WORK IN PROGRESS
(Life, You, Me, This Newsletter)
Vol. VI, Issue 14, August 15, 2002 ><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>><<>>
In this issue:
--- It's the experience!
--- Recommended reading
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IT'S THE EXPERIENCE!
Often I write first about thoughts for greater personal effectiveness, and then carry those ideas over to business and/or career issues. This month I am reversing that so as to consider what it is that brings us back to a business, a store/shop, a restaurant, and I follow that with thoughts on how to carry the concept into our personal lives more effectively.
What brings us back? Perhaps it is a specific product that we seek... a store may have a monopoly on an item, a restaurant may be the only one to serve a certain dish that is special to us. Most often, though, however well that dish is served, we will not return if the overall experience of dining there is not a good one. More and more, what a business has to do in order to attract customers or clients is to provide an overall experience.
Not long ago I was reading an article in "Fast Company" about a bank that is growing by leaps and bounds, largely because, when its customers enter, they enter an experience. The surroundings are un-bank-like, the tellers are friendly, and the overall transaction feels like an enjoyable visit. If you had the option of that experience, or of waiting in line to be called by a rushed teller who apparently can neither smile nor make eye-contact, which would you choose? That, of course, is why the bank is growing so fast.
Starbucks, the coffee shop company, is the epitome of how creating the experience creates success. From one location in 1971, Starbucks has grown to 676 in 1995, and to 5,506 in 2002, with locations worldwide. (I saw a Starbucks sign in a television program about Shanghai last night.) Part of their success is due to the fact that they believe that their staff will create the right experience for customers IF the staff themselves have a good experience. This is crucial to providing a good experience for your customers - your staff just can't do it if they are not themselves having a good experience. (And ordering employees to have fun, or to look as though they are happy, does NOT work. It needs to be genuine if it is to be contagious.)
In my community there are two competing grocery chains. One, nearest to my home, is a normal, competent, grocery store. They have what I need. I can get in and out in about the same time as the other one. The check-out people may or may not greet me, may or may not make eye-contact, never act as though they are anything but indifferent to me as a customer.
In the other store, attention is paid to theater value. I walk through a delicatessen area set up to remind me of a European city. Some toiletries are set out in displays that attract by color and texture. If I ask a question of any store clerk, in any department, s/he will ensure that I find what I am looking for, will immediately check "in the back" to see if something I am seeking is there if it can't be found on the shelves. I am greeted (almost always) at the check-out counter, though not by name - more on that below. Shopping there is an experience! Certainly I have to drive further to get there, and their prices are no lower than those of their competitors. But if I have to shop, I would prefer to do so in a business that makes my experience a good one. It did not surprise me when someone who lives thousands of miles away, on the West Coast (US) recently told me "San Francisco is wonderful, it is only missing one thing... Wegmans!" (That, of course is the name of the chain.)
Somewhere, in some form or other, you have customers or clients. (Customers buy product, clients buy services, otherwise there is little difference.) What is their experience when they deal with you? Do they feel valued? Is the experience one that they will be happy to repeat? If not... why would they return to you? Check it out. I am a great fan of the "mystery shopper" concept. If you have a large company, the information obtained from hiring an occasional mystery shopper can be invaluable. If you are a smaller organization, have friends or family members, people who are not known to your staff, come to your location, or telephone for an appointment or for information, as though they were a potential customer. Give them a check-list to consider... was there a welcoming first response, how long did they wait before being greeted, general attitude of staff, environment, whatever you think is relevant to the experience of your customers so that they feel as though they are treated the way YOU would like to be treated in such a situation.
Supposing you are not in business... well, in one way or another almost everyone is. Even if it is yourself that you are selling. How do people feel when they are around you? Welcomed? Valued? Made right? Made wrong? (It is surprising how often the experience of being wrong can be given by people who are so eager to show that they are right and on top of things that they will happily make other people "wrong." That's not what it's about.) This goes for people close to you, family members and friends, as well as for business situations.
Check out the experience you give others. Is it the experience that you would want for yourself? If the answer is not what you'd like it to be, what can you do to change things? We have always known that personal relationships are important in our personal lives - but do we do all we can to create a good experience for those around us? Now people are realizing that this matters as much in a business relationship as in any other form of relationship.
(When I first made some notes for this article, I did not realize that there are already books on the topic, but, in browsing Amazon.com to find something complementary to the article for those who want to read more on the topic, I find that there are. A couple, plus one on the personal aspects, are listed below.)
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What's happening at ChoiceCoach.com?
I first published my web site at the beginning of 1998. Now I'm planning a rebuild to take place in the next few months. I would VERY much appreciate feedback from you, my loyal readers, on what YOU think should be kept, discarded, changed. If you have a few minutes to spend on this project, first visit www.ChoiceCoach.com, and then please e-mail me at Diana@ChoiceCoach.com with "website advice" in the subject line. Thanks so much!
The Extra Mile
Those who do visit may notice a new link from the home page, to a new inspirational and motivational page called The Extra Mile. It contains stories from news media and my own experience of situations in which people have gone the extra mile, or have made lemonade from lemons. I hope that it will become a place for you to turn to when you are looking for inspiration. I hope, too, that you will be willing to share your stories, when appropriate for this page, because I hope to update frequently. I welcome them, but I need to know that they are true stories, not urban legends being circulated ad infinitum on the web, and that they are not copyrighted. I do not want to walk on anyone else's toes.
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RECOMMENDED READING
The Golden Rule of Schmoozing: The Authentic Practice of Treating Others Well by Aye Jaye
"There is a common misconception that the word 'schmooze' suggests a con or trickery. It's not. Schmoozing is the Golden Rule at full throttle. It's a thrill and an art form that encourages people to say, 'you've made my day' instead of demanding 'make my day'. It's a technique for turning others on, not taking others on. A schmoozer is someone who talks to people as if they really mattered - and they do!"
To learn more and/or order, click on
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D1570711291/personalandcareeA/002-8534146-380480
The Experience Economy by B. Joseph Pine, James H. Gilmore, B. Joseph Pine II
"Many will find the idea of staging experiences as a requirement for business survival far-fetched. However, the authors make a compelling case, and consider successful companies that are already packaging their offerings as experiences, from Disney to AOL. Far-reaching and thought-provoking, The Experience Economy is for marketing professionals and anyone looking to gain a fresh perspective on what business landscape might look like in the years to come. Recommended."
To learn more and/or order, click on
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D0875848192/personalandcareeA/002-8534146-380480
Experiential Marketing: How to Get Customers to Sense, Feel, Think, Act, and Relate to Your Company and Brands by Bernd H. Schmitt
"Experiential Marketing presents Schmitt's insightful and thought-provoking examination of this growing trend, along with a series of suggestions for implementing similar efforts. By dissecting a series of relevant campaigns undertaken at the leading-edge firms mentioned above, along with those at other major players such as Harley-Davidson, Volkswagen, Celestial Seasonings, and Taster's Choice, Schmitt demonstrates its effectiveness while deftly pointing out salient techniques that readers might adopt."
To learn more and/or order, click on
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D0684854236/personalandcareeA/002-8534146-380480
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Copyright 2002 Diana Robinson, PhD., PCC. Work in
Progress may be reproduced in its entirety only,
including this copyright line. Disclaimer -The contents herein are solely the opinions of Work in Progress owner, and should not be considered as a form of therapy nor advice. There is no guarantee of validity or accuracy. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, services of a competent professional should be sought.
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