True Marketing Adventures

It’s like make-up sex…but not as much fun.

Make-up sex is nature’s way of keeping the divorce rate down.

Not only do partners forgive one another after a bad argument, but enjoy the bliss of being in one another’s arms afterwards.

This feeling of bliss after days or weeks of pent-up stress often brings couples closer together than before the argument.

Make-up sex helps make a bad situation better.

So how can a business turn a bad situation into a better one? Employ what I call, “Make-up Marketing”, the ultimate in customer service!

Makeup Marketing: Turning an unpleasant situation into a positive experience.

As a business owner or manager, we all encounter bad situations or mistakes in our business. In fact, the more customer facing people employed, the more chances of bad situations occurring.

No matter how well-managed a business, mistakes happen. Therefore, have a damage control plan or customer service policy in place.

By turning a poor customer experience into a positive one, or rather, by employing makeup marketing, losing a customer can not only be avoided, it can turn that customer into a loyal one.

Warming up to my server.

My wife and I had dinner at Kit N Kitchen, a small restaurant several blocks from the University of Hawaii, several weeks ago, and I was mistakenly served two of the four courses at the same time. Impatiently, I asked the server to take back the second course and keep it warm until I finished the first one. To my surprise, instead of keeping it under a warming lamp, they prepared an entirely new dish. The chef apparently didn’t want the garlic shrimp to get dried out.

That impressed me. It demonstrated the concern management had for my dining experience, and it showed the pride they had in their restaurant.

They turned an unpleasant situation into a better one (and I have been back twice since then).

I might not have thought as highly about the restaurant had the mistake not been made!

I experienced Make-up Marketing!

Empower employees to offer excellent customer service.

Have a company policy that supports Makeup Marketing. Allow your staff to make bad situations better. You will create better employees while building a strong, loyal customer base.

…and, they won’t need a cigarette after a job well done!

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning”. Bill Gates

Tags: customer experiences, customer service, customer service policy, make-up marketing, make-up sex

How Much Are You Worth?

Your fifth grade teacher may have one answer and your stock broker another. But as a marketer, knowing your customers worth (known as a customer’s lifetime value) is essential in developing or implementing a marketing plan.

So, what are you worth, to say, your favorite clothing store or restaurant?

My favorite pizza joint was “Antonios”. Before it went out of business, I ate there on average, once a week.

If you had asked Antonio what I was worth, he would have looked at you oddly, and said, “$24.95”. That was the cost of a large pie with the works.

What Antonio did not factor in, is customer lifetime value.

If he had, he would have known I was worth about $6,500, and I may have gotten the respect I deserved… and he may have still been in business.

If you know the lifetime value of your customers, you will have a better idea on how much you can afford to spend to acquire them.

Determining a Customer’s Lifetime Value

Multiply your customers’ average purchase by how often they do business with you. Then subtract your hard costs and multiply that by how long you think you will have them as a customer.

You can access this data from you customer database. If you don’t have a customer database, get one!

For now, figure your repeat customers will do business with you, for three to five years, if you are a service business, and seven years if you are a retail business.

Lifetime Value of a Homeowner with Weeds

As an example, you are a gardener and charge $100 per visit. You come every other week to mow, weed, trim the hedges and blow leaves and dirt from one side of the yard to the other.

Your average customer stays with you 5 years. Then they move, get a divorce, or make their lazy fifteen year old kid finally do some chores.

Lifetime Value Formula:

$100 (per visit) x 26 weeks=$2,600 per year

$2,600 x 5 years=$13,000

Now, subtract your estimated expenses, such as $150 for fertilizer and about $150 for gas per year times five years:

$13,000-$1,500 (expenses) =$11,500 potential revenue

Finally, subtract your acquisition costs. That would be the cost of advertising and/or commissions that, for example, averaged $200 per new customer.

$11,500-$200=$11,300 profit.

I’m being simplistic for this example, so don’t quit your job and become a gardener.

But do this:

1. Identify your most valuable customers, and treat them accordingly. The 80/20 rule is 80% of your profits come from 20% of your customers. Know who they are, and treat your best customers, better!

2. Know the lifetime value of your customers and gauge your acquisition costs, accordingly.

So, the next time you feel down or worthless, forget what your X wife said about you to all her friends. To some retailer or merchant out there, because you have a high lifetime value, you are worth alot!

Tags: 80/20 rule, acquistion costs, customer lifetime value

Highly effective ads require more than creative writing. It requires a compelling benefit or promise that allures the reader; an offer they can’t refuse.

Perhaps the real creativity in writing good ad copy, therefore, is not in how an ad is written, but how the offer is presented.

The most effective ad I ever wrote had a two-word headline and a big promise.  The ad was so effective it ran unchanged for over 15 years in six magazines that catered to the Waikiki visitor market and was less than a ¼ page in size.

One of the two words I used is the most powerful advertising word in the English language.  It is a four letter word that begins with F.

Can you guess what it is?

Oh, are you naughty! No…it is the other four letter word.

The second word I used in the headline was the product we were selling, which was film.  The headline read “Free Film”.

Not too sexy, not to clever…but the strategy behind the concept was genius.  It is that same strategy that internet marketers use today.

The client whose ad this was for has a chain of four camera stores in Waikiki.  If you were visiting Honolulu during the pre-digital camera era, and processed your photos before you got home, chances are you used this ad.

The ad was selling film and processing.

The margins on processing were huge, and the cost for film was small.

The ad said, if you bring in your film to get processed, you will get a roll of film for free.

The client took a hit on his film sales but made a huge amount of money on processing.  Customers loved it because they got something for free and kept coming back to process roll after roll of film before they got sunburned and went home.  The ad also increased store traffic, which enabled him to sell more stuff.

But I have razor-thin margins!

Not every business can afford to give products or services away, but many can use a version of this strategy.

When was the last time you bought razor blades? I am amazed at the cost of those little things and equally amazed at the great deals you can get by buying a combo pack that includes a razor. Often times it cost no more than the razors themselves!

That is because those sinister marketers want you to use their razors and razor blades. If you start using your new Fusion ProGlide Razor Blade you most certainly will replenish it with Fusion ProGlide Razors. I know, because the Schick Hydro Razors I bought by mistake last week, won’t fit!

Have you noticed how inexpensive computer printers are…but how expensive their refill ink cartridges are?

Internet Marketing Has Taken the Lead

Businesses on the internet get it. There are many sites where great white papers or EBooks can be downloaded for free. These businesses are providing a value to you, in hopes that a small percentage of those people will be interested in learning more about the products or services they offer.

There are loads of free apps you can download with an opportunity to upgrade it, for a price.

Many video game manufactures offer a free version of their newest games on-line with the hope they will get you hooked so you purchase the full version.

If you have a product with a high margin and an associate product with a low-cost, consider pairing them in a promotion.

If you have a service or product where you can afford to give a free sample or provide a free introductory period, consider doing it.

Then, write an ad about it. Chances are it will be the most effective ad you ever wrote!

Tags: Ad copy, creative writing, internet marketing, strategy

Perception is reality.

In the late 70’s while in college, I worked as a package designer in Los Angeles and got involved in the cusps of a feminine fade that spread across the country. No, it wasn’t the Farah Fawcett look! It was a product that promised women youth and beauty. A wonder drug that helped remove age spots and fade away wrinkles.

My assignment, I so boldly accepted, was to design an eloquent package for this new fountain of youth product. I was instructed to spare no expense, a directive rarely given to me though my wife follows it often, when buying shoes.

I used embossing, glossy varnish, rich gold foil , and a host of other printing and design tricks to make the package and product look as if it were of the highest quality.

Immediately after the project was done, I received another assignment from the same client; to design a package for a product that promised youth and beauty to women who used it. A wonder drug that helped remove age spots and fade away wrinkles. Sound familiar?

I wasn’t having a déjà vu. The client wanted to offer the same product but with a different brand name and price point. This was going to be sold for about 20% less, if I recall correctly.

Positioning establishes a product’s image.

When the second package design was completed, I asked the client why he would want to compete with himself.

Two reasons he explained. The first, if I don’t compete with myself, someone else will!

Secondly, the less expensive product will help position my more expensive Vitamin E oil into a class all its own. Women want only the best when it comes to their cosmetics.

They want hope that something will make them look better and younger and the more expensive the product, the more hope it will give them.

Oh no. Was I part of a consumer conspiracy? I didn’t want any part in this diabolical scheme to fool the public or at the very least middle age women with disposal income.

People pay for feelings.

We have all bought something to make us feel better. A Gucci handbag holds the same amount of stuff as an ordinary purse that is 70% less and doesn’t necessary look that much different. A Rolex watch keeps the same time as a Seiko.

Many car enthusiasts believe the top of the line Hyundai Equus is as good a car as the Mercedes-Benz sedan. It has a better warranty, handles better, has fewer problems, cost less to maintain, looks as good and is half the price. But how many people would prefer driving it?

Luxurious items make us feel better. Right or wrong, that adds value.

The next time you buy something, ask yourself how important packaging and pricing is playing on your decision-making process. They are the key components to positioning, and positioning is the magic in marketing!

Tags: Branding, Hyundai Equus, Mercedes-Benz, positioning, pricing, Rolex, Seiko

I was twelve when I got my first marketing lesson at The Pink Poodle.

Before the proliferation of McDonald’s and all the other fast food restaurants, places like the Pink Poodle dotted the San Fernando Valley, in Southern California. They served hot dogs, hamburgers, milk shakes and almost anything else that was unhealthy but tasted good.

It was a popular hang-out for teens, especially during the hot San Fernando Valley summers.

My best friend Bill and I ate at the Pink Poodle often. Bill got a huge allowance and treated me almost every week-end.  The owner and cook befriended us and learned I was a budding artist.  To keep two of his best customers happy, he gave me my first career break! I got a commission to create a “No Loitering” sign. In exchange, I would get $1.75 worth of food, in trade; big money for a kid without a college education.

The sign was made (with my mother’s help) and displayed in the dining area. It was a proud moment for me.

The Marketing Plan.

The owner wanted to clear out the rift raft which in his mind were the teenagers who were only buying cokes and fries and occupying his fifteen small tables for long periods of time.

Both the sign and his encouraging words soon took effect.  Those who had finished their fries and coke were asked in so many words to leave. Those who use to just hang around, no longer did.

My sign was a whopping success…and a precursor to my budding career in advertising and marketing!

Be careful what you ask for because you might get it.

The once crowed hang out with low yielding customers were all but gone. Now there were plenty of open tables and none where sticky.  All that was missing was the new high paying guests (like our parents and other taller people).  The owner’s plan was on track.

Guess what happened?

When you drove by the Pink Poodle, people noticed the place looked empty. They didn’t comment that the “low producing customers” or even kids were gone. They just saw a slow restaurant.

Busy restaurants attract people. If they are busy they must be good.

My first marketing lesson at 12 years old was; crowds attract crowds.

Success begets success.

People like to do business with successful companies and people like to eat at restaurants that are busy. If other people think something is good, it probably is.  How can a business or restaurant be bad if so many people are there?

Barnes and Nobles knows this. Check out all the cheap people who just hang out there to read a book or magazine. They even have comfortable chairs and encourage loitering. They know some of those loiters will be customers and those that don’t, well, they may come back another day to make a purchase.  At least they are making the place look busy.

That is because crowds attract crowds.

Always look successful. Everyone loves a winner.

Are you doing a seminar at a hotel and don’t know how many people to expect? If you think you are going to get 100 people, get a room large enough for 100 but set up the seating for 50 or 60. If you get 65 people, everyone will think you had a sellout crowd. Let a few stand for a while, then put another ten chairs out.

The event will look successful, and people’s expectations about your presentation will begin in a favorable light.

Congratulations. You just created a crowd. And crowds attract crowds.

Doing a restaurant grand opening? Make sure all the employees, family, relatives and vendors are there.  Make sure there is a crowd.

Remember, crowds attract crowds.

Ever walk into a retail store that is empty? You want to walk right out.

Improve the situation; make your employee or employees do something. They need to look busy. If they are, it means business must have been good an hour ago, or yesterday, and you just came in during the lull and missed the crowd.

Stocking a shelf with a new line of cosmetics or perfumes?  Make sure one SKU is missing. People will look at the display and unconsciously notice someone before them purchased an item from it.  It must be good if someone else thought it was!

You have just increased the chance someone else will follow that lead.

Create an environment that looks busy and crowded because crowds attract crowds…and that creates a buying frenzy. 

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Tags: Barnes and Nobles, Store traffic

There has been much written on viral marketing and how to put a business on the map using social media. But before that can be done, there needs to be something to talk about; something to get people excited about so they will talk about your business.

One way to create a buzz is to create a surprise.  People love surprises and best of all, remember them.

To surprise someone, all you have to do is something pleasant and unexpected.

Meeting expectations keeps you in business. Beating expectations or doing something unexpected can grow it.  

You are not a hero on Wall Street if you meet expectations, even if they are big ones.  Beat expectations, however, and Wall Street will sing your praise…even if the gains are modest!

Meeting expectations is the cost to stay in business.

Customers expect good service when they go to a restaurant. They expect good treatment when at a store and expect their Netflix DVD mailed to them as soon as their old one has been returned.

Do something unexpected, however, and magic happens.

Usually all it takes is turning a simple idea into a surprise; something people don’t expect.

Businesses that surprise customers; that do things unexpectedly, flourish.  In this era of viral marketing, that is  especially  true.  People remember surprises and talk about them.

I bet you can’t remember most of your birthdays unless you were lucky enough to have a surprise one.  (Mine was when I was 16).

Here is a short list of  surprises from local businesses in Hawaii that I remember:

• Communications Pacific, one of Hawaii’s leading public relations firms, had fresh hot cookies in their conference room every time I had a meeting there.

• Oceanic Time Warner Cable, the company that provides most of Hawaii’s  television and internet service, sends out an apology letter with a free On-Demand Movie credit for inconveniencing customers who need a home repair visit. (I love this one, ‘cause that was my initiative).

• Alan Wong’s, one of Hawaii’s five star restaurants, serve an over-the-top complimentary birthday cake complete with birthday wishes and your name written in chocolate on your plate.

• Banana Republic sends out birthday card greetings to their fashion conscious customers with outstanding discounts on your birthday.

• Nature Conservancy hosts notable events, a luncheon and trips for legacy donors.

• Super Geeks, a computer repair company, installs security protection, at no extra charge, when repairing your computer.

Will some of these things create a buzz for their customers, something worth talking about…even if it is on a tweet with no more than 140 characters?  For others, well, it’s harder to get upset in a meeting with fresh warm cookies in front of you.

What can you do to surprise your customers?

What if a gas station checked the air in your tires? (I know, it’s been done before)?

What if a clothing store input your fashion preferences into a database so they could mix and match outfits digitally for you or notify you when a new style comes in that fits your preferences.

What if the waiter at a restaurant welcomes you by name as he hands you the menu (because he was able to pull it from the reservations list)?

What if you got a Hershey’s chocolate kiss during Valentines day as you leave the store you frequent.

What if you could speak to someone in English, without an Indian accent, when you had technical problems with your computer?

Businesses are like people. Make a positive impression and they will like you.  Surprise and delight them, and they will want to spend more time with you…and…more money. 

Do you have a memory of a business that left a good impression on you?  I’d love to hear from you, the customer!  Please share your adventure, below. 

Tags: Alan Wong's, Banana Republic, Communications Pacific, customer's expectations, Nature Conservancy, Netflix, Oceanic Time Warner Cable, Super Geeks, viral marketing

What Drives Your Team?

Keeping employees highly motivated is challenging.  At least it was for me, during the seventeen years I ran an advertising agency in Honolulu. It was no wonder, when I went to Lex Brodie’s Tire Company to buy tires, I was dumbfounded.

When I pulled up to park the car, a service representative came up to greet me.  Let me repeat that.  When I pulled up to park the car, before I got out of my car, a service person was there to greet me.

With clip board in hand he asked how he could help me. He took down my information and that of my car and asked me to proceed to the office where another equally friendly person greeted me, took my work order and proceeded to match me up with the type of tires I needed given the parameters of my budget and how I drive.

Employees are proud to strive for excellence.

By being a Lex Brodie customer, explained the sales representative, flat tire repairs and tire rotations will be free, for the life off my tires. “We even offer free air,” he proudly boasted. (Something we use to expect from our friendly corner service station).

While I sat in the customer waiting area, I was mesmerized by the efficiency and enthusiasm of the staff.

I poured myself a cup of complimentary coffee while watching sales people, mechanics and office workers running from one side of the building to the other, getting customers in and out as efficiently and smoothly as a well oiled small block 350 c.c Chevy Nova with a dual feed four barrel carburetor. (Editor’s note: that was my high school muscle car).

Aside from having world-class customer service, Lex Brody was a terrific marketer.  He put the customer first, back in 1964, before it became a popular business phrase.

In fact, he became famous by creating his own buzz phrase.  It was simply, “thank you very much”.  He used it at the end of all his commercials and ads and said it with conviction and sincerity as did his employees.

But I digress.

How To Motivate Employees

Being a naturally curious person and always interested in improving myself and my business, I went to the front of the large open aired facility, walked past the front service counter and up a few stairs so I could introduce myself to none other than Lex Brodie, himself.

I easily recognized him from this TV commercials and where I was sitting having my coffee. I thought it would be interesting to meet this legendary business person who became famous for selling tires and thanking people, very much.

Not to my surprise, Lex warmly greeted me and invited me to sit down after I asked him if he minded if I asked him about his business.

I told him how impressed I was with how his organization is run and what his secret was in how to motivate employees.

“Easy,” he said. “I pay them and treat them well, I promote within and I practice the Nowall Theory”.

I looked at him trying not to look puzzled. As a business person and marketer, I should know about his last point, the Nowall Theory.

I scanned my brain trying to remember what it was but just could not recall studying it in school or reading about it.

“I confess, Lex”, I told the larger than life tire magnet; “I don’t recall ever hearing about the Nowall Theory. What is it”?

“Look around”, he said. “What do you see”?

I panned the expansive garage facility trying to notice something unusual like a giant thermometer with sales goals in place of temperature readings, but I saw nothing unusual.

“No walls”, Lex shouted out, as he raised his hands to show me he could see everything.  That’s the Nowall Theory.

“My office has no walls and my desk is elevated so I could inspect the entire operation from where I’m sitting.  My staff knows I am always watching and they know I always expect their best “.

Lex Brodie sold the business several years ago and has comfortably retired.

To the good fortune of our community, the business has maintained the ‘customer first’ culture, even with five stores. You can still see his elevated desk at the Honolulu location and to the credit of the new owners and managers has maintained the brand and reputation.

And for that, I say “thank you, very much”.

Lex Brodie’s employee motivation tips: 1) The ‘No Wall’ Theory: Set expectations and inspect, often. 2) Set a Good Example 3) Treat and pay employees well 4) Promote within.  Make them a part of the organization.

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Tags: customer service, Employee motivation, Lex Brodie's, Nowall Theory

Honey, Are You In The Mood?

I hate to shop. I do it when I have to, er, I mean, when my wife asks me to. I’m rarely in the mood to make buying decisions.

Luckily, for retailers, I am an anomaly. For most people (and all women), buying stuff is a source of comfort and enjoyment.

In Hawaii, where our economy is based on tourism, shopping is one of the top three most popular activities.

People like to shop so much, they have even created a holiday for it. Ho, Ho, Ho.

That’s the good news. The bad news is retailers have suffered.  On-line stores and the sluggish economy have taken a toll on their businesses since 2008.

So what’s a brick and mortar store to do to get more people in the mood? Unfortunately, they haven’t invented a pill for that yet.

Engage and entertain. It’s all about the experience.

Costco has cracked the code!

I love going to Costco.  I love the giant shopping carts and the fact I am not in a store but a warehouse. (Guys like warehouses).

I love the feeling I get when I think I just got a good deal (even if I have to buy enough toilet paper to last twelve months).  I love the hot dogs.  My Gosh, where can you get a hot dog and coke for $1.50?

But, it isn’t just the good values that make it fun to shop at Costco.  I am engaged and entertained.

Have you noticed how they change their inventory regularly?

There are lots of things you might find during one visit, but not the next. That creates a sense of urgency but also a sense of adventure.  “Look honey what I discovered on aisle 12; a set of six flashlights! Can we use that? No?  Oh heck, let’s get it anyway.”

At Costco, I go down every aisle looking for stuff I don’t need.

It is fun to look because they have engaged me. I go down those warehouse type rows, with merchandise packed on pallets, high over head, hoping to discover something new.

Wow, look at the outdoor furniture. What a deal!  I didn’t come here for outdoor furniture, but it wasn’t there two weeks ago and if I don’t get it now, I may never get a chance to get it again.

Hungry?  Every other food aisle on the week-ends has free taste tasting.  That’s entertaining, isn’t it?

The best bar in town serves relief.

We all have computers and most of us have smart phones, but I bet you still can’t keep out of an Apple Store.

It really isn’t a store is it?  It just seems like a place full of interactive, cool stuff. You can touch and play with every single item in the store.  I’m surprised they don’t have signs all round saying “PLEASE TOUCH EVERYTHING”.

The Apple Store is engaging.

At the back of the Apple Store, they have a section which generates so much traffic it creates a buzz.

No, it is not the customer service department.  That doesn’t sound engaging or entertaining.  They have a Genius Bar!

They actually make you feel good going there.  After all, you couldn’t be that dumb if you are at the Genius Bar. And while you are waiting your turn to talk to a genius, they have excellent computer tips that appear on the video monitors above the bar.  That’s entertaining.

In addition, they have enormous backlit slice of life photo displays on both sides of the store that make you feel good because you can see yourself as one of those happy people, making a colossal digital family photo album…even though you don’t have a family or at least one that looks that good.

What stores get you in the mood?

Buying decisions are emotive—not rational.  If it were rational, everyone would use the analytical side of their brain instead of their emotional side.  No one would buy Rolex watches because Timex or Casio keeps better time and is a lot cheaper.

Does the right lighting and music get you in the mood?  Check out the tunes at the store your teenage daughter likes to shop in. I promise the lighting and music is different from Neiman Marcus.

Are you more of a visual person? How about a mannequin display using real people?  Would that entertain you?

Would you be engaged if you were able to see an over sized digital picture of yourself wearing and comparing the different clothes you tried on in the dressing room?

As JW Wilson, the Executive Director of the Advanced Learning Institute and an expert in the Neurogenetics of marketing notes “You can’t get anyone to buy anything unless you touch them emotionally.  When people’s emotions are stimulated in the right way, neurobiological changes occur within them which can lead directly to the buying decision.”

Stimulate your customer’s emotions and see how your relationship with them and your business change! Get them in the mood.  It will be fun…and profitable for you.

Tags: Advanced Learning Institute, Apple Store, Buying Decisions, Costco, engaging customers, Improving sales, Neurogenetics

Secrets to merchandising, sales commissions and wall paper:

There was a wildly popular chain of small department stores in New Zealand that was managed and operated by the person who founded it over 40 years ago. The chain of stores was so successful, a corporate conglomerate bought it out and the founder left the business a wealthy man. Several years later, the very successful chain went out of business.

The following are three short stories with three big lessons of what happened after the corporate titans acquired the business, as told by the founder. (His name and that of his department store has been omitted, as requested).

The Silverware Story:   

The housewares department carried twenty different silverware sets, all of which were beautifully designed. However, only four designs contributed to 80% of the sales. (Remember the 80/20 rule, know as the Pareto principal? If not, read the earlier post titled “Craving For Loyal Customers”).   The rationale for such a large choice of silverware was that had there been only five or six silverware options, the consumer would have been disappointed in the limited selection and would have gone elsewhere to shop. That would lead to the customer buying one of the four popular designs somewhere other than their store!  The store’s goal was to have the consumer think they offered the largest choice and that there couldn’t possibly be a better selection anywhere else; thus buying one of the four designs at their store.

New management came in and dramatically cut the selections, eliminating the sets that were poor performers.  Sales dropped…and they weren’t sharp enough to figure out why. 

The Paint Salesmen

The paint salesmen had been with the founder of the company a long time. Some even started with him as the stores spread across New Zealand.  They were highly compensated.  The owner said they weren’t really salesmen; they were consultants.  “I know you want to add another room to your home”, one paint consultant would tell a long time customer, ” but remember when you made that last room addition, we pointed out any more construction would need another load bearing wall.” Naturally, customers bought a lot of their supplies and all of their paint from the store.

New management could not understand why paint salesmen were so highly compensated and pensioned them off in favor of young inexperienced workers which cost them much less. Paint and hardware sales dropped…and they couldn’t figure out why the department was in the red.

The Wall Paper Factory (My personal favorite)

The 80/20 rule did not work in the wall paper department. When it came to wall paper, 90% of New Zealanders, at the time, bought beige.  But the people who ran the wall paper factory, which was owned by the department stores, traveled the world every year in search of the latest colors, designs and fabrics.  The amount of money spent on those trips was staggering but the old-time retailer did not focus on the money. He boasted that they just needed to focus on the customer and the money would take care of itself.  The net result was that people would come to his stores and literally say “ooh” and “ahh” and be enamored by the beautiful and colorful wall paper department.  After hours of looking at swathes and samples and debating what would look best in their homes, customers would select the beige designs .

New management sold the factory to save money.   Sales in the smaller but more efficient wall paper department became unglued and the home decorating department unraveled.

New Zealand’s once popular small chain of department stores went out of business.

Focus on the customer and the money will take care of itself. 

Tags: merchandising, Pareto principle, sales commissions

Make your customers not only addicted to what you sell but how you sell it.

I am a self-proclaimed pizza-holic.  I consume a pizza a week almost every week. I even got my wife hooked. We can’t stop.

To my good fortune, Antonio’s New York Pizzeria is a few miles from my home. Antonio’s is one of the best pizza restaurants in Hawaii, and I became one of their best customers.

Every Friday on the way home from work, I would call Antonio’s from the speed dialer in my car and order dinner for my wife and me.

I was such a regular I knew exactly when to call to place my order while in traffic, so it would be piping hot and ready to be picked up when I arrived at the restaurant. I would quickly slip the pie into my insulated pizza delivery case and race home.

I love the smell of a new car, but it does not compare to the smell of a simmering hot Antonio’s Special,  in the front seat.

Everyone at Antonio’s knew me, including the owner, a former professional wrestler.  I’m not going to use his name in this post because he knows me and is a former professional wrestler.

For safety reasons lets just call him Mr. T.

In addition to my Friday night pizza fix, I often took friends there for dinner. I’m guessing I must have introduced well over two dozen people to Antonio’s, and Mr. T knew it.

Treat all your customers well but treat your best ones better.

I was not only a loyal customer to Antonio’s; I was an Antonio’s evangelist. Mr. T, however, never saw it that way.  If he did, I did not know it, because he never thanked me for my business or referrals.

Oh sure, he or the cashier would provide the customary “thank you” after I paid for my order, but I never felt like a special customer. Mr. T never came up to my table to ask (in front of my guests) how I liked dinner or if there is anything he could do for me.

Was I looking for attention; did I have abandonment issues as a child and seeking approval?

Yes, to the first part of the questions, and I don’t think so, to the second part.

Wise man once said, “Spend every day as if it is your last, and treat your best customers well, or they won’t last”.

Whole Foods Market opened across the street from Antonio’s four or five years ago and besides offering free range chicken and organic apples, sells pizza in their ready-to-eat section. The pizza is to die for so I quickly added them to my speed dialer and soon was able to time my order with where I was in traffic, so my pick-up time was just right.

What happened to my sense of loyalty to Antonio’s?

What about our memories together; those dinners at the restaurant with friends; all those take-out orders enjoyed at home? Didn’t that count for anything?

I gave and gave to Antonio’s but didn’t get anything back (except my order). I didn’t feel loved.

Just once, Mr. T could have offered me a free refill, even though the sign over the Coke dispenser said NO FREE REFILLS.  Just once, Mr. T could have given me a complimentary pitcher of root beer when I filled up his place with my friends.

How about just a “thanks Alan for bringing in your friends, I really appreciate it,” remark.

Would I have still cheated on Mr. T if he treated me as one of his best customers?  Perhaps on occasion…but Whole Foods would not have been able to wrestle me away from Antonio’s if Mr. T made me feel like his place was mine.

Ever watch the popular TV series “Cheers” back in the eighties? It was a bar where everyone knew your name. The regulars would have never left Sam if a bar across the street opened and served colder beer. To the regulars, Cheers was their place.

Remember the 80/20 rule: 80% of your business comes from 20% of the customers.  Be sure to make that 20% loyal.

Tags: customer loyalty, customer relations, customer retention, customer service, Restaurants