Anne Marie Stephenson's Blog

Saw this great blog post by Toby Bloomberg on Twitter that compares Social Media today to the marketing concept in "Miracle on 34th Street" - I couldn't agree more and talk about this movie in one of my seminars :) - MERRY CHRISTMAS!

http://tinyurl.com/yama5vr

Anne Marie

Good blog link about giving even the "worst" customers our best service possible.  Written about freelancers, but I think it could apply to any industry:

 http://freelancefolder.com/why-your-worst-clients-should-still-get-your-best-service/?utm_source=Tweetie&utm_medium=twitter

 Have you been giving all of your customers your best service, regardless of their response or attitude?

I stopped at the bank to make a deposit for my husband yesterday.   Our normal branch hadn't opened yet and I figured I'd stop by a different branch that was on the way to the store.  While waiting for the teller clerk, I overheard the drive-thru teller telling a customer "Thank You For Banking With _______, We Appreciate Your Business At __________, And Have A Nice Day".  Although the teller was cheerful and pleasant with this statement, my first thought was "UGH - I hate canned greetings, closings, etc.!"  They're just not personal and it's always about the company and not about the customer.

Once the teller clerk was free, she greeted me with a warm smile, "Hi - how are you today?" & "How Can I Help You?".  As she was processing the deposit, she said "I see you're a Hero today".  I looked at her puzzled and said "What?".  She said "Your Sweatshirt says you're a Hero".  I looked down and, sure enough, my red sweatshirt that says "Cherokee" on the front was covered by my jacket and all you saw was "Hero".  We both had a laugh about not even thinking that the word hero was in cherokee and I joked about now needing to find a cape and go save the world - no pressure!  She ended with "Is There Anything Else I Can Help You With Today, Anne Marie?" and "I Hope You Have A Great Weekend!" 

 How different were these two tellers at the same bank?  Do you think the customer that went through the drive-thru called their friends/family to say "Hey!  Did you know that ________ is glad that I do business with them and ________ appreciates my business and wants me to have a nice day?"

I have long held the belief that the way to a customer's heart is through their stomachs and their inner child.  Check out this link, as I couldn't have said it better:

What My Five-Year-Old Son Taught Me About Marketing http://bit.ly/3EB28b

When will companies learn that people are stressed out, worried, short on $$, and tired of being "had". 

Papa John's Pizza had been pushing a Free pizza promotion on Facebook.  For everyone that clicked to follow them on Facebook, effective today you can go to their website, enter your email address, and receive the promotion code for their "Free" medium pizza.  However, what Customers find when they get there is that it's not actually "Free" - but only good with a $10 online order.  Really? Some people think that it's only pizza - so what?  The big deal is the 1st sentence.  Don't advertise, hint towards, or give the impression for something that you don't actually (or don't intend) to deliver - especially in this economy. The backlash can be brutal - just see PapaJohn's customer comments for this promotion:

http://www.facebook.com/search/?init=srp&sfxp=&q=duplissis#/papajohns?v=feed&story_fbid=193241518295

With two kids in college, the budget is tight to say the least.  That's why I love grocery shopping at Wal-Mart for the budget-friendly pricing and convenience of being able to get everything I need in just one trip.  Their marketing campaigns are always changing and often ahead of the times to meet the current economic trends.  From the 2007 slogan change from "Always Low Prices" to "Save Money . . . Live Better", which was just ahead of the starting point of the recession, to the recent commercials that point out the "feature-benefits" of shopping at Wal-Mart:

• Breakfast: Instead of going out to breakfast for $5 you could eat at home for $2. By eating at home just 1x per week you could save $650/year. Save Money . . . Live Better. Wal-Mart.

 

• Parties: You're having a party and you could drive all over town getting supplies or you could get them all in one stop - at Wal-Mart. Saving Money, Time, and Gas? Now That's something to celebrate! Save Money . . . Live Better. Wal-Mart.

 

• Grocery Shopping: Let's say you spend $100/Week at the supermarket on these kinds of items. If you bought these kinds of groceries at Wal-Mart, you could save on average over $700/year. What could you do with all that money? Save Money . . . Live Better. Wal-Mart.