Author: caflynn

“3-Minute WOM Lesson”

The Thought Police, Word-of-Mouth Marketing Leave a comment

Good stuff from Sernovitz for those of you getting ready to launch your first WOMM campaign.

Original link here: HOW TO GET YOUR WOMM PROGRAM OFF THE GROUND.

“[Welcome back to the You Can Be a Word of Mouth Marketing Supergenius! newsletter. This is text from the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.]

You can have amazing word of mouth. You can get your happy customers and fans telling everyone about you — you can be great at this. Here’s how to get started:

1> Focus on a single group of talkers
2> Test something today
3> Repeat

1> Focus on a single group of talkers

Don’t start by trying to get everyone talking — start by trying to get someone talking. Maybe it’s a group of local daycare moms, restaurant servers, librarians, or auto mechanics. A good focus on specific talkers means you’ll have a better chance of creating something they want to share.

2> Test something today

By the end of the day, test a new topic with this group. Invite them to an event, give them a special sample, ask them for feedback, or just say thanks. It might not work, but that’s OK. There’s always tomorrow.

3> Repeat

Next week, try it again. This time with a different group and a different topic. When you find something that works, try it again — but bigger this time. There’s no science or secret recipe to great word of mouth, just a commitment to trying lots of ideas designed to find your talkers and figure out what gets them sharing.”

Dude, Where’s My Broccoli?

Word-of-Mouth Marketing One comment

Check it out, this was some darn good WOMM… they just forgot the “Tool”…

Boy-Broc-XSmall3211

A colleague, Chip, and his wife frequent the Capital Grille, which has dozens of the locations throughout the country.

Recently, they were at a Florida location, and as Chip’s wife was ordering, she looked at the menu, and exclaimed to the waiter, “You don’t have broccoli this evening? I love your broccoli!!”

The waiter responds, “I’m sorry ma’am, we do not.  However, there’s a Whole Foods two blocks down the street, and if you’re not in too much of a hurry, we’d be happy to walk down, purchase, and cook the broccoli to your liking.”

Solid.  In addition, the waiter then shared that they will update Chip’s profile to include that his wife enjoys the Capital Grille broccoli, and when they call in advance for a reservation, they will assure they have broccoli on hand for that evening.

Chip told me this story just last week; the only thing missing was an easy way for Chip to “tell-a-friend.”  A Tool.

Idea: gimme a card that says “Chip’s buddy, take care of me,” and I promise you the next place I eat would be Capital Grille.

Make sure you follow the 5T’s, found here.

No Nuts Here

What the Frush!?, Word-of-Mouth Marketing View all 2 comments

Some seriously BRILLIANT WOMM I ran into last night.  It’s straight up from Sernovitz’s WOMM Manifesto, Rule #7.

Situation Report: Vines Grille & Wine Bar – quality steaks, fish, & live jazz.  Great place.

And no nuts.

Check out the bar.  No “snack food,” just a basket of bacon for their patrons.

 

IMG00141-20110109-1607-600x450

 

IMG00140-20110109-1607-600x450

 

IMG00142-20110109-1612-600x450

 

 

That is some great stuff.

Sernovitz Rule #7:  Be Interesting, or Be Invisible.

Well done, Vines.

(Only improvement: make it easier for us Talkers to “tell-a-friend!!!”)

How To Enchant Your Customers

The Customer Experience, The Thought Police, Word-of-Mouth Marketing Leave a comment

Here’s a great post from Guy Kawasaki… the #1 below is my favorite:

“I love to do business with small businesses—in-store, online, for myself, for others, for pleasure, for work—it doesn’t matter to me. I love to find great products and services made by entrepreneurs who are trying to change the world. And I love to help small business owners because they aren’t flying around in corporate jets and lunching with investment bankers. American Express’s idea for Small Business Saturday is a marvelous one, and I’d like to help out by them explaining 10 ways that small businesses can enchant their customers.

  1. Put likable, competent and passionate people on the front line. I prefer to interact with employees who smile, know what they’re talking about, and love what they sell. However, companies often put the lowest-paid, least-experienced employees behind the counter or at the front desk and hope for the best. This doesn’t make sense. Ask yourself this question: Is the first impression of my business a good one? Because if it’s a bad one, it may also be the last one.“

Continue reading the rest of Guy’s post HERE.

The Sales Training Danger

Sales Methodology Leave a comment

Careful, you could get burned.  BIG TIME.

burnt-dollar-xs3211

How’s that?

Well, sales training “starts and stops”… and often ends up as a “pump me up” day or session, where, at best, sales people walk away with a “good feeling” and are fired up.

The fire dies though, and it doesn’t even take water… just a couple of days, a week or two at max… and it’s back to the same ‘ol usual order-taking.

Sales training starts and stops, and therein likes the problem: there’s no development, there’s no cultural change.

 

Train (v.):“to teach so as to make fit, qualified, or proficient”

Develop (v.): “to make active or promote the growth of”

“Training” can be dangerous.  I like a salesperson ACTIVE, and I most certainly like to help them GROW their skillsets.

Who cares about classroom work; terminate and cancel all of your “teaching.”

If you’re concerned about the quality of your sales force, you’ll invest in a METHODOLOGY that drives development and true cultural change.

GO PUNCH an Executive in the Face

Sales Methodology, The Thought Police Leave a comment
punch11

Dude, you gotta HIT ‘EM HARD.

If you wanna learn all the different “buying styles” of “Executives,” then there’s plenty of info/reading out there.

But whatever the experts tell you, most of us are “Big Picture.”

Don’t go through features and benefits in front of me.  Don’t tell me about your “value proposition.”  Don’t tell me how you’re better than your competitor (perfect sales-guy move to devalue your product, by-the-way).

Just stop talking.

Ask a few questions so you understand what I’m trying to Accomplish, Fix, or Avoid… that is, take some time to understand WHAT PROBLEM AM I TRYING TO SOLVE?

And then… just TELL ME WHAT YOU DO, that helps me solve said problem.

It’s that simple.

Explain to me the ways in which you’re going to make our organization more efficient, and more effective.

Help me understand how you’re going to help us continue to invest in our PEOPLE, and give them the right tools to succeed.

Just tell me WHAT YOU DO.

Be Original.  Knock me out.  Sock me in the jaw.

Andrew Carnegie, and SALES?

Sales Methodology, The Thought Police Leave a comment

Here’s one of the most powerful quotes from the great Andrew Carnegie:

andrewcarnegie11

“Take away my people, but leave my factories and soon grass will grow on the factory floors.  Take away my factories, but leave my people, and soon we will have a new and better factory.”

If you’re taking the time to create a Customer-Centric Culture, the same can be said about your sales organization.

Be like Carnegie. Invest in your people.

Create a Culture of Drive.

The Ultimate Skill Set

Spaghetti on the Wall, The Thought Police, What the Frush!? Leave a comment

It’s actually an easy answer.

iStock_000011741522Small

Question: “What’s the Ultimate Skill Set?”

Answer: “Knowing that you don’t know it all.”

When the drive goes away… when you’re not continually improving yourself… when you’re not continually improving your organization… when you’re not learning from others to provide your customers with the best experience possible… you’re DEAD.

Don’t Die.