You Can't Win Them All

I read a great blog today by Dawn Westerberg.

She speaks from a business perspective on complainers adding the age old advice of "You can't win them all."

I immediately thought it was a great blog because it is so true and so simple, but so often overlooked. In the age of customer choice, experience, and honestly network power we are all afraid of what will happen to us if we don't do exactly what the customer wants or says? Will they leave us? Will they tell everyone in their network not to work with us???

Maybe, but it is probably OK.

I think we all focus an exorbitant amount of time on the bad apple without realizing that the bad apple is indeed spoiling the barrel.

I vividly recall working with a volunteer that was consistently negative. We finally decided that after a 5 year stint we were going to ask her to leave her volunteer role. The conversation was awkward and difficult, but as you may suspect it was a conversation that we should have had years earlier.

I am sure we all have these things in our own nonprofits, businesses, and personal lives. My take-away today is a challenge!

Take-away: Throw out your bad apple!

A Positive Perspective

Happy New Year!

I am an overall positive person. I look for positive in others, and typically make the best out of every situation.

On New Year's Eve I was witness to the most wonderful example of positive I have ever seen!My dear sister's hubby was pulled away from the celebration to reinsert an NG tube into my nephews nose, a horrible task, that you can read more about here. http://camdyncade.blogspot.com/

But, the great thing about this is that after all the trouble, hardships, and pain they have endured this year my brother-in-law returned just before midnight for a kiss and with this perspective.

As my sister, Michelle, wished for a better 2011 he told her the following,"Well, 2010 wasn't really that bad, we had two beautiful babies and got a new house." What an amazing and wonderfully refreshing outlook.

Just think if we could all find the positive in every situation how much better off we would all be.

I love them all dearly and wish them only amazing things for 2011!

Take-away: Make your resolution today to find the positive in every situation, it is always there, it is just sometimes hard to see.

Customer Experience: Following Up

After my post earlier this week, I received the following email.

Ms. Brandt,

I want to sincerely thank you for praising our direct mail piece at the Grant Professionals Association Conference and in your video online
(http://customerexperience101.blogspot.com/2010/12/great-example-of-outstanding-nonprofit.html).

Our Creative Department puts a lot of care and thought into these pieces, and it’s
great to know they are appreciated.

Thank you so much for your support!

Happy Holidays!

-Megan Winslow
Web Content
Specialist

Food For The Poor
http://www.foodforthepoor.com/

WOW! This organization is really doing it right. They do amazing work, promote it appropriately, have great marketing, and they follow-up. Obviously, this is pretty impressive, and the great thing about it is that you too can replicate this wonderful experience.

Take-away: Get on Google Alerts or some other tracking technology so that you know when people are talking about your organization. Then you can take advantage of becoming a part of that conversation, thus enhancing your experience.

A Great Example of Outstanding Nonprofit Direct Mail

I love to speak on Donor Loyalty because loyalty is impacted by so many touch points. One of those touch points near and dear to my heart is direct mail. I believe in this time of reduced mailings, direct mail is a secret weapon if done right. According to a survey in the October issue of Fundraising Success, I am right. Sixty-one percent of donors give by mail. Now I do believe a multi-channel approach is best, but for the sake of this blog post I am going to stick with direct mail.

During a recent talk, I spoke of a great direct mail piece I received from Food for the Poor. I decided to share that piece in all of its glory with you here.



I really enjoy this piece because it:
· is unique.
· has a clear call to action.
· shares a compelling story of how your donation will help.
· stands out in your mailbox.

Take-away:
Try something different. If you have been sending the same direct mail to your loyal donors for years, it is probably time for a change. Experiment with some new ideas to see if you can increase your response rates. I bet you can!

Customer Experience Leaders

Today I stumbled upon a great blog http://experiencematters.wordpress.com/. Almost every entry has something of value. I especially enjoyed reading the http://experiencematters.wordpress.com/2010/12/02/quick-6-with-jerry-adriano-sprint/ article. In that article Jerry Adriano, Sprints VP of Customer Experience discusses what it takes to lead with customer experience. He states:

Start with the understanding that it’s a journey, so develop a multi-year plan that allows you to prioritize and register some early wins, gain executive support, evangelize at all levels, identify a way to engage all employees in the customer experience improvement and don’t be shy about being the voice of the customer.

Speaking from experience, I can tell you that representing the "right thing" to do for customers/donors is not always as easy as it should be. Most organizations embrace the idea of experience right up until it means more money. I am delighted to work for and with many organization that truly embrace customers, but I also appreciate the work it takes to get there.

Take-Away: As you start or even continue your journey down the customer experience road, remember that it is a journey and each decision you make today will impact tomorrow.