customers Archives - Dennis E. Gilbert

07
Jul 21
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Business Story, Are You Telling It?

Tags : audience business customers sales story

What is your business story? Are you being clear, or vague about what you do and what you offer? Is your story worth sharing?

Gaining customers is part of every business. It doesn’t matter if it is a for-profit or a non-profit, people engaging with your work mean that you have something of value. A traditional business grows through revenue, a non-profit might grow or succeed when more people are interested to support the cause.

Services, products, and even ideas can become a movement.

Home repair services needed, see you next month.

The latest iPhone or related product, get in-line, or better yet pre-order.

It is true about any place where lines form and people wait. It might also be true about political movements, causes, and as the pandemic eases, true about rock concerts or outdoor sporting events.

All of these things start with a story. Stories bring in new customers, they also refresh and in best cases, energize existing customers.

What is your business story?

Is it working?

Business Story

Have you asked yourself, “Who is the customer?” And a secondary question, “What does the customer want?”

Any business or organization needs to develop a base. A base of followers, leaders, and those who are eager to share.

It is commonplace to suggest the customer is anyone who buys your product or service. It may be anyone who donates, volunteers, or shares your message.

A definition that is too broad means the story won’t resonate.

A Ferrari, a Lamborghini, or an Aston Martin car may not be for you. It may also be true for the Chevrolet Spark, or a Mitsubishi Mirage.

Louis Vuitton shoes aren’t for everyone.

Yet all of these offerings have their space.

Not every business or non-profit succeeds because they are all things to all people. The most successful are the right things, to the right people, at exactly the right time.

A small but viable audience can be much more powerful than shouting your brand name without a microphone at a sold-out rock concert.

Pokémon, doesn’t matter much to many adults. Likely, only adults with kids or grandkids, and perhaps for Santa Claus.

Tell your story to the audience that matters. Size might be a factor for your success, yet it often starts by appropriately serving the smallest viable audience.

Your story repeated by one customer may create two or three new customers.

People engage with stories.

Have a good story.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

20
Dec 19
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Sales Relationships Still Matter The Most

Tags : clients consultative sales customers relationships testimonials

The most important element for your success in sales or success in your career are your sales relationships. Even transactional sales may be conditioned, or not, by the relationship.

People Influence Sales

When you ask a friend about a new barber or hair stylist you’re really asking about their brand. Are they reputable, will they do a good job, or will they botch me up?

The barber with no reputation is a barber of high risk.

Barbers often build relationships with the customer. Those relationships mean that not only is the customer a living example, they also are able to influences future sales.

A haircut is really not a transactional sale. It is a consultative sale. When you treat it like a transaction you limit the possibility for future sales. In other words, “I can get my haircut anywhere.”

This logic still matters across nearly every platform.

Amazon is a close example to transactional selling. You browse the website and place an order for a commodity product. Done.

Yet there is still a service side. How will it be packed, shipped, and delivered. Does a relationship still exist? In some ways, yes.

Sales Relationships

Today even face-to-face selling is different. You spec your new car on-line first, you check out the restaurant menu on-line, or you search the web for customer reviews.

The relationship still matters for many. It especially matters for consultative selling.

You may not always have to be face-to-face, in fact, in some cases perhaps not at all. Yet, being considered for, or earning the sale will often have to do with what someone else has to say.

Build stronger sales relationships, it may be how you earn your living, or how you get the promotion.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

21
Dec 18
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Are You Gaining or Destroying Market Attention?

Tags : attention customers market value

Every time I login, I get a pop-up flash sale. When I attempt to exit, I get a different pop-up. At the networking event someone pushes the sale of a ticket. The TV commercial shows misery and asks for money. Is this helping with market attention or pushing it away?

Most people will enter your website with curiosity first. An “order now” pop-up is painful before I’ve had a chance to view the menu.

We don’t like telephone calls from someone we don’t already know.

We shy away from non-profits, even those that we share a purpose with because we’re afraid of being guilted into something more.

Although the intent is to improve, what we sometimes call marketing is driving down or driving away business.

Market Attention

There are a few simple rules for navigating market attention:

Don’t assume or treat everyone the same. Repeat buyers are different from new contacts.
Attempting to create a feeling of guilt with your base is the quickest way to weaken your relationship.
Understand that diminishing attention means your value proposition is less attractive than it once was.
Hitting your base (tribe, customers, members) harder and expecting linear (or greater) results is almost always a fallacy.
Respect and reward those with the energy to engage, as much as or more than what you offer potential new customers.

Gain More

Your market is built on trust and emotion. Certainly, fairness and value are part of that process. Gouging your market is a turn off. So is the repeated invitation to subscribe when you already have.

Attempts to gain market attention and increase your base are sometimes doing the opposite.

Two steps forward, two steps back, doesn’t get you very far.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

29
May 18
-

Forgiving Customers and The Big Disconnect

Tags : customers emotions forgiveness service

Your best customers are loyal and forgiving. At least that is what most organizations want to believe. Do you have forgiving customers? Could that be where things start to go wrong?

Many of the best customers expect that mistakes can happen. What they really want is an effective plan for how the mistake is handled. Certainly, a coupon or excusing a few dollars from the bill helps, but is that what they really want?

Emotional Connection

It is common for business leaders to suggest that you must remove the emotion from critical decisions. Yet at the same time it is really emotion that drives many of our choices.

Ask a busy CEO how they decided or how they knew a plan would work and they may suggest that they had a gut feeling. Is there emotion involved in a gut feeling?

When we want the team to be enthusiastic, engaging, and to care about making a difference is that based on emotion? Logic is important for guiding direction and so is consistency in how we decide.

For the customer they often want to know that you care. They decide, based on emotion, whether they feel that you care or that you don’t. Some customers may suggest a coupon for the next visit sounds closer to marketing than it does to caring.

A customer who is seeking a dollar off, a coupon, or extra rewards points really isn’t emotionally connected to the business, they are emotionally connected to their money. Not a bad thing, but there is a noteworthy difference about where the emotion lies.

Forgiving Customers

Forgiving customers understand mistakes will happen, what they really want is to know that you care. Those emotionally connected to money may want you to give up some of yours, those emotionally connected to do what is right need to know you understand.

Each transaction may be different and so is each customer. Catch all forms of forgiveness will not always build customer loyalty. In some cases, it may create the biggest disconnect of all.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

19
Apr 18
-

Are You Training Customers or Is It My Imagination?

Tags : customers emotions punishment service training

Marketers, account managers, and brands all have something in common. They want to achieve more sales, build the brand, and make the most of their high value customers. Are you training customers? Do you realize what you are teaching them?

Our professional business interactions are driven largely by emotion. As people we act and react to joy, pain, and adversity. Many business people will suggest that everyone should remove the emotion, but the act of trying removing emotion is driven by emotion.

Businesses and organizations everywhere are conditioning their clients and customers for future interactions. As people of emotion and habit, we learn to adapt to situations. What we learn leads us to make decisions and choices that our connected with our past experiences.

Training Customers

Our restaurant is closed on Monday. Later the restaurant wonders why business is off. Monday is a business day and people want lunch. The people don’t remember what day, they just know that they are not always open.

Every weekend we have a sale. Why go there on Tuesday, just wait to see what happens on the weekend. Otherwise, you’ll pay too much.

We will email you sixteen times before the sale ends. No need to act now. I will be notified repeatedly. Maybe something else comes along and I don’t act at all. I also don’t trust or understand the deadline.

When I call, I can get a better rate. (Hotels) Don’t use the online registration system, they charge more there. Continue calling a staff that is untrained and unavailable since the hotel strategy is to move reservations to the online system.

You: I want to cancel my subscription. Vendor: Wait, I can give you a better deal. Punish the auto-renew or higher lifetime value customers. Who cares, they are not planning to cancel.

Punishment

Do you believe your business or organization has a customer centric focus? Do you have a culture of service? How are you training customers?

Are you training them the right way or punishing them to fit your agenda?

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

18
Apr 18
4

Who Are Your Customers Telling?

Tags : customers kpi social media stories word of mouth

Historically word of mouth has been considered to be one of the best forms of advertising. Do things right and your customers will tell others, who are your customers telling?

Today with our robust social media channels, it is possible for your customers to tell the world. Instead of word of mouth, we now have world of mouth. This is nothing new to most, but it may be new to some.

The biggest question, or the most difficult to answer, may be who or what are your best customers telling? Do you have a way to measure or index the customer who spreads the word about the great products or services you provide?

Customer Stories

Two days ago, I received a direct tweet from an airline. At first I was confused, was this some type of scam?

After a moment or two, I realized that a colleague had a bad flight experience and I added on comment on his thread about customer service being about culture. The airline was trying to be sure to capture any of the bad news and correct the problem.

Personally, I’m undecided about tweeting out bad experiences, but I may not be the norm.

Think about the last customer service story you heard about. Was it a story about how incredible the service was or how delighted they were? Chances are pretty good that you hear more disappointment stories as compared to those of delight.

Customers Telling

A customer who recommends you, tells the delightful stories, provides referrals, loves connections, and participates on social media platforms may be one of your best customers. They may not spend as much. They may not generate the most gross revenue. What they do however, it may be priceless.

What key performance indicators (KPI’s) are you monitoring?

Knowing the big spenders and high profit customers are absolutely important. Identifying the ones that sell for you shouldn’t be forgotten. In a world of mouth environment, do you know who your customers are telling?

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

12
Apr 18
-

Attracting Customers The Facebook Way

Tags : advertising customers facebook zuckerberg

Do you want more clients, more customers, or to build your membership base? Most people believe that the way to do that is to get a bigger funnel. Big funnel concepts are inspiring, but are they targeted enough. Are you attracting customers?

The way most people think about more business is more awareness. The idea is that you have to get yourself out there, reach as many people as possible, and hope for a hit. It is the spray and pray method.

Social media has been the path where many are pointing, but will broadcasting on social media work?

The Facebook Way

Mark Zuckerberg just spent two days on Capitol Hill explaining Facebook and data. What was most alarming to me as I listened to some of the testimony was that many of the people asking questions (Senators, Congress) had very little knowledge of how anything data actually works.

Congratulations to the 60+ time billionaire on managing his time spent with the utmost respect, dignity, and patience.

Why does Zuckerberg matter when it comes to attracting customers? Simple, because he has built a platform that is likely one of the best and most affordable ways to reach a target audience. Provided of course, that the audience demographic you seek is using Facebook.

There is a catch though. The catch is that just because you’ve signed up for Facebook (for free) and you’ve connected to a few friends (for free) doesn’t mean that your target audience will be there, for free.

Additionally, it doesn’t mean that one hundred or so characters and a cool picture will be seen by (or attract) the World.

Attracting Customers

Social media provides a unique opportunity to hit many people at a very low cost. It doesn’t mean that the best plan is free. Mr. Zuckerberg and his team are running a business, which means free is never really free.

You still have to target your audience. Free broadcasts to one hundred, one thousand, or several million are meaningless if they aren’t your demographic. In fact, it could have a negative effect.

If you are interested in attracting customers, I suggest you consider how to do it through data. It won’t be free, but done properly it is currently the most cost effective option out there.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

10
Apr 18
-

Who Are Your Loyal Customers?

Tags : customers feedback lifetime value loyalty

The importance of both internal and external customers should never be taken for granted. Often people quickly connect with the atmosphere of working with external customers but miss the emotional connection internally. Who are the loyal customers and how do we know?

Internal Customer Loyalty

Every organization has a responsibility internally. People are serving other people, other departments, and in one way or another, the sales or production effort. There are customer connections. Internal service is so important because the internal culture is always reflected, in one way or another, in the external brand.

Loyalty in an organization is often measured through the employee turnover metric. Those who stay are loyal. Those who stay have a good internal customer relationship.

Seems logical, except that many believe that they are not staying by choice, they believe they stay because it is a requirement. Requirements to earn a living, feed a family, pay bills, and survive.

External Customer Loyalty

External customers may have a different agenda. It may be easier for them to exit a relationship. There may be many competitive choices and options. In some cases, but certainly not all, they may not feel so trapped. They feel more freedom to choose.

When their automobile is not reliable, they may choose a different brand. If their athletic footwear is uncomfortable or short lived, next time they’ll try a different brand.

It is true for nearly any consumer purchase. Business-to-business is sometimes a little messier, but still doable.

Loyal Customers

So what are the indicators of loyal customers? Certainly sticking around and repetitive purchases are a good indicator. Lifetime value is an important measurement or metric. What else may be important?

Have you considered that a customer who offers feedback, even the feedback that sounds critical or like a criticism is sign of customer loyalty? Maybe you haven’t thought of it this way, but with so many choices, why bother with feedback?

People who have choices, but choose to stay are loyal for some reason. Offering feedback, even feedback that is critical may be a sign that they want to stay, but they also want to help strengthen the reasons why they stay.

Often people with nothing to say, really don’t care, they don’t mind, they’ll just go.

Feedback or criticism is often viewed as a customer about to exit. Instead, it may be a good customer who wants to stay and help you build it.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

20
Feb 18
2

What Customers Want, They Get

Tags : change customers Digital products

Every day there is someone selling something. It is an exchange of what someone else has for what someone else wants. Do customers get what customers want?

Your landscaping is fabulous, who does it for you?

Your car is so shiny, who details it?

Those shoes look awesome, what brand are they and where did you get them?

People Want More

When people see something that they love they want to know more. They want to know who can help them achieve a similar result or how they can get started.

The same is true with what we see on the internet. The posts, the pictures, and the videos. What people love, they want to share, and they want more of it.

What happens when they don’t?

The answer is actually easy. If it isn’t for them, they’ll walk [scroll] away, or else they’ll give it a thumbs down. If they are really unhappy and you’ve touched their emotions they may even fire back.

Digital World

This is our digital world, the digital age. Being polite is often thrown out the window and rudeness has an appeal to some.

Your customers will always let you know too. They may not post something digital, but they might. They may jump on your website, your social media page, or give you a review on Yelp.

Certainly, there will circumstances and situations where there is a misunderstanding, the product features are not understood, or your value proposition isn’t the right message. Some of those are easily fixed, some may linger or spark redesign.

What Customers Want

Customers who let you know what they want, or don’t want, are actually doing you a favor. They are telling you that they are not your market or that what you market needs some work.

If they haven’t digitally defamed you. You should probably thank them. Now you can find the customers who love your product or service, or you can change things making you one-step closer to doing something that really matters.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

09
Nov 17
-

Another Great Start, The Day Doesn’t Matter

Tags : boss colleague customers great start motivation

People have suggested for decades that attitude is everything. Attitude, or as I sometimes choose to label it, mind-set, can have a significant difference on our accomplishments. Is today a good day to have another great start?

You bet, not because we are specifically trying to be cheery while holding a grudge. Not because we have to get along, and certainly not because we want released from our (PIP) Personal Improvement Plan.

Your Best, Their Best

The best chance we’re going to have all day to make a positive difference is by engaging with other people when they are at their best. Monday’s are a good day, and so are Friday’s, every day in between and the weekend.

Wrongs and rights sometimes matter less when the focus is on forward. Reliving past negative experiences aren’t the best way to start the day. Any preoccupation with past negativity serves no forward purpose.

Fresh Starts for Everyone?

Does everyone get a fresh start, not necessarily? Is every customer a good customer, or are there sometimes bad customers? Has a colleague sold you out, ratted you out, or took credit for your work, possibly someone has.

There are always colleagues, customers, bosses, and people on the highway, at the store, or grabbing your parking space. You have some choices on who you’ll work with and how you’ll choose to engage. You’ll also decide when or if you want to move over or move on.

Outside of those limited people that you’ll choose to disengage with, there is opportunity for everyone else.

Another Great Start

The network is huge if you participate. Your participation remains about choice. The choices you make each day about mind-set will determine what you get back.

For everyone, another great start happens when you make it.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

Tag Archives: customers

Jul 21

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Business Story

Dec 19

-

People Influence Sales

Sales Relationships

Dec 18

-

Market Attention

Gain More

May 18

-

Emotional Connection

Forgiving Customers

Apr 18

-

Training Customers

Punishment

Apr 18

Customer Stories

Customers Telling

Apr 18

-

The Facebook Way

Attracting Customers

Apr 18

-

Internal Customer Loyalty

External Customer Loyalty

Loyal Customers

Feb 18

People Want More

Digital World

What Customers Want

Nov 17

-

Your Best, Their Best

Fresh Starts for Everyone?

Another Great Start

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