Car Shopping

Shopping for cars has long been a less than desirable experience, and certainly not one I look forward to every three or four years. And, although I have streamlined and for the most part wrestled control of my buying process away from the car dealer (I use the fax and internet), occasionally I am forced to enter their domain.

We are looking to replace our current Jeep Grand Cherokee with a smaller SUV. We're not buying another Jeep for two reasons: one, it's too big for my wife, and two, I replaced the brakes on it four times in four years with an added customer service struggle each time I had it in the shop at the Jeep dealer.

So, we're looking at Kia Sorrento. We stroll on in to Dulles Motorcars, the closest Kia dealer to us, and after a few minutes on our own in the lot, along comes Chris. He's very polite, nice and not at all overbearing. He didn't ask many questions, other than if we were interested in a car (duh?). While his sales skills were certainly lacking, it was nice not to feel like you were in a pressure cooker to "buy today". He answered our few design and performance questions with relative confidence, and he made some small talk with our baby daughter. We told him this was our first opportunity to look at the Kia, and that we would be buying a car next month. He went to get a brochure....but, they were out. He gave me his card, and wished us a nice day. We left, actually relieved that we weren't armwrestled to buy a car before we left the lot. It was nice. We will probably go back there....probably. But, not definitely.

But....Chris blew it, didn't he. I mean, we are definitely buyers. We gave him clear and certain information about what we wanted and when we wanted it. He received our "permission" to sell to us, and he failed to seize the opportunity. Why...because he can't reach us! He is relying on chance that we enjoyed our initial experience there, that we will find our way back there before going to another dealer (or carmaker altogether) and that once we return to his lot, that he will be there, and that we will still have his card and ask for him. That's way too many if's.....and not a very memorable experience.

Below are some Star Concepts of Memorable Service (with more to come on these as well as others in future posts) which Chris could have used to be more effective:

First.....get permission. He did that.
Second, get to know me. (Ask bunches of questions) He didn't really do that.
Third, stay in touch with me. He can't do that for obvious reasons. And, even if he could, other than sending me a brochure, he doesn't have an introduction to his sales message because he doesn't know me.
Fourth, stay ahead of me. He can't.
Fifth, always exceed my expectations. He may never get the chance.
No Memorable Service here.....no reason to gab about it to all of my friends and colleagues.

Chris could have asked me a simple question: Mr. Chaffin, before you go today, would you have any interest in knowing when the 2005 model arrives, probably within the next month or so? (Also, if he was observant, he recognized we were somewhat price conscious by looking at the standard models vs. the upgrades). So, he could have asked: Would you be interested in knowing when the 2004 models go on sale in order to make room for the 2005's? In either case, I'm not going to say "no". So, now he gets my e-mail address and snail mail address, and bingo, number 3 and 4 are taken care of, and he has a real chance at number 5. Now that he knows it's okay, he will e-mail me, send me a brochure, and maybe even a bag of York peppermint patties (because he saw me chomping on one of those). Now, those actions would be light years beyond any of the other dealers. And, throw in the peppermint patties, or a personalized Baby Einstein DVD for my daughter and he would be in another universe in the realm of car sales. He would have created something Remarkable and Memorable!

Listen to your customer intently, and get engaged with him. It's the only way to make service really work....to your advantage.

Missing the Point on Advertising

Well, it looks like Doug and Company over at the Small Business Blog took offense to my recent post about them missing the point on advertising. See Doug's comment below.

First, thank you for the comment Doug, it's very much appreciated....and no offense taken. I read your info regularly, and find 99% of the posts right on. Keep up the good work.

I agree with Doug that advertising has a place. But, I believe we disagree on what that place is and, more importantly how effective or (in my opinion) ineffective the majority of the interruptive form of advertising has become. The bottom line with me (and a bunch of other folks) is that your product/service is what sells, and advertising (for the most part) is a waste of money. Just because Coke (and, I admit I shouldn't pick on them) plasters ads everywhere doesn't mean it's the most effective way to stimujlate sales and the growth of your company. If I can find the reputable quote and source of the comment I referred to in my original post regarding the Superbowl ad, I will post it, and send it over to Doug.

Advertising, used on a permission basis, and at the appropriate time in the evolutionary cycle of the product definitely has merit, and an ROI. However, I firmly believe you you should redrect the majority of the ad budget on the service and product itself to fuel the WOM sales force which inarguably is the most effective weapon you have in the marketing arsenal.

Service Compensation

Johnnie Moore's recent post (exerpt below) about strategic thinking has me accelerating a thought I was going to share a bit down the road.....

*Your recruitment/hiring, compensation and performance evaluation programs must center around and promote in every way the objective you are attempting to reach through your employees.

Henry Ford wnated to produce quality automobiles rapidly and a low cost. Accordingly, he paid people to be very efficient/productive and to make minimal mistakes. On the other hand, if you wnat your employees to provide Remarkable and Memorable Service, you need to reward them to think and act that way as opposed to paying them to perform the job function outlined in that boring, legal ez job description (shred those things, and start over).

For instance.....if you want people registered into your hotel quickly, properly (with all of the proper signatures, credit card swipes, etc) and with one second of eye contact, write a job description for a front desk clerk, hire someone who can operate a computer terminal and key machine and pay them to check people in. And, that's what you will get...a front desk clerk.

However, if you want your guests to leave the registration process with Wow! that was the coolest, most memorable service experience I've ever had at a hotel, then design your hiring processes (interviews, selection criteria, etc.), compensation and performance evaluation programs around that....Memorable Service! Hire, train and reward your people to exceed every customer expectation. Don't pay them by the hour, pay them for providing astounding service. Yes, it's difficult to measure. But, you likely measure it already to judge the overall performance of the company. So, figure it out for the front line folks where the rubber really meets the road.

Incidentally, if you adopt this philosophy, I guarantee you will create some serious Buzz within the ranks of your competition....and you will likely never again have an application flow problem.

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A simple example
A while back I heard how the boss of a US hotel chain wanted his IT people to create a system to identify returning guests at check-in. The idea being that the receptionist could say "Welcome back Mr Bloggs" and win points for recognising him. The IT people tut-tutted and came back saying "Yeah, we can do this and it will cost x million dollars". The boss was unimpressed and frustrated by the cost.
A few days later, he was in the lobby of one of his hotels and overheard the receptionist at work. Several times she said "Welcome back" to people. Our hero bowled up to her and demanded to know how she managed this feat of recognition.
"Well, see that bellboy who carries guests bags from the entrance. I have a deal with him. He asks "is this is their first visit?" and if it is, when they all get to the reception, he puts their bags down parallel to the desk. If it's a return visit, he puts them at right angles. Then I know."
The story is told by the boss against himself and as an example of what people can do when you free them to use their own smarts instead of following a manual.

Why

Someone asked me the other day, "why are you doing this?"

A simple, yet powerful question. And, important too. My answers:

To lead people to change the way they approach the idea of service and how to market service.
To improve service.
To improve work through happiness.
To move organizations forward.
To show people a new way.
To make a difference.

Many of my colleagues, friends and family have often suggested a career in academia for me. While I very much support all aspects of education, and really appreciate the benefits we receive from continued education and the institutions of higher learning, I believe I am most effective in the field, on the front lines, spending time with those who deliver your products and services everyday. And, I certainly stand to learn more working hand-in-hand with theese bright people than I would in the classroom. But, you never know what tomorrow brings.

Most of all, my "service" is a reaction to the deplorable service levels which surround us in every aspect of our lives. you probably don't need to think very hard about the last time a service provider really hacked you off. Conversely, try to recall an act of service brilliance? My bet is that there aren't nearly as many of the latter to choose from.

But, I could be wrong.

The Small Business Blog

I saw this today on the Small Business Blog....talking about missing the boat!

If you want the skinny, the article essentially says you must advertise to stay in business. It goes on to make reference to the $150 million Coke spent last year to keep their product on the consumer's radar screen. Sorry, but the advertising didn't sell any more drinks. Even the Coke folks will admit that the Super Bowl ads they produce don't sell one additional bottle/can of Coke!

In Coke's case, the brand is super well established, it's safe, secure and just part of the American way. So, unless they really screw it up somehow, they will continue to sell Coke. On the other hand, they may never again see any substantial growth, unless of course, they start spending some of those ad dollars to reenergize the product, or the DELIVERY of the product....my opinion.

I hope the folks at Small Business Blog don't take this personally....but, wake up! Please don't lead us down the same worn out-path. We've been there, done that.

The Small Business Blog