Never trade the thrills of living for the securities of existence

In your last Radical Marketing Strategy email we spoke about
getting free publicity. I gave you the example of billionaire
Sir Richard Branson, who built his Virgin empire largely on free
publicity.

Today I want to talk about the Rocking Chair Test. I first heard
of this concept while listening to an Anthony Robins CD. He said
to imagine yourself when you are 90 years old, sitting on your
rocking chair, looking back at your life. What was it like? Did
you live it to it's fullest potential? Did you enjoy it? Did
you take risks?

I find that most people are either too afraid to take risks, or
are regretting not taking them. So my advice to you
Jeff is to take some risks. "Nothing ventured,
nothing gained" as the saying goes. Things usually have a way or
working out.

Many people dream of starting their own business but are just too
afraid to start. Or they think that they lack some sort of
special ability that successful entrepreneurs have. Well let me
tell you, the only ability that successful entrepreneurs have is
the guts to take risks - nothing more. Successful entrepreneurs
are not smarter than the average person, in fact many of them are
high school or university dropouts.

What they have is a dream, and an iron will and determination to
succeed. Be like them and take risks. I've read somewhere that
it takes 7 years or so to make a business successful, which might
turn some people off. Well the truth is you're going to live
those 7 years anyway. So you might as well make the most out of
them.

There's nothing worse than living your life in a safe and secure
manner, and then later regretting it when you're old and sitting
on your rocking chair, looking back at the wasted years and being
filled with regret.

One of my favourite quotes is "Never trade the thrills of living
for the securities of existence". I love it. It tells us to
take some risks to live our life to the fullest potential.

Ask yourself Jeff, are you living or just
existing?

Next week I'll share some thoughts on staff issues.

Until then.

Dedicated to your success,

Suhail G. Algosaibi, MBA, MCMI, AP
http://www.RadicalMarketing.com

Which Ad Strategy Is Right for You? - Advertising ROI - Entrepreneur.com

Which Ad Strategy Is Right for You? - Advertising ROI - Entrepreneur.com

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4 Ways to Gain Customer Loyalty - Entrepreneur.com - customer service

4 Ways to Gain Customer Loyalty - Entrepreneur.com - customer service

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Providing Great Customer Service

In your last Radical Marketing Strategy email we spoke about the
7 steps in implementing a great customer experience philosophy.
Today I want to talk more about specifics.

The key to proving a wonderful customer experience is to exceed
your customers' expectations. Think back to the last time you
had such an experience where your expectations were exceeded. My
guess is that it was hard for you doing that, right?

But you and I can probably come up with loads of horror stories
where our expectations weren't even remotely met - in fact we
were extremely disappointed and upset. I could write a whole
book on customer service horror stories (I think I might do that
actually).

Let me give you some examples. Whenever I find out that one of
my students in my martial arts school is sick or injured I
immediately send them flowers. I'm not talking about a couple of
dingy daisies but a whole bouquet worth $70 with a nice card.

This invariably shocks them. The last thing they expected was
flowers from their martial arts school. By doing this I have
exceeded their expectations - by far.

I was even told once by the mother of one of our junior students
that her son, while in hospital, was overjoyed to receive our
flowers and that we were the only people to do so. That's what I
mean by exceeding your customers expectations.

Let me give you another example. I travelled with my wife to
Dubai a while ago. We stayed at the Royal Mirage resort. It was
truly beautiful. The moment we arrived we were treated like
VIP's. We were delighted to find out we were given an upgrade to
a suite, which was just stunning.

Wherever we went in the resort the staff always greeted us with a
smile. We had a wonderful time. They truly exceeded all our
expectations.

Another company that provides great customer experiences is the
Ritz-Carlton Hotel. If you ever go to, or stay, at a Ritz-
Carlton ask a member of staff where a restroom, hall or banquet
room is. You'll notice that she will drop whatever she is doing
and will take you there personally. They don't want you to get
lost, and make a point of escorting you.

I really admire what they do. Say you stayed in a Ritz-Carlton
and asked for extra towels and a specific drink. The next time
you go to the same hotel you'll find the extra towels and drink
already in the room waiting for you!

The last time I was in Cleveland I was standing next to the
entrance of a Ritz-Carlton waiting for a cab. I noticed a hotel
guest returning from her jog and entering into the hotel. The
doorman promptly greeted her with a big smile, held open the door
for her and handed her a fresh towel and a cold bottle of water.
The guest was delighted!

After that I had a conversation with the doorman. He seemed like
he was one of the happiest men on earth. He told me that he was
always ready to help a guest and had a store of towels, water
bottles and cookies! He even offered me one!

This is what exceeding customer expectations is all about!

Here's today's lesson. Come up with at least 10 ways you can
exceed your customers expectations, then implement them straight
away. Chances are your customers will be pleasantly surprised
and very appreciative. This is one of the most powerful Unique
Selling Propositions you can have for your business.

In your next Radical Marketing Strategy email we'll talk about
Getting Free Publicity.

Until then.

Dedicated to your success,

Suhail G. Algosaibi, MBA, MCMI, AP
http://www.RadicalMarketing.com

Providing Great Customer Service

In your last Radical Marketing Strategy email we spoke about the
three ways of making money; increasing the number of customers,
increasing the size of each transaction and increasing the length
of time a customer does business with you.

Today I want to talk about providing great customer service. Of
all the marketing methods you can use, this is by far the most
powerful.

In fact people don't talk in terms of customer service anymore
but in terms of the 'customer experience.' This means that the
whole experience a customer has with you, from first contact to
purchase to post-purchase, should be enjoyable and memorable for
him.

Provide your customers with a great customer experience and you
will be greatly rewarded. Your customer will want to come back
to you over and over again and bring his or her friends too.

Be warned however, providing a great customer experience is not
something that is implemented easily. This should be seen as a
long term strategy, not just a gimmick that is tried and
forgotten. Here are the steps to implementing an amazing
customer experience.

Step One is to make the decision and commitment to customer
excellence. Do not make this decision lightly, think about the
consequences of such a big commitment. You might have to re-
engineer your business and make many changes. You might also get
a lot of resistance from staff and/or business partners. This is
not an easy thing to do.

The next step is to analyse your current business process. Break
down everything you do into steps. Develop a flow chart of your
whole business process. Breakdown every step from when a
customer first contacts you, to his first purchase to post-
purchase follow up.

Step Three is to make the necessary changes to improve all
customer contacts. Be it by phone, email, post or face to face.
Come up with a better way of doing each customer contact.

Step Five is to get everyone else on board. All your efforts
will be wasted if you do not get your staff on board. Explain to
them the importance of what you are trying to do and how it will
benefit them too in the long run.

Step Six is to train yourself and your staff on the new customer
contact procedures. Train and retrain. Play out customer
contact scenarios on a regular basis.

Step Seven is implement, measure and re-evaluate. Focus and
improve constantly. Remember, your new found customer experience
approach is a long term strategy and philosophy, not a short term
tactic.

Next week we'll talk about Specific Customer Experience
Strategies that you can implement in your business.

Until then.

Dedicated to your success,

Suhail G. Algosaibi, MBA, MCMI, AP
http://www.RadicalMarketing.com

10 Tips for Working With Family Members - Entrepreneur.com

10 Tips for Working With Family Members - Entrepreneur.com

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How Bad Do You Want It? - Startup Debt - Entrepreneur.com

How Bad Do You Want It? - Startup Debt - Entrepreneur.com

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