Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

Are You Using These Retention Strategies?

Customer retention is the strategy of engaging customers so that they're motivated to continue purchasing from you. As a business owner, you may have tried many approaches to improve your business, but have you looked at your customer engagement efforts? While customer retention isn't an exact science, these innovative customer retention programs are worth a look. Just be sure to look at all strategies through the COVID lens of grace and sensitivity.

#1: Education

In a world where individuals are increasingly responsible for their own professional development, people will be grateful to your organization if you’re able to help them keep their knowledge fresh.

Education offerings can take a variety of forms, from online courses and podcasts to information repositories and access to subject matter experts. I know of a company that provides free sales and marketing training videos and certifications for customers and partners who want to grow their skills.

You can measure the success of customer retention programs involving education by tracking your Customer Retention Rate (CRR) before and after implementation, as well as ascertaining how completing educational initiatives correlates with repeat purchases.

#2: Pop-Up Engagements

"Surprise reciprocity" refers to the act of giving unexpected and delightful thanks to your most valuable customers in the form of a memorable gift or note.

Your offering need not be pricey if it's delivered with care and thought. Some of the best examples of surprise reciprocity are highly personal. If you run a toy store, you may send your customer’s child a handwritten birthday card with a free gift voucher enclosed. And if you have a pet supply store, you might send your customers a painting or cartoon of their beloved dog or cat.

Customer retention is the strategy of engaging customers so that they're motivated to continue purchasing from you. As a business owner, you may have tried many approaches to improve your business, but have you looked at your customer engagement efforts? While customer retention isn't an exact science, these innovative customer retention programs are worth a look.

#1: Education

In a world where individuals are increasingly responsible for their own professional development, people will be grateful to your organization if you’re able to help them keep their knowledge fresh.

Education offerings can take a variety of forms, from online courses and podcasts to information repositories and access to subject matter experts. I know of a company that provides free sales and marketing training videos and certifications for customers and partners who want to grow their skills.

You can measure the success of customer retention programs involving education by tracking your Customer Retention Rate (CRR) before and after implementation, as well as ascertaining how completing educational initiatives correlates with repeat purchases.

#2: Pop-Up Engagements

"Surprise reciprocity" refers to the act of giving unexpected and delightful thanks to your most valuable customers in the form of a memorable gift or note.

Your offering need not be pricey if it's delivered with care and thought. Some of the best examples of surprise reciprocity are highly personal. If you run a toy store, you may send your customer’s child a handwritten birthday card with a free gift voucher enclosed. And if you have a pet supply store, you might send your customers a painting or cartoon of their beloved dog or cat.

For the rest of my list, head over to the AMEX Business site.

How Connectional Intelligence Drives Innovation

The brainchild of leading business strategists and researchers Erica Dhawan and Saj-Nicole Joni, Connectional Intelligence (CxQ) was coined in 2015 in their book: Get Big Things Done: The Power of Connectional Intelligence.

CxQ is a concept that combines traditional and emotional intelligence with the power of connection (via social media, mobile devices and networks). With it people can “quickly, efficiently and creatively enlist supporters, drive innovation, develop strategies and implement solutions to big problems”.  

One example of CxQ in action can be found at the American Transplant Foundation (ATF). It uses an ecosystem of business-built web-based applications to coordinate programs and quickly launch initiatives that bring different communities together—from donors and patients to service providers and community partners. The ATF’s growing Mentorship Program is one such initiative. It matches those in need with past recipients who help them navigate the legal, medical, and emotional complexities of receiving a transplant.  

“It’s wonderful when we can connect the dots and give people a second chance at life,” says Anastasia Darwish, the Executive Director of the American Transplant Foundation.

How You Can Boost Your CxQ to Help You and Your Company Thrive

Find yourself among the different types of individuals highlighted below and learn how you can your raise you CxQ quotient to drive greater success for yourself and your organization.

Dreamers—Dreamers are the heart center of the connectional intelligence universe. They are always engaging with the future, and imagining the possibilities and what might be next. If you’re a Dreamer, increase your CxQ by sharing your ideas with different communities and networks. Keep putting yourself in places where you can see life through their eyes.

Adventurers—Adventurers are people who seek new experiences, uncharted territory and novel undertakings. They reject labels, boxes or constraints of any kind, and accept risk as part of the adventure. Use your mastered skills to get out of the box and up your CxQ. Start with what you know well and think about how you can use it to build and test new ideas.

Seekers—Seekers are people who ask the big questions that move thoughts to action. Considering all options before acting, they pursue knowledge and cultivate the insight to improve life for themselves and others. If you are seeker striving for greater CxQ, keep asking the question: “what if the accepted wisdom/same old assumptions are not true?

Inspired Leaders—Inspired leaders help team members build an architecture to achieve ambitious goals and use their influence to make a difference in people’s lives. They take risks and assume responsibility for the group’s risks. Raise your CxQ by breaking or reversing rules or processes that hold progress back. Encourage collaboration between teams and communities. Promote an environment that fails forward and fast, knowing that taking chances and learning lessons is the path to agility, innovation, and success.

Advocates—Advocates are motivated to act on behalf of others. Advocates are automatically engaged when they see a way to make a difference and bring about change. As an advocate, what issue would you like to see resolved? Elevate your CxQ by picking a cause that matters to you and focus on what it means to the people you want to serve.

For more from Erica and Saj-nicole, head over to the QuickBase Fast Track blog.

20 Years Later, Much Career Advice Still Applies

In the summer of 1996 after my sophomore year of college, I started an internship at a nonprofit technology association in downtown Washington, D.C.

Until that point, I’d only worked in retail and had no idea what to expect. I asked my father and a professor for advice. Remarkably, 20 years later much of that guidance still resonates.

Doors open based on who you know

In the late 90s, these were physical doors rather than virtual ones, but the concept is the same. When applying for a job or looking to connect with someone, name-dropping would increase your odds of getting a positive response. Today, although we have exponentially larger networks thanks to social media, deep, in-person relationships still provide the greatest networking benefit. 

As you build your network of contacts, remember to follow up

Meeting a contact once is a wasted opportunity unless you periodically remind him or her of who you are and take steps to grow the relationship over time. In the 90s, I was encouraged to send snail mail holiday cards to former bosses and colleagues, and even to pick up the phone occasionally. Twenty years later, it’s all about LinkedIn.

In a new situation, aim to assimilate

Corporate culture used to be “one-size-fits-all.” If you worked in a business office in any city in the world, you were expected to behave professionally, adhere to hierarchies, and generally do what you were told without making waves. Individual company cultures may be more unique today (conservative versus liberal, strict versus playful) but the need to examine and then fit into a new culture – whatever it may be – remains.

For the rest of the piece, head over to my new Mashable column.

 

How to Network to Find New Customers

According to the 2015 U.S. Bank Small Business Annual Survey, "67 percent of small-business owners reported that they maintain a social media presence for networking and marketing purposes." But in-person activities, such as belonging to and attending community or Chamber of Commerce events, were less common, despite the fact that using both may help answer the age-old question of how to find new customers.

I tapped three small-business owners—Sunny Bonnell, co-founder of branding agency Motto in Dallas, Texas; Blake George, founder of design firm BMG Media Group in Detroit, Michigan; and Matthew Manos, founder of business consultancy verynice in Los Angeles—to find out how small-business owners can use networking to find new customers.

Why is networking important for small-business owners?

Sunny Bonnell: I've always believed that the best relationships come from exploration and experiences. Networking is imperative as a small-business owner because it forces you to get out and interact with people who can help grow your business.

Blake George: Networking is a great way to expand your sales team without carrying the overhead. More than likely, the individual you talk to may not need your service in the short term. You may think it’s a dead lead, but ultimately the goal is to get that individual educated on your product or service enough to remember you in the future.

Matthew Manos: Many small-business owners have unrealistic expectations when it comes to networking. The thought often is, “Oh, cool, I’m going to go to this event, and then I’ll get a new client tomorrow.” Immediate satisfaction or return on effort is not the point of networking, and frankly rarely happens. Networking is a valuable tool for small-business owners because it allows them to showcase their skills by being of service to others, developing their network’s network and becoming a friendly and familiar face.

What activities do you engage in to keep a continuous pipeline of new customers?

Manos: At verynice, our approach to engaging an audience and keeping a continuous pipeline of new customers and opportunities comes down to creating value, helping others and being present.

George: Engaging current customers is key because the best leads are referrals—your customer base provides credibility on your behalf. Additionally, targeted advertisements on social networks are a great way to advertise to your perfect customer at the budget you can afford with no monthly commitments. 

Bonnell: At Motto, we are incredibly socially minded and PR driven. We are hyperactive on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat and love sharing our work. Small-business owners need to understand what they are trying to achieve and what avenues they must travel to get there. For example, we’re in the early stages of our first book, and a strategic roadmap will be an essential tool to support that initiative.

How do you find time for proactive outreach when you’re incredibly busy?

George: Just like anything else, you make time! Maintaining priorities and efficiency on your current tasks is a game changer. Fine tuning the perfect amount of task delegation to your employees or automated software will help lighten your schedule. Most importantly, don’t procrastinate.

Manos:  As the founder of our organization, a major part of my role [and] job description is to serve as the face for our company. As a result, I speak at an average of 100 events per year. That sounds like a lot, but in reality, this takes up about four hours of my time every week. Those 300 hours per year generate 75 percent of our business leads, but only add up to about two months of full-time effort.

Bonnell: You have to be mindful that work can never be taken for granted and branding, outreach and creating awareness for your business is a labor of love. Sometimes I get up an hour earlier. If I have a little downtime, I'll jot notes down or use Anchor to capture my ideas.

For the rest of the interview, head over to the AMEX Open Forum.

"Let's Grab Coffee and Chat:" The Kiss of Death?

In the Observer, writer Isaac Morehouse made a provocative proposition: the habit of grabbing coffee with colleagues or partners “just to chat” is killing our productivity.

“Let’s grab coffee and chat.”

According to Isaac Morehouse, those five words can be damning. Morehouse’s opinion is that when you become known for doing interesting things, like starting a business or writing intriguing articles, lots of people want to have coffee with you. Most of the time, he says, it’s a bad idea.

Morehouse continues:

“Face to face meetings can be valuable. There’s an energy that you don’t get any other way. But the cost is very high, and it’s rare to gain that energy with a stranger. Unless you know from interactions over email, social media, or phone that you and this person have mutual interests and will both be spurred to beneficial action by a coffee meeting, avoid it.”

“It’s not that coffee isn’t fun. That’s the problem. It is fun. But what’s scarce is conversation that leads directly to productivity. You get a quick high from talking about big ideas with cool people over hot drinks. Hammering out the next steps and taking them is not as much fun.”

“It’s flattering to be asked to coffee by someone who thinks your stuff is great. But it almost always eats away a huge chunk of your time and energy with very little in the way of a tangible outcome. You can feel like you’re doing something because your calendar is booked with coffee and conversation and you don’t have time for stuff. But busyness is not business.”

Oh man, he is so right.

Coffee costs more money than a Starbucks vente

Actually, when new contacts ask me to have coffee – or worse – ask to “pick my brain” (am I the only one who hates that phrase?), I hesitate. I know that these meet-ups are a drain on my productivity. For one thing, they usually take place in downtown Chicago – about a half hour subway ride from where I live and work. So, if you factor in at least an hour for coffee and an hour and half travel time to get to and from the coffee, you’ve probably eaten up half your work day.

And when you work for yourself, the saying “time is money” has a lot of significance.

I also have to admit that 90 percent of the time, grabbing coffee isn’t worth it from a business perspective. This is because generally speaking, people want to get information out of me and take advantage of my knowledge. They aren’t doing it maliciously, they simply haven’t thought about how the meeting can be mutually beneficial.

And therein lies my advice for people who wish to use coffee (and similar types of one-on-ones) as a productivity enhancer rather than a productivity drain.

First and foremost, take Morehouse’s point about action seriously. When you set up coffee with someone, communicate clearly what you intend to talk about, and what actions will take place immediately following the conversation. Brainstorms are fine, but take the next step and use the time with the other person to get your plan of attack off and running. In saving you a second meeting and numerous back-and-forth emails, you will have actually used the coffee date to drive productivity instead of detract from it.

Friends Versus Clients: Where Do You Draw the Line?

By 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator, according to a recent Customers 2020 Report. Increasingly, customers of small businesses may be expecting owners to know their individual needs in detail and go out of their way to personalize offerings and the shopping experience. When this is done properly, repeat business can be the result.

But what happens when you please the customer so much that your relationship becomes personal? Claudia Mora, owner of The Beauty Vault salon in Fairview, New Jersey; Jeanne Nohalty, founder of design boutique Alley Cat Décor in Oak Park, Illinois; and Jason Sherman, CEO of dating appInstamour in Philadelphia reveal how they manage this situation.

Briefly tell us about an experience where a friend became a customer, or a customer became a friend.

Claudia Mora: Owning a beauty salon is a tough job. You have to be a best friend, a therapist, a stylist and so much more. You see the same clients at least once a week and they become friends, almost family. You talk to them about life, business and, of course, love. I go out for drinks with customers, and they often text me to make appointments instead of calling the salon.

Jeanne Nohalty: We’ve for sure had customers who have turned into friends. It’s wonderful and validates that you are doing your job well. Our key business focus is outstanding customer relations. We treat our customers exactly like friends and therefore see no difference in terms of how we provide service to a friend or a customer who walks in off the street.

Jason Sherman: Often, when my friends need help with their businesses, they turn to me. I tend to be careful, as one wrong move could end the business relationship as well as the friendship. In one case, I agreed to help a friend work on a new product website. 

What were the challenges associated with this situation, and how did you cope with them?

Sherman: It was challenging because she wanted a great deal of customization. The situation became very difficult. During this process, we became less friendly and more like business acquaintances. I even tried to reinforce our friendship by building a custom site for her anyway to show her how it would look, but she ended our contract anyway.

Mora: When I first opened up shop, I offered all my friends the "friends and family" discount, and sometimes I'd comp their services. One day, one of my best friends, who was a customer, said, "I don't need money off. Charge me as a regular client. I should pay the same price I’d pay anywhere else.” That was the last day I offered the “friends and family” discount.

For the rest of the interview, head over to the AMEX Open Forum.

Are You Ready for Life in the Swarm?

Mid-century work teams will be temporary in addition to virtual. The growth of contract work and the specialization of organizations will spell the end for stable groups that work together a long time. Teamwork will still be valued and rewarded, but the teams themselves will form and disband with lightning speed. Industry analyst firm Gartner calls this phenomenon swarming.

Pros and Cons of Life in the Swarm

A swarm is a group that comes together for a short-term project and quickly disbands when the project has been completed. It’s characterized by a flurry of collective activity from everyone available and able to pitch in. Employees in a swarm will barely know each other, so in order to gain influence with colleagues and partners, professionals will have to leverage larger networks rather than smaller ones.

In the near future, reporting relationships will get confusing since work will cross department and company lines and people will have an ever-changing array of formal and informal managers. Employees will have to be more spontaneous, proactively creating new designs and models to deal with the issues at hand.

Working on a new team every month (or week) is likely to be challenging and exciting, and you won’t ever be bored. But because your path is your own and everyone you work with is going in a slightly different direction, you are likely to struggle finding suitable long-term mentors and solidifying work relationships. Networking will be more complex as you attempt to manage an army of weaker ties, calling on people you may have interacted with only once or twice about a project or opportunity.

You won’t always understand the culture or perspective your new colleagues are coming from. Unfortunately, considering the speed and intensity of swarms, you usually won’t have time for icebreakers. You’ll simply have to accelerate your efforts to get to know swarm-mates, and accept that a common work goal may be all that binds you at times.

For more on life in the swarm, check out Intuit's Fast Track blog.

An Insider's Guide to the Hows and Whys of LinkedIn

LinkedIn has become an integral part of our professional lives. I hear a lot about the site from career advisers, but when I really want to learn what’s going on, I turn to the folks making things happen at LinkedIn’s Bay Area headquarters I chatted with Crystal Braswell, a manager of corporate communications and also a member of DeVry University’s Career Advisory Board. Here’s what she had to tell us.

What are the biggest mistakes you see people making on LinkedIn?

The biggest mistake would be not completing your profile. Simple changes like adding a profile photo or summary section can make a huge difference. We know that profiles with a photo are 14 times more likely to be viewed than those without one, and a complete summary and experience section that includes relevant keywords will make it easier for other professionals to find you.

Sometimes the best opportunities – from a dream job to speaking, mentorship and skilled volunteer positions — appear when you aren’t even looking. In fact, only 20 percent of jobs come from submitting an application for a job posting. The rest come through networking. [Read later: 5 Networking Tips You Haven't Heard]

Now, if you’ve taken the time to complete your profile, make sure you’re also giving people a sense of what you do AND who you are. What have you accomplished? Are there any hobbies that are relevant to your profession? Have you volunteered with any nonprofits in your community? Make sure it’s all on your profile. This stuff matters, and it’s what elevates your profile, transforming it into a rich portfolio that paints a complete picture of you as a professional. You never know what little tidbit might push you out in front.

Hmm, now I think I need to revise my headline. What’s yours?

I say I’m a “tech geek and PR pro leading LinkedIn’s higher education and content initiatives.” It’s more interesting than just using my job title and lets my personality show through at the start.

What’s the most interesting use of LinkedIn you’ve heard about recently?

One of my favorite recent stories came from someone who found her dream job at a media outlet. After finding and applying for the job, she took to LinkedIn to find the recruiter hiring for the role, and then used “Whose Viewed Your Profile?” to get that recruiter’s attention and land an interview. She then turned the online networking opportunity into an in-person one, connecting with a senior producer at the outlet and locking in 30 minutes to talk to her. She used LinkedIn in all the right ways, and it paid off for her!

For the rest of Crystal's great advice, have a look at the Intuit Fast Track blog.

Essentials for Getting Repeat Business

Here is the story of two companies.  I bought a ton of products from both this year.  Company 1’s offerings were stellar, but had a laissez-faire attitude toward the significant hurdles I faced during the procurement process. Company 2’s product line was less impressive, but the folks there jumped through hoops to ensure that I was happy and satisfied with my purchases.

Which company am I more likely to buy from again?

In the small business world, everything is personal. You can have the most incredible product or service the customer has ever seen, but if she doesn’t like you, it won’t matter. Quality is important, of course, but trust trumps it every time. The way Company 2 treated me makes me want to give its offerings another shot, and it makes me want to recommend it to others.

I’m not the first person to say that it’s much easier to sell to an existing customer than to get a new customer. However, despite the fact this idea is almost a cliché, small business owners continually expend more effort marketing to strangers than taking care of the people who are right under their noses.  Once you’ve gone to all the trouble to seal the initial deal, here are five things you must do to get repeat business from your customers.

Insert Yourself

Small businesses are often appealing because customers like to support the local guy (or gal) who is just like them. As your business grows, you might lose the intimate bond you have with your customers, and that’s dangerous. If you want to make a terrific impression, owners should connect one-on-one with customers whenever possible and especially if there has been a snafu and the customer is angry. If a customer understands that you are there for him personally, he will be more likely to give your company the benefit of the doubt.

Give Them Something Special

Reward programs are a no brainer – it costs virtually nothing to design a simple repeat visitor card. And if you have the choice of getting your morning latte from Starbucks or the neighborhood joint and the neighborhood joint is giving you a free scone on your next visit, you’re going there. Also, give existing customers a sneak peek at new products or services and give them freebies or deep discounts in exchange for feedback.

For more ideas, check out the full post at the AMEX Open Forum.

 

Just Like in PR, It's All in the Spin

In my seminars, I am fond of discussing the importance of perception. You could be the smartest, most talented individual your organization has ever hired, but if people don’t like you or value what you have to offer, you’re dead in the water.

Fortunately, it is relatively easy to project a positive image. When you meet people in person, make sure you have the basics down: nice appearance, eye contact, smile, good handshake, and reasonably articulate verbal communication. Online, establish a consistent personal brand across all your platforms that portrays you as a can-do, dynamic, and successful individual.

If You Don’t Tell Them, No One Else Will

Trumpeting your accomplishments so that everyone knows the results of which you are capable is also essential to an ongoing, strong persona. But equally important is your ability to take a small achievement and make it seem bigger. Here are two examples from my own career.

My first book, They Don’t Teach Corporate in College, has sold more than 50,000 English-language copies (it is also published in other languages). This means that the book has sold more than 99 percent of nonfiction titles published. In other words, it’s a bestseller. However, They Don’t Teach Corporate in College is not a New York Times bestseller because it didn’t sell a ton of copies in its first week. When I talk about my accomplishments, I don’t get to say I have a New York Times bestselling book, but I DO get to say I have a bestselling book. And not many people understand the distinction. Most clients see the word “bestseller” and stop there. They are impressed, which is what I want and need.

More recently, the American Management Association kindly named me as one of their Top 50 Leaders for 2015. The AMA went on to institute a contest in which they would select the Top 30 through reader votes. As soon as I saw the Top 50 mention, I didn’t care about being voted into the Top 30. After all, what’s the difference between Top 30 and Top 50? I can still say that a prestigious organization like the AMA listed me as a Top Leader.

Be Creative About What You Have to Offer

My point is that to be an effective self-promoter, you have to grab hold of the tidbits of your career that sound remarkable, even if just on the surface. Let’s say that when you were in your teens, you accompanied your mother on business trips all over the world, occasionally tagging along to her conferences and meetings. From this experience, you can easily claim to have global competence, or an understanding of how business is done in different cultures.

Global competence is a rare skill for American professionals, and it’s even rarer if you are young. Reading about your journeys attending business meetings across the globe, many might believe that your own jobs (rather than mom’s) took you there. You haven’t lied – you’ve simply phrased your experience in a way that makes people stand up and take notice.

For more where this came from, have a look at Intuit's Fast Track blog.