Where's the Restroom?

So, how did the Ritz-Carlton get it's rep as one of the best customer service providers in the world? I can sum it up in one question ... and answer.

When Pat Mene, Ritz V.P. of Quality (yes, they have a V.P. of Quality!!!) was asked what would happen if a customer asked an employee where the restroom was and the employee politely pointed them in the right direction, Pat said:

"We would make life unpleasant for them."

You see, at the Ritz, the staff is expected to WALK a customer rather than point a customer in the right direction. They just won't walk you INTO the bathroom.

So what does this mean to your branch level. Do your tellers point customers or members to the new accounts and lending staff or do they walk around the teller line and ESCORT the customers to the desk and make formal introductions?

The Ritz adheres to the following Quality Strategy and you can too:

1. Find out what the customer psychologically wants most. They've identifies the following basic psychological wants:

• Beautiful surroundings

• Recognition of regular guest’s needs

• Warm, courteous people

• Consistent delivery

2. Develop standards that respond to the customer’s needs

3. Design processes to assure delivery EVERY TIME!

Take care,

Eric

Content Marketing Basics: Create Content for All Buying Stages

To create engagement with today's B2B buyers, marketers must develop and use relevant and compelling marketing communications and marketing content.  There is simply no substitute for relevancy when it comes to establishing and maintaining meaningful relationships with potential buyers.

In an earlier post, I described how to develop buyer personas.  Personas enable us to create relevant marketing content because the process of creating personas forces us to develop a deeper understanding of the individual buyers we work with.  Personas enable us to identify the issues and problems that our buyers are facing, and this allows us to develop marketing messages and marketing content that speaks directly to those concerns.

Developing content for each buyer persona is essential, but it's also critical to have content that speaks to where the buyer is in the buying process.  That's because the kind of information that is most relevant to a buyer changes as he or she moves through the buying cycle.

The key to developing content for each stage of the buying cycle is to put yourself in the buyer's shoes and identify the questions that he or she is likely to have at each stage.  Then, you create content that answers those questions.

There are many ways to describe the B2B buying cycle.  Ardath Albee, author of eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale and the Marketing Interactions blog, uses a seven-step framework:  Status Quo - Priority Shift - Research - Options - Step Backs - Validation - Choice.

Using Albee's framework, we can identify some of the questions that a buyer is likely to have at each stage of the process.

Status Quo - Why do I need to change?  What are the ramifications of not changing?  Has something happened in my industry that makes change necessary?

Priority Shift - Can the issue/problem be solved?  What are the benefits of addressing the issue/problem?  How have my peers and/or competitors dealt with the issue/problem?

Research - What are the alternative ways to address the issue/problem?  What are the risks and benefits of the alternative approaches?

Options - What specific solutions should I consider?  Which potential solution providers should I include in my short list?  What are the features and functionality of each possible solution?

Step Backs - What happens if I don't have the resources to implement the proposed solution?  What if I don't have real buy-in from my end users?  What if the solution doesn't produce the promised results?

Validation - Why should I trust your company?  What is my ROI if I purchase your solution?  How can I be sure that the estimated ROI will actually be realized?

As you develop your questions, be as specific as possible, and keep in mind that you will need a separate set of questions for each buyer persona you've identified.  This approach will enable you to develop rich and compelling content that will resonate with your buyers.

Monday, Monday...

Good morning financial marketers...

In the spirit of Robin Williams in "Good Morning Vietnam", I share a hearty greeting!

IT'S MONDAY...

I have been reading Roxanne Emmerich's book entitled, "Thank God its Monday!"  A really good read!  The premise is building a team and environment that is the most conducive to success as possible.

So, I ask you to look around your office and institution...1st at yourself.  Are you excited to come to work on Monday?  Full of energy and ideas?  YOU have to be the emotional leader...

If you are coming in excited and ready to go...your team will, too!

I know we have all heard of "walk the walk and talk the talk", it is true!  People watch and make notes of the exec's leadership style and actions. Everything matters!  If we don't follow-thru, soon our staff will take that same cue and slow their efforts, too.  We ALL need to working toward the same goal and we have to be the lead.

Look for more ideas and thoughts about focusing your team and creating and environment that welcomes Mondays!

Cheers!

Bruce

The Truth About Attracting Younger Audiences

In the past few weeks, I have served on a couple of panels and delivered a few speeches about attracting younger audiences. In doing so I found that many people harbor some misconceptions about attracting younger audiences. I understand that younger audiences are a sexy topic to funders and board members, but there are a few things we all need to think about before launching our assault on the Gen X'ers and Millenials.

• Product. Of the four Ps of marketing, most will agree that product is the most important. So why then is it the least considered when looking at ways in which to attract younger audiences? If your core artistic product is not appealing to younger audiences, then you will almost assuredly fail to get them to fully engage with your organization. Throwing an after hours party, turning a performing space into a disco or hosting themed young professional events might get targeted demographics into the door, but what we really want is for them to engage with the mission of the organization. If the mission precludes the organization from programming attractive art or an artistic leader isn't sensitive to the programming desires of young adults, you might be able to get them in the door, but they will never be a stakeholder of your institution. Just as location is king in real estate, in the arts, nothing is as powerful as the programming.
• Price. News Flash -- many younger audience members have money, and are not as price sensitive as some of us assume. Consider this study that reports that the 37 million young adults from 25 to 34 years of age in the U.S. have an aggregate income of more than $1.1 trillion. In an attempt to explain the absences of young people, I think we have jumped to price as the primary issue because it is much easier to change than product. However, I would argue that those who have to adjust tickets to bargain basement prices to attract younger audiences primarily have a problem with the product. Consider that in 2008, Ticketmaster reported that the average price for a ticket to a Coldplay concert was $217. For those lucky enough to have seen Coldplay, you know their events are filled with Gen X'ers.
• Place. Secondary to product, we should be asking ourselves if our institutions are welcoming to younger audiences. Churches and theaters are both struggling to attract younger members, and I believe are failing for many of the same reasons. Things to ponder: 1) what is the average age of your ushers? if they are the first people to welcome your audience, would someone in their 20s be welcomed by a peer or by someone that could be their grandparent? 2) Gen X'ers can barely remember a life without computers. Millenials have never been without the Internet. Yet we expect audiences to disconnect and remain in a dome of silence when they are at our institutions. Why not provide free wifi? configure our websites to work on handheld devices? 3) Is your organization's virtual presence as inviting as your real world location? can I purchase tickets, get answers to my questions, and engage with you on my schedule?
• Promotion. Secondary to price, this is the area that most institutions focus on. Video + Facebook + Podcasts does not automatically = younger audiences. You should think of new media tools as just a means of communicating. Nothing more, nothing less. Like any other tool, you have to know how to properly use it, and then use it to put the right message in front of the right audience. Most new media initiatives require two separate, but crucial steps to properly execute a campaign: the building of a communications infrastructure and the creation of content. You can have amazing content, but no friends to connect with. Or you can build a network of thousands of friends, and lose them quickly with the mediocre content. But for new media tools to work, you must have a product, place and price which are all conducive to younger audiences, and then you can concentrate on perfecting your new media skills.

As marketing directors, we have the least amount of control over product and place, and the most amount of control over price and promotion. Therefore we concentrate our efforts in the areas that we can affect, but if you don't get the first two right, you are wasting your time with the last two.

Yes, You Still Need "Promotional" Content

In two recent articles, MarketingSherpa described the results of research into how technology buyers view e-mail offer content.  The research was conducted by Bob Johnson with IDG Connect in partnership with MarketingSherpa, and it involved two surveys.  One survey was directed to technology buyers.  The second survey presented the same questions to B2B marketers.  The marketers were asked to answer the survey questions based on what they believed motivated buyers.

One of the survey questions was, "Do each of the following offer types increase the likelihood a prospective buyer will click on a link to additional information and insight?"

Here are the top five types of content offers identified by buyers - based on the percentage of surveyed buyers who answered "yes" to the above question:

• News and Articles - 84%
• Competitive Comparisons and Buying Guides - 73%
• Promotional Content - 70%
• Educational Content - 65%
• Free Research Reports - 64%

Here are the top five types of content offers identified by marketers:

• Educational Content - 92%
• Free Research Reports - 86%
• Peer Best Practices - 79%
• Competitive Comparisons and Buying Guides - 77%
• Interactive Peer Comparison Tool - 74%

Only 42% of marketers said that an offer of promotional content would motivate buyers to act.  Seems like we marketers may not know buyers as well as we would like to think.

Those of us who advocate content marketing stress the importance of using buyer-centric informational and educational content, and we argue that most marketing content should not be self-promotional (focused on my company or the features and attributes of my product or service).  This is the right approach, but the key word in the previous sentence is most.

Prospective buyers who reach a certain point in the buying cycle will want and need to learn about a prospective vendor's products or services.  Therefore, every company needs "promotional" marketing content that provides that information.  The problem with promotional content comes when you use it with prospects who aren't ready for it.

In my next post, I'll explain the importance of mapping content to all stages of the buying cycle.

"What Endears Endures"

Holy Cow, we can all learn a lesson from Chick-Fil-A!

With nearly half of the industry average in front-line turn-over and always packed dining rooms, Chick-Fil-A is doing something right. And any service industry - be it bank, credit union or shoe shine - can learn a significant lesson.

You see, Chick-Fil-A credits one simple reason for why they have not been effected severely by the economic downturn...

"What endears endures."

Chick-Fil-A strives to look at each customer interaction as more than a basic transaction ... it's a relationship building opportunity.

Chick-Fil-A, a fast food company, strives to be part of their customer's life. Now, many of you reading this are in the financial industry. We deal with people's money ... their mortgage ... their retirement. What could possibly be more personal and life altering?!?!

We have an opportunity, as the Grand Marketing Poo Bahs of our organizations to build these relationships and capitalize on them.

Chick-Fil-A says that they do not have to create customer stories, they only have to listen, harness them and connect them together. We can do the same, our tellers, new accounts and lending team are changing lives every day. Teach them to LISTEN and understand that what may be common place for them may be a great story. Make sure they share their stories with you.

Finally, use social media. Encourage your customers/members to share their stories with you too.

You simply need to provide your staff the tools to provide outstanding "customer experiences" (not customer service), the autonomy to do what's right and encourage them to share their stories.

Take care,

Eric

Content Marketing Basics: Developing Buyer Personas

Effective content marketing requires a thorough understanding of your prospective buyers.  Let's face it.  It's awfully hard to really connect with someone you don't understand.  That's why buyer personas must be a core component of your content marketing effort.

According to Adele Revella, author of the Buyer Persona blog, a buyer persona is, "a detailed profile of an example buyer that represents the real audience - an archetype of the target buyer."  In her book, eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale, Ardath Albee defines a buyer persona as, "a composite sketch representative of a type of customer you serve."

Just to be clear, a buyer persona is a biograhpical sketch of a typical buyer.  It is more than a job description.  Buyer personas are written in narrative form, and they are written as if the archetypical buyer is a real human being.  Buyer personas enable you to create more relevant and personalized communications, which is why they are so important for effective content marketing.

You will need to create a persona for each type of buyer who makes or significantly influences the decision to purchase your product or service.  Most sales methodologies use categories to indentify buying roles.  So, for example, you may have economic buyers, technical buyers, user buyers, and so on.  I prefer to describe buyer types by job title or job function in additon to these buying role categories.

It's also important to identify the type of business the buyer works for.  Buyers performing the same job function in different industries can have different issues, problems, or concerns.  Therefore, you may need to create "industry specific" personas.

The next step in developing a buyer persona is to answer a series of questions about the buyer.  Here are some examples:

• What are the buyer's major business objectives and job responsibilities?
• What strategies and tactics does the buyer use to achieve his objectives and fulfill his responsibilities?
• What meaures are used to evaluate the buyer's job performance?
• What issues and problems keep the buyer awake at night?
• How old is the typical buyer? [Age range is OK]
• Is the buyer typically male or female?
• What is the buyer's educational background?
• What sources does the buyer turn to for information?
• How would the buyer describe the issues he or she is facing?

In my earlier post about developing a customer value matrix, I recommended using a cross-functional team that includes both marketing and sales personnel.  That approach also works well for developing buyer personas.