*Star In The Margin

Resumes are dead...

[Your Name Here] — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 12:21:18 +0000

at least the traditional, one dimensional Word doc is. If you're still using this approach...shame, shame. Try something like this instead...you'll have a much better chance to get noticed.

Why Do It at All

[Your Name Here] — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:26:06 +0000

Go here to be inspired with a list of 16 questions you should ask yourself if you're starting a new project, setting out on your own, etc. I'll add my own...What happens (to you, the market, etc. ) if you decide not to do it?

Does someone else replace you? Do you a leave a void in the lives of prospective customers? How does the world not change? In other words, what's the consequence of not doing it?

My Short List.. of Interview Questions

[Your Name Here] — Fri, 14 May 2010 21:37:55 +0000

There are a lot of experts that can tell you how to interview people. There are seemingly countless methods, techniques, tests and scenarios to sort talent into the right groups...or to vote them off the island. Over the years I have tried many of these with varying degrees of success. But, my short list...the questions that get me the information I absolutely, unequivocally must know...

What do you want to do with your life (what are your dreams)?
How can we help you get there?
What do you like to do for fun?

If people can't answer these with some degree of certainty, they're likely just looking for a job. You want someone with dreams and a reasonably thought out idea of how to achieve them. You don't want someone who hasn't given this an ounce of thought or wants to do just enought to get by.

Seth Godin Linchpin Session Available Here

[Your Name Here] — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 14:42:19 +0000

If you haven't read Linchpin I highly recommend it. It's Seth Godin's best work so far and goes beyond marketing, purple cows, etc....really good stuff.

With his permission a 45 minute of one of his recent talks is available here...download mp3. It's a great summary of the book. Enjoy.

Start with Hospitality

[Your Name Here] — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 11:00:34 +0000

People accept that things break and that systems fail. Almost no one expects perfection with things that are mass produced. It's unrealistic. Weather impacts airline schedules and trash pick-up. A local flu pandemic slows restaurant service. 1 out of 5,000 new computer screens fail. As long as failure falls within normal boundaries, it's accepted.

But people are becoming increasingly intolerant of mediocre delivery. And, they certainly don't accept rudeness, neglect or bullying. They don't have to because someone else is working extra hard, emphasizing hospitality in their organization and placing a high priority on personal care. Someone else puts artful delivery first and darn near everything else second.

So, there's a good case to be made to change the way we think about starting something...to focus first on the how, then on the what. If you can make the delivery meaningful, caring and brilliant, you win...even if your stuff breaks.

Last Minute Marketing

[Your Name Here] — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 19:22:31 +0000

Recently someone asked me to weigh in on the concept of flash sales, specifically when used in the hospitality and travel industries. Essentially, a flash sale is a time dated offer that arrives unexpectedly and requires an immediate response to book the featured promotional rate. More back story can be found here.

I think these tactics are fine if they are relevant and anticipated by the customer and if they don't become too prominent in the marketing plan. In other words, they need to be the fallback during carefully selected periods. As booking windows become increasingly shorter, people are more comfortable with "last minute". But, penalizing the early birds, which often are your most loyal fans, definitely has consequences. What is gained short-term, might cost you more in the long run. Once the infrequent fire sale becomes the norm, fewer people are going to believe that your "normal" price is the real deal...then, trust is gone.

When making decision about marketing I often look through these filters...

Does the idea support short-term or long-term goals? How much will the short-term gain erode long-term performance?
Are we willing to offer this all the time and to our best customers? If not, why not?
Will our customers trust us more or less when we do this?
Does it build an audience of loyal, raving fans?
Is the prospective idea or tactic easy or hard? Things that are easy (like buying ads) are not as meaningful and effective as doing things that are hard (building one on one relationships one customer at a time).
If we do this, will it improve our care score? Will our best customers feel more cared for?

Nothing (no amount of marketing) replaces doing meaningful work that people are willing to pay a premium for. The keys are to find something you are passionate about and hoping there are enough people that agree with you.

Good Service Disruption

[Your Name Here] — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:51:52 +0000

This is what good service looks like...

Good service is attentive, friendly, warm and correct.
People who perform good service are polite, they smile and use your name.
Businesses providing good service are ethical, spend time training employees and apologize when things don't work out.

Here's the problem...if this is all you do, it's probably not good enough. Sure, there are plenty of companies that fail at the basics. And that gives you the edge. Being good enough earns you a fair share of a mediocre market and allows you to charge an average price for an average experience. But then there are also organizations that do more. They choose to do something really hard, create a new edge and be remarkable. They get attention, then trial and eventually erode your share of the average market.

So, you can choose to provide normal and expected good service and hope no one disrupts your plan. Or you can create your own insurance policy and be the disruptor.

Good service is the minimum expectation. It's the place to start. Not the place to rest or build an empire on.

Replacements

[Your Name Here] — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:46:49 +0000

In good times, it's easier to find a replacement customer for an existing one in the event things don't work out. Of course, a steady stream of replacements is considered a good thing...marketing is working. Except that it makes us lazy. Why sacrifice everything to retain customers as long as there's a back-up? The obvious answer is that there won't always be one...called lean times.

It's a simple choice, work like heck to create some insurance. Or, hope to get lucky.

First Hospitality Linchpin Award

[Your Name Here] — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 04:00:06 +0000

At least as far as I know it's the first. Inspired by Seth Godin's latest book, Linchpin, I was determined to replace the traditional and tired "employee of the month" award with something more meaningful. We awarded the first one yesterday...

Filters

[Your Name Here] — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:00:30 +0000

In business, most decision making goes something like this...problem/opportunity arises, a path is chosen that solves it while satisfying the most people. Of course, the most people aren't always the customer. It's far easier to focus on solving internal problems first, than worrying about the customer. If this weren't true, we wouldn't have counters, automated call centers, or websites that don't work. We wouldn't have accounting processes that frustrate people. And, we wouldn't make people stand in lines without talking with them.

The best customer service organizations don't allow the wrong filters to cloud their judgment. They focus on customers first and everything else second. The companies who make it a priority to be the best at caring for customers don't use efficiency, market share or production goal filters to decide how to treat people. They use these instead: family, friends and home. Companies who care for people like they were friends and family and who welcome people like they were coming into their homes are far more successful than those that don't. It's the old and simple rule...treat others how you would like to be treated. Except, in order to be the best, you need to be fanatical about it. Anything less, and you might as well choose a different path.

Of course, it's no surprise that most of the hotels, restaurants, movie theaters and car repair shops that pull this off are small. There are exceptions. But, not many. Unfortunately, a by product of becoming successful and larger is that you stray toward the wrong filters. So, if you can figure out how to get big and remain small...you win.