How Sainsbury responded, is a textbook example of how other companies should handle customer service. The response isn’t dry, and stock. It’s a personalized response to the little girl, that uses language a three year old can understand. Also attached was a £3 (almost $5) gift card – enough to buy the bread and some sweets.

Lily’s mom posted the original response letter on her blog site, and though the response received some attention from blog sites, Twitter and Facebook, it really went viral of January of this year. The letter has been “Liked” nearly 150,000 times, and shared nearly 50,000 times on Facebook, and it’s been commented on thousands of times.

This simple act, of Sainsbury’s responding to a little girl, has generated a massive amount of publicity that would have otherwise cost thousands upon thousands of dollars for the company. Companies should not be afraid to embrace social media. A well laid out social media strategy will be a benefit to your company.

In the trucking industry for example, each major social media platform has its suitable uses. Facebook for example, is a great place for hiring drivers, as well as building company culture around your employees and your brand. LinkedIn is a great way to generate leads as well as network. Canadian carriers are under-utilizing social media, and it’s time for them to, get on board.

Hard to believe I had my motorcycle out for a spin on the first day of spring just two days ago. Life is like that, you can never predict what will come your way. Just two weeks ago, on a similar day as today, I had my SUV stolen right in front our business condo. I had just finished loading it up, went upstairs to send an e-mail…came back and it was gone. Yep, keys were in the car and engine was running…an east coast thing I’ve never been able to shake.

I waited two hours for the police to show. No CSI stuff. No pictures, fingerprints or measuring tire impressions. No pretty gals with low cut sweaters either. I answered a few questions, finished the police report and was about to leave when I realized the key to the office is with the thief who took my truck. So another 2 hours to wait for the locksmith. He had quoted $60 on the phone but somehow managed to justify a $220 bill on completing the 10 minute project. Oh yes, and the music gear I assembled, customized and perfected over the last 6 months was in the truck too.

Like many people, I like to think things happen for a reason. What goes around comes around and all that. Over the years I’ve learned to duck and weave and think on my feet. This kind of thing doesn’t really faze me at all. I’m pretty good at keeping my perspective.

My best friend from small town New Brunswick teaches English in Japan… just found out last night that he’s safe and sound. I’ll trade tsunamis and earthquakes for snow storms, stolen cars and unethical vendors (the key guy) any day.

Lee’s quote for the day

“Like my Uncle Fred used to say, everything is relative…just don’t marry one.”

Shift to small town New Brunswick. I had to visit recently on a family matter and stopped by the busy little Tim’s that has graced the community of less than 1000 for about 10 years now. Even the old boys that used to hang out at the barber shop and local gas station have migrated up the hill to their new spot and are quite comfortable calling Tim’s home.

For the most part, East Coasters have a reputation for being pretty friendly but when I took a spin through to get my morning coffee I didn’t hear the “Hello my name is…” greeting. Inquisitive person that I am, I mentioned my story to the lady serving me at the window. Her response was something like “Yes, we got some CD down from Ontario but I can’t see us doing that.” She proceeded to get my order and left me with these final and sincere words,”You have a good day now honey pie!”Friendly enough wouldn’t you say?

For all of us that have tried to initiate new processes and procedures is there a lesson to be learned? I think so. We tend to create all encompassing policies because we are either afraid to or are not able to single out individuals causing us grief in some way. Do most hourly employees punch time cards because at some point everyone was fudging their hours or because a few were? Are trucking companies religious about measuring on time performance because they were always late or because they messed up less than 5% of the time? Has anyone created a long list of rules and regulations for everyone because a small percentage of people are doing the equivalent of “peeing in the pool”…and does that sign on the wall actually stop those individuals from doing so in the future?”

I remember a blackout happening in Fredericton, NB where I went to university. At first it was “yahoo” with speeding cars everywhere but within a few hours there was self managed order without a street light or policeman in sight. In “Good to Great”, the author promotes self managed order as the key to business sustainability. It’s a leap of faith that requires a huge amount of trust. For the time being it seems the rotten apple continues to set the environment for the basket.

Lee’s quote for the day

“For the most part, the only thing tougher than initiating change is being on the receiving end of it.”

Jumping sideways… we motorcycled out to Port Perry on the weekend to meet up with friends for a bite. We had lived out that way for a couple of years and like to go back on occasion. It’s a big bike town and they have a local bike night on Thursday’s during the summer.

Another step sideways…after our bike trip we went to a pub near our place in Toronto where for the last several months I have been jamming with the local band there. It’s a great release and I thoroughly enjoy it, as the level of musicianship is pretty good.

The revelation… As I spent a little time with our niece and followed it with activities that I engaged in when I was around her age, I came to the realization that as much as I have changed I am fundamentally the same guy today that I’ve always been. The package I present myself in has changed and I reveal and hide different characteristics now then when I was a kid.

The marketing application? Even if the essence of your company is similar to what it has always been, the packaging of that product has infinite possibilities. Of all the characteristics that make up your company you can choose to bring something to the forefront that has historically been in the background. If you have been quiet… you can be loud. If you have been all encompassing… you can be specific. It’s not changing the essence of your company so much as it is altering your perception to better suit current market conditions.

This type of repositioning can bring excitement to your brand and the people working there. You can effectively fill in the cracks and crevices that show with business maturity…a little botox for the bizz!

Lee’s quote for the day:

“If you find there is nothing to get excited about at your company haul out the “Marketing Shake and Bake”. Hey, if you can shake up a pack of dead chicken and make it palatable…
just think what you could accomplish by spicing up your company!”

Working in marketing has allowed me an opportunity to meet many successful business leaders. Our process of discovery before rolling out a marketing program has given me an even greater opportunity to have in depth discussions with these visionary entrepreneurs.

Your chance for greatness can be realized if you adopt their common entrepreneurial traits. They’re excited about what they do, they know their business inside out and they are without exception… workaholics. Life balance may have escaped them but business needs leaders and the ones I’ve met seem comfortable with their calling. Maybe like sharks that need to keep swimming to stay alive, true entrepreneurs need to keep building their business for the same reason.

Assuming the best and being prepared for the worst are characteristics that put these individuals on a pedestal far above us common folk. I used to be in awe of their bigger than life personas. Over time, that awe has transformed to respect and the realization that the people running 2 million, 20 million or 200 million dollar companies have many similar characteristics.

Off comes the cloak of mystery. The truth is these entrepreneurs have learned and applied these simple lessons and you can take these 5 undisputable facts to the bank too:

1. Multiply your efforts through others.
2. Attract and keep great people.
3. Focus on your unique ability and delegate what you dislike or are not particularly good at to capable individuals on your team.
4. Make the bold move and seize the moment when it presents itself.
5. Let success build your confidence and increased confidence build your success.

Lee’s Quote for the day

“If you find something you love, that there is a market for, become really good at it, hang in there long enough, and add a little WYAO… success will be yours.”

Regardless of the reason we enjoy the 3M’s, here are a few things to keep straight as we continue these activities into our senior years.

• Music. If your plucking your G string make sure it’s attached to your guitar.
• Motorcycles. Although wearing leather chaps promotes safe cruising on the highway, prepare for different reactions if you mistakenly wear them to the boardroom or the bedroom.
• Marketing. If you don’t understand how you are different from your competition, neither will your customers.

Lee’s Quote for the day. “You need to blend out, not in, to get noticed. This applies equally to your marketing, your music and your motorcycles.”

1.  Give your web some personality.
   Many companies put website development in the hands of their IT department. Although they certainly play a big role, there should be a second set of eyes directing your look and message to the marketplace.
2. Take a message first approach.
   Don’t keep what you do best a secret. Make sure your value proposition is front and center. Narrow your focus and increase overall results by speaking specifically to your 80% strength and customer target.
3. Use an effective combination of Flash and HTML text in your web layout. Too much of one or the other can leave the viewer either frustrated with download time or bored from lack of effective design and text heavy layouts. A “picture is worth a thousand words” applies to websites too.
4. Optimize your site.
   Having a site without SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is like having a hot dog without the bun. Proper SEO can dramatically change your presence on the web through increased rankings.
5. Keep your news or blog category current.
   Having original news and/or blog content will increase rankings and customer interest, while copying others verbatim and having out of date entries can work against you. The more you update your site, the more reasons search engines such as Google will have a reason to visit.
6. Attention to detail is important.
   Use quality photos and well written and proofed text. Make sure your logo and tagline are reproduced consistently and correctly throughout your site and please avoid extended “under construction” postings.
7. Make your site customer centric.
   Make it easy to navigate. Tell your message quickly and concisely. Have applicable customer log-in portals front and center. For new visitors, the majority are looking for contact info so make it easy to find.
8. Benchmark your activity before and after.
   Use Google Analytics to better understand traffic demographics. Review regularly and make changes to your site based on the data received. Set targets to better capture your viewers’ attention and increase frequency and lengths of visits in the future.
9. Use a combination of push and pull strategies to increase your web presence.
   Don’t wait for business to land in your lap. Push out your information. Promote your website to customers and prospects.
10. Use one capable marketing provider. Your results will be more cohesive, cost effective and less demanding on your time. Taking a “too many cooks” approach (within your company and by using multiple vendors) could result in poor overall delivery and lack of consistency with your branding efforts.

 Lee’s quote for the day,
“To catch the big fish, your marketing needs to have the right hook, line and thinkers.”

When talking to a large carrier earlier this week, we shared our thoughts on having to cut back staff,  work harder and do more with less. Our experiences were surprisingly similar though he had thousands of employees and I had just shy of a dozen. Today’s management is extremely hands on and the people that make up our trimmed down teams are communicating better and operating at higher efficiency levels. At some point, things could start falling through the cracks, but right now most companies, big and small are getting the job done right with fewer hands.

I think it’s great that big business can find their inner small enterprise…even if it took a recession to do it. Wouldn’t it be super if corporations could emulate these small business attributes as they add numbers to their ranks, in a recovering economy:

1. Keep politics and gossip out of the workplace
2. For the most part, have the left hand know what the right hand is doing
3. Don’t spend your day putting out fires by having the right people on board who can prevent them
4. Know people by name and  encourage a team atmosphere
5. Don’t waste time pointing fingers or placing blame
6. Initiate change swiftly and avoid a structure crippled by red tape and process
7. Spend less time “covering your ass” so you can “whoop-ass” instead
8. See lemons turn to lemonade daily… and at the end of each day stand proud (pun intended)

Lee’s quote for the day:

“The main reason I started my own business was at the time, I just didn’t know any better”

#1. You typically have to win customers over one service at a time. Even though an integrated approach is the end goal for the diversified model, if you don’t establish the necessary rapport and trust first… the big sell is a hard sell.

# 2. By casting too wide a net with your marketing you run the risk of not catching anyone’s interest. If you can’t back up a statement with tangible evidence of expertise, your entire message can get grouped together as being unbelievable.

# 3. You don’t want customers confused about what your service offerings are and you also don’t want to hear the words “I didn’t know you did that” by failing to create the awareness of your full service offering. If you can, lead with your best service first and remember “It’s the steady rain that soaks.”

# 4. As a general rule, we find transportation providers have a core strength(s), a secondary focus and what we would typically call a value added or convenience sell. It’s important to weight these accordingly in your marketing so customers understand fully who you are as a company.

# 5. Most successful diversification is through a dedicated model, something that has been developed for a single customer with very specific needs. It won’t typically role out to your general customer demographic…so don’t market it that way.

# 6. Decide who you are. Are you better suited as a handyman that does a host of things pretty well? Or is what you do a craft, with a more select target that’s tough for others to duplicate. Both have value. You need to make sure there is alignment between your skill set and your targeted market.

# 7. Markets change. Regardless of your business model, if what used to be the volume of your activity is shrinking, maybe it’s time to bring one of those secondary services front and center. As an example, what represents 50% of our market strength today (websites and branding) was only 5-10 % of our mix 4 years ago.

# 8. From listening to recent shipper panels, they want stability, service commitments, information exchange and relationships. It won’t be just about price going forward… they know the landscape is changing and that shrinking capacity is on the horizon.

# 9. Reset your thinking soon, as no one can beat you down any further on price. The value, innovation and focus you have going forward will dramatically shape your road to recovery…proceed with caution, and confidence!

Lee’s quote for the day:
“Truckers are like elephants. They work hard and have long memories. The shippers who forced their hand too heavily during the recession may soon be viewed like a male porn star after a very cold shower…small, unimpressive and no longer carrying a big stick!”

I value old sayings like “When the going gets tough, the tough get going” and “Necessity is the mother of invention”. The immediacy of shrinking business revenues forces us to take the actions necessary to get our business back on track. And for the majority, it’s been a dramatic transition from where we were just a short time ago.

From my experience and listening to the views of other business owners and managers, there are 10 basic fundamentals that most agree on.

1. If you don’t love what you do develop an immediate plan to get out, however painful.
2. If you used to love what you do but are in a “recessional funk”, do a reboot and reenergize with a clear vision and action plan complete with time lines and task champions.
3. Communicate your concise vision to your entire team and for those who don’t get it in a timely manner, politely suggest a new and exciting career path for them …outside your organization.
4. Address every hurdle keeping you from achieving your goals and take action, take action, take action!
5. Treat your people, customers and suppliers like they matter most.
6. Fine tune your menu of services through the “good to great” criteria. What are you passionate about? What are you best at? What gives you the best economic return? You need all three firmly in place for the best results.
7. If you are a generalist, fully understand this “convenience sell” from a customer perspective and make sure you have conquerable levels of quality across your diversified service mix. Good execution of one can win you another. Poor execution of one can cost you everything.
8. If you are a specialist, make sure your niche offering is still relevant. Sometimes a recession causes a slowdown that a recovering economy corrects and sometimes there is a permanent swing that doesn’t swing back.
9. There are many new ways to reach your existing and future customers. Experiment and assess what works best for you.
10. Make sure your product is solid, your message is compelling and you assign the proper resources to deliver it to your market with clarity, consistency and confidence.

Lee’s Quote for the day:
“If you always start with your toughest task first, the rest of your day can’t help but get easier”