If you want If you want to be interesting, be interested. If you want to be heard, listen.
If you wish to truly learn, teach. If you would like to be wealthy, be generous.
If you desire to be understood, take the time to understand. If you want to have many friends, be friendly.
If you want the world to change for the better, make a positive change in yourself. If you long for peace, be peaceful.
What you give to life is what life becomes for you. The treasures you accumulate all come from the good things you do.
Every day is your opportunity to raise your life to a higher level by giving the best that you have. Whatever it is you desire, give it, be it, support it, and you will enjoy it in great abundance.
-- Ralph Marston
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Start each day purposefully
Top 7 Questions to Ask as You Start Each Day Purposefully
Living with purpose and passion is based upon decision. You may choose to live day after day, one after another, in a completely ordinary existence. OR you can choose to greet each day with a possibility mindset. A purposeful mindset. A Passionate mindset. Begin each day with these questions and be amazed.
1. Why is it important for me to engage myself in my work passionately and purposefully each day?
2. How will I choose to allow my attitude effect how I address stressful situations at work today? How can I be more affective and proactive in regards to stress and attitude?
3. When am I most likely too react with the most passion and purpose today? Meeting with clients? Working on my computer? Following up on a lead? Take note of what makes your passion come alive, so you can use it to better your work performance.
4. Where within the organization am I best able to express my passion and purpose? Is it working with my peers? My supervisors? Clients? Interdepartmentally? Where physically do I perform the most purposefully?
5. With whom do I need to spend time in order to maintain balance as I pursue my passion and purpose? Within the organization, who best supports me?
6. What choices will I make today that align my purpose and passion with the tasks at hand at work?
7. Who am I called to be today as an expression of my passion for living?
Living with purpose and passion is based upon decision. You may choose to live day after day, one after another, in a completely ordinary existence. OR you can choose to greet each day with a possibility mindset. A purposeful mindset. A Passionate mindset. Begin each day with these questions and be amazed.
1. Why is it important for me to engage myself in my work passionately and purposefully each day?
2. How will I choose to allow my attitude effect how I address stressful situations at work today? How can I be more affective and proactive in regards to stress and attitude?
3. When am I most likely too react with the most passion and purpose today? Meeting with clients? Working on my computer? Following up on a lead? Take note of what makes your passion come alive, so you can use it to better your work performance.
4. Where within the organization am I best able to express my passion and purpose? Is it working with my peers? My supervisors? Clients? Interdepartmentally? Where physically do I perform the most purposefully?
5. With whom do I need to spend time in order to maintain balance as I pursue my passion and purpose? Within the organization, who best supports me?
6. What choices will I make today that align my purpose and passion with the tasks at hand at work?
7. Who am I called to be today as an expression of my passion for living?
Monday, June 23, 2008
Expectation ?
Expectation vs. Expectation
There are two uses of the word "expectation" .
The first use is to describe a knowing. When there is no question; when you are certain to the point of not even having to think about it; when you know that you know that you know; that's one type of expectation.
An example of this energy of expectation is when you turn on a light -- you turn the switch and expect the light to come on, no thought, and no surprise when the light lights. In fact, surprise comes on the rare occasion when the light doesn't come on.
You can effectively use this expectation in goal setting, visualization, and attraction. Get clear on what you want, picture it, and release it to surely show up. You don't need to think about it, just expect it.
The other use of expectation is a lot less useful for you. This is the expectation related to attachment. If you feel something must happen a certain way in order for you to be okay, then that is called being attached to an outcome. This type of expectation is a major cause of suffering.
Other energies mingled with this are wishing, hoping, needing, fearing, and grasping. When this type of expectation is present, something else is going on.
There are two uses of the word "expectation" .
The first use is to describe a knowing. When there is no question; when you are certain to the point of not even having to think about it; when you know that you know that you know; that's one type of expectation.
An example of this energy of expectation is when you turn on a light -- you turn the switch and expect the light to come on, no thought, and no surprise when the light lights. In fact, surprise comes on the rare occasion when the light doesn't come on.
You can effectively use this expectation in goal setting, visualization, and attraction. Get clear on what you want, picture it, and release it to surely show up. You don't need to think about it, just expect it.
The other use of expectation is a lot less useful for you. This is the expectation related to attachment. If you feel something must happen a certain way in order for you to be okay, then that is called being attached to an outcome. This type of expectation is a major cause of suffering.
Other energies mingled with this are wishing, hoping, needing, fearing, and grasping. When this type of expectation is present, something else is going on.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Coaching and Mentoring
Coaching and Mentoring
Research suggests that, on average, people use only 40 per cent of their potential in the workplace. Just imagine the impact on you and your organisation if it were possible to tap into the remaining 60 per cent.
Coaching and mentoring have been shown to be highly effective in releasing people’s potential. The terms are often used interchangeably within organisations but there is a clear difference between the two.
Two different rolesNon-directive coaching assumes that the individual is the expert in their own life and has the answers within. The coach’s role is to stimulate the discovery/learning of the individual to find their own solutions. A mentor generally has more experience than the individual so the nature of the relationship is more about passing on knowledge and advice. Coaching and mentoring, when applied correctly, can make the manager’s role much easier. Sir John Whitmore, author of 'Coaching for performance', talks about how ‘a manager’s task is simple – to get the job done and to grow his staff. Time and cost pressures limit the latter. Coaching is one process with both effects’.
Good coaching and mentoring increase awareness, personal responsibility, self-belief, learning, skill development, effectiveness and performance. This applies to the individual, the team and ultimately the bottom line of an organisation.
Why have coaching and mentoring become so popular?The business environment is continually evolving and there has been a marked change in the structure of organisations. In those that have downsized and that have flatter structures, individuals often have far broader responsibilities and need to be more flexible. There is a greater emphasis on individuals taking responsibility for their own development. There is also the need for ‘just in time’ personalised development, meaning coaching and mentoring can be effective interventions.
There is also the need for measurement and return on investment for all organisational activities, including training and development. Poor managerial performance affects the bottom line so it is in the interests of organisations to develop their management team in a personalised way. Research by Olivero, Bane and Kopelman (United Kingdom) examined the effects of training and coaching in a public sector organisation. Several managers underwent a management training programme which was followed by eight weeks of one-on-one executive coaching. Training increased productivity by 22.4 per cent. The coaching on top led to an increase in productivity of 88 per cent. This research shows that executive coaching is an important way of ensuring that knowledge acquired during training actually emerges as skills that are applied back in the workplace.
When to use coaching and mentoringCoaching and mentoring are not a panacea for everything that happens within an organisation. There will be times when someone needs to be told what to do; they may require information there and then to get a job done. Sometimes training in a new job/way of working is far more relevant. Coaching and mentoring will not work when:• the individual does not want to change • the individual/team does not want to be coached/mentored • someone needs a skill/knowledge immediately • disciplining someone.
There are many situations for which coaching and mentoring are ideal:• skills development • personal development plans/appraisals • career planning • to support strategic initiatives • supporting leadership development • as part of a culture change • to embed training • as part of a change process • to improve individual and team performance and develop individual and team capability.
Remember that mentoring is appropriate only when there is knowledge/expertise to pass on. It is important to be explicit about when you are coaching and when you are mentoring.
Benefits to organisations and individualsThere is a growing body of evidence around the effectiveness of coaching and mentoring, and organisations that have applied them have reported the following benefits:• improved productivity, quality and customer service • increased employee commitment and satisfaction • support for newly-promoted employees to cope with new responsibilities • support for other training and development initiatives, reducing leakage from training • ability to demonstrate to employees that an organisation is committed to developing staff • improved retention of staff.
Benefits to individuals:• improved problem-solving • improved managerial and interpersonal skills • better relationships with colleagues • more effective/assertive in dealing with people • positive impact on performance • new skills and abilities • improved work/life balance • reduced stress levels.
Top tips for coaching and mentoring Aspects that make coaching and mentoring successful include:• buy-in from the top of the organisation • transparent communication about the purpose and intention of introducing coaching/mentoring into an organisation to all concerned,• having clear objectives for what it should achieve • considering how the effectiveness of the intervention will be measured • what resources (if any) are available internally for coaching and mentoring • considering bringing in external organisations where appropriate • providing sufficient support/training for it to be effective – offering a one-day training course on coaching skills will not be sufficient to change management behaviour • considering how the transfer of learning and embedding the learning will take place.Using external providers
If you decide to bring in external providers to coach/mentor your staff or to train managers on coaching/mentoring skills, then you should ask the following questions:
• What qualifications do the coaches and mentors have? The industry is not yet regulated so anyone can call themselves a coach or mentor with no real training. It would be preferable for their qualifications to have external accreditation
• What are the credentials of both the organisation and individuals involved? What is the size of the organisation?
• What continuing professional development (CPD) process do they have in place? • What kinds of individuals/organisations have they worked with before?
• Can they provide some references/testimonials?People are a crucial resource and an important source of competitive advantage. Developing the potential of the workforce is important both for an organisation and for the individuals within it. Just consider the impact on your organisation of releasing some of that untapped potential.
This article is contributed by CIMA (The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) and it first appeared in Insight, CIMA’s on-line newsletter for its members.
Research suggests that, on average, people use only 40 per cent of their potential in the workplace. Just imagine the impact on you and your organisation if it were possible to tap into the remaining 60 per cent.
Coaching and mentoring have been shown to be highly effective in releasing people’s potential. The terms are often used interchangeably within organisations but there is a clear difference between the two.
Two different rolesNon-directive coaching assumes that the individual is the expert in their own life and has the answers within. The coach’s role is to stimulate the discovery/learning of the individual to find their own solutions. A mentor generally has more experience than the individual so the nature of the relationship is more about passing on knowledge and advice. Coaching and mentoring, when applied correctly, can make the manager’s role much easier. Sir John Whitmore, author of 'Coaching for performance', talks about how ‘a manager’s task is simple – to get the job done and to grow his staff. Time and cost pressures limit the latter. Coaching is one process with both effects’.
Good coaching and mentoring increase awareness, personal responsibility, self-belief, learning, skill development, effectiveness and performance. This applies to the individual, the team and ultimately the bottom line of an organisation.
Why have coaching and mentoring become so popular?The business environment is continually evolving and there has been a marked change in the structure of organisations. In those that have downsized and that have flatter structures, individuals often have far broader responsibilities and need to be more flexible. There is a greater emphasis on individuals taking responsibility for their own development. There is also the need for ‘just in time’ personalised development, meaning coaching and mentoring can be effective interventions.
There is also the need for measurement and return on investment for all organisational activities, including training and development. Poor managerial performance affects the bottom line so it is in the interests of organisations to develop their management team in a personalised way. Research by Olivero, Bane and Kopelman (United Kingdom) examined the effects of training and coaching in a public sector organisation. Several managers underwent a management training programme which was followed by eight weeks of one-on-one executive coaching. Training increased productivity by 22.4 per cent. The coaching on top led to an increase in productivity of 88 per cent. This research shows that executive coaching is an important way of ensuring that knowledge acquired during training actually emerges as skills that are applied back in the workplace.
When to use coaching and mentoringCoaching and mentoring are not a panacea for everything that happens within an organisation. There will be times when someone needs to be told what to do; they may require information there and then to get a job done. Sometimes training in a new job/way of working is far more relevant. Coaching and mentoring will not work when:• the individual does not want to change • the individual/team does not want to be coached/mentored • someone needs a skill/knowledge immediately • disciplining someone.
There are many situations for which coaching and mentoring are ideal:• skills development • personal development plans/appraisals • career planning • to support strategic initiatives • supporting leadership development • as part of a culture change • to embed training • as part of a change process • to improve individual and team performance and develop individual and team capability.
Remember that mentoring is appropriate only when there is knowledge/expertise to pass on. It is important to be explicit about when you are coaching and when you are mentoring.
Benefits to organisations and individualsThere is a growing body of evidence around the effectiveness of coaching and mentoring, and organisations that have applied them have reported the following benefits:• improved productivity, quality and customer service • increased employee commitment and satisfaction • support for newly-promoted employees to cope with new responsibilities • support for other training and development initiatives, reducing leakage from training • ability to demonstrate to employees that an organisation is committed to developing staff • improved retention of staff.
Benefits to individuals:• improved problem-solving • improved managerial and interpersonal skills • better relationships with colleagues • more effective/assertive in dealing with people • positive impact on performance • new skills and abilities • improved work/life balance • reduced stress levels.
Top tips for coaching and mentoring Aspects that make coaching and mentoring successful include:• buy-in from the top of the organisation • transparent communication about the purpose and intention of introducing coaching/mentoring into an organisation to all concerned,• having clear objectives for what it should achieve • considering how the effectiveness of the intervention will be measured • what resources (if any) are available internally for coaching and mentoring • considering bringing in external organisations where appropriate • providing sufficient support/training for it to be effective – offering a one-day training course on coaching skills will not be sufficient to change management behaviour • considering how the transfer of learning and embedding the learning will take place.Using external providers
If you decide to bring in external providers to coach/mentor your staff or to train managers on coaching/mentoring skills, then you should ask the following questions:
• What qualifications do the coaches and mentors have? The industry is not yet regulated so anyone can call themselves a coach or mentor with no real training. It would be preferable for their qualifications to have external accreditation
• What are the credentials of both the organisation and individuals involved? What is the size of the organisation?
• What continuing professional development (CPD) process do they have in place? • What kinds of individuals/organisations have they worked with before?
• Can they provide some references/testimonials?People are a crucial resource and an important source of competitive advantage. Developing the potential of the workforce is important both for an organisation and for the individuals within it. Just consider the impact on your organisation of releasing some of that untapped potential.
This article is contributed by CIMA (The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) and it first appeared in Insight, CIMA’s on-line newsletter for its members.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Discover your limits
"The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible."Arthur C. Clarke
How do you instinctively respond when the going starts getting more than just a little tough? Do you intuitively rise up to meet the challenge or do you instead bend or even break under the pressure?
Do you automatically summon forth the extra effort required to go above and beyond the call of duty or do you toss in the towel and call it quits? The way you naturally respond to life’s difficulties speaks volumes about your character — or lack thereof.
Life quite often forces us to rise up to meet a wide array of daunting challenges tossed in our paths. Like it or not, stumbling blocks of all types and sizes can appear suddenly and without warning; obstacles that must be confronted and conquered if we’re ever going to reach our full potential on earth.
And it’s in these precious split seconds — where we dare or decline to put our best to the ultimate test — that our fate and fortunes are decided.
How do you instinctively respond when the going starts getting more than just a little tough? Do you intuitively rise up to meet the challenge or do you instead bend or even break under the pressure?
Do you automatically summon forth the extra effort required to go above and beyond the call of duty or do you toss in the towel and call it quits? The way you naturally respond to life’s difficulties speaks volumes about your character — or lack thereof.
Life quite often forces us to rise up to meet a wide array of daunting challenges tossed in our paths. Like it or not, stumbling blocks of all types and sizes can appear suddenly and without warning; obstacles that must be confronted and conquered if we’re ever going to reach our full potential on earth.
And it’s in these precious split seconds — where we dare or decline to put our best to the ultimate test — that our fate and fortunes are decided.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Life Purpose
Living with purpose and passion is based upon decision. You may choose to live day after day, one after another, in a completely ordinary existence. OR you can choose to greet each day with a possibility mindset. A purposeful mindset. A Passionate mindset. Begin each day with these questions and be amazed.
1. Why is it important for me to engage myself in my work passionately and purposefully each day?
2. How will I choose to allow my attitude effect how I address stressful situations at work today? How can I be more affective and proactive in regards to stress and attitude?
3. When am I most likely too react with the most passion and purpose today? Meeting with clients? Working on my computer? Following up on a lead? Take note of what makes your passion come alive, so you can use it to better your work performance.
4. Where within the organization am I best able to express my passion and purpose? Is it working with my peers? My supervisors? Clients? Interdepartmentally? Where physically do I perform the most purposefully?
5. With whom do I need to spend time in order to maintain balance as I pursue my passion and purpose? Within the organization, who best supports me?
6. What choices will I make today that align my purpose and passion with the tasks at hand at work?
7. Who am I called to be today as an expression of my passion for living?
By Julie Jordan Scott
1. Why is it important for me to engage myself in my work passionately and purposefully each day?
2. How will I choose to allow my attitude effect how I address stressful situations at work today? How can I be more affective and proactive in regards to stress and attitude?
3. When am I most likely too react with the most passion and purpose today? Meeting with clients? Working on my computer? Following up on a lead? Take note of what makes your passion come alive, so you can use it to better your work performance.
4. Where within the organization am I best able to express my passion and purpose? Is it working with my peers? My supervisors? Clients? Interdepartmentally? Where physically do I perform the most purposefully?
5. With whom do I need to spend time in order to maintain balance as I pursue my passion and purpose? Within the organization, who best supports me?
6. What choices will I make today that align my purpose and passion with the tasks at hand at work?
7. Who am I called to be today as an expression of my passion for living?
By Julie Jordan Scott
Monday, June 2, 2008
Customer retention
Hear Me Out: Talking & Listening to Your Current Guests May Be The Best Way To Get More Of Them Through the Door
By Rick Hendrie, President & CEO of Remarkable Branding
According to conventional wisdom, the best way to get new customers is to go out and advertise to the consumers that you do not currently have. Guess what? It costs 3 to 5 times more to attract a new guest than it does to encourage a current customer to
1. Come more often
2. Spend more money
3. Or, increase their party size
Serenade your current guests and they will attract ‘Birds of a Feather’, who will flock to you. Does advertising have a place? Of course, in the same way that charcoal starter fluid does in getting briquettes to burn. But the most powerful, long-term form of marketing is to focus on current customers. Why? They know who you are and what you do and love you anyway. In many cases, they know far more than you think. Leverage that intimacy by creating Raving Fans.
Farming vs. huntingTo ‘Farm’ is to plant the seeds of a great harvest, one relationship at a time. IT promises the ability to feed whole year’s worth of business. The only stipulation is that you have to be patient. Not an easy thing to do in today’s “I gotta have it this minute” Id-centric style of management. The hunter shoots a blunderbuss of a media campaign, bags a bear and can eat for a couple of weeks. Hunters have to work much harder for much less reward over the long haul.
Now, here’s the dirty little secret about media. It doesn’t work very well. In a recent Yankelovitch study, over 6 out of 10 consumers were overwhelmed and turned off by the amount of media and advertising being flung at them. In another study, less than 10% of consumers could actually name the brand whose television ad they had just witnessed. We are over marketed, over dosed and nauseous.
“Farming” posits that you cultivate with current guests relationships that, as they deepen, create both an unbreakable bond and unvarnished, enthusiastic "word of-mouth" marketing. Is there a better, more compelling, more cost-effective form of advertising.
For those of you who still pine for the elusive guest you haven’t got, consider this: As a rule, 10 percent to 15 percent of your current guests are new. They never have been to your location before but have stumbled in by happenstance or some local contact.
We are a mobile society, in which populations not only grow but also change over time. Even if you are in a city where there is little net-population gain, consumers are still moving in and out because of job or life changes. That means the guest you don‘t have, you do have! So maximize the quality and quantity of interactions with people you already know. Orchestrate word-of-mouth marketing that self-perpetuates your business.
Focus on your core relationships. How well do you know your guests? If you have done your research, you know the breakout of first-time, light, medium and heavy users of your restaurant. That data allows you to calculate the total number of unique visits guests pay in an average year. I suggest, for most restaurants, the number will range in the thousands. Do you know each of the guest‘ names? Where they live? Where they work and what they do? If they are married, have kids, have significant others? In studying the concept, I have found that most restaurateurs know less than 10 percent of their guests in this intimate way, and I‘m being generous.
Why does it matter? We live in an age when Americans seek human community, authentic relationships and real connections with each other. Starbuck‘s appeal comes, in part, because the company has tapped into that longing for a “third place” between home and work or school. When you commit to a guest-relationship-marketing focus, you will be able to tap into the same lodestone.
Create conversations. WOW branding is a result of hundreds of relevant conversations between you and your staff and the guest. Your brand’s power comes from layer upon layer of interaction, each time adding (or subtracting) to your branded story’s credibility. No one conversation is a magic bullet designed to bring the masses in — although there are very effective promotional components to that concept. The guest gains trust in you and your sincerity over time. In the book “Engaging Customers in e-Business” authors Jeffery Farriss and Laura Langendorf stated, “Consumers will be less inclined to tune out sales information once they’ve grown to trust a brand or company.”
You need to create opportunities to converse with the guest that feel human and natural. See it as a 24-7 proposition. Here are some suggestions:
· See every transaction as a platform to offer choice to the guest. In the Experience Era, choice and customization rule
· Acknowledge every guest. Use Politeness as a strategic differentiator. Most people aren’t ever thanked for their patronage, so you can ‘Blow their minds’ through simple courtesy
· View all guest conversations “as virtual.” And ongoing. Use technology to support you. Remember the example a Ritz Carlton who remembered a guest who liked Guinness Stout in his mini-bar. They didn’t just get it the first time he requested it (normally, that would be the WOW), they had it waiting in his room the next time he returned. WOWWOWWOW.
· Become the Feedback Champ. Respond to feedback quickly and solicit more. It’s not important to compile lists and reports.
· Take the guest’s temperature regularly. Use focus groups. Make it a regular feature of how you do business
We live in an age where anonymous communication just won’t cut it anymore. We want personal attention (Do a Google on Personal Coaches…You’ll see). We feel abused, ignored and otherwise furious at how more information is being thrown at us with less and less human connection.
By Rick Hendrie, President & CEO of Remarkable Branding
According to conventional wisdom, the best way to get new customers is to go out and advertise to the consumers that you do not currently have. Guess what? It costs 3 to 5 times more to attract a new guest than it does to encourage a current customer to
1. Come more often
2. Spend more money
3. Or, increase their party size
Serenade your current guests and they will attract ‘Birds of a Feather’, who will flock to you. Does advertising have a place? Of course, in the same way that charcoal starter fluid does in getting briquettes to burn. But the most powerful, long-term form of marketing is to focus on current customers. Why? They know who you are and what you do and love you anyway. In many cases, they know far more than you think. Leverage that intimacy by creating Raving Fans.
Farming vs. huntingTo ‘Farm’ is to plant the seeds of a great harvest, one relationship at a time. IT promises the ability to feed whole year’s worth of business. The only stipulation is that you have to be patient. Not an easy thing to do in today’s “I gotta have it this minute” Id-centric style of management. The hunter shoots a blunderbuss of a media campaign, bags a bear and can eat for a couple of weeks. Hunters have to work much harder for much less reward over the long haul.
Now, here’s the dirty little secret about media. It doesn’t work very well. In a recent Yankelovitch study, over 6 out of 10 consumers were overwhelmed and turned off by the amount of media and advertising being flung at them. In another study, less than 10% of consumers could actually name the brand whose television ad they had just witnessed. We are over marketed, over dosed and nauseous.
“Farming” posits that you cultivate with current guests relationships that, as they deepen, create both an unbreakable bond and unvarnished, enthusiastic "word of-mouth" marketing. Is there a better, more compelling, more cost-effective form of advertising.
For those of you who still pine for the elusive guest you haven’t got, consider this: As a rule, 10 percent to 15 percent of your current guests are new. They never have been to your location before but have stumbled in by happenstance or some local contact.
We are a mobile society, in which populations not only grow but also change over time. Even if you are in a city where there is little net-population gain, consumers are still moving in and out because of job or life changes. That means the guest you don‘t have, you do have! So maximize the quality and quantity of interactions with people you already know. Orchestrate word-of-mouth marketing that self-perpetuates your business.
Focus on your core relationships. How well do you know your guests? If you have done your research, you know the breakout of first-time, light, medium and heavy users of your restaurant. That data allows you to calculate the total number of unique visits guests pay in an average year. I suggest, for most restaurants, the number will range in the thousands. Do you know each of the guest‘ names? Where they live? Where they work and what they do? If they are married, have kids, have significant others? In studying the concept, I have found that most restaurateurs know less than 10 percent of their guests in this intimate way, and I‘m being generous.
Why does it matter? We live in an age when Americans seek human community, authentic relationships and real connections with each other. Starbuck‘s appeal comes, in part, because the company has tapped into that longing for a “third place” between home and work or school. When you commit to a guest-relationship-marketing focus, you will be able to tap into the same lodestone.
Create conversations. WOW branding is a result of hundreds of relevant conversations between you and your staff and the guest. Your brand’s power comes from layer upon layer of interaction, each time adding (or subtracting) to your branded story’s credibility. No one conversation is a magic bullet designed to bring the masses in — although there are very effective promotional components to that concept. The guest gains trust in you and your sincerity over time. In the book “Engaging Customers in e-Business” authors Jeffery Farriss and Laura Langendorf stated, “Consumers will be less inclined to tune out sales information once they’ve grown to trust a brand or company.”
You need to create opportunities to converse with the guest that feel human and natural. See it as a 24-7 proposition. Here are some suggestions:
· See every transaction as a platform to offer choice to the guest. In the Experience Era, choice and customization rule
· Acknowledge every guest. Use Politeness as a strategic differentiator. Most people aren’t ever thanked for their patronage, so you can ‘Blow their minds’ through simple courtesy
· View all guest conversations “as virtual.” And ongoing. Use technology to support you. Remember the example a Ritz Carlton who remembered a guest who liked Guinness Stout in his mini-bar. They didn’t just get it the first time he requested it (normally, that would be the WOW), they had it waiting in his room the next time he returned. WOWWOWWOW.
· Become the Feedback Champ. Respond to feedback quickly and solicit more. It’s not important to compile lists and reports.
· Take the guest’s temperature regularly. Use focus groups. Make it a regular feature of how you do business
We live in an age where anonymous communication just won’t cut it anymore. We want personal attention (Do a Google on Personal Coaches…You’ll see). We feel abused, ignored and otherwise furious at how more information is being thrown at us with less and less human connection.
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