Better Than Average Blog – Page 5 – Improve anything, maximize talents, and stand out from the crowd

How to Win Some Customers Back

Small miracles really do happen! People may admit mistakes. Companies can be wrong. And bloggers are able to apologize.

Yesterday in the mail, I received a letter from my favorite financial institution based in Wayzata (Minneapolis), Minnesota. You may remember them from a previous post. See here.

In summary, they made a decision late last year that essentially killed one of their main differentiators in the marketplace – free checking.

As a result, a parade of customers, including my business account, marched elsewhere, most likely to credit unions. Their CEO admitted that there was an exodus of accounts impacting the bottom line on their first quarter earnings call.

Originally, when I quit the company, it wasn’t because of the fee. Yes, it irked me endlessly. I was sick and tired of being nickeled and dimed by too many companies. Unfortunately for them, they came around at the wrong time with their hand in my wallet. What really pissed me off, however, was that they were killing off one of their strongest competitive differentiators. Now they looked like everyone else. My loyalty turned to animosity.

As I dove into the details, though, I discovered a way to avoid the fee on my personal accounts. However, there was no relief for my business checking account. For the privilege of storing my cash in their vault, they we going to charge me a fee. So like a Survivor contestant, the tribe had spoken and it was time to go.

And it cost them an account.

It was about to cost them two others as well. Until I received a little note in the mail.

Was the news too good to be true?

The letter stated that starting in July, they would automagically transfer my “terms & conditions” checking account to a new free checking account.

It will be back to the good ol’ days! Yippee!

They have a differentiator. Again.

Since I was no longer a business checking customer, I called their contact center to see if they restored their free business checking. Unfortunately, they had not. Swing and a miss.

At least they will stand out from the crowd in personal banking again. Time will tell if the customer crowd returns.

For now, I have a house divided. I will keep my new free business checking at the credit union and retain my personal accounts with the company from the land of ice and snow (and beautiful summers, btw).

QUESTION FOR YOU –

What mistake do you need to correct today?

SOMETHING FOR YOU –

For a list of 16 Easy, No Cost Ways to Express Gratitude on a Daily Basis shoot me an email and you score it for free!

_____

Todd Brockdorf
Better than Average Guy
#1 Best-Selling Author, Speaker, Thought Leader
[email protected]

The Future of Association Membership Retention Programs

The future of association and organization membership retention programs is based on game theory. That’s right, playing games with your members will become the fundamental membership retention method of the next 25 years

Gone are the days when arduous certificated programs alone will motivate members to remain. Gone are the days when a sense of duty is enough to stay. Gone are the days when automatic engagement is anticipated.

The future of association membership retention is through small activities that engage the membership. Like the merit badges of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, short-duration, fundamental, focused efforts will earn rewards. The beauty of Scouting is that there are practically a gazillion badges to earn and umpteen different ways to do them. How many merit badges do you offer?

Why Game Theory?

Let’s look at your membership demographics. What is their history? Your youngest members grew up on gaming consoles. For Gen Y’ers and Millennials, it was a chicken in every pot, a car in every garage, and an Xbox/Playstation/Nintendo on every TV.

Other members have taken up plows at Farmville, been decked out in bling in Bejeweled, or flung fowl at green pigs through Angry Birds.

People like playing games. People like easy. People like rewards. It’s really that simple. Why doesn’t your membership retention strategy involve game play?

We have a certification program. Isn’t that good enough?

Organizational certifications are important and worthwhile. But they also take time and (sometimes huge) effort to earn. In a world where few have enough time, resources, or drive to work toward big certificated programs, we have the opportunity to engage members on a more focused, incremental, and meaningful level.

I’m not arguing for the abolition of advanced organizational certifications. Quite the opposite. They certainly have a place. If you are the industry recognized leader in that type of program, by all means, keep it going. What I’m saying is that we need some incremental, easy to do rewards between membership levels of Fledgling and Grand Pooh-Bah.

Engagement Means Retention

As we know, the key to membership retention is engagement. Perform a study of your members and measure their engagement with your organization. You will probably see a correlation to member engagement and longevity. However, there is probably a drop off point. Those members who are highly engaged might be getting burned out. There is a happy medium with active engagement, but not too much.

How Do We Build Engagement?

Look at the rise of games like Castleville, World of Warcraft, and Empire Avenue. They are designed for easy, incremental play over time. As you complete more actions through the game, you earn rewards.

Like games, reward members for specific organizational exchanges. Get them to Like your Facebook page. Tweet a promo of your upcoming conference. Let members earn “points” redeemable for “stuff”. Yes, “stuff” is a technical term.

These interactions start the cycle of engagement. The more engaged they are, the longer they’ll stay. If you build it, they may come. But if you engage them, they will stay.

QUESTION FOR YOU –

How are you rewarding your members?

SOMETHING FOR YOU –

For the awesome first chapter of the #1 best-selling book Better than Average: Excelling in a Mediocre World, send an email to me and you score it for free!

_____

Todd Brockdorf
Better than Average Guy
#1 Best-Selling Author, Speaker, Thought Leader
[email protected]

How to Create Relevant Value

As companies, organizations, and associations continue to struggle with the economy, there has been a ton of focus recently on “value creation”. Loosely defined, value creation is your actions, outputs, and results which increase your worth.

As such, your company, organization, or association most likely offers “value.” But the better question is do you offer “relevant value”? In other words, can your members, customers, and employees clearly see those values which you profess and match them to benefit their situation, circumstance, and well-being?

As the world changes and evolves, so do your customers, members, and employees. What worked last year may not work this year. What was successful five years ago may not be feasible today. Do the benefits you offered yesterday still matter to the members, customers, and employees of today?

Let’s break the term “relevant value” down into its parts.

Relevant is from the Latin relevare meaning “to lessen, lighten”. Your goal as an organization is to make it easy for your customers, members, and employees. Your products, services, and results should be easy to understand, use, and interpret. They should make life simpler, straightforward, and more sincere. Are you being a burden to your customers?

Value comes from the Latin valere defined as “be strong, be well”. Members, customers, and employees, should find incredible benefit from your services. If they find only so-so benefit, when a membership term expires, a contract ends, or someone else comes along with a perceived better offer, they will jump ship. Value leads to loyalty. Loyalty leads to longevity. Are you offering a strong proposition to your customers?

What is relevancy today?

Being relevant isn’t simply a matter of creating a Facebook page and a blog. It means connecting with your customers, employees, and members on their level – how and when they choose to engage.

There are only two components to being relevant:

There is a clear match between benefit and circumstance.
It must be simple and easy to implement.

Once you discover those elements, you will be able to offer relevant value. How do you get their attention?

Do you matter?

Yesterday, everyone was issued a Blackberry at work. Today, you bring whatever device you want.

Yesterday, you needed to visit a record store to buy music. Today, you download it.

Yesterday, you had to sit through TV commercials. Today, you fast forward.

In the age of GPS, are you still offering TripTiks?

QUESTION FOR YOU:

How do you demonstrate relevant value?

SOMETHING FOR YOU:

For a list of 16 Easy, No Cost Ways to Express Gratitude on a Daily Basis shoot me an email and you score it for free!

_____

Todd Brockdorf
Better than Average Guy
#1 Best-Selling Author, Speaker, Thought Leader
[email protected]

Does it Pay to Outsource Chores?

I will never outsource my lawn care. Not because they can’t do it cheaper than I can; they couldn’t. Not because they do not practice organic lawn care methods, keeping my yard safe for my kids and neighbors; they don’t. Not because they don’t have as much heart for their work as I do while testing my ingrained agricultural skills by successfully growing grass where previous owners have failed; I care.

I will never outsource my lawn care because it gives me time to think. Every other week when I cut my grass, I have an hour by myself with only the lawn mower to keep me company. No kids. No wife. Just me and the hand-me-down YardMachines. (Thanks Dad!)

Sure, I could listen to music while cutting the grass. Or I could stare off into the sky, but I might run into a tree. Instead, I use this hour to think. The din of the mower, thanks to earmuffs, offers the perfect combination of silence and white noise. I’m just a man with a lawn mower, my thoughts, and a notepad.

I think about upcoming presentations, new content for the next book, blog posts for the future. And occasionally, I think about the To Do list that is waiting for me after I finish the lawn and shower.

But Why is This Time so Valuable?

It has been shown that you think clearer during and after exercise. It is due to a combination of increased blood flow and endorphins. Without getting too white lab coat scientific, let’s just agree that even moderate exercise is good for the brain.

Between moments of self-doubt and jubilation, runners report times of exceptional clarity. Maybe it is the scenery where they are running. Perhaps it is the solitude of the moment. Or it could be the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other to propel the body forward.

Even if you are not a runner, or don’t routinely exercise, cutting the grass may be enough movement to get the blood flowing and the ideas pumping.

So What Does It All Mean?

The decision to outsource is not necessarily based on the hard Return on Investment (ROI). For example, if your time is worth $50 per hour and the lawn cutting service charges $25 per cut, it might seem like a no-brainer. Instead, the better way to look at this scenario is that you are spending $25 extra to have that hour to create perhaps thousands of dollars based on your ideas generated. Now which one is the no-brainer?

Outsource tasks that will yield minimal to no value. Keep those chores that pay dividends in the long run.

QUESTION FOR YOU –

How do you turn a chore into something productive?

SOMETHING FOR YOU –

For the awesome first chapter of the #1 best selling book Better than Average: Excelling in a Mediocre World, send an email to me and you score it for free!

_____

Todd Brockdorf
Better than Average Guy
Author, Speaker, Consultant
[email protected]

Deep Gratitude

Yesterday, my first book, Better than Average: Excelling in a Mediocre World, was published. It hit #1 on Amazon Best Sellers for Hot New Releases in Business Motivation & Self-Improvement. It peaked at #17 in Business Motivation & Self-Improvement.

But here’s the thing. I couldn’t have done it without some help.

And for that, I am truly, deeply grateful.

When was the last time you said “thank you” and meant it? I’m talking about that time when you felt it in your soul.

When I saw those numbers yesterday, my hands were shaking. Not because I did it. But because WE did it. I simply provided the ice rink. It was the players would played the all-star game.

Thank you. Two words, yet so powerful.

What if we lived in a world with greater gratitude and less gimme gimme? What if there was more merci and minimal “mine”? What if we dared for “danke” and had fewer desires?

Deep gratitude is a whole body experience.

To my friends, supporters, and those who have joined the Better than Average, I offer you my sincerest, deepest thank you. I am truly blown away.

QUESTION FOR YOU:

Who do you need to thank today?

SOMETHING FOR YOU:

For a list of 16 Easy, No Cost Ways to Express Gratitude on a Daily Basis shoot me an email and you score it for free!

_____

Todd Brockdorf
Better than Average Guy
#1 Best Selling Author, Speaker, Consultant
[email protected]