If you can remember that far back in Facebook history (2007), it started as a ‘fan’ page. Then one day (way back in 2010), out of the blue, Facebook decided to change it to a ‘like’ page.
Why did they change it? Here’s their reason: “To improve your experience and promote consistency across the site, we’ve changed the language for Pages from ‘Fan’ to ‘Like.’ We believe this change offers you a more light-weight and standard way to connect with people, things and topics in which you are interested.”
Huh? Oh, that’s corporate-speak. What it really means is to create a business page where your customers or fans can go and interact. Kind of like what it was.
REALITY: It’s hard to make fun of the third largest country in the world, so everyone went along – me included.
And then the begging began. PLEASE LIKE ME! Or LIKE US ON FACEBOOK! The signs were everywhere. Still are.
And many people did:
Zappos – 833,000 likes
Elvis – 8.5 million likes
Lady Gagam – 53.5 million likes
Chevrolet – 1.9 million likes
Tesla – 234,000 likes
Jeffrey Gitomer – 35,451 likes (Not bad. But not as many as I would like. I try to give people a reason to like me, rather than just ask.)
What about your business? Who is liking you? And why? What’s the reason customers would like you beyond the beg?
Want more ‘likes’? Consider the process, not just the ask. Asking for a like gives me or anyone else little or no incentive to do so. Can you imagine this conversation, “Honey, as soon as we get home, let’s like them.” No, not gonna happen.
Here are a few thoughts to get your mind wrapped around the “like” process and help you understand how to attract and earn more of them:
Maybe remind people WHY they like you. If you love our service, share the love on Facebook. Facebook.com/yourbusiness THANK YOU!
What’s to like? Ask yourself WHY people like you and talk about that.
Where’s the value? Like me – and my 10 best ideas for summer weekend getaways will be yours!
Where’s the one on one? Interacting with customers one-on-one will get people talking about you on THEIR Facebook page, and liking you.
Maybe if you LOVE me, then you’ll be more likely to like me. Your passionate customers are the ones who will like you.
Maybe if you’re LOYAL to me, then you’ll be more likely to like me. The customers who buy from you over and over are the ones who will like you.
STRATEGY: Instant like in your store or place of business. DO IT NOW! Where’s your iPad? Why aren’t you asking people to sign in at your cash register or welcome counter and like you on the spot? I mean really, do you think your customers head home and say: “I really gotta ‘like’ the dry cleaner as soon as I walk in the door.” Not likely.
STRATEGY: Smartphones can improve like. Ask customers to like you at the register. Give a coupon.
Okay, so they like you. THEN WHAT?
Like is a one-time click, what’s my reason to post, interact, and return?
STRATEGY: Instead of just asking people to like you, ask them to tell you WHAT they like – or WHY they like it. Or better, why they like YOU. Get people to post something, not just click a button. Expand the like so that others can see your value and your reality.
The value of like is undeniable. Lots of people liking you gives peace of mind to new and prospective customers. Like is proof – social proof that you are ‘safe’ to do business with.
Like is a vote of confidence to the business, not just other customers.
Like is a source of pride and affirmation of self-worth.
Like is reputation building.
PLAN A STRATEGY. You now have some additional awareness of both the value and the strategy of ‘like.’
If you invest a few hours with your team, and maybe an outside professional (we use www.onesocialmedia.com)…
1. You’ll attract more people
2. You’ll become interactive with them
3. You’ll make more sales.
That I guarantee you’ll like.
Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.
About the Author
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/JeffreyGitomer.jpg218156Nathan Iveshttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngNathan Ives2013-08-19 06:36:472016-08-08 16:02:38Like me! Why should I like you? Eh, I have no idea!
The world of the customer has dramatically changed. The tough economy has made customers more value conscious, demonstrating far more caution in how they spend their hard-earned dollar. The proliferation of self-service (while a blessing when it works) has made customers more frustrated when they feel trapped in a process with no live person to help. And the Internet, with its social media reach, has empowered customers with strong influence over other customers and the reputation of companies.
Such a plethora of challenges has required all organizations to rethink their strategy. Since revenue from customers and the power of their advocacy dramatically impacts organizational growth and profits, assuming “we know what’s best for our customers” is akin to a death knell.
But, the largest challenge today is not the changing expectations of the new, normal picky, fickle, vocal and wired customer. It is their requirement for an experience that heightens their emotional connection and ramps up their affinity. Customers are bored and want their hearts to race and their spirits to soar. And, here is the backstory.
Hi there! This article is available for free. Login or register as a StrategyDriven Personal Business Advisor Self-Guided Client by:
Chip R. Bell is a customer loyalty consultant and the author of several national best-selling books. His last three books include The 9 ½ Principles of Innovative Service, Managers as Mentors (with Marshall Goldsmith) and Wired and Dangerous (with John Patterson). He can be reached at www.chipbell.com
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.png00StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2013-08-14 06:35:542016-01-31 13:25:29The Emerging Strategy of Innovative Service
Using procedures drives consistency, reducing risk and increasing quality. Whether an activity is performed by different individuals or multiple times by the same person, proper procedure use and adherence ensures the prescribed activities are performed in the same manner, in the same order, and from the same starting conditions every time thereby yielding the same expected result. Furthermore, past operating experience can be incorporated into procedures so that lessons learned information is passed from user to user helping ensure mistakes of the past are not repeated in the future. All that said, procedures only drive this type of desired performance if used and adhered to correctly.
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Subscribe to the StrategyDriven Insights Library
Sign-up now for your StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription for as low as $15 / month (paid annually).
Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/ProcedureUse.jpg282425Nathan Iveshttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngNathan Ives2013-08-13 06:12:532018-10-13 22:41:02Human Performance Management Best Practice 9 – Procedure Use and Adherence
Use of procedures and work instructions helps increase performance consistency between individuals conducting these documented activities and between repetitive performances by one person. Such consistency promotes the error-free performance necessary for high-risk and high-quality operations. However, the use of procedures slows progress and limits productivity. Since not all activities demand a high degree of consistency, a graded approach to the application of a procedure use standard is warranted.
Hi there! Gain access to this article with a StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription or buy access to the article itself.
Subscribe to the StrategyDriven Insights Library
Sign-up now for your StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription for as low as $15 / month (paid annually).
Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/ProcedureUseLevel.jpg282425Nathan Iveshttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngNathan Ives2013-08-06 06:32:192018-10-13 22:37:16Human Performance Management Best Practice 8 – Procedure Level of Use Standards
Everyone has their own time machine.
The only question is: how are you using it?
The time machine I’m referring to is music. The music you grew up with and the music you listen to every day. I refer to it as the ‘music transportation department’ because the right song can transport you back to an exact place and time in an instant – and create a great feeling.
Hopefully a positive place.
Hopefully a peaceful place.
Hopefully an inspirational place.
And surprisingly a sales place.
In 1983, I went to an ‘oldies’ concert in Philadelphia. A bunch of doo-wop groups reassembled to sing 25-year-old songs. The music I grew up with. The opening group was The Dubs who started the show singing “Could This Be Magic.” Please watch it here:
As I listened and sang along, I started to cry. It was the beginning of my true understanding of music. I’ve been a devout listener of doo-wop since 1955 and considered myself somewhat of an expert. But the memories it brought back were amazing. Overwhelming.
The Dubs provided my first recognized musical time machine, and I have been in the time machine warp ever since.
Fast forward to 2008. I started my subscription to a club here in Charlotte, North Carolina, called Music with Friends. They put on four concerts a year in a small venue (750 people) with great acoustics (actually an old converted church). I’ve got perfect seats (although there is not a bad seat in the house). And every event is TOTAL time machine music. Gladys Knight, Tony Bennett, Smokey Robinson, Hall & Oats, and Diana Ross to name a few.
Yes, I go to large arena music time machine events too. Carole King, Springsteen, and the incomparable Leonard Cohen.
And as a true music lover, I also see who and what is new. Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Rhianna.
There’s magic in live music.
IMPORTANT MUSIC LESSON: Repetition is the mother of mastery. If you hear a song once, and you like it, you tap your foot to the music. After you hear that song five times, you can sing along. After you hear that song ten times, you can sing it on your own.
And if you hear that same song 20 years later, it instantly transports you back to the exact time and place you first heard it.
If I play the right song for you, I can take you back to your first date, first kiss, summer romance, travel, school, riding in a car, first wedding dance, even your first divorce.
In the late ’60s, one of the singer-songwriters I listened to most was Leonard Cohen. Compelling, clear, haunting music. In 1993, I was finishing the writing and editing of my Sales Bible in Hilton Head. Along with my editor, Rod Smith, and my cat Lito, I (we) listened to Leonard Cohen every day as the book was completed. Twenty years later I had a chance to see him live in Las Vegas. Sitting in the second row, the floodgates of memories and life opened. An amazing performance.
Last month we (my partner Jessica and I) flew to New Orleans to watch Leonard Cohen for the second time in two years. I could sing every song. It wasn’t just a concert. It was an emotional remembrance. The ’60s, The Sales Bible, the first concert, and this one. Very emotional. Very inspirational. Very impactful. Very life enhancing.
What’s your music?
What were you dancing to?
What are you dancing to?
What’s making your memories?
What’s keeping your memories alive?
What makes you cry with joy?
What makes you sing along (even if you can’t sing)?
What makes you stop and contemplate life?
SALES MUSIC: Music can also affect and impact your sales. Upbeat music makes the brain think and act upbeat. I prefer to call it ‘sales music’ because it gets you in a positive mood and can provide that extra passionate push.
Don’t you wish your prospect was thinking, “Bob is going to be here soon, I better play some rock music so I’m in a great mood when he arrives.” IDEA: Why not send a few songs to your prospect and ask him or her to listen to them just prior to your arrival. Okay, that probably won’t happen, but you get the idea.
MUSIC ACTION PLAN:
1. Document your music memory makers and get that music onto your music player or phone.
2. Identify the music that makes you wanna dance and puts you in a great mood. Download it all and put it in a separate ‘sales music’ file on your iPod.
2.5 Listen with the intent to be in a great frame of mind. A sales frame of mind.
I don’t know about you, but sales has always been music to my ears.
TELL ME: Got a favorite tune to set your sales mind on fire? Post it on my facebook page at www.facebook.com/jeffreygitomer.
Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.
About the Author
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/JeffreyGitomer.jpg218156StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2013-08-05 06:24:112016-08-08 16:06:53What you listen to can determine your mood and your fate.
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Like me! Why should I like you? Eh, I have no idea!
/in Marketing & Sales/by Jeffrey GitomerIf you can remember that far back in Facebook history (2007), it started as a ‘fan’ page. Then one day (way back in 2010), out of the blue, Facebook decided to change it to a ‘like’ page.
Why did they change it? Here’s their reason: “To improve your experience and promote consistency across the site, we’ve changed the language for Pages from ‘Fan’ to ‘Like.’ We believe this change offers you a more light-weight and standard way to connect with people, things and topics in which you are interested.”
Huh? Oh, that’s corporate-speak. What it really means is to create a business page where your customers or fans can go and interact. Kind of like what it was.
REALITY: It’s hard to make fun of the third largest country in the world, so everyone went along – me included.
And then the begging began. PLEASE LIKE ME! Or LIKE US ON FACEBOOK! The signs were everywhere. Still are.
And many people did:
Zappos – 833,000 likes
Elvis – 8.5 million likes
Lady Gagam – 53.5 million likes
Chevrolet – 1.9 million likes
Tesla – 234,000 likes
Jeffrey Gitomer – 35,451 likes (Not bad. But not as many as I would like. I try to give people a reason to like me, rather than just ask.)
What about your business? Who is liking you? And why? What’s the reason customers would like you beyond the beg?
Want more ‘likes’? Consider the process, not just the ask. Asking for a like gives me or anyone else little or no incentive to do so. Can you imagine this conversation, “Honey, as soon as we get home, let’s like them.” No, not gonna happen.
Here are a few thoughts to get your mind wrapped around the “like” process and help you understand how to attract and earn more of them:
STRATEGY: Instant like in your store or place of business. DO IT NOW! Where’s your iPad? Why aren’t you asking people to sign in at your cash register or welcome counter and like you on the spot? I mean really, do you think your customers head home and say: “I really gotta ‘like’ the dry cleaner as soon as I walk in the door.” Not likely.
STRATEGY: Smartphones can improve like. Ask customers to like you at the register. Give a coupon.
Okay, so they like you. THEN WHAT?
Like is a one-time click, what’s my reason to post, interact, and return?
STRATEGY: Instead of just asking people to like you, ask them to tell you WHAT they like – or WHY they like it. Or better, why they like YOU. Get people to post something, not just click a button. Expand the like so that others can see your value and your reality.
The value of like is undeniable. Lots of people liking you gives peace of mind to new and prospective customers. Like is proof – social proof that you are ‘safe’ to do business with.
Like is a vote of confidence to the business, not just other customers.
Like is a source of pride and affirmation of self-worth.
Like is reputation building.
PLAN A STRATEGY. You now have some additional awareness of both the value and the strategy of ‘like.’
If you invest a few hours with your team, and maybe an outside professional (we use www.onesocialmedia.com)…
1. You’ll attract more people
2. You’ll become interactive with them
3. You’ll make more sales.
That I guarantee you’ll like.
Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.
About the Author
The Emerging Strategy of Innovative Service
/in Customer Relationship Management, Marketing & Sales/by Chip BellThe world of the customer has dramatically changed. The tough economy has made customers more value conscious, demonstrating far more caution in how they spend their hard-earned dollar. The proliferation of self-service (while a blessing when it works) has made customers more frustrated when they feel trapped in a process with no live person to help. And the Internet, with its social media reach, has empowered customers with strong influence over other customers and the reputation of companies.
Such a plethora of challenges has required all organizations to rethink their strategy. Since revenue from customers and the power of their advocacy dramatically impacts organizational growth and profits, assuming “we know what’s best for our customers” is akin to a death knell.
But, the largest challenge today is not the changing expectations of the new, normal picky, fickle, vocal and wired customer. It is their requirement for an experience that heightens their emotional connection and ramps up their affinity. Customers are bored and want their hearts to race and their spirits to soar. And, here is the backstory.
Hi there! This article is available for free. Login or register as a StrategyDriven Personal Business Advisor Self-Guided Client by:
Subscribing to the Self Guided Program - It's Free!
About the Author
Chip R. Bell is a customer loyalty consultant and the author of several national best-selling books. His last three books include The 9 ½ Principles of Innovative Service, Managers as Mentors (with Marshall Goldsmith) and Wired and Dangerous (with John Patterson). He can be reached at www.chipbell.com
Human Performance Management Best Practice 9 – Procedure Use and Adherence
/in Human Performance Management, Premium/by Nathan IvesHi there! Gain access to this article with a StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription or buy access to the article itself.
Sign-up now for your StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription for as low as $15 / month (paid annually).
Not sure? Click here to learn more.
Don’t need a subscription? Buy access to Human Performance Management Best Practice 9 – Procedure Use and Adherence for just $2!
About the Author
Human Performance Management Best Practice 8 – Procedure Level of Use Standards
/in Human Performance Management, Premium/by Nathan IvesHi there! Gain access to this article with a StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription or buy access to the article itself.
Sign-up now for your StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription for as low as $15 / month (paid annually).
Not sure? Click here to learn more.
Don’t need a subscription? Buy access to Human Performance Management Best Practice 8 – Procedure Level of Use Standards for just $2!
About the Author
What you listen to can determine your mood and your fate.
/in Practices for Professionals/by Jeffrey GitomerEveryone has their own time machine.
The only question is: how are you using it?
The time machine I’m referring to is music. The music you grew up with and the music you listen to every day. I refer to it as the ‘music transportation department’ because the right song can transport you back to an exact place and time in an instant – and create a great feeling.
Hopefully a positive place.
Hopefully a peaceful place.
Hopefully an inspirational place.
And surprisingly a sales place.
In 1983, I went to an ‘oldies’ concert in Philadelphia. A bunch of doo-wop groups reassembled to sing 25-year-old songs. The music I grew up with. The opening group was The Dubs who started the show singing “Could This Be Magic.” Please watch it here:
As I listened and sang along, I started to cry. It was the beginning of my true understanding of music. I’ve been a devout listener of doo-wop since 1955 and considered myself somewhat of an expert. But the memories it brought back were amazing. Overwhelming.
The Dubs provided my first recognized musical time machine, and I have been in the time machine warp ever since.
Fast forward to 2008. I started my subscription to a club here in Charlotte, North Carolina, called Music with Friends. They put on four concerts a year in a small venue (750 people) with great acoustics (actually an old converted church). I’ve got perfect seats (although there is not a bad seat in the house). And every event is TOTAL time machine music. Gladys Knight, Tony Bennett, Smokey Robinson, Hall & Oats, and Diana Ross to name a few.
Yes, I go to large arena music time machine events too. Carole King, Springsteen, and the incomparable Leonard Cohen.
And as a true music lover, I also see who and what is new. Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Rhianna.
There’s magic in live music.
IMPORTANT MUSIC LESSON: Repetition is the mother of mastery. If you hear a song once, and you like it, you tap your foot to the music. After you hear that song five times, you can sing along. After you hear that song ten times, you can sing it on your own.
And if you hear that same song 20 years later, it instantly transports you back to the exact time and place you first heard it.
If I play the right song for you, I can take you back to your first date, first kiss, summer romance, travel, school, riding in a car, first wedding dance, even your first divorce.
In the late ’60s, one of the singer-songwriters I listened to most was Leonard Cohen. Compelling, clear, haunting music. In 1993, I was finishing the writing and editing of my Sales Bible in Hilton Head. Along with my editor, Rod Smith, and my cat Lito, I (we) listened to Leonard Cohen every day as the book was completed. Twenty years later I had a chance to see him live in Las Vegas. Sitting in the second row, the floodgates of memories and life opened. An amazing performance.
Last month we (my partner Jessica and I) flew to New Orleans to watch Leonard Cohen for the second time in two years. I could sing every song. It wasn’t just a concert. It was an emotional remembrance. The ’60s, The Sales Bible, the first concert, and this one. Very emotional. Very inspirational. Very impactful. Very life enhancing.
What’s your music?
What were you dancing to?
What are you dancing to?
What’s making your memories?
What’s keeping your memories alive?
What makes you cry with joy?
What makes you sing along (even if you can’t sing)?
What makes you stop and contemplate life?
SALES MUSIC: Music can also affect and impact your sales. Upbeat music makes the brain think and act upbeat. I prefer to call it ‘sales music’ because it gets you in a positive mood and can provide that extra passionate push.
Don’t you wish your prospect was thinking, “Bob is going to be here soon, I better play some rock music so I’m in a great mood when he arrives.” IDEA: Why not send a few songs to your prospect and ask him or her to listen to them just prior to your arrival. Okay, that probably won’t happen, but you get the idea.
MUSIC ACTION PLAN:
1. Document your music memory makers and get that music onto your music player or phone.
2. Identify the music that makes you wanna dance and puts you in a great mood. Download it all and put it in a separate ‘sales music’ file on your iPod.
2.5 Listen with the intent to be in a great frame of mind. A sales frame of mind.
I don’t know about you, but sales has always been music to my ears.
TELL ME: Got a favorite tune to set your sales mind on fire? Post it on my facebook page at www.facebook.com/jeffreygitomer.
Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.
About the Author