Chip R. Bell's Blog, page 25

The Valentine as Customer: Authentic Caring

Rick McIntire called me last week! He was the really great sales person who sold me a GMC Jimmy SUV in Dallas about twenty years ago…that was at least four Lexus’s and a fire engine red Mazda Miata ago. Rick knows I changed brand affinity because the GMC dealership Rick sold vehicles for is owned by the same company (Sewell Automotive) that owns the Lexus dealership that first snagged my vehicle brand loyalty. Don’t ask about that Miata! It was a complete aberration and totally impractical im...

The Customer as Valentine: Include Everyone

Sixth grade is an awkward school year for most boys and girls. Girls look at boys as so immature and lame; boys look at girls as so confusing and weird. It was a time of stupid pranks, smutty jokes, and snickers about anything personal or private. And, one of the most awkward times of the school year was Valentine’s Day.

Our sixth grade class all participated in decorating a giant “mail” box into which valentine cards were placed upon arrival on the morning of Valentine’s Day. Each valentine h...

The Customer as Valentine: All You Need is Love

The origin of Valentine’s Day is very instructive. It was initially associated with a religious celebration honoring St. Valentinus, a priest from Rome who was martyred about AD 496. Two stories (call them myths if you want to be completely accurate) frame the sentiment of February 14th…especially when applied to your customers.

Valentinus boldly performed marriage ceremonies for a soldier and his bride when it was forbidden that soldiers could marry. He supposedly cut out hearts and gave them...

The Customer as Valentine: Treat Customers Like Snowflakes

One of the first things you learn about snowflakes in elementary school is they are all beautiful and all unique—no two alike. And, even though they appear white in color they are made of clear ice. It is a powerful metaphor for how we should treat customers. Monogrammed service should be delivered to monogrammed people.

Today’s customers want it “my way.” Customers in the past were okay with generic, one size fits all, generalized everything. Not any more. Customers want more than brand speci...

The Customer as Valentine: A Generous Heart

Allowances were not something my dad believed taught kids a strong work ethic. So, I had to work for all my spending money. Living in a rural area, there were not a lot of paying chores for kids…except for baby-sitting and lawn mowing. My sister baby-sat; I mowed yards. I got a dollar for a regular-sized yard and two dollars for a large yard. And, my grandmother had a two-dollar yard!

One summer we had a drought where I lived. It did not impact the babysitting for my sister but it hit my payin...

The Customer as Valentine: Indirect Gifts

“Amy’s Plant” has a special meaning to a good friend of mine. And, it always makes him smile whenever you ask him about it. But, I am getting way ahead of myself!

My good friend tore down an old shed in his side yard. The ugly shed was in stark contrast to the rest of his gorgeous, highly coiffured lawn. He decided to make the available area a flower garden complete with birdhouses and a lattice covered sitting area. When it came time to purchase plants and ornamental trees targeted for the ne...

The Customer as Valentine Strategy: Indirect Gifts

“Amy’s Plant” has a special meaning to a good friend of mine. And, it always makes him smile whenever you ask him about it. But, I am getting way ahead of myself!

My good friend tore down an old shed in his side yard. The ugly shed was in stark contrast to the rest of his gorgeous, highly coiffured lawn. He decided to make the available area a flower garden complete with birdhouses and a lattice covered sitting area. When it came time to purchase plants and ornamental trees targeted for the ne...

Show Your Customers Some Love

Since 496 AD, love has been the centerpiece of Valentine’s Day. How can businesses show customers love in today’s economy? The answer is innovative service. Itchanges a customer’s feelings about the organization from pleased to thrilled.

Today, I am kicking off a blog series that will provide examples and techniques of innovative service to show your fondness for your customers, improve their customer experience and turn passively retained customers into active advocates for your brand or busi...

The Leadership Echo

I arrived at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead in Atlanta late in the afternoon at the end of a week on the road. My dress pants needed pressing for an early morning keynote. Dialing the hotel housekeeping department, I was told that someone would be right up to get my trousers. Moments later, a tiny Asian women probably in her mid-fifties knocked on my door. When I gave her my pants she informed me she would have them back to me in less than an hour. “If you have to leave,” she told me, “your pants...

Can I Help?: The Power of Inclusion

In the early 1950’s Betty Crocker was on a roll. The company’s twenty-year successful run of Bisquick (“90 seconds from package to oven”) clearly positioned the company as the partner to homemakers eager to make meal preparation quick and easy. The company (owned by General Mills) elected to expand into cake mixes with the introduction of White Cake in 1951. It was a mix that simply required adding water, like Bisquick.

However, the product failed to take off. Housewives felt no need to brag a...