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Delivering Happiness

Ann Barr — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 15:35:16 +0000

What if once a year your company holds a Bald and Blue Day? If you want to show company spirit you can either shave your hair or dye it blue?

And imagine if one of the people shaving his head is your boss?

Welcome to the rather wacky world of Zappos.com. It’s an online shoe and merchandise company where “business as usual” is anything but.

Tony Hsieh, the visionary CEO of Zappos explains in his book “Delivering Happiness,” how an emphasis on corporate culture can lead to unprecedented success.

“Make customer service the entire company, not just a department. Focus on company culture as the #1 priority. Apply research from the science of happiness to running a business. Help employees grow both personally and professionally. Seek to change the world. Oh, and make money too.”

Sound crazy? It’s all standard operating procedure at Zappos.com, the online retailer that’s doing over $1 billion in gross merchandise sales every year.

In 1999, Tony Hsieh (pronounced Shay) sold LinkExchange, the company he co-founded, to Microsoft for $265 million. He then joined Zappos as an adviser and investor, and eventually became CEO.

In 2009, Zappos was listed as one of Fortune magazine’s top 25 companies to work for, and was acquired by Amazon later that year in a deal valued at over $1.2 billion on the day of closing.

In his first book, Tony shares the different business lessons he learned in life, from a lemonade stand and pizza business through LinkExchange, Zappos, and more. Ultimately, he shows how using happiness as a framework can produce profits, passion, and purpose both in business and in life.

Zappos today is known for having great customer service, but that wasn’t always the case. When they were nearly bankrupt and had no money for marketing, they decided to reach out to their existing customers in the hopes they would become repeat customers. It worked.

Taking a $39 loss on a free pair of shoes might appear to be bad business on the surface. But when that person told 5 of their friends, it ended up being more cost effective than $39 worth of advertising.

This is a powerful idea that your customer service can actually be your best marketing tool. At one point Zappos was relying on manufacturers to drop ship all the products they sold on their site. This allowed them to carry zero inventory and run a simple business, but the orders only had about 95% accuracy and were slow to ship. It also limited the selection of what products they could sell.

They had to make a tough decision: if customer service is what they were all about then they needed to control the entire customer experience from beginning to end. They made a major shift (and nearly went bankrupt) in the process of starting to keep their own inventory, but it paid off.

It’s worth spending some time thinking about what your core competency is and focusing only on that. Once you decide what it is, you may have to sacrifice in other areas to achieve it – so you can’t make everything your focus. Check out Delivering Happiness at Amazon.com

Company Spirit

From http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/06/06/sunday/main6553702.shtml

At a time when many retailers are struggling, Zappos (derived from the Spanish word for shoes, zapatos) is thriving, thanks in part to a unique company culture – and its 36-year-old CEO, Tony Hsieh.

“Our whole belief is that everyone’s a little weird somehow,” said Hsieh, “and so it’s really more just a fun way of saying that we really want people’s true personalities to shine in the workplace.”

Tony Hsieh so believes he’s learned how to create both passion and profits that he’s outlined his philosophy in the book “Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose” (Business Plus).

“So the book is another way to help spread the message that it’s actually possible to make employees happy, make customers happy, and still make investors happy … and you know, still have profits,” Hsieh said.

He’s not kidding. Zappos is now so successful that last fall Amazon paid $1.2 billion to acquire it.

About The Author

Ann Barr is a telesales marketing success coach with a passion for teaching. She loves helping people who are starting out in new telesales careers and working with experienced sales reps who are looking for new ideas and tips. In addition to presenting monthly e-classes, she writes and edits direct-mail marketing letters and emails for clients. Sign up today for Ann’s free Weekly Sales Tips and get marketing tips and ideas to increase your sales!

Are You Attracting Price Shoppers?

Ann Barr — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:45:05 +0000

It is true that everyone is concerned about price, but is your marketing and advertising attracting the kind of customers you really want? Without realizing it, you might be appealing to exactly the kind of customer you don’t want. Do you want premium customers who care most about quality products and great service? Or do you want price shoppers who jump from supplier to supplier? Most of us want premium clients who appreciate top quality products, personalized service and excellent product knowledge.

In reality, only a small percentage of your customers are true price shoppers (excluding purchasing agents of large corporations and universities.) What are the characteristics of a true price shopper?

Jump from supplier to supplier

Slow to pay

Quick to complain

Advertising for Price Shoppers

Look at the focus with these advertisements:

“Deep, deep discounts!”

“Lowest possible pricing!”

“We will beat any price!”

Advertising using the words above is guaranteed to attract price shoppers. And when they call you, they will focus FIRST on price. Not a good way to start a conversation with prospects.

To attract premium customers, advertising must focus on great service, convenience, product knowledge and top quality products.

How to Attract Premium Customers

Contrast the price ads above with the following:

“Virgin Atlantic Business Class Flights are Better when you Fly Upper Class”

“At Lowe’s – People Rule.”

“Purina Cat Chow: A Whole New Way to Better Taste.”

These ads focus on quality, value and service.

Handling Price Questions/Objections

When a prospect asks “What is your best price?” at the beginning of a conversation, before you’ve had a chance to ask questions (and find out what they currently order and how much they are paying now) you can respond with:

“Well, it depends on several variables. Let me ask you a few questions so I can quote you the best price for your situation.”

Be Prepared With Answers

You will feel more confident when you have prepared ahead of time for price objections. Have answers ready in advance for the following questions:

“Is that the best you can do?”

“Can I get a better price?”

Your answer to the first question could be: “When your order is increased to six, you qualify for a quantity discount and you save $45. Would you like to order six today?”

And in answer to the second question:

“Yes, you can get a better price. The next price break is at 12. The toners are $54.00 each instead of $59.00; You save $60.00 Shall I send you 12 toners?”

A price objection is often either:

A smoke screen

A request for more information

A perception that not enough value is attached to what you are selling

Price and Value

According to the findings of a 15-year study conducted by The Sales Board, a Minneapolis-based sales organization: More than 90% of all salespeople volunteer a price decrease without being asked! In addition, according to the same study, most salespeople do not believe their product or service is actually worth the price they charge. The first person who needs to be sold on the value you provide is you.

Get The Word Out

If you are not a discount store, and if you do not want to attract price shoppers, your efforts in marketing and advertising should reflect this fact. Think about everything else you provide along with the products you are selling: experience in the industry, product knowledge. If you offer superior service, good product knowledge and quality products, let prospects and customers know this. Focus on these positives and anything unique that differentiates you from your competitor and you will attract fewer price shoppers.

Bad Referrals

Good referrals are crucial to any business selling products available at multiple sources. Do you really want price shoppers to refer other price shoppers to your company? That’s what may happen if you are advertising and selling on the basis of price.

Think about this:

A recent Consumer’s Report study found that 73% of consumers buy for reasons other than price! So think twice before you focus on price in your marketing and advertising.

About The Author

How George Hill’s Flyer Won New Customers

Ann Barr — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 01:46:29 +0000

Last summer my aunt Ginny found a marketing flyer on her front doorstep. She was so impressed with the wording on the flyer that she called and read it to me. It was from George Hill, a local handyman, plumber, electrician, painter; you name it and he said he can do it. This flyer uses a really unique approach and was such an attention-getter that I wanted to share it with you.

A Different Approach

Have you ever read a flyer that made you smile? This one did just that. And it got results. George acquired a new customer with his flyer; actually, dozens of new customers – and still counting.

I needed some work done on my deck, so after reading his flyer I called George. He came to my house, gave me an estimate and I hired him. He did a great job! I gave George’s flyer to my next-door neighbor and George acquired another customer. This one flyer made the rounds of my neighborhood and George was busy with work for the next two months.

I’ll bet you have never read anything like the wording on this flyer.

George Hill’s Marketing Flyer

I enjoy working around the house

Building a shelf or catching that mouse

I can fix a leak or clean your garage

And by the way of introduction,

My name is George.

Electrical, painting, any chore at all

I will provide estimates and references . . .

Just give me a call.

You will be happy with my reasonable rates

So for all seasons, get your house and garden in shape.

Free Estimates

20 Years Experience

Licensed & Insured

Call me today (George’s name and cell phone number)

Then a list of his services: painting, licensed plumber, roofing, yard work, etc.

and

“Present this flyer for an easy 10% off”

How You Can Do the Same

Use the A I D A Formula

Have you ever thought of writing a poem about your product or services? It is a great way to create attention and interest.

Before writing any type of sales letter, email or marketing flyer, use the tried and true copywriting formula, AIDA:

A – Attract the reader’s attention

I – Arouse the reader’s Interest in the offer.

D – Stimulate the reader’s Desire to take the desired action.

A – Ask the reader to take the action requested.

You can get the word out very inexpensively on this Website by putting your business card on our Classifieds page. Substantial discounts for subscribers! Call me for info and details: 757.463.0924