Rainmaking Secrets

When you discover a compelling difference that sets you apart from your competitors leverage it for all you are worth.

Commerce Bank, from New Jersey, offers its customers extended opening hours - which typically run from 7:30am to 8pm, 7 days a week. These operating hours mean Commerce Bank is open for more hours than any other bank.

To drive its difference home, the branches follow the ten-minute rule. Branches open 10 minutes early in the morning and stat open ten minutes later than the official closing time. Can you remember the times when you ran towards your bank to see the staff close the doors at 4:59pm?

The 10 minutes dramatizes Commerce Bank’s key differentiator by adding an additional burst of creative magic.

Popularity: 17% [?]

One of the things that I admire about Disney World is the way it transforms its low paid workforce into a cast of brand evangelists.

Walt Disney understood that the words we use frame the way we think and often behavior. Disney created his own language to support the Disney mission of delivering happiness through entertainment.

In Disney Speak:

• Rides or shows are always called ATTRACTIONS
• Employees are always CAST MEMBERS
• Customers are always called GUESTS
• Jobs are always called ROLES

On the surface, language can seem superficial or trite. But words create images that reinforce assumptions. Take the word GUEST. A disgruntled customer evoked a different image to an unhappy guest. Guests always deserve special treatment, while customers often evoke images of indifference.

If you want to create a service culture where staff stay in role or on-brand, start by changing the vocabulary you use to label staff, roles and customers. The right words really can mobilize your culture.

Popularity: 13% [?]

When you calculate the downside costs of not achieving customer engagement, its worth reminding yourself of what the benefits of achieving customer engagement are.

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s report Beyond Loyalty found 80% of its respondents said achieving customer engagement would improve customer loyalty. 76% said engagement would increase revenues. 75% said engagement would improve profits. And 56% beleived engagement would increase bigger market share.

When marketers being to seriously address the issue of engagement they might improve their credibility with their CEOs and board. The average tenure for a Chief Marketing Officer might also increase to above its current 21 month average.

Popularity: 6% [?]

A 2007 report from the Economist, based on research of 311 executives on their companies engagement practices tells us the ‘winning differentiator is no longer the product or the price, but the level of engagement - the degree to which a company succeeds in creating an informative long-term relationship.”

The term “engagement” has been used to describe all manner of marketing, loyalty, satisfaction and retention practices. But engagement today is about taking a more strategic view of customer relationships. The bad news is, highly engaged customers are the exception, not the rule.

Of the respondents that were surveyed by the E.I.U. only 13% believe their customers are very committed to their product, while 44% believe their customers are only somewhat committed. If CEOs really believe this, then they need to move heaven and hell until they get the results they want.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Hot fashion retailer Zara has one plaudits for the way it taps into fashion trends and converts them into hot clothes that are affordable - amazingly fast.

A Zara design can go from concept to store within 30 days. Zara employs over 200 staff in its Spanish design and development team. The team churns out an amazing 1000 styles a month.

The mantra in Zara is react rather than predict. Zara’s designers don’t attempt to predict or share the market like most of their competitors. Zara reacts to what they in the night clubs, on the streets and on the catwalks and tests them in their shops. What sells is replaced quickly. The sale dogs are cut.

Its a magic formula. Customers love it. They get the latest fashions, fast and cheap.

Zara’s short lead times means it continues to deliver more fashionable clothes. Thats why customers return to the store - on average an amazing 17 times a year (most competitors average 3). The lower quantities mean the fashion items are often in short supply. Low surplus stock means Zara doesn’t have to regularly purge its stock with massive end of season sales - so margins remain high.

The huge range of styles gives the customer more choice and improves the odds of Zara getting it right. Because Zara customers know Zara is always updating its stock, Zara spends very little on advertising. Zara’s hot fashion creates massive word-of-mouth among it’s target customer base.

When Ortago Gaona, the founder of Inditex, the owners of Zara, is asked what Zara does, he replies “Zara provides freshly baked clothes.” For the staff this translates into: react rather than predict.

The Zara formula also suggests that before long we will find that a lot more fashion brands will have to own and run their own retail outlets. Zara’s “fast fashion” is built on getting daily feedback from its own stores and using it’s sales associates and store managers as “trendspotters.”

Popularity: 15% [?]

Most of us are appalling listeners. We may have 2 ears and 1 mouth - but we rarely use them in the proportions nature allocated us.

The famous editor, Maxwell Perkins (1884-1947) who is credited with popularizing Ernest Hemingway, believed no one really listens at most social events. To test his theory, he turned up late to a cocktail party where he grasped his hostess’s hand and said, “I’m sorry I’m late but it took me longer to strangle my aunt than I had expected.” “Oh, I completely understand,” replied the hostess, smiling sweetly, “I’m so happy you could come.”

Listening takes place on different levels. At level 1, the person simply hears us, but makes no attempt to emotionally engage. think of the bartender who doesn’t smile or affirm your order but turns to the fridge and gets the bottle of Stella Artois you ordered.

At level 2 the barman would make good eye contact and smile.

Level 3 listening involves engaging a person so they feel that they are the only person. They attentively listen to ever word you say and engage you emotionally.

All staff engaged in customer contact need to be able to listen at level 3. Can you?

Popularity: 4% [?]

In the 1900’s all train passengers traveling from East Germany to West Berlin had to pass through Checkpoint Charlie.

At the border, an East German officer would check all passports and travel documents. As the officer checked each passengers papers he asked the same 3 questions:

1. Who are you?
2. Why are you here?
3. Where are you going?

These 3 fundamental questions were all the officer needed to ask to test the validity of the family’s travel plans.

When you are selling to customers you need to be able to answer three questions that your customers will ask of you:

1. What makes you different?
2. What makes your company different to other vendors?
3. What makes your company’s product or solution different to your competitors?

Before you ever sell to a customer you need to be able to answer these 3 questions with clarity and conviction.

Popularity: 4% [?]

BIRGing - Basking In Reflected Glory is a delightful acronym coined by Arizona State University professor Robert Cialdini and his colleagues. Cialdini and his colleagues found more students donned the logo apparel of their college football team on Monday, following the big game, if their team had won over the weekend. The pride associated with winning encouraged them to wear their school colors.

Brand advocated similarly like to be associated with the hot brands which they perceive to be “winners”.

By way of contrast, Cialdini & Co. found there was a downside to BIRGing. When their team lost they actively tried to distance themselves from their school team. Cialdini & Co. termed the mirror side of BIRGing, CORFing - Cutting Off Reflected Glory

Popularity: 20% [?]

I never cease to be amazed by the number of inane responses when we ring service centers.

It doesn’t matter whether its Dublin, Atlanta, or Mumbai, but the same prerecorded voice bleats out, “Your call is extremely important to us. Please hold and your call will be answered by the next available agent.”

As a customer, you know your call is not important. If it were there would be enough staff to answer the call.

Why don’t companies limit themselves to a simple sorry? Gratuitous responses simply add to the frustration of hanging on.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Traditionally brands have used advertising to excite demand. The problem is, it is very difficult to communicate your cutting edge features and end-user benefits in a magazine ad or even a 30 second t.v. spot.

More and more brands - especially those who have supreme confidence in their products superiority are allowing customers to try before they buy.

Take Bose, the world leaders in speaker technology. Bose now offers to send its new wave music system to customers and let them try it out for 30 days at no cost. If they truly don’t like the product they can return it to Bose at no cost. Bose now runs Try and Buy retail kiosks in airports - where flyers can trial Bose’s noise canceling headphones.

Tryvertising obviously has its costs, but as brand experts Keith Lincoln and Lars Thomassen point out in their book, How to Succeed at Retail (Kogan Page, 2007):

“Marketers operating a tryvertising mindset will find completely new ‘conversation channels’, if not the most unexpected partners and alliances.”

Popularity: 9% [?]