Businesses spend thousands of dollars each month creating and distributing a marketing message hoping to attract customers.  In a previous article, “Digital Marketing is still Marketing” I spoke about how to create a unique message. This article is not a rehash of that but showing you an example of a company who lost valuable opportunities due to confusion of their message

I was at a friend’s house prior to the 4^th of July and as I looked through the local paper, I saw an ad for a local auto dealership with what I thought was a pretty unique approach. The name is not important so I will not be publishing it but here is the proposition they offered.

Their dealership was closed on July 4^th but people would be able to walk the lot. On the evening of the 3^rd of July, after hours every car on the lot would have a red tag placed on it. People could come on the lot during the 4^th and if they saw a price they liked they could write down the ticket # and price and they would be able to receive it during the 5^th and 6^th, that weekend when the dealership was open no haggling, no questions.

It seemed like a great selling point. No one on the lot to bother you while you looked, everything you needed listed on the car and a price they guaranteed as long as you had the ticket number from the car because on the evening of the 4^th all the tags were removed.

Pretty unique I thought so I decide to jump on their website to see what they said about this event. As I got to their home page I saw NOTHING about this event.

Actually it was a pretty standard OEM type-site with nothing about this sale. In fact it was a pretty bland site in terms of having anything stand out to tell me why I should by this brand from them, seeing as they were in a metro area where within an hour there were multiple other dealers selling the same brand.

So I thought that maybe it was just something blasting out on social media, but again, nothing on their Facebook page, in fact the last post was from May.  What did that tell me as a consumer? That they let things drop, they do not follow through and this could be how I would be treated.

If you as a business are going to be creative and work on ways to drive traffic to your location, understand that traditional marketing drives people to the web. If I do not see the same information on your website as I do other places, it makes me think I am in the wrong place. It creates doubt instead of taking me one step closer to the sale

We must look at our marketing, as ways to take away concerns, not increase them.

Make sure all of your marketing aligns with your message. Make sure all your marketing is tweaked for the platform you are using but it has to be familiar and similar.

I feel bad for this dealership because I am sure they lost multiple opportunities to gain business and stand out in their marketplace.

Glenn Pasch is the current CEO of PCG Digital Marketing as well as a writer, National Speaker  and Management Trainer

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Too many times when I am asked to sit on client calls with their other vendors, I am shocked at the quality of interactions I hear. Prior to the calls, these clients will tell me these vendors are their strategists, but as the call progresses, I tend to think they are more of executors. It is imperative that business owners understand the difference.

Let’s look at the definitions of both of these words.

Strategist

This is someone who is an expert at planning a method or series of maneuvers for obtaining a specific goal or result.

Executor

This is someone who executes, carries out or performs some duty, job or assignment.

The reason why I used the term “executor” is it means someone who carries out your wishes. Now there is nothing wrong with hiring an executor. There are many services people perform where you do not need to be involved in a strategy. The person is skilled and after an initial meeting you let them perform the task.

My point in this discussion is that there will be times you need to hire someone for his or her strategic skills and you need to know the difference. Here are some things to look for when hiring this type of vendor.

First Things First

When you are hiring a vendor and they are claiming to be a strategist, are they coming to you with a plan of attack and how it will be executed? Or are they asking you, “What do you want me to do? I will execute it.”

That is not a strategist.

The Right Questions

When you are having calls with the vendor, who is leading the discussion of the strategy?

Are they asking you the following questions?
• What would you like me to do?
• Where would you like to target
• What specials are going on?
• What would you like me to focus on?

Or are they saying things like:
• Here is the data we have looked at from our efforts and this is what we suggest we should do.
• After our analysis, here are the trends we see and this is how we think we need to respond or adjust to move forward.

Then asking the question, “Is there anything going on in your business that may not align with what we are looking to do?”

That is a more effective use of questions.

The Right Reporting

When you are getting reports, how do you review the results? Is the vendor educating you on the process and progress or are they waiting for you to lead the discussion?

Worse yet, do you get your reports and the email states, “Here are your reports, call me if you have any questions.”

Here are a few more things to re-evaluate:
• Are the reports clear enough?
• Can you see what work the vendor is doing, what you are spending and the results clearly communicated?
• Do the accomplishments credited to them apply to your goal?
• Are they taking credit for things out of their control?
• Are they bringing to your attention things that need to be changed or are they relying on you to interpret reports and then come to them with changes you need to make?

Remember that many times you hire vendors because what they provide is out of your realm of understanding. If they are not helping you to understand what they do and providing a strategy for you to improve, then you may not be getting what you are paying for.

Every industry is very competitive. Business owners are looking for an advantage to keep them ahead of their competition. The next time you need to hire a strategist, use these questions as a guide during the interview process. It will help you weed out the pretenders and you will get what you paid for.

Glenn Pasch is the current CEO of PCG Digital Marketing as well as a writer, National Speaker  and Management Trainer

There is an age-old truth in business that it is easier to keep a client than to find a new one. The one problem is that no one took the opportunity tell you how to keep the client. Many say, “What can I do besides delivering my service or product as expected?” And therein lies the problem.

We live in an age of choice. We can go on the web and find multiple options for what we are looking for. As a consumer base, we have become more selective and demanding in what we are looking for or what we expect. Delivering just what we expect will not seal the deal for long-term loyalty; exceeding expectations keep people engaged.

In a previous article, Customer Service Is a Verb, we discussed ways to differentiate your business that sets you apart because so many companies are focused on just getting new business. What we will discuss now are a few small things that will stand out as HUGE to impact retention.

Four things to improve customer retention:

Be available.

I cannot tell you how many times I get frustrated by automated operators. “Press 2 for this” or “press 1 for that” and it takes you forever until you are just yelling at the phone “PLEASE LET ME SPEAK TO SOMEONE.”  When I called my new lawn person, I spoke to a person each time. Now I know you will say they are small so it does not apply to my business, but in reality, the majority of businesses are able to staff a person to answer phones.

Be knowledgeable.

Make sure that the person answering the phones has a working knowledge of what you do and, more importantly, who to channel the call to. I have been bounced around multiple times to different people at companies only to learn they cannot help me. This is a big miss step and poor impression of how you will take care of me in the future.

Be Responsible.

If something goes wrong, for whatever reason, take responsibility to make it right. Zappos has made a mark by not charging for return shipping. While other companies consider this a cost, Zappos looks at this as a way to retain customers. My lawn service made a mistake when trimming some ground cover and instead of waiting for us to find it (or maybe just hoping we didn’t), they went out and bought a new piece to replace it and let us know. That is reason enough for me to keep them.

Be appreciative.

Many businesses today get so caught up in the next sale that they forget to thank a new customer. I came home recently to a handwritten envelope with a thank you card inside to let me know how much they appreciated my business and, if I was satisfied, if I could recommend them. Nice touch asking for referral.

It seems so simple. Not one of these items seems hard to do, but I will tell you that by doing these four things, your company will stand out from your competitors.

Glenn Pasch is the current CEO of PCG Digital Marketing as well as a writer, National Speaker and Trainer.

According to Wikipedia the definition of customer service is:

"Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation."

Although great customer service is a focus of every business, lack of focus in the execution of these activities will deliver something far below what management had planned. Most think of customer service as a thing but in reality it is, as listed above, a Series of Activities. Let's see how you can improve your customer service training using this example.

Recently I had a bad customer service experience at a local restaurant chain when I was with my family.

Let me paint the picture: Saturday night and we wanted to try a new place to eat and Italian was the choice. Now I had been to this restaurant chain previously but not for a few years so I based my expectations on my previous experience.

The hostess was very pleasant and led us to our seats. The problem was the seats were way in the back of the restaurant and very dimly lit. My wife asked if we could move or turn the lights up but the hostess said she did not know. She never returned to tell us. As our waitress came up to greet us we asked if the lights could be turned up, she said she would go ask. She never came back either.

First point: Communication

No one is expecting everyone to be experts on all facets of your business but if there is a question or concern, ALL employees must be unified in helping to find a resolution. If your employees cannot answer a question that is fine but one must make sure that someone returns to explain a situation.

As we used my iPhone to read the menu, (and help the kids color with the crayons they gave them) a new waitress came up to get our orders. We told them our appetizers and the kids’ meals along with our drinks. A good 15 minutes went by and still no water, bread, etc. for the table. The first waitress returned but never addressed the lights, and asked if we were ready to order only for us to tell her our order was taken by another waitress. She said she would go find the order from the other waitress.

Second point: Teamwork

If you have your employees working as a team or you pass off a customer to another employee as they move through the sales process it is imperative that your team communicates with each other. If it were a pass through, then notes on the customer profile would help. If they are working as a front/back team there has to be a process of passing off information or else your team looks disorganized and the customer begins to lose faith that you will serve them properly.

Finally we got the food but the meal was mediocre at best. Some of it felt like it had been sitting and then reheated. The big mistake was that no one asked if anything was wrong when half full plates were cleared. As I asked for the check the second waitress said” no room for desert?” as if she was oblivious to the food not eaten. One would have expected a question about it. If you were confident your food is excellent, would it not seem odd that all plates were not finished?

Third point. Being Aware

Body language of customers, or tone of voice is very telling when dealing with your customers. Your team has to be aware of potential problems and bring them to the attention of management. Management has to create a culture where this is expected versus one where complaints are blamed on the messenger. I wonder how many problems could have been addressed while the customer was still on site versus letting them go and hope they were happy.

As we paid and left, all of the employees we passed smiled and thanked us as if everything was great. No one had any clue of what had happened or how we felt about our experience. So I posted a poor review and shame on me for not looking first but many others had the same experience.

Last point: Don’t Hide

Don’t assume all is well, get out and ask. If there is a problem fix it then, not after the fact. Today we are too connected to friends and others on line where a poor experience is posted online for all to see.

Customer service is an overused word but being aware of what you are trying to deliver and review each step for compliance by your team will help more positive reviews being broadcast instead of being checked off customers lists, never to return again.

Glenn Pasch is the current CEO of PCG Digital Marketing as well as a writer, National Speaker and Trainer. Glenn will be speaking at the upcoming Automotive Boot Camp in Philadelphia May 14-16th.

I was a working actor in New York City for many years. While I was networking or on the audition circuit, I was always puzzled by a certain phenomenon that I encountered. I would run across other people who said they were in the same business at events or at parties and they always let others know they were an “Actor.”

Why is this odd? New York is filled with actors. Let me explain.

I would ask them how often they auditioned or what was the last project they worked on and their response would be that they were taking classes or they were not ready yet or still working on their material. Now going to classes is important, as I had a vocal coach or an acting coach even though I was working, but their response was more of a reason why they were not working on getting a paying job or just getting out to perform.

The reason why I bring this up is that as you spoke more to this person, I came to realize that the person loved with the idea of being an actor versus the reality of what they had to do each and every day to become an actor.

I see the same thing today with businesses and their relationship with new media or new technology. They fall in love with the new hot service or idea at a conference or from an article they read and they rush back to their company saying, “We are now doing this,” or “This vendor is the best and our competition is using it so I just signed us up.”

While this may allow them to feel current or allow them to brag a bit at their next business or social gathering, in reality, they never take the time to examine if this service or product is right for their culture or business model. They fall in love with the idea, but not the reality of how this new service or product impacts their business.

Technology may be able to solve a lot of problems or make a business more effective, but not every piece of technology or service is right for everyone. You have to ask yourself if it fits in your culture, how it can help us, how will we implement it and at what cost.

The easy access to information and the ability for new trends to be pushed out to us, telling us we need it to maximize our potential can be detrimental if all we are doing is shopping to be in the “cool” club.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from a business associate who told me, “Some of the best customers for our company were the ones we never took.” It took me a bit to understand that, but not all customers are right for your business. The same goes for new technology or services. Some of the best technology or services for your company will be the ones you don’t use.

Glenn Pasch is the current CEO of PCG Digital Marketing as well as a writer, National Speaker and Trainer. Glenn will be speaking at the upcoming Automotive Boot Camp in Philadelphia May 14-16th.

For many of you who have followed my writings or have seen me speak, you have heard me talk about the Zero Moment of Truth. For those who may not know what that is, it is based on a book by Jim Lecinski for Google coining this term as the space between initial stimulus of marketing and interaction with the brand. Simply put it is the research phase we all do when we “Google” something.

I have asked the question many times to audiences, “What do your potential customers see when they Google you?” Some of the audiences have done the research; others are unaware. I have also preached that businesses have an obligation to be involved with what they find and can actually impact what is written by customers.

The title of this article stems from a growing phenomenon in the industries I work in. What I am finding is that businesses are buying new technologies or signing up for the newest social media platform without understanding what to do with them. They think that showing up to the party is enough. They do not understand that getting to the party is just the beginning. It is the interaction you participate in at the party that creates the great experience. Do you remember being a wallflower and saying, “Wow that was a great time?” It's just not the same as being an active participant.

The question is not how is Digital Marketing or Social Media selling more products or services, but it should be how are Digital Marketing and Social Media leveraging the experiences I am delivering for my customers. How are you guiding people through the cycle of Stimulus to Research to Interaction to the use of your product? Lastly, but really most importantly, how are you helping to encourage feedback?

I just finished reading Brian Solis’s sensational new book“What’s the Future of Business”in which he coins this point of impacting feedback as the “Ultimate” Moment of Truth. What your customers say about your service, product or experience of doing business with you will feed the Influence Pool for the next group doing research. I had always discussed this important step for businesses in my workshops but now, thanks to Brian, having a simple term helps convey the message.

There are some businesses that can alleviate the human factor, but still there will be feedback expressed. It is why we are fascinated by reviews. We desire feedback to make sure we are making the right decision. We have been trained to ask for comments from friends, family and now social circles. We don’t go to a movie without reading reviews so of course this is very important for bigger purchases.

One problem is that dealers and businesses join a review platform, get people to post and think that is enough. Maybe they respond to a review, but are they taking this information and going back to see how they can change the experience they delivered in the first place?

People will talk and there is nothing that you can do to prevent that. If you are invested in finding out not only what they are saying but, most importantly, how this feedback can improve your business, then you need to invest in tools so your team can inspect, review, plan actions and train so that you can continually refine the experience delivered.

Just having the technology is not enough. What is the experience you want them to have.

Glenn Pasch is the current CEO of PCG Digital Marketing as well as a writer, National Speaker and Trainer. Glenn will be speaking at the upcoming Automotive Boot Camp in Philadelphia May 14-16th.

Are you blinded by efficiency?

Look at your team. Let me describe one of your members and see if you can spot them.

They are not the most vocal of the group. They are on time, they complete their work correctly they are self-managed and self-motivated. They seem to be well-grounded and well-liked amongst co-workers.

And now let me tell you what you do- you take them for granted.

I am pointing this out because it has happened to me.

For anyone who is managing a team of people, we tend to focus on two groups of people: the needy superstars as well as the low performers.

The first group, we need to continue to refocus or listen to the drama in order to keep them performing. Top performers are results driven and move through the world at a high level and need reassurance as well as someone to help keep them in their lane

The second group is where a lot of manager’s focus because they feel if they can get this group performing it will help the overall group. In my opinion this is a miscalculation of your time. You need to dedicate the correct time to retrain this group but many of these people will not be able to do the job and they must be dealt with according to your performance policy.

The one person who gets lost in this shuffle is the top performer who does not need constant handholding. They deliver results on time and correctly, they are process driven, organized, ask for things when relevant and usually fly under the radar.

In meetings they rarely offer opinions because the more vocal group always does.

If this person is familiar to you I want to stress that you need to adjust how you deal with them or else run the risk of losing performance.

All of us react at times like children. We like getting feedback when things are good, so we repeat that behavior, but also kids will end up doing something incorrectly just to have your attention. Remember any feedback in a child’s mind is attention and it registers as something they want more of in the future.

Same for this quiet performer. I am not saying they will tank their performance to get your attention but you run the risk of them not feeling appreciated or noticed and then results will slip a bit. It may not be a conscious decision.

These individuals are most likely your best trainers. They have a sense of how to break things down into simple pieces and can explain to others what they do.

Having these people sitting at the table when discussing process or the pulse of the organization is invaluable. But again, many times we look past them because they are not in our face demanding attention or their lack of performance is demanding attention.

Here are some tips for maximizing these employees:

• Create a monthly roundtable or lunch where this employee is included with other top employees to discuss what they see going on in the company.
• Rely on them to create processes for their department and then make sure to point out to the team their work.
• Put them in a position at team meetings to lead discussions.
• Discuss the possibility of them handling the training of new employees in their department.

All of these points will help maximize this team member’s involvement as well as showing them that you value their work and effort.

Efficiency is a great thing but can also lull you to sleep. Make sure you are not taking your most effective workers for granted.

Glenn Pasch is the current CEO of PCG Digital Marketing as well as a writer, National Speaker and Trainer. Glenn will be speaking at the upcoming Innovative Dealer Summit in Denver Colorado, March 19th and 20th.

As we head towards the end of Q1 in 2013, I asked my team to reach out to customers to ask the question, “What do we do differently than others in our field that keeps you a customer?”

The answers were very pleasing.

• “You answer the phone.”
• “You are always available.”
• “You help me understand what you do.”
• “You never seemed satisfied with current results.”

As a service organization that is music to my ears.

We work very hard each day to achieve this customer satisfaction and I wanted to share how we are able to execute these results One of the first things we do when a client has signed on is to have a start-up call with their team. It is very important that you have the person who signs the check on the call because they do not have an understanding of what they are paying for or the value of what you are delivering, then later on you can fall prey to being seen as a line item that can easily be cut.

During this start-up call, we walk them through a shorter summary of our initial goals and recommendations for their company to outline our work to those who may not have been on the initial sales call. We want everyone to be clear of our starting point. We have the members of our team who have worked with the potential client from day one on the phones so our customers begin to understand right from the beginning that our whole team is available to help them achieve their results.

Steps for a great start-up call

Step 1: Conduct and present a formal assessment of the client.

Documenting and reviewing the initial assessment of the client is very important because it shows where you began. By doing so, you have clear tangible numbers that you can compare your progress to each month or quarter. Without it, your effectiveness is diluted and left to fading memories.

Step 2: Be specific in what will happen over next few months.

We discuss the workflow we will use as a framework for our monthly tasks for the next three months. Do not go further than that time period for now. People cannot remember or take in more that that timeframe. Explaining what is going to happen will give the customer comfort in a schedule.

By doing this you also leave nothing to the imagination. It removes the unwanted response, “I did not understand that is what you wanted.”

Step 3: Make sure you tell them what is expected from them.

Every successful service provider needs interaction from the client. In our case it is passwords and logins to accounts like Google Analytics, Social Media sites, business listing sites, etc. We also lay out items we will need from them each month such as events they may be doing, specials they are running, traditional ads they run, etc.

Step 4: Communications

This may be the most important step for long-term success. How often do you speak to your client? For our company we have implemented a weekly call strategy for most of our clients. This has been the end result of trying many different ways over the last 3 years.

My recommendation is to schedule the call. Do not leave it to just call the client when you have time. Everyone is busy but if you set a time each week, then it is on everyone’s calendar and is looked at as important.

I also recommend that the decision maker be on at least every quarterly call if they cannot make at least the monthly call.  Remember these are set times where the account is discussed but we stress to all of our clients that we are available at all times if they need us.

By focusing on making sure your clients understand what you do for them, but communicating at set intervals they will feel that you view the relationship as a partnership, not just a number.

Glenn Pasch is the current CEO of PCG Digital Marketing as well as a writer, National Speaker and Trainer. Glenn will be speaking at the upcoming Innovative Dealer Summit in Denver Colorado, March 19th and 20th.

I was re-reading an article in Automotive News  written by Diana T. Kurylko about how luxury brands are stepping up their customer service with new perks and staff training.

What was interesting is that finally some brands were looking to emulate the same high-touch customer service philosophy as other industries. Businesses are recognizing that the experience of how you interact with the customer is now even more important than ever before.

Peter Miles, vice president of operations for BMW of North America said, “With any premium product, the experience the consumer has, whether they are learning about it or testing it, has to match the product.”

Many of you who follow my articles or have heard me speak over the last two years have heard this message over and over. I worked for over 15 years in the hospitality industry and I preached to automotive dealers that price is not the only thing people were basing decisions on.

If experience was not important and price ruled the day, then why is there a line at Starbucks? Why do we spend countless dollars on Apple products if we did not want to be associated with a brand that delivered excellence in customer service and experience? I am sure all of you can list multiple other brands associated with high-end customer service.

I could not agree more with Mr. Miles and I applaud these top luxury brands for excelling but my challenge is to all brands. Does this mean if your product is not considered “luxury” that you cannot or should not deliver and excellent experience to your customers? I say no.

Every brand should be finding ways to differentiate themselves in their market place. When I speak to automotive dealers I am telling them to look at other industries for examples of how to deliver great customer service. Too often they look only at their competitors for ideas and that becomes very insular.

Take this quick test.

Think of a time when you had great service or a great experience. Maybe a meal at a restaurant, a vacation at a hotel, a website you visited. List the things they DID that caused you to have this reaction. Look them over and see if there is anything you can implement at your place of business.

For example: Maybe they remembered when you last visited them when you checked in, or remembered a preference you had for seating. Could your employees find a way to remember a preference that your customer expressed in previous visits? How do you think they would feel if you reminded them of it before they did?

At the same time, think of a time when you had a bad experience. What did they DO to cause this reaction? Maybe the website loaded slowly or when you clicked on an ad it took you to the wrong page and you became frustrated. How can you make sure this does not happen to your customers? When was the last time you visited your website and went through it as a customer would?

Customer service is trickle down. What I mean is top brands giving excellent service trickles down to all brands and your customers are expecting excellence for their hard earned dollars.

I applaud those luxury car brands but let’s make sure all brands are focused on the same thing.

Finally recovered and back on schedule after a long week at the Digital Marketing Strategies Conference and NADA, it struck me about the difference I saw at this years NADA convention. What struck me was the change in dealer's attitudes towards the digital landscape. 

I mentioned this to Eric Miltsch from Driving Sales as I visited their team at their NADA booth. I had asked him if he felt dealers were more involved this year. He said he felt they were asking better questions. That they did not seem to be intimidated by the information.

This was seconded by many other vendors. There seemed to be an excitment on the vendor end because of this increased education. Which brings me to the educators. I have been in this vertical for a little under three years and I have seen a palpable change in dealer's engagement. 

At DMSC, one speaker came out and said to me, "These dealers are not rookies or even sophomores, they are really engaged." And this is because of the great education available to them. From conferences like DSES, to Automotive Boot Camp, to Digital Dealer, Autocon and many regional events put on by vendors dealers can be exposed to ongoing education that will help their business.

As Eric said, "They are realizing digital is here to stay and they are learning, not just signing up for something they don't know." Well put. 

So to all of the speakers, for all the educators, you have made an impact. If you don't think you have, compare the NADA workshop tracks from even three years ago to now and see the impact of Digital. 

Keep up the good work. We are making a difference.