I saw this tweet from Nate Bagley in my twitter stream and I immediately knew which video he was talking about before I even clicked on the link.

Nate Bagley - @bigbags

I attended TEDxHouston in June and was also affected by Brené Brown’s speech. It was one of those talks that makes you reevaluate a lot of things in your life. Check out the video below or view it at TED.com.

• Let yourself be seen
• Love with your whole heart
• Practice gratitude and joy
• Believe that you are enough

Vulnerability is a scary thing, but the people that are able to connect with others – really connect – embrace their vulnerability and put themselves out there without fear of what they might receive in return. That’s real courage if you ask me, and probably not a bad way to approach your customers either.

Customer service is important; that’s a no-brainer these days. Actually delivering great customer service on a consistent basis is another story altogether.

Here are 22 inspirational customer service quotes to help you with that cause.

Do you remember the last time you found yourself caught in a nasty storm? What about the last time you felt helpless, or hopeless?

Where did you turn for shelter from the storm?

I started to think about this the other day after listening to Bob Dylan’s song, Shelter From The Storm.

Words To Live By

’Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood
When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud
I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”

And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured
I’ll always do my best for her, on that I give my word
In a world of steel-eyed death, and men who are fighting to be warm
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”

Not a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved
Everything up to that point had been left unresolved
Try imagining a place where it’s always safe and warm
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”

Click here for the rest of the lyrics

The Takeaway

Everyone has their own problems, their own storms. Depending on the type of storm we’re caught in, we turn to different places for shelter.

I turned to Apple when I had a my only computer just crapped out on me storm. I looked to USAA when I got caught in a Bank of America fees and services suck storm. I frequently search out Starbucks when I find myself in a no energy but need to work 8 more hours storm.

Seeking shelter from the storm is a common occurrence. As a company, the important thing to focus on is how you’re treating those customers when they find you. Are you creating a shelter they’ll seek out again? Are you creating a shelter they’ll tell their friends about when they find themselves in the same storm?

What kind of shelter are you providing for your customers?

The Words to Live By Series

This post is part of my new Words to Live By series, a glimpse into quotes that impact and inspire my outlook on life.

Today’s words come from James Earl Jones’ character (Terrence Mann) in one of my all-time favorite movies, Field of Dreams.

Words to Live By

The memories will be so thick, they’ll have to brush them away from their faces.

Can’t see the video? Click here.

The Takeaway

The word that really struck me here was thick. Most of our memories are fleeting, slowly fading away as time moves on. But some memories have a way of sticking with us; for whatever reason we can not (or dare not) brush them away to the dark corners of our brain.

My most vivid memories, the really thick ones, are made up of emotional experiences. The feelings, tastes, sounds, sights, and smells that make up an experience are important, but they’re not what really sticks out. I remember feelings of joy, pride, love, hate, embarrassment, and redemption. The senses can trigger a memory, but I what I remember is the emotion. I remember how I felt.

We don’t buy our favorite food because of how it tastes.
We buy it because of how it makes us feel.

To make a thick memory, you have to create a strong emotional connection to the experience. Have you ever thought about the substance of the customer experiences you’re creating? Are they experiences that wow; experiences that people are eager to spend money on? Are they experiences that connect with your customers on an emotional level?

Have you taken the time to map out the customer experience you want to deliver? Are you willing to go the extra mile to create a remarkable customer experience?

I don’t think we can create the same type of emotional memories shown in the movie (famous baseball-playing ghosts are hard to come by), but isn’t it something we should aspire to?

The Point: Create positive emotional experiences and people will most definitely come.

Words to Live By series

This post is part of my new Words to Live By series, a glimpse into quotes that impact and inspire my outlook on life.

The following is part of my new Words To Live By series; a glimpse into quotes that impact and inspire my outlook on life.

If you’re not already a subscriber to Deliver Bliss, then I encourage you to subscribe to this special series by email or RSS feed.

Words To Live By

Todays words come from the legendary Seth Godin. I’ll give you fair warning up front, he’ll be a regular in this series.

Communication is the transfer of emotion.

Is this how you see it? I bet not. I was a communications major (for whatever that’s worth…really not much) and “transfer of emotion” is not the first thing that comes to mind for me.

But it should be.

When you think about it, communication is all about the transfer of emotion. It’s about explaining how you feel, building meaningful relationships, persuading people to buy your product, or give to your cause, or vote for your party. It’s about expressing love…and sometimes hate. People are moved by emotion. People want to be inspired.

Think about your favorite speakers. What is the number one thing they do well? I bet it’s transfer of emotion. A great speaker can get you fully behind their cause even if you knew nothing about it 30 minutes beforehand. They do that by communicating powerful emotions.

Remember (and help me to remember) that communication is about emotion. The next time you’re wondering why someone isn’t seeing things through the same lens as you, ask yourself if their emotions are aligned with yours.