How did we compile the list? We used research and experience. We reviewed industry studies as well as primary research conducted for our clients. Our experience includes working with dozens of companies and seeing, first hand, what’s working for them and what’s not. Trend #1: Your customers are your new sales force Social media and the web make it easy to learn what your customers think of you. Take TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site….

No more “Who’s Herman Cain?” Herman Cain, Republican Presidential Candidate, became a household name nearly overnight. How? He devised a name for a tax plan that is easy to remember and means something. It’s crisp and a child could understand it. How did Herman Cain come up with the name: 9-9-9 plan? He listened. He observed. He understood that Americans are fed up with politicians’ complicated messages. He limited the message to one thought, found…

Hyatt Place asked. They asked people what they wanted in a hotel. It’s obvious because their hotel works. It works because a bunch of suits inside their huge organization didn’t base this hotel brand on their own ideas. Instead, they focused outward – on their customers. Just ask Ever try and find the electrical outlets in a hotel room to plug in a charger? We’ve all done it. Crawled around the floor to find an…

Would you go into a bar and ask someone to marry you? Not if you want to get anywhere. Then why do companies do essentially the same thing? Let your prospects get to know you, experience your products and services, and then later talk about ‘more’. Date first Start by offering something of value to your audience. Take Naturepedic, a leading manufacturer of organic crib mattresses. Their web site is full of educational articles about…

Darwin was one sharp guy. Through observation, Darwin learned that animals adapt to survive. They don’t adapt to be different or get noticed. They adapt to live. The same thinking applies to your business. Evolve or become extinct Take the baby Sally Lightfoot crabs found in the Galapagos. The young crabs are black and well camouflaged amongst the black lava rocks. They’ve adapted to survive. The adults, which earned their name by being swift and…

If Susie had some information at the Delta airlines counter on March 25th, I wouldn’t be writing this blog. But she didn’t. Here’s the abridged story…We were waiting for a delayed flight from Akron, OH to Atlanta, GA. In Atlanta, we were catching a flight to Ecuador. (Did I mention that there’s only one flight a day from Atlanta to Ecuador?) Fast forward to an hour after our flight was scheduled to depart Akron. Our…

Last night’s Oscars were such a bore. The “Academy” blew it. They neglected to deliver what their customers wanted. If only they had conducted consumer research. “Critics pan 83rd Academy Awards hosted by Anne Hathaway and James Franco as the most boring ever” was one of numerous headlines blasting the event. The Academy thought their audience wanted young and beautiful, so they delivered young and beautiful a la Franco and Hathaway. And, that’s all they…

Do you? Touring Jack Daniel’s distillery in Lynchburg, TN, is the ultimate brand experience. From their iconic web site, www.jackdaniels.com, to arriving at their sole distillery in the world (see the welcome sign below), to adventuring across the picturesque footbridge to town and the Lynchburg General Store, you’re bathed in Jack Daniel’s. Unlike the Hershey chocolate factory tour in PA, which is sterile and impersonal, this one invites you into their world – their production…

Don’t know? You need to. If you want to keep your customers, that is. And given that obtaining new customers can cost five times more than satisfying and retaining current customers, it’s pretty important. According to a study by the American Society for Quality, 68% of customers leave due to indifference on the part of a service provider. Think customers walk because they had a dreadful experience? Four times as many split “due to indifference.”…