Garbage as fashion

Getting back in touch with my friend Roy Tan was one of the most pleasant moments provided to me by technology this year. This for several reasons.

First because Roy, an ex-Citibanker who now lives in Indonesia, and his colleagues at Brandt International have developed a very effective sales performance management tool, which we are about to start marketing in the Caribbean. The premise: Just because someone is a good salesperson doesn't mean s/he can become a good sales manager. One needs different skills.

Second because Roy is involved in a project called XS Project Europe. They make artsy fashionable laptop and other tote bags from plastic garbage collected by poor trash pickers on Jakarta's streets. Each is one of a kind and artistically designed. Sometimes you can even recognize which brand the tube of toothpaste was from. It's well worth a visit.

7 ways to use market research

Often we think of market research as a way to get insight from customers with regard to our own company. But, that's not its only use. Here are some ideas:

1. measure, rank and score yourself on issues that are important to your organization (Key Performance Indicators) or the customer (Customer Core Values). Don't bother measuring things that are not important to either you or the customer.
2. check out your competitors. So, you know who to copy (and in which way), whose customers to go after (because they are dissatisfied) or leave alone (because they are way too loyal). Maybe you are uncomfortable asking about your competitors, but an independent researcher is not. That's their job!
3. find out if the perceptions that employees have of their organizations matches the perception of customers and make adjustments when and where necessary.
4. establish a common starting point (a common data-backed assumption) in your organization with regard to opportunities. This, so that innovative ideas are not shot down or delayed just because of different suppositions. This is especially true when the decision-makers have varying degrees of experience with the issue or look at it from different angles. An example: the director and supervisor may have different assumptions. Whose is most likely to be correct? Whose is most likely to "win" without independent insight.
5. determine desired ROI. For example: Based on the research data, can you gain 5% market share? What would be the source of this growth? How much would it cost? Is it worth the effort?
6. If your organization is not yet into ROI, you can use the data to set quantifiable and realistic objectives. Example: if the research shows that you have a 50% market share, is it realistic to set an objective of 25% growth over the next 12 months? In other words, you need to know what your market share is. Otherwise you can't determine if your growth objective is realistic.
7. create a unique value-added experience. Nowadays it's not just the product that is important. It is the experience when purchasing or perusing the product, online or offline, that is. Through research (mystery shopping) you can find out what customers find a "wow" experience.

Wanted: Mystery shoppers

Because of our increased mystery shopping load, we are looking for more mystery shoppers.
A mystery shopper poses as a customer, visits an establishment, and later evaluates the product and service of the client establisment using a standard evaluation form.

Mystery shops take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to a few days, at varying times, depending on the client. Shoppers are paid for their efforts in cash and/or kind. It's a fun way to make extra money or get something free.

Mystery shopping, also known among others as shopper audits, and secret shops is an efficient way to:

• measure is service is being performed according to the establishment's standards
• determine training needs
• compare competitors

Shoppers must have internet access every day and be over 21 years of age. Please send an email with: name, gender, age, telephone number to info@markstra.com.

Do you know what your customer REALLY values?

This is a story to show how sometimes companies emphasize some aspects of service that have no value to the customer and neglect the ones that do.

Two weeks ago on a Thursday morning, I called a company where I am a client to make, what I considered, a routine request for a document. I was in a session all afternoon, but my cell phone kept ringing off the hooks, showing a number I did not know. I came to the office to find several messages. My document was ready... already! This speed was way beyond my wildest expectations for I am not now (or will ever be) a VIP client.

"You can pick it up tomorrow", they said. "Well, thank you," I said, "but picking it up is quite inconvenient for me. Can you mail, fax or email it?" "No,", they said. "For xyz reason that's not possible."

So, a few days later I went to pick it up. It wasn't there! Actually, it was there, I later learnt, but it was with the person responsible for VIP's. And it just happened that that person had gone to the bathroom when I got there.

I picked up the document last Thursday: 2 weeks later!

The lessons?

1. I didn't care to be treated like a VIP. I just wanted that document mailed, faxed, delivered, emailed to me. Or, if all else failed, not have to make the trip twice. That is what was "valuable" to me, what helps me. Do YOU know what your customer finds valuable? It's not always what you think.
2. All this investment in "speed" at the front end, and the client still got the benefit two weeks later (and is "blogging about it), because you did not control the whole delivery process. What did it cost you to control that additional step? US$ 1.30 maximum?
3. Make sure the "VIP client" knows what to do when the "employee-in-charge-of-VIP's goes to the bathroom.

Bid on a mystery shop: support hospitality scholarships and outreach

The annual auction of CHATA, the Curacao Hospitality and Tourism Association, is open, with fabulous prizes. This year is also the association's 40th anniversary. If you haven't done so before, this is your opportunity to contribute to funds for scholarships and recognition activities such as the Curacao Culinary Team (which won Caribbean Gold last year), the Starts of the Industry Program and hospitality school activities.

MarkStra has donated two (2) mystery shops: A two-day shop for hotels and one for other types of organizations. Sorry, shops can only be done in Curacao. A lot of the other prizes can be bought by anyone, though.

What can you use a mystery shop for?

1. to find out if service standards are being adhered to. Are the phones being answered as agreed? Are customers greeted and thanked appropriately? Do they get the correct information? Are complaints handled in a way that customers would find pleasant? Do employees try to up-sell and cross-sell? Do customers feel that they got the product and quality that you advertised and they paid for? Do they get receipts, without asking for one? Etc.
2. to find out what the customer's total experience is, if this is good enough or if it has that "wow" factor. Do your procedures make sense? Is the atmosphere pleasant to the customer? Do employees have a pleasant attitude? Do all these issues reflect your brand's attributes?
3. to find out how your service and experience compares with the competitor. What do you do better? Can you use this as a selling point? What might you want to copy? You may not use the CHATA bid for this type of shop, though.

Who can benefit?

• any organization with face-to-face contact, including retail stores, hotels, car rentals, banks, brokers, restaurants, airlines, touristic attractions, etc.
• call centers: reservation, help desks, information
• organizations with an online presence. How do prospects experience your site? Does it convince them to buy?

What are the "procedures" if you win?

Together with you we will:

• determine what you want to know or improve
• develop a questionnaire with ample space for comments
• send a certified representative to your location, who will pose as a true customer or guest
• within 5 to 10 days of the shop we will be ready to discuss the reports and comments with you

To clarify: if the shop involves a purchase, the deal is that we will advance the purchase and that you will reimburse us afterwards.

Hurry: Auction closes Wednesday, May 2, at 11am.

7 ways to use market research

Often we think of market research as a way to get insight from customers with regard to our own company. But, that's not its only use. Here are some ideas:

1. measure, rank and score yourself on issues that are important to your organization (Key Performance Indicators) or the customer (Customer Core Values). Don't bother measuring things that are not important to either you or the customer.
2. check out your competitors. So, you know who to copy (and in which way), whose customers to go after (because they are dissatisfied) or leave alone (because they are way too loyal). Maybe you are uncomfortable asking about your competitors, but an independent researcher is not.
3. find out if the perceptions that employees have of their organizations matches the perception of customers and make adjustments when and where necessary.
4. establish a common starting point (a common data-backed assumption) in your organization with regard to opportunities. This, so that innovative ideas are not shot down or delayed just because of different suppositions. This is especially true when the decision-makers have varying degrees of experience with the issue or look at it from different angles. An example: the director and supervisor may have different assumptions. Whose is most likely to be correct? Whose is most likely to "win" without independent insight.
5. determine desired ROI. For example: Based on the research data, can you gain 5% market share? What would be the source of this growth? How much would it cost? Is it worth the effort?
6. If your organization is not yet into ROI, you can use the data to set quantifiable and realistic objectives. Example: if the research shows that you have a 50% market share, is it realistic to set an objective of 25% growth over the next 12 months? In other words, you need to know what your market share is. Otherwise you can't determine if your growth objective is realistic.
7. create a unique value-added experience. Nowadays it's not just the product that is important. It is the experience when purchasing or perusing the product, online or offline, that is. Through research (mystery shopping) you can find out what customers find a "wow" experience.

"Don't worry, dear. We are open tomorrow too."

Last Saturday I made the rounds of home improvement and decor stores in Curacao. I had varying experiences, but the one I came home talking about was about the security guard at Building Depot.

As I was walking out of the store, empty-handed, I said to the guard: "I bought nothing." To which the guard answers: "Don't worry, dear. We are open tomorrow too."

In sales training sessions I often remind participants to tell clients when the "store is open", not when "the store closes". This, even when someone asks: "When does the store close?", as we often do in Curacao. This time someone used that line on me. What struck me was the invitation: "If you didn't spend money today, come spend money tomorrow." I'm sure that's what the Building Depot wants.

What if personal relationships are the experience?

Last Saturday we celebrated the birthday of my friend Angelique with breakfast in Cafe Barista.

We arrived early, at 9 am. Within an hour the small cafe was buzzing with the happy chatter and laughter across tables of dine-in and take-away customers who all seemed to know each other and be part of the same party. I did not know that this was the Saturday morning ritual of "the regulars". But what an experience!

It also made me realize how easy it is to create (or have) a great experience in a small market, just because everybody knows everybody. It reminded me of why I preferred the Curacao carnival to the Trinidad carnival: in Curacao I knew lots of people standing at the roadside, people you danced with a little bit, posed for, or had a little chat with. That is a big part of the experience for me. In Trinidad I knew no one.

It made me wonder if a tourist or someone visiting alone or as a couple would have the same experience in our bars and cafe's or in our carnival. If not, how do we create it for them also?
How about that first-time customer, who does not know anyone and who is not yet loyal, what is his first experience? After you have invested money to lure him, after he has taken the plunge, is his experience good enough for him to come again and become a regular with a good lifetime return for your company?

Mystery shopping and the customer experience

The year has started with several requests for mystery or secret shops. I could or should have expected it. Why? Because aside from being used for measuring quality, mystery shops are an excellent tool for developing customer experiences. And, the focus on unique customer experiences is increasing, also outside of the hospitality and entertainment industries.

While mystery shops are great for checking out the competitor, auditing prices, and checking the integrity of team members, I believe the thrust has been to measure quality and whether team members adhere to certain standards when providing service.

But now, companies are going a step further, to use mystery shops to help them develop a unique experience or to measure if they have been successful in providing the experience they sought to create.

An example: Some time ago I walked into the lobby of a hotel. One of the first things my eyes rested on was a garbage can: a clean, empty and neatly placed garbage can. In traditional mystery shops that would not necessarily be counted as a negative. After all, nothing was done wrong and nothing was filthy. But when trying to map (or create) the customer journey, it certainly will because who wants to have a view of a garbage can.

And, by the way, creating a unique experience is as easy in a small market and for a small business as it is in a large market and for big business.