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 <title>Refreshing...</title>
 <link>http://seedsofgrowth.com/refreshing</link>
 <description>&lt;!-- google_ad_section_start --&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;http://seedsofgrowth.com/files/images/lemonade.preview.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Refreshing...&quot; title=&quot;Refreshing...&quot;  width=&quot;440&quot; height=&quot;440&quot; class=&quot;image preview big-img&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Today, according to predictions, we will hit 112 degrees in Mesa, Arizona. The AC units are running, the kids are out of school, and the streets look like a ghost town.  &quot;Winter&quot; is officially here. (you know that time when everyone stays indoors because of inclement weather?)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;At this time of year the word &quot;refreshing&quot; is particularly meaningful. Whether it is a tall cool glass of lemonade or dip in a cool pool. Both bring relief from the ongoing stress of the heat.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It occurred to me recently that some people are &quot;refreshing&quot; as well. Just like the lemonade, they bring relief from the ongoing stress of making a business work. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;These are people that just &quot;get it&quot;. You know the ones? They seem to know what you know and you find yourself talking excitedly together and sharing ideas and experiences and just enjoying the conversation.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;That&#039;s what happened when I met Adam Toren. We got together to discuss &lt;a href=&quot;http://promoterz.com&quot;&gt;Promoterz&lt;/a&gt;, our online service that helps businesses give a megaphone to their happy customers, become aware of unhappy customers, and increase the happiness of all customers. As we talked it was as if we were partners working out how to help other businesses succeed. Turns out that is what Adam does.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Adam and his brother Matthew are serial entrepreneurs. Among the impressive list of their ventures is a website, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.youngentrepreneur.com&quot;&gt;YoungEntrepreneur.com&lt;/a&gt;. They initially created this site to help youth become entrepreneurs but over the years it has become more to mean those that are young or new at being an entrepreneur.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The site has tens of thousands of members actively participating in its &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/&quot;&gt;forums (http://www.youngentrepreneur.com)&lt;/a&gt;. They also have a &quot;refreshing&quot; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/blog&quot;&gt;blog (http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/blog)&lt;/a&gt; as well. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you are a business owner sometimes what you need, besides more hours in every day, is just to be &quot;refreshed&quot; as you read of others shared experiences. Others who &quot;get it&quot;. I guess it is a sort of therapy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I enjoyed their &quot;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/blog/2008/02/06/the-top-10-mistakes-people-make-when-starting-a-business/&quot;&gt;10 Mistakes People Make When Starting A Business&lt;/a&gt;&quot; and an interview with an Ebay founder on &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/blog/2008/04/29/pursue-your-passion-pierre-omidyar-founder-of-ebay/&quot;&gt;persuing your passion&lt;/a&gt;. As you read you find yourself saying, yep, I remember how I learned that. But you also get reminded of things you might want to revisit and you feel more committed to succeeding.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In the end, just as you are refreshed and ready to go as you finish the last of the deliciously tart and cold lemonade, you will have some good ideas and the courage to succeed in this thing we call business.&lt;/p&gt;
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Get customer feedback, generate referrals, and increase repeat sales for as little as $50 a month. &lt;a href=&#039;http://promoterz.com&#039;&gt;Learn more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;</description>
 <comments>http://seedsofgrowth.com/refreshing#comment</comments>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/seeds/persistent">Be Persistent</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/seeds/remarkable">Be Remarkable</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/business-ideas">Business Ideas</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/innovation">Business Innovation</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/business-technology">Business Technology</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-relationship">Customer Relationship</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-satisfaction">Customer Satisfaction</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/entrepreneur">Entrepreneur</category>
 <pubDate>Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:02:06 -0700</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Joe Free</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">12303 at http://seedsofgrowth.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Get Your Helmet Mounted Cueing System Now!</title>
 <link>http://seedsofgrowth.com/get-your-helmet-mounted-cueing-system-now</link>
 <description>&lt;!-- google_ad_section_start --&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;http://seedsofgrowth.com/files/images/scary_helmet.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Get Your Helmet Mounted Cueing System Now!&quot; title=&quot;Get Your Helmet Mounted Cueing System Now!&quot;  width=&quot;210&quot; height=&quot;157&quot; class=&quot;image preview big-img&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;The F35 is an amazing jet. It can reach mach 1.6 and then stop in midair and hover while landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier in rough seas. You can see it in action &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GjrPvSBGXE&amp;amp;feature=related&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt; . For more than 50 years the Air Force has provided its pilots with &quot;head up&quot; displays so that the pilots can monitor key indicators they need without taking their view off the horizon. I guess when you are going mach 1.6 and dealing with an enemy it is pretty important not to take your eyes off the horizon. The Air Force is now testing new technology to replace the head up display specifically for pilots of the F35. According to a recent &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9817743-7.html?part=rss&amp;amp;subj=news&amp;amp;tag=2547-1_3-0-5&quot;&gt;post&lt;/a&gt; on CNET, the new system uses infrared to actually let the pilot look right through the floor of the aircraft. It also displays the feedback that pilots need no matter which direction they are looking. The &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.vsi-hmcs.com/index.html&quot;&gt;company&lt;/a&gt; that is developing the new technology calls it a &quot;Helmet Mounted Cueing System.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So your business is moving along pretty fast, wouldn&#039;t it be nice to have a Helmet Mounted Cueing System to help you make better decisions? What information would you want on your cueing system? I don&#039;t think you&#039;d want to clutter it up with important but not critical information. For example, I don&#039;t think I&#039;d want to wander around with a copy of my latest balance sheet always in front of my eyes. The current cash balance in the bank, on the other hand, might be very useful. I don&#039;t know about you, but sometimes every second counts in getting a deposit to clear before payroll starts hitting! How about some indicator of how your customers are feeling? After all, everything we do as business owners is (or should be) about making customers happy so that they will buy from us again and again and tell their friends. Seems like knowing what they are thinking about our business and what they really want from our business should influence every decision we make. What else would you add to your HMBICS (Helmet Mounted Business Information Cueing System--got to have an acronym if we want to get any government funding!)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you&#039;re not quite ready to pull on the Star Wars helmet (your customers might turn and run), you might check out our sponsor product, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.promoterz.com&quot;&gt;Promoterz&lt;/a&gt;. Right now--without government funding--you can keep a pulse on how your customers feel about your business. There is no head up display, but your customers&#039; comments will go directly to your email so you will always be in touch and better able to take your business to mach 1.6!&lt;/p&gt;
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Get customer feedback, generate referrals, and increase repeat sales for as little as $50 a month. &lt;a href=&#039;http://promoterz.com&#039;&gt;Learn more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;</description>
 <comments>http://seedsofgrowth.com/get-your-helmet-mounted-cueing-system-now#comment</comments>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/seeds/attentive">Be Attentive</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-relationship">Customer Relationship</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-satisfaction">Customer Satisfaction</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/entrepreneur">Entrepreneur</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/management">Management</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/promoter-score">Net Promoter Score</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 16 Nov 2007 10:23:15 -0700</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Dave Free</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">10060 at http://seedsofgrowth.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>The Power of Realtime Feedback for Your Business</title>
 <link>http://seedsofgrowth.com/the-power-of-realtime-feedback-for-your-business</link>
 <description>&lt;!-- google_ad_section_start --&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;http://seedsofgrowth.com/files/images/Speedometer--large-msg-115243178865.preview.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;The Power of Realtime Feedback for Your Business&quot; title=&quot;The Power of Realtime Feedback for Your Business&quot;  width=&quot;440&quot; height=&quot;330&quot; class=&quot;image preview big-img&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;When I get in a car my goal is typically to get from where I am to where I want to be as fast as safely possible. To do that, I primarily use one gauge on the dashboard: the speedometer. Sure every few days I have to pay attention to the gas gauge and, if the car doesn’t seem to be behaving as it should I glance at the other gauges but the majority of the time it is all about the speedometer. WIth my goal being to get to my destination as fast as possible I try to keep that speedometer at (or slightly above) the speed limit.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I rented a car the other day with a new feedback mechanism that completely changed the way I drive. The car was the Nissan Altima Hybrid. I don’t own the car ( the car I own is more of a truck—it has a V10 and can easily pull up the mountain into Flagstaff at 85 mph—but that’s a post for another day and perhaps a different blog).  I ended up driving the Altima because the rental car company gave me a free upgrade. I drove it for 4 days in the bay area. The hybrid Altima is rated at 42 mpg. It’s got all kinds of high tech stuff under the hood that switches back and forth between and electric power and the combustion engine and delivers great efficiency. All that stuff is very cool and seemed to work very well, but the thing that saved the most gas for me was a new gauge they added to the dashboard. The gauge was a real time mpg indicator. It was cool. I could always see exactly what kind of mileage I was getting.  If I pushed the pedal down to pass, the mpg indicator would drop down into the the 8 to 9 range. When I coasted down a hill it would shoot up to 80 to 90 mpg. I found if I kept it steady I could get to a nice cruising speed and still be getting over 40 mpg. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;That one additional bit of information completely changed the way I, the proud owner of a V10, drove. Yes, I still wanted to get there as quick as I could but I found myself balancing that goal with the goal of maximizing my mileage. Now I know that each time I fill up I could do the little calculation and figure out what kind of mileage I got, but the fact is I don’t. Why? Because by that time, the decisions have already been made. I admit it, I am short sighted, but I have never filled my tank with gas, calculated my mileage and said, “Hmmm, I better drive slower.”  On the other hand, the real time mgp gauge on the Altima had me driving slower—not always, but certainly more often,&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;How does that apply to your small business? What feedback mechanisms do you use to monitor the success of your business? Traditional accounting measures are like calculating your mpg after the fact. Everything is history. Sure it is a good number to know, but by the time you know it, it may be too late to influence the behaviors that need to be changed to improve it. Forward looking indicators like sales forecasts and other budgets are more like the speedometer, but even these indicators don’t give what you really need to run your business. What you really need to run your business (in conjunction with the other measures) is a realtime indicator of how your customers feel about your business. You need realtime customer feedback. You may think you know what your customers feel, want and need, but I can guarantee you that unless you are asking your customers and listening, what you think you know is wrong. I can also guarantee you that, just like the realtime mpg gauge changed my driving behavior, realtime customer feedback will change your behavior and the behavior of your staff for the better. Give it a try, you will never go back.  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Anybody know where I can get an aftermarket mgp gauge for a V10?  &lt;/p&gt;
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If you are not regularly staying in touch with your customers someone else will.  How do you stay in touch? &lt;a href=&#039;http://promoterz.com&#039;&gt;Learn more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;</description>
 <comments>http://seedsofgrowth.com/the-power-of-realtime-feedback-for-your-business#comment</comments>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/seeds/attentive">Be Attentive</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-relationship">Customer Relationship</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-satisfaction">Customer Satisfaction</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/marketing">Marketing</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/promoter-score">Net Promoter Score</category>
 <pubDate>Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:30:26 -0700</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Dave Free</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">9761 at http://seedsofgrowth.com</guid>
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<item>
 <title>This Post Isn&#039;t Worth Reading</title>
 <link>http://seedsofgrowth.com/this-post-isnt-worth-reading</link>
 <description>&lt;!-- google_ad_section_start --&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;http://seedsofgrowth.com/files/images/lemon cars.preview.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;This Post Isn&amp;#039;t Worth Reading&quot; title=&quot;This Post Isn&amp;#039;t Worth Reading&quot;  width=&quot;434&quot; height=&quot;440&quot; class=&quot;image preview big-img&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Interesting post on &lt;a href=&quot;http://workplayexperience.blogspot.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;WorkPlayExperience&lt;/a&gt; about managing customer expectations to improve their experience. More specifically, lowering expectations so that customers end up being blown away. Whether you agree with the premise or not, the example used is must see material. A contestant on the British version of American Idol is a cell phone salesman that dreams of being an opera singer. You can see the judges rolling their eyes and &lt;a href=&quot;http://youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;then...&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In our world of hyper-competition, keeping expectations low doesn&#039;t seem like an obvious strategy for success. Imagine the used car ad, &quot;Come on down, but don&#039;t expect too much. Most of our cars are lemons.&quot;  On the other hand, maybe something like that would be just unique and honest enough to bring them in!  For more advice on lowering expectations check out Adam&#039;s &lt;a href=&quot;http://workplayexperience.blogspot.com/2007/06/starting-badly-on-purpose.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;post&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
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You work hard to make sure your customers are happy.  Don&#039;t waste happy customers.  How easy is it for your customers to share with their friends? &lt;a href=&#039;http://promoterz.com&#039;&gt;Learn more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;</description>
 <comments>http://seedsofgrowth.com/this-post-isnt-worth-reading#comment</comments>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/seeds/remarkable">Be Remarkable</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-relationship">Customer Relationship</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-satisfaction">Customer Satisfaction</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/marketing">Marketing</category>
 <pubDate>Wed, 20 Jun 2007 04:33:55 -0700</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Dave Free</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">8041 at http://seedsofgrowth.com</guid>
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<item>
 <title>One More Chapter in a Great Story</title>
 <link>http://seedsofgrowth.com/one-more-chapter-in-a-great-story</link>
 <description>&lt;!-- google_ad_section_start --&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;http://seedsofgrowth.com/files/images/new_sc_ad_0.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;One More Chapter in a Great Story&quot; title=&quot;One More Chapter in a Great Story&quot;  width=&quot;386&quot; height=&quot;367&quot; class=&quot;image preview big-img&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;About six months ago I wrote about a small, bricks and mortar business that had successfully implemented and was enjoying the fruits of an online system that increased word-of-mouth marketing for their business.  You can read the original post &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.seedsofgrowth.com/real-small-business-real-word-of-mouth-real-improvement&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.  In a nutshell, the business is a haircut salon for men--a Sportclips franchise to be exact.  The owners, Chuck and Joan Matheny, were using &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.promoterz.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt; Promoterz &lt;/a&gt; to 1) Collect feedback from their customers, 2) Establish an &quot;opt-in&quot; email relationship through which they could communicate directly with their customers, and 3) Give their customers an easy way to tell their friends about their store.  Top line result:  more than a 20% increase in revenue.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here is a new chapter in their saga:  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Corporate SportClips introduced and has been encouraging franchisees to promote a &quot;Season Ticket&quot; concept.  Customers willing to pay for six haircuts in advance get a free upgrade to MVP service on each of those haircuts (MVP includes a hot towel and shoulder massage among other things).  Because  several hundred of the Matheny&#039;s customers have asked to receive updates about the store by email, promoting the Season Ticket with an email seemed like a natural.  Think about the value of Chuck&#039;s email list:  because he had reached out to his customers and provided a way for them to opt-in, he could now communicate with those that wanted to hear from him directly and at absolutely no cost.  He didn&#039;t have to wait for them to come into the store or pay for an expensive ad.  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Rather than just encouraging the customers to come in to a store and ask for a Season Pass, we decided to put the technology to the test and offer the customers a quick and simple way to buy the card directly online.  The email included a &quot;one-click&quot; buy button.  Customers could opt to have the card mailed to them or come into the store and pick it up.  The test has been a great success.  Several customers have purchased online and the orders continue to come in.  Cha-ching!  A new online revenue stream for a bricks and mortar business. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Small test--significant implications.  Here is a small &quot;old industry/bricks and mortar&quot; business that has figured out a way to use the internet--not as a glorified yellow-pages ad, but as a tool to generate new revenue streams, increase repeat customer visits and collect new leads--all of which have a direct impact on the top and bottom lines.  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The real &quot;no-brainer?&quot;  The Matheny&#039;s used &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.promoterz.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt; Promoterz &lt;/a&gt; to do all of this.  The cost: $50 per month per store.&lt;/p&gt;
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More happy customers.  More repeat sales.  More referrals. &lt;a href=&#039;http://promoterz.com&#039;&gt;Learn more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;</description>
 <comments>http://seedsofgrowth.com/one-more-chapter-in-a-great-story#comment</comments>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/seeds/remarkable">Be Remarkable</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/advertising">Advertising</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-loyalty">Customer Loyalty</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-relationship">Customer Relationship</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/email-marketing">Email Marketing</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/franchise">Franchise</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/viral-marketing">Viral Marketing</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/word-of-mouth">Word of Mouth</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 15 Dec 2006 14:55:51 -0700</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Dave Free</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">5138 at http://seedsofgrowth.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Complaints Happen</title>
 <link>http://seedsofgrowth.com/complaints-happen</link>
 <description>&lt;!-- google_ad_section_start --&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;http://seedsofgrowth.com/files/images/angry guy.preview.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Complaints Happen&quot; title=&quot;Complaints Happen&quot;  width=&quot;440&quot; height=&quot;330&quot; class=&quot;image preview big-img&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you are in the service business--for that matter if you are in any business--no matter how hard you try to be perfect, sooner or later a customer is not going to be pleased with the service they receive.  The inevitability of it shouldn&#039;t discourage you from trying to be perfect, but when a mistake happens the recovery should become job #1.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;That dissatisfied customers tell their friends is a fact.  How many they tell on average varies depending on the study referenced but it is somewhere between 4 and 10.  One &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.seedsofgrowth.com/who-ya-gonna-tell&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;study&lt;/a&gt; notes that those they tell are 5 times less likely to come to your business than the original dissatisfied customer.  Ouch.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;But there is hope.  According to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.restaurant-hospitality.com/article/15471&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt; Restaurant Hospitality &lt;/a&gt; &quot;Rule-of-thumb numbers show that roughly 60 percent of complaining customers will eat at your restaurant again if you resolve their service issue, and almost all customers (96 percent in some studies) will come back if you solve their problem to their satisfaction and do so quickly.&quot;  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;What is the best way to resolve issues?  &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.restaurant-hospitality.com/article/15471&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Hospitality &lt;/a&gt; cites a study called “An Examination of Guest Complaints and Complaint Communication Channels: The Medium Does Matter!” out of Cornell University School of Hotel Management.  It concludes that nearly fifty percent of unhappy guests want to talk to the boss.  Free drinks and comp meals are nice, but what they really want is to let the boss know.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So how easy do you make it for your customers to let you know about the service?  You can&#039;t always be in your business.  Do you make it easy for them to contact you?  You might be surprised what you learn and you will certainly have the opportunity to &quot;save&quot; good customers.  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Plug from our sponsor:  The &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.promoterz.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Promoterz&lt;/a&gt; system is one easy way to make sure customers always have a direct link to you and you have a direct and convenient way to respond to them.  The system invites every customer to provide feedback online and immediately notifies you and your managers of feedback as it is received.  &lt;/p&gt;
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Promoterz is the hands-free, word-of-mouth marketing service that takes care of the details so you can focus on business. &lt;a href=&#039;http://promoterz.com&#039;&gt;Learn more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;</description>
 <comments>http://seedsofgrowth.com/complaints-happen#comment</comments>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/seeds/attentive">Be Attentive</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-relationship">Customer Relationship</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-satisfaction">Customer Satisfaction</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/word-of-mouth">Word of Mouth</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 30 Nov 2006 15:24:53 -0700</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Dave Free</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">4832 at http://seedsofgrowth.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>When &quot;I don&#039;t know&quot; is a Good Answer.</title>
 <link>http://seedsofgrowth.com/when-i-dont-know-is-a-good-answer</link>
 <description>&lt;!-- google_ad_section_start --&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;http://seedsofgrowth.com/files/images/133_photo.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;When &amp;quot;I don&amp;#039;t know&amp;quot; is a Good Answer.&quot; title=&quot;When &amp;quot;I don&amp;#039;t know&amp;quot; is a Good Answer.&quot;  width=&quot;237&quot; height=&quot;304&quot; class=&quot;image preview big-img&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Had a chance to go to lunch with Tom Miller yesterday.  Tom has been in the franchising industry for years and is an Executive Vice President with &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.murphybusiness.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Murphy Business&lt;/a&gt;.  In his own estimation, he is a &quot;legend in his own mind.&quot;  Actually, he has an extraordinary sales record and is considered The Authority on franchising throughout the business brokerage community.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As we talked about the selling process, specifically to small business owners, he noted that in the &quot;early days&quot; he sold direct mail.  He learned quickly, that nobody wanted to hear about his business, but they loved to talk about their own.  So when he&#039;d meet with a likely prospect and they asked what he was selling, he would respond, &quot;I don&#039;t know yet.  Tell me about your business.&quot;  As he learned about the business, it became obvious if there was need--and what he was selling.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So how much do you know about your customers&#039; or your potential customers&#039; businesses?  Is learning about them part of your sales process or are you more focused on making sure they learn about you?  Are you learning enough?  According to Tom here is a key indicator: &quot;If you need a closing technique you haven&#039;t learned enough.&quot;  &lt;/p&gt;
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The growth of your business will be determined by what your customers say about it.  Do you know what they are saying? &lt;a href=&#039;http://promoterz.com&#039;&gt;Learn more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;</description>
 <comments>http://seedsofgrowth.com/when-i-dont-know-is-a-good-answer#comment</comments>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/seeds/attentive">Be Attentive</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-relationship">Customer Relationship</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-satisfaction">Customer Satisfaction</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/lead-generation">Lead Generation</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/marketing">Marketing</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/presentation">Presentation</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/sales">Sales</category>
 <pubDate>Wed, 15 Nov 2006 12:26:17 -0700</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Dave Free</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">4557 at http://seedsofgrowth.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>It&#039;s not easy not liking tomatoes</title>
 <link>http://seedsofgrowth.com/its-not-easy-not-liking-tomatoes</link>
 <description>&lt;!-- google_ad_section_start --&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;http://seedsofgrowth.com/files/images/no_tomato.preview.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;It&amp;#039;s not easy not liking tomatoes&quot; title=&quot;It&amp;#039;s not easy not liking tomatoes&quot;  width=&quot;440&quot; height=&quot;440&quot; class=&quot;image preview big-img&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;For those few of you out there that don&#039;t like tomatoes you know what I&#039;m talking about.  &quot;Why don&#039;t you try this fresh one from the garden? They are so good!&quot; But the result is always the same, once the slimy seedy acidy insides hit my mouth its over.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I know all the arguments for liking tomatoes...&quot;How can you like salsa, ketchup and spaghetti sauce and not tomatoes?&quot;  Sorry, they taste different.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Put yourself in my place.  Everytime you order a burger you have to special order, and half the time they blow the order so you are picking off the tomato yourself.  Like that&#039;s easy...the carcass comes off pretty well but the seedy sludge left over reminds me of trying to wipe up...well, it is too gross to specify. (Let just say it happens when kids have eaten then you drive through a winding canyon.)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Ever try to get a salad without tomatoes? There is no pulling those out, the tomato fluids are lost in the forest of lettuce, just waiting to get you.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I would like to love tomatoes, I have tried, honestly.  I would love to have a life where I enjoy them.  But I don&#039;t.  No one seems to accept that.  There is always a bit of judgment as you tell them you would not care for tomatoes.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I heard once that they were a member of the nightshade family.  A very deadly plant.  Ever wonder who tried those first?  &quot;Hey, Eb, give these a try...&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;My favorite places to eat are those that are happy with a &quot;special order&quot; or the ones where you have to pay extra for tomatoes (why should I pay the tax for others tomatoes?).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;OK, this is going somewhere.  The point is we all have different tastes and preferences.  And no matter how much we educate or communicate, those tastes and preferences remain.  And trying to change them is like trying to teach a pig to sing, it wastes your time and annoys the pig.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Think about your business.  Do you have customers that prefer things a little different than the rest?  Do you have policies or people that just refuse to change.? This is a great chance to give them a bit of your own &quot;secret sauce&quot; where you show them you take care of the customer. Sometimes things shouldn&#039;t be changed for the special case, but if your competitor will change for them you know where your customer will be.&lt;/p&gt;
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A disgruntled customer is 5 times more likely to tell their friend than you.  On average they&#039;ll tell 4 friends.  Wouldn&#039;t you like to be in the loop? &lt;a href=&#039;http://promoterz.com&#039;&gt;Learn more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;</description>
 <comments>http://seedsofgrowth.com/its-not-easy-not-liking-tomatoes#comment</comments>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/seeds/attentive">Be Attentive</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-relationship">Customer Relationship</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-satisfaction">Customer Satisfaction</category>
 <pubDate>Tue, 19 Sep 2006 12:05:13 -0700</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Joe Free</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">3329 at http://seedsofgrowth.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>How will you be viewed?</title>
 <link>http://seedsofgrowth.com/how-will-you-be-viewed</link>
 <description>&lt;!-- google_ad_section_start --&gt;
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&lt;p&gt;I love optical illusions.  It is fascinating how our minds can be tricked.  The good folks at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.grand-illusions.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;grand-illusions&lt;/a&gt; have a &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.grand-illusions.com/opticalillusions/dragon_illusion/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;dragon illusion&lt;/a&gt; that you can download and build yourself. Here is a &lt;a href=&quot;javascript:popUpSmall(&#039;http://seedsofgrowth.com/dragon.html&#039;)&quot; title=&quot;View the Dragon Optical Illusion.&quot;&gt;video&lt;/a&gt; showing the illusion in more detail.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This seems to be another example of the brain assigning a symbol to something (see &lt;a href=&quot;http://seedsofgrowth.com/have-you-tried-turning-it-upside-down&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;earlier post&lt;/a&gt;) to make processing lots of information quicker.  In this case, it seems the brain &quot;knows&quot; that if a dragon is looking at us that its nose would be closer to us than its eyes. It is called the &quot;Hollow Face Illusion&quot;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Just as our brain can interpret what we see as two completely different views, it appears it does the same thing with people.  For example, let&#039;s say you are looking at a playground and you see a child climbing up a slide.  You also see an adult in the shadows hiding behind a nearby tree peeking out and watching the child.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you don&#039;t know this adult chances are you will remember being taught &quot;stranger danger!&quot; and you will immediately become suspicious that this might be a predator.  However, if you knew this adult you would assume that they are playing hide-and-seek.  Two completely different conclusions from the same situation. Obviously, previous experience colors our perception.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Inevitably you, or someone in your company, will make a mistake.  At that point your customer&#039;s view of you will determine the conclusion they draw.  If you are a stranger they may view the mistake as a callous disregard for customers from a company that only cares about its profits.  However, if they have had several good experiences with your company they will be more likely to give you the benefit of the doubt.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If your customers only hear from you when you are selling something you are missing out on a chance to build trust and change from being a stranger to a friend. Why not send a non-salesy greeting to them on their birthday, let them get to know you, it is good insurance for future mishaps and it is what friends do.&lt;/p&gt;
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--&gt;

Customers who feel that you are listening to them are more likely to recommend you to a friend.  How do your customers know that you are listening? &lt;a href=&#039;http://promoterz.com&#039;&gt;Learn more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;</description>
 <comments>http://seedsofgrowth.com/how-will-you-be-viewed#comment</comments>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/seeds/attentive">Be Attentive</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-loyalty">Customer Loyalty</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-relationship">Customer Relationship</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-satisfaction">Customer Satisfaction</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 15 Sep 2006 13:45:15 -0700</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Joe Free</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">3274 at http://seedsofgrowth.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Would you recommend Cingular?</title>
 <link>http://seedsofgrowth.com/would-you-recommend-cingular</link>
 <description>&lt;!-- google_ad_section_start --&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;http://seedsofgrowth.com/files/images/front.preview.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Would you recommend Cingular?&quot; title=&quot;Would you recommend Cingular?&quot;  width=&quot;440&quot; height=&quot;287&quot; class=&quot;image preview big-img&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Yesterday my bill from Cingular arrived.  Two months earlier I had added my daughters phone to our family plan.  For the first month a new phone gets free, unlimited text messaging which allows you to figure out which messaging plan to sign up for.  Let me tell you that teenage girls text a lot!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;After the first month I got on Cingular&#039;s web site, logged into my account, and changed her texting plan to allow MANY text messages, 3000.  Turns out that&#039;s just enough.  But, when the phone bill arrived yesterday it showed that I didn&#039;t change the plan so the text portion of my daughter&#039;s phone bill was $170.  If you&#039;re wondering, that represents 2700 text messages in one month (busy fingers).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I called Cingular, 611 on my cell phone.  I explained to the customer service rep how I got on the web site and made a change to my plan to accommodate my new rapid texter.  She checked the records and found out that I made a change to the account but that I ended up with the same plan.  To me that means &quot;no change&quot; but they have record that I did something that day.  She said she would refund half of the $170, not because she had to but to show good faith.  &quot;I don&#039;t have to do this sir&quot;.  She didn&#039;t believe that I made the change.  By-the-way, if you didn&#039;t already know, Cingular has a website that frequently has problems.  Well, at least that&#039;s been my experience over the past 1 1/2 years.  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;While having this discussion with the customer service rep my Cingular call just dropped.  It makes a sound when that happens, &quot;da-da-da-da-daaa&quot;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I called right back, got a different rep, and told my story again.  She listened.  She checked and found out that I had the same plan before and after the &quot;change&quot;.  Then she said &quot;I&#039;m making changes to your account sir, I&#039;m post dating your text package to the date you tried to make this change&quot;.  Then she took care of the overage and other assorted things she needed to do to get it to all work out so that my bill would be correct.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;THANK YOU!!!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Cingular is an &lt;b&gt;immense&lt;/b&gt; company.  I won&#039;t argue that Cingular is a good wireless provider or not.  Mostly it&#039;s worked well for me but a bad experience with them and I would be pushed to change providers, it&#039;s hard to have a lot of loyalty to a mega-company.  It&#039;s hard unless they deal with you correctly in all circumstances  The experience with the first rep wasn&#039;t good, it was exactly what I had feared would happen.  That coupled with the extra $170 and other fruity action from their web site and I had plenty of reason to leave Cingular&#039;s service.  Had this story ended there I&#039;d be with another wireless company right now.  But, one customer service rep made all the difference for me.  She made it all right, over the top of the first one and other bad experiences I&#039;ve had with the company.  A huge company and one person in it makes the difference.  A remarkable person.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I don&#039;t talk about my cell phone company unless something gives me reason to, whether it&#039;s good or bad.  It&#039;s good this time and I&#039;m telling others.  I&#039;m using a megaphone (this blog) to do it.  If Cingular were my company... I&#039;d be rich!  No, no, no.  If Cingular were my company... I&#039;d find out who my happy customers are and give them a megaphone to tell their friends about how great a company I have.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you have a company you should do the same with your happy customers.  Find out who they are and give them a megaphone to tell their friends about what a great product or service you have.  You can do it and you should do it.  If you need help with the finding and the megaphone you can &lt;a href=&quot;http://promoterz.com&quot;&gt;get it here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
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Promoterz is the hands-free, word-of-mouth marketing service that takes care of the details so you can focus on business. &lt;a href=&#039;http://promoterz.com&#039;&gt;Learn more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;</description>
 <comments>http://seedsofgrowth.com/would-you-recommend-cingular#comment</comments>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/seeds/attentive">Be Attentive</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-relationship">Customer Relationship</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/word-of-mouth">Word of Mouth</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 15 Sep 2006 06:01:33 -0700</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Dan Crites</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">3255 at http://seedsofgrowth.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Whitewashing fences today...</title>
 <link>http://seedsofgrowth.com/whitewashing-fences-today</link>
 <description>&lt;!-- google_ad_section_start --&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;http://seedsofgrowth.com/files/images/pool_guy.preview.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Whitewashing fences today...&quot; title=&quot;Whitewashing fences today...&quot;  width=&quot;330&quot; height=&quot;440&quot; class=&quot;image preview big-img&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Quick, how many words can you come up with to describe this photo? If you said pool, child, kid, water, goggles or blue you and I would have just made 100 points at one of Googles &lt;a href=&quot;http://images.google.com/imagelabeler/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;latest projects&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Remember how &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.pbs.org/marktwain/learnmore/writings_tom.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Tom Sawyer made whitewashin&#039;&lt;/a&gt; the fence so tempting to those passing by?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It seems &lt;a href=&quot;http://google.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Google&lt;/a&gt; might be doing something similar to label images they have indexed.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here is how it works.  You push a button and get paired up with a partner.  A 90 second timer starts and you each are shown the same picture. You type in as many descriptions as you can.  As soon as you have a description that matches you are shown another image. Each image you match is worth 100 points.  At the end you can even hover your mouse over the images and see what your partner guessed.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I think it is brilliant.  Not only are they getting free work from people, but they are discovering what people really think when they see an image. Oh yea, it is also fun.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Think of your business, is there a fun way you could get feedback from your customers helping you whitewash your fence?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(By the way my current record is 900 points in 90 seconds)&lt;/p&gt;
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More happy customers.  More repeat sales.  More referrals. &lt;a href=&#039;http://promoterz.com&#039;&gt;Learn more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;</description>
 <comments>http://seedsofgrowth.com/whitewashing-fences-today#comment</comments>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/seeds/attentive">Be Attentive</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/innovation">Business Innovation</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-relationship">Customer Relationship</category>
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 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/word-of-mouth">Word of Mouth</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 11 Sep 2006 14:48:07 -0700</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Joe Free</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">3140 at http://seedsofgrowth.com</guid>
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<item>
 <title>The Starbucks Online Coupon Fiasco--Venti Size</title>
 <link>http://seedsofgrowth.com/the-starbucks-online-coupon-fiasco-venti-size</link>
 <description>&lt;!-- google_ad_section_start --&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;http://seedsofgrowth.com/files/images/starbucks.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;The Starbucks Online Coupon Fiasco--Venti Size&quot; title=&quot;The Starbucks Online Coupon Fiasco--Venti Size&quot;  width=&quot;318&quot; height=&quot;246&quot; class=&quot;image preview big-img&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Just about everybody with a blog commented on Starbuck&#039;s recent problems with online coupons.  You can read the story &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060831/ap_on_bi_ge/starbucks_free_iced_coffee_1&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt; here &lt;/a&gt;.  John from Brand Autopsy  &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.seedsofgrowth.com/the-iced-starbucks-coupon&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt; asserts &lt;/a&gt; they never would have done something that dumb in his day (used to work there) and recommends more limited expiration dates.  Seth has some additional&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.seedsofgrowth.com/what-should-starbucks-do&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt; principles &lt;/a&gt; for avoiding such issues.  Countless others also weighed in on how it could have been avoided and what Starbuck&#039;s should do now that it has happened.  All good stuff, but I hope the baby (online coupons) doesn&#039;t get thrown out with the bath water.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In a nutshell, Starbucks created an online coupon with about a thirty day expiration date for a free iced coffee drink.  They gave the coupon to a few employees in select areas and expected it to stay limited.  It didn&#039;t.  It took off like wildfire thanks to the internet and they ended up posting signs in their stores saying &quot;regretfully&quot; they would no longer be valid at any Starbuck locations.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In my mind, the real story is not that online coupons don&#039;t work, but quite the opposite:  online coupons work well--in this case too well.  Remember the old days when you had to pay to get coupons printed in a newspaper or to hand out.  You had to pay for every one!  Not so on the internet.  They multiply without costing you a dime.  Isn&#039;t that just what you want to have happen?  It should be.  So the lesson is this:  make sure that any offer you put on an online coupon is something that you would be happy to see proliferate.  Tools to do that?  Limit the expiration date, make it a &quot;buy something to get something&quot; offer, give away something with no hard costs.  Have other ideas for creating coupons you&#039;re happy to see proliferate?  Post them here.   &lt;/p&gt;
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 <comments>http://seedsofgrowth.com/the-starbucks-online-coupon-fiasco-venti-size#comment</comments>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/seeds/persistent">Be Persistent</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-loyalty">Customer Loyalty</category>
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 <pubDate>Fri, 01 Sep 2006 22:47:24 -0700</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Dave Free</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">2959 at http://seedsofgrowth.com</guid>
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<item>
 <title>True Blue Fans Create!</title>
 <link>http://seedsofgrowth.com/football-and-customer-engagement</link>
 <description>&lt;!-- google_ad_section_start --&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;http://seedsofgrowth.com/files/images/byufootball.preview.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;True Blue Fans Create!&quot; title=&quot;True Blue Fans Create!&quot;  width=&quot;440&quot; height=&quot;234&quot; class=&quot;image preview big-img&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;I&#039;ve written some in the past about the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.seedsofgrowth.com/look-what-i-did&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;benefits&lt;/a&gt; of inviting your customers to participate in the creative process.  Two benefits:  1) the content produced and 2) the fact that the more they do for your business, the more likely they are to mention it to others.  Just came upon another example of that process taking place online.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;CougarBlue.com is a discussion board for BYU Cougar fans (yes, I am one).  Anyway, a new thread got started that suggested fans bring a white or blue towel to the football games this fall.  The thread quickly became an online brainstorming session including assignments and reports on assignments etc.  You can check it out  &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cougarblue.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&amp;amp;file=viewtopic&amp;amp;t=5225&amp;amp;postdays=0&amp;amp;postorder=asc&amp;amp;start=0&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;here.&lt;/a&gt;  Several pages of posts you&#039;ll need to scan through to see its progression.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Not sure if the vending or marketing folks at BYU are plugged in to or are aware of it, but it is a great example of fans (customers) getting involved and creating something that they love and will pay for.  How can you turn your customers into fans, creating something they will love and pay for?  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Go Cougars!&lt;/p&gt;
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 <comments>http://seedsofgrowth.com/football-and-customer-engagement#comment</comments>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/seeds/inviting">Be Inviting</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/innovation">Business Innovation</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-loyalty">Customer Loyalty</category>
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 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/word-of-mouth">Word of Mouth</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 18 Aug 2006 14:02:42 -0700</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Dave Free</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">2637 at http://seedsofgrowth.com</guid>
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<item>
 <title>Customer Service Lessons from Station 2</title>
 <link>http://seedsofgrowth.com/customer-service-lessons-from-station-2</link>
 <description>&lt;!-- google_ad_section_start --&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;http://seedsofgrowth.com/files/images/Station2.preview.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Customer Service Lessons from Station 2&quot; title=&quot;Customer Service Lessons from Station 2&quot;  width=&quot;440&quot; height=&quot;293&quot; class=&quot;image preview big-img&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Had a chance to visit a local Tempe, AZ fire station last night (career night with venture scouts).  I was impressed and came away with a few lessons, or at least things to think about, to improve customer service.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;b&gt;Hiring.&lt;/b&gt;  When asked what it takes to become a fire fighter our tour guide responded, &quot;They can teach anyone to do this job.  What they are really looking for is some one with people skills that can deal with the public and get along with everyone on the team.&quot;  Now certainly there are certain skills that you look for when hiring for a particular position, but in my experience the fire chiefs got it right:  most important is people skills.  The cost of hiring someone that is hard to get along with?   &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.seedsofgrowth.com/high-maintenance-dynamics-affect-work-performance&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Read this.&lt;/a&gt;  &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;b&gt;Everybody&#039;s Job.&lt;/b&gt;  Apparently the greater Phoenix area has a dispatch system that is the envy of most metropolitan areas.  Somehow common sense won out over politics in this area and the number one rule of dispatch is &quot;closest engine gets the call&quot; regardless of which city pays the bills.  Simple but powerful, and in this case, life-saving concept.  If you&#039;ve decided to sequester your &quot;customer service&quot; people in one corner of your building and have everyone forward irate customer calls to them you are losing lives.  Change your policy to &quot;closest employee solves the problem.&quot;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;b&gt;Know Your Role.&lt;/b&gt;  When the alarm goes off, firefighters in station 2 have 60 seconds to be in their clothes, in the truck and screaming out onto the street.  At night they get an additional 30 seconds to allow for wake up time.  Everyone obviously has to know what their duty is, where their equipment is, etc. to make that happen.  If the engineer is off or out for a particular shift a substitute driver is designated at the start of the shift--no time to do rock, paper, scissors for driving privileges once the alarm has gone off.  Here&#039;s the point, knowing what they are supposed to do when there is an emergency empowers firefighters to be fast and effective.  Do your employees know what their role is when the alarm goes off?  Perhaps even more important, have you given your customers an easy way to set the alarm off?  Someone with a house fire knows to call 911 and will follow through and do it--they have no other option.  Someone with a bad experience at your business could easily just walk away and tell several of their &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.seedsofgrowth.com/who-ya-gonna-tell&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;friends.  &lt;/a&gt;Unless you provide an easy and obvious way for them to sound the alarm, you may never know what damage is done.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Maybe it is extreme to use the firefighters as a standard for customer service--after all, they are dealing with life and death situations.  On the other hand, ignore or handle poorly volatile customer situations and it could be a life or death situation for your business.&lt;/p&gt;
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 <comments>http://seedsofgrowth.com/customer-service-lessons-from-station-2#comment</comments>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/seeds/attentive">Be Attentive</category>
 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/categories/customer-relationship">Customer Relationship</category>
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 <pubDate>Thu, 17 Aug 2006 08:30:46 -0700</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Dave Free</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">2619 at http://seedsofgrowth.com</guid>
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 <title>Is Your Marketing Self-Perpetuating?</title>
 <link>http://seedsofgrowth.com/is-your-marketing-self-perpetuating</link>
 <description>&lt;!-- google_ad_section_start --&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;http://seedsofgrowth.com/files/images/Seeds-growing_0.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Is Your Marketing Self-Perpetuating?&quot; title=&quot;Is Your Marketing Self-Perpetuating?&quot;  width=&quot;156&quot; height=&quot;200&quot; class=&quot;image preview big-img&quot; /&gt;&lt;p&gt;As I&#039;ve thought more about &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.seedsofgrowth.com/guerrilla-advertising-is-not-the-answer&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;guerilla advertising&lt;/a&gt; and how it differs from quality customer engagement that turns customers into promoters, it occurs to me that the key difference is self-perpetuation, or the lack thereof.  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The goal of both efforts is to get people talking to their friends or colleagues about your business--to create buzz.  But guerilla advertising is based on a staged event or gimmick that may not even be related to the business.  Yes, it creates buzz, but that buzz will wear off and then all you are left with is the headache of trying to come up with the next gimmick.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Turning your customers into promoters through quality customer engagement is different.  It may not get as big of an initial buzz, but it grows naturally and is self-perpetuating.  People end up talking not about your gimmick, but about how remarkable your product or service is.  They plant seeds in the minds of their friends that produce additional seeds as those friends give your business a try and spread the seeds to their friends and so on and so on and so on.    &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Self-perpetuating word of mouth--start planting the seeds.   &lt;/p&gt;
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 <category domain="http://seedsofgrowth.com/seeds/contagious">Be Contagious</category>
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 <pubDate>Fri, 11 Aug 2006 13:59:05 -0700</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Dave Free</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">2504 at http://seedsofgrowth.com</guid>
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