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Of Supermarkets and Service
There is a supermarket situated a mile or so from my house, but I don't buy groceries from there. Instead, I drive another few miles to the next town to buy our food there. (Yeah, even with gas at $4 a gallon.) Why? Because I can't stand the cashiers at the local store. They chat with each other and they joke with the baggers working their registers with them. But if my experience is any indication, they fix paying customers with a blank stare when addressed directly. So I'd rather buy groceries a few miles away, where I feel a little less like an interruption. In truth, it's not their fault. Rather, I blame management, which definitely hasn't read Elaine Fogel's excellent primer in today's newsletter on fostering employee brand ambassadors. Elaine writes, "Marketers have spent gazillions on branding efforts. Some succeed, others fail. "What is often missing in these campaigns is a major focus on the men and women who must carry the brand around every day: The frontline people who answer phones, the sales reps who follow marketing leads, the caretakers cleaning up as you walk by, and the technical support staff. Every word that is uttered from these brand ambassadors to each other and to their external audiences is part of their organization's brand. "Yet," she adds, "how many of them are aware of that?" The she offers four must-read lessons for any company… including supermarkets. Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy. p.s. WOW! Almost 1,500 of you joined the MarketingProfs Group on LinkedIn last week. If you missed the link last Tuesday, it's never too late to join us: Join here.
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