The Design Symphony Experience

People Really Hate Us "Now"

The June 2007 issue of Fast Company features a story on Nau - a new outdoor clothing company built on a bold sustainability mantra.

I've seen about a half dozen articles on this company in the last 30 days. They're doing a great job of building buzz and I've been intrigued enough that I am planning a trip to their Chicago store (currently one of four stores nationwide) later this summer.

Nau's design philosophy incorporates three key elements: performance, sustainability, and beauty. Isn't that something we can all agree on?

The thing I love best about Nau's approach to business (and stay tuned for a review of their clothing and retail experience) is their unapologetic view of standing for something as opposed to trying to be all things to all customers (i.e., the boring and ineffective technique used by so many organizations). Nau CEO Chris Van Dyke (son of actor Dick Van Dyke) explains:

"One of our greatest goals is that a significant number of people really hate us. That's just perfect. You try to please everybody and you end up being nothing. The sign of a really powerful brand is one that is loved and embraced and equally hated. The deeper you pound your stake into the sand about your values, the more of both the love and the hate you're going to generate. That's what makes it exciting."

Nau is so now...

P.S. In case you were wondering, Nau is Maori for "Welcome! Come in" - very fitting and fun - like all good brand names should be.

The Seth Godin Experience

Last month I had the chance to meet the infamous Seth Godin - business writer, presenter, and marketer extraordinaire when he came to the University of Maryland business school.

Seth's writing is fantastic and his presenting lived up to his written word reputation. Here's my mindmap of notes from the meeting:

Download 3.4mb Mindmap PDF

The #1 takeaway for me from Seth's presentation?

Don't be afraid to risk.

And then risk some more.

Seth told a great story about one of his son's bathtub toys and a red circle that perfectly illustrates the point. Give me a call (two-zero-two -- 834-0111) or send me an email and I'd be happy to tell you the whole story (it's too long for a blog post).

The Post Office Experience

To most people in America, the phrase "going postal" is all too familiar. Becoming "extremely and uncontrollably angry, possibly to the point of violence" is a common experience for many visitors to the typical post office. Why is that?

This is a great example of why that happens:

This scene comes from my local post office here in DC where fourteen of us were in line the other day. Mid-afternoon, fourteen people in line, and one person at the counter. Two other postal employees were in the back chatting - loud enough for those of us in line to hear.

Why didn't they come out and help?

Why have us wait in line for 34 minutes (my actual wait time that day) when the other two clerks could have assisted and collectively served everyone in line in about nine minutes?

Why?

Because according to new rules, my local branch has been racking up too much overtime helping customers. According to their "staffing assessments" they only need one person at the desk in the afternoon and the other two people need to work in the back.

Folks, at the end of the day you want your employees to act like they own the business. You want them to cherish and serve customers. You want them to provide customers with a great experience.

Takeaways:
1) Eliminate the "wait" wherever possible - show customers that you value their time as much (or even more) than your own.

2) Reward your employees for acting like owners - with money, praise, and any other positive reinforcement you can imagine.

3) When all else fails - try humor. I've come to know Joe (the postal worker in the photo) over the last few years and he has a great attitude - something that is rare in my lifetime of postal experiences. Joe did his best to apologize to people for the delay, using his friendly and playful banter to keep us entertained while we waited.

At least one employee in the U.S. Postal Service understands that the name of the organization is the Postal Service.

P.S. Two of the people ahead of me were visiting from Europe. When their friend apologized for the delay, one of them said "Don't worry - it's giving us the chance to experience the U.S. Postal Service." (seriously - I'm not making this up) If I were the U.S. Postmaster General, I would be embarrassed by that observation.

The Max Experience

I visited the Bahamas last week and had the chance to reconnect with one of my favorite business owners in the world. Max is the ultimate entrepreneur - operating no fewer than five businesses (not counting his growing real estate holdings) and constantly working to develop new offerings.

Max owns the taxi company - and drives one of the vans every day so he can interact with his customers.

Max owns the auto-import business - and uses vehicles he imports as the fleet for his endeavors.

Max owns the building - and lives in one of the apartments so he understands what his tenants are experiencing.

Everywhere you go on New Providence island (population: 200,000+) people know Max. And everyone returns his signature smile when they see him.

Max is the experience because he participates in the experience. He knows first-hand what his customers and employees go through every day and he makes sure he is ready to respond and fill their every need.

Note: If you're ever headed to Nassau and need a driver, let me know and I'll put you in contact with Max.

The Worst Haircut

If you don't acknowledge great referrals, you won't get more referrals in the future.

Yesterday I got my haircut and while waiting overheard this conversation between another customer getting a haircut and her hairdresser:

Customer: My friend Greg came in and you took such great care of him - he loved his haircut!
Hairdresser: Who? (still cutting hair)
Customer: Greg - he came in last week - short brown hair
Hairdresser: (long pause...) That name doesn't sound familiar (annoyed tone to voice)
Customer: He loved his haircut - you did a great job!
Hairdresser: So I think I'll cut this part to make the side have more shape...

I was shocked.

Here is a customer who not only is a repeat customer, but one who is actively referring business to the hairdresser. The referred customer (Greg) was very pleased with his haircut and will likely return as a result.

The customer is happy that her friend was treated well and that her "referring integrity" (the value of her recommendations) was actually met and exceeded in this instance. This is a raving fan in the making!

What did the hairdresser do to acknowledge this referral and the accompanying testimonial?

Nothing.

I could see the disappointed look on the customer's face. She seemed almost as shocked as I was that the hairdresser didn't even acknowledge her compliments or her referral.

How this conversation could have gone:

Customer arrives at salon...
Hairdresser: So great to see you! By the way, I cut your friend Greg's hair last week. Thank you so much for referring him to me. I hope he liked the cut?
Customer: Absolutely! He was raving about it. Thanks so much for taking good care of him.
Hairdresser: My pleasure - I'm thrilled he liked the results. And thank you so much for sending him my way. As a little thank you, I'd like to give you today's haircut free of charge - as a gift for your referral.
Customer: Wow... that's not why I referred Greg...
Hairdresser: I understand that, but I wanted to show you how much I appreciate it when you send new customers my way.

The conversation would be followed up by a handwritten thank you note to the customer, once again expressing appreciation for the referral.

Now that's how to turn a referral into a great customer experience.

The Popcorn Experience

Ridiculous operations + mind-numbing policies = bad experience and loss of $$$

Over Thanksgiving I went to the movies three times in three days. What can I say, I really enjoy movies!

One trip was to the Regal Cinema in Rockville, Maryland to see Happy Feet with my future niece and nephews (all under age 10). Anyone who has taken children to see an animated film knows that the stop at the concession stand to load up on treats is as important as finding good seats. Actually, to the kids the treats are usually more important than the seats.

After four adults and three children had selected Coke, Diet Coke, Cherry Coke, Reese Pieces, Nerds, Cotton Candy, and a large popcorn, the total bill came to $47.00. We all took a seat outside the theater and waited for the movie showing before ours to let out.

It quickly became evident that the kids, despite their candy picks, all wanted some popcorn from the jumbo bucket. I quickly headed back to the counter to get some empty popcorn cups to split the jumbo bucket up among the three kids.

When I asked the young man who had just helped us with our order for some extra cups, he looked at me like I was asking him for one of his kidneys.

"We can't give out empty cups," he said.

"Why?" I inquired.

"We just can't."

While I felt like explaining that "because" is never a good answer to the question "why," I refrained and instead said, "You mean after just spending $47 I can't get an empty cup or two?"

His blank stare and the ensuing silence were less than comforting.

"Could I talk to the manager please?" I asked.

"Sure," he responded. He then called over another young man, maybe two years older who said "Can I help you?"

"Yes," I said - hopeful that I was nearing a solution. "We just spent $47 on candy, drinks, and a jumbo popcorn. See those kids over there? (I pointed to the adorable niece and nephews) We're getting ready to go in to the 4:00pm showing of Happy Feet and they all want popcorn now... so I was hoping to get some cups so I can split up that jumbo popcorn over there into something more manageable than passing a big bucket back and forth during the movie. Would it be possible to get two or three small popcorn cups?"

"I'm sorry but I can't give you any cups," the manager replied.

"Why," I asked again.

"We take inventory at night by counting cups. If I gave you the cups it would mess up our inventory system."

"Seriously?" I replied.

"Yeah - sorry..." he said.

"Will you do me a favor," I asked. "Will you let your superiors know that it is absolutely insane not to give extra popcorn cups to some who has purchsed $47 dollars worth of concessions and $52.50 worth of tickets. Especially when that same family is here for the third consecutive day of movies and treats."

"Yeah - sorry..." he replied once more.

If the theater had free refills and was worried about me running a popcorn scam, maybe... If the popcorn cups were really expensive, maybe... If they were about to run out of cups due to an extraordinary run on the theater and told me they needed to conserve cups for other patrons, maybe.

But for inventory? Are you kidding me? What about the computer that you typed my order into, detailing each super-expensive item which must net you at least a 300% profit margin per item. Why not grab inventory off that computer every night and save the cup counting.

The moral: Don't let a ridiculous (dare I say stupid) way of tracking inventory disappoint/frustrate/anger a customer who in the last 72 hours has provided you with hundreds of dollars in revenue when you could have "saved the day" with two or three cups that at most cost $0.10 each.

The Blockbuster Experience

Blockbuster Video advertisements are promoting "Total Access." According to the ads and the company's website, if you have an online delivery membership you can return your movies by mail in the nifty envelope they provide or if you don't want to wait for the Postal Service to deliver your next movie, you can take the DVD to your local store and exchange it for a new movie instantly.

With Thanksgiving Holiday weekend upon us and a desire for movies, today I exercised the "drop it off at the store" option for the first time.

When checking out, I had the chance to be waited on by the manager of the store and she was delightful. I had one question for her: Now that I've turned in my movie and received another one immediately, does my online list wait until the newly received movie ("exchanged movie") is returned or do they just mail out the next movie on my list immediately?

"I've heard conflicting answers to that," the manager told me.

That's scary I thought... especially since you're the manager and the company is in the middle of what must be a multi-million dollar ad campaign to roll out this new service!

The manager explained that she had received conflicting reports from upper management on this question - some saying the next online delivery movie would go out immediately - others saying that it wouldn't happen until I returned the "exchanged movie" back to the store.

She did ask me to let her know (if I didn't mind) how it worked out for me personally so that she would have the answer when future customers asked.

If your own management team doesn't know how your newest program offering works, you have a BIG problem.

A great amount of time and money is spent on developing a program, creating the marketing materials, and building the IT infrastructure to handle a major change in logistics like this. But Blockbuster forgot to explain it to their own people. Oops.

I will say that her request for my input made me feel like we were "in it together" and I plan to let her know what happens when I received my next movie.

This results in an interesting twist to what could have been a bad customer experience... By requesting my help, the manager sympathized with my confusion about the program and set up a dynamic whereby I would find the solution and help her by sharing it. Kudos to the manager for taking this approach instead of just saying, "I don't know" or expressing anger at the lack of information management was providing about the program.

Somewhere at Blockbuster, they know what is going to happen to the movie I returned - now only if the manager and I had the same knowledge...

Every Touchpoint Matters

I regularly investigate and analyze customer touchpoints with my clients. Touchpoints are all the various circumstances when a customer or potential customer comes in contact with your brand. These include your website, your business card, your invoices, the sound of your voicemail recording... you get the idea.

One of the most important touchpoints is the conversation that occurs when someone calls your organization and the receptionist picks up the phone.

On Monday I called a courier service that had been recommended to me to see about getting five large boxes delivered from a printer to my office. Although I had never done business with this courier service, the young man I spoke to was kind (a trait that is becoming rarer with each passing day), efficient, and polite as he took my information and set up my delivery for later that day. The entire process took 8 minutes and 32 seconds, the boxes were delivered earlier than promised, and the costs was approximately 1/4 of what I would normally pay for this type of service. I had found an amazing new courier service!

Today (Wednesday) I called the same company to schedule another delivery between the same locations as my Monday order, presuming this should be easy... Silly me.

Following is my conversation with names altered (for now) to protect the innocent:

Courier: Courier Delivery. This is "Sue."
Me: Good morning Sue, this is Joey Coleman from Design Symphony - how are you today?
Courier: Look... We're really busy... (flustered) Ummm... What is it that you want? Are you calling to schedule a pick-up or what?
Me: (awkwardly at this point) Yes...
Courier: Okay, what's your account number?
Me: I'm sorry, I'm not sure - I just set up the account two days ago.
Courier: Fine, what's your name again?
Me: Joey Coleman
Courier: And the name of your company?
Me: Design Symphony
Courier: When did you set up this account again?
Me: (with some growing frustration) Monday - the day before yesterday
Courier: Okay, so you need a pick-up at Design Symphony?
Me: Actually, it's a repeat order of last time - I need something picked up at "ABC Printing" and delivered to my office...

I will say the rest of the call improved, despite that "Sue" had me repeat all of my information again - including contact info the printer and my office. The longer we stayed on the phone (total call time 5 minutes, 24 seconds), the more pleasant she became and I hope she left the call with a smile on her face (I started cracking jokes at the end - which is my tendency - and made her laugh twice). I'm really hoping that she is now in the proper mood to treat the next customer better from the outset.

A number of things went wrong with the call from the beginning and I offer the following advice (feel free to print and give to everyone who answers the phone at your office - I promise it will improve your bottom line - that's how important this is).

Start with a Smile
When the phone rings, before you pick it up, smile with teeth-baring effort and hold that smile until the third ring - then pick up the phone. It allows you to start from a relaxed yet pleasant place and that immediately translates to the person on the other end of the phone.

Open with Excitement
The person who is calling is taking their time to contact you. At a business, chances are better than 50/50 that the person on the phone is a current customer or prospective customer (as opposed to some telemarketer or salesperson pitching you business). The tone of your initial greeting and opening sentences should let them know you are excited that they called and gave you the opportunity to serve.

Listen
It seems so simple, but few people do it. In the example above I actually had to tell "Sue" my name three times during the call and the name of my company three times as well. Did she not hear me the first time or was she choosing not to listen? I understand you may be busy with other things when I call and interrupt you, but please do me the courtesy of listening to what I say - especially when I am responding to questions you are asking!

Be Kind
In my initial call with this courier service I was impressed by the receptionist's kindness in helping me get my account set up (how sad has customer service become that someone's kindness in creating a situation for me to give them money is remarkable). In this call, the receptionist wasn't kind and many would argue her comments, disposition, and behavior were flat out rude. In most customer interactions it's important to note the unique governing rules of customer service math: 1 positive interaction + 1 negative interaction = overall negative impression. Even 12 positive interactions + 1 negative interaction can = an overall negative impression. Every touchpoint matters! Simply by being kind you can usually create a positive interaction.

Use Technology Solutions Wisely
The Chinese restaurant I order from knows my name, address, and what I usually order. When I call, caller ID lets them know who is calling. They use that information to help speed the process. Why doesn't the courier service use a similar system? Maybe they do and my account isn't active yet since I had only opened it two days before... Of course, they charged my credit card for the service two days before so as far as I'm concerned, we have an ongoing customer relationship now. How different would it have been if the call would have gone like this:

Courier: Good Morning - This is "Sue" at Courier Delivery Service - is this Mr. Coleman calling from Design Symphony?
Me: (shocked!) Why yes it is...
Courier: Good Morning Mr. Coleman - thanks for calling us - may I assist you with scheduling a delivery today or was there something else I could help with?
Me: Scheduling a delivery would be great thanks (more impressed by the minute)
Courier: Wonderful - I see that your last delivery was a pick up at ABC Printing with delivery to your office using our same-day service - would today's delivery be the same as before?
Me: Yes actually
Courier: Lovely - are the packages ready to be picked up now?
Me: Yes
Courier: Great - with your permission I will dispatch a driver immediately and the items will arrive at your office no later than 3pm today.
Me: Fantastic
Courier: Is there anything else I can do for you today?
Me: No that should cover everything
Courier: Very well - for your reference, I will be emailing you a confirmation receipt of this delivery request when we get off the phone. The total charge for today's delivery is $18.95 and will be billed to your credit card on file. When that invoice is processed at the end of the day, it will automatically generate a receipt that will be emailed to you as well. If there's nothing else, I hope you have a wonderful day and thanks so much for thinking of us today - we truly appreciate your business.
Me: Thanks Sue! And can you please connect me to the CEO of your company so I can ask him to give you a raise!

That conversation would actually take less time, would be more efficient, and would leave me with an amazing customer experience story that I would tell everyone I know about and even write about in my blog! ;-)

Oh well, maybe next time...

The Full Monty Experience

Attending a community theater performance of The Full Monty this evening, I saw a colleague in a whole new light - all puns intended people ;-)

The performance made me think of how businesses "show up" for their audiences. As such, here is my brief Full Monty Philosophy:

Be Comfortable in Your Own Skin
For a significant portion of the show the actors are clothed in only their underwear. In the beginning, the audience and the actors are both slightly uncomfortable with this wardrobe choice. Over time, both parties become more at ease and recognize an authenticity in the presentation. The more comfortable you are in your own skin, the more comfortable the audience is interacting with you.

Have a Great Technical Support Staff
At the finale of the show when the performers achieve "Full Monty" status, the characters remove their strategically placed hats and reveal... a series of backlit silhouettes. With calculated precision, huge spotlights backlight the performers and all you can see in the audience is the shadow of a person standing in front of a blazing light. At the penultimate moment, when you finally reveal yourself to the audience in all your glory - make sure all the technical aspects of your presentation are operating perfectly.

Go All the Way
To live up to the show's name, and to live up to the promise the characters make during the show, the performers must be willing to "go all the way." The show just wouldn't be the same as the "Almost Full Monty Show." I'm sure some people thought, "well let's just get really close to the Full Monty" and others likely argued, "if we go all the way we will offend people." The number of people, companies, and organizations willing to "go all the way" is shrinking every day. By delivering on that promise, one can really be a show stopper - so to speak...

Why Typepad?

After deciding that I wanted to start a blog, I needed to figure out the easiest and fastest way to do it – so as to support my Version 1.0 philosophy.

I quickly narrowed my options to Typepad, WordPress, and Moveable Type.

Moveable Type was taken off the list because it requires some basic programming knowledge. Version 1.0 requires speed and ease of use – hence, no Moveable Type.

That left Typepad and WordPress.

On Typepad’s “Why Typepad?” page they note that some of the biggest names in blogging use Typepad – including Malcolm Gladwell (The Tipping Point) and Scott Adams (Dilbert). One of the best business writers out there, Seth Godin also uses Typepad.

Years ago I had the chance to chat with the then C.E.O. of K.B. Toys. I have many fond memories of hours spent cruising the aisles of K.B. Toys looking for the newest Star Wars toys, LEGO kits, and G.I. Joe action figures. I imagine you might have similar memories…

The thing I remember most was the C.E.O.’s story of how K.B. Toys found store locations around the country. They would meet with the developers of a new mall and say, “Where is the Sears store going to be located?” If the developers said, “Here” – K.B. Toys would lease the retail space immediately next to the Sears location. If the developers said, “Sears doesn’t have a store in our mall” – K.B. Toys would move on to the next mall.

The C.E.O. explained that K.B. Toys would use all of the market research Sears had used – without paying a single cent for it. They had figured out that the audience they wanted to reach was similar to the audience Sears wanted to reach and if it was a good enough location for Sears to build a store, it was a good enough location for K.B. Toys!

So Seth, and Malcom, and Scott – thanks for being my “Sears” ;-)

Version 1.0 Philosophy

I have a confession to make - I’m a bit of a perfectionist.

I like balance, and neatness, and simplicity. I like everything to be “just right” – especially if I am going to sign my name to it.

That can be a bad thing.

All too often the cool idea, the earth-shattering concept, the mind-blowing approach… gets bogged down in the execution because I want it to be “perfect” before I tell anyone about it.

I’ve decided to start focusing on Version 1.0. The secret to this philosophy is just getting things out the door. Idea + action = results. Take the guys over at Coudal Partners for example:

Idea:
The Chicago Bears are winning football games. People start talking about an undefeated season - which would mean 16 victories.

Action:
A t-shirt is always fun. And everyone loves a good t-shirt you can buy on the web.

Results:
A quick design, some interesting "add ons," and a simple website. Sixteen Straight is born. Publicity goes through the roof. They sell a bunch of t-shirts and have a lot of fun in the process.

Total time from idea to launch – just a few days. Total publicity – huge. Total fun - off the charts!

Nike has it right – “just do it” is the key… Many of the world’s greatest books are still floating around in the heads of would-be-authors who never got started because they wanted everything to be perfect before they sat down to write.

So going forward, my new theme is Version 1.0. I feel compelled to make apologies for this version of the blog, but instead will just say this – if it seems like people want more after Version 1.0 – you can bet I will devote time to Version 2.0.

And so we’re off to the races…

Update: When the Chicago Bears had a surprise upset loss to Miami, Sixteen Straight was re-branded as "Check the Wins." You can close the doors or make lemonade out of lemons - your choice.