Posted on Tue, Apr 27, 2010
I experienced a week like no other; I had two companies touch me and I will never ever forget them.
I have had the pleasure of serving some of the finest companies and governments around the world, even as far away as Australia and South Africa. BUT I can honestly say that very few of them ever touched me the way New Balance Corporation, a Boston footwear company, did.
Their commitment to the independent retailer is unmatched. They care about people - their people and the people who buy their products. They care about ideals, they care about their brand and what will it look like 5 and 10 years from now, NOT just what the quarterly results are on Wall Street.
They love Cause Marketing, but also work to have their retailers make money with their products while also making sure the consumer is receiving a true value.
Their mission statement says it all:
"Demonstrating responsible leadership, we build global brands that athletes are proud to wear, associates are proud to create and communities are proud to host."
New Balance had me speak to their key retailers in Boston last Wednesday. I was the last speaker of the day, which gave me time to listen to other presenters starting the night before. I ended up getting caught up in the emotion of it all, and started to make changes to my PowerPoint presentation. I just wanted everything to tie in perfectly.
One of the themes that was so powerful was the concept of "move." It is more than just running or walking - we must stay active and cannot be sedentary.
I could easily tie that whole theme into the larger scope of "business today," but that message became far more personal than that because of what happened next...
To explain this part of the story, I'll leave you with an excerpt from a letter I wrote to the general manager of the Marriot Copley Hotel and to Mr. Bill Marriott, CEO of the Marriot Corporation, which is the second company I need to honor in this article.
It took place on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at the Marriott Copley. It was 5:00 p.m. and I had just delivered a presentation for New Balance Shoes. It went very well, and after the compliment of well wishes, everyone had left the ballroom. I sat down in shear exhaustion to gather my strength before heading back to my room. However, instead of improving my strength my health started to deteriorate as I broke out in a serious sweat, accompanied with heart palpitations.
Being the trooper that I am, I asked one of the folks cleaning up if he could call security to get me a wheel chair to bring me back to my room because I thought the walk might be too much for me. (Boy, that was dumb in retrospect.) He called security and that's when I met the man who probably saved my life. His name is Al McCarthy, who so diplomatically told me that he would bring me to my room but just wanted someone to take a look at me. I said that made sense. (What was I thinking? But I don't think I was thinking at that moment.)
Al and, I was told afterward, his supervisor Daniel Dodsom, had called for an ambulance. When The EMTs arrived, there was no question I was experiencing a very serious, life-and-death heart episode. Actually, I knew I was in trouble when one of the EMTs said, "I'm not getting a pulse." As an attempt to lighten up the severity of the situation, I said, "I don't think that is a good sign."
I actually fainted a couple of times, but saw and heard Al's voice reassuring me that everything was going to be just fine. I became far more coherent as they put the oxygen on me. Actually, being taken out by stretcher in a very busy Marriott Copley Lobby at 5:30 p.m., I wish I wasn't that coherent. But Al was right there with his reassuring comments.
I was taken to Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston, and after three days of extensive testing I learned that I had experienced some minor heart damage caused by fatigue, stress and some misused prescription medicine. As the doctors put it, I avoided more serious damage by the actions that were taken and when they were taken. If I had started to walk back to my room, I might have passed out and might not have been noticed in a timely fashion, considering everything had ended for the day in that section of the hotel.
Yes, I was lucky, but I was lucky because I was staying at a Marriott. Your employees cared because you created an environment that allows people to care. Even down to a man named Tom Brazell, who answered the phone in security, when I called from my hospital bed, to ask if someone could pack up my room. He was aware of everything and he personally took care of it himself. He was great.
Your employees' compassion showed, and I am here because of them. So thank you for everything. Thank you for my life and for all the wonderful employees who deliver the standard of service they deliver everyday. Thank you for all of the Al McCarthy's who are making a difference in your guests' lives and saving this guest's life. It's nice to be around to be able to write this.
I have only one question to all the business people who are reading this column. Would someone write the same things about your company? What would you have to do to change it?
I just got a second chance, and I will make a difference in the lives of the people I touch. I am proud of what I have accomplished, but there is still so much more to do. This time I will pace myself and prioritize better.
Now you see why "It Was the Best of Times and The WORST of Times."
One last thing I have to share. My kids were nothing short of sensational during this life-altering scare. That is why I will always remember my lasting legacy that rests with the 12 people that that either call me Dad, Daddy or Papa.
Have a great week.
Posted on Tue, Apr 20, 2010
Passion has become one of my favorite words. I suppose it was inevitable that Rick Segel (that's me) and the words passion and passionate come together for all eternity. Yes, we are getting married.
What am I talking about? Words and people don't get married?
Yes they do!
Actually companies marry words everyday:
- Tastes Great - Miller Brewing Company
- Ultimate Driving Machine - BMW
- Mmm...Good - Campbell's Soup
And what about...
- "Oh, I wish I was an..." - Oscar Mayer
I know what you are thinking, those are just ad slogans. Yes they are, BUT those words are permanently associated with those companies. In other words, they got married.
This article has two purposes:
- First, to show you the power of Positioning, the obstacles around it and how to create and find the perfect positioning statement
- Second, to talk about Passion and what it means to you and your business
What is a Positioning Statement and why is it so important? Positioning Statements can be called many different things such as an Advertising Slogans, Themes or Mini-Mission Statements. But whatever you call it, they all serve the same purpose: to position the company in the eyes of the customer. In other words, it should tell the customer who you are and what makes you special.
Your Theme or Positioning Statement should be your distinct and unifying idea!
Some people call those few words after the business name their Signature Line because those few words should be thought of as your Business DNA. It is the unique signature you bring to the world.
Think about Hallmark Cards: When you care enough to send the very best. They are selling "paper with ink on it," but when my wife gets a card she always checks to see if it's a Hallmark. That's powerful positioning.
So how do you write these? YOU don't. They literally will write themselves. What I mean by that is LISTEN to what your customers are saying about you and how they say it.
In my women's clothing store, which sold high-quality merchandise in a middle-income area, we would her constantly hear our customers say, "When I want something nice I go to Ruth's." We heard it so much that writing the signature/ positioning statement was easy. It's the words that the customers say over and over again that are the most natural and the most powerful words and phrases you can use.
In 1991 I started speaking, and since then I have spoken over 2,000 times in 12 countries and on 5 continents, and in 49 states. (Does anyone in Alaska need a retail specialist?) During this time period I have used about 5 different signature lines and NOT one of them really said who I am. I wasn't in love with any of them. Then I was reminded about my tool for letting your customer write the signature line for you.
A new web developer I am working with ended my 19-year quest almost instantly when she said the words I have heard over and over again to describe me. She said, "You are so passionate about retailing and marketing, aren't you?"
Then I responded with, "I hear that all the time. As a matter of fact I even tell people that my greatest asset is my passion and my greatest detriment is my passion as well."
That short exchange literally changed the direction of my company as we incorporate that theme into everything we do.
So let me officially announce my new Signature/Positioning Statements:
The Passion For Retailing
The Passion for Marketing
The Passion for Business
Passion? We will be making major changes to my business that will benefit ALL of you. We are about to kick off a new brand initiative, new website, and new, overhauled theme for Rick Segel & Associates.
I have believed in the concept of Passion and being Passionate. I believe wholeheartedly in that extra boost of energy that comes from inside of you - that desire to bring more of you into everything you do. It allows me to overcome my obstacles because I won't settle for less than my goal.
My passion for a project is my adrenaline kicking in and it doesn't allow me to stop when others would give up. I want to share with you two the two quotes that I live by and have made me who I am today:
"Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion."
"If there is no passion in your life, then have you really lived? Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things."
Allow what defines you help you find the words to marry, and always remember to run your business with passion.
Posted on Tue, Apr 13, 2010
When a customer comes in a store, we greet them, we try to engage them in conversation, we ask questions to better understand them and their needs. Then we suggest different things--we ask them if they like the merchandise and want to buy it. After they have made their decision we tether them back to the store by asking for an email address or the really smart businesses delve deeper and learn as much as they can to better serve the customer.
Even if they don't buy that day, we still try to capture information so that we can make them aware of what is happening at the business. The more we know about our customers, the better and easier it is to sell them. (That doesn't mean that we do all of those steps all of the time, even though we know we should.)
BUT you already know all of that. So what's the point?
It came to me as one of those moments you say to yourself, "Duh that makes sense! Why didn't I think about that sooner?" Also known as or similar to saying and hitting yourself on the forehead and saying "I could have had a V8!" The point is what steps or procedures do we have in place on our websites that could engage the customer and bring them into our community of customers? Most of us, and I include myself, do very little to capture information or engage our web visitors.
What a waste of efforts!
You spend all of this time developing a website, putting content on the site that is relevant and interesting, and the most any of us do is have a small box, generally hidden on the bottom of the page that says "sign up for our newsletter" (which never seems to come out or if it does it is not done on a regular basis). Then there is the other common box that says, "Sign up for our mailing list". You give NO reason to join, NO incentive or offer to join. So we have customers coming to our sites who might love everything they see and they are the perfect for our store but they don't see any reason to sign up for the newsletter or couldn't find it at all.
The other simple mistake we make is we have only one spot on our website to sign up. If you are saying to yourself, "What's wrong with that?" remember, we don't enter websites through the front page any more. We do a Google search using a certain keyword such as "candle sticks." If we click on it Google it will take us to the pages where candlesticks are mentioned the most. We might not have any data collection widget on that page or even a way to purchase that item on that page.
The Next Issue: Are you Selling or Just Telling?
What do your sign up Widgets actually look like?
Yes, let's make our signup widgets a little more interesting, inviting, and engaging. Let's use some "Sell Words", let's add some graphics and something that says subconsciously "That looks interesting , I want to get more information". The following examples are from Hubspot, the inbound experts. They believe that we are now living in an era of Pull Marketing NOT Push Marketing. The difference is we want our customers to find us as and contact us by finding us in places our customers expect to find us. That sounds simple enough, yet we don't do it. We get fixated on certain words or phrases and lose sight of the big picture. They also believe that boring is boring. That means the "Call or Calls To Action " must look interesting and inviting. Here are some examples they use for various industries.
This first one are just two different versions of the same offer. This offer of a free webinar can apply to just about any retail business but especially for any business that sells a product that is confusing or requires some product know how or education about the product. That is almost every product I can think of.
These next two are for a Pet Sitting Service and they clearly state what the offer is or what I like to call it an Ethical Bribe. An Ethical Bribe is something that you are offering a customer with a high perceived value and little or no cost to you. Such as special report or the 10 Best Ways to do Something. In this case it's 3 Free months of Service.
This next one offers a free consulting report:
This one is always popular--an offer for a Free Downloadable e-book. I use this one on my site. But I am a writer. Don't worry, there are lots of free e-books available to use or just hire a researcher to compile a report your customers will love.
This one is just a basic coupon but it is so inviting. The GRAPHICS work well here.
Here is one we usually forget. Something that encorages referral business. In this type of offer, we must remember to create a form that captures multiple names and contact information and here it would be the type of product they might most be interested in.
Lastly is simply a special report about a specific topic that YOU want to be considered an expert in. These special reports can also be refered to as "white papers".
This is just some food for thought. Doesn't it just look better and it works so much better!
Just as note, I want to thank Hubspot, which I am a client of for supplying the wonderful calls to action that are in this article. I strongly recommend that you check out Hubspot, www.hubspot.com. They offer a free 7 day trial. (Although I am a client, I have no financial interest on this recommendation.)
On another subject, I do want to thank all of the people who responded to my question last week about the need for a service to handle your social media initiatives. There were some great answers and I will do a special article about it next week.
Posted on Tue, Apr 06, 2010
Note: This is an article I didn't expect to write. (Please be sure to read the end of this article because it could change all of our lives... that's enough hints for now.)
When I wrote my article last week about the new ways to market, I never expected to be writing a follow-up piece. However, I have apparently touched a nerve or a pain point much larger than I first realized. Actually that's not quite true because I felt that this was and is the most important issue facing retailers today. However, I just wasn't sure if the rest of the world would see it my way.
After reading all of the emails and blog responses, I really do feel your pain and confusion. Knowing which way to market and advertise has always been an issue. But the difference today is the sheer number of what I call "Touch Tools" or ways to reach or contact our customers.
It is not only the thing that we worry about but it will be the ways businesses will differentiate themselves from their competitors. At one time it was the merchandise that was the major differentiator. Then it became locations--downtown, on the highway, in a strip center, or in a mall.
Next, the trend was service, and then price. And now it has become the way we communicate our message, so that the customer we want sees it. It is one thing recognizing the big issue or trend (which is perhaps the better word for the marketing shift) but now we have to address all of the problems, fears, and concerns that surround the trend.
As I see it, here are the concerns which are reflected by some of the responses I have received.
There is a lot of stuff to learn. Most people who go into the retail business don't go into it because they love technology or are the fastest learners. I put myself in that category. When my publisher wanted more of a reference book for The Essential Online Solution, it was painful for me but I simply had to push myself to master these new technologies.
Here are some of the comments I have received on this:
"This new generation of customer THRIVES on this technology. We'd all be best advised to reach these new customers the way they want it."
I agree completely.
"My customers are reluctant to give their e-address (due to age?) because they are being bombarded with so many messages already."
I don't completely agree with that. Giving an email address doesn't mean that much because the customer can unsubscribe quickly and it doesn't even mean they are even going to open the email.
The Time Issue
"I count myself as one of those who is completely overwhelmed and bombarded by the amount of constant interruptions coming in from every direction and the amount of sheer time (even as fast as it is) it takes to keep up with it all.
You really do need an additional employee who can handle all of the social media marketing, and nothing else.
You are right. There are only so many hours in the day. But the investment in that other person must be a prudent investment.
"I can't afford a separate person to do this - it's going to be me!! I just don't see how it's possible!!"
But can you afford not to?
"Does anyone else but me just about flip out with the speed of change? Yeah, I know that at 55, the synapses don't adapt as well, but the sheer enormity of the shift and how much one has to pay attention to in order to be viable is staggering."
Right on target! However, the future of business will be won by those who have the ability to learn, understand, and implement.
"I do it all market, sell, pay bills, and do online marketing. I have FB, myspace, text, twitter, linkdin, and I use ping.fm to update it all. It is exhausting, but I have paid people to do it and they don't do it, or do it wrong so it is me all alone working the business, and working right now. How do you do it without doing it 24/7?"
You can't do it all. It is impossible. We must be better managers and recruiters. Read some of the following suggestions.
"We'll find a way to do this because nothing else works. It's exciting, more than anything else. SOMETHING THAT WORKS."
Social media is really working. Here are some positive thoughts:
"Our women's business is on fire, up dramatically in southeastern Michigan (Detroit area!). We're doing more than ever, and always looking for more good ideas. It DOES get mind-boggling, it DOES get overwhelming, but results put wind in the sails."
Isn't business in Michigan supposed to be bad?
"Our Myspace page is bombarded with sales questions every day. Myspace is right for my business because of their median age. FB is also a great tool and it's easy to link them together, which saves time. Social networks are wonderful; remember to be a "friend", not an advertisement."
An Interesting REMEDY
"My number one, must take immediate action, piece of advice? Create a Facebook page for the business today. Immediately suggest the page to all of your current personal FB friends and have your employees do the same. If a business with three employees with an average 150 facebook friends each who can encourage just 15% of those FB friends to join the page, a business could develop a page and reach over 1,000 people within 24 hours. Wow!
We can all relate to this one
"This here is a one-horse shop and I'm the horse", and it sounds like there are a lot of us out there and we are exhausted.
"What I like about social media is that the sites can be linked together so I can post once and hit them all. And it's FREE. I like free. So I try to post something short and simple 3-4 times a week...something about the history of our town or a quote about books (I'm a used bookshop), just to keep my presence out there."
This next one is the real winner. Check this website out...
There is a great resource for virtual assistants at http://www.odesk.com/ as they work with a number of people who are very internet savvy in the Philippines but have a great accountability system in place.
I have spent a lot of time on this site and it is a keeper.
Here is the section I mentioned at the beginning of this article.
I want share some things with you and ask your opinion. As you can tell by many of the comments people have contributed, they fall within four groups:
- Group 1. I don't have time to do all of this stuff
- Group 2. I don't have the money to hire someone
- Group 3. I really don't understand it all, I am afraid of all this new technology and I really don't feel like learning it. But I know I should.
- Group 4. Hey, this stuff really works. I want to learn how some of the other social media sites work.
HAVING SAID ALL OF THAT, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS IDEA?
I have been asked face-to-face at speeches, by phone calls, and countless emails if I would either help my audience members or refer them to someone who understands retailing and the best social media vehicles to use. Up to point, I have respectively declined but the need is great and I find myself in a unique position.
I would just like to know the interest level in a service such as this and how do YOU think a service like this should work? Plus how much do you think a service like this should cost?
Yes, I have my thoughts and ideas but before I unveil them I would like to hear from you. This does NOT mean that I am proceeding with this but I would love to know the true interest level. Just post your answer to the blog or send me an email. Thank you all in advance for your feedback.
Let's wrap this up with this last comment from a reader. I think it's the best attitude to adopt.
"I am doing quite a bit, but falling down on in a few areas. So I rejoice in what I AM doing, and strive to improve where it is needed while not beating myself up."
