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Delight and Surprise: Word on the Street — July 16th thru July 20th

July 22nd, 2012 Mel White COMMENTS
Delight and Surprise

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Over Promise and Under Deliver

We all know the danger of “over-promising and under delivering.” In business, there are few errors that can be more damaging, particularly when trying to attract new customers or launching a new product to existing customers. Then there’s the flip side of “under promising and over delivering” which has its own risks.

Over hyping a program or product can kill it if the deliverables don’t match the pre-hype. That’s not to say that promoting a new product or service is not critical. It clearly is! But at a minimum, there needs to be as  much effort in the “frosting,” i.e., the experience of receiving the product or service. I would argue that the “end experience” is the most critical experience.

Let’s look at something near and dear to me — Apple. I’ll admit it. I’ve drunk the Kool-aid and have been an Apple Fan Club member since May 2010. For years I fought it, accusing Apple of being just a marketing machine. Nothing more. Something the “cool kids” had to have to be “ccol” for those who bought into the Apple hype.

I Took the Bait

When i received my Macbook Pro in the mail, I took it home, opened it, and begin the set-up process. That’s where the “delight and surprise” began. Mind you, I already was a “win” for the Apple marketing machine. I bought the laptop. Victory for them right? Yes and No, but I would argue Not Yet. The “Yes” came next.

When I tore the packing tape off the plain brown corrugated shipping box and peered inside, the packaging was amazing. Well thought out, clean, everything had a place and was in its place. It was COOL. But again, the victory, while building, was not quite complete.

After removing the Macbook Pro from the box, the real victory materialized. I plugged in my shinny new laptop via a magnetic plug. What a great concept, especially for someone with two five year olds racing around who trip over things like cords. The cord wouldn’t get damaged (or do any damage to a five year old). Genius.

Them I hit the power button. Being a PC user for the prior 16 years, I was prepared for an agonizing 4-6 hours of set up and install. But something very strange happened. My Macbook Pro began to set itself up — literally! It was the definition of “intuitive.” By the time I was done, I looked at the clock and realized that it had only taken (1) hour from start to finish, migration time for email included

Back to my point. Here was a marketing machine that not only exceeded expectations, but “Surprised and Delighted” this new user!

There are millions of great products and services. We all yearn to design, sell, or own them. But, and this is the important “but,” there are far fewer with great user experiences. For example, who wants to buy a beautiful 20 x 30 island like the one featured in Design Monday this week and then receive a box of metal with some unintelligible set-up instructions. Nothing will spoil the buying process more. After all, your client just spent thousands of dollars on the booth space, the exhibit, and all the show services. They expect a perfect exhibit and a positive exhibit experience, as they should. But we need to surprise them as well and leave a lasting impression. At Classic, we hope we do just that, which is why we are always asking you in phone calls, in Customer Feedback emails, and in this blog, “Was your customer ‘Surprised and Delighted?'”

How do you accomplish that in your business? How do you make the “End Experience” as delightful as everything that precedes it? What’s the “frosting” that turns a mere cake into a party? Please share your secret with the other Classic Exhibits community.

STARTING TODAY, let’s change the tired “Over Promise, Under Promise” cliches into something more meaningful — “Make a Promise and Over Deliver!” True, it’s not as catchy, but it’s a real goal with real outcomes.

Be well!

–Kevin Carty
http://twitter.com/kevin_carty
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-carty/3/800/32a

 

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Word on the Street — December 27th thru December 31st

January 2nd, 2011 Mel White COMMENTS
2011 Trade Show Predictions

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Out with the Old and In with the New

This past week was filled with a flurry of new (albeit last minute) orders and lots of quote requests for the New Year. It was a promising sign heading into 2011.

Around Classic, talk was about what to expect in the first quarter of 2011 . . . internally and externally.

Mel and I have been in full blown planning mode for the past eight weeks, and this past week was no different. We have many things on tap for 2011, especially the first quarter. Along with the recent launching of the new SEGUE Sunrise, we are launching new variations of existing systems as well as multiple Island exhibits that reflect current “minimalist” trends and the growth of silicone edge graphics.

Along with that, we are refining our internal “customer experience.” Some examples include setting better expectations to make the overall process more predictable. The advent of tighter time lines, which have become the new “norm,” bring new challenges to our process. I am personally addressing many of these not only for you but also for our internal Project Management and Production Departments.

Pricing will receive some attention in the first quarter of 2011 as well. As many of you have probably seen in the financial markets, aluminum and plastic prices have slowly been on the rise. Does this mean an increase is pending from Classic Exhibits and ClassicMODUL? Yes in part, but we have been looking at more creative buying practices to control costs, so it will not be an across the board price increase. You will actually see some price decreases as well.

In the next few weeks, I will publish my Annual Company Letter. I am currently working on it and do not know the exact release date, but it will be in January.

I hope you and your families had a safe and happy New Year’s celebration. Be well.

–Kevin Carty

http://twitter.com/kevin_carty
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-carty/3/800/32a

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Word on the Street — November 1st thru November 5th

November 7th, 2010 Mel White 1 COMMENT
Why we participate in the TS2 Show

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Our People / Our Success

Many of you, who have been distributors, vendor partners, and industry friends for many years, have heard us speak about how the “heart and soul” of Classic Exhibits is its people. They are the key to our success.

To be successful in this business, we have to have attractive designs, quality products, and advanced manufacturing capabilities, but at the end of the day, its our people that make Classic a truly remarkable and great company. So please indulge me today as I share some information and some praise about our people.

Customer Service / Project Management

To most of you, they are the voice of Classic. This uniquely talented group is responsible for handling all quotes, order details, and job folders for our Production team. Unlike other companies where Customer Service representatives have very narrow duties  and authority, the Project Managers at Classic are tasked with broad responsibilities. They are expected to answer your product-related questions, complete CAD details for orders, arrange shipping, and function as the final quality control check on your jobs.

To be a PM at Classic takes a very unique skill set. They have to be detail-oriented, efficient, imaginative, and charming. Very few of us have two of these characteristics, let alone all four. Classic PM’s are your “internal advocate,”  or more specifically your “eyes and ears” throughout the entire process from the moment an order is turned over to Production until it leaves our shipping dock.

I am proud of how our group works as a team. They are always on the alert for ways to improve internal processes which not only makes their jobs more efficient, but also improves our ability to serve your requests.

Design Department

Design is often the first point of contact for many of you. Most of our competitors funnel everyone into Customer Service first. We don’t, which can present a challenge for our Designers. At Classic, we urge you to start with the Design Department on any orders that are not “as is” kits. As a result, a Designer at Classic might be working on 12-15 projects during a week. Your expectations, and the expectations of your client, are that  each project will be unique and creative. And that the project will be delivered in 2-5 days (depending on size and scope).

After reading what I just wrote . . . that challenge can seem almost impossible on some weeks. But to their credit, they do it and they do it very well.

On top of all that, the Design Department must balance the demands of the Marketing Department as well. Design Monday, new kit renderings, animations, rental requests, and a wide variety of other design-related assignments are handled by Design. There is rarely, if ever, any down time in Design.

Production

I have often said and will continue to say that we have the absolute best Production staff anywhere. In these days of short turn times and client-driven last minute changes and unique challenges, they find a way to make it happen day in and day out. As a crew, they are continually striving to learn new techniques and cross train each other so we can remain efficient and profitable.

The vast majority of our Production staff has or will be celebrating ten plus years with the company. As a group, they care about Classic, and they care about the products our customers receive. They are faced with enormous challenges every single day, challenges that push them to engineer new solutions and develop new methods to handle our diverse product line. On any given day they are asked to solve difficult custom solutions, and to retain that knowledge so it can be replicated it in a week, a month, or in two years.

For those distributors and suppliers who have visited Classic Exhibits, you know. You have commented on our manufacturing capabilities, on our work ethic, on the positive energy of our Production team, and on the organization and cleanliness of our facility. I am proud of them and encourage more of our distributors to visit us and see what we see every day.

Accounting, Purchasing, Shipping, and Inventory Control

They pay the bills, pay the people, purchase the supplies, and keep us organized. They are the folks behind the scenes who rarely get “Top Billing” or much recognition outside of Classic Exhibits.  But you know, as well as we do, that they are the glue that keeps us from falling apart.

Just like our Production team, these folks have been with Classic Exhibits for many years, and as Classic has grown and as we have added divisions over the years, they have been asked to do more and to keep us organized. We are fortunate to have employees in these positions who are smart, resourceful, and team players.

I often hear from colleagues who tell me that their Accounting, Purchasing, or Shipping Departments make their lives miserable. Rather than working with their colleagues, they create mini-fiefdoms within the organization. I can’t relate. At Classic, our team works hard to keep us on task and to follow procedures, but it’s never with an “us vs. them” mentality. It’s about making Classic better.

At the end of the day, there’s no substitute for a dedicated team of employees. Yes, we all want to get paid, but it should be about more than just the paycheck. At Classic, our team comes in everyday ready to work and always with an eye on how to make the company better and our customers happier. For that I am grateful every single day.

Be well and have a wonderful weekend!

–Kevin Carty

http://twitter.com/kevin_carty
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-carty/3/800/32a

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Word on the Street — September 26th thru October 1st

October 3rd, 2010 Mel White COMMENTS
Why we participate in the TS2 Show

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Survey Results and Responses — Part 2 of 2

Once again, thank you for participating in our recent survey. This week, I’d like to share some of the numbers from the survey in addition to answering many of your comments and questions.

Quantitative Data

“How would you rate the response time from Classic Exhibits (compared to competitors)?”

Much Faster 16.0%
Somewhat Faster 33.3%
Comparable 35.6%

“How would you rate the overall customer service from Classic Exhibits (compared to competitors)?”

Much Faster 13.7%
Somewhat Faster 43.6%
Comparable 34.4%

If we weren’t Classic, we would view these numbers as positive since you rated us 85% and 91% Faster or Comparable to our competitors. But given our history of consistently responding faster than our competitors, the 35% Comparable numbers are troubling. I’ll respond specifically to this a little later in the blog since we received a comment on this topic.

“How often do you visit the Classic Exhibits website?”

Several times a week 56.3%
Once a month 28.7%
Once a year 1.1%

These numbers are encouraging and gratifying since we’ve devoted considerable time, effort, and money to our website over the past five years. When you visit our website, you told us you use the following features most often:

  1. Exhibit Design Search
  2. Product Pages
  3. Rental Displays
  4. Trade Show Tales Blog
  5. Past 5 Days
  6. Exhibit Specials

On a follow up question, we asked, “Which features of Exhibit Design Search do you use? Check all that apply.” Again, in order, you said:

  1. Photos
  2. Filter and Sort
  3. Design Details
  4. Additional Images
  5. Email Designs
  6. My Gallery
  7. Product Videos (when available)

Finally, in the response to the question, “How would you rate Classic Exhibits on the following?”, you rated us Excellent or Above Average on these (with the corresponding percentage):

  • Ease of Purchase — 77%
  • Manufacturing Flexibility — 76%
  • Setup Instructions — 82%
  • Cases and Packaging — 85%
  • Product Quality — 86%
  • Exhibit Designs — 84%
  • Distributor Communication — 76%
  • Marketing — 82%

Comments and Responses from the Survey

Classic has long been the fastest at getting quotes, orders, and designs turned around as it relates to the industry as a whole. In the past few months this has slipped a little. Why?

Answer — Let me start off by saying that this is not something that we like to hear. However, it is also a reality, and it is by no means the fault of any one PM or Designer. Rather, it is quite simply due to market conditions. We (Classic) do not have as many people working in those departments as we did two years ago. And that is not an excuse, but from a transparency standpoint, we want to be honest with you.

Our PM’s and Designers are doing as many quotes and designs as always, but the orders are smaller than they were 24 months ago. Therefore, you have fewer people trying to do more. Having said that, we need to set more reasonable expectations on turnaround times. Over promising and under delivering is never a good thing. We realize that. And as a management team, we are addressing it.

Can your Design Team and Project Management Team communicate better at the “hand-off” stage? Meaning when a design is sent to Project Management for quoting?

Answer — While this was not an overriding theme in your survey responses, it was mentioned and deserves a response. Communication has been a consistent theme at Classic over the past four years, both internally and externally. Hearing that we are failing with some of our distributors is troublesome. Some of it may be a direct reflection of asking fewer people to do more. I know that occasionally causes people to cut corners to meet existing time expectations. However, when proper communication does not happen, it causes us to go back and forth more often which lengthens the turnaround time. I promise you that we are working on this, and we will get better.

Can you include Distributor News and Updates in Design Monday along with new designs?

Answer — Yes. And to some extent we already do. Several years ago, we discontinued our monthly newsletter because we felt we were inundating you with email broadcasts. Instead, we shifted those routine updates on products, services, and specials to periodic emails, Design Monday (via “Word on the Street”) and postings in the Trade Show Tales Blog. Please let us know if you would like us to resume the monthly newsletter. In the newsletter, we would be very happy to discuss Classic updates as well as information in your world — whether it is new hires, current projects that you wish to share, or other pertinent news as it relates to the industry within your local markets.

Classic needs to do a better job of Customer Appreciation and Acknowledgment.

Answer — Ouch! That really hurts. While I feel like we do a good job of this “on the fly,” for the most part, I do agree that we need to do this more publicly. And more often. Our management team will make this a focus moving forward. You are our lifeblood. No one can deny that, and I am sorry if we have not done a good job of acknowledging that daily, monthly and quarterly.

ClassicMODUL is great. The variety of extrusions and accessories are unmatched. Why do you not promote the variety more in your Classic Exhibits designs and broadcasts?

Answer — At first I thought this comment may have come from Tom Jones, who manages our ClassicMODUL division. 😉 But it didn’t. I spent a lot of time thinking about this. In looking through past Design Mondays and other e-broadcasts that the Classic Exhibits division has sent over the past several months, it is clear that while we use a variety of extrusions and accessories in our broadcasts, we do not always “highlight” them. Recently, we have been promoting the TSP profiles which hold Silicone Edge Graphics, but we do need to do a better job of describing the extrusions in particular designs so that you gain a deeper and better sense of what is available from Classic and ClassicMODUL. Great suggestion. Thanks!

In conclusion, we have work to do and some issues to resolve. Thank you for your feedback, and we sincerely appreciate your constructive criticism.

And thank you for the many, many kudos we received as well in the survey (which we elected not to share). I am not going to lie, hearing that “Classic Rocks!,” that the “Customer Service Team is Wonderful” and that you appreciate coming to work each day knowing that you get to “Work with friends,” makes me not just happy, but exceptionally proud of our team.

Thanks again!

–Kevin Carty

http://twitter.com/kevin_carty
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-carty/3/800/32a

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Shooting from the Hip — 13.10 (Making Customers Mad)

September 2nd, 2010 Mel White 5 COMMENTS

Shooting from the Hip (trade show tips)

Shooting from the Hip by Reid Sherwood

6 Surefire Ways to Tick Off Your Customer

No matter how long I’m in business, I am always amazed at the lengths some companies go to make their customers mad. I “get” the fact that you have to make money. I “get” the fact that the customer “ISN’T” always right (like we’ve been taught over and over again). HOWEVER, the customer is ALWAYS IMPORTANT!

1. Downplay their Problem. They just spent money with you for a product or service. Now there is a problem. A surefire way to raise their ire and eliminate any future business is to take their problems lightly and make them feel insignificant.

2. That’s Impossible. Tell them that what just happened is impossible. I don’t know about you, but I’ve found that calling a customer a liar may not be the best mediation tactic. You can say “We take great measures to insure against that.” You can tell them that “We have processes in place to catch that, but this one must have slipped by.” You can tell them that “Sometimes good old human error occurred, and you are really sorry.” But the second you tell them that their problem can’t happen or didn’t happen is the second you just picked a fight with a customer.

3. Accept It “As Is”. Have you ever tried to convince your customer to accept the product “as is” at a reduced cost? They didn’t purchase the product to be defective. They purchased it because they expect it to look like and perform like the picture in the advertisement or the marketing material.

I was in a McDonald’s a couple weeks ago. So as I am ordering, this guy comes back to the counter with a Big Mac. He unfolds it and says to the counter person very calmly, “I’d like to show this to the manager please.”  The manager strolls over very nonchalantly. The customer unwraps the burger and shows the manager the insides. There is sauce all over everything, the lettuce is wilted, and the condiments are both on the inside and the outside of the bun. There was even a chunk of bun missing the size of my thumb. Honestly – the presentation was just awful.

The customer says, “I ordered that!” and points to the picture on the menu of a nice looking Big Mac all perfect and nice. The manager in his infinite wisdom says, “How about I give you a small fry for free?” Instantly, the customer was enraged and replied, “I DIDN’T WANT FRIES. I WANTED MY BURGER TO LOOK LIKE THE PICTURE!” The manager took out a shovel and dug himself a little deeper and said, “We don’t have time to make them like that. You have to be happy with what you get.” The customer walked away and said, “I will never ever buy another thing from MacDonald’s as long as I live.” How would it have worked if he had simply made him a burger that looked decent and not been slopped together? Just fine, I suppose. But nope . . . He decided to pick a fight with the customer instead.

4. Blame a Problem on Somebody Else. Nothing will drive a consumer away faster than to have the blame passed on to someone else. Just take ownership of the issue and correct it. Don’t denigrate another employee who made a mistake.

5. Take Forever to Correct the Problem. This is like making mountains out of mole hills. If you allow a problem to linger, you leave a bad taste in your customer’s mouth that much longer. Every company has faults. None are perfect. I remember Jim Hoffmann of Optima Graphics saying in a meeting, “If something is wrong, apologize, fix it, and move on quickly to something positive.” It was a valuable lesson about problem resolution:  Fix it quickly and move on.

6.  Keep Making the Same Mistake. Customers can be very forgiving if you make a mistake and then resolve it quickly. They know that stuff happens. They are even willing to cut you a break when it happens again, assuming you have a solid relationship with them. But when it happens over and over . . . well, that’s when they recognize that despite your best intentions, your company has serious problems.

I recall asking a distributor about a display manufacturer about ten years ago. The distributor said, “They are great about correcting problems on orders. They react fast and send me a replacement or repair immediately.” I said, “They sound like a terrific company.” “Not really,” he replied. “EVERY ORDER has a problem. It’s beyond frustrating anymore. It’s a joke between me and the company and frankly, I’ve had enough “laughs” because my customers are always angry. I don’t see how they can continue to stay in business producing two displays for every one order.”

Guess what? The display company went out of business a few years later.

Please share your “Surefire Ways” to tick off a customer. Tips like dating your customer’s spouse or sending their email address to an Eastern European spammer don’t count. 😉 Those are way too easy.

Until the next time,

–Reid Sherwood
reid@classicmodul.com

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