STRATEGY CENTRAL

“What’s the best way to build a brand for the long term?  In a word: culture.  At Zappos, our belief is that if you get your culture right, most of the other stuff–like great customer service, or building a great long-term brand, or passionate employees and customers–will happen naturally on its own (p. 152, Delivering Happiness).”

I know I’ve already mentioned this, but Delivering Happiness is a great read.  Whether you already have a great organization or you’re building it right now…you don’t want to miss the thinking in this book.  It really is the kind of book that makes you want to schedule a tour of the home office next time you’re in Vegas.  Already planning it, believe me!

Picked up my copy of Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh today.  Don’t know if you know the story of Zappos.com but this is a great read!  I really only knew two things about Zappos when I opened up the book.  First, they are well known for their practice of offering new employees a lot of money to quit.  Second, they are known for offering “superior customer service.”

Delivering Happiness is more than the story of Zappos though.  It’s really a look at “the highlights of the path that [Hsieh] took in [his] journey toward discovering how to find happiness in business and life (p. xii, Delivering Happiness).”

You need to know that this is a really fun read!  Some books are packed with helpful takeaways but a pain to work through.  Others are just plain engaging, page turners, that end up being very impactful.  An hour on the front porch and I found myself on page 76 and reluctantly setting it aside for the night.

I’ve got to say there are not many books that I trip across that are as fun to read as this one.  Probably not since Chip Conley’s Peak have I been this captivated by the story itself.  Interesting to me that Peak was also really the story of a superior customer service organization.

Delivering Happiness is a great read.  I highly recommend it.

I have been a fan of Tom Peters for a long time now.  I get a daily quote from him that most days is a great reminder of something he is passionate about.  I thought this one was particularly appropriate for all of us.

That's doable.  "Three or four 'minor' excuses a day…to reinforce your Personal Visable Commitment to Stupendous Client Service Experiences." Want on Tom's daily email list?  You can sign up right here.

Last year I stumbled on the Green Apron book that Starbucks uses to talk values with their team.  Today I tripped across The Little Orange Book, The Geek Squad’s way of doing the same.  How about these 6 basic guides to great service?

1. Never violate the trust of my clients or disrespect their property.
2. Never say, “I don’t know. Instead, say “I’ll find out.”
3. Always understand that my clients’ time is more valuable than my own.
4. Assume every problem is my fault, unless proven otherwise.
5. Consider my job done only when my client is completely overwhelmed
with joy. And instead of assuming they’re happy, I’ll ask them.
6. Keep every promise I make. Including this one.

Want more on the Geek Squad and their zeal for great service?  You can find it over at the Mavericks at Work blog.

Very similar to the ideas in Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow, Human Sigma takes a look at four levels of emotional attachment using a Maslovian pyramid.  Basic idea?  Customers who are fully engaged (as opposed to just engaged) deliver a much higher share of wallet.

But what are the entry level commitments that a customer is looking for?  Simple confidence in your product or service and a sense that you have integrity.  Isn’t that enough?  Actually…no.  As is being found in one study after another, entry level engagement doesn’t retain a customer.  It’s what you must offer to play at all.  If you want to retain customers you’ll need to provide much more.  In fact,

"It’s absolutely critical to recognize that if a business’ ultimate goal is sustainable organic growth, these measures simply aren’t high enough.  We’ll need to aim higher (p. 88)."

That is a line that resonates with me.  That’s what we all dream about.  But is it what we’re all aiming for?   

There are two ways your organization can become unforgettable.  You can under-promise and over-deliver.  Or…you can do the opposite.  In fact, if you only want to work with people one time…there’s no substitute for over-promising and under-delivering.  How can we avoid that?  My friend Mike Wagner has the prescription:

"Work long and hard to identify the right set of promises your ‘sweet
spot customer’ will call useful and unique. Then focus every ounce of
your organization’s energy on keeping those promises."  Mike Wagner

Want to go there?  I think we all do.

When you think about what your organization is offering, are you simply meeting the basic expectations of your customer?  Or are you attempting to go beyond what they expect?  I continue to be challenged by Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow.  Think about this line:

"Today, it is the retailer’s job not only to deliver what the customers want, but also what they’d never think to ask for (p. 152)."

Here’s the question of the day: Are we doing that?  Are you doing that?  Or are we settling?  And then wondering why we’re not reaching who we’re trying to reach?

What do you think?  Are you there?  Is your organization really committed to delivering beyond what they want…and all the way to what they’d never think to ask for?  THAT would make a great discussion…wouldn’t it?

There is an ultimate customer service question.  Do you know what it is?  Here it is.

"How likely is it that you would recommend us to a friend or colleague?"

Hello!  Ever put that question into a formal survey?  It’d be dynamite…in more ways than one.  First of all, if you actually asked it you’d have to be able to handle the response.  Second, you’d probably have to ask it anonymously.  And third, you’d definitely need to be ready to act on what you learned.

Here’s another great one:

"What are the three biggest problems with our organization?"

Ever asked that one?  Can you imagine what we could learn if we’d just go there?  We might actually get better at what we’re all trying to do!

By the way, Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow might be the best book I’ve read since Mavericks at Work.  This thing is packed with really good ideas and insights.  If you’re looking for a way to energize the conversation around your organization…especially in the area of corporate culture and impact…this is a great book.

How many one-time visitors do you have in a month…in a year?  What’s their experience like?  Does it remain a one-time thing?  If not, what are you actually doing to turn them into lifelong guests–and customers?

According to Chocolates on the Pillow Aren’t Enough, the first step is "making entry into the organization easy, pleasant, and fun (p. 45)."

So…the question is, when someone checks out your organization for the first time, is it any of those things?   Interesting to think that you could actually design the experience of your first time visitors to be those things.  Easy.  Pleasant.  Fun.  It’s a little bit like thinking steps, not programs.  What would you have to do?  Why not start with easy?  You could focus some good hard thinking on removing all of the obstacles that stand in the way of an easy experience.  Your web presence would have to be really clear.  Brand new users should be able to find what they need without being a genius.  You might need signage that clears up any and all confusion about what to do.  Parking might need to be adjusted.  You might need a really good information kiosk. 

There’d be a lot of hard work.  But you can see that it could really be done.  To make it easy.  Could you do the same thing with pleasant and fun?  Not only could you do it…you better!  That is, if you want your one-time visitors to become lifelong guests…and customers.