How companies make a name for themselves with good ideas
Daniela Ben Said received more reactions to her Christmas campaign this year than ever before. With a charming invitation in the form of a poem, encouraging people to write letters again during the Christmas season, the well-known speaker sent out sheets of stamps with her portrait and logo - and this was already in November. "Mind over money" is the motto of the expert in customer amazement, who is convinced that "good ideas bring more than expensive advertising measures." Instead of sending out expensive glossy brochures with great advertising messages, companies should rather think about what can truly excite customers, potential customers, and their customers' customers.
Today, there are countless providers for every product and service. The one who manages to emotionally connect with their customers has the edge. Customers today expect not only a good product and good service but also special attention. "What sticks in their memory are positive people who seek good, creative solutions in their interest and continue to surprise them," says the expert. For example, the construction company that offers parents childcare during their visit to the construction site. Or the butcher who includes a recipe booklet with a larger purchase. As a speaker and coach, Daniela A. Ben Said travels the country and illustrates her mantra "Be different or die" with many examples of successful actions.
Understanding customers, astonishing customers
Of course, every entrepreneur knows how important customer loyalty is today, and that potential customers trust personal recommendations more than traditional advertising. "However, far too few take their roles as customer understanders and customer amazers seriously," says the sought-after speaker. When asked why a customer should buy from their company, salespeople often only know the standard answers: good quality or great service. But that's what today's discerning customers expect anyway. What would their competitor answer to the question of why customers should buy from them? Exactly! Also: good qualities and great service. With these hygiene factors, you no longer stand out in the market today. This is the high standard of our customers. So, convince through customer amazement and stay in the minds of your customers.
Shortly before the end of the year, the expert suggests that teams should come together and think about special services for the coming year. "It's best if they develop a whole year of amazement plan for their customers, with one customer action per month." For January, the amazement expert has some great ideas: "You can send out important annual dates with a knotted handkerchief or invite your customers to lectures on topics like 'life energy' or 'achieving goals.' After all, the first month of the year is the month of good resolutions. Or simply send/distribute a piece of glucose with the words 'For an energetic start to the year 2018.'"
However, some of the customer-amazing services should not be limited to specific time periods: For example, the apprentice hairdresser who stands ready with an umbrella to escort the customer to their car when it rains. Or the dog treat placed on the passenger seat with a funny card for the four-legged passenger that the car dealership identified by the dog hairs on the seats. Birthday cards for important customers? Boring, according to Daniela A. Ben Said: It would be much more surprising if a large machine or a truck received a card for its first birthday with a few funny lines. Or congratulate your customers on their name day.
A bag of calming tea comes with the invoice
Previously, Daniela Ben Said used to send her customers an apple and an egg with her invoice to underline the great service they received for "next to nothing." Today, she sends tea bags with calming tea or cough drops to take a deep breath. The resourceful entrepreneur will surely remain in the memory of her customers with her witty actions, even now with her Christmas stamp campaign: If the customers use the stamps, Daniela Ben Said's portrait and her company logo will be distributed to many new recipients. "If things go wrong, the stamps will just stay in the customer's desk. Not so bad either, because then he sees me and my logo every time he opens the drawer. No one throws away stamps."
Didn't get a job this time? Then why not send a bouquet of flowers with the message: "Too bad it didn't work out this time. Please remember us fondly! Your company XY." This way, you will stay in the minds of customers and make a name for yourself.
Astonishing Customers - Step by Step!
Tips from Daniela A. Ben Said:
- Collect as much information about your customers and potential customers as you can. What do your customers care about? What problems are they facing? What is particularly important to them?
- Who are your customer's customers? What concerns do your customer's customers have, and how can you solve them?
- Think (together with your team): Where are the solutions to everyday problems? How can we surprise our customers with attention and show them special appreciation?
- Consider: Which service topics, which actions fit into which calendar month? Which ideas match which season?
- Have the courage to be different: Divide your creative ideas into permanent and seasonal actions and create your customer amazement plan for 2015. CAUTION: Maximum of 1 action per quarter - otherwise, one loses its uniqueness.
- Make customer amazement a corporate principle and commit all employees to always seek good, creative ideas and solutions for your customers. Because whoever wants to inspire customers must see the world through their eyes.
Do you now want to inspire your team? Okay, no problem if you follow some rules.
Work like Walt Disney: Walt Disney always led his team through a creativity process in three rooms. You can go through these in three actual rooms or simply on a flip chart with "imagined" rooms.
Room 1: The Dreamer
In this room, ideas are spun and thought of - without any judgment. Often, judgment is the first obstacle for a team. As soon as a colleague makes a suggestion, the first colleagues - or worse, the boss - start groaning, rejecting, or making fun of it. This destroys any form of idea or innovation.
So, establish in this first phase that all suggestions are welcome - no matter how crazy, no matter how impossible - everything is allowed, and nothing is judged.
Room 2: The Critic
In this "room," every idea is critically examined. Each idea is checked for its cost-benefit ratio. If the effort for a small result is too high, this idea is temporarily eliminated.
Room 3: The Actor
In this room, you now consider:
- Which ideas are left?
- How are these ideas prioritized?
- Who does what with what budget by when?
- Controlling and notes: What was good, what was bad, and what will we do better next time?
If your team is absolutely unwilling to be motivated:
- In conversations, always ask counterquestions, e.g.,
- What needs to happen for you, dear employee XY, to participate in this project after all?
- What do you need to be able to implement it?
- Respond calmly to attacks by showing understanding first ("Okay ... it really is a totally crazy idea! My first thought was also that I was crazy - but what, dear employee, do you think would be a good solution?")
- Ask for a list of 10 ways to amaze customers within a week that the employee finds better than your suggestions
- Identify the core problem ("What is it really about?") and if in doubt, invest in a good coach/consultant/mediator.
What can you do when you are stuck in a creative rut?
Practical creativity is characterized by finding unusual solutions to everyday problems. Every person has creative potential, i.e., the ability to act creatively. Creativity can be learned - and we want to support you in this learning process.
Let's start with what comes at the end of a creative process: the creative product.
Regardless of what it is, every creative product should meet three criteria:
- It is new and different from the usual.
- It is surprising.
- It is meaningful, i.e., it is recognized by others.
To achieve such a creative product, let's take a closer look at the creative process.
Sherlock Holmes Phase:
At the beginning is the problem, i.e., a (often unconscious) desire to want to move something. Conscious thinking hardly helps. You usually realize that you still have a lot to learn to solve the problem.
Now you become a detective. Collect everything you know about this topic, try to answer all questions. Research, link the collected knowledge repeatedly in different sequences so that it appears in new contexts.
You will see, new ideas will arise again and again. Note down every crazy idea - no matter how absurd it may seem at first. Research on the internet, talk to people, talk about your idea (or the problem), browse through books, magazines, look at things that seem to have nothing to do with the topic at first
