You don’t need another damn blog post about…

…focusing on the little things.

…being remarkable.

…making your customers say “wow!”

Oh sure, I got inspired to write this post because of a “little thing that was a big deal” kinda thing at my local Starbucks. And true enough, it was the kind of little thing that shouldn’t be a big thing, but because OUTSTANDING customer service is so rare, it became a big thing…and a blog post.

Thinking on this topic, I realized just how complacent most employees in joints like a coffee shop can get. Just people, doing their job, watching the clock. They aren’t responsible for the marketing, you see, so they don’t really care.

That’s not to say they aren’t nice people, who I am sure, more often than not, put in a good, hard day’s work. But they are complacent. They are prematurely satisfied. Just because.

And this is what leads to mediocrity. This is what separates most small businesses from the truly great, remarkable, “talked about by everyone” kind of enterprises…

So, I put together a short list of 5 things every business should do, every day, to fight off and kill complacency dead, dead, dead:

1. Ask at least one customer, each day, what you can do to make the customer experience better.

2. Thank a customer in a public way, each day. Do this on Twitter, your Facebook fan page, your blog…just do it somewhere public.

3. Over the course of any given day, you perform a multitude of administrative tasks. As you are doing them, examine them closely, and determine if there are ways to do them better, do them more efficiently, and do them faster, to save time…time that now can be focused on improving the customer experience.

4. Walk around your place of business. Is it presentable and clean? It is one thing to be unorganized to the point of charming. It is quite another to be dirty. New places are clean and shiny. Remarkable places STAY clean and shiny. Complacent places get dirty and run down…

5. Empower employees to do surprising things for customers. This, of course, makes the customer’s day. This also, of course, makes the employee’s day…

5.5. Don’t know any innovative ways to empower your employees? Let them come up with ideas. And reward them for being creative. And if they do something on the spot to wow a customer and haven’t necessarily cleared it with you beforehand? Don’t punish them. You will kill their spirit.

Just a few ideas. To be executed daily. What do you think? What did I miss?

[image by @gapingvoid]

Chamberlain

I was chatting with a colleague the other day, and we were talking about wrapping up a key phase of a joint project. As we discussed the launch of the next phase, in my exuberance, I said what I always say when I am motivating myself:

“Fix bayonets. And charge!”

The phrase comes from one of my favorite films, Gettysburg. After mentioning it to my colleague, I had a hankering to see it again.

The scene is from Day 2 of the Battle of Gettysburg. The extreme left flank of the Union Army is exposed. The Confederates are trying to outflank and come in from behind to destroy the entire Union Army. It is left to a small regiment, the 20th Maine commanded my Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, to hold the line and keep the left flank from collapsing. (This is a true story, btw…)

Anyways, they have repelled multiple Confederate surges, but are now out of ammunition, exhausted, and suffering from casualties for over half their number. Left with no other options, and no ammunition, Chamberlain orders his regiment to fix their bayonets, and charge down the hill of Little Round Top in one last desperate attempt to hold the flank. Here is the scene:

I don’t mind admitting the scene makes me emotional, and it inspires me every time I see it. When I need a charge or a little boost to lift my spirits, I think of this story about the 20th Maine. It works every time.

So, inspiration in hand, I present you with “Marketing + Life Lessons From Col. Chamberlain:”

1. When you face desperate odds, a little innovation can help you make a last stand. And live to fight another day.
2. Courage – with conviction – will always serve you well.
3. The element of surprise will catch your competition unprepared almost every time. They won’t be prepared for your bold action.
4. When leading a bold action, you must lead the way. As General Longstreet says in the same film, “You can’t lead from behind.”
5. Be sure your team understands what they are supposed to do. Clarity of purpose improves odds of success.
6. Do your duty. When you are charged with a task, fulfill it to best of your ability. Leave no doubt as to your commitment.
7. Keep the task simple. When you think of it, Col. Chamberlain’s order was simple. What made it amazing with the courage it took, but in reality, the task was a simple one. Napoleon said that most generals fail because their plans are too complex.
8. Even in victory, you should be honorable.

Col. Chamberlain went to great heroism during the rest of the Civil War, winning the Medal of Honor, and he went on to serve four terms as Governor of Maine.

Think about how you can pull inspiration from this story, and apply these lessons to both your life and business. And what other lessons can be taken from this scene?

So fix bayonets…and charge!

I was out running this morning, and was approaching a driveway. From the other direction, I saw a fellow pedestrian approaching the same driveway. A car was pulling out, and nearly hit the lady as she was walking – the driver COMPLETELY oblivious to the fact she almost ran this person over.

In fact, I doubt the driver even realized this pedestrian was there. I wondered to myself if the driver probably rarely sees walkers and/or runners cross her driveway. Thus, doesn’t even think to look for them.

To be honest, our society doesn’t really cater to walkers and runners, at least in my northwest suburban Atlanta neighborhood. The roads are a lonely place for people like us. In fact, I am surprised there are still buttons we can push to get the crosswalk signal to let us through. The world is for vehicles now. We are in too much of a hurry.

We are just not conditioned to look for, to notice, and to hear, the things that aren’t out in the open and obvious…

And this concept got me thinking. What else are we missing? What else is there that we don’t even think to look for? How much life is happening, right before our eyes, and we are too focused on what we see right before us, that we miss out on the little things…important, little things that are on the periphery?

We teach our kids to “look both ways” when they are growing up. But I think it is a concept that us adults should remember too. And I am not just talking about crossing the street. I am talking about with how we live our life, how we market our business, and how we interact with other people.

How many people are asking for help, and because we aren’t looking, or listening, we miss great opportunities – to sell them business, to help them through a bad day, and to help them fight an important cause that would benefit the world?

We need to look both ways too. We need to open our eyes. Grow bigger ears. And most importantly, and probably most out of our comfort zone, look down the dark alleys we don’t normally want to look.

But that’s where the little gems are that can make a difference to you, your business, and to the people in your sphere of influence. [btw, "looking both ways" can increase your sphere of influence]

Here are some things to think about, and to look for, from the people you care about in your networked community. Just think about this when you are interacting with them down the road:

1. Every person has someone in their family who needs medical help. Offer them help and support.
2. Every person has a non-profit, a charity, or some cause they care about, and would love your help with.
3. Every business has a major problem they need help with, but is probably too proud to tell anyone about it. Ask.
4. Every local high school team needs a fan club, a means to support some innovative and creative young people capable of making a difference in the world. Mentor them.
5. Every little community has talent – innovators, artists, musicians, big thinkers – that have NOT been discovered. Discover them. You have to open your eyes to find them.
6. There are networking groups in EVERY community that need vibrant leadership, fresh blood, fresh ideas, to revitalize the group. Get in there and make a difference.
7. Get involved in local politics. Trust me, MOST citizens are NOT involved. It only takes a little organization and you can create a movement that will impact local politics. You can make a difference.
8. Your local community weekly newspaper needs fresh contributors. Get involved. You can add a whole new image to the paper.
9. You probably have a passion most don’t know about. Talk about it. Write about it. Blog about it. There are others who share your passion. Build a local movement.
10. Mentor children. They need it. Trust me.

These are just a few examples of the opportunities that exists. I am sure you can come up with dozens more. What am I missing?

We are all busy, leading crazy lives, and get focused on surviving day to day. Take a second, look around you, and you will soon be amazed and all the cool things around that you didn’t notice before.

Take notice. Make a difference. Find inner peace. Live an intrepid life. And you can start doing that by looking both ways…

[photo from andryone on flickr]

So, what exactly is an intrepid marketer? And why have I built a business – and started this blog – around the idea of making people intrepid marketers?

The definition of intrepid from the Wiktionary is fearless, bold, and brave. It’s etymology is the Latin intrepidus, meaning “not nervous.” Here is a more detailed explanation for why I named the company HERE.

Fear is something that always holds us back. Fear of being rejected, so you never submit that project on time. Fear of never achieving a goal, so you never set out to do it. Fear of taking that leap to do something you love and are passionate about, so you stay in a job you hate. Fear of being truly innovative and taking your small business in an exciting new direction, so you just do the same old tired things…

I want to make intrepid marketers out of all of us. So, here is a partial list of attributes that make people intrepid marketers:

1. Intrepid marketers take decisive action.
2. They are bold.
3. They are fearless.
4. They do not fear making important decisions.
5. They create a serious marketing plan…
6. …but aren’t afraid to make mid-course corrections on their plan.
7. They read voraciously.
8. They have a blog.
9. Their web presence engages. It is NOT static.
10. They embrace the social web.
11. The celebrate transparency.
12. They give back to their community.
13. They serve others…
14. …and they even serve their competition.
15. They don’t hide behind traditional media.
16. They teach.
17. They tell stories.
18. They listen.
19. They embrace new technology…
20. …but only new technology that advances their goals.
21. They don’t tear down others…
22. …but they learn lessons from the mistakes of others.
23. They love joint venturing.
24. They love collaborating.
25. They love learning. And never stop learning.
26. They engage with others…
27. …even with people they disagree with.
28. They focus only on the customer experience.
29. They recognize that every employee is in the marketing department. From the CEO to the cleaning crew.
30. They see every conceivable customer interaction as something that can and should be continuously improved.
31. They see that automation is a bad word, most of the time.
32. They worry about communicating well.
33. They welcome customer feedback…
34. …especially negative customer feedback. It helps them improve.
35. They thoughtfully comment on the blogs of others.
36. They share. Freely.
37. They only upsell if they are truly benefiting the customer.
38. They ask a lot of questions…
39. …but only to really hear and learn from the answers.
40. They don’t gloat or show-off.
41. They believe in quality over quantity.
42. They admire courage.
43. They know that marketing is a two-way conversation, not a one-way push.
44. They sense that interruption marketing is evil, and should be mercilessly destroyed.
45. They don’t compete on price…
46. …and they won’t. Ever.
47. They have no fear walking away from prospects who aren’t the right fit.
48. They love what they do.
49. They are minimalist marketers.
50. They don’t “work.”
51. They don’t take credit. For anything.
52. They demonstrate value. With ease.
53. They know you earn your brand. Not hire a consultant to “create” your brand.
54. They test and measure. Everything.
55. They are always improving. Everything.
56. They understand the power of video, even if the medium isn’t right for them.
57. They understand the power of podcasts, even if the medium isn’t right for them.
58. They love networking…
59. …by which I mean they love learning how to help others.
60. The relish the chance to connect people.
61. They know what they don’t know.
62. They are trust agents.
63. They understand the power of images.
64. They respect differing opinions.
65. They push themselves, even when there are obstacles.
66. They aren’t afraid of improvisation.
67. They know there is no such thing as an overnight success.
68. When they identify a problem, they fix it. They don’t wait and let it fester.
69. They don’t spam.
70. They hustle.
71. They are creative.
72. They have patience…
73. …but they don’t sit around and wait.
74. They respect the A-listers…
75. …but they help and push the little guys.
76. They are innovative…
77. …and actually know what innovation really means.
78. They don’t have too many products or services. They focus only on what they do very well.
79. They are continually trying to improve themselves in every way. Personal development never ends.
80. They are good problem solvers.
81. They are NOT afraid to adapt to an ever-changing environment.
82. They see themselves as artists.
83. They don’t multi-task. They focus.
84. They are in the moment.
85. They are deep thinkers. And they make time to do serious thinking.
86. They sweat the small stuff.
87. But spend time focusing on the big stuff.
88. They know how to apply the 80/20 principle to their situation.
89. They honor and celebrate referral partners.
90. They are not conformists.
91. They aren’t afraid of sharing what they know. They aren’t held back by this notion of “people need to pay me for my knowledge…”
92. …but they charge a premium for their services.
93. They embrace relationships.
94. They live by “serving first, selling second.”
95. They don’t have time management problems, because they are always focused on the important stuff.
96. They have balance, and enjoy things outside of business that drive them.
97. There is nothing fake about them. They are real.
98. They apologize when they need to. And work hard to fix the problem.
99. And they are honest. Always.

OK. So what else am I missing? Remember, this is a partial list. And it is always changing. What do you think?

[photo by ~jjjohn~]

cartoon by @gapingvoid

Wow, the end of my first full year of blogging. Went by fast. So here is a quick accounting of my favorite posts from 2009:

Obey The Rules, Miss The Fun – I love this post, because I strongly believe in having fun with your marketing. Because if you aren’t, what’s the point?

14 Intrepid Ways To Improve The Customer Experience – I can never write enough or think enough about ways to improve your customer’s experience.

A Day In The Creative Life – This is my favorite post of 2009. My homage to Hugh MacLeod.

Just A Few Steps A Day – This is my second most popular post for the year, sort of a day in the life of how I go to market…

25 Steps To Fortify Your Customer’s Brand Relationship With You – You don’t just create your brand. You earn your brand.

Loving What You Do Is Good Marketing – This is my most popular blog post of the year. The name says it all.

A Hands On Example of Caring For Your Customer – This was the most personal post I wrote all year. It followed the death of my dog of 15 years…

He Said, She Said, Round 8 – Interruption Marketing – Couldn’t help but include an episode from our popular He Said, She Said series, featuring Chris Brogan…

Does Anyone Care About Customer Service? – This is a favorite post from the latter part of the year, and had the honor of a comment from David Meerman Scott himself…

Don’t Be A Part Of This Marketing Conversation – This was the most fun post I wrote in 2009. And it asks some tough questions too…

Thanks for reading this past year, and for all your support in 2009. See you next year!

cartoon by @gapingvoid

Consultant: “How did you do in meeting the goals of your 2009 marketing plan? Did you stay on budget?

Typical small business person: “Wait, what? Marketing plan did you say? Budget? I was supposed to have a budget?

Consultant: “Let’s review your social media plan. Did you accomplish your goals?”

Typical small business person: “What? Social media strategy? You can do that?

Consultant: “How did the call to action on your marketing collateral work? Did prospects and customers take the steps you wanted to advance the sales process?”

Typical small business person: “I am not sure what you are talking about, but man, my brochures are sure pretty!”

cartoon by @gapingvoid

Consultant: “How did your keywords perform on your website and blog?”

Typical small business person: “I have no idea, but my cousin who designed the site says her friends think the site looks bitchin’!”

Consultant: “So, with your email marketing campaign, did your prospects contact you to learn more or advance the sales process?”

Typical small business person: “No clue, but most of the people I blindly added to my database unsubscribed and gave me lip about ’spam’.”

Consultant: “So, did you try some new things with your marketing? Try any new tactics, new messaging, any new social media tools?”

Typical small business person: “No. I stuck to the same stuff that hasn’t really worked too well before, but you know, I didn’t have any money to try something new that might work.”

cartoon by @gapingvoid

Consultant: “What good marketing books did you read this year? Did you find any great marketing blogs to help you learn new things?”

Typical small business person: “No, but I think I learned some cool advertising stuff watching Mad Men…”

Consultant: “Did you hone your skills at building community and establishing relationships on tools like Twitter and Facebook?”

Typical small business person: “Huh? No, but I passed along my free e-book, the results of my IQ test, an invite to join my mafia family, and the link to my blog to all new followers and friends!”

Consultant: “Have you narrowed your marketing focus down to a highly specific, easily targeted niche?”

Typical small business owner: “Are you nuts? I am not missing out on hitting all those darn people…”

cartoon by @gapingvoid

Consultant: “Have you narrowed your focus to the right networking groups that are in your target market?”

Typical small business person: “Are you nuts? I am not getting many leads from the bunch of groups I am visiting, so clearly I just need to hit as many darn networking groups as I can…”

Consultant: “Tell me about your lead generation and lead incubation system? How do you feed good solid prospects into your pre-purchase experience?”

Typical small business person: “Huh?”

cartoon by @gapingvoid

The point here? Thinking strategically and putting a plan on paper is too important NOT to do. Yet, too many small business people jump into their daily routine without so much as a plan on how to proceed. The questions [by no means a complete list of pertinent questions] above serve one purpose: if you can personally identify with even one of those mini scenarios, you need to pull back, take advantage of the quieter holiday season, and think some things through as you prepare for 2010.

Good luck!

In round 7 of He Said, She Said, Todd and Stephanie discuss the different ways they go to market using their respective radio shows.

Stephanie is host of Dream Job Radio, and Todd is co-host of the High Velocity Radio Show…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T9P_8cv0aU]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQNRGQOiKe4]

To see the original post of Round 7 on the He Said, She Said Blog, click here!

To see Stephanie’s Radiant Veracity version of Round 7, click here!

My salvation...

OK, so I finally have my own product innovation story to tell…

In the mornings, when I am in my office, I add a little french vanilla cream to my coffee. That’s just my thing. Don’t do that when I am on the road, or meeting someone in a coffee shop.

So, for the longest time, I used the International Delight brand. Love the taste. Still do. And I even think it has slightly less fat/carbs/calories (whatever) than the other brand I would use IF International Delight wasn’t in the store.

But there was one thing I hated about using International Delight. When I had to open a new container, I would have to remove that silly little tinfoil thing covering the opening. I hate that thing. I mean hate. I would pull and grab, grab and pull. Inevitably, I would have to grab a knife and stab at the damn thing as if I were killing a large animal.

Anyways, just the other day I was at the store. I needed more cream. Publix was out of International Delight. So I picked up a container of Nestles Coffee-Mate, which was always my fall-back option. The next morning, when opening the container, I noticed a new (at least new to me on my coffee creamers) innovation. It was the plastic tab ring where you slip a finger into the loop, and gently pull a plastic seal right off the container.

I’ve seen this before, on milk cartons, orange juice and such. But never on my coffee containers. It was a most glorious moment. I wanted to cry. And for once, I didn’t have to waste a whole knife to open my coffee creamer.

So, at the end of the day, I am now officially a Nestles Coffee-Mate consumer of french vanilla coffee creamer. And all it took was changing my customer experience on opening the container (one shouldn’t appear to be a deranged killer when opening coffee creamer).

The lesson here? To bring in new customers, you don’t have to necessarily re-brand yourself. You don’t have to spend one billion dollars on an advertising campaign. You don’t have to film a video that you hope and pray ends up going viral.

All you have to do is think and act creatively to make the customer experience a better one. And oftentimes, it is the LITTLE things that can have a dramatic impact on whether your products sells.

So seek to make a customer’s life easier. To make their life better. Faster. Simpler. More productive. More efficient. Less costly. More profound. More enjoyable. You get the idea. The story will spread. I promise.

You never know what may happen. Someone out there may even write a small blog post about their experience…

What product innovation stories can you share?

Be Intrepid.

I happened upon this video below, and wanted to share it with my community. It is a fascinating TED lecture from Daniel Pink about motivation and creativity. As you know, we are always examining intrepid ways for people to go-to-market, and watching this presentation will change the way you think about inspiring people – and yourself – to action. Enjoy!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrkrvAUbU9Y]

A special thanks to the Duct Tape Marketing Blog, where I first saw this video!

Readers of this blog have been hearing me say for a long, long time to do something exciting and different with their marketing.

Well, I have taken my own advice. I have accepted the invitation of original host Stone Payton to join him on the mic for The High Velocity Radio Show!

Stone and I have big plans for the show. We will have guests that will talk about bringing fast, innovative change to their business, who get better business results in less time, and who practice the art of CircleNomics – bringing quality relationships and profitable business into their circle.

But stay tuned as we grow and evolve this show!

So, not only do we get to interact with a wide collection of fascinating, innovative, and successful business leaders, we get to share their valuable insights with our own community. And that is the best part about it!

But what a great way to meet people and interact with them in a serious way. One could continue to cold call and/or spam people with interruption marketing tactics in hopes of getting them to respond… Or you could invite them to share their knowledge on the radio. Hmmm…

I’ve chosen my new approach. But as I’ve said, it isn’t about Stone or myself. It isn’t even about the guests on our show. It’s really about our listeners – and providing them with helpful and valuable content that helps them learn, grow and become better business leaders.

Comment below if you are interested in being on the show, or want to suggest a future guest for the show. Or use the “Ask A Question” form to the immediate right. We would love to hear from you!

Thanks Stone, for the opportunity to join you on this adventure. It’s gonna be a wild ride!

Tune in to The High Velocity Radio Show Monday mornings at 1000AM Eastern time! As Stone says, see you in the fast lane!