Lis Calandrino

The era of ‘glass houses’ and the ‘transparent generation’ have a lot of people nuts. If you grew up in my era this is how it went: If your sister drank it was a family secret and you did your best to keep it away from your friends or even your cousins. Life was all about secrets. Today the same scenario if done properly could land you a television script, a movie part or a spot on Oprah. The least would be a video uploaded to YouTube, an interview with your drunken sister, a book deal or at least a blog and a minute of fame somewhere. It’s no wonder the over-50 crowd can’t get a handle onthis and are wondering why?

According to a recent survey of execs from 100 companies of varying sizes, 78% of respondents said their companies were using social media — but just 41% said they had a strategic plan. Four out of ten active Facebook users say the site is a good way to get information about companies and products. It seems like every business is on Facebook except your business. Does this help you know what they’re doing?

It's alarming but not terribly surprising that half the companies using social media are basically flying without a parachute. This is not where you want to be in the new land of ‘transparency.’

We’ve seen it all or at least most of it. Someone can Google your name, take an aerial photo of your home or find out your social medial standings by downloading Xobni. Xobni is an Outlook plug-in that helps you search, organize your inbox and categorize your emails. It’s pretty amazing and pretty intrusive. Customers have access to complaints.com, ripoffreport.com and pissedoffconsumer.com to name a couple; all these sites are set up to let consumers vent.

As a person you can be as private as you like, as a business it’s more challenging. Prior to the Internet, consumers had no place to go other then the Better Business Bureau, who was kind enough to call you and let you know you had a complaint. If you’re really a celebrity or have annoyed enough people the complaint will be Twittered away and you may be the last to know. Let’s face it, the consumers are in charge and the best thing you can do is manage your online presence. Remember the story about your sister?

• Rule number one, shut up and listen. Don’t make any excuses even if you’re right. Customers aren’t always right but if you want to keep them, you will have to make them right. Sometimes if the comment is online a happy customer will come to your defense. Don’t wait too long; you will have to take it on.
• Become a super-sleuth and investigate your business. Know what consumers are saying about your business and where they’re saying it. Make a point to regularly monitor comments about your business. This includes Facebook and other social media haunts. This is one of the reasons you need a Facebook page. According to Trendwatching.com, Facebook is nearing 500 million users. The average user has 130 friends, spends 55 minutes a day on the site and receives three ‘event invitations’ to real-life gatherings every month. Foursquare allows users to explore their neighborhoods and get rewarded for doing so. This also means an unhappy customer can immediately trash your business.
• Handle the problem immediately. By failing to respond immediately to a serious problem you lose all control of the story. You have got to fill the vacuum of ‘what happened’ before the press or your customers do. Remember the Tiger Woods nonsense.
• Get your happy customers to sing your praises online. Before it hits the fan, and maybe it never will, collect testimonials, videos of ecstatic customers or audio interviews of delighted customers. Upload these to your blog, Facebook or have them plug you on Twitter.
• Have good content on your blog. Good content and useful information on your blog will help connect you to your customers. Someone with great information can’t be all bad.
• Monitor your employee behavior on line. The NFL and colleges monitor their athletes' Facebook pages. Set some employee guidelines for online behavior. Anything you post on Facebook can and will be used against you in a court of law.

Where did I hear that before?

I just returned from a trip to Orlando, FL and worked with several different groups of people. Business owner Randy Stinson of Stinson Carpets invited me as a speaker for the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce and to meet with a group of flooring retailers to discuss business concerns. Stinson Carpets, a leader in the flooring industry, was given the honor of Mohawk ColorCenter Dealer of the year for the Florida Region. Randy Stinson, CFE of Stinson Carpets,  is community minded and a team player. He hosted the discussion group at his store and invited other regional Color Center Dealers as well as the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce. In addition Stinson’s has the privilege to host the Chick-fil-A Leadercast here in the area on May 7 from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.  The Leadercast is about experiencing authentic leadership, learning from the world’s best leaders, awakening your passion to influence and aspiring to impact lives.  

Why does Randy work so hard in the community, especially when business is so challenging? 

"I’ve always been a team player," says Randy. "I believe in my community and in bringing events that benefit all of us. With the world changing so quickly it’s important to stay with and ahead of the trends. Customers are the lifeblood of all of our companies and they deserve the best of what we have to offer."

Business is better, but business is different. The new home market is quiet, remodeling is picking up and residential customers are shopping. Things should be all good, right? Well there are some other things. These other things are called social media; specifically Facebook.
If you need to find information on a carriage, do you Google or Facebook? It seems that Facebook is starting to rival Google for information. Consider that you’re looking for information on a baby carriage. If you put baby carriage in Google you will get over 3 million citations. When you get all done, will you know what type of baby carriage you need; will you trust what you read? Let’s put “I need a baby carriage” and "what should I buy"  in your Facebook search and what will come up? Probably answers from 15 friends on what they’ve bought and what works. You can’t buy these referrals.

How important are referrals? They are the lifeblood of any business. By the time a business is 5 years old, 85% of their new customers will come from referrals. Every business needs to find a place for customers to share their experiences. Apparently recommendations from friends on Facebook are rivaling the Google search. Is carrying more weight than the Google search. It makes sense to me; I would rather hear what my friend has to say about the baby carriage than all the citations from Google. It’s personal and my friends have no vested interest in what I purchase.

It’s obvious what this means. You had better get up to speed if you’re looking for customers. Customers posting to your “like" (or fan) page will be providing information to “possible customers.” Think of how this can snowball and provide you with new customers.
We talk about word of mouth, with Facebook and Twitter you have the advantage of listening to conversations. You also have the opportunity to influence conversations with customer testimonials.

This brings me back to these meetings in Orlando. One of the big topics was social media, why it’s important and how it fits. Barbara Abramson, one of the group members,   not only knows how to use social media, I think she’s one of the most “in the know” flooring people I’ve met. Barbara and her husband Ira own Sanford Carpet, which they took over from Ira’s parents. Barbara has brought innovation and energy to the sales floor while Ira handles the installation. During our meeting Barbara was helping make videos, taking photos, tweeting and celebrating her birthday on Facebook. For the next meeting Barbara agreed to get everyone up to speed in social media if they wanted to meet again. Another outcome of the meeting was the development of the Central Florida Color Center Leadership Council. Despite the time necessary to effectively run their own businesses here is a group that’s devoted to each other’s success. They don’t see themselves as competitors, they see themselves as partners.

The next meeting is set and Barbara is going to get everyone up to speed in social media. This is serious folks, everyone has to bring their laptops and their Facebook and Twitter accounts and be ready to work.

Okay, so now you've heard the recession is over. I don't know what exactly what it means, jobs are scarce, credit card lenders are raising interest rates and banks aren't lending money to small businesses. I wonder what it would look like if the recession wasn't over? 

Maybe more of the same?

As the Newsweek article puts it: "When the economists proclaim a recession is over, they're celebrating a technicality: they mean economic output has stopped contracting. And while that's good news, you might wait awhile before adding Judy Garland's rendition of Happy Days are Here Again to your iPod."

What's the point? It doesn't matter whether the recession is over or not. What really matter is when will your customers be back and why aren't they buying from you? Most likely they're not buying from you or anyone else.  If you can acknowledge this, you"re on the road to recovery. If you're still in the unbelieving stage, your business is in trouble. There are still businesses out there that believe if they continue doing the same things the same way the customers will come. There are lots of businesses out there that believe it will all go back to the way it was. To believe this is to believe in fairies and warlocks.

Einstein's definition of success was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Many of the companies that exhibit these behaviors are companies that have been successful. They believe that success still awaits them no matter what they do. Unfortunately they are wrong. You've probably heard the expression, "what got you here will not get you there." Clinging to the past and what worked before will not move you forward. What will get you there there will be your ability to change, not your ability to cling to the past.

I speak to business owners every day; I admire the ones who call and say, "I don't know about that kind of stuff, meaning the Internet, but I hear it's where my customers are congregating."  These are the ones who will probably survive and grow to be different companies. They will be lean, mean and accountable.

I spoke with a business owner the other day who apologetically said,"When this is over, we won't look like the same company." I asked why he was upset and he said because his company was always looked upon as leaders and now they would have to  downsize. Let's face it, there are fewer customers in the marketplace and probably more businesses than ever who are chasing these customers. As a country we have never been here before and there's no blueprint for success. Smart business owners will have the guts to look the problems in the eye and say, it's time to move on. The bottom line is the bottom line and that's  pretty much it. I know that doesn't sound revolutionary, but neither does "we're waiting around for them to change" or "I'm waiting for the customer to come back." 

By the way, in case you didn't know it, customers haven't been on vacation. Customers are just apprehensive.  

So how do you change? Change is never easy; in fact, the more you know the less you think you have to change. While times are good many business owners stood waiting for their "payoff." Unfortunately it never really came. In fact, many of those who sold their businesses had to scurry back to reclaim what was left of their failing business. Why did this happen? Most of them sold the business to someone who was like the: running the business the same way. The new owner didn't think about changing either. 

One of the things that happens to owners is what Marshall Goldsmith calls the Paradox of Success: "I have succeeded, I can succeed, I will succeed and I choose to succeed." It reminds me of another powerful expression: "veni, vidi, vici" – I came, I saw, I conquered. Why doesn't it work? Because it's not that simple. What is happening in the marketplace requires a new mindset and can't be conquered by old strategies such as dropping prices or selling cheaper merchandisers. It's too late to try and do it faster and better. It's time to do it differently.

There are some things that might help but ultimately the answers to this problem have not been written.

• It's time to seriously start talking to your customers. Ask them what do they think about the economy, how has the economy changed their behavior, are they spending the way they did prior to the recession? Everyone I know — even those with good jobs — is apprehensive about spending money. Ask what they're doing to enjoy their lives, probably staying home. This is a good reason to make some changes to the interior.
• Ask your staff what' they're feeling: if they're apprehensive you can be sure this is influencing their interactions with the customers. It's called "misery loves company" syndrome. It feels good but neither party actually benefits. Coming up with solutions works, suffering together doesn't work.
• If new customers are scarce, call your old customers. Offer them an incentive to make a purchase or invite them in for a party. We can all use a little fun.
• Hold a networking party and invite neighboring businesses and past customers. I recently spoke at a networking party in New York City where all types of business people came to make new friends.
• Meet with other businesses and find out what they're dong to get new customers. Partner with them and hold an event; any kind of event, just bring in customers.

This is the season to be jolly and raise money for your favorite charity; collect toys, coats for kids and adopt a needy family. When your customer gets ready to shop you want to be noted for something other than the lowest price. If you don't do something, you'll be out of sight — and out of mind. 

Remember that one?

Several weeks ago I was invited to speak at Carpet Network’s Homecoming 2009 in San Antonio, TX. Carpet Network is a shop-at-home franchise founded in the early 90s by Christine and Lenny Rankin. At the time they had a very successful floor covering store and decided to take their concept to the next level. It was obvious to Chris that it was often difficult for customers to make decisions in the store. It was much easier when the customer looked at the products in their own home. "With that," says Chris, "the shop-at-home concept that was to be Carpet Network was born."

Chris continues. "At the time, when retail stores are struggling to survive, our mobile concept is booming. Our state-of-the art Unicell vans allow our customers to view thousands of carpet, floor and window covering selections from the comfort of their homes or business."

Just a note about franchised business, they are successful for one main reason: they have a proven system in place. There is no question McDonalds and Dunkin’ Donuts have survived because of their systems.  Franchise businesses have a failure rate of only 25% within the first five years, and traditional businesses have a failure rate of about 80%. It’s the system that works. By buying a franchise you are buying into a set system of rules and regulations that have been tested and work.

I keep hearing how business is so terrible and how there are no customers. And then I run into retailers like Taylor Flooring and Homevalue who tell me there are fewer customers but they’re doing good business and are seeing new ones.

Of course during this time you have to trim down your costs but you still have to have a plan for attracting new customers.  As I recall, when times were good you didn’t need a strategy to attract customers; there were so many customers coming in the door that you didn’t even have to be a good salesperson to get these customers to buy. You just had to be there. You know the old "build it and they will come" saying. Well, it was true. They just came.

Now they aren’t coming, and for lots of reasons. Maybe it's a lack of trust in the "system" or less money and more re-prioritizing of their lives and financing. If you didn’t have a plan before, you’re in a pickle. Those who are doing well or getting through this recession without losing their shirts have always had a plan. Plans have to be altered but your plan should have the basics of what’s necessary.

So let’s talk about your "brand plan."

You’ve relied on your brand and others' brands to get you through but has the message changed? The customer sure has, so your brand must change if you’re going to connect.  Customers are worried, and certainly see trusted brands as a safe bet. They're comforting in times when everyone’s all wondering, who can I trust? For those of you who have taken sales training classes you all know that "empathy" is the most important trait of a good salesperson or anyone or anything who’s trying to sell a product.  

Reducing quality, changing prices, taking away "value" that you have always given the customer will not increase your brand value.  These empathetic messages must say to the customer, we understand, I’m with you. The message "you should buy because things are cheap" or "we’re the only game in town" just makes you look like you don’t care about what your customer is experiencing. Don’t take out your frustrations on the customers.

Tactics such as rewarding only big time spenders or reducing quality so customers get to play less won’t build trust. Expanding your product offering at lesser prices is still value added. But reducing quality on items when you know they need better is not a good strategy.  Quality is still quality and value is still value, always keep that in mind.

Educate your customers on how to shop your products. Tell them warranties do matter and installation standards certainly make a difference. It’s time to go back to those values. Old time, new customer service.  In my book, Red Hot Customer Service, I talk about things most people have forgotten but that can still impact your sales and bottom line.

Remind your customers that buying the brand certainly does matter because it can be trusted. Don’t forget in times like these, your brand and your connection is what really matters. What are you doing to support your brand?

• Look at your warranties, do you remember to give them to your customers after the sale?
• Do you explain to customers how to take care of the products they’ve purchased?
• Do you call them after the job to say hello and make sure the job is perfect?

Do you do small things like show up on the job and talk with the customer? If the customer isn’t home do you go to the job and video the rooms that are complete and send it to the customer while they are at work? (This is a very creative move on retailer’s part.)

Realize that consumers have changed and this shift may be long term. Customers are very unhappy and untrusting and may insist that you prove who you are. Customers tired of the greed and lack of company ethics will demand accountability. I saw an interesting ad for insurance company RM Global. They wrote about the tornado that tore through Atlanta in 2005, leveling everything including the Atlanta Motor Speedway.  Three-and-a half months later the fall race weekend opened as plan. How? Because of the partnership between the Atlanta Motor Speedway and RM Global. More and more ads are showing connections. Oil companies talk about how they can reduce carbon footprints; Men’s Warehouse is offering to let the customer "keep the suit" if they lose their jobs, and most car companies are willing to take the car back if you lose your job — or help make the payments for you.

Will the recession end some day? Yes it will. The longer it takes the more damage it will do in the customer's mind. According to John A. Quelch, a professor at Harvard Business School, "During the recession of 2001, there was no decline in overall spending, although many cut back. It should be noted that this recession shows consumers being very frightened, which means that they will carry the sting for many years."

In other words, during the last recession we had, in 2001, consumers didn't change their spending habits! It's different this time, so it's time to get in step with your customer. We may be doing this dance for a while.

Resources:

• Age of Conversation 2 – Why Don't They Get It on Amazon?
• Harvard Business Review, How to Market in a Downturn
• Get to the Point: Small Business

Lis Calandrino is a sales trainer and marketing consultant who speaks around the country on topics ranging from retail sales to online marketing and social media trends. She can be reached at lcalandrino@nycap.rr.com or 518 495-5380.

According to a recent Shop Smart Survey, 76% of women will ask for help when shopping vs. 37% of men. This tells me that men would rather buy the wrong item than ask for guidance. Knowing this, you may not want to ask a man if he needs help in a retail store!

Also, 76% of women are likely to return an item they don’t like and for men it's 34%.

Oh, and men and women who shop together have closer relationships, how about that? As they shop they discuss their goals, their ideas and how they make decisions. They may also hold hands, which is considered a very intimate experience for women.

The study defined three male types and how women can shop with them.

1. Mr. Grab and Go!

This is the impatient man who just wants to get done with the shopping and doesn’t care what gets bought. You know what it’s like working with couples—he wants to run and she’s still looking. Give him something to do: television, wireless connection for his computer, magazines. If you don’t, most likely nothing will get done because she will get upset and just want to leave. Or he will be too antsy and insist they leave.

This is the man that stands there and taps his toe, keeps looking at his watch and talks about what else he has to do. Again, give him a task, get your Wii system hooked up and running, let him clean the warehouse or run the forklift.

3. Mr. Money-is-No-Object!

Sure this sounds like the best customer for you but he may just be there to flex the muscle that says "I can buy anything I want!" In any case, show that you are concerned about the money he spends and you want him to still get what’s right for him. With customers shopping bargains these days it’s wise that you show you’re concerned about spending and value.

More About Saleswomen

Remember, if you send a man out for a pair of pants, he comes home with a pair of pants. He knows what they wants, gets it and goes home. Mission accomplished. Send a woman out for a pair of pants and she comes home with everything, including a suitcase if she sees one she likes. Why? because women like the chase, and the chase is in your store. Don’t push her or “qualify her," she’ll do that when she sees what she wants and she’s ready.

The other night I went into a local furniture store, Raymour and Flannigan, in Albany NY, to browse. I had nothing in mind to do but look at things as I find furniture shopping to be a great pastime.

I’m greeted by a female salesperson who immediately says "nice shoes!" My friend Mary laughs — I think the salesperson must have been in one of my sales training classes. Rena takes us on a tour of the store, casually gets our names and asks, "What are you doing to your house?" Great line! I spend the next 45 minutes looking, talking, thinking of showing her a floor plan of my house. She continues to give me the tour, after offering a cup of coffee. We part as new friends. She says she'll call, which she does, and we continue to discuss my living room.

No she didn’t try to close me. How can you close a customer that’s really looking and doesn’t know what she’s looking for? Well you can’t and you don't; you make friends, get a phone number and go from there. She didn’t ask if I needed help—what woman needs help shopping? Name me one, I dare you!

The Hunt vs. the Kill

Remember, women like the hunt; men like the kill.

Hunting takes time; we look under every bush, in the cabinets and the closets if they’re open. We might even look in your price book if it’s handy. By the way, where did you get those shoes? No we’re not ditsy or disorganized, we just like the hunt, the planning and the big picture.

Women buy the big picture, men by products. Women only care about features and benefits when they’re ready to justify the buy. F&B’s don’t sell us—they just confuse us. We’re after how it will all come together, how we’ll use the room and what it all means. Men buy the pair of pants.

Women see endless possibilities, men see the pair of pants. Men didn’t notice your showroom—they don’t need it to make a decision. Women noticed everything about your showroom—that’s where we hunt.

Hey, if you’re female, happy hunting!

My friend Chris Clark, a Mohawk Territory Manager, sent me an email the other day about the importance of calling on end users and contractors. With business having been so good in the 90's, Chris feels that many of his dealers may be neglecting this profitable aspect of their business. At this time it's wise to think of all possible avenues and look outside your business as well as inside for new customers. In addition to picking up some new customers you are adding a stronger foundation for your business. 

Here are Chris's tips:

1. No one likes to make cold calls, so warm yours up before you go out. Before you call on anyone, go online to find out who you're calling on, their background, how long they've worked in the field and anything else that's pertinent to your call.

2. Make a list of end users, contractors and specifiers in your areas. Who do they represent? What types of products do they use and who do they presently do business with? Get yourself armed with this information so that you are focused and know the purpose of your call.  Business is tough for everyone so the more you know and the less time you waste the better.

3. Remember that with outside sales the possibility of sales is endless and you don't have to wait for the customer to come into your store. With business slow everyone needs to go out and "beat the bushes" as they say. In addition, think of how your attitude will improve everytime you find a new customer.

4. Objections? Sure, many of the people that you call on already have suppliers. This doesn't mean that they aren't looking for the future. In addition, good business takes time, business that is based more on value than price. It's up to you to have the patience and the knowledge.

5. Don't forget the annual report of a business and other subs that also call on these businesses. Hopefully you belong to a leads club or a networking group and can ask if there's anyone that might know the person you want to call. Can someone provide an introduction for you, in person or make a phone call on your behalf?

6. Want to increase your value? Know as much about your new contact's business as they know. Know their challenges and how you can supply them with solutions. This also means you've done your homework and they're not just another customer to you.

7. Plan not only the products that you want to show but your presentation. I'm amazed at how many salespeople know their products but stumble through their presentation, not anticapting objections and questions.

8. A good salesperson knows what to expect from their customers. If you do mostly retail business and you're going out on commercial calls you'll have to brush up on "what makes these people tick." One thing to remember is they're used to buying products, are aware of pricing and always are looking to save a dollar.This doesn't mean that they won't pay higher prices. It's for sure they won't pay you more money for the same product that they purchase from someone else at a cheaper price.

9. If you want to play the game "their way,"all  things being equal winning this game means having the cheapest price. The key is to change the rules of the game. Changing the rules means changing the products, providing  an additional service that they can't get that has value. When I was in the commercial floorcovering business I remember one of my installers, instead of standing around watching her husband and son install the product, she would clean the windows and the window sills. Unknown to me she couldn't stand the carpet fibers and dust that was created during the installation so she took out her glass cleaner and started to "tidy up." The word got around and she became the deciding factor on some of our jobs. Stella was our added value.

10. Don't hurry the process. Put together a plan, how can I add value, what written material would be useful to your new customer?

11. Get yourself dressed up, a jacket and a tie. Looking like you care what you look like also gives the impression you care about how your jobs look. Get yourself a good looking briefcase and hit the road.

Next time: what to do when you get there.

About 15 years ago I consulted for a company in the Cleveland market. On a trip to one of their stores the frustrated owner remarked to me "What am I to do?" His customers were speaking Spanish and he was losing business. In my mind it was a simple solution—hire Spanish speaking salespeople or teach the ones he had Spanish. This same problem occurred while I was doing training for another store in Ohio; the store was disturbed that a Hispanic grocery store was opening next door and the flooring store was getting many customers who did not speak English. Again the cry was, why can’t they all speak English? I guess the answer is: because they don’t. According to the research firm HispanTelligence, there area bout 40 million Latinos who make up 15% of the US population with a purchasing power of about $1 trillion by 2010. That’s a pretty big target market.

As I surf my TV channels, I see there are more Spanish speaking language channels than ever before.  Having traveled abroad it appears to me that in other countries residents speak multiple languages, it’s like going to kindergarten, you just learn. In the United States, it’s my experience that somehow we think that everyone should speak our language. Sure it would make it easier but maybe it’s what’s called globalization — not elitism or that the world rises and sets on the United States.

Do you have to speak English in the U.S. to succeed?  The C.R.I. publishes their specifications for installers in Spanish.

At the turn of the century, immigrants tried to assimilate to America.  And language was a big part in the assimilation process.  So a lot of immigrant families had an English-only rule. My mother spoke Italian with my grandparents but would not teach me how to speaking Italian—what a waste. My grandparents spoke English but when they didn’t want the grandchildren to understand what they were saying they spoke Italian.

I was speaking with my accountant the other day who was explaining he had to pick up his three year old daughter from language school; his adopted daughter is of Chinese origin—at this point she is fluent in Chinese as well as English. About as fluent as a 3 year old can be with any language. What was interesting was his desire for her to learn her native language and understand her heritage.

What we’re talking about is marketing, knowing who your customers are and then what influences them to buy. There was an expression: when in Rome do as the Romans do.

Speaking of being Italian

Several years ago I got the urge to be Italian. I mean, I am Italian but I mean real Italian. I started by holding  Italian Night dinners— where everyone has too much to drink, too much to eat, someone spills wine on the white table cloth we eat too much garlic and kiss everyone. The men all cook, and somebody even makes candy.

Did I mention the women do the dishes and the men smoke cigars?

The night became so popular that non-Italians wanted to attend. I’m planning my next one but you have to have been before, know someone or been to Italy to come. I’ll also have lots of photos of all my Italian friends. So the event is getting bigger, and that’s what an Italian family is about, lots of  warm people with those  deep set brown eyes that seem to go on forever.

I also joined the local American Italian Museum in Albany, New York after running into my cousin Nicholas Cozzolino in the Italian market. I hadn’t seen him in about a year but he has his own Italian “food mates,” studies Italian and has been to Italy several times. Boy am I behind.

I recently found out there is a trans-fat-free cannoli. Instead of frying the shell, it’s now baked.

Go delve into your heritage, video some conversations between you and your grandma or grandpa if you’re lucky to have them around. Part of what makes you special are the traditions in your life and your heritage.

Hey, write me some notes about your family.

"As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round." -Ben Hogan 1912-1997, American Golfer

If you listen long enough you hear the greatest things. I just came across an interesting study online about word-of-mouth business.  According to studies done by buzz agencies and aired on Good Morning America, women are twice as likely to purchase a product if their friends tell them that it’s good. Are you familiar with the fast-drying nail polish OPI in a pen? The manufacturers hired the firm SheSpeaks to drum up excitement. SheSpeaks sent the product to 9,000 women asking them to try it and share coupons with friends. The result: SheSpeaks says 120,000 Nic’s Sticks were sold based on the campaign, which is 13-times the original giveway. SheSpeaks says the redemption rate for the coupons distributed by its marketers was 300 percent greater than the rate of redemption for the same $1-off coupon inserted in magazines! The power of the Internet. Go to GMA and look at the various studies, maybe you could adopt one of these to your business.

After watching the Olympics, all I can say is I really feel like a slacker. Listening to the training schedules, the pressure involved, etc. No matter what my age I could never bend over like that!

Anyone who knows me has heard me talk about small windows of opportunities in life. All of a sudden it’s there–your shot at stardom, fame or wealth. Speedo and Visa — who sponsor Michael Phelps — certainly got their money’s worth. But there’s also Michael’s mom, Debbie, who was spotted wearing clothes from Chicos. Apparently she’s a loyal customer, and Chicos, for their part, has been getting free exposure.

According to the company, customers have been calling and asking where they can get the jacket they saw her wearing. As a loyal customer, they sent her a $100 gift certificate and wished her son the best of luck in the Games. Now they’ve gone a step further: they’ve offered her a line of clothing exclusively at Chicos called the Debbie Phelps Collection.

Since then, the crew at Good morning America and other T.V. personalities have been seen sporting her garb. “She is the hero behind the hero,” says Dan Mintz of the ad agency DMG. Will it help Chicos, which also owns White House/Black Market — a favorite of mine in West Palm Beach? Let’s hope so. According to USA Today, the company was down 18.5 percent from July.

What does this mean for you?

Getting real customers to advertise for you. A customer who can be spotted sporting your rug or hardwood floor — or who’s willing to become your cosumer expert.

Remember to pay attention, and don’t let an opportunity slip by!