In baseball, when a team is winning and their relief pitcher comes in around inning #7 to maintain the winning lead, then that relief pitcher is credited with a SAVE.

In small business, this scenario is of little importance. What matters most is if you find yourself in a LOSING situation with a potential customer and you come out with a WIN. Now that’s a true save - or let’s say a RESCUE!

A couple of weekends ago, my wife and I got away for a night to San Antonio. We booked the Omni Hotel in San Antonio through Hotels.com - big mistake. I saw some reviews on Hotels.com and I heard customers saying that when they arrived that the room wasn’t available or that a king-sized bed was changed to a double because, again, “it was not available.” I was leary, but called anyway and questioned the Hotels.com customer service agent who assured me that the way I was booking was somehow going to guarantee my reservation with the hotel. I would have no problems! (I’ll never use Hotels.com again!)

So we arrive late, around 11p after spending a very nice evening on the Riverwalk in beautiful San Antonio. I walked up with my reservation number and my expectations (one room, King sized bed, non-smoking). They got the first part right but said “OK, we’ve had to make some adjustments and we have now got you in a double bed, smoking room.” My Hotels.com representative had fibbed and I was back to wishing I had trusted the reviewers at the Hotels.com site who said these kinds of things would happen.

We were destined to leave the Omni and drive away to find another hotel (though we were not thrilled at this scenario near midnight!) In walked Janet, who I presumed was the hotel manager in charge for that evening. She politely explained how the Omni corporate office works a deal with Hotels.com for a block of rooms, but there is a gap between what they sell and what is really available. She said, “you know when they ask if you have a smoking preference … well, to them, it really is just a preference.” Nice.

Janet quickly checked all the available rooms and found a King sized bed but it was still smoking. Smoking? Uh, no, that’s a non-negotiable. But she assembled her cleaning crew and soon discovered that there was a non-smoking room that was recently vacated, but it had just not been cleaned. She scrambled someone to clean it pronto and offered us a cold drink while we waited (we had to maintain our sense of “you better treat us right” but we were relieved not to have to go looking for other hotels at midnight!) A few minutes later, Janet herself handed us two cold water bottles and coupons for a free breakfast buffet. She apologized over and over and kept us up to date as to when the room would be ready. We finally got in around midnight and we couldn’t have been happier.

That was truly a SAVE - an effort by a 5-star employee who went out of her way to make us happy. She made sure we didn’t walk out of that hotel - she knew if we walked out, not only would we likely never return, we might also choose to talk negatively about her hotel. A double whammy! (Think about that reality before you send someone out of your store!) She was not sitting on a winning lead when she stepped up to the mound - this was a game gone bad, but through great customer service, she made a sale in the end! And she convinced me never to use Hotels.com ever again.

What are you doing for your customers? Are you going to great lengths to win their loyalty? For more good stories about great customer service, scroll down on the right sidebar to CATEGORIES (see my screenshot below) and find all the archived blog posts about “Customer Service”. I think you’ll find some helpful insight there.

So what’s your favorite story of great customer service? Did you rescue a sale recently that was headed nowhere? Did someone offer you such great service that you changed your mind at the last minute? I’d love to hear your stories.

- Randy

Others have offered this quiz, but how ‘bout we see what the readers of MarketingTwins.com think!

Of all the current online marketing tools, which ones are your favorites? Is it your blog? Facebook? Jott? Flickr? LinkedIn? Kudos? Google Analytics? Twitter? iContact? Basecamp? iStockphoto? StumbleUpon? Digg?

If you can share why it’s important for your marketing strategy, or why you think it can be a powerful tool for others?

You can rank in order of importance, or just list the top 3-5 that work the best for you! What could you not live without?

I’m gonna leave this up for a few days (starting over the weekend since I’m gonna be out of pocket). In a few days, I’ll try and give my list.

-Randy

* DON’T FORGET: One of the BEST online tools for increasing your search engine ranking is MAKING COMMENTS ON OTHER PEOPLE’S BLOGS!! It’s a proven technique that just about every SEO guru will tell you that is important in enhancing your online presence! So take the hint and make a comment! Can you really just walk away without offering a quick thought to share with others? Take 5 minutes to not only help others, but help yourself, too!

** Welcome all readers of John Jantsch’s blog!  Please make your comments, I’d love to hear your thoughts.  You can also take a look around the blog (click on overview) or link over to our company’s site where you learn more about these guys who call themselves The Marketing Twins at 1429 Creative!

Jim Kukral shares very practical advice on making your own online videos and he shares his video secrets for FREE!  Check it out!

For a Friday afternoon, everyone loves The Office, so here’s a few laughs!  Have a great weekend!

CLICK HERE: Small Business Marketing : Differentiate!

I posted this blog post early last month - but in anticipation of our upcoming HUDDLE, I thought it was appropriate to remind you why you need to enroll today!! It’s only $50, so why not take a morning and INVEST in learning how to stand out from your competition!

Posted using ShareThis - if you don’t have this tool on your site, GET IT!  It’s so easy to use!

A last minute notice: I will be co-boothing (is that a term?) with Ken Partain at the Grapevine Convention Center tomorrow, Tuesday, June 17th from 9a-5p. As Duct Tape Marketing coaches in the DFW area, we are sharing a booth at the Small Business Trade Show Expo. There’s some great speakers throughout the day, including my friend Ken at 4p. He is speaking on one of the hottest topics in small business marketing : Search Engine Marketing (SEM). Ken has been doing this for over 15 years and he knows his stuff!

Again, if you would like more information about the Trade Show, go here.

To learn about Ken’s fantastic SEO and SEM packages for your business, go to wemakemarketingeasy.com (tell him Randy sent you!)

-Randy

When your prospective customer stares into the local paper, what do they see? They see a sea! A sea of products - what makes one ad stand out over another? What does one pediatric orthodontist offer over another? We’ve said it here before, but if they don’t immediately distinguish you from your competition on something specific, the natural default is:

PRICE. Ouch.

They go online or pick up the phone and ask “how much for an initial exam?” Unless you just love trying to lower your price again and again lower than your competition (ask yourself, “which one of us is going to go out of business first with this strategy?”), then why not determine another differentiator:

Special Offer: determine to be the ONLY one in town to offer something unique in conjunction with your product/service. I guess the oil change place down the street decided to set themselves apart - skipping over the “free car wash with oil change” and promotion “FREE BEER with OIL CHANGE.” I’ve never seen anyone else do that. And for some folks, that’s the only place they’ll go because they’ll wash their own car.

Extra Special Customer Service: I’ve mentioned before about the CPA who has his client’s cars detailed out in his parking lot when they come in for their annual review. No extra charge! You don’t think his clients don’t talk him up to their friends when they fret about talking taxes?! Even one automotive shop I know goes to great lengths to serve their customers by topping off all fluids, washing the outside, vacuuming the inside and so much more … all FREE. I’ve had my oil changed at a thousand lube shops and they don’t all provide these extra services. Stand out!

Amazing Guarantee: You’ve probably heard the commercial for LifeLock - the owner gives out his real Social Security Number on the air. Why? Because he’s confident enough in his service that even if you know (much less steal) his identify, he’ll be protected. That’s the WOW! factor at work.

Those are just a few. Throughout this week, we’ll share some more ways to differentiate yourself!

What are you doing that makes you UNIQUE? Care to share your story? What are some other examples?

-Randy

CLICK IMAGE LEFT - Learn how you can STAND OUT FROM YOUR COMPETITION - and learn a whole lot of practical marketing advice for only $50!

Press Release:  http://www.prlog.org/10080614-niik-standing-out-from-your-competition-by-being-different.html 

In the world of online retail, I’m not sure there’s a better model than Zappos. So many articles have been written that I don’t need to include my own. However, I will tell you that my mother-in-law was so impressed by their extraordinary customer service, that she saved to show me the HANDWRITTEN THANK YOU note that was included in the shoebox she got after ordering online. That took a few short minutes of their time, but that effort made a huge impact on one customer.

Watch this 9 minute video that tells how Zappos actually tries to bribe their new employees into QUITTING! That’s right, dangle some big cash incentives to have their new customer services walk away after a few weeks on the job. You gotta watch the video to see why they would do something like this! One quote from the accompanying article:

Companies don’t engage emotionally with their customers—people do. If you want to create a memorable company, you have to fill your company with memorable people.

Even our good friend Seth makes an observation about Zappos. And you know when Seth is impressed, it’s impressive!

So in this cluttered world of retail, what are you known for? How do you stand out in the crowd? What are people writing about you?

- Randy

* Speaking of differentiation, you need to reserve July 1st for a workshop on this topic - the workshop will be in the North Richland Hills area (details will be provided upon enrollment) and will be at 7a - 8:30a so that you can attend and then have the remainder of your day to implement all the great ideas you are going to get. If you are facing stiff competition (from direct OR indirect competing forces), you have to got to attend - there are only 13 seats remaining, so you need to reserve your spot today! It’s only $50 to enroll! TO START YOUR ENROLLMENT - GO HERE!

Something’s going on now!

Last week, we got impassioned pleas from Joe (read it here) and Mike as well (read his letter here).

I guess with Father’s Day approaching, the heat is on … and some guys are feeling anxious about the gift they are about to receive. They’re crying out “Enough Already!” - just moments ago, a 3rd letter came in from Jerry at JerrysWorld.com. Similar to Joe and Mike, Jerry is pleading for help - stop the madness about powertools, golf and now Jerry’s dilemma. These men want something else for Father’s Day!

Can we just sit back and do nothing? Are we perpetuating the problem by assuming men want the same thing every year? Is it time to break out and get something better for Father’s Day? Only a few days left before Sunday … could it be possible that the men you know REALLY feel like Joe, Mike and Jerry … could they be pleading for something more … something DIFFERENT!

This year - be unique and help spread the word . . .

-The Marketing Twins

Sure all the “big guys” are using social media more and more (generally, social media can be blogs, RSS feeds, podcasts, email marketing, social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Plaxo … all the the “new ways” of marketing using the internet). But how does a small business use social media in their marketing strategy. Well, I will tell you that most small business owners that I have talked to are still learning to use a blog - so alot of the other Web 2.0 tools are not even in their marketing arsenal.

At one recent workshop, we asked the dozen participants and not even ONE small business owner was incorporating a blog into their web strategy. Do you realize what an opportunity you are missing? Blogs drive traffic to your site (increasing your search engine ranking) and they offer an incredibly candid opportunity for you to put a personality alongside your products! People can actually know (and start to like) you even before they start doing business with you.

Not sold yet? - listen to this podcast interview by John Jantsch, creator and founder of Duct Tape Marketing, the world’s most practical small business marketing system! This is a guy who wanted to sell more fishing lures. Fishing lures. This is probably even considered “very small” business by some and look at the powerful return on his investment by incorporating social media into his SMART marketing strategy.

As a Duct Tape Marketing coach here in Fort Worth, I can help you do the same for your business. As a marketing coach, I am eager to see you implementing these important (and sometimes FREE or low-cost) tools into your marketing strategy.

-Randy

** Speaking of using the web to spread your message, have you seen what Mike is doing - it’s Father’s Day and he’s on a crusade!!! Check it out!

Something’s definitely up!

Earlier, we got a letter from Joe (read it here).  Now, TODAY, we get a 2nd letter - this time from Mike.  These men need your help!!!!  You can read Mike’s letter at www.NoMoreGolf.com.

Would you help Mike get the word out?

Randy & Donny - The Marketing Twins 

* If you are NEW to MarketingTwins.com, be sure and click on the OVERVIEW tab on the upper right!  It’s like a virtual tour of this blog!

With Father’s Day fast approaching, check out this letter we got from Joe.  You can read it at www.NoMorePowerTools.com.  Something’s up!

Would you help Joe get the word out?

Randy & Donny - The Marketing Twins