better to offer your customers a lot of choices, and risk confusing them, or offer a limited number of choices, and risk losing them to a competitor who offers more?

The choice is yours.