The big question: How’s business going?

March 14, 2012

I make it a point to pose the following question to an unsuspecting waiter, hostess, cook, or ‘owner-looking’ person:

How’s business going?

The question freezes most in their tracks.  I guess they are so accustomed to hearing complaints and groans from customers that a genuine question is startling.  This is a departure from the standard fare: “The weather sure is warm today.”

When 'THE' question is asked, how will you respond?

Typical responses:

“Oh, fine. I guess.”

“We’ve been fairly steady. I think it’ll pick up later.”

“It’s a little slow now, but I am hopeful.”

“Great. We’ve been steady all day.”

“Oh, I don’t know. You’ll have to ask the manager.”

If you’re a manager, owner of an establishment, what’s your coaching to employees about how to answer this question?

Should you lie and say “everything’s rosy” all the time?

Should you give your honest assessment?

Should you gently smile and say the first thing that comes to mind?

I believe an employee should be honest, but sprinkle in some optimism.

For example, if the first person to walk into your establishment for the day asks the question: “How’s business?”

Don’t respond: “It’s been very slow. You are the first person to visit us today.”

Try: “We expect great things today; we have some great specials available on some of our most popular products. What brought you in our store today?”

Immediately, the employee has engaged with the customer and starts to understand his needs while introducing some of the fantastic offers available. This friendly tone won’t seem fake or pushy. The customer ‘should’ see this as warm, genuine conversation from someone who has his best interests at heart. In a world that’s sometimes too cynical and sarcastic, you’ll stand out with a fresh dose of optimism and enthusiasm.

Until next time,

Dan Naden

Leave a Comment » | advertising, community, convenience stores, customer experience, Customer Service, marketing, shopping, user experience, welcome | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dan Naden

Why create a billboard that can’t be read?

February 29, 2012
  • Would a teacher write on a whiteboard with letters that are too small for his children to read?
  • During a timeout, would a basketball coach map out his next play to his team in a whisper?
  • At a rock concert at a large arena, would the heavy metal band play with their amplifiers off?

These are examples of messages that don’t reach the recipient.

Every day across this nation, companies spend millions on highway billboards to reach consumers, yet fall woefully short.  There’s something stunningly amazing about the large blocks of text, graphics and color that line the major highways of America. When you’ve just a short period of time to influence, persuade, motivate, why do companies make it even more difficult than they should?

I am stunned. It seems as if every other billboard I see is unreadable.

The biggest problem: small, indecipherable text. Do companies realize that people are trying to drive while reading/viewing their billboards? They have a very short window of time to acknowledge, read and react to a billboard while they change lanes, flick on the turn signal, or change the radio station.

Dear companies:

When you invest in building a ‘can’t miss’ billboard, put yourself in the eyes of your target market.
Take a step back and envision your ‘creative message’ being viewed at 55 miles per hour from hundreds of feet away. Design text and blocks of color to be read in an instant. Don’t stress every single benefit about your product or service. Choose one and do it remarkably well.

It’s not all doom and gloom. There are a few companies that have it right. Notice the simplicity, directness, immediacy.

Here are just a few:

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Until next time,

Dan Naden

Leave a Comment » | advertising, billboards, simplicity, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dan Naden

Sea World presents a charming day…with a catch

January 4, 2012

I am surrounded by Cookie Monster, Elmo and Bert, as they dance to a catchy tune about letters and numbers. For a moment, I think about throwing caution to the wind and join in the two step. The furry creatures that taught me the ABCs are now paving the path for the next generation and I can’t really control myself.

The smiles on our children’s faces are as wide as Texas.

The live shows were a dazzling display of beauty and strength.

Recently, the family spent a spectacular day at Sea World San Antonio on a mild late summer day. The sun beat loud and proud on that day.

This treasured day, however, almost didn’t happen.

Our plan was simple:

-Open the doors to the park at 10am.

-Stay until exhaustion beat us down.

 The skies on that particular Saturday morning, however, were hostile. Drizzle and fog dampened all spirits. The previous night’s rain, thunder and lightning displays were legendary.

After a few hours of wishing, hoping, praying that the rain would stop, we caught a break.

The skies lightened just enough to let us into the park around noon.

Despite our late start, we were ambitious about our pursuit of trying every ride, coaster, game that was available at Sea World San Antonio. With the park featuring Halloween hours and events (until 10pm), we believed that we had plenty of time to ‘give it a go’.

We petted the sting rays, bobbed and weaved on the Shamu Express roller coaster, laughed on the merry-go-round, and marveled at the artistry and acrobatics of Azul. Azul was a major departure from your typical dolphin show. Talented professionals swam, dove, climbed, soared against a majestic backdrop of light, color, sound.  Unbelievable.

Even I tested his nerves on the jaw-dropping Steel Eel. As I made the slow, methodical incline prior to the ride’s steepest drop, I wondered, “Why am I doing this?” When it was over, I was ready to do it again!

Then, unexpectedly at 5pm, we heard this over the park’s loudspeaker:

“Attention please; because of inclement weather earlier in the day, the park will be closing at 6pm today. All Hallowscream activities are cancelled for tonight.”

The words: “What?”, “Huh?” could be heard reverberating around the park.

This was a surprise in the worst way.

I realize weather plays a significant role in the unpredictable schedules of most of these amusements parks, yet we wouldn’t have made the decision to enter the park around noon (at full price!) if we knew the day was only six hours long instead of ten hours. With the sky clearing, it didn’t cross our mind that the park would close early.

Most likely, we’ll return to Six Flags San Antonio for some stupendous fun. This bout of unfortunate, nearly unfathomable, news probably put a frown on the furry faces of Cookie Monster, Elmo and Bert as well as on the faces of the Austin visitors.

Until next time,

Dan Naden

1 Comment | advertising, Atmosphere. Customer Service, Communication, community, customer experience, Customer Service, knowing your customers, marketing to kids, Texas | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dan Naden

Blackberry’s customer service misfortunes

December 21, 2011

With my flight hours away, and my departure gate in sight, I decided to move off the main pathway of Atlanta’s airport and into one of its many retail stores.

Moving past smoothie factories, cheery sports bars and bustling departure gates, I ventured into a Blackberry store.

Blackberry's in-store experience was extremely underwhelming.

The young man glared at me as if I were the first visitor in hours. No greeting. No welcome. He stared straight ahead as if his job were torture.

Being a former Blackberry customer and ‘in the market’ for a new phone, I had an interest in the past, present and future on this once proud leader of mobile devices.

After browsing the many phones available in the store, I thought the staffer would inquire about my needs, yet the silence continued.

I took the first step and asked:

“Do you have any specials today?”
“No,” the worker responded, quickly retreating to his comfort of silence.

“Are all of the recent outages affecting Blackberry resolved.”
“Yes,” he muttered.

“Do you have any Sprint phones?”
He then pointed to a row of Sprint-enabled phones against the wall.

I tipped and tapped a few keyboards, touched some screens, read some feature descriptions and then it happened as I prepared to exit the store.

“Are there any questions I can answer for you?” the Blackberry representative asked meekly. Amazingly, he finally woke up to his role as customer advocate.

I turned and shook my head from side to side as I stepped back into the main artery of the airport.

Blackberry’s problems are much more fundamental and far-reaching than this dispirited exchange, yet this is clearly are a microcosm of this floundering mobile machine.

Years ago, Blackberry lost the touch of the customer. Apple brought products to market that inspired and energized the masses. Now, Blackberry’s doing its finest to ignore customers on their doorstep.

Until next time,

Dan Naden

3 Comments | advertising, Communication, Customer Service, experience, knowing your customers, marketing, merchandising, shopping, simplicity, Uncategorized, user experience | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Dan Naden

Chik-Fil-A’s Cows on the Loose

November 7, 2011

A barren water tower stretches over metropolitan Atlanta.

Thousands pass each day without even a furtive glance toward the metallic beast.

Then, one day, the water tower changes.

Who knew a water tower could incite me to eat biscuits?

On Wednesday, it’s a dark gray, bland, corrosive tower.

On Thursday, it transforms into a work of architecture that draws looks.

  • Why are there cows climbing the water tower?
  • How does this tower look so lively amidst a mass of dilapidation?
  • What’s with the graffiti scribbled across the tower’s façade?

Within moments, I understood the tower’s new purpose; its injection of life amongst a multitude of wear and tear.

The cows: Chik-Fil-A’s emblematic cows were climbing towards the tower’s peak; their crusade against beef goes skyward.

The graffiti: Chik-Fil-A’s broken English in edgy-cool font is instantly recognizable and humorous. What’s there not to like about: “This morning try de-calf.”

The coffee cup: The tower’s top had been re-crafted to look like a steaming coffee cup. Genius.

I don’t normally gaze at water towers; I try to keep my eyes on the road. This one, however, nearly caused me to drive onto the median.

Many billboards surround the highways of Atlanta and other major cities. These billboards are so ubiquitous that I see them as white noise. Companies that look for other canvases to communicate their ‘outdoor’ message and blend their messaging into the structure score points. Fine job @ChickfilA.

Have you seen any crazy good advertisements incorporating the natural structure of a building, bus stop, or other entity? Share.

Until next time,

Dan Naden

1 Comment | advertising, billboards, call to actions, marketing, Marketing Event, personal connection | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dan Naden

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