Do you leave customers breathless and begging for an encore, or fuming and screaming, No more!? How do you know... for sure?

I had almost finished a glorious shopping experience at one of my favorite stores. The shelves were stocked with plenty of options, and the helpful salespeople gave me good guidance. I made it almost all the way to the cashier when it happened. If the cashier later sensed my agitation, she didn't let on. Neither did I, until I walked out of the store. Then I shared my complaints with anyone who would listen.

Marketing's Payoff

The event I will describe happened at a Bass Pro Shop, but my intent is not to pick on them. In fact, I would bet the same scenario has happened to you at numerous stores you frequent.

Here's the situation. Companies like Bass Pro Shops spend millions on marketing every year to induce customers like you and me to give them our money. I get their direct mail, and I spot their ads in the newspaper. I visit their website to investigate purchase possibilities. Now I'm in their store, encountering carefully-place displays and special offers. I choose item after item and their marketing investment is about to pay off: I am headed to the cashier lanes.

It's a slow day, and only one lane is open. I'm No. 3 in line, then No. 2, and now I'm next. The transaction ahead of me runs into a snag. The line grows; now 6 are waiting behind me.

Another employee walks toward a nearby cashier station. He has at least three possible choices of what he could say and do. They are:

-- He approaches me and offers, Sir, I can take you over here. Then he helps me carry my loot to his station.
-- He motions to me, looks me in the eye and says, I can take the next person in line.
-- He looks down at his terminal to avoid eye contact with everyone and announces, I'm open over here.

Guess which one he chooses?

More Than a Feeling

As the people behind me scurry to become his first customer, I realize I'm penned in and there's no way I can beat them there unless I climb over a point-of-purchase display. If I change lines, I'll be No. 5 instead of next in line. I've already been standing here 10 minutes, and I have no reason to believe it won't be another 10 minutes. Smoke is coming out my ears; I decide to stick it out and complete my purchase anyway, but only because I am holding someone else's birthday presents in my hands.

Companies in highly-competitive markets often find it difficult to create and articulate meaningful points of brand differentiation that can support their business growth objectives. When customers have a hard time finding differentiation, it's often the simple things that drive those customers to the competition. Companies like Bass Pro Shops spend millions to generate repeat customers that will have significant lifetime value for their company. When a grand and glorious shopping experience is capped by a torturous conclusion, what elements of the experience are most likely to be remembered and shared with others? In a matter of a few seconds, the opportunity for referral and word-of-mouth business is converted into customer attrition.

I See What You're Saying

It's evident that neither customer-facing employees nor their managers pay attention to the outcomes of their careless customer dialogues. They fail to see through their customer's eyes. Every business is smart to automate processes where possible when we remember that automation is designed to serve the masses over the individual. Oftentimes attempts to monitor individual customer satisfaction are again automated through online and paper surveys, providing managers with a misguided illusion that everything is alright with their systems and procedures.

While mass surveys do provide useful data and information, the real knowledge (and, often, wisdom) comes through real-time interactions with customers. Here are three ways to make that happen.

-- First, get trained eyes to watch the body language of your customers in a multitude of situations. I've learned through decades of customer interactions than I can learn more from what people do than from what they say or don't say. A wrinkle of the forehead or a curl of the lip can tell me volumes about what a person is thinking and feeling. When it contradicts what they're saying, I believe what I'm seeing first. Experienced eyes can easily spot confusion, disappointment, contempt, frustration and many other feelings your customers may never admit to verbally. Yet these feelings are what customers remember and are often what keep them from coming back for more.

-- Second, reward customers who show you your faults. It's tough for us to hear that something is wrong inside our organization that we work so hard in every day. It's also hard not to shoot the messenger of the bad news. Every time someone points out a deficiency, we're given an opportunity to make our business better. When customers give us these gifts, let's remember to be cordial, make things right for them right then, and then give them a gift or reward that will encourage them to offer more useful feedback in the future. A gift card virtually guarantees that you'll see them again.

-- Third, arrange for mystery shoppers to evaluate you. It doesn't matter what business you're in; you'll benefit from getting an outside-in perspective of what your customer-facing employees do for and to your customers. When we mystery shop our clients' sales organizations, it may involve walking into a retail store, meeting with a salesperson face-to-face, talking to the salesperson over the telephone or even through website chat. While we often find them doing many things right, there are always opportunities to grow. Get someone from outside your company to mystery shop your organization if you really want to see through your customers' eyes.

Surveys and Other Black Holes

Remember that your customers are really on your side as long as they believe you are on theirs. Customers want to do more business with you; it's easier than finding another supplier. Give your customers reason to believe you're going to be a better resource tomorrow than you are today. For example, if you rely on surveys to collect customer feedback, do you routinely let survey participants know how their input has led to changes designed to improve service delivery levels? If you're not already, perhaps you could call the customers who've responded to three or four surveys to personally thank them for their participation and discuss some of their responses.

Because Bass Pro Shops does so many things right, I'm willing to give them another try. Perhaps that check-out lane experience was an aberration; I truly want to believe that. They are not my enemy, nor am I theirs. The enemy of marketing is anything that disrupts our customers' reasonable expectations. These enemies are insidious and hard to find because they creep into our business through carelessness. Renew your efforts to look at your daily customer interactions through their eyes. Do that and they'll be eager to come back for an encore and invite you to sell them more.

Copyright 2008 Paul Johnson.

>Paul Johnson the Trouble Breaker is a >keynote speaker who works with organizations to convert trouble into double and triple digit performance breakthroughs. Discover breakthrough concepts at >http://ShortcutsToResults.com. Visit >>http://TroubleBreaker.com for presentations on >performance improvement.

­What is Graphic Design?

Graphic design is graphically communicating a visual message or display to a direct audience through the source of a logo, through print, and/or on the web.

What makes a great Graphic Designer?

Great graphic design starts with a professional, creative designer. A great graphic designer understands that incredible visual art displays three underlining principles. First, great design must be visually appealing towards a specific audience or in most cases a certain customer base. Second, good graphic design needs to communicate the perfect visual message which will in turn create a professional visual image. Thirdly, great graphic design uses creative imagery, typography, and well displayed layout themes to enhance their design.

Working with your Graphic Designer!

It is helpful to be prepared when working with your graphic designer. The five following steps will create a very pleasant and promising design experience.

1.) It is time to choose a product!

Taste of Ink Design and Print Studios offers custom designed promotional material. Products range from silk business cards, to magazines, to websites. It is your job to choose the perfect product for the occasion and let a professional designer perfect your image.

2.) It is time to choose an audience!

Choosing a specific audience is the most important ingredient when selling a product, idea, or thought. This is why handpicking your audience is the first of five steps when dealing with your graphic designer. Make sure you take the necessary time and precaution when choosing your audience.

Ask yourself the necessary questions, Who is your audience, why do they want to buy your product or want to read this information, what can I give them that they will not only want but use, and what image (professional, classy, traditional, modern) do you want your audience to see? If you answer these questions truthfully, you should have a very good picture of the image and vision you want to portray to your audience. Remember to be honest as possible when describing your image to your graphic designer. ­­

3.) It is time to promote a product, thought, or idea with content!

If you are selling a product, it is much easier than selling a thought, or idea. However, the three all fall under the same premise. Just remember one main point, You are not selling anything! That is why you are hiring a graphic designer! You are basically the mind behind the design or as we call it, the display. The average person focuses so much on their promotional material by the trying to sell, sell, sell. Well, selling product, a thought, or idea is obviously the final goal, however reaching that goal should not focus on selling at all.

You hire a graphic designer for one purpose, to use a professional service that you yourself do not have the time to do or do not have the creativity within. For most of us we have plenty of time, just not gifted with creative genius.

So for this step don’t worry about ‘sell, sell, sell’; but moreover choose content that matches with the image you want your audience to read (see). When you look at it this way, it is not selling at all. It is using words, and visual imagery to create the perfect identity that you want you audience (customers) to see. With this said, remember that the content you give your designer is explainable, and clear so that the design (display) will match your vision.

4.) It is time choose imagery for your display!

Now its time to once again remember the image you want to display and come up with ideas for pictures and visual imagery. You will share your ideas to your graphic designer and remember to be as descriptive as possible. Our graphic designers are creative but they need your help to let them know what you want!

5.) It is time to create your perfect company image!

Now let our graphic design team to do all the work. Choose a product, follow the steps and together, let our professional’s and your vision create your perfect company image!

The Art of Busines Card Design

I will next introduce a critically acclaimed designer. I will show you a true designer and the fine art he provides people worldwide every day. Experience the work of art through marketing material…..!

Graphic design is an art. You understand the importance of it and now it is time for the fun stuff. His name is Nathan Mummert, and he is a graphic design artist who has succeeded to master his own design technique for 'the business card'. He has bent the rules and has awed many other designers with his creative genius and power to move industries with a single 2 x 3.5 business card. I had Nathan design my personal business card; he calls a silk business card. The silk business card was done so wonderfully, I have been told to this day that over four people saved my card and showed it to others. Honestly, he is a marketing genius, and his rates run around $60 a business card design. Presently, Nathan is a business card designer out in the hot paradise of Tempe, Arizona for an online firm by the name of Taste of Ink Design and Print Studios. To further his gift to others he is able to design online at tasteofinkstudios.com and can talk to you one-on-one daily.

Sorry for the long introduction. Basically, I wanted readers to read about design, and understand the importance of it by seeing a true professional designer. Here are a few photographs of Nathan’s critically acclaimed designs. Enjoy readers, if you ever need a business card design, now you know what who is the best in the business.

I will leave you with a quote:

Graphic Design Creates Perception into a Reality