You and I are bombarded by commercial messages. While Consumer Reports estimates the average American receives 247 commercial messages each day, it seems like I get more than that in emails alone. Each of us has to adopt a coping mechanism to get through the day without spending all of our time reading and listening to advertising. You and I … Continued
Something I believed that held me back
“I’m amazed at how much you get done.” I hear this all the time from clients and friends. Actually, I’m the one who’s amazed. Not because of how much I accomplish, but because they are impressed. It doesn’t seem like I’m accomplishing that much to me. All I see is the long list of unfinished projects left to do. Still, … Continued
Unleash a Vibrant Community Among Your Customers to Become the No. 1 Player in Your Industry
What if you owned more than 45 percent of your market? The mutual fund company, The Vanguard Group, does just that. More than 45 percent of the money flowing into mutual funds today goes into a Vanguard managed fund. You’d think they wouldn’t need to do much for their customers. In fact, since they specialize in index traded, set-it-and-forget-it type … Continued
If you ran a Harley dealership
“The swirl” is one of the things we talk about with Harley-Davidson dealers when we are coaching them to improve the profitability of their dealerships. At any given time in a dealership, there are customers considering buying motorcycles, trying on clothes or waiting for their motorcycles to be serviced; service techs working on motorcycles; parts orders arriving via UPS; and … Continued
Mentally prepared to make a kill
The mother lion slowly creeps closer to the edge of the prairie where a family of gazelles grazes nearby. The gazelles are always skittish. Ever watchful to protect the herd. Yet as they graze, the lioness creeps closer. The lioness has a pack of cubs in her den. She’s been hunting for hours, ranging from one prairie to the next, … Continued
What Makes Your Members Quit (and how to fix it in one afternoon)
Just because you say your customers are “members,” that doesn’t create a member relationship. In fact, throwing around the “member” word when you are otherwise treating them like customers can make your customer retention worse. This program shows you how to transcend a customer relationship to foster a stronger, longer-lasting member relationship. You’ll learn the differences, and how to build … Continued
Becoming attractive to customers
“Don’t I know you from somewhere?” he asked me. “No, I don’t think so.” I was shopping for clothes at the mall. I’d recently gotten a new job, I was 22 years old and I knew few people in town. “Where do you work?” He asked. I answered and asked him where he worked. He told me he owned his … Continued
A Rarely Considered Member Churn Factor That’s Easily Managed
“Let me get this straight. You spent $45,000.00, and now you’re going to make three trips to Baltimore to spend a week in some training class? You’ve been repairing cars for years. What are people in Baltimore going to teach you, you’ve been in the business for years?” This was the beginning of the conversation I imagined between an excited … Continued
What Gets Ignored Dies
It was so frustrating. It was like everyone else was from a different planet. There wasn’t a single person who “got it.” My first info-marketing business targeted the association industry. I promoted a product teaching associations how they could recruit and retain more members. For 10 years I attended events where association executives got together. I spoke at many events, … Continued
Identify the Best Member Forum Platform for the Most Member Engagement
A member forum that empowers its participants to communicate with each other provides a benefit that improves member retention without creating something else you’ve got to fulfill. When done correctly, there will still need to be some oversight and engagement by members of your team. However, you’ll be able to rely on your members to set the agenda and provide … Continued