The value of being ordinary- Nice post by Olivier Blanchard at The Brand Builder Blog. Of course, I read this as, differentiate your service provision during times like this.

Hospitals Ailing in Their Web Marketing Efforts: Study- Nice response to a new Oneupweb report which examined the online efforts of 19 notable healthcare organizations.  Beth Negus Viveiros from Chief Marketer quotes Carly Desmet, director of marketing for Oneupweb: “…traditionally hospital[s] are behind the times when it comes to their marketing initiatives.” Hospitals are of particular interest to me because of the number and significance of service marketing opportunities available to them. This includes online initiatives mentioned in the post such as blogs and podcasts. Interesting post and report.

Happy holidays to all! I will be posting more services marketing thoughts, questions, and maybe even a few insights again starting back the first full week of January 2009.

Can Your Brand Afford To Discount?- Another post about discounting during the recession…and another post that marketers must read, by Paul Williams at Marketing Profs Daily Fix. Ugh, I just can’t believe that marketers at Tiffany’s and Neiman Marcus are stooping to discounting! No surprise about McStarbucks though.

Customer Wonderland-Interesting real-life anecdote about Macys’ customer experience management, by Ginger Conlon at The 1to1 Blog. For more branded service insight, follow the link below the article (or click here) to read Great People Create a Great Customer Experience. And in case that’s just not enough services marketing inspiration, check the awesome archived article listing (Zappos’) Jane Judd’s 10 Rules to Creating a Customer-Centric Culture.

Here are some great service marketing links that I had tucked away for my Friday Favorites last month…before travel, holidays, our company’s website rebuild (completed solely by myself and my boss), etc. Looking back over these posts, I decided that they were just too good not to mention, even though they have been around for a month or so.

What are your employees trained to watch for?

The Two Key Elements of Customer Orientation

Protect Your Brand During Layoffs

People Want to Connect with People… Not Companies

In Customer Service, You Are Always On Stage

I had to go see the dentist last week. Nothing bad-just a routine check-up and cleaning. Each time I see my dentist, I leave impressed (and sometimes a little numb, but that’s beside the point). Not only does the group (Berkshire Dental) have a marketing plan in place (which is not especially common among dentists), but it actually has implemented  intentionally or not) a pretty good services marketing plan. A few of their service marketing initiatives:

1. Hygienists are well-empowered.

Hygienists initiate the check-up. Once the cleaning is complete and the dentist arrives, hygienists provide a short report to the dentist on their findings. Hygienists also educate patients over the course of the check-up, explaining things they have noticed that may deserve extra attention.

2. Staff is cross-trained and well educated about available products

Per my experience, any staff member in my dentist’s office can rattle off relevant information about crowns, whitening, or Invisalign while ringing up your bill, checking on your insurance, or helping schedule your next appointment.

3. Dentists and staff pursue continuing education in their field

My dentist has mentioned to me on multiple occasions his involvement in industry workshops and conferences. Hygienists are knowledgeable about technologies used in the dentist’s office, such as the ultra-sonic cleaning device that makes my ears hurt, and the in-office “crown-maker.”

4. The office is member of the community

My dentist’s office partakes in “Buy Broken Arrow,” a civic initiative designed to encourage locals to spend money in-town. I recently looked at the list of participating businesses, and I don’t remember seeing any other dentists.

5. The office uses a variety of contact methods

As my dental appointment approaches, I receive multiple e-mails and text messages to remind me. After the appointment, I receive a performance survey via e-mail. Very impressive. (Twitter direct messages would complete the trifecta.)

6. Service is consistent

I have seen several different hygienists at my dentist’s office, and they all follow very similar service rituals. The same holds true for their front-office staff. Quality of performance is similar across the board, which leads me to believe that the office has an internal feedback or review system in place, be it formal or informal.

7. Staff and dentists seem to maintain an internal sense of community

Dentists and hygienists clearly have a good, strong rapport with each other. They know each others’ families. I see personal photos in each check-up bay. They are friendly toward and very respectful of each other. I was speaking to my hygienist (as much as possible) during this most recent visit, and I asked her how long she had been at this particular office. Her answer: 25 years. I was extremely impressed. I asked her if she had worked at other offices previously, and what had compelled her to stay at this office for 25 years. She commented that a big difference she saw among various offices was that of the way hygienists were treated. If I may put words in her mouth (she put a bunch of crazy instruments in mine, so I feel I am entitled), the respect shown by the “higher-ups” was a key to long tenure. Interesting. Not a new concept. (What in marketing is new?) But a concept that was practiced consistently.

When that inevitable e-mail survey arrives in my inbox, I foresee good marks. Now, if they’d just get some flatscreens installed on their ceilings.

1. A fully integrated marketing plan must be in place.

My daughter is two, and she is now to the point to where she can understand the concept of choosing to do the right thing in order to meet a longer-term goal. For example, she now chooses not to throw a fit at bedtime so that my wife and I “sit with her” the next night at bedtime. (“Sitting with her” involves a mere 20-second countdown during which my wife and I sit next to her crib as she settles in under her blanket. Otherwise, it’s a quick kiss and “I love you,” and time to sleep.) We “sit with her” every night following a fit-free bedtime the previous night. It’s a small reward, but my daughter seems to really miss it when we don’t “sit there.” It is now a choice she conscientiously makes.

HR plays an incredibly important role in Services Marketing, and when it comes to hiring decisions, companies also have a choice. They can choose the clearly unmotivated, disinterested, paycheck-oriented shoe-filler, or they can choose “the right person for the job.” Too many times, I have walked into a business and experienced the former. I try to avoid those places as a rule, and I don’t think I’m alone on that.

While the selection of “the right person for the job” is a multi-faceted decision that varies from business to business, there are a few universal hiring principles that should be practiced:

I hope your marketing team and your HR team are meeting with some degree of regularity, spending time creating hiring filters, planning training regimens, researching the company’s history together, and sharing expectations. Yes, even in industries in which service-provision is highly commoditized (e.g. fast food, mid- to low-end retail, custodial and maintenance, etc.), marketing plans and goals must be communicated to and embraced by hiring managers and HR. Otherwise, you end up with a random group of unmotivated paycheck workers who are hired indiscriminately, and you (and your customers) become victims of their performance.

2. You must be prepared to spend time training, educating, and empowering new hires.

Ever had one of those jobs where you were hired, dropped off at your desk, and left alone to produce millions of dollars? Most company education came entirely through informal get-togethers. Maybe you were lucky enough to find one veteran to cling to and learn from. The point being, no matter how seasoned a prospect or new hire is, he or she will at least need to be educated on the ways of the company. Probably much more than that. If you want a new hire to make money, be it a cashier, a bagger, a janitor, or a CEO, he or she must be empowered to do so through orientation, education, assessment and review, remediation, and reward.

3. You might need to be prepared to pony up the dough.

This holds especially true for the commoditized service providers mentioned previously. This is not to suggest exorbidant salaries for all. It is simply to recommend that you not insult your employees with a wage that is far less valuable than the work that is expected from him or her.

These things in mind, remember that no matter what, a new hire is a choice. it is your choice. And you have to live with your choice of whom to hire, just as my daughter must live with her choice of whether or not to throw a fit. The decision is not arbitrary, nor is it without consequences. No more “taking what you can get.” Be purposeful and brand-oriented in your hiring practices, and your company will soon start harvesting a Living Brand.

Obviously, there is so much more to be said about the matter. Let’s hear your thoughts.

To kick off my newly determined blog posting format, I’ll share a couple of quick, personal, service marketing experiences.

Recently, I took my 2-year old daughter to Krispy Kreme. This is a special treat for her. Every time we drive down 71st past that iconic Krispy Kreme building, she yells “doughnuts!” On this particular trip, we chose to go through the drive thru. Actually, I made the decision. My daughter didn’t really have much input on the method of approach—so long as it resulted in getting a doughnut. I was OK with the longish line because generally speaking, Krispy Kreme is one company that handles drive-thru business well. Well, perhaps it was because I had a hungry, highly verbal 2-year old in the back seat, or perhaps it was because my own stomach was growling, but this wait seemed to be unusually long. As I edged up to the building, I could see two employees on the back patio taking taking a “smoke break.”

I’ll stop there (admittedly abruptly) and move on to my second anecdote.

Not too long after my Krispy Kreme experience, I found myself in another drive-thru line. This time, it was at Arvest bank—another business with a particular focus on moving drive-thru traffic quickly (as the entire baking industry has…or at least should have). Again, the amount of time in line seemed to be unusually long, and again, I noticed an employee taking a “smoke break” outside the building.

Ultimately, the employees I saw taking “smoke breaks” (yes, the continued quotes are intentional) may have had absolutely nothing to do with my progress in either line. That doesn’t matter. One of the most significant aspects of services marketing is that of perceived service provision. When a customer sees employees taking “smoke breaks” (or any other kind of break), all he or she is thinking is, “that person could be helping me get through this line/process/purchase/etc.” (Yep, we customers are selfish bastards.)

Visible “smoke breaks” in particular can be especially harmful to a company’s branded service image since a good percentage of many businesses’ customers are non-smokers who are not especially crazy about the idea that some employees who partake in a vice such as smoking are somehow entitled to take ten minutes off work every so many hours to inhale smoke. While fellow smokers may be more sympathetic, they still probably do not like the idea of being stuck in an usually long line when a perfectly good worker who could be helping out isn’t.

This is not to comment on smoking as a habit in general; it is simply to point out that no one likes to wait. Smoke breaks are perceived as a disruption to the service process, just as inept employees, outdated processes, and shoddy point-of-sale hardware are, and these visible breaks can hurt the reputation of not only an isolated branch, store, etc., but also that of the company’s brand.

In an attempt to get my blog back on track after 6 weeks of business travel and a complete company website overhaul, I plan to post according to a new, more predictable and practical posting format. Of course, my blog will continue to focus on marketing, and more specifically, on services marketing. Once a week, I plan to post on a personal, notable service marketing experience. Also once a week, I plan to post about an isolated service marketing principle. And I still plan to continue Friday Favorites. Thank you for reading and for your patience these last six weeks, and I hope you’ll come back later this week to read a new post or two.

Short list this week, as I have hardly been at my desk. Next week should be back to normal.

Are You Listening?- Insightful post about the use of online communities in customer interaction and feedback, posted by Ginger Conlon at The 1to1 Blog. You might also want to take a look at Social Media and Services Marketing.

Immersive Customer Experiences Aren’t Just for Customers- While this post shows a deployment date of Oct. 13, for whatever reason, it just came through in my Bloglines list today, so I’m including it in this week’s Favorites. Interesting post by Meghan LaBonge from one of the newest additions to my blogroll, Chief Marketer. The post focuses on the not-so-front line service employees who are still very important facets of a company’s services marketing strategy, and who are essential components in a company’s service blueprint. (Your company does have a service blueprint, right?)

Between Fall Break and sick children, I have had to focus my attention elsewhere lately. I’ll post again by the end of the week.

Who is turning off your customers?- Great illustration of how powerful the lack of branded service can be, from Drew McLellan at Drew’s Marketing Minute. Reminds me of a recent trip to McDonald’s I made. Wait, it reminds me of every trip I make to McDonald’s! No wonder I’m considering boycotting it.

A Customer “Support” Story- Another service anecdote, this one from Elizabeth Glagowski at The 1to1 Blog. Don’t forget, the exclusion of human beings from the front line (i.e. online support) does not negate the need for branded service.

The Magic of Allowing Employees to Do What They Love- What a cool post by Karl Staib at Work Happy Now! Great idea for employee empowerment and the evoking of employee creativity. I believe that 3M currently provides such time for its employees. No suprise the company comes up with so many ingenious products.

Not a post that would typically show up in my Friday Favorites (simply because it’s not specifically service marketing oriented), but a great post from Steve Tobak at the BNET blog about some essential and oft-ignored, oft-unspoken, real-life branding principles.

What You Need to Know About Branding