Entries Tagged 'General' ↓

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Every once in a while a rare customer will take the time to tell you you’re doing something really well, or you just plain stink and your momma’s ugly too.  Both of these extremes seldom represent the average customer.  However, how you can almost always turn a complaining customer into a fan as demonstrated with my Cheesecake Factory experience.  The average customer won’t tell you anything, but they will talk to people in their circle of influence.  Many customers just vanish, and you never really know why. 

There is untapped potential in people who are your former customers.  Perhaps they stopped patronizing your business because you have new competition.  Maybe someone in your business made them mad.  Perhaps they’ve found better prices or better service elsewhere.  You’ll never know until you ask.

I serve on the marketing committee of a private high school.   In recent years, this school has been plagued with dropping enrollment.  Students were leaving, and many people had a theory, but no one had definitive answers.  The marketing came up with the idea of inviting parents of former students to come to the committee meeting and share their stories. Continue reading →

Most weeks this blog is targeted my primary customer, business owners and managers.  Today I want to turn things around for a moment, and talk to the customer.

Sadly, as evidenced on this blog, and many other places, good customer service can often be very hard to find.  Sooner or later the day will come when you will be very disappointed in a company.   You have several options, but most people choose to do nothing besides belly-ache to a friend or spouse.

I want to encourage you to write a complaint letter.  There is power in the pen!  Written properly, a complaint letter can stir up action, get you a refund or under the best circumstances, change the business. Continue reading →

In the media business there’s something called “proof of performance.”  When television or radio spots are run, an affidavit is given to the advertiser swearing that the spots ran at the stated times.  It’s simply a record that what was promised actually took place.

Whether they’re stated or not, every business makes promises to the customer.  How well you keep those promises may be the difference between success and failure.

A local amusement park, that I’ve been to a handful of times, promises an experience that is safe and fun for the whole family.   The park has all the usual family fun center attractions like miniature golf, batting cages, laser tag, race track and lots of arcade games.   Scattered throughout the park are TVs playing the latest music videos.  It’s those videos that caused the park to break it’s brand promise. Continue reading →

I’m spending this week in Nashville at a music convention.  In my day job I work in radio, so at least once a year I make a pilgrimage to Nashville.  On any given day at the Nashville Convention Center you’ll see famous musicians and some of the best radio people in the country. 

Attached to the Nashville Convention Center is the Renaissance Hotel.  The lobby of the Renaissance is the hang-out of the Nashville famous, and the wanna-be famous.  It’s funny to sit in the lobby and people watch.  You’ll watch two people sort-of recognize each other and try to look at the other person’s name tag without being obvious.  That’s when the “Nashville Music Star Handshake” and the small-talk ensues. Continue reading →