Award Winning Customer Service


I went to a Big Box Store with my father the other day so that he could get a new Television.  He had a 32 inch Sony he had purchased during the Carter Administration and he was past due an upgrade.  We found a nice 46” LED on sale for a great price so we loaded it up and took it home so mom could tell us where to put it.  So far, so good.
I used the “Quick Start” guide to get it set up and that was relatively simple.  In less than half an hour (after mom had decided where it went) we were sitting there watching a college basketball game in vibrant HD.  That’s when the trouble began.
The TV had a little sticker running across the bottom that I had neglected to remove that listed all the features of the television.  My dad started asking me what they were and I didn’t know, I didn’t really care, it was his TV.  He wouldn’t let it go so I started looking through the packaging for a user guide and couldn’t find one.  I referred back to the “Quick Start” guide and they found this.
Download the complete user guide at www.tvcompany.com/service/
Easy enough, I thought.  I grabbed my tablet and went to download the guide.  On the page I found there was no reference to model we had purchased.  I am not going to describe in detail what I went through to search for the guide, but I did search the site, Google, yahoo and all the popular social media outlets, no guide.
My dad was taking his first look at the “Quick Start” guide.  “Why don’t you just call this number?”  I hesitated.  There was a long pause in the conversation. Call center service?  Not my favorite thing.  Too late, “I’ll go get the phone.”  He was off.  I was trapped.  When he got back he was already dialing.  He handed me the phone.  I was done for.
“Welcome to ‘TVcompany’s’ Award winning service Department” I heard coming from the other end in a familiar voice.  You know the one.  Female, friendly and professional, compassionate, artificial.  I swear the same woman records the automated customer service greeting for every company in America.  I hate her.  She sends chills down my spine.  She finished her pitch and gave me the obligatory “please hold for the next available representative.”  So I held.
And I held.  I was on hold . . . forever.   (Forever, as a concept, has changed a lot since I was a kid.  In olden days, forever was roughly the lime between Halloween and Christmas.  In today’s self indulgent I want it now, and it’s all about me society forever is about the length of an average YouTube video. Don’t even get me started on “epic”.) I was on hold a really long time.  I’m not sure how long, roughly 15 minutes of game time.  That’s about 45 minutes real time.
Finally, an actual human came on the line and introduced himself as “Bart” part of “‘TVcompany’s’ Award winning service Department”.  I asked where I could get a user guide for my dad’s new TV and he said in a very cheerful voice, “I’d be glad to help you with that but first we need to register your product.”   He started asking me questions and I had no answers for him.  This was my dad’s TV.  My father, much older and wiser than I, refused to get on the phone.  I began relaying questions and answers back and forth like some kind of service tech to human translator.  Halftime was gone before I knew it.  We finished the registration and Bart informed me he was going to put me on hold . . . again . . . and get someone who could help me with my issue.  All I needed was a guide.  You have to transfer me to an expert for that?
As I sat there with my ear sweating, I began to wonder what exactly this service department had won awards for.  Answering the phone?  Outstanding customer confusion?  Longest phone call in all of recorded history to answer a simple question?  Who gives out these awards?  Can I get one?
Before I go further, I want to state for the record that I believe that a person’s character can be clearly defined by the way they treat service persons who are simply trying to do their job for little pay in often difficult situations.  If you see someone intentionally belittling a waitress in a busy restaurant because the food was slow or there order was wrong, that person is probably a lousy human being.  So when “Ray” introduced himself as part of “'TVcompany’s' Award winning service Department” I resisted the temptation to drill him on the existence of these dubious awards and asked the question again.  Can I get a user guide for the new TV?   Ray promptly referred me to the company’s website.
After assuring Ray that I had thoroughly searched the site and the rest of the internet for the nonexistent guide he put me on hold again so that he could check for himself.  He eventually somehow discovered that this particular guide had not yet be put on the site and that I was neither crazy nor an idiot.  He promised to email my father a copy of the guide.  Total time:  roughly ¾ of a college basketball game.  
There is a point to this rambling narrative.  No matter what our job is, we are all engaged in customer service on some level.  In order to achieve “Award Winning customer service” the first thing everyone needs to do is find out what the customer wants.  It sounds simple but I spent an hour and a half on the phone the other day simply because this particular service department wasn’t really interested in why I had called.  They didn’t ask the most important question.  “What does my customer want?”
My dad got the guide by email yesterday.  The file is corrupted and wouldn’t open.  I told him he was on his own.

“Winners quit the right stuff at the right time.”




I was raised on the ideals that winners never quit. Quitting is for wimps. However, after reading Seth Godins book, The Dip, I learned that there is indeed a good time to quit, and in fact, winners can be quitters and vice versa. "Winners do quit all the time", Godin says. "They just quit the right stuff at the right time." He goes on to say, "people should quit the things that aren't worth the effort for a long term success." We fail when we get distracted by things that we don't have the guts to quit." In the end, if one wants to have the success they desire, some strategic quitting is in order. Is there something you should quit?


As we enter the New Year, I think this is a must read book for everyone. It continues to help me professionally and personally and I often pick it up to remind myself of where I am going.

The Power of Personalization Starts Here.


Data . . .

A lot has been written over the last few years about the power of personalization in marketing, some of it on this blog. The ability to communicate with customers in a way that lets them know you are aware of who they are as individuals and not just part of a market segment can bring impressive results in today’s ultra competitive marketplace. Simply putting someone’s name on a piece of marketing collateral can greatly increase the chances that it is read rather than finding its way to the trash. However, to really grab a prospects’ attention you need to go further than just a name, you need to know their gender, their age, their location and their interests and you need to use that information in a way that it is relevant to the prospect. New tools available to Marketers allow you to use that information in a variety of creative ways lead to outstanding ROI on marketing dollars. However, it all begins with information. You must have accurate, dependable, well organized information about your prospects in order to put the power of personalization to work.

Most organizations have some information about their clients and prospects but few put any time or effort into making sure this information is accurate, up to date and is in a usable format. They have a database but they don’t know if it is accurate. They have an accurate data base but it is not all formatted correctly. They have a rolodex but no electronic files. Names are misspelled, addresses are incomplete, emails are unavailable and they have ten thousand prospects and don’t know where to begin. Even if you have a good CRM package unless the data is entered correctly and consistently it is for all practical purposes, useless.

Over time, we will address all of these issues here. We’ll offer tips and guidelines on how to build good customer data. Where should you begin? Start with your Top 100 prospects, the ones that spend the most money or have the most money to spend. Make sure that the information you have about them is complete and accurate. Make sure the data is formatted correctly. Begin using a CRM package to keep track of this information and make sure everyone is using it the same way. Once that is in place don’t stop, build on it. Add more prospects and gather more data on the ones you have. Before too long you’ll have a database that will allow you to use the power of personalization.

Marketers can think and act differently (Just ask Apple)


Ok, so we’ve been exposed to the Apple Campaign from 1997- “Think Different” right? How could we not? It still resonates today. With the recent passing of Steve Jobs, we’ve reflected on his life as a successful business man from humble beginnings, and reveled in the fact that his vision and legend will live on. It’s because he chose to take the path of what some would consider “crazy” and “unconventional”, but with a vision that nothing less than perfect would do. He simply saw things differently. That vision and theme defined Apple as a company and quite frankly rescued them from a downward slide. According to marketing expert Carlos Hidalgo, if we as marketers accept this concept, it can rescue our businesses as well. To review, here are a few lines of that commercial. See if it doesn’t apply in some part to us…

“ Here’s to the Crazy Ones… the ones who see things differently… You can quote them, disagree with them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing that you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They explore. They create. They inspire.”

Let’s break it down to usable bites. The words (change, invent, imagine, explore, create, inspire) are the important elements and attitudes that today’s B2B and B2C marketers need to embrace. Because traditional marketing has been perceived as a negative within our organizations due to extreme lacks (lack of visibility to C-levels, lack of aligning with sales, lack of justifying budgets, or lack of measurable results, which may be all or partly true), it may also be due to continuing to do the same things over and over in hopes of achieving different results. I refer to Albert Einstein’s definition of “Insanity”: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

So, in that spirit it’s time for a change for the better and to “THINK DIFFERENTLY”. In order to do just that, there are things today’s marketer can do: Don’t believe the hype, Defy traditions, Fight for the right to change, Have realistic expectations, and Lead! If you want to know how to further define the above, one2one Marketing at JD Young can help you do just that. It’s time to start taking it Personal!

What are you listening to?

My last blog post addressed the need to engage the customer and create a “customer-centric” marketing experience. I would like to follow that up by introducing a key that will help you be more effective in creating this experience.

I recently read a post by another marketer, Gavin Heaton. Gavin talked about listening to our customers especially when sifting through social media chatter. Sure, we can get kudos and great comments about our product or brand, but he suggests that often marketers are not listening, but instead are interrogating. They are attempting to interpret the things being said, and often it ends up being like a clumsy social interruption. Have you ever walked in on the end of a conversation, and laughed at what you thought was a joke but it wasn’t? You heard it, but did you get the whole story before saying something inappropriate? Although we may think we are listening to our customers, we may not have changed our mindset or become attuned to the patterns of online social interaction. We may not understand what our customers are really trying to say. Social media monitoring is like eavesdropping from afar, you don’t always get the get the whole story. Sometimes you don’t even get part of it. Are your customers really talking about your brand or are they talking about themselves and their ‘personal’ experience? You may not always recognize the difference but it’s a small and very critical detail. Understanding that difference changes everything!

So, as Gavin stated it (and I agree), you should listen to your customer intently, the way you listen to the music you really love. What stands out? What sends tingles down your spine? What brings you up and down? Gavin believes… “As marketers, we have to listen to our customers like they ARE the musicians that we love. One of his most profound musicians is Natalie Merchant. He says “When I hear Natalie Merchant sing, I tend to hear beyond the words. I listen for the intention. I listen for the care that she takes in phrasing. What she emphasizes. Where she attacks the note for emphasis and where she pauses for impact.” Think about what musician or music does that for you. That’s powerful! Sure we believe we have a great product and brand, but it’s about the way it’s perceived by our customers that count. It’s what they think and say that drives recommendations and interest! Don’t you believe your customers value that in you and your company? Instead of trying to guide them through a process based on what WE think they are saying, or what we think they should be saying, in order to make us look good to other prospects, we should be looking for ways to shepherd them through various levels of engagement and honest dialogue. This is the key to being ‘customer-centric’. You customers will recognize and appreciate the fact you’ve given them a voice. That’s why we have 2 ears, and one mouth. ‘Nuff said.

one2one Marketing is more than just personalized marketing; it’s about marketing to each person. We specialize in helping you really ‘listen’ to your customers, and letting them help you reach more customers! It’s all about being Personal!!!

Customer Experience is a business discipline, not a bumper sticker.

We’ve now entered into the age of the customer, an era where a focus on customers matters more than any other strategic imperative. The old adage where the customer is always right? Well, today’s customers often know your business, services, pricing, and your competitors as well as you do. Whether it’s a B2B or B2C/retail, savvy customers have access to the world’s information at their fingertips, and as marketers, we no longer have the luxury of relying on a great product to sell itself.

We all know when customers aren’t happy. They don’t hesitate to crucify brands on social media channels like Facebook, and Twitter. Because of commoditization, most brand differentiation, and traditional industry boundaries have dissolved. These same customers have more power and greater leverage than ever.

So what’s the solution? Throw your hands up and not even try? Of course not, but a few simple changes in mindset from the C-level down to the mail clerk need to take place. It starts with creating a “customer-centric experience”. You now need to involve your customer in defining how to better serve them, not just make assumptions. That is the key. You, as a consumer, as well as your customers, are generally concerned about 2 things. First, what’s in it for me, and second, what makes me feel good about myself, and my decisions. If you allow your customers to provide the framework of their experience, you will create customer loyalty. This will translate into better brand equity, and a boost to your marketing ROI. If you can be more focused when targeting in on how to serve your customers, then you can market to them more efficiently. It starts with personalization and one2one Marketing can help make that happen. For more details on how to target your customers with highly relevant, personalized messages that leads them to a call to action, and track and measure their activities, contact us and we can set up a free customer experience analysis. It’s time to get personal!

The Devil is in the details

The Devil is in the details.

It’s happened to all of us.  Our great marketing ideas do not always go as planned.
Great company.  Great offer.  Not so great use of medium.


So let’s hear your marketing bloopers or mishaps.  Feel free to comment on a marketing project of yours gone wrong or even one you witnessed.  Don’t worry I would never ask you to share mishaps without giving one of mine.  Are you ready? 

Snake in the Box

Now, I know this probably immediately strikes you as “of course it is a bad idea” but give me and my team the benefit of the doubt.  We help companies with projects that tend to strike unexpectedly.  So, we picked a really cheesy snake and sent that exact message.  “We know projects tend to strike unexpectedly and we are here to help”  How was I supposed to know the box we selected was very hard to open and some poor elder lady that finally got it to open about had a heartattack when the snake flew out of the box!  Not, one of our better ideas but good news is we have thousands of great ones for each bad one.  PS , I actually received an email that someone else really liked it.  End result, we did pull the campaign.   Lesson learned…Now matter how cheesy the snake is, it is still a snake. 

Operation Marketing

As a marketer, our daily lives are faced with building powerful campaigns that help us generate leads, raise awareness, build customer loyalty, plan events and help our organization recruit the best talent.  Learn how JD Young’s one2one team can help you launch powerful campaigns, track your performance in real time and significantly boost your marketing ROI.


If you would like to see the rest of the webinar, parts 2-5 can be veiwed here.

Connecting the dots

Every company or organization has some form of Marketing…


...the question is…Are they all connected? 

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Learning how to connect the dots with ways to utilize all the tools of marketing is the key to greater success in today’s marketplace.

Get connected and make it personal!

Your time is limited






“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma-which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” Steve Jobs 1955-2011

And you are?.... And you're with?

In today’s fast paced marketplace we get bombarded by so many messages it’s sometimes hard to see through all the minutia. But it strikes me as funny that as many of those messages we encounter, we still manage to remember the select few that catches our attention. Most are different because we learn differently, but there are a few that stand out we can all identify with.

In my experience both as a professional and personal, it’s the little things about yourself that can stand out as being memorable. I believed marketing was merely the back end of sales. I approached selling and marketing about the same, going through all the motions to make sure any prospect or customer had all the detailed facts about what I was peddling and about my company. I thought I was doing all the right things. Some of it paid off, and then I hit the wall of frustration. Why wouldn’t they want to buy what I was selling? It was the next best and greatest must have! What I didn’t realize is that I drank so much of my own Kool-aid, I forgot the most important part of what sales was all about. The true power of marketing. It wasn’t about how pretty I could paint the product, or how solid the company I represented was… It was about the personal relationship I didn’t establish to lead them to believe in WHO was doing the selling! ME! That realization came early in my career when I was giving my elevator speech to the VP of Marketing for a very large Cable and Television corporation, actually in an elevator. He stops me mid blah, blah, blah and said… “And you are?... And you’re with?” Needless to say, I was floored! I had spoken to him several times on the phone, exchanged emails with him, and yet he had the audacity to ask who I was? He subsequently gave me a good piece of advice, of which I live by today. If they don’t know who YOU are, how can they expect to do business with your company? What that means, is if you don’t establish a one2one relationship with your customer or prospect, how can they possibly believe the ‘next big thing’ will be of any benefit to them? I learned two things that day. Most prospects are like you and me, they are concerned with 1)What’s in it for me? and 2) Make me feel good about myself.

From then on, I spent most of my time establishing a one2one relationship before I moved into any discussion about my ‘next best thing’. It’s no different in today’s marketplace. If we are to cut through the clutter and be noticed, then we have to do something different to make that happen. It’s about being personal and your message has to be as well. There are a whole new set of tools to help make that happen. We at one2one Marketing, powered by JD Young, have discovered, in order to be one of the few messages remembered, we must be willing to do things just a bit different than what traditional marketing dictates, as well as bring the best of our personality to each customers doorstep. This will allow them to do the same. What’s in it for you? A brand new paradigm built not only on the power of cross media marketing, but a bit of personalization that directly targets your customers and potentials. Put us to the test! And welcome to one2one by JD Young!

Now let’s go get personal!

Remember “Don’t Take it Personal?”

I must admit I take marketing personal, very personal. Marketing is a passion of mine and I think about it non-stop. We are all trying to market ourselves. We market our families, organizations, companies, and interests on a daily basis.

How did I get my start? My “ah-ha” moment came during a sales training class. I was struggling. Every day I was trying to follow all the rules in sales. I was trying to use the correct process, the proper marketing, to be a better manager. Suddenly, “Ginny the trainer” uttered these words…”Learn to create a pattern interrupt”. Wow! Now I was listening. But, what did she mean by that? She further explained that every sales and marketing person out there was trying to get attention of their audience by doing and saying the same thing everyone else was. She continued, “So to get their attention you have to create a pattern interrupt.” What she was saying is to do things a little out of the ordinary, ask the tough questions, be creative in getting their attention and keeping it.” She was right. I had been so busy trying to sell and talk to customers like everyone else was that I forgot to be me…to be personal. I was focused so hard on the “how to” I had forgotten to be myself. I had lost my creativity. I made a promise to myself at that moment to be different and stay creative. Thank you Ginny for reminding me that day what is important.

I love the creative and the science of marketing. It is fascinating to me to watch human behavior and I am continually amazed on what works and what doesn’t work in marketing. I am motivated and inspired to create my own pattern interrupt in the world of marketing and find the perfect mix of the traditional methods mixed with new methods and technologies.

We bring you one2one Marketing, the “future of marketing”. Let me just state mass marketing is not going away, it’s just getting personal. Before it was a about creating a product or service, now it’s create an experience. Before it was talking one-to-many, now it’s learning to communicate one2one. Business had become about transactions but it’s now back to relationships. We can now personalize almost everything, our phones, cars, TV’s and much more. Whether you like it or not you are being watched and monitored for your likes and dislikes, your needs and your wants. Just ask Google. They know more about us than we know about ourselves. Marketers need to re-think, re-invent and re-commit. If you act as if you have nothing to lose you won’t.* You can no longer be reactive in today’s marketing. The best statement I saw recently was “People who have ideas will have a future in marketing…Why? Because there will never be an app for that.”

My hope is in the next weeks, months and years is to bring you marketing tips to ponder, to incorporate, to learn from. I want to bring you views from all angles of the world of marketing. . Most of all, we hope you have fun because it’s supposed to be fun and we are having a blast doing what we do best. We are one2one marketing by JD Young and WE ARE…..”the marketing solutions people.”