BNGIowa

Fall Checkup: Reliability

Have you been told you have high standards? Sometimes the comment is intended as a compliment and sometimes as an insult.

I think those who intend it as an insult are trying to justify their own flaws. There are people who think that when I expect them to do what they promise, I am being unreasonable. If you tell me you are going to do something, and you don't do it, I am going to be disappointed. The seriousness of the promise determines the level of disappointment. I might get downright mad if the broken promise results in strong consequences.

I like to do business with companies that keep their word.  I think most people want to do business with companies that keep their word. I wish there was an inspection report that would tell me up front if a company is reliable. Restaurants have health inspections and the score is posted. But for most of our transactions, we only have a promise.

Is it too high a standard to expect you to keep your word? If so, put out a sign so I can stay away from your business. Oh, wait, if you are not reliable then being honest might not be in your repertoire either.

FREE Works

Free. Yep, that is a universal attention getter. In response to a postcard, I signed up to receive emails from Amish Haus Furniture. Then, if I just took my postcard to the store, I would get a free Frank Lloyd Wright print. Framed!

 

What I liked about this promotion was that it started with a postcard. I still think real mail is more personal than electronic communication. I am a huge fan of Wright's design style. I like free stuff. And, I thought the concept was very clever.

Yep, I signed up. I got my framed print, which is lovely, the frame is lovely too. I will now receive the email newsletter enticing me to buy furniture that I will want. 

The best part is, I was so impressed, I am writing about the store here. For a second time!

What are you doing to get attention for your business?

 

 

Membership Drive Meeting, Tuesday, September 21, 2010, 1pm

 Are you a small business owner or entrepreneur? Do you want to improve your success and help others do the same? Would you like to meet with others like you?

Business Network Group is ready to welcome new members. If you are interested, please join us on Tuesday, September 21 from 1p to 2pm. We will gather at Panera in the Jordan Creek Mall in West Des Moines.

Our members meet on the first and third Tuesdays of most months. We ask each member to blog at least once every two weeks. Blog posts should relate to the BNG mission.

Check our this site to learn more about BNG, our mission and our current members.

Please rsvp if you want to attend. Contact Barb Gordon, bgordon@myarbonne.com or gordon@dwx.com.

What will you want next?

 I like to watch Mad Men. The leading man reminds me of old photos of my dad. My dad wore neat suits, white shirts and a skinny tie. He was very dapper. That was the requirement of salesmen back in the day.

I also like to see the way the business people acted (or the way the writers think they acted) back in the day. The way women are portrayed is quite interesting too. On the show last night, one professional woman confessed to wearing a wedding ring even though she wasn't married. She said it kept unwelcome advances at bay. Clever woman. 

This post isn't about all that, but that is some interesting things about the TV show for me. This post is about a comment on Mad Men last week. The ad men were using a focus group to test out an idea. The results were not what they hoped for exactly. The head creative said something like: How can they talk about something they don't know is possible.

I really liked that. I can think of many products I have that I didn't know were possible. I love Skype and use it every week to talk to my family in Australia. I used to think mascara was the only way to thicken lashes, but then there was Arbonne lash enhancer. I never thought I would be able to make a photo book so easily, I should have invented that! 

So it is important to find out what a customer wants, but just as important to find out what they will want if they know it is possible. 

Expectations

I remember doing research papers for school homework. Seems like there was one or two due every semester. I was lucky, my family owned an encyclopedia set. I remember my mom bought a book at a time with a grocery purchase until she completed the set. The books made a lovely display on the bookshelf in the hallway by the phone (the one phone and it was corded). I used the books more than the phone. That was what my parents expected, so that is what I did.

Information is available in vast quantities these days. But what about the quality? No one questioned the reliability of the facts published in the old encyclopedia. These days, it is hard to trust any information. Who is writing the stuff online? Anyone can put information online. Even me. 

So why do I write for free? Today, I hope to influence someone to be trustworthy and provide quality work. It will make you happy, at least that is what I believe. I guess that is why people are spewing out so much information and communication: We want others to believe as we do. 

Trust. Quality. I hope there are still people and companies who value those qualities. I have met too many lately who don't. 

Do Opposites Attract?

Seeing Sharon Osbourne on America’s Got Talent last night, inspired this blog post. I really like Sharon Osbourne, or at least the person she seems to be on TV. She appears smart, generous and caring and also strong, tough and hard working. As I watched her on TV, I wondered if her marriage is based on the "opposites attract" theory.

If you are a talker, it can be nice to have a friend who is a listener. But if you are adventurous, you probably want a friend who is adventurous too.

In my experience with Arbonne, a network marketing company, I have attended many training meetings. One prominent message is duplication. I show a prospect how I work my Arbonne business and then they do the same with their prospects. The system seems to work best when the prospect is similar to me, not the opposite of me.

Everyone attracts all types of people and for different reasons. Some attractions are about similarities and some are about dissimilarities. Law of Attraction vs. the Opposites Attract theory.

I like my dentist because he is not like me. He is not much of a talker, at least in the office. Generally, I am a talker. But not when I am at the dentist. I don't want to make conversation when I have a drill in my mouth or when my mouth is numb after a procedure.

People can't change is another frequently heard theory. But people can and do change all the time. I change from a talker to a non-talker when I am at the dentist.

What a businessperson needs to know is how and when to change so you attract the right customers. When do you need to be similar to a customer and when do you need to be opposite? To be really successful, you need to make those adaptations sincerely. You need to be multi-faceted in a real way. You can only get away with faking it for so long.

What did you hear?

I was in a store one day. I was standing at a checkout desk while a salesperson was ringing up my purchase. It was a small purchase for two deeply discounted items.

While I was waiting for the salesperson to fill out the paperwork, I overheard a conversation between another customer and another salesperson. The customer had a complaint. She started out explaining herself calmly and clearly. She sounded perfectly reasonable to me. The salesperson responded by bullying her.

I felt very uncomfortable. I was also shocked by the way the salesperson spoke to the customer.

The woman left without her complaint addressed. I wonder if she did anything more to resolve her complaint? I regret that I continued with my purchase. If that happened today, I would have left the store empty handed. 

That incident occurred about four years ago. I have never set foot in that store again and never will. 

A contrasting experience in a different store left me feeling good about the store. I had a defective item. I returned it to the store and was waiting for a salesperson to bring a replacement. While I was waiting, I started talking to another customer. She was returning a defect item too. She told me about how the store was handling her return. She was very pleased. I have purchased many items from that store and will continue to do so.

If you are going to set up a business, you must learn about ethics and professionalism. Customers have a right to  to be treated with respect and not bullied. The bullying extends beyond the targeted customer. Every customer matters. Every customer should be considered an advertisement for your company. 

Original illustration by Barb Gordon. Please do not copy.

Buyer Beware

It happened again this morning. There it was, plain as day. Right in the title. 

I have been talking about this problem since the early nineties.

Back then, I remember getting a letter from Patrick Coyne, editor and designer of CA, in response to a newsletter article where I wrote about this problem in the ADAI newsletter. As a young designer, I was thrilled to get the letter. I still have it. 

Here it is 2010 and the problem is still rampant.

Ever since desktop publishing replaced type houses, it seems even professional designers, sign shops, ad agencies and others are in violation.

What I am referring to? Typographically incorrect apostrophes.

How do you know when this type violation occurs? The apostrophe should look like a comma. It should not look like a foot mark (sort of like an exclamation mark without a dot).

This violation happens with quotation marks too. Some computer software doesn't compose type automatically with correct apostrophes and quotation marks. The person typing doesn't notice. 

It shouldn't be a consumer's job to catch this mistake, but now you know, so be alert. I you buy a building sign, a menu, a billboard, an ad for your company or the like, be alert for this common mistake. 

Don't even get me started on bad typography on web sites. 

The Rules of the Game

Our family likes to play a card game called Hand and Foot. Like most card games there is a list of rules. We even customized our rules. We call them the Sedona Rules because my mom taught us the game after learning it from her friends in Sedona. Whatever mom says goes.

When we teach someone the game, we tell them the rules. Well, most of the rules. We usually rely on our memory, so some rules get left out. We don't do it on purpose. It just happens.

The new player usually says, "I can't remember all those rules." We reply, "Don't worry, you'll catch on."

That is good enough for some people and the game begins. Some people jot down their own notes to help them remember and we deal the cards. And some new players express fear. They don't want to start playing when they don't know and understand the rules. When that happens we say, "Let's play a practice round." That usually reassures the new player.

Of course, once we start playing, the rules we forgot to mention come up. That is usually met with, "You didn't tell me that!" That becomes the excuse when the new player loses a round. As we go along, the rules become more clear. After a while the new player does "catch on." 

How does this relate to business? It is important to assess what your customer needs from you. Do they want all the "rules" or information from the start? If so, spend the time needed to help them get comfortable. Do they want to move quickly and not be distracted by too much information? If so, be prepared with a condensed version of the most important information and back that up with something they can refer to when they are ready for more.

Fun can be part of it, but business is serious. It is not a game, so don't expect your customer to "catch on" as you go along. It is your job to be certain they have the information needed to make decisions. It the customer's job to make decisions. They will base those decisions on your information. Do your job well and most likely your customers will do their job well. 

And unlike a card game, everyone can be a winner.

Image is original art by Barb Gordon. Please do not copy.

Seeing from Another's Perspective

It has been a long, cold winter. This is the view out my window today. I suppose it is pretty, but it is hard to think of it that way. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Gee, that is so true this winter.

Looking at things from more than one point of view can be hard, but helpful. When someone asks for your point of view, can you explain it? Do you really try to see someone else's point of view. Agree to disagree can be a copout.