Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on October 5, 2009 under Books, marketing | 
Drew McLellan of Drew’s Marketing Minute is at it again! For the third time he’s bringing together marketing and business professionals from around the world to share their thoughts, tips and techniques and profits benefit a charity.
I had the pleasure of joining in the Conversation last time.
This time Drew has invited 300 authors to participate and share their views in ten different areas. There are already 137 of the original authors signed up to contribute again (me too!) but effective TODAY, Drew has opened up the opportunity to YOU!
Go RIGHT THIS MINUTE – to complete this Survey Monkey survey and sign up to be a part of Age of Conversation 3. Only thirty people will be selected for each topic so you need to go right now and sign up so you can get the topic of your choice.
For more information about Age of Conversation 3 visit Drew’s blog.
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on September 16, 2009 under Books, Connecting Moments, Customer Moments |
I was thrilled to run across the book, What the Customer Wants You to Know at Borders yesterday. Author Ram Charan shows by example the importance of putting the customer at the center of all you do in your organization from product selection to marketing message to the all important sales process. The subtitle of the book is “How everybody needs to think differently about sales.”
He shares the story of a company that is struggling with the fact that they are loosing market share. They offer quality and affordability – so what’s the problem?
Chapter Three shares the learn that you need to become the customer’s trusted partner. Once they figured this out and then convinced the sales/executive team that the customer needed to be at the center of their sales process – things started to happen.
Ram calls this a VCS strategy: VALUE CREATION SELLING.
Are you struggling with making connections with your customer? Are you loosing market share? Is your sales process focused on profits, product movement and margin?
How about changing your philosophy to understanding what the customer WANTS (not what you want to sell), building that relationship of trust and then meeting the needs of your customer.
I highly recommend Ram’s book as a great place to start for a better understanding of the value of putting the customer first.
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on August 31, 2009 under Books, Customer Moments |
We talk about customer service and earning customer’s loyalty but when push comes to shove – which came first:
The quest for sales and profits?
Or
Customers?
My experience has shown that it is a rare company indeed that puts customers first at every level of the company – from the owner/founder to the board to each executive level on down to the people that actually talk to the customers.
As our business grows our focus shifts to all of the balls we juggle to keep our business afloat and at some point we decide (and I think it may even be a conscious decision) to leave the customer relationship building to the hourly wage employees that actually see the customers face to face – or phone to phone.
What’s wrong with that picture?
- If the only person putting the customer first is the front line employee – what happens when their boss needs them to do something that puts the customer second?
- When managers receive a bonus based on inventory turns and bottom line profit what happens to the “put customers first” mantra?
- When the communication and paperwork that hit the store and the tasks assigned are so cumbersome that employees view customers as an intrusion into their daily responsibilities, what happens to putting the customer first?
- When we’ve been forced, due to the economy, to work with fewer employees but don’t streamline tasks or eliminate those that aren’t customer-focused – is the customer still first?
Do you have a Put Customer First culture? How do you manage to keep the customer in the forefront of every discussion, every new direction, every new product or service or marketing campaign? Who polices the corporate behavior to protect the customer-first culture? What tips do you have for ensuring that if it doesn’t positively impact the customer – it doesn’t get done?
HELP our customers!
I’m collecting your stories, tips, nightmares – anything you’d like to share that helps the rest of us get back to the business of PUTTING THE CUSTOMER FIRST.
I’d like to compile your stories in an e-book that we’ll launch here.
HELP ME GET THE WORD OUT. Please share this request with your network – let’s make this a “must-have” resource for putting the customer first.
Include:
Your name
Your company name
The link or URL address to your website or blog or both – your choice.
Thanks so much! Let’s start a revolution so that the customer comes out on top.
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on November 17, 2008 under Books, Customer Moments |
This fall I finished and published a book entitled Back to Basics: 30 tips to market your small business and establish your expert status in the industry. I wanted to write a book that included a variety of additional resources, websites and worksheets to help the entrepreneur make a name for themselves. It made sense to create a PDF version with live links. The book includes 106 live links and has been available since September 27.
However, sometimes you like to hold the book in your hands. So this weekend I created a paperback version of the same book on Lulu. All of the live links are no longer live in a book format – duh – but I created a link log that is available from my blog. For copies of the links and the work sheets, visit Websites People Read.
From a customer perspective LULU.com makes it easy to take your knowledge and make it available in a variety of formats. In less than an hour, I created an account, uploaded the internal book pages, uploaded the graphics for my front and back covers and viola – I had a book available for sale! LULU is a great venue for creating print on demand books for those interested in self publishing. Every customer experience should be that smooth!
To order a paper back copy for $19.95 visit LULU: order paperback Back to Basics.
Interested in the PDF version with the live links for $12.95 visit my site: order PDF version of Back to Basics.
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on October 28, 2008 under Books |
I’m so excited to be part of this incredible book. This past spring I learned that Drew McLellan was putting together a sequel to the first successful volume Age of Conversation – this one with a subtitle “Why Don’t They Get It?”
I quickly responded that I wanted to participate and throughout the summer emails have traveled between the groups – with Drew the concert master behind this great endeavor.
Guess what? The book is now available.
From a press release written for each author – here is the back story which brought this book to life:
The book has an unusual story behind it, involving online connections between people around the world who have never met each other.
Drew McLellan, who heads an advertising agency in Des Moines, writes a blog online. Drew’s Marketing Minute is among the 25 most-read marketing blogs, and a regular reader is Gavin Heaton, who works for global software giant SAP in Sydney, Australia. Heaton writes a blog called Servant of Chaos
Nearly two years ago through a chance online conversation, McLellan and Heaton decided to invite fellow bloggers to participate in writing a book about conversation and how it impacts us in marketing, in business and in life in general. “Blogging, after all, is about conversation,” McLellan said.
More than 100 bloggers from the U.S. and eight countries responded by contributing essays on conversation. The book, published in the summer of 2007, earned $15,000, all of which was donated to the international children’s charity Variety.
“Gavin and I were overwhelmed with the response,” said McLellan “Almost as soon as the first book was published, we heard from bloggers asking when the next book would be published so they could contribute essays.”
I contributed an essay titled Put Your Advertising Strategy in the Hands of Your Customer, which offers the suggestion that you partner with your best customers when creating or revising your marketing message or even your strategy. If the idea is to “get more customers” just like your best existing customers, then why not ask them for advice.
Blogging is a wonderful way for professionals to share ideas, learn from each other and connect with like-minded spirits around the globe. Collaborating on a book about conversation is a perfect way to share among ourselves and among others who don’t read blogs. And we have the added incentive of helping a charity that does important work around the world. I am thrilled to be a part of this project.
The Age of Conversation 2 is available as a downloadable e-book beginning TODAY, at a cost of $12.50, of which $10 will be contributed to Variety. Beginning on the same date, orders will be taken for a limited number of printed books in hardcover ($29.95, with $6.04 to charity) and soft cover ($19.95, with $8.02 donated to charity).
Purchases can be made online at http://stores.lulu.com/ageofconversation . More information can be seen online at www.ageofconversation.com .
The Art of Conversation 2 is a unique collaboration via the internet, involving 237 marketing professionals who blog from 29 states throughout the U.S. and from 14 other nations from Australia to the Ukraine. Here is a listing of all the great contributing authors:
Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Chris Brown, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Schawbel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Dave Davison, David Armano, David Berkowitz, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne & Todd Cabral, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, John Herrington, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kristin Gorski, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tim Brunelle, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on October 10, 2008 under Books, First Impressions, General |
I went shopping at Borders last night. I LOVE to shop at Borders. I could spend hours just in the bargain section alone but last night I was on a mission – I wanted to see what customer service books they had on the shelves.
I soon found myself in familiar territory: The Business Section.
Each of the bookshelves were conveniently labeled so I could narrow my search. I found sections for:
Top Sellers
Business Profiles
Leadership
Management
Business Life
Sales and Marketing
Start Up/Entrepreneur
Finance
Economy
Investments
Communications
I didn’t have a title or author in mind, so the computer search really wouldn’t have been helpful – I just wanted to run my fingers over the spines of the books on customer service, customer care, customer focus, creating customers for life. NOTHING.
So I asked an employee: Where would I find the books on customer service.
“Gee, I don’t think we have any.” He used his little microphone to ask another worker in the store and didn’t receive any answer.
So I started looking again…slower this time…for surely I have just missed the CUSTOMER section. How can you have books on starting a business, growing a business, financing a business, marketing a business, selling a business and not have a single book on the people who are actually buying your stuff: THE CUSTOMER.
I continued to look to no avail and the employee came back a few minutes later. “Any luck?” he asked me.
No, I told him. And then I said “Don’t you find it ironic that the business section is missing the one thing businesses need to be successful? The customer?”
He laughed and said “Yes, it actually is pretty funny.”
Now I know he doesn’t set up the store or make the buying decisions and so we shared a friendly chuckle. But I got to thinking…WHY isn’t there a Customer Section at Borders? This wasn’t an outlet location – it was a full sized store. So someone, in the corporate merchandising department had to have said something like this:
“Okay – we have 9000 square feet. We need fiction books, DVDs, children’s books, non-fiction books on travel and psychology and religon and sex and sales and finance and journals and calendars. Have we forgotten anything? Books on customers? Nah, we’ve run out of room. We can’t be expected to carry EVERYTHING. They can order those books on line.”
Interesting.
Am I alone in thinking this is strange. If you seek books to help you grow your business; wouldn’t books on keeping customers for life, or customer service or attracting customers be of interest?
I must confess that as I continued to look, I did find one book in the management section entitled “Care Packages for Your Customers”by Barbara Glanz. But don’t look for it at the Solon, Ohio Borders, cuz I bought the last copy.
