What’s better than a mission? A cause!

Employees at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center decided to raise awareness for Breast Cancer by donning pink gloves and doing a dance.  They had a ton of fun doing it (that’s obvious) and it brought the whole organization together in a whole new way. Over 200 people danced on the video wearing pink gloves. The video was distributed on You Tube and they raised money to provide mammograms.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEdVfyt-mLw

 

Now that’s an engaged group of people ! Baby are YOU down?

I just finished doing my seminar on the Heart Based Service Expo. What fun – my heart felt thanks to Lori and Raleigh for inviting me to take part in this extraordinary event.

If you missed it and you want to listen in do this:

Download your handout at www.PositivityPractices.com and then go to
http://www.heart-based-service.com/expo/Brandi

http://bit.ly/23U3mL

to find my seminar (in the next 48 hours) and to sign up for the others! 20 Experts 5 days – spectacular info, great fun!

 

Starting next week, for 5 weeks, 20 world-renowned thought leaders are sharing their insights and wisdom on how to live better, experience more joy, have more fun and create prosperity even in tough times. We’ll be talking about business and we’ll be talking about life.

This online event is called the Heart Based Service Expo and it’s f- r- e- e-

I’m speaking along with Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks, Joyce Gioia, James Twyman and many more. If you want to find out who the other thought leaders are and the amazing topics, visit…

http://www.heart-based-service.com/expo/Brandi

My topic is Positivity – The Path to Performance, Productivity and Power. It’s based on my studies in Positive Psychology over the last 6 years.

The “Science of Happiness” as it’s called has been helping companies create better and more productive cultures. Part of the success of Zappos extraordinary customer culture is Tony Hsieh’s focus on creating happiness at work.

If your schedule doesn’t allow you to listen to the live presentations on your phone or computer, register anyway because you will get “REPLAY” of the live event after each presentation.

I’m giving this event my highest recommendation (not just because I’m in it, but because I plan to participate myself) so check it out now and see this incredible line up of experts and their topics while it’s at the top of your mind:

http://www.heart-based-service.com/expo/Brandi

Just sit back and relax in your favorite easy chair and absorb this heart based service training and guidance for f.r.e.e — even ask questions of the experts — no hassle.

Once you register, you’ll have the option to listen to each speaker either over the phone or on your computer.

Will I “see” you there?

JoAnna

P.S. Even though the Heart Based Service Expo is f. r. e. e to listen to and ask questions of the experts and you even get replay lines of the presentations at no cha.rge, like all expos, there are great offers made during the event.

So in the spirit of providing you with all the details, when you click on the link above, depending on whatever extras you might choose, I might or might not receive some form of compensation. Whether or not that happens, I’m just thrilled to be a part of and to invite you to such an incredible event.

http://www.heart-based-service.com/expo/Brandi

Like many of the attendees at the NACCM Customers First conference last week I was excited to see Michael Tchong (www.ubercool.com) as one of our closing keynotes. Michael (besides being ubercool is uber informative and engaging in his presentations. He playfully engaged the audience and kept us involved in his thoroughly well done peek at the future of our world – which is without a doubt a digital one.

Michael asked this audience of professionals (not teenagers, mind you, grown-ups) how many people texted while driving. I’d say about 20%- 30% of the audience raised their hands. I looked around the room and saw people I knew with their hands in the air. I must say I was a bit taken back, after all we all know the dangers, yes?

And then he asked how many people emailed while driving and hands went up all over the place – I’m guessing maybe 50% of the people, perhaps more, and many had big smiles on their faces as if they were proud of the fact they could do both – drive and email at the same time.

I was stunned. Yes, I do talk on the phone when I drive sometimes, usually hands free. Like many I find drive time a convenient time to catch up. But more and more these days I am choosing to pay closer attention to my driving and listen to music or just think while in the car. I’ve been on my daughter’s case about it as well, knowing that the precious cargo in the back seat, my grandbaby, deserves her full attention on the road.

Seeing the large number of my colleagues with their hands waving in the air admitting to driving while distracted was disturbing. I know these people and I know they wouldn’t drive while drunk.

Texting and Emailing – and even just talking on the phone creates a distraction. Enough to kill you.

Yesterday I was interviewing a new client before I designed the keynote speech I’ll be doing for him. Just a few minutes into the presentation he said. “Uh, you know about Buddy, don’t you?”

“Buddy? What about Buddy?”

“He died last week in a car crash.”

Buddy is the man that brought the two of us together when he invited me to do a CEO Summit in Alabama a few months ago. My new client had been in the audience there.

All he knew that was Buddy was driving back to his office from appointments, about a two hour trip, he never made it. It was a one car crash.

As soon as I got off the phone I called the one person that I thought might know more. She was still pretty shook up. I asked her what she knew. She didn’t know much more but she had a supposition.

It seems Buddy had been on the phone with her just a short time before the police said the car crashed. He asked her to send him some emails. One thing she knew for sure, Buddy was working while he was driving.

No one really knows what happened and in all likelihood, I’ll send the condolence card to his wife and not pursue it any further. My intuition is pulling strongly in the direction of thinking that what she said was right. Buddy was a high achiever and a busy man. He’s had to reschedule our last two scheduled phone calls. It was a familiar road and he had a lot of time. What would you do?

For me this is a wake-up call. Buddy’s gone and I saw a group full of responsible caring adults admitting to driving while distracted. For the sake of what?

We don’t drive when we are drunk, yet

• Distraction from cell phone use while driving (hand held or hands free) extends a driver’s reaction as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. (University of Utah)
• The No.1 source of driver inattention is use of a wireless device. (Virginia Tech/NHTSA)
• Drivers that use cell phones are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. (NHTSA, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
• 10 percent of drivers aged 16 to 24 years old are on their phone at any one time.
• Driving while distracted is a factor in 25 percent of police reported crashes.
• Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent  (Carnegie Mellon)

http://www.nationwide.com/newsroom/dwd-facts-figures.jsp

Let’s all please think of Buddy’s wife Tina when we go to send that message that can’t wait, and the rest of his family who won’t have the pleasure of his company, and all the clients that relied on him for their sales training and sage advice on running their businesses.

And if you think you’re so good at it that it’ll never happen to you – go here and play a little game:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/07/19/technology/20090719-driving-game.html

Let’s let caring for our customers extend out to the people in our communities – the ones on the road around us. Let’s please please please be uber care-full about what we do behind the wheel of a 2 ton metal machine.

According Journalist Emily Yellin (author of “Your Call Is (not that) Important to Us”) we, in the field of customer service have the chance to change the world by doing little things that mean a lot. We can change the way we relate to the public and the emotions we create with good design, follow through and a strong value system.

Admitting the soft skills are the hardest things, Emily, who has traveled all over the world to talk to people in call centers and their customers told wonderful stories of companies that are finally paying attention to the details of business that matter to customers. From recording an initial greeting for a FedEx employee to help conserve her energy on each call, installing a shelf in bank branches at Credit Suisse in Zurich for people to put their backpacks, to redesigning forms that are too complicated to complete, companies are beginning to look at what they can do to make the customer – and the employee experience better.

Emily – a former NY Times Journalist approached the study of customer service with rigor and concludes that there is great power in doing little things. An eye opening moment came when she discussed a Jet Blue class on dealing with upset customers that she attended. Although no one would ever say to a customer  You’re stupid, I’m not going to help you, I don’t care, Shut up or You’re lying that’s what a customer hears when we tell them things like:

You were told to be at the airport 90 minutes before departure

I’m not authorized to do that

This is not our fault

Ma’am – you keep interrupting me

Emily believes changing those interactions are important because minor indignities are the seeds of the bigger things and that companies that address these seemingly small issues can make a profound change.

She’s come up with a term – Karma Footprint –for the impact service has on the world.

She believes companies have a responsibility to put that best foot forward and that what we put out into the world matters. With our focus on creating better customer experiences we can make the world a little better.

You KNOW I agree with that, been saying it for over 20 years. Thanks Emily for helping us spread the word. Caring Is contagious and we all have the power to make a difference.

So the afternoon at the NACCM Conference – after a lovely lunch in the sunny courtyard – was spent in the Uber Loyalists track talking about my favorite topic – creating the emotional attachment we call loyalty. Marti Beller of the Affinion Group shared her experience on Customer engagement and its many benefits. She confessed to being a passionate Mac enthusiast and talked about Apple’s ability to create a kind of loyalty most of us can only aspire to. She shared a statistic about banks that says that only 35% of consumers feel engaged with their banks – 56% could be swayed and 9% just downright dislike them. Glad to see there is so much room for improvement.

Marti also took us beyond the traditional 4 P’s of marketing (remember them? Product, Place Promotion and Price?) and added her own take on it. The four p’s of loyalty are Perspective – the Customers. Look at your data and use it to learn more about your customers and why they buy – or don’t. The second P is Purpose – know your brand and how it resonates with your consumers. From their perspective would they see you as best in class, standard in class or below class.

The third P is Proliferation. Customer engagement is an accumulated effect – use every channel you can get to communicate with them. Use every touchpoint to remind them of the benefits. And then, my personal favorite – the fourth P – Praise. Reward your customers for their behavior – say Thank You.

When you do all these’s P’s there is another that will show up and that one is – Profit.

What is it that Ken Blanchard said at a NACCM long ago? Profit is the applause you get from caring about your customers and employees.

And the beat goes on…

Q’s? Start asking some different questions – one that will stimulate the thinking of everyone in your organization. One of my personal faves – How can we create a remarkable experiences worth coming back for and worth telling friends about?

More later.. looking forward for another fun and inspirational day!

Seven years ago the NACCM Chairperson was Kathleen Peterson, the Chief Vision Officer of Powerhouse Consulting and this year we were once again graced by her presence, her humor and her keen insight on the current business environment. She congratulated the audience, companies that understand the customer experience as a differentiator, for having negotiated the “budget minefields” to get here and called us all the leaders in the customer revolution.

She reminded us that there was an enormous brain trust in this room and encouraged us all to participate and be a contributor. She reinforced that we – the participants – would be responsible for contributing and sharing our take aways, and that we would be compiling a executive summary at the end of the program. Great encouragement to be alert. Kathleen reminded us what we learned from Bruce Kimbrell of the Disney Institute last night. We are required to be cross functionally aligned. Everyone needs to know what the Customer Experience feels like – looks like – and what is it we are trying to accomplish. We need to know the nature of who we serve – what can we deliver – each person in the business unit has something to contribute – the frontline is the bottom line. Bruce shared many of Disney’s challenges and how they overcame them. Focus. Pure focus.

Kathleen says to focus on the what – what is it we want to have happen – what does really good mean. What does it mean in your organization? – Do we want to make sure our customers are recognized when they call in? Everything cascades from the specificity. I completely agree. ( And I love the word specificity.) She says we have a chronic problem – jumping to solutions . We need to think in terms of WHAT and then the HOW . We are fortunate – here at this conference we will find answers in both categories. She is so right when she calls this a Socratic café. We will spend a few days looking at the options and learning, we will develop an exec summary from our own key take aways and we will support each other in moving the customer centric message forward. This is a revolution and I am so proud and excited to be part of it. More soon…

Hello from beautiful sunny Phoenix where I am attending the NACCM Customers First conference. Last year I had the pleasure of being the conference chair, this year I am thrilled to see colleague Kathleen Peterson kick off the main part of the conference today. Kathleen was our first chairperson oh so many years ago when this conference first began. Despite the ups and downs in the economy – companies that are serious to their commitment to their customers are still attending – even if it’s the only event they are coming to this year.

Today were the “Summits” a tough choice between the Aligning Social Media with Customer Strategy Track and the Creating Uber Loyalists track. So as you might suspect I did both – spent the morning learning more about social media (which I really needed to do) and the afternoon learning more from the companies that have tried and true loyalty strategies and are readjusting them to align with Customer’s ever changing needs.

Everyone – everyone is talking about change and how nimble companies have to be to keep one step ahead.  Becky Carroll, the Founder of Customers Rock! Set us straight on what social media really is – it’s a tool to build Customer relationships – to go deeper, to build trust, to build community. It’s a word of mouth “Maximizer” and it’s a two way conversation. It’s a tool for listening.

In fact LISTENING was the point of the whole session – and a few others I attended. Let’s stop for a minute and think about that. So many of the articles we read about social media are about building your brand, selling your product, pushing your agenda. Becky’s advice is to listen – first. Find out what your customers want – where they want to see you – what they’re doing and what you could do to be more meaningful to them.

Frank Eliason who is changing the culture at Comcast says that listening to the Customer is the BEST way to change an organization. He is committed to bringing the Customer’s story into the organization – at all levels. He says that EVERY Customer is an influencer. That was a huge take away for a lot of the people in the room. He says that social media takes us back to basics – like Customer Service 101 – me helping you. He’s so right when he says “Customers are talking whether you want them to or not,” and you’d better know what it is they are saying about you and become part of the conversation.

Often before I work with clients who tell me that want a lot of time spent on “dealing with angry customers” I search the web looking for signs that these angry customers might be talking out loud about their angry experiences and often I find rogue sites where Customers are venting and sharing bad experiences. Companies don’t always know about these sites. Frank knew about the one that had Comcast’s name on it and set about talking to the people that needed to be heard.

As Comcast hears more and more Customer stories the processes inside the company are changing, the company itself is changing.

His little department has grown to 11 people as they talk to more and more Customers and keep the conversation going inside the company. He takes it all personally – Comcast Cares IS Frank.

I had some time to chat with Frank after the speech was done and I found that the values he espouses are truly his – transparency, authenticity, caring, and Passion with a capital “P”.

Speaking of “P’s” my next entry will share what Marti Beller of Affinion Group calls the “other” 4 P’s. I’m soaking it all in. I’m learning more about how Loyalty Leaders run their companies, love their customers and create great places for people to work. Sweet.

More later…

I LOVE my travel agent – it’s not that I like her – I LOVE her. While all my friends laugh at me because I don’t struggle with trying to figure out how to get the best deal on an internet site, I still stand by my choice to call Sue when I need to get from here to there.

She compares the prices from one airline to another, she checks available seats, she advises on alternative airports and gets my great prices all at the speed of light while asking insightful questions about my business, my family, my love life and other sundry and interesting topics. She reminds me that I hate to fly early in the morning, tell me to buck up and do it anyway when it’s the best way to go, and if I’m sitting on the runway in a plane that doesn’t look like it’s going to take off she’s the one I call to get me a seat on the next flight before the other passengers get off the plane I’m on and head for the desk. What’s not to love?

Today when I called to book my next flight, she commented on my last blog post (she’s a fan too!) and laughed at the title of my friend Marilyn’s book – the one I was promoting – Who’s your Gladys.  She said she didn’t need to buy the book. I asked “Is that because you already know how to calm down disagreeable customers?”

“Nope – that’s because I don’t bother with customers I don’t like – in fact I’d pay them money to go to a different travel agent!”

I roared! That’s pure Susan. Susan, who started her own agency about the time I started  my business, has experienced a lot in the changing travel industry, but one thing that hasn’t changed is her commitment to have a good time at work. She loves most of her customers and they love her back and don’t mind one little bit paying a small fee for her speedy and entertaining service. Why, Susan even keeps track of how often I go see my Mom and if she doesn’t see any flights headed to NY she’ll comment on it and remind me that it’s been a while. Bless her heart.

Susan is the owner of Take Flight Travel in NY – you can call her at 718-358-3223 and find out for yourself the pleasure of human contact in the middle of a busy day. www.takeflighttravel.net   Her email is takeflight@att.net

I know, I know, you’re probably thinking I’m behind the times. I know my way around Southwest’s website and I can manage JetBlue too if I need someone on the weekend, but when it comes to the WHOLE experience, Sue provides the kind of value no website can. You won’t find her on Twitter and you won’t find her on Facebook, but you will, most nights find her still at her desk at 6PM when you realized that you forget the item on your to-do list that said “Book Flight today!”

You can call me old fashioned, and that’s okay, I spend a whole lot of my day on the computer interacting with websites, when I get a chance to chat with a friend, you’ll bet I’ll jump at it. Thanks Sue – for turning all the experiences with you into great ones, as you say EVERY time, It’s my pleasure!

As if businesses weren’t struggling enough these days, a recent study out of the U.K. has revealed the emergence of the “hypersensitive customer,” a consumer that has less cash, more information and less tolerance for poor customer service than ever before. The study, conducted by UK accounting and business consulting firm BDO Stoy Hayward, found that in the last 18 months, customers have become less loyal, as they realize how privileged retailers are to have their business. In fact, 48% of consumers admitted increasing their expectations over the past two years. Customers are plugged in, with easy access to consumer reviews, detailed technical information and competitive product information. They have tighter budgets, so they’ve become more discerning in both the products they buy and the service they expect. 74% of respondents in the study said they wouldn’t purchase products and would leave the store if they encountered what they deemed to be poor service.

Are you and your business ready for the arrival of the hypersensitive customer? If not, now is the time to examine your customer service practices and get them in line with the needs of today’s consumer. We receommend a few things – first and foremost is to make a commitment to getting better at taking care of your customers! Make it a strategic prioirity  one that has the eye of every executive in the company.

The next is to keep learning and get better at what you do. Here’s a great way to get started:  There’s a new customer service book on stores shelves and online resellers that can help you manage this new breed of consumer. When you order “Who’s Your Gladys?” today, you get a special package of 40+ electronic bonus gifts in customer service, sales, marketing and professional development. Buy your copy today at http://whosyourgladys.comWatch the WYG book trailer here: www.youtube.com/whosyourgladys

And you can listen to my interview with Marilyn and Lori Jo as well HERE