Seven reasons to write success stories / Make your marketing copy tangible when selling services / Personalizing motivation / Fostering better company communication / Global comfort foods / New products and programs for food safety

SEVEN REASONS TO WRITE SUCCESS STORIES
Success stories (or case studies) have gone from "nice to have" to nearly essential. Today's customers want to see proof that your products or services work, and your form of "proof" is a good success story. The following are seven reasons why success stories have become indispensable.

1. They help customers understand. Sometimes it's difficult for people to grasp concepts involved in business. It often helps to be able to say, "For example..."

2. They generate empathy. Well-written success stories will put your prospect in the shoes of the customer in the story. If her problem is similar, she will be able to empathize.

3. They are credible. Brochure copy is subjective. Stories ring truer because they are based on real people and real events.

4. They tell a tale. Even though they're not fiction, well-written success stories will be interesting in the way any other story can be, and will engage your customer.

5. They address a specific audience. When properly tailored, your stories will be able to target a specific type of customer -- and a specific type of problem -- with precision.

6. They can demonstrate ROI. Often, the results of the customer in the story can be quantified, allowing your prospect to see how much can be saved or earned.

7. They promote customer satisfaction. The closure in your story is the business equivalent of "happily ever after" -- the customer's satisfaction with the working relationship and the final outcome.

Source: www.salesvantage.com

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MAKE YOUR MARKETING COPY TANGIBLE WHEN SELLING SERVICES
Service firms have a disadvantage that product companies don't have: what they sell cannot be touched or held in a customer's hand. When you're selling services, you're selling a benefit. And perhaps because the very nature of a "benefit" is vague, marketing copy often also becomes vague. You can win more of your customers' attention by leaving innuendo aside and letting them know exactly what you do, why they need your services, and what they stand to gain.

When selling services, it's essential to make marketing copy tangible. Be specific in the customer's terms. What does your company do, and why is that important for your customer? Instead of "offering networking solutions," maybe your company "fixes difficult computer problems." Instead of "implementing reliable logistics," maybe you "deliver 99.99% of your overnight packages on time."

Here's an example on "tangiblizing," according to the Wellesley Hills Group:

Marketing speak, not tangible
• HR solutions to help you attract, retain, and develop your key staff.

Made more tangible
• We deliver classroom and e-learning-based management and leadership development seminars.
• Our payroll service gets your employees' paychecks right all the time, on time.
• Our employee 401k plan comes with free financial planning from certified financial planners.

When marketing, you only have a few seconds to grab your customers' attention. Be specific and let them know how they'll benefit by using your services, and you'll have a better chance of keeping that attention, instead of losing it to frustration.

Source: Wellesley Hills Group

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PERSONALIZING MOTIVATION
People are different. They like different things, dislike different things, and are driven by different things than other people around them. Yet when developing a plan to motivate employees, companies often treat all of their workers as if everyone is the same. By taking a few small (and inexpensive) steps to determine the likes and dislikes of employees, companies stand to reap great benefits.

Dr. John Sullivan, a professor of management at San Francisco State University, suggests asking new hires and transfers variations of four powerful questions during orientation, either on paper or online. This will help to develop an individual “how I like to be managed” profile.

1. What would you like to see more of? (What excites, challenges, and motivates you?)

2. What would you like to see less of? (What frustrates or inhibits you?)

3. How would you like to be managed? (What’s the best way to effectively get the most out of you?)

4. Why did you quit your last few jobs? (So that I can avoid making the same mistakes your previous managers made?)

In sales, huge amounts of time and money are typically spent trying to discover what will motivate customers to buy. By turning this process inward, companies stand to get much more out of the people that make those companies run.

Source: workforce.com

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FOSTERING BETTER COMPANY COMMUNICATION
Communication is sometimes described as the most ignored component of the administrative process. Despite the importance of effective communication -- between co-workers, employees and supervisors, and management and the company as a whole -- it's common to simply assume that people can communicate well enough to do their jobs.

The problem with this assumption occurs when there is a communication breakdown. Then the issue takes center stage, demanding immediate attention. The best way to prevent these problems is to address them upstream -- to create a culture of communication within the organization.

According to Charles L. Decker's Winning with the P&G 99, Proctor & Gamble has such a culture. Memos, for instance, sometimes receive more attention than the information they contain. For example, one P&G brand manager contacted an account executive to compliment him on a great memo. Why was this unusual? Because the compliment was not that the memo had great ideas, but that it was well-written. Continental Airlines implemented a toll-free voice mail system which employees could use to contact the CEO, who would then reply to their comments or questions. And Soichiro Irimajiri, the former president of Honda of America, spent two or three days every month visiting work areas and reviewing employee ideas about saving time and advancing quality. Employees with good ideas received praise directly from the head of the organization.

Communication is vital. It makes sense to spend the time developing a proactive communication plan in every organization -- one that seeks to improve understanding within the levels of a company as well as vertically -- to develop this "communication culture" before a problem occurs.

Source: Communication World

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GLOBAL COMFORT FOODS
We all know what comfort foods are -- they're the foods that make you feel good which sometimes are good for you, and which sometimes aren't the healthiest things out there. Ice cream, chicken noodle soup, and steak and potatoes are classic comfort foods. But this year, look for some ethic foods to become comfort foods mainstays.

Comfort foods typically evoke a sense of home and family and take a diner back to happy memories. Some Mexican and Asian dishes, previously classified strictly as ethnic fare, are now considered comfort foods.

For many foodservice customers, beans and tortillas are a part of this group. The same is true of sticky rice and some Asian dishes, like eggrolls and fried rice.

Source: Nations' Restaurant News

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NEW PRODUCTS AND PROGRAMS FOR FOOD SAFETY
Bacteria has made some splashy headlines recently. There's E. coli, salmonella, hepatitis, Mad Cow Disease, and O157:H7, a particularly nasty strain of the already-troublesome E. coli. In the US, salmonella alone comprises 1.4 million cases. Thanks to some negative publicity, consumers have become very aware of the pathogens that threaten their food.

As a result, manufacturers have begun to produce utensils and other food-handling equipment that is easy to clean and sanitize. Also popular are automated cleaning systems and better cleaning agents. Subtle design features keep foods from being touched more often than is strictly necessary, such as ice-transfer containers with handles that are situated well away from the ice itself.

Foodservice workers need to be increasingly trained in programs like the FDA's Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) program, which regulates some of the more infection-prone stages of food-handling such as cooling and cooking. Country-of-origin labeling (COOL) on foods help to track and monitor any problems. But the bottom line comes down to knowledge. Well-trained employees are crucial to insuring that foods are handled correctly, to reduce the risk of food-borne illness.

Source: Christison, Carol. "Consumer Marketing: The Taste Experience"