August 25, 2011

Why customer appreciation days are an insult to people and don’t work

Source: Unsplash

Why customer appreciation days are an insult to people and don’t work.

Customer appreciation events are commonplace in business.

Customer appreciation day, week or for the more ambitious, month, are intended to show customers how much they are cared for.

Why? I don’t get the logic. And in most instances it’s hypocritical.

Do we only appreciate or care for people one day (or week, or month) a year?

Do we save up all our love and dump it on them at one time and expect them to thank us and believe we sincerely want to develop a deep intimate relationship with them?

I have always been offended by this marketing tactic because it implies that the business doesn’t give a damn about someone for the rest of the year

Even worse is the situation where a company with marginal service does this believing it will mend broken customer relationships. Really?

Think you’re fooling people? Think again.

So, to those who want to throw their money into an event that few customers believe in, I say this: invest in providing caring service to your customers every moment of every day and you shall reap the rewards of rich fan relationships and maniacal advocates who will spread your word to others.

Keep ‘grinning’ your most precious asset once during the year and you won’t be around long.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 8.25.11 at 09:59 am by Roy Osing
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July 18, 2011

Why Customer Secrets Are the Ultimate Game-Changer in Business

Why Customer Secrets Are the Ultimate Game-Changer in Business

In the cutthroat arena of modern business, where competition is fierce and differentiation is elusive, the most successful organizations don’t just understand their customers—they know them.

They go beyond the surface-level needs and tap into the secrets that drive individual desires, cravings, aspirations, and behaviors.

These secrets are the untapped goldmine that separates the mediocre from the extraordinary, the followers from the trailblazers.

Needs are common; Secrets are power.

Most businesses operate in the first tier of customer understanding—the needs-layer.
They focus on identifying what customers need and delivering products or services to meet those needs.

But here’s the brutal truth: everyone is doing this.

The needs-layer is saturated, and it offers no sustainable competitive advantage. Why? Because most people already have what they need.

The real opportunity lies in the second tier—the secrets-layer.

This is where you uncover what customers want, what they covet, what they dream about, what they crave.

It’s where you discover the hidden drivers that make them tick.

The Secrets-Layer: The Untapped Frontier of Customer Insight — A customer secret is not a mass-market trend or a generic desire.

It’s deeply personal, unique to each individual. It’s a habit, a bias, a dream, a fear, a lifestyle choice, or even an unspoken aspiration.

Crowds don’t have secrets—individuals do.

And when you uncover these secrets, you gain the ability to deliver something that no one else can.

You create experiences, products, and services that resonate on a profoundly personal level.

This is the ultimate differentiator.

While your competitors are busy meeting needs, you’re fulfilling desires.

While they’re playing catch-up, you’re setting the pace.

◼️ What Does This Mean for Marketing? — The shift to a secrets-layer focus transforms the way you approach marketing.

Gone are the days of periodic, mass-market research that gives you a snapshot of what people need.

Instead, you must adopt a continuous, individualized learning process.

You need to engage with customers on a deeper level, uncovering their secrets in real-time and using that information to craft hyper-personalized offerings.

This is not just about selling; it’s about building intimate customer relationships.

When you understand a customer’s secrets, you can create marketing campaigns that feel tailor-made for them.

You can craft messages that speak directly to their hopes, fears, and aspirations.

This is how you build loyalty, trust, and long-term engagement.

◼️ What Does This Mean for Customer Service? — Customer service is no longer just about fixing problems—it’s about turning mistakes into moments of magic.

When a service blunder occurs, the secrets-layer becomes your secret weapon.
By leveraging what you know about the customer, you can turn a negative experience into a loyalty-building event.

A service mistake can create a “gaspworthy” moment and a raving fan forever.

The key is speed and personalization.

You need to respond within 24 hours, and you need to surprise the customer with something that feels deeply personal.

Maybe it’s a gesture that aligns with their lifestyle, a gift that reflects their hobbies, or a solution that addresses a challenge they’ve been quietly grappling with.

When you recover in a way that feels personal, the customer doesn’t just forgive you—they become even more committed to your brand.

◼️ What Does This Mean for Sales? — Sales teams must evolve from being product pushers to secret gatherers.

The traditional role of hitting quotas and pushing products is no longer enough.

Salespeople must be trained to ask the right questions, listen intently, and uncover the secrets that drive customer decisions.

This is not just about closing deals; it’s about building trust.

When a salesperson takes the time to understand a customer’s secrets, they’re not just selling—they’re connecting.

And that connection is what leads to long-term relationships and repeat business.

To make this happen, organizations must incentivize Secret Gathering.

Sales bonuses should be tied to the ability to uncover and leverage customer secrets.

This isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a strategic imperative.

◼️ The Secret Discovery Process: How to Uncover What Really Matters — The process of uncovering customer secrets is both an art and a science.

It starts with asking the right questions and listening deeply.

You need to show genuine interest in the customer’s story, not just your own agenda.

When customers feel heard and understood, they’ll willingly share their secrets.

The key is to shift from transmit mode to receive mode.

Instead of talking about your products or services, focus on learning about the customer.

Ask questions, take notes, and follow up.

Over time, you’ll build a Secrets Manual for each high-value customer—a living document that captures their unique desires, preferences, and challenges.

◼️ The Ultimate Competitive Advantage — In a world where technology, branding, and product features are easily replicated, customer secrets are the one thing that can’t be copied.

Customer Secrets are the ultimate source of sustainable competitive advantage.

When you understand what makes your customers tick, you can create offerings that feel irresistible.

You can build relationships that are unbreakable.

And you can achieve levels of performance that are unmatched.

The question is not whether you should start uncovering customer secrets—it’s how quickly you can make it a core competency in your organization.

The organizations that master this will not just survive; they will thrive.

They will be the ones setting the pace, defining the future, and reaping the rewards of a customer-centric revolution.

The hidden edge is there for the taking. Are you ready to unlock it?

Cheers,
Roy
My Podcast Show Audacious Moves to A BILLION shares the specific Moves I made to achieve jaw-dropping growth in an insanely competitive internet business.

”The Audacious Unheard of Ways I Took a Startup to A BILLION IN SALES” is the latest in my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series.

• Posted 7.18.11 at 11:00 am by Roy Osing
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June 30, 2011

Why customer caring is way better than customer service

Source: Unsplash

Why customer caring is way better than customer service.

The organization that provides amazing customer service doesn’t provide customer service at at all, they serve their customers in an exemplary way.

Here’s the distinction. Most organizations provide levels of customer service that is governed by a set of internal rules and policies that are used to manage the customer engagement process.

Customer serving organizations, on the other hand, serve by putting the customer in control of the engagement process and by finding every possible way to say yes to what they want.

A recent experience at Duke’s Restaurant in Kaanapali Maui has opened up another distinction to me: taking care of customers.

Taking care is really a deeper level of serving

It has a dramatic impact when you feel it.

Taking care is more about my comfort during the serving process. Anticipation of potential areas of discomfort and dealing with them seamlessly. Almost going unnoticed.

Too many glasses of water on the table cramp my space. Reducing comfort.

Soiled napkins make the table unsightly. Reducing comfort.

Crumbs and food leftovers on the table having the same effect. Reducing comfort.

Pacing the serving process consistent with the unspoken needs of the customer. Flex the speed based on what is observed and felt by the server.

Heather, from Southern California, effortlessly ensured our comfort level was taken care of without invading our space and I almost felt that if I had a morsel of Mahi Mahi on my cheek she would have removed it without my knowing 😊

Did Heather reach this level of serving effectiveness by being well trained?

No.

She was born this way.

Bottom line:
— serve your customers by taking care of them;

— build an organization that says ’yes’ to them no matter what.

— take care of them. Make sure they are comfortable in your environment. Make them feel at home.

— And recruit people who do this naturally.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 6.30.11 at 11:00 am by Roy Osing
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June 23, 2011

Why leaders must trust the frontline to do their thing

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Why leaders must trust the frontline to do their thing.

Do you trust your frontline people to do the very best for your organization?

One example results in your employee sometimes having to break an internal rule to take care of a customer; ’saying yes’ when it goes against the standard way the organization deals with a customer.

The second example ends the vitriolic dialogue with the customer this way:  “I’m sorry it’s not our policy”.

The first instance trusts the frontliner to do what is right, trusting they have enough common sense not to sell the farm.

The second instance believes frontline people are really not all that smart and need to be directed by specific procedures that require them to behave in a specific way.

My experience is that frontliners have forgotten more about balancing the wants of the customer with the needs of the company than leaders realize

But they are junior employees and are relegated to enforcing dumb rules and policies that sometimes get in the way of serving customers in an amazing way. The organization seems to believe that they need to be governed by rules and have no common sense.

Seriously?

Leaders must realize that those that constantly engage with your customers are the most important group of employees you have.

They can and should be trusted.

Let them do their thing.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 6.23.11 at 10:59 am by Roy Osing
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