Wizard of Ads Clay Campbell

Business Owners: How do your employees represent you?

Top Ten Qualities Guests Expect

I live by Kentucky Lake in Marshall County Kentucky. Tourism is the #1 industry here. The visitors that come here leave behind over 100 million dollars each year in the cash registers of the area businesses. The 41 lodging facilities including resorts, bed and breakfast places, motels, cabins and hotels get a good part of that 100 million.

The Marshall County Tourism Department sent out an article in their monthly newsletter stating the top ten qualities guests expect when choosing a lodging facility for a vacation. These top ten are according to the Cornell Report. Since I own a tourist attraction, I was very interested in the article. It stated that these ten would determine whether or not you would have repeat business. These are not listed by order of importance because each one is important to the guest.

Top Ten Qualities Guests Expect

1. Friendliness
2. Quality of Service
3. Attentiveness
4. Consistency
5. Efficiency
6. Professionalism
7. Neat appearance
8. Distinctive Personality
9. Personal Recognition
10. Genuineness

I say, not only lodging, but restaurants, tourist attractions, and all businesses should offer up these Top Ten to their customers if they want repeat business. In fact when a visitor feels they do not get these ten, their vacation next year will be somewhere else.

My wife and I are typical of most people. We have a tendency to go back to the same places for vacation over and over if we are treated right. We go back to the same restaurants and the same motels and visit a lot of the same attractions if we are treated right.

There are a mirade of choices available for the consumer today. It is so easy for the visitor/customer to go somewhere else. If we want repeat business, we should adopt the Top Ten Qualities Guests Expect and make them an integral part of our daily routine.

Please vote thumbs up if you agree.

Does your Job Play in the Key of "C" ?

Back in the 1940’s a fellow who worked in the coal mines in Eastern Kentucky came into a restaurant and was seated next to a well-dressed man and they stuck up a conversation. The well-dressed, affluent looking guy was a Zither salesman and was making “real good money”.

The coal minor said he hated the mines and wanted out, so he got a job selling Zithers and made “good money” and was very happy. The Zither came with a bunch of sheet music to songs that you could play on it. For about six months he sold more Zithers than anyone in the company. People began asking him if they could get the music for some of the more “modern tunes” of the day. His company explained to him that the Zither only played in the key of “C” and you couldn’t play a song that had any sharps or flats.
After the day he found that out, he didn’t sell as many Zithers. Each week he sold less and less and finally he quit.

If what you sell, or your business only play’s in the key of “C” then go find something you can really “put your heart and soul into”. Go do something you love, then your work will seem like play.

I was at a radio station yesterday and asked one of the new sales girls (she had been there a month) how it was going. She replied that she was leaving to go to another job because “it was a better opportunity”. I asked her if the new job was doing work she really loved to do; she said, “Not really, it’s just a better opportunity”.

I wonder how many people out there drift from job to job, or start up a new business in search of the “better opportunity”? Millions people are unhappy with their businesses or jobs because they’ve given no thought of whether they are going to get out of bed each day excited about going to work. I would wager a tidy sum that if people would seek finding something to do for a living that they love to do, instead of searching for a “better opportunity” there would be a lot less absenteeism in the workplace.

According to an article By ROBERT O'NEILL in an Associated Press article: “Only 51 percent in America were satisfied with their jobs…”

I read a true story once that really brings home my claim that you will be much happier and do a much better job at work if you will pick something you love to do.

Ten Ways to Charm a Customer- Part Two

I came across an article called “10 Ways to Charm a Woman” by David Wygant. I read it with great interest. Women want to be charmed. How true. Customers like to be charmed too. When a business charms their customers, they will keep them, and stay in business for long haul and probably be very profitable.

10 Ways Charm a Customer Part One is right under this one.

The remaining 5 ways to charm your customers.

6. Be flexible

7. Be positive

8. Be balanced

9. Have ambition

10.Be attentive

6. Be flexible Have you ever been a customer in a store and been frustrated by an employee who blandly states, “Sorry sir, this is our policy”. Never mind that it might not be fair. Always err on the side of fairness by being flexible for the customer. One night I was in the parking lot of my business and we were closed that night. A car pulled in with four people. They had driven two hours and very disappointed that we were closed. I apologized profusely as I reached in my pocket and handed them 8 free passes for any show they wanted at any time. I said, “Come back and see the show on me.” They thanked me, and thanked me and thanked me again. I didn’t have to do that. That cost me over $100 but I turned disappointment into thankfulness. I made 4 people happy because I was flexible.

7. Be positive. I love to be around positive people. Don’ you? They are happier than your average run of the mill folks. They look on the brighter side of things. They are usually smiling and happy and ambitious. Try to always think of something positive to say to customers. They will remember you and think well of you for it.

8. Be balanced. Small business owners wear many hats, so they can easily get burned out from working too long without rest. You need time away to the mountains, the beach, fishing, golf or something that can divert your attention from then business so you can come back refreshed. A tired over worked person is not pleasant to deal with in the business place if there is a problem. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” was true when old Ben Franklin said it, and it’s still true today.

9. Have ambition. A customer loves dealing with someone in a business place that has ambition. They have determination, get-up-and-go, motivation, desire, and spirit. The opposite is apathy. A customer detests apathy on the part of the owner or employee.

10. Be attentive. Take the Dale Carnegie course in human relations or read the books. Dale says in his book How to Win Friends and Influence People , “The deepest craving in a person is the craving to be appreciated.” To me that means listening and giving them your full attention. Look the customer in the eye and listen intently. That makes them feel important. Customers that feel you treated them important will return and bring their friends.

If you take the time and have the courage to implement these 10 “ Charming” steps your customers will be waiting line to get to do business with you.

10 ways to charm a customer

Can You Charm a Customer?

First five ways to charm a customer

Recently I came across an article called “10 Ways to Charm a Woman” by David Wygant. I read it with great interest. Women want to be charmed. How true. Customers like to be charmed too. When a business charms their customers, they will keep them, and stay in business for long haul and probably be very profitable.

Five of David’s points:

1. Be aware

2. Demonstrate humor

3. Have passion

4. Be considerate

5. Be honest

David’s ideas are easily adaptable to business. Here are my thoughts on “10 Ways to Charm A Customer.”

Part one:

First 5 Ways to Charm a Customer

1. Be aware. Your customer is a person with feelings, emotions, and problems they want solved. The reason they came in, called or visited your website was probably to solve some problem they have. They are not an interruption or inconvenience. Being aware and sensitive of the customers needs is the reason you are in business.

2. Demonstrate humor. Lighten up a little with your customers. Show that you have a good sense of humor. Learn a few of good funny clean jokes. Make fun of yourself. Show you are human. I have always felt it was easier to sell some one something if they were laughing and smiling back at me. Did you hear the one about the duck that went into a restaurant and had lunch? The waiter brought out the check and the duck said, “I don’t have any money… can you just put that on my bill ?

3. Have passion . I truly believe, if all else is equal, that people are attracted to the business, and the business owner who has a passion for what they do. If you don’t love what you do, quit. Go find something that you like so much that you can’t wait to get to it each day. Something that energizes you. Something you enjoy so much that you would do it even if you didn’t get paid. Then you will have true passion. Customers will be uncommonly attracted to you if you have passion like that.

4. Be considerate. Especially of the customers time and feelings. People are busy and many times need to be somewhere else in just a few minutes. “ Considerate ” sometimes means a customer just wants to know they are being listened to. So listen . When they leave they will tell others how considerate you are. Be understanding that many times they are worried, or stressed out, frazzled or tense, anxious, and in a hurry. Many times they want reassurance that you understand their feelings and that you won’t waste their time.

5. Be honest . I looked on Ebay for a laptop and also called several other places. Tiger Direct was the only call that was answered by real live person. The man said some magic words: “To be honest with you sir, the refurbished laptop your looking at will do everything you need. It’s all completely new inside, and you said you wanted the extended warranty. So it’s 100% guaranteed for 39 months. If anything goes wrong with it, we’ll give you a new one at no cost whatsoever, and it’s about $800 less that the brand new one.” I bought it because I thought he was being honest with me.

Continued on next post