However, I’m not (usually) an open food critic. The reason I’m sharing this story with you is because there is a nice marketing lesson to be had…

Nagomi Sushi is doing a great job of managing its customer’s expectations. If you’ve read my writing for a while, especially in my book Profitable Relations, you’ll know I’ve touched on this subject before.

It’s especially critical in the hospitality industry. Far too many restaurants for example are run inefficiently. Their service is slow. Even if they know it’s going to take a while to get your order out to you they won’t let you know…rather you’ll be kept waiting…hoping that your meal is the next one out.

Well, this sushi joint puts a short and sweet message on the cover of its menu. It’s nothing elaborate…it’s certainly no corporate jargon – but it works.

When you read this message you’re put to ease. You almost find yourself saying, “ok, it might take a bit longer but it’ll be worth it”.

Obviously a message like this has to deliver. If you read this and the food turns out to be a dissapointement the whole strategy flops.

However, when you deliver, like Nagomi does, it’s a well played strategy on their part.

Hats off to Nagomi. Great food and great service.

This is a huge move for Domino’s.

Disclosure: I haven’t had the ‘new’ Dominoes and it’s been a while since I had the ‘old’ one too. Nevertheless, this is a clever campaign and very well done video. Nice work Domino’s and team!

Intense Debate replied with a very detailed and honest answer about how their product can and can not be used.

Disqus replied with “You can use Disqus”, that’s it.

I’ve heard great things about both companies and products. But as someone that really values customer service and support it’s interesting to note how different the responses were.

I was watching CNN this morning as I was having my breakfast. Either CNN viewers are becoming much younger or CNN has a big message to market mixup…

The broadcaster played a song by TI and Justin Timberlake, the song not only had profanities in it, some of which the station forgot to cut. It’s clear that by the songs name and if you listen to the lyrics that this isn’t what you’re used to hearing on a news station.

Mixup or is CNN repositioning itself for a younger audience?

Consulting Methods to Keep Clients

Consulting Proposals: Winning Strategies

A Big Marketing Mistake: The Cookie Jar

Here’s the skinny on TalentZoo:
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The article explores why too many business owners and professionals focus on the wrong metrics and have forgotten the key to real business success. Check it out at “What if Google Died?” on TalentZoo

For the record I’m a big fan of Google so don’t let the title get you all worked up.

Make it a great day!

Michael

Don’t worry. I know it sounds like I’m trying to sell you something, but I assure you I’m not. All it is is an introduction to a great video of him I just found.

If you’ve followed my work and writings over the years you’ll know I’m a big believer in the power of having a guarantee to increase sales. And not just some fluffy text in miniscule type. But one that stands out and means something.

Well, here is Dan Kennedy delivering his personal guarantee for his products. Enjoy, it’s live and it works!

This one looks at a challenge many large companies face and most do nothing about. But the company in the case study, Business Objects, did.

I’m happy about this for 2 reasons: 1) Business Objects is based in Vancouver, where I live (although they were recently acquired by SAP, and  2) the company clearly proved that direct response marketing deserves a seat (if not the Vice-President’s chair) at the main table.

Here’s why …

The case focused on a software download page for one of the company’s products. Clearly the website had been developed by a ‘professional design’ firm. They had strict design guidelines in place. For those of you not familiar with this … these guidelines are like a set of rules showing what colors, fonts, images, positioning of elements, etc you can and can not use in your materials.While the guidelines are created to keep a consistent image in place … they also allowed for little flexibility.

No change means no improvement.

Us direct response marketers know, flexibility is key as it is part of testing mentality. Lucky for Business Objects one of their employees was smart enough to push for the budget and knock the design and branding team out so they could make the needed changes to test the page for improvements.

And improvements they did see. In fact, the two new test pages brought in a 32% and 17% improvement.

Think about this for a minute. Most companies are led to believe that ‘the prettiest’ and ‘most professional’ looking website or materials are mandatory. My thoughts on that? Bull***t!

Without continual testing and a flexible approach you’ll never see the true potential of your business. That’s why this case study is such a breath of fresh air … it proves that big business can and should implement direct response techniques throughout the biz.

It doesn’t have to be done company-wide off the bat. But gradually over time. Imagine what a continual 32% improvement would do for your business …

Access to the full Marketing Sherpa article is open until September 17th
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30820&pop=no

To your success,
Michael Zipursky

This business owner was right, I do need to clarify, because not all “employees” need to receive financial or other tangible incentives to generate better results.

Am I confusing you? It’ll all become clear …

When referring to employees, I don’t include management or executives. Yes, technically they are employees, but they often have different motivations than the non-managerial staff.

In Jim Collins book, Good to Great, he explained the discovery that the performance of a company over the long-term really has nothing to do with giving financial incentives to management.

His study showed in convincing detail that companies with the highest paid management, who over and above their million dollar plus salaries received even larger bonuses – didn’t necessarily do better than the non-incentivized competitor company.

In fact, companies that gave less financial incentives to their management actually did better over the long-term.

Why? Because to sustain the success of a company, the leaders need to be in it for more than the moolah. The leaders that showed the greatest SUSTAINED results weren’t in their positions to ‘just make money …

… They were committed to the company and were working towards a grand plan and turning the companies dreams into a reality.

By having such a leader in place, employees naturally become more committed and loyal to the business.

The challenge is that this kind of a transformation (for the many companies that don’t have such leaders) doesn’t happen over night. It can take years.

And because it can take so long (though it’s worth all the hard work for the business to get there) one of the best ways to keep employees interested, challenged, and motivated to produce results is to provide them with financial incentives.

The fact is, employees today want more time off, more money, and more control in their workplace. This is especially true for the younger generation.

And again this is why, providing incentives (in financial, time-off, gifts and other such forms) to workers that do their job more efficiently, effectively and get better results, makes sense. In essence, you scratch our back, we’ll scratch yours.

If your company has a magnetic environment where everyone is already working together for a common vision and goal, maybe incentives aren’t needed. Or maybe they’ll improve the results you are already seeing.

You see, the truth of it is, if you don’t continually push forward to make your business better, and continually test to improve results, you’ll never achieve full potential. And that’s probably something that all your staff, business and YOU yourself deserve. Isn’t it?

To your success,

Michael Zipursky

For many years now I’ve been a big supporter of incentivizing employees to motivate them to produce above average results.

A recent trip to two electronic stores got me thinking about this topic.

Store 1 has its salespeople on commission.
Store 2, doesn’t.

What I found was that Store 1’s salespeople were much more knowledgeable on the products they carried.

Where as Store 2’s employees, while having a general understanding of what they were selling, knew little when it came to the finer details.

You see, I’m the kind of customer that pays attention to those finer details. Not to cause trouble or give anyone a hard time, but for 2 reasons:
1. When I’m putting down a big chunk of money on the latest flatscreen LCD or Blu Ray player with surround sound system – I take the time to learn about the products and technologies … to make sure I’m getting something that best suits my needs.
And 2, I live and breathe sales, marketing and customer service, so you might say I have discerning eyes and ears.

But there is a twist to this story. While the salespeople at Store 1 had better product knowledge they came across like a bunch of pushy car salesmen. Their style was more aggressive, and though not overly so, the atmosphere felt more rushed … a bit uncomfortable if you will.

What these two companies need is to blend their approaches. To incentivize their workforce, give them a reason to learn more about the products … and then support them in understanding how to make customers feel comfortable.

Pushy sales don’t work for long-term success. Making your customers feel comfortable, as welcome guests that can confidently show up whenever they please and consistently be greeted with the information they need produces amazing results.

How does your business go about this?

Michael Zipursky