Laura's Letters: A complimentary newsletter on business relationship development
##########################################
Vol. 6, Number - January 2005
Publisher: Laura Benjamin
http://www.laurabenjamin.com
(C)Laura Benjamin International 2005
Reprints upon request and with attribution
##########################################
Quote of the month:
"Divas do it, golfers do it, pilots do it, violists do it,
sprinters do it, soldiers do it, surgeons do it, astronauts do it...
only business people think it isn't necessary to train." Tom Peters
===========================================
Privacy Statement: I never release your contact info. Period.
============================================
In This Issue
============================================
1. Marketing
2. Service
3. Management, Leadership, Supervision
4. Useful Resources
5. Shameless You-Know-What
=============================================
1. Marketing Tips
=============================================
Give As Good As You Get:
Oprah Winfrey's giveaways not only give her a sense of personal
satisfaction, but certainly can't hurt her public persona and
reputation. Her Nov 22nd episode featured 300 teachers who
received thousands of dollars worth of gifts. Do you think
this effort will benefit her business as well? Of course it
will. Not only is she attracting sponsors who donate a great
portion of the gifts, but website visits and magazine sales
have to benefit as well. Emails through her website from deserving
recipients alone range from 12,000-15,000 each week.
How can you use this concept in your business? What can you give
away that not only improves your reputation, but attracts possible
customer/clients for the future? It'll cost you some bucks, but
I'm betting you will see altuistic as well as bottom line benefits.
-----------------------------------------------
A Marketing Match:
I recently took my daughter to lunch at the Black Eyed Pea, a
chain restaurant known for old fashioned home cooking. As we
waited for our food, I noticed the type of customers walking in
the door didn't necessarily match the music being played. The
customer base appeared to be more of a mature group, while the
music appealed to a crowd more along the lines of my teenaged
daughter. I actually had to ask the waitress if they could turn
it down because it was making conversation quite difficult.
It occurred to me that this company spends big bucks to attract
a certain type of customer and yet when they walk in the door,
they are bombarded with an environment that is out of sync with
their preferences. What's up with that?
---------------------------------------------
It's Story Time: Can This Customer Be Saved?
Not in this case...she's long gone. A friend has been with a
national wireless phone company for over 5 years. She pays her
bills like clockwork. Recently, she had to call Customer Service
to ask for a replacement phone, since she misplaced hers while
on travel. The first thing the rep mentioned was that her bill was
overdue. My friend acknowledged that the payment was in the mail,
but questioned the rep about the due date, which was still two days
hence. She asked the rep to review her account and said, "Have I
ever been late?" The rep acknowledge that she had always been on
time with her payments, but then pressed to take a cr. card payment
over the phone. My friend again stated that her payment had already
been mailed and there was no reason to make a double payment. The rep then said she was unable to help my friend with a replacement phone
until the bill was recorded as paid. She then told my friend (the
loyal customer of 5 years) that since she hadn't paid her bill, she
would have to visit a wireless phone store to get a replacement phone.
Act II: My friend goes to the phone store and while waiting to be
helped, she overhears a customer next to her who is also getting a
phone and has just found out he qualifies for $100 off that phone.
When the service representative approaches my friend, she asks about
the $100 off a new phone and is told, "Oh, no, you don't qualify.
That's just for new customers."
Act III: My friend is now stopping by a Radio Shack store to pick up
a battery and as she is checking out, the service representative asks,
one question: "Happy with your cell phone service?" After 5 years with
one company, she switched in a heartbeat.
This scenario would make a perfect sales/service team meeting case study, wouldn't it? What went wrong? How could this customer have been saved?
=============================================
2. Service
=============================================
Microsoft realized over two years ago that it had a significant
customer satisfaction problem. They decided to revamp the way they
deal with customers and are starting to see positive results. Want
to know what they did to make a difference? Here's the list.
You'll note that these are not unique issues. Perhaps one or two
might benefit your business as well.
- Logistical problems. They had no good systems in place to respond
to difficult complaints, or even the ability to track whether
customers were having the same problems. They created a map to track
the problems that were systemic and those that were individualized.
They then developed a "traffic control system" to route questions
to the appropriate business units.
- Security threats. Employees set up phone trees so key people could
respond quickly. Similar to the military, they set up a "Situation Room"
where the company now monitors and tracks security threats to strategize the appropriate response.
- Communication issues. They weren't talking to their customers.
(Imagine that) Now they send employees to spend time at small businesses and report back on improvements needed. Customers report that they saw the company as a "faceless corporation" who weren't interested in listening to what they had to say. Emails had been unanswered and phone calls were not returned.
==============================================
3. Management, Leadership, Supervision
==============================================
Group-Think Performance Reviews
We've all heard the term, "Groupthink", haven't we? The best example
revolves around the fated Space Shuttle Challenger and the o-ring seals.
In Jul 1985, Morton Thiokol engineers noticed that lower temps caused the asbestos filled putty in the o-ring seals to stiffen, preventing it from
properly disbursing heat. Under pressure, engineers withdrew an objection to launch, despite prediced cold weather of 26 degrees Farenheit with 53 degrees as optimum. (For more info, search Google on Morton Thiokol O-Ring)
Now we have a new approach to "Groupthink" that has emerged related to the way Performance Review ratings are determined. Supervisors gather in a room to discuss the entire team's ratings and by concensus, they agree on what each person deserves. This practice is particularly helpful when you assign pay increases based on a bell curve. In other words, only so many folks can get a 5 or a 4 to fall within limited compensation pools. Sounds pretty practical at first blush.
Allow me to play "devils advocate" for a moment. Imagine you're a fairly
new supervisor, or you are somewhat new to the organization. Let's say you haven't been blessed with great debate skills and one of your employees is "up next". You believe they qualify for a 4 based on your assessment of their accomplishments that year. You lobby hard as best you can for them, but there are stronger, mightier personalities in the room. They present a more persuasive case and the jury...er, I mean, the team agrees that a "3" is more appropriate.
Here are some ideas to consider:
- Is an individual's performance strictly between them and their boss or
is it fair game as a concensus-driven decision?
- Are supervisors who are new to the team or the company more likely to
be unduly influenced in order to fit in and be seen as a team player?
- Are we taking "team" a little too far?
- What if you have a boss who isn't willing, or able to go to bat for you?
- Is there danger that a popularity contest might occur?
- Are we applying a "homogenized" approach to the process that drives the performance and profitability of the company?
In looking at this, my fear is that we run the risk of taking groupthink to
a whole new level. It may undermine the relationship between the supervisor and the employee. It may erode trust. And finally, it may contribute to mediocrity. We all know that our "shining stars" are not necessarily people who follow the traditional path. After all, aren't we looking for innovation, courage, and folks willing to step outside the proverbial box? When groupthink is present, who knows what gets rewarded.
==============================================
4. Useful Resources
==============================================
www.factfinder.census.gov
Type in the name of a town or city you are interested in to
get a complete demographic breakdown of the area. Click on the
Fact Sheet link at the top, left hand side of the main page.
After entering the name of the locality you will get a general
fact sheet. To drill down, click on the "show more" links next
to each topic. A great tool for small business owners, families
on the move, etc. and very easy to use.
www.recalls.gov
Six U.S. federal agencies have pooled information listing recalls
on consumer products like medicine, food, furniture, appliances.
They list the reson for the recall, a remedy, and contacts for
further recourse. It also allows you to report dangerous products.
===============================================
5. Shameless You-Know-What
===============================================
Laura Benjamin's complimentary electronic newsletter reaches
subscribers around the world. Over 90 of her articles have been
published internationally and her work has been featured
in magazines including Sales and Marketing Management, HRM Review,
and Today's Blue Suit Mom.
Laura Benjamin also presents for international audiences at
conferences, conventions, sales meetings, and leadership retreats.
To discuss her availability, please call 719-266-8088.
===============================================
To subscribe to this newsletter, fax your request to 719-785-5768.
===============================================
Laura Benjamin International
Colorado Springs CO USA
Phone: 719-266-8088
Fax: 719-785-5768
http://www.laurabenjamin.com
(C)Laura Benjamin International 2005
Reprints upon request and with attribution please
|
