Buzz Builder

Why "Go for No!" Makes Sense for Businesses, Missionaries and More

If you're interested in building buzz for your product or service but don't have the luxury of a large marketing budget, it's important to tell people the "good news" about what you're selling. Sure, you will hear a lot of people say that they're not interested. Without question, hearing "no" can be so discouraging that many entrepreneurs and sales people simply stop  trying.

According to  Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz' excellent book  Go for No!, when you hear "no" from prospects, it means that you're on the right track. Rather than merely counting the number of times that you get rejected, figure out how many people that you must engage typically before you hear "yes." That way, every time you hear "no," you know that you're actually closer to success since negative feedback means you'll soon start hearing "yes."

I heard a wonderful illustration of  the "Go for No!" principle on This American Life, my favorite NPR program. Take about 10 minutes to listen to Act Three: Mission Impossible which describes the challenges of two young Mormon missionaries on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The young missionaries describe their typical 60 hour work week in which their sole objective is engaging people on the streets and inviting them to visit the Mormon temple.  Their average conversation is about 30 seconds and usually ends in a resounding "not interested" (or something much more colorful - it's NYC after all). A successful week means getting three or four people to attend a Mormon service.

Such a low number of conversations resulting in church attendance sounds like an abysmal number. But, consider the success of the Mormon Church in growing. Today, the Mormon Church has more than 12 million members, more than doubling its numbers in the past quarter-century. In large part, the growth of the Mormon Church can be attributed to young missionaries who haven't been afraid to "go for no."

It's no wonder that one of the missionaries in the radio story says that he is considering a career in life insurance sales. If he decides upon that course, I'm sure that he'll be successful because he has learned firsthand that "no"  is a word full of encouraging possibilities.

A Tip for a Soggy Newspaper

Yesterday began like many. It was a rainy Portland morning and I slogged out to retrieve The Wall Street Journal sitting in the middle of our front lawn. As I pulled apart the plastic wrapper keeping the paper dry, I laughed when I saw that there was a Christmas greeting from the newspaper delivery person wishing me happy holidays and reminding me that tipping is appreciated.

What nerve! Earlier this year, whenever I complained to The Wall Street Journal subscription department about my paper consistently getting thrown everywhere but my front porch, I was reassured that the problem would be fixed. After hearing this perhaps four or five times, I got tired of calling customer service and resigned myself to the notion that retrieving my newspaper would always be part of my daily exercise routine.

Although my wife has so far talked me out of it, I want to leave the newspaper guy a note with a special "tip" - if you want your customers to take care of you, you better take care of them first.

Lessons from a Coffee Shop Losing Business Drip by Drip

This morning my wife and I were in Downtown Portland doing some Christmas shopping. In front of the Westin Hotel , we saw three bellmen and asked them where we could find  coffee. One said, "Well, the closest place is just down the block but the coffee isn't too good. If you want something better, I suggest that you walk a couple of blocks to Peet's Coffee." His two colleagues nodded their heads in enthusiastic agreement.

As we enjoyed our tasty coffees, we talked about the huge amount of business the cafe near the Westin must be losing because the bellmen were referring folks to Peet's. We have no idea whether it was bad service or poor coffee that convinced them to refer java seekers to Peet's.

How many businesses lose tremendous amounts of money or go under because people who have tried their products or services are so turned off that they decide to refer others elsewhere? When you never know how much impact that next person you serve may make on your business, the best strategy is simply to offer consistently great service and products.

Public Storage, Inc. Learns That Not All Publicity Is Good Publicity

I enjoy receiving Ben Silverman's free weekly email newsletter called PR Fuel which chronicles the PR hits and misses of companies big and small. In a recent newsletter, Silverman described the PR missteps of Public Storage, Inc., one of America's largest storage companies, that have been widely reported in the media (see the story on the CBS News website).

He details how an American soldier returned from Iraq to discover all the items that he had put into storage at a  Public Storage, Inc. facility in Missouri were sold. During the soldier's wartime service, through no error of his own, his monthly payments lapse for his storage space lapse and Public Storage, Inc.  auctions off his belongings. When the soldier tries to get reimbursement, the company initially offers just $2,000 on what the soldier claims is $8,000 worth of goods.

Eventually, due to media attention, Public Storage apologizes and tries to explain, then settles for $4,000. Not surprisingly, many media outlets assail the heartlessness and stupidity of Public Storage. Silverman writes:

"If I was in charge, Rogalin (the soldier) would have received: $15,000 in cash; free self-storage for a year; a year of college tuition (he's currently in school); and, a phone call with a personal apology from the CEO. Had Public Storage done that, it would have cost the company about $23,000 (based on the company's rates at the facility where Rogalin's belongings were, and Missouri State University's in-state tuition).

Instead,  Public Storage, Inc. saved $19,000 and probably lost ten times that - if not more - in business from people who now have a bad perception of the company. Nice job, folks."

Chinese Blogger & Public Protest Starbucks in the Forbidden City

Last year, one of my post popular blog posts was about the "Age of the Empowered Consumer". I outlined how Americans have many ways to share their experiences and thoughts about companies on a broad scale utilizing the power of the Internet.

On 1/19/07, George Fowler wrote an excellent article  in The Wall Street Journal which demonstrates the globalization of consumer power. Fowler wrote:

"Before going to sleep on Thursday night last week, Rui Chenggang wrote a post on his blog about an issue that had been bothering him for years: a Starbucks cafe sitting inside Beijing's hallowed Forbidden City.

The 29-year-old TV news anchor wrote that Starbucks 'is really too inappropriate for the world's impression of the Forbidden City. This isn't globalization, this is the erosion of Chinese culture.' Mr. Rui said he liked Starbucks -- just not inside a national landmark.

In the space of a week, Mr. Rui's post has been viewed more than half a million times, according to the blog's counter, and his demand to shut the cafe has turned into a national cause. Journalists camp out in front of the tiny Starbucks kiosk in a distant corner of the majestic 600-year-old home of China's emperors, whose English name refers to the exclusion of commoners. Now, authorities at the Forbidden City say they are deliberating whether to force Starbucks to leave after six years.

"Blogging is giving ordinary grassroots Chinese people a chance to express themselves," Mr. Rui says.

Increasingly, it is also giving companies a headache in a key market that is laden with unique cultural and business challenges. China is home to 132 million Internet users, second only to the U.S. And according to one government estimate, there are 20 million Chinese bloggers, of whom 3.15 million write actively.

All of the spin-control issues that have made blogging a problem for brands in America are only compounded in China. "There is not a precedent for solving consumer grievances in China. If you are not happy with what you buy, you don't call up customer service," says Scott Kronick, the president of WPP Group PLC's Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide in China.

Instead, Chinese consumers now mobilize and gain access to information -- not all necessarily accurate -- using the Internet. The Chinese government strictly censors the Internet for political content but generally doesn't restrict the sort of discussion Mr. Rui's post spurred."

Fowler spotlights other American companies like Yum Brands Inc.'s KFC, Dell Inc., and Procter & Gamble Co. who have run afoul of Chinese bloggers. In fact, these high-profile cases have driven the growth o PR firms in China such as WPP Group PLC's Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. With so many active bloggers in China, these firms have their work cut out for them. In fact, I don't think companies will be able to "spin" their way out of trouble. Rather, they should invest time and money in making sure that their products and services are sensitive to Chines culture.

Fowler ends his Wall Street Journal article quoting  Rui Chenggang, the Chinese blogger who started the recent Starbucks controversy:

"This became an issue because Starbucks is a symbol of Western popular culture. The question is, how do we absorb and embrace the Western world without losing our own identity. This is an issue that everybody is thinking about. I just happened to write about it."

Disgruntled Hotel Guest in England Joins the Age of the Empowered Customer

Looking at visitor reports for this blog, I've noticed an interesting source of new traffic from a blog site in England which focuses on consumer complaints. On December 10, a very proper English gentleman complained about a negative experience  that he had with at the Marmadukes Hotel in York. He writes eloquently about the problems with his room and the staff. When he seeks a refund from management, he initially is greeted with scorn and then receives a nasty email from the hotel's owner - all of which he posts to the blog.

When the owner apologizes for being rude and offers a full refund and 100 pounds, the disgruntled customer accepts yet emphasizes that the owner should check out a  post on this blog  about the "Age of the Empowered Customer." He also quotes the following passage from this blog: “In 1999, Technical Research Programs conducted a survey showing that for every one complaining customer, there are 26 customers who don’t bother to complain. This equals 27 unhappy customers for every one complaint that management receives. Furthermore, Technical Research Programs reported that the average unhappy customer will tell 16 people about a negative experience. Thus, when 27 unhappy customers tell 16 people about their negative experience, 432 people will hear negative comments about the business in question.”

It's great to see that consumers around the world are using the power of the Internet to get their complaints solved. And, I'm sure that many bad businesses will fail over the next decade because they don't understand the reach and power of consumer complaints in the digital age.

24 Hour Fitness and The Failure of Exclamation Point Marketing

In age when consumers are assailed with advertising from all directions, some marketers seem to believe that they need to scream louder to gain attention. Over the past few month, my local 24 Hour Fitness has given me reason to laugh and to wonder. The walls of the gym are permanently plastered with bright red or yellow fliers with a variety of marketing come-ons such "Enroll a Friend & Save," "Free Basketball Tickets," and "30% Savings This Weekend Only." More recently, 3' x 7' signs have sprouted promoting personal trainers.  I've never seen anybody really pay attention the 24 Hour Fitness ads, and perhaps employees have noticed this as well. One brilliant employee thought it would be a great idea to position one of the 3' x 7' signs right at the top of stairway so you would nearly bump into it upon entering or exiting the gym.

Certainly, 24 Hour Fitness is not the only business guilty of what I call "exclamation point marketing," the practice of screaming at customers to try to get them to respond. If 24 Hour Fitness spent the same effort creating a gym experience better than that at other clubs, they wouldn't need to loudly tout their programs. Rather, their own members would tell their friends that their gym is the best.

Tim Hortons: What happened to the good coffee and donuts I used to love?

I have fond memories of visiting Tim Hortons, Canada's largest donut chain, whenever I travelled north in the mid-1990s.  I remember excellent coffee and tasty donuts.

Today, when visiting a Tim Horton's location in Calgary near the Airport, I had high hopes. A large line of customers snaked out the front door, and there were fifteen cars lined up in the drive through. The store was clean and the use of a flat screen TV over the counter to tell the company's story was interesting.

However, the customer service was the worst I've received in a long time. Rather than a friendly smile and greeting, the counter person barked, "What do you want?"  When I gave her my Visa to pay for the donuts, she said, "We only take MasterCard." I gave her my MasterCard, and she said, "We only take debit cards." When I gave her my debit card, she huffed, "We don't take this type of debit card." I relented and paid in cash since the people behind me were grumbling (a real inconvenience since I was about to return to the United States and didn't want to take Canadian money with me).

As soon as I walked away from the counter, I noticed that I needed milk for my coffee. I returned to the food preparation area and asked where I could find milk. Two counter people gave me blank stares and said nothing. In retrospect, I'm not sure that they understood English. Only after going back into the line and asking the woman who sold me the coffee for some milk did I get what I wanted accompanied with an ugly glare.

The donuts - stale and greasy - were much worse than I remembered. But the poor customer service is what will stick with me.  I will never be back to a Tim Hortons, and I'm guessing that others who were in that location will never return as well.

American fast food giant Wendy's International, which bought Tim Hortons in 1995, is spending millions of dollars every year sponsoring NHL hockey gamees and buying ads. Rather than bringing people into their donut stores only to disappoint them with horrible customer service, I suggest that Wendy's International spend its money and energy on improving customer service and the quality of their products, and business will grow through positive word of mouth.

America Online: The Bite from Bad Profits

America Online is getting plenty of negative buzz because one of its customers, Vincent Ferrari, recorded an amazing phone conversation with an AOL customer service representative who repeatedly ignored and argued with Ferrari's attempts to cancel his AOL account. Although AOL fired the employee and said he "violated our service guidelines and practices," The Consumerist website reports, "A plain manilla envelope arrived on our desk... Inside was the eighty-one page 'Enhanced Sales Training for AOL Retention Consultants' manual which showed that in fact 'Customer Service John' was following orders. The manual instructs employees that 'every member that calls in to cancel their accounts is a hot lead' and are instructed to 'retain control by redirecting the Member if necessary.'"

Companies like AOL that try to hang onto customers who want to say good-bye may maximize short-run profits at the expense of doing long-run damage to their reputations. On this topic, I highly recommend Fred Reichheld's The Ultimate Question which explains the true cost of "bad profits" when companies put their interests ahead of their customers'.  He convincingly demonstrates that an obsession with short-term earnings burn out employees and alienate customerse as the case of the AOL customer trying to cancel his account aptly illustrates.

Has Palm Stopped Caring About Its Customers?

Ever since I bought my first Palm handheld organizer about nine years ago, I've been a fan of Palm's easy-to-use and powerful operating system. However, recent technical problems with my Palm m515 lead me to believe that the company will lose customers due to inadequate customer service.

About two months ago, my Palm m515 suddenly stopped being able to "hot sync" (its ability to communicate with my desktop to make sure that the information on my handheld and computer are the same).

I first tried to solve the problem on my own using the information on Palm's website. The trouble shooting portion of their website provides sparse information on how to fix problems. Instead, it encourages consumers to post problems in an online forum and let other users resolve problems. Spending an hour searching the forum, I found other people experiencing "hot sync" problems very similar to mine; yet, there were no clear solutions being offered on how to resolve the issue. Why wouldn't Palm monitor the posts and provide people with a clear way to resolve a problem that seems quite common?

Frustrated, I went back to Palm's website to find the phone number for its technical assistance line. For some reason, just finding the number was a chore and took me about 10 minutes. When I did discover the number, I learned that Palm now charges a $25 per phone call (or, as they say, per incident) to help consumers solve problems. Or, for the bargain price of $44, you can buy a one-year warranty that allows you to call as many times as you need at no additional charge.

When I first got a Palm, I can remember calling the company without any charge and getting good assistance. The phone assistance was fine this time as well, and I really don't mind paying money to solve a problem. However, what miffed me was that the solution to my problem was not complex and could have easy been posted to their FAQ list or provided to users posting questions in their online forum at no charge.

When I purchase my next handheld organizer, I'll think hard whether I want to go with a Palm product since I'm not convinced that they are really working with the customer's best interest at heart.