Packaging can be filled with the store’s name, promotional slogans, or other company icons — or it can do something out of the ordinary to make the customer smile. Thus was the case with a recent beverage I purchased.
Instead of the usual barrage of advertising, this cup simply said: “Insert straw to activate.” It was a refreshing (haha) change that caught my attention.
Look at all the places where your organization fills space with content or an ad. Perhaps you could rethink it and do something witty instead. The time you invest in being smart will be far more memorable.
While on vacation, we stopped at the beautiful Cathedral Falls along the “official West Virginia Waterfall Trail.” Signs encouraged us to scan a QR code to check in to win free prizes and download a digital passport so that we could do the same at the other waterfalls along the route.
What caught my attention was the sign below the check-in sign, giving me additional instructions in case I had “spotty cell service” and could not connect as described on the original sign. I guess those designing the program failed to consider that the waterfalls were located in fairly remote areas!
If you require your users to scan, download, open, print, or otherwise access information digitally, it’s wise always to include a Plan B. Spotty doesn’t only happen in the wilderness.
I’ve become more conscious of the many ways organizations try to use my resources to benefit themselves.
I’m asked if I want to “round up” my purchase, allowing the company to make a hefty charitable donation that they did not pay for
LinkedIn repeatedly prompts me to be “an expert” and contribute content to their site, not mine
Companies send me customer service surveys after practically every purchase, encouraging me to give them data without reward
Amazon asks me to answer customer questions that likely generate more sales for them but take my time to submit
Companies request reviews and encourage social media postings which do more to promote their interests than mine
The Wall Street Journal calls me an “opinion leader” and asks me to take 10-minute surveys on issues such as commercial real estate. (??)
I am required to share more demographic information than is necessary to order tickets or make online reservations (Do they really need my address, email, and phone to sign me up for a free event?)
Each of these requests may only take a few minutes, but time is my most valuable resource. If you generously give your information or expertise, do so with intention. Five minutes a day can siphon off 30 hours a year. Wouldn’t you rather have that time to do something else?
I live at the top of a big hill (and I’m a dog lover) so I leave a bowl of water on the sidewalk. I know dogs take advantage of it and I have also seen rabbits and squirrels get a drink. Many birds even use the bowl, even though a bird bath is just a few feet away.
Like so many things, an enhancement designed to benefit a small segment of the population turns out to help a much broader audience. Accessibility measures such as ramped sidewalks were designed for wheelchairs but also made it easier for strollers, walkers, bicycles, etc. Signage placed to help newcomers to a facility can also aid those who have not been there for a period or who are disoriented as to which office is where. Learning aids in schools can be used by some students to catch up and others to get ahead.
It’s a reminder to provide as many enhancements as you are able without worrying that only a small group will reap the rewards. Benefits to one are likely to be benefits to many.
In my Innovation and Change class, we read a case study about a research and development unit that had a 10% failure rate for the experiments it tried. The original goal was a 30% failure rate, and the crux of the case was deciding whether 10% should be celebrated or admonished. Was the low failure rate a good thing — or did it mean that the unit wasn’t taking enough risks? Were they just tweaking processes vs. trying out something that could be a breakthrough because of the fear of failing?
Your organization may not have measurable goals for innovation, but you can assess your leadership’s tolerance for it in a qualitative way. Do you believe your boss would find the 10% delightful, or would they have an easier time accepting a 40% failure rate because it shows you were a prolific experimenter? Do you take enough risks to have any failures at all?
Not all your ideas will turn out to be winners. Innovation goes hand in hand with missteps. If you aren’t doing one, you aren’t doing the other.
I do a lot of customer service training and most participants think they do a good job of serving their customers. This may be true for their typical customer but they often fail to take into consideration those with differing needs.
Are you still providing great service if the customer is in a wheelchair? What if English is not their native language and the complex information you are conveying is lost in translation? Or maybe your customer is hard of hearing or has low vision — are you still able to meet their needs? Or perhaps your customer is simply technology-challenged — do you have a way to assist them in accessing their tickets or coupons?
Maybe you can rethink your service strategy from the perspective of different groups and consider what stellar service looks like for special audiences. Having great service for some doesn’t qualify as delivering great service.
I’m writing an article about suicide prevention for our local magazine. All the brain health resources I’ve interviewed say the same thing: There isn’t one specific thing you can do, rather all the education and efforts toward wellness, self-care, and connection work toward assisting people in having a sense that there are options for help.
It reminded me of what we discuss in my organizational culture class — there is no one magic solution there, either. All the efforts companies make to live up to their values, respect their employees, and be fair and open in their communications — add up to create a healthy culture.
You could say the same about relationships, healthy living, financial security, or any transformative change. While it would be great if there were a single action or habit that produced success, unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Focus instead over the long haul on the cumulative actions that contribute to the outcome you seek.
I was selling beer tickets at our town’s festival and one customer complained about the price of the beer. Yes, he could buy his beverage for a lot less — if he went to the store himself, paid to refrigerate it, and bore the costs of the home in which to drink it. But to enjoy an adult beverage at a festival with a live band, well, the price of the beer is paying for that, too. Once I encouraged him to think of it that way, he saw things from a different perspective and seemed less disgruntled.
Consider how you position your product and pricing. Coaching is more than a 50-minute phone call; it’s accessing decades of experience personally tailored to the person’s needs. A teacher is shaping lives and building character as well as delivering math lessons. Doctors are diagnosing the illness in addition to prescribing medicine to reduce its impact. Help people understand that your price reflects what goes into delivering the service, not just the end result.
Have you noticed how many free trials you are offered? Sign up for a free month of X streaming service, or try this media subscription, or here’s a free month of roadside car service. There are offers galore because companies know that most people will let the recurring charges continue. It’s too much time and hassle to unsubscribe — even if people pay attention to the commitments they have made.
When considering a free offer, question whether it will be worth the effort to get out of it before sliding easily into starting it. A “free” month may not seem as valuable when it takes a half hour on the phone to cease service, or when it results in hundreds of dollars of charges for something you don’t fully use.
Companies have no incentive to provide you with a purely altruistic gift. Ultimately, “free” signals it’s a benefit to those offering it, more than the one receiving it.
I had my second visit today from the Postal Service (see dot #4334), with the carrier telling me that her supervisor said the stamp in question was 76 worth cents and the letter cost $1.66 to mail, so I had only 96 cents of stamps and still owed 68 cents.
There are three problems with that: 1) The stamp is worth 92 cents, not 76; 2) a square envelope only costs $1.12 to mail, not $1.66, but even if they were right about those two things, 3) do the math and it would mean I owed 70 cents, not 68. I pulled up the USPS app and showed my carrier that the stamp that “wasn’t a real stamp” yesterday, that today her supervisor believes is 76 cents, is actually 92 cents (first class + an additional ounce). She took a picture of my phone showing their website and said, “They don’t teach us that.”
That I can believe. Too often, we fail to teach or inform those on the front line things that the general public knows. We forget to tell the receptionist that an outside group is meeting on-site today or that an event has been postponed or rescheduled. We don’t tell the clerks that an email went out announcing a big sale, or let the front office know that forms are due today and should be delivered to X office. It puts those in customer-facing positions in an awkward situation and makes the whole organization appear inept.
As part of your onboarding or training, it would help everyone if you included a component that has your new hires interact with the organization in ways that the consumers will. It’s great for employees to know the back of the house, but also knowing how others experience you can help your service earn a stamp of approval.
Postage due crossed off at the Post Office when I was vindicated!
