Who Are Your Customers?
We don’t often think of Starbucks as being the new kid on the block. Yet, India Real Time, a blog published by the Wall Street Journal, fairly recently reported that the majority of India’s population of 1.2 billion people have never heard of it. Rather, their equivalent café experience is with Café Coffee Day (CCD)…
The Conundrum of Consistency: When More Becomes…More of the Same
Consumers value consistency. Consistency of service, consistency of product, consistency of availability, particularly when we travel. But consumers also value the unique and, of late, the local – that feeling of having discovered a secret gem. As a business owner, how do you cater to this perplexing paradox? Many brands enter communities and appear “out…
The Big Question – What’s Next For Our Business?
Growth and expansion are provocative words in business. They suggest all things good, abundant, and forward-moving – more revenue, more brand exposure, more leverage and influence. When seasons of success accumulate under your belt growth often feels like the next logical step, much like marriage after a long courtship. Yet, whether your business is big…
Getting Personal: It’s NOT Just for Valentine’s Day
Having the products and services your customers want and delivering them consistently is merely table stakes today. The real challenge is whether you get personal with customers! Let’s face it, we live in a service economy and are surrounded by service providers. Yet, oddly, we often feel that we are woefully underserved or worse –…
How to Speed-Train Seasonal Employees
Tis the season for…seasonal employees. This time of year temporary employees swell payroll rosters, even if only for a matter of weeks. When time is of the essence (or is nonexistent), how does your business train these new recruits to be an effective extension of your brand during the boom of commerce that engulfs November…
They Want to Talk – Do You Want to Listen? How to Learn from Customers
Does your business have a mechanism for collecting and considering customers’ insights? A good, old fashioned suggestion box or perhaps something more sophisticated? What do you do with customer input that comes your way? Principle 5 in my latest book, Leading the Starbucks Way, challenges businesses to both cherish and challenge their legacy. Honoring the…
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The Starbucks Experience: Leadership Tips eBook
Elevating Care in Healthcare: Lessons from the UCLA Health System eBook
