Thriving in the New Economy - WOMEN PRESIDENTS' ORGANIZATION - Annual Conference

KEYNOTE ADDRESS - PROFESSOR NEELI BENDAPUDI, Ph. D., Professor of Marketing and Director, Initiative for Managing Services Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University

We had the pleasure of hearing Professor Bendapudi speak today at the opening session of this year’s annual conference. Here are some of the highlights from her speech.

Title of Speech – Customer Apostles
·         Do you REALLY know who your customer is?
·         Do you REALLY know what they want?
o   Try standing behind your customer and looking at the world from their viewpoint
o   Does every level of your company see their part of the process from your customer’s viewpoint?
·         How do you create WOMP? (Word of Mouth Potential)
o   Your employees are your living brand
o   Can every employee tell your company story?
-        Effective way to teach your culture
o   Do your employees know how to create a Gumby moment?
-        Being flexible to your customer needs
-        The ability to really listen and solve their problems
-        And do it with speed and accuracy
o   Your customer highest trust is in what other customers say about your product service over what you claim
·         Your employees are your living brand
o   Hire correctly
o   Do they show passion
·         Customer Apostle versus Terrorists
o   Do you know which buckets your customers are in?
o   Only 4% of customers ever complain
o   You should see a complaint as a gift
·         Make a LASTing impression when you receive a complaint
o   Listen
o   Apologize
o   Solve the problem to the best you can
o   Thank them

How Do You Guarantee Good Service?

Last week my brother -in-law was visiting us. My family loves a great meal so I decided to book a table at One Market in San Francisco. Even though I live nearby I have never been to the restaurant. Since they were just awarded a Michelin Star again I thought it was a safe choice. Boy was I wrong! To sum up our experience I will give you the lowlights - we were informed that since we are not "regulars" or one of their "good customers" we would be receiving a different amuse bouche (it was awful), I was labeled "trouble" by our waiter for asking questions, the food was marginal, when we denied dessert the waiter stated "what not even a shot of Jack Daniels?" and then he proceeded to abandon our table. The woman who gave us our bill left our credit card out on the counter and never returned to our table, so we had to find and retrieve our card ourselves.

This experience was offset the next night by a very enjoyable and tasty meal at Chevalier in Lafayette. There our waiter warmly chatted with us, happily answered all our questions, and no request was a bother or an issue. It also helped that the food was fabulous and exceeded our expectations. Then yesterday before flying out to Chicago I had to make a mad dash to Safeway to get cat food. It was early morning with only one checker (interesting that they turn all the self check registers off). Of course there is an issue with the person being checked out. The line starts to pile up. The checker calls for another checker. Minutes pass. She calls again for a checker. Minutes pass. She calls for an override. Minutes pass. Then a very snide page comes on stating that the checker's pages are not understandable. The checker repeats both of her requests. The same snide and snarky page is repeated again that the pages are not understandable. The checker now resorts to her phone. Minutes pass. Then out stomps a girl who is obviously pissed at being called out from her office. She starts berating the checker the whole way across the floor. Meanwhile the line is probably 15 plus people deep. The girl never acknowledges any of the customers. Punches her code into the register and then turns and stomps back off to her office. Still no additional checkers. The checker pages once again. Finally several checkers show up. I get checked out by a sourly woman who is upset about being called of her break (at the wrong price to boot) and I am finally on my way. Do I really need to state that this is my last choice in grocery stores?

Each one of the scenarios had the potential to succeed or fail. Two failed and one cemented us as a repeat customer. We all have the ability to wow our customers. What is even more amazing is that it usually just takes courtesy, a good product and the willingness to listen.  I am sure all three of these companies have a corporate mission to please their customers. Yet only one succeeded. How do you create a company culture where every employees truly gets  and lives their mission? You can read many case studies on how the Ritz Carlton achieves their consistent world class service. Every customer interaction large or small is crucial to your company's success. How do you train and create an environment that guarantees a winning interaction each and every time?

"Best Ways to Overcome Small Business Ping Pong Syndrome"

The above is an article I read this morning from USA Today by Rhonda Abrams http://bit.ly/aU6N5u. She addresses the multi-tasking nature of anyone who runs a small business. We all struggle to stay focused and organized. The term “ping pong syndrome” was coined by Staples and not surprisingly their poll revealed that "Organize the Office" with 22% of the vote, was the number one goal in their Fourth Annual National Small Business Survey. I think we all feel like we are more in control when our office is organized. I know I always feel that a cluttered desk is a cluttered mind. So I stack items on my desk (very neatly), off to the side, and over time they get higher and higher, until one day I just have to address those stacks. For those of you in Strategic Coach http://bit.ly/zNJDA you will understand that my Buffer days never are long enough for me to actually clean and organize. And yes I know that is not effective use of my time regardless. Oh I have lofty goals, I write out my lists, yet as soon as I walk into the office my day is totally out of my control on most Buffer days. I envy those people that operate totally paperless, who have the “virtual” office. I try to achieve this, but I still don’t feel comfortable reading and proofing items off my computer screen. Then that makes me feel guilty, I am wasting paper, being totally un PC. But I just feel the need to be able to mark up items by hand. I know, I am weak and being very old school. But I am doing more of my lists on my computer now. I am in love with and have been totally sucked into the wonder of Mindjet’s Mind Manager software http://bit.ly/ruxLT . My brain operates a bit like a ransom note so this software allows me to map out all my thoughts quickly and in an organized manner. It even syncs with Outlook. What more could a girl ask for? Well I guess I could ask for more Focus days and less interruptions; hence my post prior on this blog about working on the weekends. I am open to your ideas and suggestions. How do you stay organized and productive? I’d love to read your best tips.

 

CFO Survey Says Dining Out Makes Good Business Sense

Today I read a tweet that sited “Meals Matter” By Jill Jusko of Industry Week. She writes – “Breaking bread with a client may be a key to business success. According to a study developed by Robert Half Management Resources, 36% of CFOs surveyed said their most successful meetings outside of the office were conducted over a meal. The next-most-popular location was a trade show or conference.” http://bit.ly/bJ8uaB

 

In my travels I really find this to be true, especially so in foreign locals. Yes, we all have to have business meetings with agendas, priorities, take away action plans. But I find the real opportunity to get to really know those that sit across the table from you in that business meeting is when you get them across the dining table. Breaking bread together is as ancient a custom as you can get. You learn a lot about someone when you share a meal with them. Some people loosen up, drop the business persona, and have a good time. They enjoy their meal, share personal stories and let you learn about them from a more social perspective. Others stay more distant and maintain a professional mode the whole dinning affair. Business meetings provide content, but the meal provides context. I usually know after one meal whether I not I want to do business with someone.

 

So if our paths cross and we get together for a meal what will it be – a glass of wine and a few good stories or just a continuation of the business meeting from earlier in the day?

 

The Intel-Affiliated Contra Costa Science & Engineering Fair

The 2010 Science Fair was held on March 25, 26 and 27 at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg. My company had the honor of supporting this event again this year. My father, Bud Wisecarver has been a judge for several years now and we have also been a sponsor. This year we gave out two special awards – one in the junior division and one in the senior division - for displaying the best "Principles and Technical Innovation within Mechanical Engineering". We wanted to reward students that showed some imagination and critical thinking. We awarded $200 to Caroline Lamoureux and $800 to Michael Blatz.  Caroline attends NorthCreek Academy and her project was "The Effect of Weight Distribution on Bridges". Michael goes to De La Salle High School and his project was the "Mitigation of Carbon Dioxide in Car Exhaust". I was honored to be present to give the awards in person. Armed with the company video camera I also attempted to take video. Stayed tune for the YouTube link to that as soon as it gets edited. It is so inspiring to be around kids that are excited about science and engineering. The enthusiasm is contagious and electrifying. I was really amazed at the level of some of the projects presented. We will be rooting on Caroline as she advances to the state competition. Michael was selected as an alternate. To learn more about the fair see http://www.cccsef.org/index.html

It was great to see so many people there to cheer on the students! 

More on the California Jobs Initiative

To learn more about the California Jobs Initiative 2010 and to download the petition go to http://www.jobs2010ca.com/

Fiorina slams California's global warming law (March 27)
Calling it an "unbelievable job killer," GOP Senate candidate Carly Fiorina on Friday urged the elimination of California's landmark global warming law. If AB 32 is not scrapped, Fiorina said, she will back an effort to suspend the law until unemployment in the state drops to 5.5 percent and stays there for one year. "Suspending it is better than keeping it in place," Fiorina said in a meeting with The Bee Capitol Bureau. Fiorina said the state law and a federal effort to cap greenhouse emissions would cost trillions in lost economic output. Calling it an "unbelievable job killer," GOP Senate candidate Carly Fiorina on Friday urged the elimination of California's landmark global warming law. If AB 32 is not scrapped, Fiorina said, she will back an effort to suspend the law until unemployment in the state drops to 5.5 percent and stays there for one year. "Suspending it is better than keeping it in place," Fiorina said in a meeting with The Bee Capitol Bureau. Fiorina said the state law and a federal effort to cap greenhouse emissions would cost trillions in lost economic output.
Rob Hotakainen in the Sacramento Beehttp://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/27/2636899/fiorina-slams-californias-global.html
 

Why Bishop-Wisecarver Supports the California Jobs Initiative

Earlier this week as a director for the California Manufacturers & Technology Association (CMTA)  I voted to support the California Jobs Initiative, a proposal to temporarily suspend implementation of AB 32 until California's unemployment rate sinks to 5.5% for four consecutive quarters.  The initiative will likely go before voters on the November, 2010 ballot.

 I believe along with the CMTA that adjusting the schedule of regulations under the state’s greenhouse gas reduction law until the California economy recovers is necessary because:

AB 32 will cost California even more manufacturing jobs

Restoring jobs and supporting a healthy California economy should be our state’s first priority.  We’ve already lost over 630,000 high wage manufacturing jobs since 2001 and AB 32’s costly regulations will put even more jobs at risk – jobs we simply can’t afford to lose. Temporarily suspending AB 32 will help keep manufacturing in California.

 AB 32 implementation will increase costs for manufacturers, employers and consumers

Sharp increases in energy and other costs for manufacturers under AB 32 will translate not only to lost jobs but to higher costs for employers and consumers at a time they can least afford it. This will worsen the current recession and delay the economic recovery California so desperately needs.   

 Temporarily suspending AB 32 will help keep California manufacturing competitive

Because manufacturers in other states and countries are not subject to AB 32 costs, implementation at this time will create an unlevel competitive playing field for California manufacturers.   The temporary suspension of AB 32 will give California manufacturers an incentive to remain in the state rather than move jobs and tax revenues to states where their operating costs would be more affordable. 

 California will still have the strictest environmental laws in the country even if AB 32 regulations are postponed until the economy recovers

AB 32 applies only to greenhouse gas emissions, which do not have local impacts.  Suspending AB 32 will not weaken or repeal other existing laws that protect our air and water quality, which have made California manufacturing facilities cleaner-operating than most in other states.

 I am part of a family that has lived in California since 1854. I love my state, and I want to see it return to the vibrant economic powerhouse it once was. Manufacturing jobs are essential to California’s economic recovery. Temporarily suspending  AB 32 will help preserve jobs and make it easier to create more.  The California Jobs Initiative will help put Californians back to work and its economy back on track.