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Creating Dazzling Customer Experiences
Featured Author:
Terry Brock
Terry Brock is an internationally recognized marketing coach and professional speaker. He helps companies and individuals achieve their marketing goals and build real-world, bottom-line profits. Terry has been a writer and professional speaker since 1983 and has done business in 37 countries helping businesses from one-person operation to large, Fortune 10 companies. His undergrad is in Communications and his MBA is in Marketing. Audiences love his fun, entertaining style that is packed with high content. You can read more about him on his website at www.TerryBrock.com
More articles from this author:
November 30, 2009
Business Building Action Steps From Terry Brock
Today’s economy requires innovative ideas to generate more revenue. That comes from creating dazzling customer experiences that bring customers back again and again.
Recently I had the opportunity to hear Cathie Black, the President of Hearst Magazines, make a presentation at a Harvard Business School Alumni Club meeting in Atlanta. The insights she had about running a media business amidst today’s economy and the morphing change of paper newspapers has a lot of wisdom for you and me in our jobs as entrepreneurs and in running a small business.
Here are some insights which can help as we build experiences for those wonderful people called customers, clients and/or buyers who pay the bills for us.
1. Get A Different Attitude About Skill Sets. Today’s marketplace calls for new skill sets which are often different from what worked previously. Hearst magazines still sells millions of copies of good ole, paper-based magazines. However, they are also expanding into digital as never before. You and I need to embrace what still works — and is profitable — from the old way of doing business. In addition, we must also acquire the necessary skills for success in the future. For today that means getting acquainted with and using Social Media skills with tools like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and others. Have an attitude of constantly learning and growing. Make it your goal to learn something new every day (yes, every day!).
2. Focus On Customer Experience, Not The Device. Much talk is bantered about today concerning electronic E-Book readers. Personally I love reading good ole’ paper books. But I have to admit that I have found a lot of joy reading books through Kindle for iPhone. I can digitally download books (usually at substantial discounts) from Amazon and carry many books to read while on the road. This gives me a new experience in reading and I love it. Focus on the experience as it relates to your customer — not the device. Make it a pleasant experience doing business with you, regardless of the technology you use. Once you’ve focused on making the customer experience delightful, you can monetize both the device and the experience for your bottom line. As Cathie Black said, “It is not about the device but about the business issues that go into the device.”
3. Don’t Let The Negative Bleed Into Your Business. It would be very easy to be distraught when we hear negatives about the economy or our business. Think of the negatives bantered about concerning newspapers. As a writer for paper-based newspapers I feel they have a role but it has changed. They are no longer the fastest way to deliver. This was resolved long ago. However, they provide a reading experience that is pleasant and still enjoyed. I talk about this in my seminars and it is applicable in many businesses. Blend the best of the old with the new digital approach. Stop the negative aspects of your industry and business from overshadowing the realistically positive aspects for the future. Be strong with a “realistically optimistic” approach. This positive mental attitude was a strong component of serious business growth for greats like Napoleon Hill and Norman Vincent Peale years ago and the principles still apply today. Understand the realities of what is happening but have a dogged determination to find the good. This is not Pollyanna but a hard-core pragmatic approach that works!
