Tag: internal marketing

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Engagement Marketing

Blog Milestone & Motivational Quote

This is truly a special week as it marks my 4th anniversary of blogging and my 250th post! Thanks to all my blog readers and fellow bloggers for your continued support and inspiration.

It’s time to refresh this blog’s looks, and I’m excited to announce my blog redesign is in the works and should be ready soon.

To honor the start of my 5th year blogging about internal marketing & communications, I chose to quote Frances Hesselbein about the underlying elements of an engaged workplace.

“Our behavior as well as our words build a climate of trust, a climate of respect, and a climate where mission, values, and equal access permeate the organization.

That is how we build the healthy, inclusive, and embracing relationships that unleash the human spirit. We can dismiss this as soft management and soft talk, but I challenge us to measure the performance of a team whose work is underscored by trust, civility, and good manners against a team where mistrust, disrespect, and lack of consideration are the rule of the day. No contest. Spirit, motivation, respect, and appreciation win every time. Dispirited, unmotivated, unappreciated workers cannot compete in a highly competitive world.”

This excerpt is from her 1992 book Hesselbein on Leadership, and her message is as relevant as ever.

Categories
Customer service Engagement Marketing

Reflections in The Employee Customer Mirror

To describe the impact that employees have on customers, I often use a mirror metaphor. This “employee-customer mirror” reflects the reality that customers are affected by what employees experience on the job. If employees are frustrated by company policy or internal politics, their attitudes can be projected onto dealings with customers. And who wants to be served by disgruntled employees? It takes only one or two such encounters (depending on the customer’s tolerance threshold) before a customer takes his/her business elsewhere. And who knows how many other customers will hear of the experience?

It’s an easy principle to remember: the way employees feel is the way customers will feel – and if our employees don’t feel valued, neither will our customers. Unfortunately, too many organizations take this relationship for granted. (Don’t even think about using current economic conditions as an excuse.)

How do you manage employee-customer care? I’m talking the basics here:

  • open the lines of organizational communications (top-down, bottom-up, and laterally)
  • involve employees in improving the business operations – whatever is needed to survive and thrive
  • provide opportunities for continued learning and professional development
  • recognize employees who continue to rally the energy and enthusiasm to serve customers and co-workers despite limited resources.

What do you see when looking into your organization’s Employee-Customer Mirror?

  • a shiny reflection of employee- and customer-satisfaction?
  • a blurred image that needs polishing to be more employee- and customer-focused? or
  • a cracked image opening up opportunities for your competitors?
Categories
Engagement Marketing

“It’s the Employees, Stupid!”

Here’s a depressing statistic: according to an online study of client-side marketers, only 20% of 198 respondents made sure that employees outside of the marketing department were kept informed of the company’s marketing strategy “all or most of the time.” A whopping 56% of the respondents kept employees informed “sometimes.”

Keeping employees in the loop

I found these stats in Don Schultz’s Marketing News column. As Don so aptly put it: “The marketing executives polled have the responsibility for planning and developing the marketing strategy but not the execution. That’s what the employees do. If only one in five even know what the strategy is, how can any organization hope to create a seamless, transparent, integrated brand experience for its customers?”

So Don created a slogan, “It’s the Employees, Stupid,” to help remind execs about the people who are ultimately responsible for delivering the brand experience to customers. He explained, “ … if the employees don’t know what the marketing strategy is, they will have a much harder time delivering on it, no matter what the [marketing] executives decide it is.”

Sometimes it’s not the employees who are clueless.

Categories
Engagement Marketing

A Special Anniversary Calls for Thanksgiving & A Special Offer

This year I’m celebrating my company’s 20th anniversary. It was 20 years ago this month that I officially registered Quality Service Marketing as a business and, thanks to my many clients and colleagues, it’s been an incredible experience.

Perhaps this longevity is the reason I’m not panicking over the current economy, even though my business has been affected this year. I’ve made it through difficult economic times before.

Reflecting over the past 20 years, what has changed the most? Two things stand out:

  1. Technology and its impact on the workplace – in extending my communications reach (e.g., blogging) … in providing faster, more expedient ways to communicate with clients and colleagues … and in providing instant access to an overwhelming amount of information. I can remember working off a large, non-portable desktop computer with a bulky monitor and dot matrix printer. Technology has made a major impact on how we all work these days, not to mention how much!
  2. I’ve also changed – I’m older, wiser (not to mention a little wider), and more confident in my abilities and value as a trusted business advisor. In addition, I’m delighted to have added “published author” to my credentials.*

What hasn’t changed since I’ve been in business?

  1. The need to take care of employees and customers. Given a global economy with more competition and more choice, it’s harder than ever to attract and retain customers and effectively engage employees in the process. A “high tech-high touch”approach is still relevant.
  2. My respect for and relationships with my clients, past and present. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship where we learn from each other. I feel privileged to have worked with so many wonderful people, many of whom I’m still in touch with regardless of whether we worked together for many years or on a once-and-done project basis.

What I’m thankful for

In honor of my business milestone and in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for many things:

  • My clients – for the opportunity to serve them + grow both professionally and personally in the process.
  • My colleagues – for their peer mentoring, advice, and sharing of ideas.
  • My blog readers and fellow blogging buddies – for their continued interest in internal marketing & communications and inspiring new posts.
  • And my family – for their continued love and support.

Best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

*In honor of this 20th anniversary, and in time for the holiday season, I’m happy to offer a special 20% discount off the purchase of my book, Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most: A Guide to Employee-Customer Care, from now through Dec. 31, 2008, when you order online from WME Books. Be sure to enter special discount code QSM109 in the coupon code box.

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Internal Marketing Spotlight: Zappos (Part 3)

As a specialist in employee-customer care, I continue to be impressed with Zappos.com. While my previous posts in this Spotlight series highlight what I’ve learned about the company, what really matters are the employees’ perceptions of the organization. After all, they’re the ones most familiar with it.

They’ve even written books about it. Seriously. Each year employees are asked to express their thoughts on what the Zappos culture means to them, and the results are compiled in their annual Culture Book. The 2008 edition is nearly 500 pages!

[Note: Special thanks to Zappos.com for permission to cite the following excerpts here.]

Zappos Culture – from the CEO’s perspective

To explain what the Culture Book is all about, here’s part of the book’s introduction by Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO.

“… In order for us to succeed as a service company, we need to create, maintain, and grow a culture where employees want to play a part in providing great service. I’ve been asked a number of times what the company’s biggest asset is, and my answer is always the same: the CULTURE.

“As we grow as a company and hire new people, we need to make sure that they understand and become a part of our CULTURE. This is the purpose of this book – to provide a glimpse of what the Zappos CULTURE is all about to new hires, prospective new hires, our vendors and partners, and anyone else who might be interested.

“So what is the Zappos CULTURE? To me, the Zappos CULTURE embodies many different elements. It’s always looking for new ways to WOW everyone we come in contact with. It’s about building relationships where we treat each other like family. It’s about teamwork and having fun and not taking ourselves too seriously. It’s about growth, both personal and professional. It’s about achieving the impossible with fewer people. It’s about openness, taking risks, and not being afraid to make mistakes. But most of all, it’s about having faith that if we do the right thing, then in the long run we will succeed and build something great. …

“Of course, the Zappos CULTURE means different things to different people, so I thought the best way for people to learn what the Zappos CULTURE was all about was to hear from our employees directly … “        © 2008 Zappos.com, Inc.

Zappos Culture – from the Employees’ Perspective

Here’s a sample of contributions from three employees:

“To me, Zappos Culture comes back [to] our mission statement: To live and deliver WOW. … Sometimes you’re delivering it and sometimes you’re receiving it from our fellow friends here, but there seems to be an ever-constant saturation of WOW. To truly understand what WOW is, I think the following statements describe it best:

  • WOW is waking up in the morning and not dreading work.
  • WOW is having Christmas in July taken seriously (full tree, presents, and everything) 
  • WOW is having a random Nerf Gun fight.
  • WOW is having the power to make decisions and being able to stand by them. 
  • WOW is saying that the company you work for cares about people and really means it.”

“Zappos Culture is all about building open and honest relationships through communication. This is the first place I have ever worked where time is taken to understand what you are feeling, thinking or contemplating. Because of this open communication, problems are resolved quickly, feelings are hurt less often and one can stay on track at being the BEST at delivering WOW.”

“Like a joyous occasion, Zappos Culture is one to be had. A culture rooted in great ideas filled with smiling faces, pleasant greetings, superb service, good intent and plenty of generosity. (And don’t even get me started with the abundance of free food and, of course, happy hours :)). A culture that is like none other; it’s almost surreal. A culture that begs for participation and strives on spirit. A culture that is irreplaceable. Zappos Culture – a culture worth the experience.”
© 2008 Zappos.com, Inc.

For more “WOW!” check out the ‘Inside Zappos’ blog … and while you’re at it, shop around Zappos.com to get a customer’s perspective.

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Internal Marketing Spotlight: Zappos (Part 2)

I’ve learned a lot about Zappos.com since my tour there, and I continue to be impressed with the organization and its brand. Here’s why.

Zappos works to ensure its employees feel a strong bond with and within the company.

  • With more than 1700 employees operating from the corporate office in Las Vegas and its fulfillment center in Kentucky, Zappos considers itself “One company – two locations.” To “build a positive team and family spirit” (one of Zappos’ core values), employees travel in teams to visit the other location and experience the work done there.
  • Team-related activities reinforce cohesiveness, such as periodic department parades through the office. One of my favorite examples is the Finance Department and its weekly “Random Acts of Kindness” award  given to fellow employees.
  • Zappos encourages employee celebration with major employee gatherings that include an annual summer picnic for employees and their families. It also hosts a special Vendor Appreciation event and even closes the office for a few hours so that ALL employees have the chance to attend.

Zappos invests in developing its people.

  • All new employees working in the corporate office, regardless of their assigned jobs, go through extensive training in the Customer Loyalty Center (i.e., the call center) to learn about the heart of the operation. It not only gives employees an appreciation for core customer service and interaction, but enables them to pitch in during peak times.
  • Zappos hires for both proficiency and culture fit. You may already be familiar with their unique practice of offering to pay prospective employees to quit.
  • As part of its training & development, Zappos maintains a library of management and motivational books for its employees. Book cases line the lobby of the Las Vegas office with these books that are free to Zappos employees, vendors, and visitors.

Zappos engages its employees and customers with open communications.

  • Is there anyone familiar with social media who doesn’t know about Zappos’ use of blogs and Twitter? All levels of employees, from the front lines to senior management, communicate this way – think of it as “employee-generated media.” These conversations can be followed by customers and anyone with access to social media, including competitors!
  • The company also communicates in more traditional ways, such as an “All Hands” meeting, a annual company-wide forum (held in the Las Vegas and Kentucky locations) in which management shares how the company is doing.
  • Combining traditional and social media enables communication to flow openly at Zappos: top-down, bottom-up, and laterally.

Coming up next

Effectively engaging employees, investing in them, and communicating with them openly & honestly – these are just a few of the many things that contribute to Zappos.com’s success. In my next post I’ll share what the Zappos brand means from the employees’ perspective.

Categories
Customer service Engagement Marketing

Internal Marketing Spotlight: Zappos (Part 1)

I’m excited to feature Zappos.com here as a company that truly embodies what employee-customer care is all about. I was fortunate to tour their headquarters office this summer and will share my impressions + what I’ve learned about the company since then, but first a little background.

The Zappos Brand: Legendary Customer Service

Zappos.com started in 1999 as an online shoe retailer and has expanded its product line to include clothing, accessories, and more. It has more than 1700 employees who serve 8 million+ customers, of whom 75% are repeat customers.

Zappos is aligned around one mission: to provide the best service possible. This reflects their ‘WOW philosophy’ where the goal is for every customer interaction to result in the customer saying “WOW!” (Check out this post from a customer who loves Zappos.)

My initial impressions of Zappos

WOW! also describes my initial reaction to the people I met and everything I observed during my tour there. The atmosphere I encountered in the company’s corporate office in Las Vegas appeared to be fun, funky, friendly, and frenetic. There were the popcorn machine and the peanut dispensers on the front desk in the lobby area … Christmas-in-July holiday decorations … the continuous video showcasing the fulfillment center’s state-of-the-art technology for sorting merchandise … and a steady stream of employees flowing through the office.

Renna, who works at the Help Desk (an in-house concierge service) gave me a tour of the place, carrying a flag with her (symbol of a tour-in-progress). The main office I visited is one of several buildings on the Zappos campus in Las Vegas, and it’s crowded with cubicles that are decorated to reflect both individual tastes and the employee’s respective departmental culture. Almost everyone works in a cubicle-type space – including the company president. The only staff members in traditional offices with doors are those in legal (confidentiality reasons) and IT (temperature control for sensitive equipment).

Zappos VIP Sybil Stershic  

Midway through the tour we stopped at corporate coach Dr. Vik’s office where my picture was taken and added to the gallery of VIP photos that line his office. I also visited the lunch room/kitchen area where lunch is provided free for all employees – all three shifts that work around the clock.

After my tour, I spent some time talking with Donavon Roberson, Help Desk Operations Manager, and Mark Guadagnoli, director of Zappos University (aka the ZU Keeper) to gain additional insight into their organization. When I asked Donavon about Zappos.com’s competition, his answer blew me away. Instead of naming other major online retailers, which is what I expected, he told me their competition is “Bad customer service.”

More to come

I’ll share more about how Zappos takes care of its employees in my next post, so stay tuned.

Categories
Customer service Engagement Marketing

Employee Engagement and Customer Focus

I found another study that demonstrates the strong link between employee engagement and the bottom line: this one from Watson Wyatt, a global consulting firm. (Note: earlier this year I wrote about similar results from research conducted by Wharton and Towers Perrin.)

Watson Wyatt’s 2007-2008 Global WorkAttitudes Report also examined the drivers of employee engagement across global regions and employee segments. Among its key findings:

“The drivers of employee engagement are similar around the world: effective communication, competitive compensation & benefits, a clear customer focus and confidence in the strategic direction & leadership of the organization.”

Among the “usual suspects” listed as key drivers of engagement – communication, compensation, and leadership – I was surprised to find customer focus. I have always believed that being customer-focused starts with being employee-focused (take care of employees and they’ll take care of customers) so finding customer focus as a driver of employee engagement is an interesting twist.

Here’s how it was explained in one of the report’s key findings:

“Customer-focus is a key driver of employee engagement across all regions. Organizations whose HR programs emphasize delivering superior customer service – including performance management related to excellent customer service and satisfaction – can expect to increase employee engagement and connect with key performance objectives.”

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Employee-Customer Care Podcast Now Available

My podcast interview from my recent virtual book tour with Phil Gerbyshak is finally up following some audio glitches.

To my readers – thanks for your patience.

To Phil – thanks for your diligence in fixing and posting the audio file!

Categories
Customer service Engagement Marketing

“Punching In” Delivers Knock-Out Insight

For a fascinating look at life as a front-line employee in some well-known retail and service companies, read Punching In by Alex Frankel. Frankel spent two years working undercover as a frontline employee for UPS, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Gap, Starbucks, and Apple Store.

 

His adventure was prompted by his interest in discovering how these well known companies selected and trained employees and melded them into the corporate culture to deliver on the brand promise. Frankel’s experience provides insight into the hiring process (ranging from online psychological tests to The Container Store’s in-store group interviews) and the impact of formal as well as informal training and sharing of corporate values & norms.

Note to all who oversee their organizations’ orientation programs and/or are involved in trying to codify the employee and customer experience, including helping employees evolve into brand ambassadors – read this book and consider how your organization would have fared if Frankel wrote about you. (Better yet, ask your own employees … )

Punching In explores the human role in retail and service operations. Given my bias for positive employee-customer care, I loved one of the critical lessons Frankel learned from his frontline adventure:

” … I found that many of the best companies have not only realized that humans matter but have also moved ahead of competitors by finding, hiring, and training great people to work for them. People have become as much of a competitive weapon for many companies as the actual products they sell.”