Looking for a non-intrusive touch points through which information about customer demographics, preferences, and lifestyles can be directly observed? Communities are a great way to do this and a very valuable resource for your customer marketing efforts. Here are some ways that I have used our support community site for reference activities:
- I spent some time looking for positive comments by customers. Some customers gave their companies and location so it was easy to contact them about becoming customer references.
- Once we needed a press quote and so we posted an article about feedback for a new feature. We didn't end up finding a customer but we got some leads that could have easily panned out if we would have had more time.
- I get Google Alerts for all things LANDesk and one time a customer posted a question on the community site. I immediately knew it was him and emailed him an answer versus posting it on the site. He was quite pleased that I proactively emailed him the answer.
- Use the community to find leads for your customer reference program. I looked at the biggest contributors to see who was already in my reference program and a few that were passionate about LANDesk that I invited them to become part of it!
One caution here - Most customers will not post too much on your support site if you are going to use it for a marketing tool so proceed carefully and wisely!
Read more about about using communities to build your brand online:
http://prashant-onlinemedia.blogspot.com/2008/10/brand-building-online.html
Monday, October 13, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
The Ice Cream Maker - Highly Recommended!!!
I came across a fantastic book that I highly recommend for anyone who works in marketing, sales or is a manager. It's called The Ice Cream Maker by Subir Chowdhury. In the book he shares a parable about making quality in everything you do and how the first rule of business is first and foremost the customer. It's a must read for all 'students' of business. Here are some key points:
- There are two types of customers (internal and external) and we need to take care of both
- Innovation is part of America's DNA
- We must listen to customers, it's not about what we think needs to be done but what is the customer asking for!
- "Listen, Enrich, and Optimize (LEO)" concept
- Quality is defined by the customer
- The surest path to improved quality is getting your front-line employees involved
- Take care of the employees and they'll do the right things for your customers
- "But, quality, I realized, starts with strong leadership. It starts with me listening more closely to our workers, and to our customers."
- There's a great story here about an airline flight attendant blindly following policy and not getting a drink of water, before a flight, for an old man in the front of coach because water was for "first class only." It's a great example of making sure that people aren't hampered by policy -- they need to be engaged to use their brains and to do the right thing for customers.
THE ICE CREAM MAKER tells the intriguing story of Peter Delvecchio, the beleaguered Plant Manager of Dairy Cream, an ice cream manufacturing company with stagnant sales that is on the verge of closure. Desperate to save his company and his own job, Peter reaches out to his former neighbor Mike McMaster of Natural Foods, who has a talismanic influence on him. Peter learns from Mike that satisfied employees who are passionate about their work are more likely to produce quality work and meet the needs of customers, generating a self-fulfilling cycle of success.
Through an engaging dialogue between Peter and Mike, Chowdhury reveals how Mike guides Peter to enable Dairy Cream to rise from the ashes like a Phoenix, using the concept of “LEO,” an acronym that stands for Listen, Enrich, and Optimize. This concept drives home the point that by focusing on quality, listening to what customers want, and meeting their needs, companies will reap the benefits of increased profits—the natural outgrowth of prioritizing customer satisfaction.
Visit The Ice Cream Maker web site or order your copy today from Amazon
- There are two types of customers (internal and external) and we need to take care of both
- Innovation is part of America's DNA
- We must listen to customers, it's not about what we think needs to be done but what is the customer asking for!
- "Listen, Enrich, and Optimize (LEO)" concept
- Quality is defined by the customer
- The surest path to improved quality is getting your front-line employees involved
- Take care of the employees and they'll do the right things for your customers
- "But, quality, I realized, starts with strong leadership. It starts with me listening more closely to our workers, and to our customers."
- There's a great story here about an airline flight attendant blindly following policy and not getting a drink of water, before a flight, for an old man in the front of coach because water was for "first class only." It's a great example of making sure that people aren't hampered by policy -- they need to be engaged to use their brains and to do the right thing for customers.
THE ICE CREAM MAKER tells the intriguing story of Peter Delvecchio, the beleaguered Plant Manager of Dairy Cream, an ice cream manufacturing company with stagnant sales that is on the verge of closure. Desperate to save his company and his own job, Peter reaches out to his former neighbor Mike McMaster of Natural Foods, who has a talismanic influence on him. Peter learns from Mike that satisfied employees who are passionate about their work are more likely to produce quality work and meet the needs of customers, generating a self-fulfilling cycle of success.
Through an engaging dialogue between Peter and Mike, Chowdhury reveals how Mike guides Peter to enable Dairy Cream to rise from the ashes like a Phoenix, using the concept of “LEO,” an acronym that stands for Listen, Enrich, and Optimize. This concept drives home the point that by focusing on quality, listening to what customers want, and meeting their needs, companies will reap the benefits of increased profits—the natural outgrowth of prioritizing customer satisfaction.
Visit The Ice Cream Maker web site or order your copy today from Amazon
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
How much Time Should a CEO spend with Customers?
I came across a GREAT article today I just had to share. Read on to see what Harvard Business School professor John Quelch has to say on this topic.
Every corporate mission statement pays lip service to respecting customer needs, but actual customer expertise is typically a mile wide and an inch deep, says Harvard Business School professor John Quelch. Here's why every CEO should spend at least 10 percent of his or her time thinking about, talking to, and steering the organization to the customer. Key concepts include:
* To be customer-oriented, executives must get out and meet customers on their home turf—in their homes, on job sites, in their offices.
* How much of a CEO's time should be spent interacting with customers depends on at least two things: the nature of the business and the company's strategy.
* CEOs should be cautious about overdoing the percentage of time interfacing with customers.
Read the article
Every corporate mission statement pays lip service to respecting customer needs, but actual customer expertise is typically a mile wide and an inch deep, says Harvard Business School professor John Quelch. Here's why every CEO should spend at least 10 percent of his or her time thinking about, talking to, and steering the organization to the customer. Key concepts include:
* To be customer-oriented, executives must get out and meet customers on their home turf—in their homes, on job sites, in their offices.
* How much of a CEO's time should be spent interacting with customers depends on at least two things: the nature of the business and the company's strategy.
* CEOs should be cautious about overdoing the percentage of time interfacing with customers.
Read the article
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