Archive | June, 2005

Harness The Power Of The Testimonial

by on June 22, 2005 in Business

John Jantsch offers some good suggestions for how to develop the case study as testimonial. In Involve Your Clients In Their Story, he recommends these four questions as the basis of a one page case study:

  1. What solution were you seeking when you hired us?
  2. What did/do we provide that you value the most?
  3. What has been the result of working with us?
  4. What would you tell others who are considering hiring us?

If your association is looking to harness the power of the member testimonial, John’s questions might be slightly tweaked like so:

  1. What challenge or problem were you seeking a solution for?
  2. What did/do we provide that you value the most?
  3. What has been the result of your membership with us?
  4. What would you tell others who are considering joining us?

Why do your members continue to renew? What’s the lasting value? If your members are like most, they want their association to help them solve a problem.

Now capture that data in a powerful testimonial. Gather ten or twenty more. Let the member tell their story and give them the tools to share their story with other potential members. It’s word of mouth marketing like this that builds ever-increasing and long-lasting connections. As John points out, it creates relationships where association and member are now responsible for each other’s success:

I believe fully that doing business long term means
creating relationships – in any healthy relationship both parties have
a responsibility to help each other get what they want. If you are not
training your clients to expect to help you build your business, as you
help them get what they want, you are setting yourself up for a short
term relationship.

UPDATE: Long Live “The Custo/Member Experience”

by on June 21, 2005 in Media

If you’ll peek over to the right column, you’ll notice a spiffy new blog listed. Today, I’m launching Like Bears To Honey The Custo/Member Experience, a blog focused on helping both for-profit companies and non-profit associations connect with their customers and members in more imaginative and meaningful ways. If you are a professional whose role is in marketing, customer service, membership development, or any other position where you need to build lasting relationships, I think you’ll find it to be a compelling blog destination.

UPDATE (7/10/05): After letting the title run around a little in my head, I decided that I didn’t really care for the whole bears and honey thing. So, I’ve changed the title (and the URL) to what the blog is really focused on: how associations and businesses can create better passion-provoking experiences for their members and customers. Enjoy!

The Focus On The Custo/Member

by on June 21, 2005 in Business

I’ve been sitting on the sidelines for a few months observing how companies and associations connect with one of their most vital assets: their customers and members (since these two groups share so much in common, I’ve coined the term custo/member). What I’ve noticed is this: the best businesses are embracing the natural attraction that occurs when marketing, service, and design are aligned with the desires of their custo/members. They’re creating passionate custo/members by energetically creating the conditions for loyalty and return business.

Now I’m back as an active participant; I’m the Director of Membership for a non-profit professional society. While non-profits have been pulling ideas for the corporate world for a while, I think the for-profits could learn a bit from how associations relate with their members. My hope is that this blog will be of value to both types of businesses and those who work for them.

This is the time to do something different, something that’s never been done before. Our custo/members are waiting, but not for long. It’s up to us to connect to them in deeper, more meaningful ways. Now, let’s have some fun.

Seeking Input: First Week Of New Job

by on June 20, 2005 in Career, Work

I’ve been dismayed to find so few web resources of real value when it comes to preparing for the first week of a new job. Many articles have been full of no-brainers like be on time, dress appropriately, and learn the workplace rules. These are probably appropriate for those recent college grads entering the work world for the first time.

I also found the same article in more than one source titled 11 Things NOT To Do The First Week Of Your New Job. Written from an emotional intelligence perspective, it is full of "advice" like Don’t Move In Too Fast and Don’t Talk Or Reveal Too Much. The real gist of the article is: don’t stand out, try to fit in. While I would agree that there are certain cultural norms to be observed in any workplace, I would argue equally that you shouldn’t stifle who you are just to blend into the pack (well, within reason). If you’re a manager and in a position of leadership, it’s vital to be assertive (not aggressive) in terms of personality. Your folks want to know who they are working for, what the expectations are, and how the new changes affect their work.

Here are some of the ways I plan to spend the first week of the job.

  • Take my staff to lunch. It will be an informal way to get to know them outside the office walls.
  • Schedule a 30 meeting with the other staff members. It’s a small office so it should be reasonable to accomplish this in a week or two. Listen and learn about their roles, their ideas, themselves.
  • Familiarize myself with the basics. Budget, quantitative data, management reports…
  • Take it easy on myself. In the process of getting myself up to speed, it will be ever so easy to push myself too hard in the beginning. I need to remind myself that I’m working toward the marathon, not trying to go for a sprint.

These are just a few off the top of my head. I’ll be thinking of others throughout this week. Now here’s where you come in: I’d love to get additional ideas and feedback on what you’ve found helpful in making that first week successful. Let’s all share the learning.

The Light At The End Of The Tunnel

by on June 16, 2005 in Career

Yipes! I’m surprised I have any readers after not posting in nearly a week. You might be asking where I’ve been keeping myself. Happily, I’ve been immersed in making a decision on job opportunities. Yes, that’s opportunities in the plural. After many months of no offers, I found myself with an embarrassment of riches. But with any decision, it was difficult to make a choice that balanced data and emotions.

Now, I can proudly say that I have accepted an offer as the Membership Director for the Association for Conflict Resolution. It’s a job that marries so many of my passions: soulful work, leadership, and developing the member/customer experience. I’ve come to admire the dedication of the organization’s CEO to making a better world and the desire among the staff to seek challenges and ask big questions.

Never fear, this will not be the end of Alchemy. As you might expect, it will actually add greater depth to the concepts of Soulful Work. (And it might be a relief from the overly introspective writings that have found their way into this blog recently.)

As a bonus, I’m finalizing a new additional blog that will explore how non-profit associations and for-profit companies can create a passion-provoking experience. It will be a blend of marketing and customer service with a sprinkle of design. My intention is to focus it toward my association peers and companies of all sizes who are struggling to develop repeat business. More on this next week.

Now, I’m going to break out the bubbly and celebrate. So if you’re out there looking for soulful work, keep at it. It can be a hard road but there is hope. Perhaps you’ll discover a quaint roadside diner where you can kick up your feet, have a piece of delicious pie and coffee, and feel the pleasure of finding a little of what you were always looking for.

Be well.