Peter Shankman (www.shankman.com) has become a prominent thought leader in the world of PR. He has done this by looking at his audience and identifying what they need. In his early days, he got a call from a unique yarn shop located outside the city on Long Island. They has amazing yarns that were difficult…
January 28, 2011- Chester County Bar Association : Defining the Skills, Process, & Ethics of Client Acquisition February 14 – Mid-Atlantic Consultants Network: But Enough About You! How Your Verbal and Written Messages Can Give You More Choices and Better Work
Tony Hsieh isn’t just an author of a best selling book or CEO of one of the fastest growing companies in America. He is a brilliant marketer. One of the most important tools for his book was using the book to raise the awareness of his company. Look at some of the ways he did…
When a customer receives flowers as a sign of appreciation how many people do you think they will tell? Probably not just one and maybe as many as a couple hundred because that kind of thing generates word of mouth.
I subscribed to a well-known publication several months ago. It’s delivered six days a week and is a real pleasure to read….when I get it. I called customer service (which is outsourced to a separate continent where English is a secondary language). Around the tenth time I called I decided enough was enough. I emailed the General Manager with my complaint. I received a stock email back that afternoon saying that the problem was being attended to and I would be called that day. No call. I did get a call the following day. But in my email to the General Manager I said – maybe you need a system that sorts someone into a more customer oriented path once they have called three times.
I think some people would have cancelled their subscription, some would have blustered at a person with no power, and maybe some would have even kept on calling customer service.
But, here’s the question – do they really think that what they call customer service is that ….or is it just lip service? Having a strong brand means that you do what you say you will do.
I get asked that a lot. So, instead of keeping you in the dark, I’ll explain. Although it was the best decision I ever made, going out on my own was a bit terrifying at the time. I knew I had to scare myself to death – well, maybe just hovering on the edge of death…I tried to think of something that would be a mental and physical challenge that could teach me to face down those growling fears. It is somewhat ironic that the idea I came up with was something I had always wanted my boys to do – Outward Bound (www.outwardbound.org) Naturally, having their mother suggest such a thing was the absolute kiss of death but the idea of the challenge drew me in me and I signed up. I did take myself to the outside edge of my fear and realized that it was all in my curly head. And it was a life changing experience mainly because it taught me that whenever I get rattled, I can go back to that one moment at treetop level in the pouring rain, climbing a pole and finishing the high ropes course. I faced down my worst fear of the moment – heights and came through fine.
