Archives for Building Products

Space Shuttle to Mars—Now That’s Customer Service!

December 7, 2012

Starbucks, visionary leaders! 

I don’t go to Starbucks for the coffee. 

Let’s face it, I can pick up a coffee from the local Yum Yum Donuts down the street. Why is it that I’m willing to possibly go out of my way, wait in a line and pay more money for a cup of coffee? It’s all the details surrounding the actual purchase of said coffee.When I grab a cup of joe anywhere else I get just that, a cup of coffee in a styrofoam cup. The end. At Starbucks I get a coffee experience!

How Starbucks Builds Trust

Starbucks knows me. They know you. They know us so well, in fact, they’ve created an experience we didn’t even know we wanted. They took the simple act of selling coffee and turned it into an art form. That’s what building trust is all about. Getting creative. Going above and beyond to consistently surprise and delight those that you love. In business it’s turning the act of selling into the art of serving. Starbucks has done this successfully by paying attention to the details surrounding the coffee. 

Consistency – coffee how you want it every time in any store all over the world
Availability – locations everywhere, including the grocery and the airport
Atmosphere – relaxed, warm and inviting
Sound – familiar tunes and new artists provide background entertainment
Trained Associates – not just coffee servers, but baristas who know coffee
Extras – healthy snacks, hearty sandwiches and decadent confections that pair perfectly
App – find a location and pay with ease
Community – local flavor breeds familiarity
Rewards – spend money, get free stuff
Communication – consistently sharing what’s happening

Notice, I listed nothing about coffee—their claim to fame.

Experience a Connection

People buy from people. People buy an experience. Every company, whether B2B or B2C, is similar to Starbucks. The unique opportunity exists to create a more powerful connection at every customer touchpoint. Fascinate, surprise and delight, just like Starbucks. Doesn’t that sound like alot more fun than “selling”!

Creating this kind of experience takes more than just special cups and a fancy title for your sales people. It takes real planning. And not the kind that happens at the annual company budget meeting. It takes clear positioning, strategy, creativity and a willingness to step outside our comfort zone. In his bravest and most challenging book yet, The Icarus Deception, Seth Godin explains why true innovators focus on trust, remarkability, leadership and stories that spread. Starbucks has successfully created a trust by focusing on the customer experience. By being remarkable. By making their customers part of their brand story.

It’s time to re-examine every customer touchpoint and design a more remarkable customer experience, like Starbucks. It’s time to stop pleasing and start serving. Let’s surprise and delight in 2013. Whose with me?  

(Excuse me, I’ve got to finish my venti iced coffee with cream now—aaaaahhhh!)

Make your presence felt.

 

Allison DeFord POSTED BY: Allison DeFord| 1 Comment

What are you thinking right now?

October 11, 2012

Allison's Think Glasses 

You’re probably thinking how jealous you are of my super cool glasses.

These are my think glasses!
(actually, they belong to our mannequin, Trudi, but don’t tell her I took them)

Sometimes when you get overwhelmed or “under creative” you need to shake things up. Take an action. Do something out of the norm to change your course. Have some fun.

See things with new eyes!

You may wear many hats during the day. Consider some new cool glasses instead. Looks pretty good from where I’m at.

Now what are you thinking?

 

Make your presence felt.

Allison DeFord POSTED BY: Allison DeFord| Leave a comment

Where’s The Fun?

August 16, 2012

Where's The Fun?

What’s fun about your brand?

Anything?

We’re fond of saying that people don’t do business with companies, people do business with people. Its no surprise then, that successful brands are built on relationships and social interaction. What’s a great way to enhance both? Humor. 

Laughter makes everyone feel good. And the good feeling that we get when we laugh remains with us even after the laughter subsides. Humor helps us keep a positive, optimistic outlook. It attracts us to others, eases anxiety and fear, and strengthens relationships. Humor and playful communication strengthen our relationships by triggering positive feelings and fostering emotional connection. When we laugh with one another, a positive bond is created. This bond acts as a strong buffer against stress, disagreements, and disappointment.

How could humor, laughter and fun benefit your brand?

1. Humor gets people out of their heads and away from their troubles.
Humor can create a more spontaneous connection with your customers.

2. Laughter helps people forget judgments, criticisms, and doubts.
Humor can create a cooperative environment for customers, instead of a defensive one.

3. Fears of holding back and holding on are set aside.
Humor can create a safe zone for your customer relationships to grow.

4. Deeply felt emotions are allowed to rise to the surface.
Humor can create an emotional connection with customers based on transparency.

Let’s look at two companies that have tapped into the power of fun and are laughing all the way to the bank: New Pig Corporation and Big Ass Fans.

Can you imagine what could possibly be fun about “cleaning the oil and grime off tanks, equipment, walls and floors in dirty factories”? Not much, right? Sometimes finding the fun can be right in front of you, if you just open your eyes…

The New Pig Corporation’s original prototype was a 40-inch nylon sleeve filled with ground corncob. While testing its absorbency in a pool of dirty oil, someone called it a pig because it looked like it was wallowing in the stuff. The name stuck. They loved it. Their first users loved it. But when it was time to trademark it, they weren’t sure that “pig” would be the best name for an industrial product. A big-city advertising agency even advised them against it. “Your target market will never accept it,” they were warned.

New Pig trusted their customers and their instincts instead. They named the product the PIG® Absorbent Sock and co-founder Ben Stapelfeld chose the name “Pig Corporation” for their fledgling company. When he discovered it was already registered to a Pennsylvania farmer, Ben simply added the word “new” at the beginning to create “New Pig Corporation.” (http://bit.ly/NyWQLl)

What could be funnier than the study of air movement? Well, a lot of things. But that didn’t stop some dedicated big fan experts from taking a hint from their customers and capturing the humor in their brand…

Big Ass Fans started in 1999 as the HVLS Fan Company, but after 3 years in business finally bowed to the sentiments of its customers and conceded that they did, in fact, design and manufacture some Big Ass Fans. It was therefore a natural step to change their name to Big Ass Fan Company, and to “adopt” their mascot, Fanny the Donkey, shortly thereafter. (pun intended) (http://www.bigassfans.com/company/)

Their career page begins with: Work Hard and Play Hard at Big Ass Fans. That’s right, PLAY.
They note that they have “an outstanding work environment allowing employees to meet professional goals, learn new skills and most importantly, have fun.” They invite those who “like being an ass”, to don the Fanny suit for a number of charitable events they support. Fun is an essential part of their company culture. (http://www.bigassfans.com/company/play-at-big-ass-fans/)

Is there something fun lurking inside your brand? Harness the power of humor and create a deeper, more meaningful connection with your customers.

Make your presence felt.

 

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Lori Sallee POSTED BY: Lori Sallee| Leave a comment

Creating Wild Anticipation

August 15, 2012

Create Wild Anticipation
There’s a famous story about two shoe salesmen – each visiting a developing country to begin selling shoes. The first salesman gets off the plane and quickly notices that no one is wearing shoes. Downtrodden, he calls the home office and laments, “No one wears shoes here. Please book a return flight for me as quickly as possible.” The second salesman gets off the plane and notices the same thing. He quickly calls the home office and with uncontrollable excitement exclaims, “NO ONE WEARS SHOES HERE! Get ready for our inventory to fly off the shelves! ”

Perspective is everything.

People often talk about how quickly business is changing – some see it as a dirge and others see it as the door opening to an unlimited future. How do you see it?

In a recent Forbes article, Will Burns wrote an article entitled, “Beck ‘Produces’ A Genius Innovation That Appeals To The User-Generated Generation”. The article focuses on the possibilities of releasing an “album in an almost-forgotten form” and simultaneously creating limitless possibilities. The form: an “album” of sheet music – unrecorded in a beautiful, full-color package.

Simplicity. Nostalgia. Innovation. Seemingly disparate, opposite ends of the spectrum inviting and cultivating user-collaboration.

As the author speculates, “We will see Facebook albums, YouTube videos, web sites Tweeted. Anyone who takes a stab at producing these songs will pick up where Beck left off and promote the album for free. These songs will be everywhere. Touring bands may find new life if they can bill their act as “THE” interpretation of Beck’s album. It’s endless.”

This creative invitation for user collaboration, interpretation and sharing will inspire fans to create a new Beck community before he ever records the new album, coincidentally inspiring “wild anticipation” for his next concert.

My question: hasn’t there always been a “user-generation”? We call them “customers”. Its the people who use our products – either the way we designed them to be used, or “off label”, inspiring innovation. Is there a way to bring back something in your business to inspire wild anticipation for your brand?

Change your perspective. Make your presence felt.

 

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HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME: Measure Your App 6 Ways To Sunday

July 11, 2012

 

HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME: Measure Your App 6 Ways To Sunday

Just when you thought you couldn’t love Google Analytics any more than you do, they tell you about their summer plans. The best part: its all about YOU. Well, you and your app.

You’ve always loved your app. Heck, you created it from an idea. You put time into its strategy and creation, and it commanded a pretty penny to produce. Seems like only yesterday doesn’t it? But now, you’re wondering, “Was it worth it?” Google Analytics has felt your pain. Is your app worth it – wonder no more.

Currently in beta, and scheduled for release at the end of summer is Mobile App Analytics – courtesy of your friends and purveyors of all things free at Google. Unlike its older sibling, Google Analytics, this new mobile version of the infamous (and FREE) analytics will focus exclusively on a holistic view of your app – from from discovery to download to engagement:

• Downloads
• New Users
• App Sales
• In-App Purchases & Revenue
• Retention
• Conversions
• Crashes
• User Behavior
• Users By App Version
• Users OS System

What kinds of things will you be able to do from this new influx of yummy data? Not waste time on keeping support alive for outdated and unused version of your app for one. Support programs can be tailor-made based on specific user information: Who are your active users? Who opens your app everyday? Who has the newest version of your app? Who still uses an older version? How many people use the old version vs. the new version? What operating system are most of your users on? Who likes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Forget that last one.

Making your app more relevant and streamlining your efforts – what could be better? Doing it all for free with Google Mobile App Analytics. Done.

Something to look forward to when summer is over…

For the whole scintillating story, stop by Google Analytics

Image: Matt Stanford via Flickr used under a Creative Commons License

 

 

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Lori Sallee POSTED BY: Lori Sallee| Leave a comment

Pinterest Packs a Retail Punch!

June 7, 2012

Pinteresting 

Two of the most common challenges you’re facing right now are ONE how to engage consumers better and TWO how to engage architects and designers. Even though many of you are in the BtoB space, you can certainly take advantage of engaging consumers and specifiers earlier in the buying cycle. Someone is going to drive them there— that someone can be you. 

Consider these recent consumer statistics as reported by MultiChannel Merchant:

  1. Nearly two out of five (38%) online consumers follow retailers through one or more social networking sites.
  2. Four in 10 (43%) said they are looking for product information and 36% want to post/read comments about merchandise or services. 
  3. Three in 10 consumers who follow retailers via social media say they are looking for information about events (34%), current trends and ideas (31%), or photos and videos (30%), such as “how-to’s” and styling ideas, as well as expert opinions (27%).
  4. Online consumers in the U.S. already follow an average of 9.3 retail companies on Pinterest, compared to the average 6.9 retailers they follow on Facebook and the 8.5 retailers they track via Twitter.

I am asked daily, “With Facebook and Twitter and Google+, should we also have a presence on Pinterest?” My answer is YES. Pinterest is an obvious choice for ANY retailer interested in driving sales – especially in light of the phenomenal growth that Pinterest has experienced just this year alone. 

The sheer number of people flocking to it, spending time on it, and the referral traffic generated from it are reasons enough for brands to be involved with it. Historically advertising has focused on “words” and “information” to sell products to customers. Pinterest is different AND revolutionary because it is 100% visual. (not to mention FREE) You know the old saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words!”

Pinteresting Statistics

+ Average of 1.36 million users daily

+ The majority of visitors are females 25-34

+ 28% have a household income of $100k+

+ 15.8 minutes is the average time spent on Pinterest, ahead of Facebook and Twitter

+ 11,716,000 unique visitors in January 2012

+ Shoppers referred by Pinterest are 10% more likely to make a purchase than visitors who arrive from other social networks. They’ll also spend 10% more on average. (Wayfair)

The opportunity for connecting with your audience comes with linking each image back to your website, or to a landing page designed specifically to showcase a specific line, product or project. Imagine what you could say with images and idea “boards” of all the things you can do with the products you carry. The possibilities are limitless. And, the best part, it’s all trackable.

Brings to mind a question from a book I’m reading right now: Are you doing the most with what you’ve got? You’ve got a way to pack a real visual punch! Show consumers and specifiers what they can do with your products on Pinterest! 

Here’s to making your presence felt!

Allison DeFord POSTED BY: Allison DeFord| Leave a comment