Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Are Your Customers Fans?



As many of you know I play in the New England based Jamband Jabooda.

While the atmosphere, culture and people surrounding the band is about as far from the corporate/business realm as one could possibly get, the parallels in customer service, marketing and sales is astoundingly similar as is the work ethic involved. The band truly is, a second job.

In the band we place heavy responsibilities on our shoulders in regards to treating our fans (customers) like gold. While we do sell products to our fans we also give many of our live recordings and merchandise away for free as a thank you for their dedication and support. We put hundreds of hours into rehearsals in hopes to make sure that our fans get their moneys worth and we treat each of our fans as both human beings and friends.

In my role as a sales and marketing professional at Expert Laser Services I try to manifest the same dedication in my customers by catalyzing a similar energy to that which I have on stage. The hope is that my customers will truly become fans.

While I don't give away free cds or t-shirts to prospects I have at times given them a toner cartridge for free because I believe in the products my company produces and sells and I know that in certain cases, giving something away will turn a profit and act as a conduit for a positive relationship with that person who in the end, will truly become a fan of our products and services.

In the same way that a soaring guitar solo is at times pushed to its peak even as the muscles in the guitarists hands seem that they will give out from pain, such a sacrifice will almost certainly draw an intense return on investment in the form of ecstatic emotion derived from the crowd. I truly believe that offering unconventional services such as help desk calls after hours, last minute emergency parts delivery or repair calls and so on and so forth (which can be an intense personal burden on myself or other employees at my company depending on the situation) this kind of self sacrifice provides a similar feeling of gratitude to that of the aforementioned guitarist. Sometimes truly great customer service requires that we take added stress and burdens upon ourselves in order to provide the absolute best for our customers.

I can honestly the say that the labor of love as mentioned above is the key to success for both my company and my band. Expert Laser Services emphasis on advanced and caring customer service is what separates us from our competitors both large and small.

In the end, it is not hype or a robust marketing scheme that makes you a literal and or metaphorical rock star. It is the lengths that you are willing to go for your people. It is the actions that you are willing to make in order for your customers to truly become a die hard, dedicated and loving fanbase.




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4 comments:

  1. Dude...!

    Yes. It is, and always has been about Content. By Content, I mean more then the written/visual word.

    Your Content, in order to be effective, must originate from Truth.

    Your Content, reflects your Intent and should invite.

    But there is more, there is always more...

    You have Integrated your IRL with your IBL(In Business Life) - and that has got to be good, right?

    ...very much coolness...rock on, my brother...

    I wonder what the next step in your journey will be...

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  2. Thanks for the kind words and wisdom, Greg!

    "Your Content, in order to be effective, must originate from Truth.

    Your Content, reflects your Intent and should invite.

    But there is more, there is always more..."

    I certainly agree with that.

    As for the Future, who knows...

    Every day is an adventure and I am just trying to put others needs first and by doing so I believe that I will enjoy much positive energy as a return on investment.

    That being said I would love to see the manifestation of Jabooda performing "Why Can't You Fix My Printer" Live at an MPS conference...

    Crazy? Maybe...

    Fun? Pushing the envelope? I'd like to think so.

    Just saying...

    Thanks for reading, Greg.

    Be well.

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  3. Thanks for sharing Nathan; looks like you have a good strategy working.

    I'll pose this question though; what is a better, a loyal customer or a satisfied customer?

    Thanks for pimping my post via Gini; she's cool beans.

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  4. Hey, thanks for commenting Bill. I would suggest that a "fan" is both a loyal and satisfied customer.

    I think that if you truly approach your customers with a spirit of servant hood you can enjoy an evangelistic fan base that not only loves you and your organization (whatever that may be) but also projects a true satisfaction towards your organization and your products and services.

    I would also to go on to say that most if not all loyal customers are satisfied customers, unless of course your business provides the only option in a niche market or perhaps exists in some similar situation...

    ReplyDelete