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May30
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There are two types of marketing: 1. Marketing that temporarily manipulates people’s perceptions of a company, product, or service 2. Marketing that connects with a person so much that it affects them for a lifetime Companies focus too much on the first type of marketing. They’re looking for a quick buck. They use lots of money to pay for celebrities and flashy advertising to capture your attention.  If they only knew that the second type of marketing is what brings in money for generations and generations. It’s marketing that’s more silent and reserved -- subtle actions, helpful gestures and many thank you’s are used. What type of marketing do you use?
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May29
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Being inspired and actively engaging with customers is one of the cornerstones of good business. Therefore, it’s important to hire people who are inspired, but not necessarily motivated. I would rather choose someone who is inspired rather than motivated. I'll...
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In the book How to Talk to Customers, there’s a chapter that’s dedicated to teaching us how to develop listening skills. We learn that there are four levels of listening: Level One - you simply pay attention to facts and...
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As we all search for the formula to provide great customer service, I could probably sum up the essence of customer service in one word: Attitude. It’s your attitude towards your life that determines how far you’ll get in...
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I’m currently working on a business plan for a new venture and it has taken some time writing up the Mission Statement. You see, in my opinion, the mission statement is probably the most important part of the business plan. ...
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May28
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A friend of mine has some thoughts on customers and customer service that he wanted to share:We as a society seem to believe that Customer Service is a one way street. As customers we usually expect to be 'Picked Up' by a...
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A friend of mine who works in customer service told me the other day, “When all else fails, make the customer laugh!” What’s life without some good ole laughs, right? Well, I scoured YouTube for some funny customer service-related videos...
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I'm always inspired by good quotes, so I thought I'd share some I came across lately. Hopefully this will get you through the week and give you the energy to keep it going! I highly recommend writing these down and...
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I travel back and forth between San Diego and my parents’ home in Central California quite often. Central Cali is a much slower pace than San Diego and is known for its abundant agriculture and the smell of manure. If...
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Today in the U.S., we honor those men and women who have fought for the country - those who have sacrificed their lives and have helped people in other countries experience a sense of “freedom”. Although I don’t support...
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May27
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Over at one of my other blogs, Online Business Resources, I talk about the two new key elements of a Web 2.0 website - one of which is a podcast. Lately I’ve come across blogs that use this somewhat new...
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My brother has been a Cingular Wireless customer for about five years now and when he saw an offer for a free phone - the exact phone he wanted - he called them to ask if he could take advantage...
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May26
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Here at CustomersAreAlways I’ve always preached that you should pursue your passions. When you’re doing something you love, you’re much happier, you work with purpose and you treat your customers much better. Most of us have been sucked into a...
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May25
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It’s pretty obvious that Ms. Chapel is a very angry person with issues that are beyond the scope of our knowledge, but it does provide for a great example as to how your personal issues and beliefs can affect how you communicate with people
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Word-of-mouth marketing…it’s still the best way to get customers. Back in the day when there was no radio, TV or newspapers, how do you think people knew where to get things? Most likely a friend, companion or whoever was around...
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May24
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I’m sure we have a lot of four-letter words to say about our cable companies these days, but there’s one company that people don’t hate…At least that’s what this BusinessWeek article says. What? A cable company we don’t hate? How...
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Why is it that this person gets great service from Apple yet a best-selling author has to wait? Are they paying too much attention to all the iPhone buzz?
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The other day I asked if you were responding to email and incidentally, I get an email from Customer Service Group offering one of their books, 15 Steps to Writing Effective Email. Learning how to respond to customers’ emails is...
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Apple has made it’s way up the coolness ladder the past couple years, eh? There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t see an iPod or iTunes ad or commercial. Seems like everyone and their grandma has an...
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May22
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A reader writes in with an idea...I have a pretty straight forward clear cut idea on how to improve customer service. Every business should create a website that contains a data base of numbers, and have each of their employees...
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One of the greatest inspirations in my life is Deepak Chopra. He is a spiritual guide and mentor plus author of many books, including one of my favorites: The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. One of the laws of success...
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Last year I wrote about customer service for real estate agents, but I forgot one very important thing: respond to emails and phone calls! The Phoenix Real Estate Guy reminded me of this today. The real estate office that I...
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The topic on many people’s minds these days is politics. I used to be one that followed politics quite closely, but all it did was make me angry - so now the closest thing I get to watching any type...
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Sometimes I can be a pretty nosy person. When I’m in the parking lot of a store and walking by other people’s cars, sometimes I look inside their car. I don’t know why I do it, but I do. Some...
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May21
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I love Craigslist. I really do. In fact, I was just there last night browsing through real estate ads. I’m sure many of you have heard of Craigslist - mainly because it’s free to post classified ads there. Who doesn’t...
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This article at Bloomberg says that Federated Department Stores (FD) will be eliminating those coupons we always see in the newspaper. The company wants customers to be hooked on consistent prices instead. Amen!Coupons are frustrating to deal with - especially...
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Last night I wrote my own epitaph and posted it over at The Good Life. It was a great exercise and something I recommend that everyone do. After you write your own epitaph, you should also write the epitaph of...
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I am so looking forward to partying with y’all here at the Carnivale today ;) If you’re new here and want to participate, visit the Carnivale of Customer Service info page. As always, we have something to learn from each...
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May20
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Customer World has an interesting post about an Outlaw Consulting report that shares with us the top 15 most trusted brands among younger consumers. It comes as no surprise that Apple tops the list. What kid doesn’t have an...
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In my usual weekend hunt for good videos to share, I happened upon this very cute JetBlue commercial. I’ve never flown JetBlue before, but it sure builds up that expectation that I will be treated like a queen if/when I...
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In a single day I can spend about ten hours or so on the computer. However, lately I’ve found that I’ve been spending quite a bit more and not getting as much accomplished. Why is that? Well, as you may...
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May19
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Subconsciously, I used to be a negative-thinker (Me? A negative thinker? Hard to believe, I know). Although I would say positive things on the outside, on the inside I would have those voices full of doubt and negativity. Little did...
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I’m sure many of you are familiar with those GoDaddy.com commercials that started a couple years ago. They aired during the SuperBowl and caused quite ruckus. I was a little offended by the commercials because they used some sexy hot...
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May17
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How do you get a big company who has focused so much on the “bottom line” to change their way of thinking? How do you get them to go from saying, “Sell! Sell! Sell!” (something a former district manager...
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Mike Sigers of Simplenomics wants to know the one business person we’d pay to eat lunch with. I would definitely pay the $600K to talk to Warren Buffet - that is, if I had the $600K to spend! My interest...
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I’m sure many of us are wondering what Dell is up to these days in terms of customer service - at least I am anyways! Just when I was going to hop over to the Dell blog to check out...
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May16
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Part of great customer service is creating an environment full of positive energy and vibes. How do you do that? I’ll answer with one word: Give. Next I’ll share with you something I read over at Link System News:Giving...
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Are you selling a product or service or are you selling a benefit? If you answered yes to the first part of the question, you’re wrong. All of us have issues or problems that need to be fixed in our...
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I just finished eating a Subway Sandwich and I have to just say that it was a horrible sandwich. After eating at Quizno’s for so many years I’ve become accustomed to Quizno's sandwiches that are bursting with flavor and not...
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One of my favorite places to get information on just about any topic is Squidoo. It’s no surprise that Seth Godin has a part in the creation of Squidoo because it’s absolute genius! What an easy way to share your...
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The Department of Defense (DOD) recently announced that they will ban social networking sites like YouTube and MySpace from the computers on all the bases around the world. They claim that these websites are using up too much bandwith and...
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May15
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The University of Michigan has put out their latest American Customer Satisfaction Survey and guess what? The IRS ranks better in customer service than the airline industry! Frankly, I don’t know how that could be since the IRS *cough* steals...
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This is a sponsored review... As more and more people make their way online to do their shopping, it’s very important for your website to be up to par. These days it’s not enough to just slap a website up and...
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Yesterday I talked about how Macy’s wants to do more TV and internet advertising…not the greatest strategic move because like I said, everyone already knows about Macy’s. I don’t even pay attention to Macy’s ads anymore. Don’t we know that...
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May14
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Service Untitled has a great article pointing out the differences between “client” and “customer”. Many people use these words interchangeably, but I guess there is a distinct difference between the two. When I was a real estate agent I called...
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If you've followed this blog for some time, you've probably noticed that I talk about Macy's pretty often. I had a short stint with the company and I learned quite a bit in that month of being behind the scenes...
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Well, folks, I took an "unexpected" vacation which is a very new concept for me, so I apologize for the lack of posts last week! Unexpected meaning I just wanted to slow down my blogging just a bit, but next...
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May 8
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Somestimes a simple thank you is enough to give someone the motivation and energy to keep going. Many of us complain quite a bit about the bad customer service we receive, but have we given any thought to those people...
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May 7
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We all know that car shopping can sometimes be a long, dreadful experience - at least that’s been my experience for the past fifteen years! I’ve heard about CarMax, but never really paid much attention
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May 6
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I’m sure many of you have gone out to watch Spiderman 3 this weekend. It topped the box office charts in sales - no big surprise to me ;) If you’ve seen the trailer and/or commercials for this movie, you...
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When I go for my daily walks with the dog, I am in awe of all the blooming flowers around me. The colors are vibrant and of course I have to stop and smell the roses! The owners of these...
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May 5
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I’ve been an avid reader of Michel Fortin’s blog for quite some time now. I’ve been keeping up on the latest copywriting news and basically learning how to be a better writer. Besides, his blog is a great example of...
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Service Untitled dropped by today and suggested that I post my own example of a Thank You note, so in the spirit of sharing and possibly helping someone out there with writer’s block, here‘s an example of one of my...
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Today I was listening to one of Esther and Jerry Hicks’ shows over at Hay House Radio where Esther was telling us a story of how they like to call in a lunch order to the hotel restaurant and have...
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May 4
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For the past year or so I’ve been writing down and saying positive affirmations to myself. I’ve also subscribed to ThinkTQ.com’s daily emails that are full of motivational quotes and information to get me through the day. The combination of...
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Last week I mentioned that I started reading a new book titled How to Talk to Customers…Well, today I came across an interesting survey that was mentioned in the book. 450 executives were asked the most common reasons why a...
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I just got back from sending off some Thank You cards to my jewelry customers. They’re going to be thrilled with some of the goodies I gave them and as cheesy as this may sound, I feel so warm inside...
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May 3
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MSN Money asked their readers to share their worst customer service experiences and the graphic on the right tells us who the top 10 companies were - the top 10 in bad customer service, that is!Are you surprised by the...
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Everyday I’m overwhelmed with emails from PR people and although I’d like to share and spread the love about a company’s new book or product, I think this blog would soon turn into one big sales pitch. For those of...
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When a customer calls you on the phone, do you really listen to your customers when they’re telling you their problem? Here’s a perfect example of not listening that just happened five minutes ago…I called the downtown San Diego post...
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As if we didn’t love Nordstrom (JWN) already, the company is giving us another reason to love them more. Nordstrom just launched a “Fashion Rewards” program that will give additional perks to the big spenders. Here are the different levels...
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If you want a great example of people who are doing what they love, check out Kim and Jason's website and blog. Jason stopped by and left a comment, which of course prompted me to check out his website…Truly inspiring!...
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May 2
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Last night Britney Spears made an appearance at The House of Blues here in downtown San Diego. This was to be part of her “Comeback” tour, however, one person in particular wasn’t quite happy with the performance:Whatever happened to “Hi...
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If you need yet another reason to build relationships with your coworkers, here’s one…I’m not sure if this is actually a true story or not, but an employee at a New York publishing firm was found dead at his desk...
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Have you played golf with your coworkers or clients lately? This article at Yahoo! Finance says that people who play golf tend to get ahead in their career. I’m not implying that you should play golf to kiss butt, but...
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Yes, we would all love more customers, right? So, how are you spending your time when you’re online? Are you wasting time or networking? This is the question that Barbara Babinsky of Avocado Consulting asks in her latest newsletter. In...
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