Think about the last really good conversation you had - chances are it was meaningful. You shared your thoughts, but you also listened and learned more about the other person. The relationship grew and bonds were created. Deep down, after all, people are wired to connect.

Now, think about having a good conversation with your customer. Whether they are in New York or New Delhi - Web 2.0 and Social Media tools make it easier than ever. When you take advantage of these tools and integrate them into your digital strategy, you can learn what your customers want, what they need and what they think. You can respond in real time and generate real conversation, which can grow into personal relationships.

Take a look at your digital presence - are you enabling conversations with your customers? Or, are you doing all the talking? The key to being a good conversationalist is simple - be a good listener.

One thing is clear in today’s complex business environment.  We live in the moment.

Remember when the “Annual Report” was considered timely information?  Today, we make split second decisions franticly chasing quarterly earnings, scour our daily sales reports, and always have one eye on our real-time sales dashboard.  All while twittering away.  Patience and focus are lost arts.

This “what did you do for me today” mindset has caused many sales and marketing organizations to lose sight of what’s really important – the true value of their customers over time.  The total value of a customer (Lifetime Value) is not measured by what they bought from you today, this quarter, or even this year, but instead over a lifetime of experiences, influence and purchase.

One Fullhouse client, Pierce Manufacturing, is an industry leader in Fire Apparatus (fire trucks in our lingo).  Let’s take a look at a hypothetical Pierce customer – Tony from New Jersey.  Tony’s relationship with Pierce started as a 20 year old rookie - the day he first set foot on a Pierce rig.  The experiences and interactions he had with this lifesaving equipment were quickly etched into his psyche.  As he gained experience he joined the equipment committee - transitioning from just a user to an influencer with a strong voice in purchase decisions.  As the years passed Tony’s experience grew. Today, with more than 40 years of experience under his belt, Tony is the Chief of his department.  He signs all the PO’s.  Think of the lifetime value of the Pierce relationship with Tony. It starts with a great product and doesn’t end until Tony’s career does.  That number doesn’t show up on this month’s sales report.

In a complex sales environment understanding your client’s lifetime value and using it to shape your business decisions is critical, especially in tough economic times.  Lifetime value is as, if not more important than what you see in your sales reports today, this month or this year.  Resist short term decisions that don’t consider or may cause you to dismiss these long term relationships.  Do everything you can to foster relationships that span a lifetime, even when the cash register isn’t ringing.  Do something extra.  If you don’t, I can guarantee you, someone else will.  Attention paid in hard times will be rewarded in the good.

One might think that human evolution has provided us the intelligence and social insight to not judge a book by it’s cover. That we are able to see beyond our first impressions, good or bad, and focus on what is on the inside that counts. Right? Well, maybe in a perfect world. But, who are we kidding. All of us are guilty of making snap judgements. Sometimes those judgements are positive and sometimes negative. They could be about a person on the street based on their appearance, about the value of a product we see on a store shelf or about the credibililty of the content on a web site. 

These are the same judgements your customers are making about you daily. What do your communications say about you and your brand? No matter B2B or B2C, this is equally critical across all industries and all audiences. You have one chance to make a good impression with your customers. Many times, it is based on the way you look and the way you sound, while the experiences you provide can be secondary. Like it or not, the way you look and sound is what will get potential customers to move toward you or away from you.

How do I look?
Looks matter

The choices you make for your visual appearance are the first cues about you as a company, product or service. If you were selling motorcycles or heavy machinery, would you use pastel colors? If you were selling speedy service, would you show a picture of a turtle?  If you were selling rugged equipment, would you use a cursive wedding font? We would certainly hope not. These visual elements (color, imagery and fonts) provide the visual guide for your brand's first impression to your prospects and customers. And, don’t forget about your logo. If your logo was created in 1995 when reflex blue and swooshes were all the rage, but you are touting yourself as a modern player in your industry, you might want to make some significant changes.

How do I sound?
Speak clearly

When prospects start reading, you better not only have something valuable to say, but it should be consistent as well. Whether writing a tagline, body copy, bullet points or an email response, the words you use are the amplifier of who you are. This consistency allows customers another means of recognizing your brand and being reassured of expectations. Don’t underestimate the power of your brand voice. The tone used is just as vital as the information you are sharing. Are you Confident? Funny? Direct? Playful? It has the power to transform how you are perceived in the marketplace, yet it is one of the most overlooked areas of brand development.

With careful thought and strategy, building a successful and impactful brand takes work. Don’t you want to make that kind of impact? And speaking of impact…don’t forget that just because your brand may now look and sound great, you still have to get people to engage with your brand. Which, will lead to brand equity and brand loyalty. You’re going to want those.
 

These were the words my son uttered the other night when his little sister was asking him about his math homework. I’d almost agree with him if I hadn’t been begging for the last hour to have him finish it. (Now, I honestly can’t say I’ve ever been a big fan of homework. In fact, to this day, I cringe internally when someone in a meeting assigns “homework,” but we’ll leave that for another day).

My son’s comment got me thinking; why is it so tough? Then it hit me, there are too many distractions. I don’t mean things like TV or radio, because we provide him with what we feel is a distraction-free learning environment - or so I thought. As a “genius” he needs to assess and understand each and every thing around him – the lights, how the table is constructed, or how bamboo sheets can be so darn soft. The curiosity is great, even inspiring, but when you’re trying to coax the last mathematical solution out of him and he’s telling you about the chemical composition of different lead weights in his pencils and how they bond to the wood fibers, it can get frustrating.

For years now, marketers have been chasing the Holy Grail of business – ROI. There is no shortage of articles and opinions on the topic, fascinating stuff. In addition, the beauty of digital marketing is that nearly everything is measurable. It’s easy to look at a web site or an email campaign and assign no less than 17,000 measurements and metrics to them. However, in reality (aka client interactions), I have learned that despite all the metrics, formulas and insight we can conjure up, they don’t mean a thing if you can’t answer the “so what?” question in 10 words or less. And, when you do perfect that response, you’re left to realize that you have mastered the art of very succinctly confusing everyone you interact with.

Moving forward, I’ll focus on how and when to identify meaningful metrics and the ways they can be communicated that make everyone feel like a genius. And, if you can explain the bamboo thing, then you really are a genius!

There used to be a time when flying on a plane was an occasion.  People used to get dressed up to fly on a plane.  While you were on that plane, you were treated like a King or a Queen.  You were not only flying to a destination, but you were having a positive experience that was memorable. Your meal was free, you didn’t have to pay to have your luggage on board and there was actually legroom.  From what I remember, it seemed like twenty years ago most companies were still focused on providing a positive experience.  But why does it feel so different now?

It seems like customers have become the bad guy.  These days, goods and services do the bare minimum while charging a premium for things like customer service.  And, then there are all of the hidden fees.  Why not provide the real price up front?  Why are we willing to accept this as “the way it is?”  As business people, we should be trying to provide the best experience as possible for our clients and their customers.  We should be focused on developing customers for life and fostering a positive experience for them along the way.

So what is an “experience?” It can be providing good customer service. It can be listening to what your customers are saying in social media and actually responding directly to them.  A great experience is providing your customer with the tools to make their job or life easier, hearing their needs and responding to them quickly.  It could be as simple as limiting the amount of paper they need to haul around at a tradeshow or creating a website that offers something unexpected. There is a ton of ways to provide a great experience for your customers.  At Fullhouse, our tag line is It’s in the Experience and we take that seriously.  One of the ways we do that is to look through the eyes of your customer.  Have you done that lately?  If not, you should.  It may just change the way you do business.