Lisbeth Calandrino::

I hope this article is timely for you; it is for me.  For many of us the  economy is still moping along and we’re trying to figure out what to do next. Consumers are changing their buying habits, myself included. Friends are downsizing their lifestyles and examining their life choices. The recession may be over, but the landscape has changed.  In many ways it’s unfamiliar; at least it is to me.   I’m in a different place too. It’s not a bad place, it’s just a different place and different doesn’t always feel right–especially in the beginning.

Change is good. Well, change is interesting but it’s more interesting if it’s happening to you rather than me. In my case, I find when it’s time  for a change I put more hours in at the health club! Somehow I know it’s a safe place for my mind and my body. I feel less stressed after my workout and  feel I’ve done something good for me.

Each of us is building new roads, repairing our highways and hopefully avoiding serious pitfalls.  I’m convinced that sharing this journey with positive friends who have good intentions will make our journey more pleasant and safe. It’s time to re-cultivate your the garden and  get rid of the weeds that might be choking you from making new decisions. Sometimes, these weeds come in surprising forms–forms we call “friends.”

Just as I’m writing this article, I received this from Kevin Clancey a Realtor in Albany, New York from his Monday Morning Mojo:

The biggest obstacle to creating a wonderful life is self-limiting beliefs. A self-limiting belief is an idea you have that you are limited in some way, in terms of time, talent, intelligence, money, ability, or opportunity. - Brian Tracy

At times we all have limiting beliefs, and there’s nothing to fear except fear itself and fear can be defined with the acronym “false evidence appearing real”. So, now what, where do you begin? It’s time for you to become your own coach, a good coach.

Speaking of coaches, one of my guests on Red Hot Customer Service Show was John Stahl from The Growth Coach of New York  serving business owners throughout the Northeast. John talks about limiting beliefs. Of course, beliefs simplify our lives but limiting beleifs dis-empower and hold us back. John talks about “getting comfortable with being uncomfortable” while making changes. If you’re talking about business challenges, Johns says the biggest challenge is between the ears of the business owner. I think this is a problem that many of us share.

Coach Vincent Lombardi once said that the difference between a good coach and a bad coach is the good coach always knew what the end would look like. If you don’t know where your want to go, how will you get there? If you get wherever “there” is, how will you know it’s the right place? In Warren Bennis’s book, “View from the Top“, he examines ninety leaders and found that one of key strategies was “attention through vision.”

What’s vision you ask? Vision can be a simple act or a thought; what do I really want out of life?

What makes me happy?

What are my dreams, my goals or my purpose? What would I like more of in my life?

I know I want more time at the lake.

Sometimes visions are statement for the future, a destination that you want to achieve. Last year I joined Toastmasters. I have competed in several events and recently joined the advanced Toastmasters Group. My goal is to continue to advance my speaking craft–I love speaking. The club gives me the opportunity to test new topics, get feedback and make changes. It’s a way to continually focus on something that’s important in my life.

Your vision may be simple. If you are invested in the outcome and feel ownership over your vision, then the happiness is in the journey– the appreciation of the uniqueness of the components it takes to get there.

I know lots of customers that would disagree with this statement. If you’ve ever had a customer complaint on line than you know what I’m talking about. I have seen some mighty disagreeable comments that wouldn’t seem to go away.

How do you counteract these things? The first thing is to have your “great” customers  post loving comments about your service, your staff and your products. This way if you have any negative comments there’s a possibility they will get lost in the good ones or the complaining person looks like a nut job to the rest of the  readers. My experience is that most businesses don’t “stack the deck” with great comments to counteract the possible nasty ones before they occur. When a nasty comment is written, it is glaring.

I found myself the target of one of these feuds. A client of mine got some bad press for posting a photo without giving credit to the photographer. The title of the blog charged the customer with something other than the above which was not only incorrect, but slandering.  I pointed out the error of the title and immediately someone else became annoyed at me. (By the way, I checked with a lawyer first about my concerns which turned out to be correct.)  The title charged the customer with a very serious crime, obviously the writer didn’t understand what he was writing.

Online remarks can get very sticky. One of our local supermarkets received an unflattering comment on Twitter which was responded to by an employee of the market. The employee was so upset he went to the commentator’s boss and suggested the person be fired! The target took his case to the local newspaper and the rest is history.

Last year I was curious about a local luggage store so I went online for testimonials. Much to my dismay, there  was more than one nasty comment. When I went to the store to have my Tumi luggage fixed, I told the manager about the comments. His reply, “I never noticed”. Needless to say they closed the following month; they had been in business for over 20 years.

Some thoughts about what to do before it happens and after:

Manage your own publicity; get your happy customers to post great comments.

Post articles of value for your customers; articles that make them smile, feel special and get valuable information.

Be aware, watch for comments, Google your business to see what’s being written about you and your business. Sign up for Google alerts.

Blog about your great customers. Interview your customers about their families and their businesses. Make your customers your business partners. Great customer service means giving your customers what they want and possible helping them to stay in business.Consider the bank or insurance company  that provides valuable workshops on marketing and sales  for their small business customers.

By the way, I couldn’t find any. But it stands to reason if your customers can’t stay in business neither will you!

It was reported that two kittens, Snowyday and Winter somehow dented the bell on a $5000.00 bass trombone.

Trouble in river city.

How did they do it? They probably used a  a chair. The owner, Anthony Giles, a professional trombone player, felt dented, just like the bell but unexpected events often lead us to new discoveries and new ideas.

Did  Edison really sit on the light bulb to create its unique shape? The best brass repair guy was called in New York City. Everyone knows  The Brasslab, Chuck Alexander, the master of Red Hot Customer Service. The “bone” was packed up for its trip to New York City.

An immediate diagnosis indicated that the bell needed to stay for  repair. This is not good. So, the trombone player, Anthony Giles went searching through through his “spare bells” and came up with a 10 year old  bell which turned out to be a better fit for his playing. I’m told that, as a musician, you’re always looking for ways to improve; By accident he had found one.

I think the kittens are not only off the hook but may be psychic and  were trombone players in one of their other lives.

So what  does this mean to the rest of us mortals? Can we possible train our mind to move from “victim” to being “proactive?” Stephen Covey in his book, Seven Habits of Highly Successful People  talks about “mindfulness.”

Make lemonade out of lemons, the obvious.

Realize that even a seemingly a  disaster can be a new path for your life.

Be always thinking and wondering.

Life and success is all about attitude; never let circumstances dictate your feelings.

Think out of the box, why do you even need a “box to think out of ?”

Did I  say, don’t leave your trombone on the floor?

Can you give it away and make more money?

The other day I took my video camera to Best Buy. I was looking for a microphone to add to it as well as a stand. By the way, I didn’t buy it at Best Buy but you can always find an associate that will help. I usually ask, “Who’s the  best electronic person in the store?” and someone comes running. Being confident is at least 1/2 the sales game. A confident and friendly sales person is what most customers are looking for when they shop. He booted up his computer to tell me that a microphone wasn’t available for my camera , but he offered to print me out the instruction book, which was, of course, long gone. I asked about my flip camera, which I carry with me all the time just in case. We talked about it’s resolution as well as the  new wireless flips. As a side note, if you’re doing a closeup interview the flip is great; it also takes still photos which are better than your phone photos. If you’re taking serious videoing, it should be  done with a high definition Camcorder. I asked if there were classes available, so people like me can learn how to use what they buy.  He said they tried. They even offered to let the customers shop before the store opened and gave them the employee discount. The problem? No one came for the classes.   I see different types of training in various Best Buy stores  but nothing live in  Crossgate Mall, in Guilderland, New York. Maybe they didn’t try it long enough or put out enough publicity?

The other night I awakened at 4am and turned on the television. I started watching the Home Channel Shopping and there was the best pitch man selling my flip camera. I got up, grabbed my camera and watched while they walked me through every phase of the camera; it was so close up I thought I was on the show. They also shot a video, played the sound and showed the final  so I could see how it sounded and looked. I actually bought my nine inch Dell mini computer during one 3AM show!  I love it and by the time I received it I knew about it’s idiosyncrasies.

When you call the Home Shopping Network they make you feel like family; they encourage calls and ask if you’re a “regular”. Now you know you’re family.

What does this mean for your business? Is there a market for the “do-it-your-selfer?” Can you show the customer how to do simple installations of your products?

If you’re selling kitchen appliances, can you hold a cooking demonstration show to sell your wares?

How about a design clinic for your floors, walls and window treatments?

Are you a mechanic? How about a clinic on “car noises”, what to look out for like the Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers?

If you’re in the floral business, how about teaching the customer to design a simple holiday wreath?

There’s an interesting concept called “Freemium”. The Freemium model works off the premise that you give a way big stuff.  To some extent, The Freemium business model goes against what many of us have been taught. We’ve been taught to give away “little stuff” in hopes that the customer will come back for the “big stuff.” (Skype) is the best example of this business model, connecting millions of us with online video telephone connections  around the world. The site also offers a “premium service” at a fairly low rate. This is truly a great service. How many people use Skype? According to WikiAnswers , there are approximately 480 million people using Skype and 42 million making daily phone calls! Skye sells video cameras, phones, computer-to-land minutes and tons of other stuff. They make a ton of profit just from offering part of their basic service for free!

If you get a minute check out the Freemium model and see if it can help your business.  Remember giving customers what they want is true red hot customer service and great customer service is how you  build your competitive advantage. Why not make money too?

Goal setting with your employees

A friend of mine, Tabby Chapman, suggested that I  map out my goals. “Oh no,” I said, “not another time management, goals setting exercise.”

“No,” she said, “Let’s try something different, you like pictures and words. Let’s see what you think.”

What is it? Mind mapping is a way to show your ideas and concepts with pictures  and words. The structure is based on not only your ideas and concepts but your values. It gives you a visual way to think, analyze and comprehend your ideas. It will also help you generate new ideas. Why is it so powerful? It’ simple.

Mind mapping is not like traditional note taking or text. From what I read it more closely resembles how your brain actually works. It’s attraction is that it is both thought provoking and artistic. You get to draw pictures as you map out your plans. It’s actually fun.  It looks messy but don’t we think that way? This will allow you to use both language and pictures to express your goals and ideas.

You can actually take notes using mind mapping; this is an interesting way to  work with your employees (you will get a much better idea of how they think and what motivates them to come to work.)

Consider a new way to plan for your business.

• Train your employees to set goals based on their values and motivations.
• Problem solve with words and pictures.
• Gain insight into complex problems; a picture is worth a thousand words.
• Get your creativity moving and have some fun.
• Think about your personal life also, wouldn’t this  be a fun exercise with your family and your loved ones?

How do you begin?

1. First you need a big piece of paper, cardboard is best because it has   stability.
2. Get crayons, magic markers or paints if you want to get fancy. Magic markers are easier to work with.
3. Start with your ideas, what do you want to develop? Check out the layout of your paper before you begin; it is suggested that you use the landscape orientation.
4. Start with your central topic and create subtopics; connect to each one of them to the center with a line.
5. Keep adding subtopic and connecting; don’t forget to use your colors and pictures if you choose. Try to be as visual as possible. Don’t worry about  drawing skills, you will be surprised at the talent in your group.
6. Make your notes short, a single word if possible this will make it more effective.
7. Change letter sizes, fonts and how everything is aligned. Remember we are creating a way for the mind to remember your thoughts.
8. I know this is just a start but if you want more you can research it online.
9. Have fun.

We worry so much about our store branding, our product branding; what about our personal branding?

What is it that successful companies have figured out—McDonalds, Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts? You might answer good marketing but more specifically it’s about their brand. Branding used to be just for products, not any more. Branding is a combination of intangible and intangible characteristics and sets you apart from others. Whether you define it or not, you have a brand. Branding is your reputation; it’s what sets you apart and the value you bring to the situation. As my mom said, all you have is your reputation.You’re not defined by your job title or your job description you are defined by the value of your reputation.

AS the CEO of your own company, what you stand for is as important as what you sell. When there is a ‘disconnect’ between who you say you are and what you do, it makes people untrustworthy.  Consider Tiger Woods and how he has been portrayed in the media. Over the years his agency has worked hard to portray him as a serious, focused golfer and family man. Although this may be true, the last few months have made us question his previous branding. Not that Tiger wanted to portray the other part of his life but because it’s so different than our original perception, we begin to question everything he does. When he came out and discussed his personal life the gamut of feelings were disgust and sadness. In my mind there was no reason for him to discuss his personal life. He is considered one of the finest golfers in the world; this has nothing to do with his personal life.To stand the test of time, a brand must be built from the inside out, not the outside in. Unfortunately his brand is ‘performance based’ and he is only as good as his last performance or his last win. His private life was his private life until he made it public.For the most part his brand was build on an authenticity, a hard working focused golfer.

We all have a brand. Paris Hilton’s brand was one of beautiful, fun loving, well spoken and a young woman living her life. Recently she was arrested for drug possession which changes the nature of how she is viewed.

I don’t think many of us think too much about our brands but we should. This is why your social media profile and behavior should reflect who you are. It is foolish to post anything that is not flattering to you on your social medial platform. We are all entitled to fun and a few drinks now and then but having to be driven home or forgetting your keys because you were drinking certainly takes a way from your creditability and ultimately the credibility of your business.

Okay three things to think about when building your brand:

Clarity, who are you, what you do and why it does it matter? Here we are again, building differentiation and your competitive advantage. If you know what makes you different it helps you determining a market strategy. I think you can have lots of customers you just can’t have all of them. But if you’re clear on who you are, you will get your share.

Consistency, can you be counted on to act the same way no matter what the situation? I had a boss once who was fine until about the third week of every month when the inventory was due. She became nasty, angry and just awful to be around.When the monthly figures were unveiled, her job was on the line.

The last is character. This is what makes you. This is your personality, your sense of humor your excitement for life. This is what brings you to life and make people want to connect to you. This is your gift and your “personal flair.”I know people say Lisbeth you move so fast, you have so much energy and enthusiasm; these are considered my gifts. On the other side is the Lisbeth who gets bored easily, worn out with not enough sleep and is short tempered. The better you know yourself the better you will be at connecting to your “special customers and friends.”

Are you running after BSOs (Bright Shiny Objects) rather than sticking with the tried and true strategies that built your business? If your strategy revolves around your past customers, it still works; it just may need an update. There’s no need to change your strategy in midstream. I know customer service might sound boring to some of you, but great customer service still works. The words are the same but the stakes are higher and what passes as customer service is passé.

There was an interesting article in the New York Times about Miley Cyrus. (What We Talk About When We Talk About Miley, July 11, 2010). According to E-Poll Market Research, Miley’s appeal to her core group of customers, ages 13-17, has dropped from 45% to 24%. It seems that Miley is beginning a new chapter in her life. A seemingly nude photo of her with a short drape wrapped around her chest in Vanity Fair, a whirl around the stripper pole wearing bird wings and black ribbon corset now defines the new phenomenon known as Hannah Montana. The fans are mortified and leaving her for Selena Gomez and other role models more to their liking. They’re embarrassed.

Maybe this isn’t a bad move but the transition might have been a little smoother. The fans that Miley’s after may also have trouble viewing the new, all grown up 17 year old. Apparently Miley was seen in a video post on MTV giving a lap dance to a 44 year old director! The 17 year old isn’t legal to get into a bar to perform. The fans that built her business are leaving her in boat loads; can she replace them that fast? Could she have kept them, grown up with them?
Is she afraid she will get stale? Did someone tell her she needed to grow up; it wasn’t her customers.
Are you afraid your business is getting stale? If you’re having an ongoing dialog with them they will tell you what you need to do to stay on track. It seems that Sam’s Club, a division of Wal-Mart, has been surveying their customers to figure out how they might help them. Many of their customers are small businesses who, according to a survey by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, have had trouble getting business loans. In fact only half were able to borrow last year compared to 90% in the mid 2000s.

In order to do this Sam’s Club must assess if the firms were rejected due to the overall caution of banks or due to their weak balance sheets and cash flow. Maybe the companies are not credit worthy.

There are several powerful incentives to spur Sam’s on. Companies with access to capital are more likely to buy products and service from Sam’s Club so the money carries very little risk. Again, finding what your customers need will help you evaluate your customer service.

Do you know what your customers need? Have you changed accordingly? Toys R Us are pushing their customers to ‘save with them’ for Christmas by offering 3% interest if they open a Christmas savings club with them. Like the old fashion Christmas Clubs of the past they are trying to make sure their customers have money to spend. Target is giving customers 5% off on all their purchases if they use the Target credit card.

Consider redefining your customer service with your customer’s help. What about your small business customers? What are you doing to help them stay in business?

Maybe Wal-Mart is redefining customer service?

How do you feel when you’re on the sales floor or in the warehouse? Are you excited, happy to be there? When was the last time you walked out of a shop or put down the phone after purchasing a product and immediately you yelled WOW was that great? Funny isn’t it? Wouldn’t it be great if your customers would feel that way about your business every time they dealt with you or your employees?

How many times have you felt your customer was interference and how much better your day would be if customers just weren’t around? By the way, you’re not the only one who thinks this way. Plenty of small business owners get burnt out and begin to dislike their customers. If you’re going to run a successful business you will have to find a way to get your customers to yell this place is Red Hot!

Here are some simple tips to get your customers pumped up and ready to do business with you again. These positive responses will make you feel better and impact your bottom line.

Promise and deliver

Too many businesses are reluctant to commit to anything and customers walk away with a nagging feeling that nothing good is going to come from this transaction. Check out your business, what “promisables” can you highlight in your marketing and sales stuff? How many things can you turn into ‘over promise and over, over deliver?’ Forget the under promise and over deliver. If you can’t do it better than right, don’t do it.

Or, consider becoming Tony the Tiger.

For 54 years on the back of the Frosted Flakes Box, he growled, Grrrrrrrrrrrrrreat. He's excited and smiling and he made you feel great. Are your staff feeling Grrrrrrrrrrrrrreat? Are they filled with enthusiasm, excited and happy?

The only impression is the first impression. Is everyone modern, clean, fresh looking or worn and tired out? Are your customers saying Red Hot for all the wrong reasons?
Step up to the plate You are the problem solver, step up and do the job. Everyone says they give great customer service until there’s a problem. No one wants to hear the complaint or deal with the unhappy customer. This is when the customer service starts. Fix problems quick and efficiently.

Become the customer’s good friend. When a business owner recognizes me, I’m putty. The more time they give me and show me they care the more I want to buy. Turn strangers into friends.

Give a ton of value for the money. Go for medium price and great quality, this will always create Red Hot.

Call them, call them and call them. Don’t call just because there’s a problem, call when everything is great and rejoice with your customers.

Make your list of ‘promisables’ and teach everyone to deliver the best.

Resources:

Red Hot Customer Service: 35 Sizzling Ways to Heat Up Your Business and Ignite Your Sales

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?

Seven year old Michael was asked on national television why he was wearing the Silly Bandz. His reply, because the kids in school are wearing them. This won’t be the first or last time that people do something because their friends think it’s a good idea. 

Prepare yourself, for those of you that don’t know what I’m talking about. The present fad, as of this blog, is Silly Bandz. Silly Bandz are rubber bands shaped like animals, dinosaurs, sports, princesses, and lots more. They come in a pack and can be found in various stores ranging from $2.99 to $5.00.

Manufacturers and shop owners are having trouble keeping up with the craze that is spreading like wild fire. There are lots to choose from– animals and pirates to roses and water creatures — playgrounds are turning into swap meets. Makers are constantly thinking up new shapes and colors to keep the interest high. I went on EBay to look at the latest styles and was amazed to find Silly Bandz in New York Yankee shapes.

What makes this so crazy and awesome is the simplicity of the business. It’s just colored rubber bands in all kinds of shapes.

What’s this mean to you and me?

Why do we make everything so complex? Sometimes simple is better and simple can make you money. I invite you to think about what you’re making complex that’s really simple? Sometimes simple ideas can ignite a fire faster and longer than you can imagine.

Is there something that’s really simple that you’ve made complex? Maybe simple is simple! The wheel has already been invented.

You don’t need a million dollars to create something, you just need to have an idea and go with it. After a few drinks a friend of mine shared a secret she had been carrying for years. I thought maybe it was a story about the one that got away—not the fish kind, but an unrequited love. No, it turned out to be a drawing of an appliance, a drawing of a side-by-side refrigerator. See this, she said, as she pulled out a crumpled piece of paper that was barely legible. I invented this years and years ago but never had enough guts to get a prototype built. Why do you carry it I asked? It’s to remind myself that life is short and getting shorter.

What’s that mean to you? When you’re thinking about starting a business, don’t make it so damn complex. Instead of telling yourself it might be a bad idea, tell yourself it might be a good idea. Sometimes simple ideas can ignite a fire faster and longer than you could ever imagine. As humans we tend to over think things. Sometimes simple is simple. Find ways to relax so you can dream up some new ideas. My favorite site by the way is Serenity Pathways by my friend Bonnie Snyder.

What else can we learn from Silly Bandz? It started as a fad and now everyone is crazy for them including the 20 year old with 4 on her wrist.

Create something catchy, get a new fad going. If nothing else, go buy a bunch of Silly Bandz and advertise on your web site that for every $1000.00 spent the buyer will get a bag of Silly Bandz. The quicker you get on it the more likely you are to catch the first round of customers. If your customers have kids, after seeing your offer, the kids will drive their parents to your store.

Watch the trends, be on the cutting edge, blog about it. Your customers expect you to be smart, why disappoint them? I just ordered 200 for my next seminar; I don’t want to be left behind!