Everyone in business understands the power of "word of mouth" advertising. There is nothing more powerful than having someone provide unsolicited approval of your products or services to a potential customer. Just think about how you purchase products and services in your own life. I guarantee there is something you bought based upon the recommendation of a friend, family member, or business associate. As a business owner or manager the trick is to harness the power of suggestion by creating your own team of Brand Ambassadors.
A Brand Ambassador can very simply be someone or a group of people that you enlist to spread the word about your products or services to their particular circle of influence. A good starting point to find such a group is always with your current customers. As long as they are happy and completely satisfied with you, they would make an excellent spokesperson to spread the good word to others. To compensate their efforts, you could offer a discount off their next purchase, a referral fee based upon new business, or something as simple as a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant. You are not out to buy their opinion as this may lead to unwanted tactics on their part, rather you want to reward them for spreading the word about your company.
Another approach to developing a Brand Ambassador program is to hire and train individuals to professionally promote your product or service. What makes this tactic even more impactful is to find people whom already have positive influence among their peers. Why do you think someone like Tiger Woods makes more money from endorsements than he does from playing golf. You do not have to go out and hire a celebrity, but rather seek out the people in your local community that are well respected as well as well connected.
The most important aspect of a successful Brand Ambassador's program is to fully leverage the power of influence. Traditional advertising is no longer breaking through to the listening or viewing audience. The old ways of reaching potential customers are rapidly becoming obsolete. Social interaction and an open exchange of information have a far greater impact on buying decisions then a radio or billboard ad. Given the way information is exchanged today, it presents a perfect opportunity to utilize Brand Ambassadors as an integral part of your overall marketing plan.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
A Novel by Jeff Onorato-The SIN of Addison Hall
An old college buddy of mine from Lehigh University, Jeff Onorato has just published his first novel, The SIN of Addison Hall. Let me be one of the first to congratulate Jeff on a job well done. Below is a brief description as provided by the author.
Review
Shari Goldhagen, Author of Family and Other Accidents, says, “With echoes of Vonnegut, Jeffrey Onorato creates a vivid, chilling dystopia where beauty rules. What's even scarier is how close to home his world hits”. --Direct from ARC review
Description
Breaking the Mold of a Traditional Hero Results in a Gripping Tale of Fiction... First-time author soars with his spellbinding story of a man fighting with human nature... Residing in a country where beautiful people are considered superior, Addison Hall is an anomaly. A mildly repugnant man, he is forced by the twisted hierarchy of his dictator to live in less than adequate living situations. The days become increasingly arduous as he toils in an unpleasant job, stricken with the disappointment of his current situation. Besides the dark comedy of his disastrous attempts at romance and his friend’s antics, Addison s life is fairly dull. Then he meets Otka, a beautiful woman who owns the local coffee shop. After witnessing a chance encounter where Addison risks his life to save the life of a dog, Otka takes an obvious interest in him. Addison is perplexed by her reciprocated intrigue. Past experiences with such a valued creature of the opposite sex has left him tainted and doubting her motives. Jeffrey Onorato sensationally draws us into his world of relatable characters and witty dialect. He victoriously shatters the conventions of the true-blue hero to create a story that has both depth and originality. The SIN of Addison Hall entrances the reader with delicious conflicts of human wanting and wavering uncertainty with an ending that will leave you begging for more.
If you are interested in purchasing the book directly please go to Block Island Books or it can also be found on Amazon.
Review
Shari Goldhagen, Author of Family and Other Accidents, says, “With echoes of Vonnegut, Jeffrey Onorato creates a vivid, chilling dystopia where beauty rules. What's even scarier is how close to home his world hits”. --Direct from ARC review
Description
Breaking the Mold of a Traditional Hero Results in a Gripping Tale of Fiction... First-time author soars with his spellbinding story of a man fighting with human nature... Residing in a country where beautiful people are considered superior, Addison Hall is an anomaly. A mildly repugnant man, he is forced by the twisted hierarchy of his dictator to live in less than adequate living situations. The days become increasingly arduous as he toils in an unpleasant job, stricken with the disappointment of his current situation. Besides the dark comedy of his disastrous attempts at romance and his friend’s antics, Addison s life is fairly dull. Then he meets Otka, a beautiful woman who owns the local coffee shop. After witnessing a chance encounter where Addison risks his life to save the life of a dog, Otka takes an obvious interest in him. Addison is perplexed by her reciprocated intrigue. Past experiences with such a valued creature of the opposite sex has left him tainted and doubting her motives. Jeffrey Onorato sensationally draws us into his world of relatable characters and witty dialect. He victoriously shatters the conventions of the true-blue hero to create a story that has both depth and originality. The SIN of Addison Hall entrances the reader with delicious conflicts of human wanting and wavering uncertainty with an ending that will leave you begging for more.
If you are interested in purchasing the book directly please go to Block Island Books or it can also be found on Amazon.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Making Customer Service your Top Priority
Most anyone will agree that customer service is one of the most important parts of your company’s overall strategy to conducting business. Without customers you really don’t have a business. If this is the case, why is it mostly everyone as consumers can easily cite examples of poor customer service in their daily lives? I believe every company either has or thinks it has good customer service. However, if certain steps are not taken to ensure this, the reality of their situation is often far worse than their perceptions.
The level of customer service begins at the top in any organization. The company’s leaders must buy into the fact that they not only need to meet their customer’s needs, but actually strive to exceed them. They must develop a company culture that understands this concept. In today’s world competition is tougher than ever. If you can’t provide goods or service when somebody wants them, there are often four or five other companies ready to fill this void. You rarely get a second chance once you drop the ball. If the company’s leaders do not accept this fact, or are not willing to provide the necessary resources to meet their customer’s needs, they will soon find themselves scrambling for business.
Proper training is one way to develop a company culture that embraces excellent customer service. Every employee must understand what is expected of them when interacting with customers. Is there a uniform way to answer the phone? Are there set procedures in place when a customer has a question or problem? Is there an established chain of command to make sure that issues are handled in a timely fashion? And most importantly is everyone trained to carry out these company procedures? How you handle the problem is far more important than the problem itself. A customer must always feel their best interests are being taken into consideration, even when you can’t give into their demands. It is far better to say no with a smile, than yes with an attitude.
Getting feedback from your customers is an excellent way to track and measure your level of service. You should not only benchmark your company against your competition, but also against the goals you set for yourself. Once again remember you are trying to not only meet, but exceed your customer’s expectations. Written surveys are one way to gage customer satisfaction. This can be useful to obtain feedback on a wide variety of company functions. Always allow for written comments, as these usually will help shed light on problem areas. Management’s interaction with customers is an excellent way to not only measure the overall efforts, but to also show the level of commitment the company has towards their needs. You always feel better if you have the chance to talk to someone who actually sets policy, not just someone who carries it out.
In today’s world of bigger, faster, better you need to be the company that gets it right the first time, and if you don’t, you quickly rectify your mistakes. If you consistently make this part of how you conduct business, your customer’s loyalty will continue to grow. Meeting and exceeding the customer’s expectations in the products and service you provide today is the best way to ensure future growth and success.
The level of customer service begins at the top in any organization. The company’s leaders must buy into the fact that they not only need to meet their customer’s needs, but actually strive to exceed them. They must develop a company culture that understands this concept. In today’s world competition is tougher than ever. If you can’t provide goods or service when somebody wants them, there are often four or five other companies ready to fill this void. You rarely get a second chance once you drop the ball. If the company’s leaders do not accept this fact, or are not willing to provide the necessary resources to meet their customer’s needs, they will soon find themselves scrambling for business.
Proper training is one way to develop a company culture that embraces excellent customer service. Every employee must understand what is expected of them when interacting with customers. Is there a uniform way to answer the phone? Are there set procedures in place when a customer has a question or problem? Is there an established chain of command to make sure that issues are handled in a timely fashion? And most importantly is everyone trained to carry out these company procedures? How you handle the problem is far more important than the problem itself. A customer must always feel their best interests are being taken into consideration, even when you can’t give into their demands. It is far better to say no with a smile, than yes with an attitude.
Getting feedback from your customers is an excellent way to track and measure your level of service. You should not only benchmark your company against your competition, but also against the goals you set for yourself. Once again remember you are trying to not only meet, but exceed your customer’s expectations. Written surveys are one way to gage customer satisfaction. This can be useful to obtain feedback on a wide variety of company functions. Always allow for written comments, as these usually will help shed light on problem areas. Management’s interaction with customers is an excellent way to not only measure the overall efforts, but to also show the level of commitment the company has towards their needs. You always feel better if you have the chance to talk to someone who actually sets policy, not just someone who carries it out.
In today’s world of bigger, faster, better you need to be the company that gets it right the first time, and if you don’t, you quickly rectify your mistakes. If you consistently make this part of how you conduct business, your customer’s loyalty will continue to grow. Meeting and exceeding the customer’s expectations in the products and service you provide today is the best way to ensure future growth and success.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Turning a Dream into a Vision
No matter if you own your own business or work for someone else, everyone has dreams of what they want their future to be. Maybe you want to expand your current business, start your own, get promoted, or sell your company and retire. What ever the case may be, these dreams are an important part of your current life as well as a guiding force for your future. What most people do not realize is that without a vision, these dreams will simply remain what they currently are; a dream.
If a dream is thought of as an idea, then a vision would be the plan. It is not enough to simply want to do something, you have to develop a road map that carefully plots how you will achieve it. You have to be able to visualize yourself in your new role as you work towards making that dream an actuality. You have to put aside all doubt that may be holding you back, and develop the confidence you will succeed. Fear of failure should not be seen as a deterrent to your dream, rather it should be incorporated into your vision as a motivational tool.
In life, too many dreams go unfulfilled. Time marches on and the window for making them come true tends to close. If you have a vision, and remain truly committed to the task at hand, you give yourself a good chance to make your dream a reality. You may not achieve everything you set out to accomplish, but I guarantee you will not let that dream die.
Take some time to review your current situation as well as your plans for the future. Write down where you want to be this time next year, in three years, five years and so on. Then write down how you think you are going to get there and be as specific as possible. Make sure you account for all the obstacles that stand in your way, as well as the benefits derived from getting there. By completing this fairly basic exercise, you will have taken the first important step in turning your dream into a vision.
If a dream is thought of as an idea, then a vision would be the plan. It is not enough to simply want to do something, you have to develop a road map that carefully plots how you will achieve it. You have to be able to visualize yourself in your new role as you work towards making that dream an actuality. You have to put aside all doubt that may be holding you back, and develop the confidence you will succeed. Fear of failure should not be seen as a deterrent to your dream, rather it should be incorporated into your vision as a motivational tool.
In life, too many dreams go unfulfilled. Time marches on and the window for making them come true tends to close. If you have a vision, and remain truly committed to the task at hand, you give yourself a good chance to make your dream a reality. You may not achieve everything you set out to accomplish, but I guarantee you will not let that dream die.
Take some time to review your current situation as well as your plans for the future. Write down where you want to be this time next year, in three years, five years and so on. Then write down how you think you are going to get there and be as specific as possible. Make sure you account for all the obstacles that stand in your way, as well as the benefits derived from getting there. By completing this fairly basic exercise, you will have taken the first important step in turning your dream into a vision.
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