Demographics that Fit

I was blithely calling this a milestone year; major birthdays for my husband and me, milestone wedding anniversary. I don't know, it just seemed sort of exciting. That is until I received an invitation to join the AARP today. Come on! At least wait until AFTER my milestone birthday... it's over six months away. I suddenly realized that I am not in a rush to enter that demographic. I mean honestly, when you think of the AARP you think of blue-haired ladies with gloves and colored pocket books.
We all take ourselves pretty seriously, we have a picture of ourselves, what we look like, how cool we are, how smart we seem, if our butt seems bigger in these pants... well maybe just the females think about that one.
This way we see ourselves is how we choose what to buy and where we buy it. Think about the vehicle you drive, the restaurants you return to again and again, the stores you choose to patronize. CTS drivers vs. Aveo drivers vs. Outlook drivers. Steakhouse patrons vs. all-you-can-eat patrons vs. sports bar patrons. Walmart patrons vs. Target patrons vs. Ace Hardware patrons. Of course we mix it up a bit, it isn't all so neat and segregated, but there is a pattern.
So look around you and you usually see more of yourself. It's almost like a pack. We want to belong. We want to be comfortable. That, I think is the reason some people return to your dealership again and again, and others not so much. It isn't the price, it isn't the location. It's the feeling that they "fit" there. Your stage is set for certain people to feel a certain way whether you've realized it or not. The question is, can you open your arms any wider and embrace (figuritively, of course) your customers so more of them feel more comfortable spending money in your facility?

How Do I Give You Feedback

I have a loyalty card for my grocery store. I go there for a lot of reasons and now the loyalty card is a perk that just makes the decision easier even if I only need to pick up one thing. Anyway, I was doing my weekly shopping the other day and was irritated by the bagger. And I reminded myself that this is a recurring problem. I don't like the way they bag my groceries and I get a little irritated every time I leave the store. It's not a giant thing, but it is irritating. They put all the cans and bottles that I buy in the same bag so that it weighs 122 pounds and then my other bag has chips and bread and weighs 2 pounds. They try to give me a couple of plastic bags even though I brought in my own canvas bags. But it shows that they don't understand me as a customer (trying to reduce plastic consumption and waste), or as a user (have to use a hoist to get one bag from the car into my house because it's so lopsidedly heavy). They just look simple-minded, not thoughtful, not delighting.
As I was pushing my cart to my car I realized that there isn't an easy way to give feedback to them. I mean, I could tell the bagger he's doing it badly. I could demonstrate how I want it done. I could step up at the counter and give them a piece of my mind, but how effective would that be? Am I sure I would get this now "trained" bagger the next time I come in? Am I sure that he would be open to my instruction once I gave it? No on both accounts. Should I go home and type up a letter, or go to their website to give them a piece of my mind? I could, but I don't. The thing is, even though I have my loyalty card, the store is convenient, I prefer it over other stores, every single time I leave there, I am not delighted or even pleasantly satisfied. And they don't even know that. The only feedback they solicit is whether I "found everything" when I step up to the cashier. That is not the mark of an excellent organization. All I'm saying is that my loyalty is at risk because they assume I will be back. They assume they are doing a good enough job because nobody is yelling and screaming at them. They assume they will be as busy today and they were yesterday. As Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman) would say, "big mistake, huge!"

Your Dog is Fat

So my dad told me my dog is fat.  I do not respond well to negative feedback about my dog.  Especially since her appearance is all about me.  He might as well've said "you made your dog fat."  That is how it sounded in my head.  Then I told myself, "well, he is old"  and "he says things bluntly" and "oh no, what if I am killing my dog with too much food?".  Anxiety, anxiety.  Even at my age, and at his age, that is what my father sometimes does to me.

Meanwhile, I have cut back on treats... for her I mean.  He would never tell me I am getting fat.  Anyway, I digress.  I have gotten back into the habit of daily walks or play time.  The weather is great and it is easier to be outside now, so we will both take advantage of it to tone up a bit.  Even though I still don't think she is fat, exercise is good for everybody even if they aren't fat. 

There are things that are said that stick with you.  It is hard to say what words will resonate, or stick around and have an influence, but to me that is a little bit inspirational.  Even though I did not give him any satisfaction at the time that he was telling me something to do differently, I did sort of obsess about it and did some things differently.

Your customer too might not say yes today when you suggest something.  But you have to keep trying.  You have to keep looking out for them, sharing your expertise, counseling, and nudging.  That is your lot.  It will pay off, oh yes it will.  Unless of course you tell your customer her dog is fat.  Then there is no way she will buy from you.  Forget about it. 

Back from Detroit

I was in Detroit last week at the SFE Facilitator Learning Event. Lots of updates, new expectations, new ideas, etc. It's too much to put into one post so I'm gonna use several posts and share it in smaller chunks.

As we were closing up on Friday, Mark LaNeve came in and made some memorable comments. Here's what I got from him:

• GM has 3 focus areas for this year: Digital Selling, Customer Retention, Preferred Owner Program
  
• What is critical: execution on every play, every day
• SFE is GM's ability to communicate with the best dealerships. As long as there is a GM, there will be an SFE. Lots of things have changed, many things have been eliminated, SFE is critical and it is still here.
• Fully expect SFE dealerships to be standing after the planned 40% dealership reduction because these dealerships have the highest customer satisfaction/retention and the highest profitability
• With vehicle sales going down, customer retention is critical to GM's and every dealer's survival. Our focus has got to be on how to keep every customer we get and use tools effectively to maintain them.
  
• We've got the products: ALL divisions of GM are above average in the latest J.D.Power survey results on customer satisfcation with the vehicle. Now we have to focus on the customer experience - making it in the customer's eyes: convenient, competitive in value, and a personal relationship with local dealer.