Will You Add? - Business

It’s That Bluey White I Really Like
Soap powders. When it comes to branding, it turns out you can learn a lot from them. No you can, really. At least, in terms of learning how organisations turn to very similar catch-alls when forming their marketing messages to you.How often do you hear people tell you that brand is the most important thing. It’s what the big boys do – and they can’t be wrong. Yes, what did we marketing people ever do before we wrapped our services around the brand?Well, I kind of remember talking about how to hone your message for your audience. I remember talking about

era in the store she would personally exchange it, even if she had to upgrade it.

I never took her up on her offer to exchange the camera but instead just left her wondering if I’d ever come back. No need to in that situation, the camera was a great brand and I had sent it to the manufacturer myself the next day. Within a week, the manufacturer had mailed me a replacement. I did though use the store script—heck, why not?

Ron, the district manager, is a really great guy so I’m sure he didn’t rip the assistant manager’s head off—at least too much. But I must admit, I would have really enjoyed being a fly on the wall at that meeting. Is the moral of the story to be nice to people who know your district manager? I don’t think so. How could one ever know?

Just be wonderful to every customer—just because you should. Besides, you never

POS Scanners
Looking for a way of speeding up the check out process in your supermarket? Point of sale, or POS, scanners will help you a long way. Having barcode or label scanners will take the product and price information and send it directly to the computer and take the money from the customer. These scanners are not just useful in a supermarket or a restaurant, but are also very popular in libraries and companies where they are used to read employee or book information.An important type of barcode scanner is one that uses CCD technology. This technology was widely used

The following is a true story. It illustrates the need for even management to be nice to their customers—for a variety of reasons.

The brothers Long started a drug store in Northern California a number of years ago. By the 1970’s they had built a respectable chain in the north and had started expanding to Southern California. For years, when I was in the sunglass business, I sold to this glowing chain. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s they grew and I sold sunglasses to most of their stores. I really appreciated the amount of business I earned from them over the years. Also, over the years, the department heads that I worked with in the early days became store managers and one, a district manager.

Because of my loyalty to this particular drug store chain, I continued doing business with the store in my community for years after I was no longer in the sunglass business. As a matter of fact, to this day, my family still uses the store in my community—the one that I personally set up their sunglass department when the store opened for business.

With all of that being said, a while back I visited my local store to return a camera that I had purchased that turned out to be defective. It was an evening and I ended up getting help from the store’s assistant manager. While she did not remember me, I remembered when she was a clerk in the cosmetic department. She told me that she could not replace the camera because she did not have that EXACT one in stock. She told me to ship it to the factory and they would take care of it.

After selling sunglasses to this chain for almost two decades, I was reasonably familiar with their return policy. It was less the fact that she told me to send the camera back to the factory, but more her attitude. I knew that she had the authority to do pretty much anything she wanted to do to take care of the situation. She could have given me a refund. She could have given me the same brand camera but the next model up, which she did have in stock. But rather than to serve a customer that had been shopping at the store since it had opened, about 10 years before, she selected to have an attitude (the big A in Ego Attitude Training).

I didn’t make a fuss about her lack of customer service—instead I simply left the store with my defective camera in hand. Unfortunately for this assistant manager, she decided to (in my opinion) to screw over, a longtime customer who coincidently knew her boss’ boss pretty darn well. In fact, I had served Ron, the district manager, as a vendor to the chain for about 20 years. She made a BIG MISTAKE!

Because my personal relationship with the chain (a number of people from clerks to executives) was much stronger than any single employee, I mailed a friendly letter to Ron explaining the situation. I told him that my relationship was with the store, and not the manufacturer. I also mentioned my thoughts on customer retention and a couple of other thoughts. I did not ask him to take action, but simply informed him about the behavior of one of his managers.

It took a few weeks, but wow! The letter of apology from this assistant manager was amazing. Not only did I receive the apology but also it came with $20 worth of store script (about the retail difference between the defective camera I wanted adjusted and the next model up). Also, in her letter was the pledge that if I brought my defective camera in the store she would personally exchange it, even if she had to upgrade it.

Just be wonderful to every customer—just because you should. Besides, you never

Taking Advantage of Online Offers Without Giving Up Your Credit Card Info
My wife works for the local BlockBuster video in town and they are supposed to get people to sign up for an online account but the problem is that a lot of people are afraid to sign up for these things because of fear of having to put their credit card info on the form. With the world coming online credit card fraud is on the increase. How are we able to take advantage of the savings from these online offers without having to give up our personal credit card information?Whenever I sign up for anything that says it is going to deduct from a credit card I get on

longer in the sunglass business. As a matter of fact, to this day, my family still uses the store in my community—the one that I personally set up their sunglass department when the store opened for business.

Just be wonderful to every customer—just because you should. Besides, you never

Calendar Printing - Put Your Own Mark in Your Calendars
Calendars have a standard form. The months are always placed on top and then underneath it, there are columns of days, starting from Monday to Sunday. The dates or numbers are then arranged accordingly.At times this format can get boring. There are calendars that make these numbers so close together that they are dizzying to look at. The sometimes plain and dull calendars may serve its function as having the ability to tell the exact date, but we often forget that the calendar is even there, hanging on the wall. And this is because the design simply lacks the l

to send the camera back to the factory, but more her attitude. I knew that she had the authority to do pretty much anything she wanted to do to take care of the situation. She could have given me a refund. She could have given me the same brand camera but the next model up, which she did have in stock. But rather than to serve a customer that had been shopping at the store since it had opened, about 10 years before, she selected to have an attitude (the big A in Ego Attitude Training).

Just be wonderful to every customer—just because you should. Besides, you never

LOGOs Can Make or Break Your Brand
I once had a designer that took her work very seriously. Before she did any designs, she would interview you; take a look at your product offerings and your personality. It seemed like this was crazy at first but the result was a logo that fit with the company and it's philosophy. She actually went beyond just the interview, she designed meaningful symbols. Each symbol she chose had a story behind it. When you received your design, she also had a booklet with an explanation of how the design was developed and what each part of the symbol meant. Although you do not fin

about 20 years. She made a BIG MISTAKE!

Just be wonderful to every customer—just because you should. Besides, you never

How To Bring Originality To Your Business Ideas
If you are immersed in the world of internet marketing, you have probably heard many times the advice: don’t re-invent the wheel, follow someone successful. But simply copying a business idea is sloppy and might not get you the results you are dreaming about, just because it has been done already in that way. So how can you add a zesty twist to your business idea?Many people use the excellent technique of brainstorming. You simply write down, without editing, all the business ideas you can think of. Remember, you shouldn’t judge any idea at this point.Th

era in the store she would personally exchange it, even if she had to upgrade it.

Just be wonderful to every customer—just because you should. Besides, you never know whom they know. Being crummy to any customer could prove to be a career killer—you just never know!

To access helpful additional information from Ed Rigsbee at no charge, please visit www.rigsbee.com/downloadaccess.htm.

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Will You Add? - Branding Strength...Oh, So You Want Me To Ship It To the Manufacturer?

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