Here in the Kansas City area there’s a local BBQ chain. It was started many years ago and has made its owners, the Gates family, not only wealthy but prominent citizens in the community. The second you cross the threshold of their establishments no matter which of their several they have opened over the years, you are taken aback by a enthusiastic voice at the counter asking you, “May I help you!” very loudly. More of a statement of fact than a question. It’s one of the business’ trademarks. Everyone who has ever darkened their door knows the phrase. It has become an institution of sorts here in the area.
Notice that the phrase was not “How may I help you?” or “Can I help you?” or “Would you like me to help you?” No it’s a statement of I’m going to help you because that’s my job and I’m proud of it. The phrase tells the customer in no uncertain terms that his/her experience at their restaurant is going to involve service, plain and simple. It let’s the customer know that service is to be expected, a right if I may. Not just mediocre service but enthusiastic service.
Over the years we as business owners and employees have lost our “May I help you!” attitude. We have become a nation of “Don’t bother me, can’t you see I’m working?” types. We’ve forgotten that it’s the customer who makes our house and car payment. That sends our kids to college and clothes our backs. We’ve lost the attitude of service that has for so many years driven our economy to great heights.
Why? Why, when it has worked so well for so long did we become so wrapped up in our own interests? Why have we (that’s the collective “we” there are many, many people out there practicing the art of service and reaping its benefits) as a society turned to greed over the past couple of decades? Look at Mr. Madoff. Where did his greed get him? How much more successful and free would he have been had he practiced true service to his clients.
Some would like to blame it on the decline in church attendance, the declining morals, TV, rock music and sex. Maybe there is some truth to this but I think it goes a lot deeper. Its called the Limbic system and it is at the core of our brain. It’s the fight or flight mechanism that protected us during our prehistoric period. We still have it today. Its natural, when we are threatened the adrenaline kicks in and we go into survival mode no matter who we have to walk over. Just because its natural doesn’t mean that its right, however.
Morality, religion and what our parents taught us aside, service is just good common sense. Until the decade of greed, the 80’s, service worked. McDonald’s built their empire on it as did many, many other businesses that are thriving today. Look around you. Those in trouble are the ones that cut the corners, leveraged their profits at the cost of their product or service, or skimmed the cream from the top.
Case in point. Car sales plummeted and GM and Chrysler went running to the government. What did Hyundai do? They offered a program to help the customer. If you were to lose your job within a year of buying a Hyundai they would make up to three payments for you. If your situation didn’t improve after that they will take the car back and not hurt your credit. Service? At it’s finest. Now Ford is offering the same type of service. Ford has caught the vision and they’ll prosper for it if they keep it up.
So how can you become more service minded. Start with a smile. Not just on your face but in your voice. Greet everyone you meet as a potential client or customer. Treat them with respect and dignity, take the time to see to their needs. Don’t look at them as a means to profit but as a new and lasting relationship. Think of them as friends. Use the golden rule liberally. Above all be polite and courteous. Start right now and see how it changes your outlook. Remember greed is dead, it’s all about service. Its all about service to customer, service to neighbor, service to community, and service to country. May I help you!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
There is an Inexpensive Way.
The computer age has made a lot of things assessable to the general population. Think about it, just a few short years ago if you needed to research something it meant a trip to the library and hours and hours of pouring over stacks and stacks of books. No longer. All one needs is access to the internet and a world of knowledge is just a click away.
The digital age also changed advertising and it’s assessability to the public. Used to be if you wanted to have an ad designed it was a long and labor-intensive process. First you met with an advertising account executive and discussed your idea. Then a few days or weeks later you would again meet and look at some marker comps of your ideas. Once you decided on one the photography, illustration and typesetting would begin. After all the pieces were assembled then the ad would go into production and a full size, full color piece would be completed and photographed, separated and sent to the various publications you wanted it to appear in. This was a very expensive process involving many well-trained people each with his own specialty.
Then in the mid 80’s the computer opened up the design world to rest of us. Sadly desktop publishing as it was known back then gave many the tools but not the training to produce ads, brochures, and promotional pieces. Even today you see direct mail pieces and brochures designed by someone working in Microsoft Word.
The old adage that even bad advertising is effective isn’t always true. Do you really want your business to put across the feeling to your potential clients that you are working out of a closet in your basement even if you are?
“But I can’t afford to contract an ad agency to do my advertising,” you may say. “After all, I am just a small business.” Not to worry. The digital age has made affordable talent available to everyone no matter how small of a business they run.
Enter the Creative Project Manager (that's me). The CPM meets with you, the business owner, and assesses your needs. He then maps out a plan of action and once agreed upon pulls together a team of professional freelance talent to complete the project. You pay only for the time spent on the project and the materials used. No retainer fees, no monthly payouts to an agency, no financing fancy offices. In return you get the same level of quality as the big ad agencies provide at a fraction of the cost. You work with a team you helped chose and you can customize the size of your project to your budget.
Sounds too good to be true doesn’t it. Give it a try I know you’ll be pleased with the results and your business will look like the fortune 500 companies. Call me at 913.677.7060 if I can be of service to you.
The digital age also changed advertising and it’s assessability to the public. Used to be if you wanted to have an ad designed it was a long and labor-intensive process. First you met with an advertising account executive and discussed your idea. Then a few days or weeks later you would again meet and look at some marker comps of your ideas. Once you decided on one the photography, illustration and typesetting would begin. After all the pieces were assembled then the ad would go into production and a full size, full color piece would be completed and photographed, separated and sent to the various publications you wanted it to appear in. This was a very expensive process involving many well-trained people each with his own specialty.
Then in the mid 80’s the computer opened up the design world to rest of us. Sadly desktop publishing as it was known back then gave many the tools but not the training to produce ads, brochures, and promotional pieces. Even today you see direct mail pieces and brochures designed by someone working in Microsoft Word.
The old adage that even bad advertising is effective isn’t always true. Do you really want your business to put across the feeling to your potential clients that you are working out of a closet in your basement even if you are?
“But I can’t afford to contract an ad agency to do my advertising,” you may say. “After all, I am just a small business.” Not to worry. The digital age has made affordable talent available to everyone no matter how small of a business they run.
Enter the Creative Project Manager (that's me). The CPM meets with you, the business owner, and assesses your needs. He then maps out a plan of action and once agreed upon pulls together a team of professional freelance talent to complete the project. You pay only for the time spent on the project and the materials used. No retainer fees, no monthly payouts to an agency, no financing fancy offices. In return you get the same level of quality as the big ad agencies provide at a fraction of the cost. You work with a team you helped chose and you can customize the size of your project to your budget.
Sounds too good to be true doesn’t it. Give it a try I know you’ll be pleased with the results and your business will look like the fortune 500 companies. Call me at 913.677.7060 if I can be of service to you.
Enough is Enough!
Enough is enough! I’m sick and tired of hearing how “bad” things are right now. I can’t turn on the TV, cruise the internet or listen to the radio without being bombarded with how bad things are and with it the constant finger pointing. Who IS to blame? Well when it gets right down to it, we as individuals are.
We are responsible for our attitudes and how we look at things. If we see bad we will experience bad. Some where some time ago somebody said a recession is coming. Then as he dwelled on the negative he told others how bad things were going to get. Then that group of people grew larger until before you knew it the stock market took a dive and the housing market fell. People stopped buying, cats and dogs started living in sin together…well you get the drift.
Negative attitudes have a snowball effect. We as individuals have the control over ourselves. There is no “Devil made me do it” get off scot-free card. We and we only control what we think. We can be negative and see this economic glass half empty or we can see the opportunities that are really there.
Take advertising right now. Most small companies as well as the bigger ones are cutting back on advertising. Advertising rates on practically all the media are going at bargain basements rates right now. Now’s the time for small businesses to expand their advertising, tell their story, and expand their market so that when the economy begins an upswing they will be positioned better than ever in their market.
We can make the difference. By helping each other, partnering with each other, and sharing our expertise with one another, we, yes WE, the people can get the economy off its butt and up and running again. Its time for us at the bottom of the food chain to make the difference and not wait on trickle down. For once we should take control and generate the wealth, reap the benefits, and then let what’s left trickle up.
But how can I do that? I’m just one person with little or no resources. Start with your thinking. Remember the phrase, “Whatever you can believe and conceive you can achieve?” Well that not just some little diddy some sales manager thought up to motivate his sales force. It is a scientific fact. It’s called the Thomas Theorum: Whatever a person believes is real in its consequences. In other words if you fear the future it will become something to fear. If you see opportunity, prosperity, and good times ahead it will happen for you. If we collectively think positive about the future it will happen that much sooner. If we as a nation would start thinking positive about the future being great starting today buy the end of the week you would see results.
So you and I, the individual, have a patriotic duty to the future of our country to begin to affect the change in the economy beginning with our attitude. Eliminate the can’t do’s and no’s in your life and replace them with “why not”. Why not make that cold call? Why not approach that potential client, why not try that new system you heard about? Let’s invest in ourselves, our neighbor’s and our friends and less in the unknown. Let’s devote our time to our communities and our networks to positively effect our country’s recovery. Let’s rededicate ourselves to the ideals that made this country the greatest on earth, the ability to overcome any obstacle in our way through a positive attitude.
We are responsible for our attitudes and how we look at things. If we see bad we will experience bad. Some where some time ago somebody said a recession is coming. Then as he dwelled on the negative he told others how bad things were going to get. Then that group of people grew larger until before you knew it the stock market took a dive and the housing market fell. People stopped buying, cats and dogs started living in sin together…well you get the drift.
Negative attitudes have a snowball effect. We as individuals have the control over ourselves. There is no “Devil made me do it” get off scot-free card. We and we only control what we think. We can be negative and see this economic glass half empty or we can see the opportunities that are really there.
Take advertising right now. Most small companies as well as the bigger ones are cutting back on advertising. Advertising rates on practically all the media are going at bargain basements rates right now. Now’s the time for small businesses to expand their advertising, tell their story, and expand their market so that when the economy begins an upswing they will be positioned better than ever in their market.
We can make the difference. By helping each other, partnering with each other, and sharing our expertise with one another, we, yes WE, the people can get the economy off its butt and up and running again. Its time for us at the bottom of the food chain to make the difference and not wait on trickle down. For once we should take control and generate the wealth, reap the benefits, and then let what’s left trickle up.
But how can I do that? I’m just one person with little or no resources. Start with your thinking. Remember the phrase, “Whatever you can believe and conceive you can achieve?” Well that not just some little diddy some sales manager thought up to motivate his sales force. It is a scientific fact. It’s called the Thomas Theorum: Whatever a person believes is real in its consequences. In other words if you fear the future it will become something to fear. If you see opportunity, prosperity, and good times ahead it will happen for you. If we collectively think positive about the future it will happen that much sooner. If we as a nation would start thinking positive about the future being great starting today buy the end of the week you would see results.
So you and I, the individual, have a patriotic duty to the future of our country to begin to affect the change in the economy beginning with our attitude. Eliminate the can’t do’s and no’s in your life and replace them with “why not”. Why not make that cold call? Why not approach that potential client, why not try that new system you heard about? Let’s invest in ourselves, our neighbor’s and our friends and less in the unknown. Let’s devote our time to our communities and our networks to positively effect our country’s recovery. Let’s rededicate ourselves to the ideals that made this country the greatest on earth, the ability to overcome any obstacle in our way through a positive attitude.
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