Through the Mirror of Your Customer
Astronaut Eugene Cernan once said, “If you begin to think you’re something you’re not, you’re looking in the wrong mirror.” In my opinion, many industries have been looking in the wrong mirror for a long time! Soberingly, those businesses are being forced to see themselves anew – in a reflection of the perceptions of their…
Service Professionalism – Neither Scripts Nor These 5 Gems
Once upon a time…in a land far, far away…I was a young organizational development specialist employed by a sizable health care system. My job was to “improve customer service by deploying employee scripts.” Given my naivete, I took to my task by researching the best available customer service programs. Ultimately, I purchased a boxed set…
The SDI’s of Millennials
In the 1950’s, a number of ministers and politicians railed against the “evils of rock and roll” and implied that the youth of the day were adversely affected by the insidious nature of the music. Despite that music, most of us who lived through the 1950’s and 60’s did so without too much lasting damage.…
Easy Wins
Ahhh, summer – a season of sunshine, valiant efforts to slow one’s life down, and vacation travel. It’s hard not to notice, however, how our great escape efforts are often marked by so much preparatory and participatory stress. Marketing guru (and a man who was kind enough to endorse my Zappos Experience book) Seth Godin recently posted…
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…