How to Easily Create Market Differentiation With an Out-Going Voice Mail Message In Any Industry or Profession

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How to Easily Create Market Differentiation With an Out-Going Voice Mail Message, In Any Industry or Profession

I get more comments from callers about my out-going voice mail message than anyone I know. I also know it has brought me potential business opportunities. If you get a chance you may want to see what I'm speaking about (the number is 845-463-3838, if you care to give it a try).

The message on your out-going voice mail can be a branding tool for your business and set you apart from your competition. Yet, few people I know use it effectively.

This issue was reinforced in my mind and for my own personal business strategy last week. I had a discussion with a former client about differentiating his business

The challenge we discussed was a call he received from a business prospect that commented that a call to the competition went un-returned for over four weeks.

This prospect had to also leave a message for my former client and even though it was returned in much less than four weeks, it still took a couple of days.

His out-going voice mail was just like 99% of all voice mail messages. It went something like this:

"Hi, thank you for calling XYZ company, your call is very important to us so please leave a message and we'll return your call as soon as possible."

I'm certain this was also a similar message to the competitor that was called first. I told my former client he was lucky to get this new client, for the following reason.

Imagine what kind of expectation was set for the prospect who called my former client. He probably wasn't expecting a call back inside of four weeks.

But, what about this?

What if my former client had an out-going voice mail message more similar to mine:

"Hi, this is Skip Weisman, thank you for calling. Even though I can't take your call right now, I promise to respond within 3-hours either by voice or e-mail. Please leave a message with as much detail as possible so we can limit the game of phone tag. Thank you for calling and I look forward to speaking with you soon."

This type of message does a few important things:

1. It is only 15 seconds so it respects the caller's time,
2. It promises a return call in a certain time frame that is within less than a 1/2-day,
3. It sets a standard few others in any business or industry offer.

When I suggested to my former client he raise the bar on the standard he sets for his business, he told me, "Wow, I'd like to be able to do something like that, and as soon as we add some more personnel to our team so we can have greater resources to serve those that call!

I stopped him in mid-sentence and said,

"No, you can decide to hold yourself and your company to a higher standard now, so that those you bring in to the firm will be indoctrinated to a higher expectation and level of professionalism, instead of trying to change their expectation after the fact.

"Commit first, and your business will become very attractive to prospects looking for a high quality firm to work with. You say you are better and different from your competition, this is one not so small way you can show it early in the relationship."

I've coached dozens of clients over the past few years since I instituted my out-going voice mail and not one of them has picked up on this standard for their out-going voice mail. When I ask "why?" I get poor excuses such as,

"I didn't want to commit to something I couldn't deliver!"

My point is not to make a commitment as mine, a 3-hour turn around. My point is to commit to something, 4-hours, by the end of the day, within 24 hours, 72 hours, etc.

Commit to some higher standard and you will create a market differentiation between your company and the competition.
Let me know what you think of this strategy and what you can commit to.

 
 
 


p.s. - there are few reasons to not return phone calls at the end of your day. You can always call back after hours to leave a voice mail letting the person know you got their message and you are working on getting them what they need, or that you will get back to them by the end of the next day, etc.

The worst emotion in human psychology is "uncertainty." As such as business professionals we should be doing everything in our power and control to provide our business prospects and clients "certainty" in our approach to solving their problems. Is your out-going voice mail message doing that, if not it's an easy to way to get started.

Champion Leadership Tip #10 - Set Organizational Behavior Standards, Hire & Manage Performance By Them

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Champion Leadership Tip #10 - Set Organizational Behavior Standards, Hire & Manage Performance By Them

Monday, January 11, 2010

One of the questions I receive most from the owners and CEOs of small businesses and non-profits is about hiring the right people. Even in this economy with so many qualified people out of work, employers are still challenged in bringing people in to their organizations.

I believe one of the causes of this hiring challenge is that few organization leaders are clear on their hiring standards. Most take the antiquated approach of hiring for experience and education and put little focus on the prospective team member's fit with the organization's culture.

The reason for this is that most organization's culture's are developed organically without direction and forethought at the top of the organization.

When I offer the owners and CEOs of small businesses and non-profit organizations the concept of expected behavior and values standards that can consciously craft the culture, I am amazed they see this as a revelation.

I always suggest my five values of a C.H.A.M.P. as a model to follow. It is usually well received since most don't have a standard of their own. At the same time I also let them know that there is no magic to my five values of a C.H.A.M.P. and suggest they adapt and/or create their own to begin as quickly as possible to integrate some behavior and attitude standards into their organization's culture, to more consciously create their organization's culture.

This tip offers a great strategy with which to launch the new year to begin creating a new culture of performance and accountabilty. In my free white paper report  "6 Keys to Creating a High Performing Business Team That Gets Champion Level Results." I discuss this and five other components for creating a Championship Culture in any organization.

You can download that free report here.

 

A Lesson in "How Not to Motivate Employees"

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A Lesson in "How Not to Motivate Employees"

I've heard of some pretty bad bosses in my 27 years in business and have witnessed some very poor tactics in attempted workplace motivation, but this has to take the cake.

The NY Post today reported about a restaurant owner in Manhattan that cursed out his employees and threatened them with their jobs for not accumulating enough e-mail addresses from patrons. 
About the only thing worse for this restauranteur would have been for him to verbally abuse his staff with an outburst during the dinner hours with his restaurant full of patrons. 

Read more about it here 

I can't imagine what employee morale will be like this afternoon when the restaurant opens for business. I may go patronize the restaurant just as a show of support these abused employees and order a glass of water, sit there for 2-hours with friends but leave a big tip. 
What do you think of that approach? 

The staff at this restaurant definitely deserve better leadership.

Panera Bread vs. Starbucks? A Contrast In Customer Experiences?

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As has probably been apparent in my recent posts I've been focusing on the little things in customer service lately (e.g., recent posts such as "It's the Little Things That Count in Customer Service" and "An Now for a Story About Very Poor Customer Service").
Last week I found another noteworthy distinctive contrast.

I had the opportunity to meet with a couple of business colleagues to build a deeper relationship on two separate occasions. One I met at a Starbucks and another at Panera Bread in our local area.

Not being a coffee drinker I have no particular affinity for Starbucks other than its a nice casual public place to meet to have a light business discussion and there are enough locations around that its usually a mutually convenient place to meet.

Panera Bread is similar to Starbuck's in the context of being a nice, clean, comfortable place for a light business meeting with two important contrasts.

One is obvious. Panera is a more comprehensive restaurant with soups and sandwiches, breakfast danish, etc. whereas Starbucks offers coffee and other related beverages and isn't particularly known for its food options.

The other important distinction between the two is that Panera Bread offers unlimited free, no questions asked, WiFi internet connection. Theoretically one could set up camp in a booth at Panera Bread with a laptop and mobile phone creating a pseudo virtual office. Some of my colleagues have done this, and some do this regularly. A colleague of mine who works in human resources for the Panera Bread tells me that unless the restaurant is extremely busy during standard meal times, no one would think twice of allowing a person, who has not purchased even a soft drink to stay and operate a virtual booth office all day long.

I presume the same could be done at a Starbucks but the biggest difference is Starbucks requires registration through an AT&T mobile account to get an internet connection. Registering a Starbucks card gets you two-free hours of internet time and using the card to purchase something at least once every 30-days gives you another two-free hours.  AT&T does offer an unlimited option for a fee.

I understand Starbucks position that it wants to be able to comfortably accommodate customers consistently throughout the day and not have seats taken up by non-paying customers. I would probably feel the same way. I also know that most Starbucks seating areas are significantly smaller and more limited in the number of patrons they can accommodate than Panera Bread.

Panera Bread, on the other hand, has made a corporate decision to build a deep relationship with its potential customers providing them with a perk that has the opportunity to build long-term loyalty. The thought process here is that if the patron is in the restaurant for a long period they have to eat or drink something eventually. Plus they will hold meetings with colleagues who will buy foot and drinks as well.

I am trying not to make a value judgment on either approach as I understand the business model, marketing strategies and limitations of each. I just think its important to point out the distinctions between the two approaches and use it as a point of discussion regarding the pros and cons of each to learn how we can apply the lessons to our own businesses.

What are your thoughts? (If you needed a virtual office with internet access outside of your main office are you a big enough coffee drinker and a fan of Starbucks to go through the card registration process at a Starbucks? Or, would you be more like me to want the simplicity of Panera Bread's approach to be able to just sit down, open the laptop, connect and get to work?)  

Please leave a comment if you are inspired to do so.