My wife Mel has just found out she has another Guide Dog to look after for a couple of weeks.

How come when I pee on the floor, scoff my food down as fast as I can and drool at the sight of a female, my wife calls me a “disgusting pig”.

BUT when a Guide Dog Puppy does all those things, it’s cute??  How the hell does that work??

The Lesson In Dog Pee

All about expectations I guess – get the expectations of your market/owner way, way down and anything half decent you do seems amazinG!

There’s a business lesson in everything.

Even dog pee!

Cute when a puppy does it!

A simple analogy I sometimes make with clients is that what they spend on web site marketing is basically their rent.

You see, people will happily pay thousands upon thousands of dollars on rent for a store so they get the passing traffic.

That’s what your web site marketing does – gets your shop so that the passing or searching traffic find it easily.

Where Do You Want You Shop?

It’s a simple question – where do you want your shop?

1. On the main street inside a busy shopping centre (that equates to # 1 on Google for your best term, Facebook presence, Google AdWords, links from lots of other web sites and more)?
2. Or on a deserted back street – that’s what no web site marketing at all gets you.

Make sense?

People selling advertising can be very persuasive.

They roll off all the right numbers, offer discounts and generally try and scare the crap out of you.

The Salesperson’s Job Is To Instill Fear

Their job is to instill the fear into you that if you don’t take up their super deal, you’ll be missing out on an incredible bargain.

A client just asked for my review on an advertising offer he’d been made.

The ad guy told him it was worth $3,400 but he could have it for $980 because of some lame reason or other.

So I read the blurb and it sounded just okay.

Then I went and found 3 other people who have advertised with this company.

I rang them all and asked “Did you get any business from the ad you took?”

All 3 said the same thing: “Not 1 sale.”

3 Phone Calls, $2,500 Saved

3 phone calls saved $2,500.

If you’re not sure on taking ads, find other people who have and ask them if they worked.

That’s the best review you can do.

It really is a global economy with lots of opportunities for lots of people.

I recently had a professional voice over done by a provider on Fiverr.com.

Listen to this brilliant voice over on the video below – cost me just $5.  Amazing value.

Check out Fiverr.com lots of providers of different services – all for $5.

My son Jack has just been in New Zealand for a couple of weeks doing, amongst other things, white water rafting, clay target shooting, horse riding, kayaking, sailing and 9 day mountaineering course.

Jack enjoys the glaciers of the New Zealand Southern Alps

He finished up last Friday and my wife (Mel) decided to fly over to NZ, grab a hire car and pick him up from Mt Cook.  They then went off sight-seeing and enjoying a few different activities.

On Saturday it was sailing for afternoon cruise on a yacht and they were set for a great time.

An easy Saturday afternoon cruise

Set For A Great Time…….Except Mel Hated It

Except Mel hated the sailing.

Really hated it.

The only other guests on the yacht was a guy who had done plenty of competitive sailing before, and his wife – and he hammered that yacht to be sailing as fast as she would go.

Instead of a gentle cruise around the harbour, Mel found herself clinging on for dear life as the yacht keeled over to 45 degrees and hating every second of it.

Then Things Got Interesting

And then things got interesting.

I’d booked the cruise from Australia and so the yacht’s skipper and owner emailed me afterwards.

He said whilst Jack loved every moment, he wasn’t so sure about Mel.

He’d reassured her that they weren’t about to end up in the water, he wasn’t convinced she believed him.

I Told Him The Truth – Mel Hated His Cruise

So I told him the truth – nothing like a bit of honest feedback, right?

• Told him Mel hated every second of it.
• That Mel had vowed never to go sailing again.
• That she’d advised everyone at home never to go sailing.
• That she was setting up an anti-sailing group to lobby against sailing (made that up for dramatic effect – clever, huh??)

People Usually Get Pissed Off

What generally happens when you give a bit of honest feedback that ain’t so positive is that people get pissed off.

They take the criticism personally and get angry.

Which is kind of stupid, because surely you’d want to know the perception of every customers – good or bad?

Only then can you improve your business through a better product offering, better communication and better service.

Perfect Customer Service From The Captain

But the Captain of this cruise is smart – he didn’t take the criticism personally.

He saw it as a chance to improve his business and demonstrate further the quality of his service.

And then he took action that 99% of businesses receiving a complaint don’t take.

1. He kept in contact to find out exactly what Mel didn’t like.
2. He acknowledged Mel’s concerns as legitimate:  “I’m sure I have had other people aboard who didn’t feel happy about the heeling, but I’ve never had such honest feedback.”
3. He empathised with her via his own personal story and experience:  “I did my best to reassure Mel that she was safe, but I understand her feelings. My own wife sailed with me on Auckland harbour for 5 years, …………..however has subsequently developed fear of heeling.”
4. He asked how he could improve:  “….Was (there) anything I could have said or done to make her feel better about the experience?”

Then the Captain offered some compensation – it wasn’t free beer so we turned him down ;o)

Perfect Customer Complaint Resolution

This isn't really the Captain

Brilliant work by the Captain to show some genuine concern, recognise the feelings of his customer and try and make things right.

So the next time a customer complains to you, think “What would the Captain do?”

Then do that.

If you wear an eye patch, have a parrot on your shoulder and talk like a pirate you get extra points!

You reckon I’ve got a good job – check out my clients Tim & Avalon testing out their stock.

Now this is the life!

Marketing is so much easier these days for many, many businesses.

In the olden days* (* pre Internet), businesses had to go searching for their customers.

Now customers go searching for the business.

Marketing has changed from searching for customers to being found.

Can you be found if your customer searches for you?

Because that’s what business marketing is these days.

Don’t you just love the Gold Coast!

The guys at The Surfboard Warehouse are clients of ours and just organised me (and son Harry) to have a stand up paddle board lesson with Jamie O’Meara.

It’s always good to know and experience your client’s business when you do our sort of work, so it was off to the beautiful ocean to paddle for an hour or so (tough life I know!).

Stand Up Paddle Board in Currumbin Creek

Big Wave Surfer & Knockabout Guy

Jamie’s an ex big wave surfer who now teaches the gentle art of stand up paddle boarding in Currumbin Creek on the Gold Coast.

He’s a knockabout sort of guy who knows his stuff and teaches you the basics in a very relaxed way – he’s a lovely guy.

So if you’re looking for a lesson to get the right technique right from the start, give Jamie a yell on 0431 391 770.