One More Out the Door??

Think back to the last time you were really looking forward to something.  Maybe it was a vacation at an amazing resort, a great dinner out, or buying a new piece of state of the art electronics.  Oh, the anticipation leading up to the event!...Your life will be so much better!...Did the reality live up to your expectations?  Far too often the answer is a flat out “no”. Usually because the hype was far greater than the actual product. 

A few years ago I decided to finally indulge in my dream to spend a week being pampered at a luxury spa.  I researched all sorts of options all over the country, booked my airfare and ground transportation, and could hardly wait to go! The spa in Utah advertised world-class service, gourmet food, spectacular views and a top-notch spa.  From the moment I arrived at the resort I felt my excitement turn into deep disappointment.  The reception lobby had stark white walls, rental quality furniture and employees that looked less than thrilled to be there.  The spa featured fluorescent lighting, blaring rock music, and really nothing resembling “top-notch”.  Without access to a computer or a vehicle, I quickly phoned a friend who gladly helped me research other nearby spas where I might escape.

In my consulting practice, delivering on your brand is one of the top areas I stress to business owners and employees, because there’s always another company around the corner who will gladly take your dissatisfied customers.  For that reason, I’ve put together a few tips to help you assess your business and see where there may be opportunities to enhance your image.

Tip 1. Clearly reflect your brand.  Once you have defined how you want your company to be perceived, use your brand as a filter for everything your customer encounters.  In other words, if you are a spa and you’re advertising luxury and pampering, that should be the overriding theme at your establishment.   Your furnishings should be lush and your staff should actually “pamper” your clients. You could certainly add additional elements such as hiking and exercise classes but they should not be the focus.  Simply put, give your customers what they came for. 

Tip 2.  Think of your business as an “experience”.  In my many years with Anheuser-Busch Theme Parks, I often encouraged my creative teams to look at every detail our guests encountered.  From parking the car in the morning to leaving late in the evening there were hundreds of “experiences” that could make or break a great day.  Take a look  around your business and “see it” through your customer’s eyes.  If you were the customer, would you appreciate the overall experience?  Are you delivering on your brand or is it time to add some new and improved elements to your offerings?

Tip 3. Your employees are a reflection of your brand.  Whether we’re talking about a doctor’s office, restaurant, or call center, your customers expect great service from everyone in your company.  If your receptionist or other employees are rude or unknowledgeable your customers will view your overall business in that light and sales will likely suffer.  

Tip 4. Develop opportunities for emotional connections. Put some time into understanding how your customers might hope to “feel” as a result of doing business with you.  In other words, do you want them to feel energized, comfortable, relieved, rested, in “good hands”?  You can influence your customer’s  ability to “connect” to your business through the use of appropriate background music, lighting, paint colors, artwork, and your employee’s interactions with your customers. Think about how much a soundtrack can enhance a movie (whether it’s romantic or action packed). If you walked into a nightclub that didn’t feature great music and attractive lighting, would you want to stay and order drink? It’s very often the “feeling” we experience that prompts us to either move on or stay and indulge. 

 

Most of the tips I’ve mentioned can be addressed with modest impact on your budget and high return on your investment through increased customer retention...now that’s working InBliss!

Copyright © 2008 InBliss Coaching and Consulting LLC  All Rights Reserved Internationally.   No portion may be reprinted or used without prior written permission.

Business Image... What's that???

Sure, we've been talking about the importance of building your personal image, but have you stopped to consider the image of your company or the company you work for?  At some point, we've probably all worked somewhere that we weren't proud of.  I know when I was 18 (yes, just a few short years ago) I worked for a company that provided security guards for construction sites.  Let's just call it Mr. X Security.   Though I generally liked the people I worked for, I really dreaded going to work.  The office that I worked in smelled musty, the drywall was crumbling, the carpet was in terrible shape, the windows were permanently foggy, and the place was literally falling apart.  

Over time, the owner of Mr. X Security began to add other odd jobs to his scope of work.  He started offering cleaning services (though I am positive that no cleaning had ever taken place in that office) and, at some point he tried offering child care services. It's not surprising that the quality of client and the quality of employee the company was attracting was let's just say... sketchy.

Hmm.... what went wrong here? 

Let's start with Branding.  When people see your business, they want to understand what it is that you do - what services you offer.  In a company named Mr. X Security, it certainly seems out of place that they would offer cleaning services and child care which have really no connecting points that I can think of.  It's not that you can't offer separate services or products...it just needs to make sense.  

For example, say you want to open a theme park and you want to call it Music World.  Great!  So you start to add in music themed rides, musical entertainment, a resort featuring great musical eras, a restaurant featuring famous musicians, etc.  Good start.  Now, you decide it would be cool to add in Dinosaur Land as part of the park because you think dinosaurs are really cool and because you found a bunch of them at a great price and they will take up a lot of space in your theme park. You'd also like to add in a high speed race track and a kid's oversized play area.  Hmm... really?  

It's so important that your customers (and you) are able to connect the dots. Once you added in the dinosaurs and race cars, the brand got cloudy. If you can tie them back to music then you might have something.  If the kid's area featured oversized musical instruments, maybe a tuba that they could crawl through, etc. you're on the right track.  Now, you might be thinking, I've seen theme parks that feature all kinds of stuff - race cars, talking mice, flying carpets, you name it.  The difference is that their brand is defined as "magical" or "make believe" or "an escape from reality" - now you can throw in the kitchen sink! 

The other piece is the first impression and overall experience that people get from your company.  If you have a cleaning company and your office is filthy... no deal.  If you advertise as being the "friendly alternative" to dentistry and your receptionist is rude... no deal.  If you have a spa that is advertised as "pure bliss" and your customers have to walk through a convention area, a noisy check in lobby, and crowded elevators... no deal.  You MUST deliver on your promise.  Think about what your customers might expect and over deliver.  I promise, if you have a cleaning company your customers will expect your office, vehicles, and employees to look clean and well groomed. 

Another example, if you have a company named InBliss, you will want to be sure to offer services that help to make your customer's personal and professional lives more successful, more rewarding, and more blissful in general.  Hopefully I've delivered on the brand.  

For more information, email me at info@inbliss.com or visit my website at WWW.InBlissConsulting.com. 

Copyright © 2008 InBliss Coaching and Consulting LLC  All Rights Reserved Internationally.   No portion may be reprinted or used without prior written permission.