Tales of Successful Marketing

Every day, I strive to “wow” customers and I expect my team to do the same.  I managed to “wow” a customer this morning and it wasn’t even much of a challenge this time.  It just took some extra effort and good judgement.  I have the good fortune of owning my own business so I can make quick decisions that benefit customers.  My colleagues are empowered to make similar decisions which is essential in every organization or customers will hear employees quoting policies and procedures, such as “our normal production schedule is…”

A nice lady came in and needed about a dozen engraved plates  she plans to apply to a centerpiece for an event at the end of this week.  Each plate is identical.  I could tell she was trying to envision how the final product would look so I cut a piece of scrap material to provide a concept.  Shortly thereafter, I offered to engrave an actual piece.  This is how the “wow” evolved.  We ended up engraving two actual samples which helped her to take pictures, text the images and make a decision with the help of her boss who was viewing the images remotely.

Upon approving the final layout, I asked if she would like to hang out in our showroom for about twenty minutes while we completed her order instead of having to make a special trip back to our store two days later.

A few things made this possible.  Our production schedule is a little slow at the moment and our machines were quiet when she came in.  I was able to communicate with my engraver and ask that she hold off on starting another job while explaining what I was intending to do for this customer.  My customer had some flexibility, did not need to place her order and run out the door for another appointment and recognized the few extra minutes in our showroom would save significant time later.  And I was willing to invest in a relationship instead of rushing through the process of taking an order, which is often the case, and moving on to another task.

Considering that we produce custom engraved and imprinted products, I can make the point that other businesses should find an even easier time to accommodate customers beyond their expectations.  And if you know how to exceed the expectations of your customers, then you know how to “wow”.

-Brian Litofsky

Chief Recognition Officer, Crown Trophy

Just this morning, I read a complaint that a friend’s wife posted on Facebook regarding her experience she had yesterday when taking her sons to one of those indoor”bouncy” places.  You know the sort of indoor playground that has blow-up/bouncy/jump-around things for kids birthday parties.  Apparently she got an attitude from the teenage receptionist when she questioned why she had to purchase a special pair of gripper socks for her boys despite not having to do the same a few weeks earlier.

She asked to speak with the manager who agreed that she did not have to make the sock purchase.  When he was informed of the “attitude problem”, he replied, “well, you know how teenagers are.”  The manager was describing that he hires teenagers and the expectation from such an employee is very low.

Apparently this manager does not understand the interview process, how to set expectations and how to train employees.  And he’s certainly missing the boat on how to foster relationships with repeat customers.  Unfortunately, this is not an isolated problem.  It is so easy to see examples when we call businesses and get a rude greetings, long hold times and attitudes that are apathetic.

Just make sure you are doing the opposite in your own operation and that your employees are polite and competent or your customers will, literally, bounce themselves over to your competition.