I have talked before about how important it is to make your business look like a million dollar business. There are a lot of ways to pay attention to the smallest details and make them a better experience for your customers. The picture to the left was taken at a seminar I was attending. I was eating lunch outside with some friends and took a picture of the ketchup packets they had on the table. It looks a little nicer than a packet you find at a fast food restaurant, or a cheaper hotel.

I’m sure this little upgrade did not cost the hotel a fortune, but it is a small detail that stands out from cheaper hotels. I have also seen some restaurants give you a miniature bottle of ketchup, instead of a packet. These little details say to the customer that the business is not cheap. They are presenting a part of their product in a better way.

You should be finding even the smallest ways to say that you are different. That you are worth more money. Use the best products you can or the best ways to present those products. Add a nice bottle of hand lotion and a box of tissues to the women’s bathrooms. A small expense that can go a long way.

If you are sending a customer a letter, use a premium paper. Save the copy paper for when you just need cheap copies. Put some real toilet paper in the bathrooms. Your customers are not only hating the cheap garbage you put in there, but they are using twice as much of it.

Take a look around your business and see if there are ways you can create a better experience. Even in the smallest details, your customers will notice.

Related posts:

1. How to Handle Business Dress Code
2. Look Like a Million Dollar Business
3. Dunkin Donuts Drive Thru

Just a quick post to remind you that every holiday is a chance to speak to your market and customers. Let your customers who have already done business with you, know that you care. Send them a valentines day card with a gift. It could be as simple as a coupon, but do something.

Putting something on sale can be effective, but putting something on sale for a reason works even better. When customers come in and see a sale, they are not sure why it is on sale. They think maybe you can’t sell it or it’s a late model. But when it’s a Valentines Day Sale, that looks different. You will get a much better response.

Don’t forget to use every holiday as a chance for a sale and to talk to your customers. They will love you right back, I promise.

Related posts:

1. Marketing Lesson From Progressive Insurance
2. Marketing Lessons From Congo River Mini Golf
3. 3 Ways to Grow Your Business

One of the really nice things about owning your own business, is the bragging rights on people who never thought you would amount to much. Since most entrepreneurs were average students in school, you are probably one of those people. The kids that got the good grades are generally working for someone, somewhere they hate. Some of the most successful people I know, did not go to college and barely passed high school.

The smartest ones are working at some 9-5 job and judging from their Facebook posts, only like Fridays. It’s interesting to look back on those who thought they were better, or thought you could never do something. Not just back in high school but even today. You will have people who think you can’t go any further. They may think they are better than you or they may just resent you. Either way, they look down on you and wait for failure.

My last 2 years of high school I had this kid Tom in a few of my classes. This guy was as arrogant as could be. Total snob. He was God’s gift to this world and could do no wrong. He was too good for everyone and had serious anger issues.

To this day, I keep waiting to see him on the news after going postal somewhere. To Tom, I was a loser. Not as smart as him and it was a burden to have to put up with anyone not on his level. His parents must have really done a number on him.

They’re No Better Off

The interesting thing is that after I graduated high school, I had a job at Publix Supermarkets. No college, no internship or fancy job  for smart people. Just a bag boy at a grocery store. Then one day we got a new guy in. Who was it? Good old Tom! With all his arrogance we end up in the same place. He hadn’t changed a bit either. Still as arrogant as could be.

A few years later I became a salesman with Nextel (now Sprint). As I was walking the mall one day, I stopped into one of our retail locations. Guess who was behind the counter? That’s right, good old Tom! Selling Nextel phones in a mall. We chatted for a bit and I of course humbly mentioned that I was doing sales for Nextel as well but not in retail.

It was really interesting to see that years after high school, we were both pretty much doing the same thing. His brains and smarts and good grades, landed him in the same job as me. The biggest difference being that he was selling to the consumer and I was selling to big companies, radio stations, etc. But in all honesty, we were both selling cell phones.

I have no idea what Tom is doing today. I would imagine he is working at some tech job. That is what he wanted to go into but was having a hard time getting hired. I would also imagine that he is the same arrogant person. Unless someone finally popped him one, to settle him down.

Use it as Motivation

I’m sure you have a very similar story. It may not be from high school. It could be a co-worker from an old job. It could be an old boss. But there was probably someone as arrogant as could be, who thought you were a loser. Someone who thought you could never be a successful business owner. Aside from freedom, money, more time with my family and a ton of other benefits. Proving people wrong, has been a great motivator for me to be successful.

It doesn’t stop. You will continue to meet people like that, just on different levels. Always remember how good it feels to prove them wrong.

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Last night we saw the most watched sporting event in the world. The Super Bowl. Of course with it were the most anticipated commercials. So anticipated, I have heard reports that some get bladder infections, from not wanting to go to the bathroom during commercials. Right now there are lists being made by different magazines and networks, to determine the best Super Bowl commercials. There are even articles already out declaring which commercials succeeded and which ones failed.

What interesting is that all of this is done, with zero consideration of which ads actually pulled in sales. If your ad makes one of the lists, success right? I mean, who doesn’t want to pay millions for a Super Bowl commercial and have no concern for sales? It’s all about making the funniest commercial list, right? As I previously mentioned with Proctor & Gamble’ Old Spice ads, just because people think it’s funny, doesn’t mean they will buy it.

Long before anyone knows which commercials actually brought in sales, awards will be given out. People will champion the commercials that are voted the best. CEO’s and business owners will make the enormous mistake of following suit. Trying to create funny commercials and ads that don’t bring in sales. The madness will just go on and on.

It’s not that funny doesn’t work. It can work well. However, when your being funny but not giving a single reason to actually buy your product, it will fail. The Old Spice commercials are funny, but they are not convincing people to wear Old Spice. I thought the M&M commercial was hilarious. I was already eating M&M’s during the game though. And when I left and was asked if I wanted to take the left over M&M’s home, I declined. I know how many extra miles I have to run to burn those little suckers off.

Branding vs Direct Response

That of course doesn’t mean that the M&M commercial was ineffective. I have no clue, only sales will tell. I don’t think they are advertising to bring in more sales but maintain the awareness. There is value in brand awareness and keeping your name out there. Doritos is in the same boat. As a business owner, you must understand this difference. There is a difference between branding and direct response advertising. There is also a way to do both.

For instance, the M&M commercial could have finished with a line on the screen that reads “Go to mms.com/NakedM&M to get a 10% off coupon”. That would take the buzz of the commercial and drive sales with the coupon. That takes the same commercial and simply adds direct response into the mix. M&M’s do not have to convince you to buy them. They just have to remind you to.

Old Spice however, is trying to compete against Axe. They need a little more than reminding. If they really wanted to get a feel for their market and how to better approach it, they could do research right there in the commercials. They could add something at the end that says “Go to OldSpice.com/TellUs and tell us what your favorite deodorant is and why, to download a Buy One Get One Free coupon for Old Spice.” Will that work? Heck I don’t know, I am just brainstorming here and using techniques that normally do.

The point is that your ads need to drive in sales. Being funny or even controversial may create awareness, but will they create sales? GoDaddy’s great awareness came from their first Super Bowl commercial. Their success came from their inexpensive products. Their commercials always end with a call to action, of going to the site to see more. They used a controversial commercial to get attention and brand awareness. Added direct response by sending viewers to the website. Then finished with a great product at a great price. Enormous success followed.

So this year, after watching all the commercials last night, which ones convinced you to buy their product?

Think about that the next time you want to advertise and are more worried about how funny the ad is or what award it wins.

Related posts:

1. Proctor & Gamble’s Advertising Fallacy
2. AIDA Copywriting Method
3. Marketing Lesson From Progressive Insurance

One important area that I work on with clients is how their business looks. It can make a huge difference to not only their customers but themselves as well. It has been documented over and over that people will pay more based on appearance. You could take a Big Mac from McDonald’s, put it on a plate at a nice restaurant and charge 3 times as much for it. Our perception can change what we are willing to pay.

Don’t believe me? Try this out. Go to your local grocery store and buy 2 bottles of store brand water and a bottle of Fiji water. Empty out the Fiji water and refill the bottle, with the water from one of the store brand bottles. Now find someone who is not an avid Fiji water drinker and ask them to do a taste test. I guarantee you Fiji wins. Same water, different presentation and perception. Then ask what they would pay for each bottle.

Your customers notice everything when they walk into your business. Even if they don’t realize it, they do. Think of them as having an antenna sticking out of their head that is computing everything. Every piece of trash, the smell, dirt on the floor or walls, paint peeling. It all registers.

Keep it Clean

It never ceases to amaze me how many businesses I go into, that do not take care of the simplest details. Dust on window sills, dirty grout, paint peeling, etc. If that is how your business looks, you are not giving the perception that you are a high value business. You also do not give the impression that you care about your business. If you do not care about your business, why would you care about the customer?

Customers will pay more to go to cleaner business. Women especially will go out of their way to do business where there are clean bathrooms. Ray Kroc of McDonald’s wisely stated that bathrooms were part of marketing. He knew they could make the greatest burgers ever but the bathrooms would make or break them.

Be Disney World

I teach clients to treat their business like it’s Disney World. No piece of trash can be on the ground for more than a minute or two. Next time you’re at Disney, drop a wrapper and time how long it stays there. Cleanliness is an enormous deal at Disney. They could save a ton of money by not having all those employees constantly sweeping and cleaning. They could just pay a company to come in at night and handle it. But they are focused on the presentation and that is what sells.

Stop Being Cheap

Everyday you should be touring your business and taking a good look at it. How does it look from the customers eye? Stop cutting corners and buying the cheapest possible products and furniture. Look, I understand all about keeping costs down and being smart with your money. But there are other ways to do that and the customer is the last place you should save money. If cutting costs is at the expense of a lesser experience or product, don’t do it.

The bottom line is that you will make more money. Creating a better experience for the customer is rewarded by more customers. This culture should be taught to every employee so they see the way you want your business run. Get them on the same page so they understand the importance. Send them to Disney for the day. Whatever it takes to get your entire company on this mission.

Even if you are a business that does not have face to face customer interaction. Your office, warehouse or vehicles should have the same effort. Don’t be cheap with your employees surroundings either. When employees work in a dreary, dirty environment, that is how they feel. Production drops. Even just better lighting has been shown to improve productivity. If you are a one man operation in an office. Make it look like an office on Wall Street. You will feel better and it will show in your productivity.

There are a lot of ways to do this without spending a fortune. Just paying attention to details and being smart is generally enough. Spending hours of your time bargain shopping for furniture that doesn’t match, is not being smart. Spend the money to get a nice set and use those hours to go make more money.

When your business looks like a million dollar business, you feel it and your customers feel it.

Related posts:

1. 3 Ways to Grow Your Business
2. How to Handle Business Dress Code
3. It’s Business and Now It Is Personal

The latest news that Proctor & Gamble is laying off 1,600 employees, assumingly in their marketing division, has had some confusing and misinformed statements. Many of the headlines are either assuming statements or a complete lack of understanding. At first I attributed this solely to CEO Bob McDonald, who made the announcement. However after further review, it appears it is a stretch of his statement, coupled with some bad decisions on his part.

The original article I read on this was from Business Insider in a post titled, “P&G To Lay Off 1,600 After Discovering It’s Free To Advertise On Facebook”.

The first shocking item here is the incorrect statement that it is free to advertise on Facebook. It is certainly not free and even if they were just referring to fan pages, you still need to hire people to manage them. After further reading I see that McDonald never stated that Facebook was free. He did however reference getting 1.8 billion free impressions with their Old Spice campaign. Notice he did not say anything about money made on those impressions. It is also unclear as to if all 1,600 are in marketing.

The writer of this article goes on to state that “P&G’s Old Spice campaign is a textbook example of what the entire company should be doing.” I guess the fact that the campaign did nothing for sales is lost on both the writer and McDonald. Any gains in sales during that campaign, can be tied directly back to a buy one, get one free coupon they ran at the same time. Take into account the normal response to those coupons and the campaign was garbage.

Did it help Old Spice’s brand recognition? Probably, but are you wearing Old Spice?

The real measure is and always will be sales. Dollars. Profits. It doesn’t matter if you get 5 billion impressions if it doesn’t increase sales.

It appears that the real reason for the cutbacks are the increases they made before. Over the last two years P&G increased ad spend by 24%. I’m sure with that increase, came new hires. Leading to a portion of the current layoffs. Add to that other cost increases and sales losses of the current economy.

Common sense says that the lay offs are not as simple as a change in media. Switching to digital media does not reduce need for staff. Even if Facebook or Google were free advertising (which they aren’t), it doesn’t affect your staff needs. Unless your staff was also responsible for cutting down trees, milling paper and creating magazines and mailers.

If you have a staff of 5,000 to handle your advertising and the company that you order paper from decides not to charge you anymore, how does that reduce staff needs? It should increase budget for staff. So this idea that they are laying people off because they found a cheaper advertising media, is ridiculous.

The Real Story

So let’s look at the real story here.

P&G’s advertising problem is not a digital vs. traditional problem. It’s a product and message problem. Funny commercials might get a lot of attention, but they do not sell product. Whenever I hear someone ranting about some hilarious commercial, I find it interesting to ask if they bought the product. The answer is “No”, just about every time.

There still needs to be a message and a reason for the consumer to make the purchase. Old Spice is trying to compete with the growing popularity of Axe. Axe is growing fast in the younger market. “Old” Spice, is a tough sell to that market. The commercials may have created the attention, but the message did not convince the market. The message and the product are the issue.

I admit, I enjoyed the commercials and thought what they did on YouTube was pretty innovative. But I did not buy Old Spice.

Branding vs. Advertising

I separate branding from advertising and think that to combine the two is a serious error. They can work together but they are not the same thing. Branding should be used to create awareness and not for every business. That awareness should lead people to a message that sells the product. True advertising. Direct Response advertising. This is what generates sales.

Has branding increased sales? Sure, it happens often. But there are usually other forces in play. Especially a new product. People love new products. While some brands stay for the long haul, many of the brands you buy today, did not exist 10 years ago.

Sadly though, most advertisers are going after awards for being funny or cute. I know of no such award for sales made. When sales are dropping, those awards are nothing more than an expensive paper weight. The public would be surprised to see what advertisements actually result in the most sales.

Market, Message and Media

There are three components to proper advertising. Your market, your message and the media you use to deliver your message to the market. All three must be right to have success. Fail on one and the whole campaign fails.

You can have the greatest message and use the greatest media, but if sent to the wrong market, it’s garbage. Get the market right and have no message that sells and you fail again Find the right market, have the perfect message and use the wrong media to reach the market and you again fail.

It doesn’t matter if it is traditional media, digital media or whatever comes next. You must get all three right. Forget making the funniest commercials of the year list. Sales are more important.

Traditional vs. Digital

The question of traditional vs. digital is only dealing with one of the three components. The media. If your market and message are wrong, the media does not matter, it will fail. P&G went digital with their Old Spice campaign and the only boost in sales came from the traditional media, where their coupons were circulating. But the conclusion they came to was that digital was better?

Look, I am a big fan of digital marketing. I think every business should be using it. But, not at the expense of “traditional” media. The error, is thinking of it as anything but another tool. Thinking it is some golden ticket that lets you overcome other flaws in your advertising.

I won’t get into all the numerous studies that show traditional media is still highly effective. But just for a quick comparison let’s look at an interesting statistic. In direct mail, a 1% response is considered decent. 3-5% is great. And anything above that is an amazing campaign.

So what are the response rates on Social Media? Here is a study that shows 1% engagement on Facebook. How interesting is that? Some companies are getting more than that with better efforts and a better understanding of how to use Social Media. But many are only averaging 1%. Same as direct mail. Yet so many incorrectly state that digital media is better.

Social Media and other digital media have many benefits over traditional media. For one, it is the future of marketing. It has far better tracking capabilities. But, you still need the right market and message. Add to that also, the right product. Digital media is not a golden ticket that will just magically increase sales. It will not reduce your need for talented people, to create sales producing ads. It is not free.

There are companies having enormous success with Social Media. However it is a long term process and just the act of using Social Media, is not what makes it successful. You must have other key ingredients in place. You must have the proper market and message. With Social Media, you must also understand how to communicate with your market. Something many do not yet understand.

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Although I advise clients never to write their own ads, I do understand that smaller businesses have to start somewhere. So in this post I want to show a quick method for writing an ad or sales letter. This will not guarantee that you write killer copy that pulls in massive amounts of sales. However, it will help as a guide in your copywriting efforts. It will help you to at least start with something that has the basic principles in place.

It’s called A.I.D.A. I check all my advertisements and sales letters against this. It stands for: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. It’s not the only method but it is a great starting point.

Attention

When dealing with the ad or sales letter, it must create attention. The headline is the most important part. If you are using direct mail, the envelope is the most important part. You must create attention, to get the reader to actually read the ad or letter.

Your headline should be 80% of your efforts in the ad. Put a benefit into the headline that makes the reader want to read more. Your headline is what gets the reader to actually read what you are saying in the ad itself. This applies to sales letters, newspaper ads, pay per click ads. etc. The headline makes or breaks the ad.

You could promise free bags of gold in the ad copy, but if the headline does not convince the reader to read the copy, it’s useless.

Interest

Once you have their attention, you must interest them in what you have to offer. A good way to do that is to mention the problems that you are going to solve for them. Get them interested in hearing your solution. Agitate the problem by talking about pain points you know they are facing. If it’s a weight loss ad, talk about self esteem, clothes not fitting, etc.

Peak their interest in finding out how they get the benefit you got them hooked on in the headline.

Desire

Once you have their attention and they are interested in what you may have to offer, convince them that they absolutely need what you offer. Get their desire in your product or service going. I once heard a great story about a salesman who was struggling to make sales. He said to his manager, “I can lead the horse to water, but I can’t make it drink.” The manager replied, “Ah, that’s the problem, your job is not to make them drink, your job is to make them thirsty.”

You need to make the reader thirsty for what you have to offer. Then when you show them the bottle of water, they will want more than anything to buy it.

Action

Once you’ve got their attention, you have interested them in what your product can do, you have made them desire and thirst for what you are selling, you then need to give them a call to action. What do they do next? Are they calling a phone #? Going to a webpage? Adding to cart?

Give them the next action step that will quench their thirst. I see so many ads that have absolutely no call to action. Instruct them on what you want them to do next and how they can make a purchase. Don’t make it hard for them to buy from you. Make it as easy as possible to take the next step.

You can even do an overview of everything else you covered in your ad. “Order now to stop feeling insecure about your weight and watch the pounds fly off!” Include a direct link to order and make it simple to do so.

What does just about every infomercial end with? “Here’s how to order.”

So the next time you are preparing an ad for your business. Check to make sure it creates attention with a great headline. Create interest in how you can help them with your product. Get them thirsty and desiring your product. Finally, give them a clear action step to get what you have to offer.

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One of the biggest restrictions to wealth is having your income attached to your time. Meaning that X amount of hours equals X amount of money. Even those who charge high hourly fees, are not enjoying real wealth with this model.

The problem is that there will always be a limit to what you can earn. There are only 24 hours in a day and 7 days a week. Realistically there are only about 16 hours in a day to make money with. True success and wealth comes from disconnecting money from time. When you are earning money in your sleep or while on vacation, you can achieve true wealth.

It would seem to some that this is only an issue for employees. Not so. Many business owners still have their income tied to their time. Many businesses are just glorified jobs. You may get paid more per hour since it is your company. But, you also have more overhead. If you own a plumbing company and your income is directly tied to you being out in the field doing the work, you have serious limitations.

There are tons of contractors, repairmen, even medical professionals, who are limited by the time they have to make money. A doctor can only see so many patients in a day. A painter can only paint so many houses in a week. All are limited by their time.

I talk with business owners all the time who just don’t have enough time in the day to take on more work. Everything is tied to them and their time. If they get sick, business is shut down. Even at high hourly rates, your business still stops making money if you are not putting in the time.

There are two ways you can fix this.

Automation and Outsourcing

Even in a service based industry, where work is done by the unit or hour, you can disconnect your time. It’s a matter of having systems in place. Creating a business that literally runs without you. Everything is systematized so that anyone can do it. This can be a hard step to get to but it is critical to your success. There will be that time where you are not sure you can afford to hire extra help and you must take a risk. But again it is critical.

You have to get away from the business that is run by you and totally dependent on you. Automation and outsourcing can do this for you. Automating can be as simple as getting proper equipment to do jobs quicker and easier. However, the idea is that because it is quicker and easier you do not have to be there for it. Automating tasks can be a great way to disconnect from your invested time.

Automation tends to be a lot easier in tech businesses but if you are not in tech, use it for any tasks that involve tech. Is there software that will run those reports for you? Is there an automated way to handle repetitive email tasks? You’d be surprised how many tasks you are doing daily, that can be automated.

By outsourcing I do not necessarily mean overseas. It could be an in house employee. When someone else is doing the work, you are making money without being there. What is your time worth? Are you doing tasks that someone else can do for minimal pay? If you are worth $500 an hour, should you be doing $20 an hour tasks?

A day filled with 8 hours of $500 an hour work, done for $20 an hour, is a $4,000 day that cost $160. Of course these are just general examples but you can see it add up. You can disconnect a very large portion of your time.

Never do anything that you can outsource to an employee for less and never outsource what you can automate. I apply the automation rule to my employees as well. If they are doing a task that takes 4 hours that I can have them automate in 1, I do it! This allows my company to take on far more work and me to not have to do the work. I delegate and get it done.

Timeless Business

For lack of a better word, you could call this next model a “Timeless Business”. Meaning a business that is not attached to a time or even a service. Creating a product for example. A book that is being sold in stores without you being there. You put in the time once and it sells continually without more of your time. It could be a product in your business that gets sold on a continual basis and no additional time is needed. This can generate income 24 hours a day and without any time limits.

Having a recurring fee every month can be another way. Services that are paid monthly and are automated or outsourced, can have enormous success and again the money is not tied directly to your time. Online software companies are having enormous success with that. More commonly known as SAAS (Software as a Service). These companies provide an online software that users pay monthly fees for. I use several of these myself.

Now not everyone can necessarily just go out and create a product or start a service. But think of ways you can work on something like that in your business. For instance a contractor could add a maintenance service, that has a recurring fee and involves very little work by an employee. Or you could create a Do It Yourself version of your business that is sold without you being there.

The truly successful businesses, will be the ones that master automating and outsourcing and create timeless products or services as well.

Don’t get stuck running a business that sucks up all your time. That is nothing more than a glorified job. Coffee shops and restaurants are two of the highest percentage of brick and mortar start ups. Everyone thinks it would be so much “fun” to open one. Then when they realize that what they get is a job, where they have to open up at 5am and close at 11pm, it becomes a nightmare.

Find ways in your business to disconnect your income from your time. This allows you to remove the time limits on your income. It also allows you to focus more on bringing in new business and grow even faster. But if your income is tied directly to your time, you are handcuffing your ability to grow.

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1. What’s Your Time Worth?

Expertise and authority are proven over and over to persuade people. When you are known to be an expert at something, people listen. People even pay to listen. You can see the term “World’s Leading Expert” attached to quite a few different industries. Shoot, I could be the World’s Leading Expert on Dunkin Donuts Menu’s.

It’s interesting how many people are really good at what they do. They really know their business or product. They are experts already, they just don’t have the “title”. They can teach someone just as much as the latest “guru”. But what they lack is the exposure. The credibility. Becoming an expert and letting the world know about it, has never been easier than today.

Become the Expert

You don’t need some newspaper or reporter or journalist to label you an “expert”. That label means nothing unless it gets to the ears of a paying customer. But what if you prove that you’re the expert and then show it to the customer?

Imagine if a personal trainer wanted to sell their services to someone in a gym. They walk up and just cold pitch a training program. How do you think that will turn out? But imagine if a trainer is at the gym and notices someone doing an exercise improperly. So they walk over and just make a suggestion. Then that suggestion turns into an instant ability to lift more and feel less tired. That person is going to be far more receptive to paying money for more advice.

By just having the knowledge and looking for the right chance to share that knowledge, you can open up enormous doors. The first step of course is to become an expert in your field.

Tell the World

Next you need to build your credibility. You need to let them know you are the “World’s Leading Expert”. Write free reports that potential clients can read. Write a book. Start a blog and share tips on it. Get interviews in the media. Start holding some free clinics. You have everything you need to get the word out.

I recently spoke with someone about this very topic. We were discussing someone well known in the industry. The person I was speaking with thought that this particular expert was out of their league. Says who? They know just as much and can help just as many people. The only difference is no one knows it.

It has never been easier to get your information out into the market. To do a weekly video on You Tube about what you know. Take advantage of it while you can because opportunities like this don’t last forever. Start self promoting and get the word out. The best way to do that is to help people. What do you know that can help your potential customers the most? Start finding ways to help them with that for free and see what happens.

So, what are you the World’s Leading Expert at?

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Last week I was feeling pretty sick. So naturally I wanted some donuts. I’ve cut out a lot of junk food since I started running and while feeling sick I just didn’t care. Yes I know junk food isn’t good while you are sick but I really didn’t care, I wanted donuts. My wife was also sick and although wanting donuts as well, not willing to admit it and go get them. So I headed out to Dunkin Donuts.

Being that I was sick and didn’t want to get out of the car, I hit the drive thru. As I was getting ready to order I had the same problem I usually do when in the Dunkin Donuts drive thru. I had no idea what donuts they have or which ones were actually available. I had to ask the talking pole in front of me and still wasn’t sure. I did eventually manage to get some donuts I could live with and was on my way.

Listen to Your Customers Problems

Now this is not meant to be a post complaining about Dunkin Donuts but I did have an interesting thought about their menu. See, as business owners we need to be looking for any problems that a customer might have. We should go through our ordering process and look for areas we might get frustrated and see if we can fix it.

The problem I have had and I would assume others have had, is that when you are in the drive thru there is no list of the different donuts they sell. Sure maybe you just have your favorites but sometimes you may want something new. The other issue you may have if you are like me, is that you also don’t know which donuts are available at that time.

So as I was driving off, I thought of how I would fix that if I were running Dunkin Donuts. What came to mind was simply adding a section of the drive thru menu that had a picture of each donut they sell, each picture would also have the name of the donut. I would then install a button near each donut rack that connects to a light on the menu. When that particular donut is available the employees can press the button and a little light on the menu goes on.

So as you go through the drive thru you can easily see what they sell and what is available.

Now look, this is just something going through my mind while I am driving home sick and craving donuts. Maybe I’m crazy. Maybe I am the only one who has this problem. Maybe they tried it and it didn’t work. Maybe it would cost too much. Maybe it’s just plain stupid. I have no idea.

Solve Your Customers Problems

The point is that this is the kind of thinking you should be doing in your business. Go through your own ordering process or buying process. What would frustrate you? Better yet, have your mom go through the process. See what frustrates her or confuses her. Watch your customers go through the process.

Spend an hour a day thinking of how you can improve the customer experience in your business. When you make the experience as easy and satisfying as possible for the customer, they will say thank you with their purchases.

And if you happen to own a donut shop and you constantly hear customers ask what donuts are available in the drive thru, give me a call. I have a great menu idea!

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