As ever, just click on the icon below and get listening!

And don’t forget, you can subscribe via iTunes so you never miss a 3D iDea again!

Links:

9 Year Old Customer Provides Real Food For Thought!

Clock Watchers Are Most Likely To Suffer Burnout!

Customers Who Smile Get Better Service!

Bookmarks:

9 year old Martha Payne’s blog about her school meals has become an internet ‘hit’!

Her daily blog NeverSeconds which reviews her school dinner each day went viral last week – she got over 105, 000 visitors and a tweet from Jamie Oliver!

With permission from teachers, she photographed her £2 school lunches and   wrote about them, posting pictures online every day and added a rating under   her “Food-o-meter”.

An example of one of her comments was: “The pizza was alright, but I’d have enjoyed imore than one croquet. I’m a growing kid and I need to concentrate all afternoon and I can’t do it on one croquet. Do any of you think you could?”

It’s all constructive stuff! She also wrote ‘The good thing about this blog is Dad understands why I am hungry   when I get home. Today he made a Banana Loaf, shame I don’t like bananas, see I am not perfect!”

It’s a great example of the power of ‘word of mouse’ and the potential influence of just one customer – it will also be interesting to see how her supplier – her school – reacts!

Are you listening to your customers?

Bookmarks:

They are currently testing it at Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival and after it prompts you to smile, the machine measures the wideness of your grin using facial recognition technology! It then snaps a picture of you, and, with your permission, uploads that snap to Facebook. (You can see a gallery of smiling faces here on Cannes Sapient Nitro’s Facebook Page). You then choose your ice cream reward and out it pops. The result? Customers who I suspect walk away with an even bigger smile on their faces (and, no doubt, tell others)!

So, what does this mean for businesses? It’s a great example of being ‘Remarkable’ which is an ingredient of 3D Characteristic #2: Establish A Dramatic Difference! It personalises’ the experience and creates a real buzz among customers who then go onto Facebook to see their photographs and I suspect ‘Remark’ to lots and lots of other people!

The whole concept of face recognition technology is an interesting one. I’ve thought of an even better way of using it to enhance the customer experience – There are lots of businesses who could perhaps benefit by turning the camera round and ‘rewarding’ their customer facing staff who actually smile at their customers!

(3D idea spotted by a great couple: Bob and Sara Brown at Inspire To Aspire! It’s number #10 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristic #2 Establish A Dramatic Difference!)

Bookmarks:

Just click on the icon below and get listening!

And don’t forget, you can subscribe via iTunes so you never miss a 3D iDea again!

Links:

Customer Service Via Social Media? It’s The Future!

Radio 2DAY

Think You’re A Good Manager? Get Real!

Bookmarks:

Interestingly, it’s the larger organisations that have adopted these channels quicker. 40% of businesses with more than 1000 employees have been using social media for customer service for the past two years. 53% of those with between 100 and 500 employees have begun to use social media in the past 12 to 24 months.

Apparently 35% of smaller businesses haven’t got around to trying social media for customer service yet – suspect that they might need to start soon.

This is reinforced by the findings in the report that highlight that 71% of customers go online first whenever they have a problem with a product – don’t think this social media stuff is going away!

Bookmarks:

A new report from the Chartered Institute of Professional Development says that most UK managers think they are better than their people think they are!

This ‘Reality Gap’ is highlighted by the CIPD’s report that says eight out of ten managers think that their staff are satisfied with them, yet  only 58% of employees agree!

A large number of the 2,000 people surveyed said that their bosses had no idea how bad they were at managing people!

I know you’re probably in the 20%, but just in case, here are some questions for you to consider….

How do you measure up?

How do you know?

There’s no ‘reality gap’ in your mind is there?

What do you need to do to ‘Get Real’ as a manager? Why not take a ‘reality check’ and find out?

A simple, but great way of doing it is to undertake a little exercise we use on our programmes called STOP, START, CONTINUE. 

Basically, it’s about finding out what your people think that you personally should ‘Stop, Start, Continue’ doing when it comes to leading and managing them. This could be a simple questionnaire (named or anonymously- whatever’s best for you and your people) or maybe a group discussion (without you being in the room!). Please remember….. the truth sometimes hurts – you have to listen to what’s said (One client of mine was told by a team member ‘STOP breathing’!)

Whatever you do, the critical bit is DOING SOMETHING ABOUT WHAT YOU FIND OUT!

Bookmarks:

People Are Signing Up Already!

I wrote recently about Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II ‘Delighting’ one of her subjects and highlighted the lessons that we could all learn from her when it comes to customer delight!

It was all about the ‘wow’ reaction, planned spontaneity, personalising the experience and making the customer feel ‘valued’!

The reaction was so good and we’ve been so inspired we’re running a workshop to help businesses treat their customers like Royalty!

Our ‘Diamond Day’ workshop takes place here in Sheffield on the morning of May 29th and it’s sure to be a ‘gem’ of a session!

It’s open to anyone who would like to…

• Get their business delivering ‘sparkling’ customer service – consistently!
• Make their customers feel ‘treasured’ every time they engage with them!
• ‘Crown’ this by maximising opportunities through increased repeat business and referrals!

There are more details here. Alternatively, don’t hesitate to call Lucy on 0114 243 4666 or email her for more information.

(If you can’t come to Sheffield and would like us to do something specifically for your business, group or association, then please do get in touch!)

Bookmarks:

And don’t forget, you can subscribe via iTunes so you never miss a 3D iDea again!

Links:

A Dramatically Different Pizza Delivery!

Employees Staying Back Extra Hours - Impressive? Oh Behave!

That’s ‘Remarkable’! Proof That Word of Mouth Works! 

Bookmarks:

It”s clear that people are questioning and challenging a lot of ‘advertising’ these days – they simply ‘don’t believe the hype’!

This highlights the power of ‘word of mouth’ – customers listen to people they trust.

However, as ever, it’s worth pointing out that ‘word of mouth’ only works if there’s something worth talking about – people only ’remark’ about ‘remarkable’ stuff!

So, a simple question for you…

What does your business do that’s ‘Remarkable’ and gets customers ‘remarking’ about you to others?

Bookmarks:

The VIP Pizza Magnet is an innovation from the Red Tomato Pizza company in Dubai! It’s easy to set up – You simply link it to Bluetooth and enter your favourite pizza recipe on the website, along with your address and details, and every time you press the button, a fresh pizza gets delivered to your door!

Watch this short video below to see the story:

It’s a great example of being ‘Easy To Buy From’ which is an ingredient of 3D Characteristic #3 Create Devoted Customers. It also helps you ‘personalise’ the experience by changing your ‘favourite’ if you wish! It certainly seems to have created a ‘buzz’ in Dubai –  It’s been so popular that they’ve actually run out of stock!!!! Don’t worry if you live out there – Apparently there are lots more about to be ‘Delivered’!

(3D idea number #9 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristic #3 Create Devoted Customers!)

Bookmarks: