Sollé Coaching » Branding

If You Can’t Be A Good Example, Be A Bad One: Cue Chase Bank

Günes Yilmaztuerk — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:57:17 +0000

photo © 2007 Derek Baird | more info (via: Wylio)I just went to Chase bank – my bank that I’ve been dealing with for years and where we have both my business account and our personal account – and have been scolded and insulted. So what is a girl to do? Blog about it!

Due to negligence on my part, Chase charged me fees. Gotta love fat-cat and his fees. So I emailed a friend who works there and asked him what I should do. He was very polite and told me what steps I should take. I called the hotline, they reimbursed only part of the fees. Then I went to a branch manager and met the man that Napoleon Complex must have been named after.

I explained my issue, took complete responsibility for the mistake, and asked him if there was anything he could do as the hotline couldn’t solve all my issues. By the time he was done, he had scolded me, insulted me, and was annoyed and said my friend should have known better than to send me to him (because apparently… he was too important to talk to little ones like me). And after he finished with “This bank doesn’t owe you anything!” (Yep, the exact wording he used), he said “Now, what I will do is, talk to you about upgrading your account because you qualify.” Oh, thank you Your Grace. I was so shocked at all of this outburst that all I could muster out of clenched teeth was “That won’t be necessary as I will close all accounts with your bank.”

Did I mention that it was just a $70 fee that caused him to feel like he could treat me like dirt, lose a customer, and receive bad PR?

Why do businesses continue down this path? Why don’t businesses invest in customer service? Serving is the new selling! He never even asked me for my name – just my account number. Every one who walks into your business is a person, not an account! How can you serve, if you don’t even take the time to shake my hand or ask me my name?

He could have simply told me professionally that there wasn’t anything he was willing to do (or could do) and send me on my way. Why do the whole ego-trip thing? Do you have toxic people like that on your staff? Yes, trainers and mystery shoppers cost money. But have you considered the opportunity cost of bad customer service? When you lose customers (and all businesses do), do you follow up with them to see what happened or what circumstances changed?

And most importantly: Do you monitor your business and your brand for when customers like me are upset and vent online? Every person is a media outlet now. Every person is a publisher now. What does that mean for your brand?

Oh, and Chase, keep the $70. I’ll consider it your fee for being the bad customer service example in all of my seminars.

Yes, Your Looks Do Matter

Günes Yilmaztuerk — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 04:02:21 +0000

It shouldn’t. But it does. When you walk into a room full of people you don’t know, we start sizing each other up and making assumptions on social status, financial class, education level, professionalism, etc. etc. And many of the factors are subconscious and done on a purely emotional level. We start to make associations between outward characteristics and our prejudices. As Daniel Goleman said in Emotional Intelligence: “Once these [first] impressions are formed, we seek instances to validate those impressions and tend to discount instances that challenge it.”

Still don’t think appearance matters? Here is a test by Jo-Ellan Dimitrius, Ph.D:

1) Who is more friendly: The bank teller who smiles and says “Hello” or the one that doesn’t look up?

2) Who is more humble: The man who wears a ten-thousand-dollar gold Rolex, or the one who sports a Timex?

3) Who is more capable: The dentist who practices in a well-decorated office in a fancy medical building or the one with worn-out chairs in the corner of a neighborhood mall?

What does your brand say about you?

Let’s get one thing straight: There is no right or wrong answer about what look you should sport. My tax advisor, my hair stylist, and my car mechanic all sport different looks. There is nothing wrong with wearing jeans if that’s your brand – I worked at Levi’s where everyone from Janitor to European VP wore Levi’s to work. (What an awesome perk that was!!) That was our brand. It worked for us. Your dress reflects your values. The concept to understand is that the image we create through our dress and groom does influence the perception people form of us.

Don’t take your decision about grooming or dress lightly – whether you wear a uniform or are in complete control of your wardrobe. Unless you make a good first impression, it’s rare you’ll have a chance to prove yourself. What I wear, how I carry myself, and how people perceive me becomes my brand; whether intentional or not. The question is – is the brand you currently have, the one you want? Take control of how others see you. What is your brand? What is the perception you want people to have of your personal brand?

The One Phrase Ruining Your Brand & Reputation

Günes Yilmaztuerk — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 14:34:19 +0000

“No, I didn’t have time to do it.”

All of us have 24 hours in a day. 7 days in a week. And most successful business people don’t have hours to waste. Schedules are hectic. Task lists are horrendous. Clients are demanding. And calendars are always full.

And when someone asks you whether you delivered something: followed up, checked on status, prepared presentation, called so-and-so back or whatever the task may be and you answer with “I didn’t have time” – you are essentially saying you wanted to do it but couldn’t find the time so you discredit yourself as if you lack prioritization skills and time management skills.

Yet worst of all, those words lack accountability. Where in that phrase are you taking responsibility for your actions and choices? You chose to spend your time on other things. They may or may not have had higher priority and you may have been correct in devoting time to other things. But take responsibility for it. Be accountable. Replace “I didn’t have time” with “I didn’t take the time for it yet, but will get it to you by _____” Now you have taken responsibility, are proactive, and have set your own realistic timeframe. Remember that we are responsible for the decisions we make both at work and in our personal lives. And we aren’t only responsible for the things we have done; we are also responsible for those that we didn’t do.

Portraying an overwhelmed image is simply detrimental to your brand, business, person, and team. You should also encourage your team to be accountable and change their way of thinking as well. Adding accountability and taking responsibility for actions will create a great ripple effect. As Stephen Covey said: “Accountability adds response-ability.”

And that, my friend, is the power of words. How can you start encouraging others to adopt an accountability way of thinking?

TV Commercial Review: Zappos Puppets

Günes Yilmaztuerk — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 14:18:20 +0000

Don’t know the Zappos Puppets? Think “OnStar” commercial meets “Crank-Yankers.” The commercials re-enact live customer service calls but – with humor and puppets (or Zappets as they are lovingly called) who are styled after actual employees. The company humorously sends the message that they will take any returns – for any reason (including if you are “emotionally unprepared” for the dress you purchased and hid it deep in the garage because it arrived too fast). The Zappet actually checks off “emotionally unprepared” for the reason for return, demonstrating that the company does validify (and expect) any and all reasons for returns.

Which takes branding to another level – it’s not just about shoes or online retailing – it’s about customer service. And the ”Customer Loyalty Team” cares – he tells the “emotionally unprepared” caller very gently that in order to return the item, she “will have to touch the box though.” This drives home that every rep is friendly and every caller will be treated with respect no matter how unusual the purchase, return, or request. Even if a caller wants to exchange Nike workout clothes for a deep fryer because she is “going in another direction.”

The company’s branding and #1 focus is on customer service which is portrayed cleverly in the commercials. The viewer has the insider perspective that they “see” and are part of the call center which also supports the company’s branding of transparency. You also get the feeling that every time you call, you talk to a real person; the Zappets are friendly, each has a different personality, they have face expressions, and they are in “real” cubicles with drawings, pictures, personal items, and office supplies. Zappos also demonstrates that they are different from other companies (and provide better service) in that customer loyalty reps will stay on the phone and talk about anything (including alligators as in one of the commercials) with the caller; no scripts, no rush, no hurry to get the caller off the line due to time pressure.

The Zappets and the commercials emphasize the quirky culture that the company is famous for. A very nice change of pace from “sex-sells” to “humor-sells”. Good job Mullen for a cleverly entertaining commercial that delivers the brand message theme of customer service with humor.

Here are my favorite two Zappos TV Commercials: Emotionally Ready and 5 Ways To Add Elegance to a Dress

How to Brand Successfully

Günes Yilmaztuerk — Sat, 15 May 2010 21:31:54 +0000

What is the difference between image and branding? This is the question that I start my branding workshops with. And many people struggle with the differentiation initially. Image is the visual aspect of your brand. It is your logo. Your graphic design. Your color choice. Your packaging design.

Your brand on the other hand is the entire experience people have with your business/product/services. The visual image is part of your overall brand experience. And branding begins with identifying the gap. What gap you ask? It’s the gap in people’s perception of your brand and what you would like that perception to be. It’s really that simple. And that hard. Your brand perception exists in the minds of your consumers and your audience. Do you know how people currently view your brand? Do you know what kinds of things affect your brand and the perception of your brand?

You have several tools in your toolkit. First, you should start with:

Defining your Values
Defining your Goals
Researching your Audience, your Competition, and your Market
Exploring your Strengths
Defining your Market
Defining your differentiation
Defining your offer

This homework, although perhaps not so much fun initially, is critical. Your foundation will be based on this information you collect. For example, when I started planning my business, I knew I wanted to help businesses with their marketing and I knew that my strength was in both traditional and internet marketing. But how to differentiate myself from other marketing consultants and agencies? I decided I would coach my clients rather than consult them. I wanted to teach my clients how to write a marketing strategy they could apply. I wanted to teach them about segmentation. About targeted messaging. About tracking and analyzing. About testing different ads and headlines to test what works. I wanted to teach them about creating valuable content that informs and entertains and establishes my client as the expert. My goal was that by the time I finished working with a client, they could successfully market their business and test what worked and didn’t work and make appropriate changes in their strategy. How can you differentiate yourself?

Besides differentiating your offer, you also have tools you can use to brand your business. Every interaction you have with your audience is another tool. How you dress and act at networking events. Workshops you have. Ads you place. The kind of content you create. The pictures and videos you post. The invoices you send. The proposals you send.

Even though there is no shortage of tools, one thing you should be aware of: Be consistent. Be visually consistent – same colors/fonts/avatars in all your marketing. Also be consistent with your brand values, your brand tone, and brand personality. And this consistency needs to be the same both online and offline. If you are not a funny person in person, you won’t be funny online. If your business is known for its sophistication and professionalism, being sarcastic online will not benefit you.

Whether you have put much thought into your branding or not, people have a perception of you and your business already. What questions do you have about starting the branding process?

Your Personal Online Brand

Günes Yilmaztuerk — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 03:03:18 +0000

When we think of brands like Nike, BMW, or Apple, we think of the experience we’ve had with these brands, their logos pop into our minds, and we react to the brand – either positively or negatively.

Celebrities also brand themselves – Paris Hilton, Denzel Washington – all are brands. And just like celebrities use branding techniques to build a reputation for themselves and to control their image, we too have our personal brand to consider.

Oh yes. You’re online. Congratulations. You have an online brand.

And how we brand ourselves determines how people perceive us, and whether our online interaction will lead to off-line collaboration. The tone we choose (folksy? professional? humorous? sarcastic?), our picture, the content we create, our language, who we connect with, what discussions we take part – all these things ultimately make up our brand.

And this image that we create ultimately becomes our reputation.

How do you brand yourself? Have you put much thought into it?