The Wizard Chronicle
How to Attract, Convert, and Delight CustomersBy: Wizard of Ads Partners Editor: Craig Arthur
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Entries from January 13, 2008 - January 19, 2008
Saturday
19Jan
Where Change First Happens
"Every door of opportunity begins as a window in the mind."
- Roy H. Williams
Jan 19, 2008Thursday
17Jan
What Message Are You Sending On Hold
By Guest Writer, Sonya Winterbotham
Silence might be golden… but it doesn’t make you money. And neither does that awful tubular bells music courtesy of the phone company.When you hit the “hold” button on your customers, don’t put the sale “on hold”. Skip the silent treatment and give your customers something to think about - feed them with information. But keep in mind, an on hold is essentially advertising and there’s a right and wrong way to do it.
First things first… unless you work for a bank or phone company, you’re on hold shouldn’t run any longer than two minutes… in fact one minute should be enough. Why? Heck how long are you planning on keeping your customers on hold for?
Maybe that’s something to research first…
Tuesday
15Jan
The Glass Ceiling
Hear the Memo... "The Glass Ceiling."
"People never really change their mind. They merely make new decisions based on new information."
Every business that tries to rise to its full height will bump its head on a glass ceiling they didn’t realize was there.That glass ceiling is created by the business owner’s core beliefs about the customer.
Traditionally, 5 out of 10 customers will be in transactional shopping mode. The other 5 will be in relational shopping mode.
Shoppers in transactional mode are looking for information, facts, details, prices. Their thoughts revolve around the product itself, not the purchase experience.
Relational-mode shoppers are looking for a pleasant experience. They want to find the right place, the right person from whom to buy, an expert they can trust. Meanwhile, the transactional shopper is gathering the information that will allow them to be their own expert.
Monday
14Jan
Strategy Needs People
"Any strategy, no matter how smart, is dead on arrival unless a company brings it to life with people - the right people." - Jack Welch
Monday
14Jan
3 Tips to Help Implement Your Strategy
"History has belonged to those who execute best; strategies can be readily copied."
Here are 3-tips that will help you with executing your strategy:
- Act consistently and consistently act: Execution is about attention to detail, budgets, and deadlines. Mistakes will be made and compromises will be required. Deliberate and sustained effort will ultimately ensure the best chances for your strategy.
- Link the organizational reward system and strategy execution: The reward system of a firm focuses on and influences both individual and group behaviors. Good execution depends on a reward system that signals what is desired. Highly motivated employees will drastically improve the chances of successful execution.
- Foster an open and supportive organizational culture: The individuals involved in executing a new strategy must feel free to question supporting activities. Both successes and failures need to be understood so that requisite new skills and systems can be developed to support the strategic initiatives being implemented or so that the initiatives may be revised to allow successful implementation.