This morning I was at Dunkin’ Donuts for my usual Sunday treat of two donuts, two cups of coffee, and three hours of reading (in between saying hello to some regulars).
This was a new Dunkin’ store that opened a while back and they – just yesterday – had their official grand opening, complete with celebrity guests and free merchandise, one being a Dunkin’ Travel Cup.
Having a bunch left over, they decided to give them away to those standing in line. The Assistant Manager, a very nice young lady, handed them out by saying, “We had these left over from yesterday so we’re giving them away.”
While the gesture was nice, it was not nearly as effective in building goodwill as it could have been.
Why not? Because the words she used communicated no value to the customer; only to the store. She might as well have said, “We wanted to get rid of em’ yesterday but since we didn’t we’re going to pawn them off on you right now.” 🙂
Instead, she could have communicated value and planted positive goodwill seeds simply by saying, “These are for you as our way of saying thank you for being our valued customer. They’re guaranteed to keep your coffee hot, and in the cup instead of your lap.” Said with a warm smile (which she has) it would have gone over great!
Of course, the cup itself has the same “actual” value regardless of the language she used. But its perceived value would either rise or fall based on how she “communicated” that value to her customers.
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Great blog post. It’s amazing how stating or phrasing something can have a profound impact. Thanks for sharing and I hoped you enjoyed your Sunday ritual.
BoB~
You are right on. what a great reminder to us all to think about how and what we say before we say it.
Thank you – you are always an inspiration.
All My Best,
Melinda Potcher
Mortgage Maven
Ahhh… the power of words.
It may take intentional effort at first, but once we are in the habit of consciously choosing better phrases, it becomes automatic.
No “leftover, crappy cup.” Instead: “a valuable token of our gratitude.”
No “problems.” Only “incredible growing challenges.”
No “bad economy.” Just “wonderful new opportunities!”
Thanks for the reminder, Bob!
That’s good example of when wattles says “communicate impression of increase AND make them sensible of it.”
I wonder how the science of getting rich would apply in a technocracy or resource based economy….
Hello, my Brother!
Great post!
Your’re right on target – the relationship comes first!!!
However, as someone who deals with fundamental premises, I have a desire to be VERY precise with definitions.
I don’t like the phrases “Actual Value” and “Perceived Value”. “Perceived Value” seems to somehow discount the value of the relationship in business (makes it less real).
I believe that the relationship value in a transaction is MORE real than what is commonly called “Actual Value”. The most basic need among human beings is the desire to connect, and any phrase that tends to make this desire “less real” somehow doesn’t feel right to me.
To illustrate, when Warren Buffet was studying “The Intelligent Investor” by Benjamin Graham (“the definitive guide to ‘value’ investing”), he learned that “goodwill” was the value that had to be “realized” (made real) on the balance sheet of a prospective investment. Yes, “Goodwill” is an actual accounting term that goes on the balance sheet of public companies, and is a MAJOR consideration when dealing with mergers and aquisitions. This was SO important, that Warren ALWAYS visited a prospective company when considering investing in it. He also never followed the “planned” tour of the company, always talking to janitors, entry-level employees, etc. to get an idea of the relationship-building skillset of upper management.
My philosophy is, if you want to know how to manage risk and build relationships, look at what the “mega” leaders in business do, and if people like Warren are actually “realizing” the goodwill of companies and using that asset to find hidden value in an under-valued stock, then the goodwill of a company is more than “Perceived” value, it IS the value of an organization.
Hope this makes sense, and I hope this doesn’t sound like hair-splitting, but it IS an issue of fundamental premises.
Thanks again for the wonderful post, my Brother – YOU ROCK!!!!
-David
Thank YOU, Scott. And, I sure did. 🙂
David, yes, I agree with your thoughts about Wattles. I believe it is a good example of his philosophy. Regarding applying his SOGR principles in a technocracy or resource based economy, since neither of those honor liberty, Natural Law, or the value of indivdual rights, it would probably be more difficult.
Thank you, Melinda. Yes, sometimes that one step makes all the difference, doesn’t it? 🙂 Thank you for your kind words.
Thank you, Nika! Yes, intentional effort, performed consistently over time, becomes a natural part of your being.
{Note from Bob: Though too humble to mention it, Nika is a superb marketer. Check her out at http://www.designerblitz.com}
The littlest things always seems to have the biggest impact, a great lesson in finding ways to make another feel good and in this story installing a language filter–think about what you are going to say before you say it out loud. the quick message will probably not convey your intentions, to your audience.
wouldn’t it has been nice –the grand opening was extended or sorry you missed the opening we wanted to make sure you were included in the celebration.
Bob,
Great post! I love how you use everyday examples of your life to communicate your timeless principles of good business and relationships!
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about personal branding and the importance of it. This was a great missed opportunity to communicate the value of the ‘Brand’ of ‘Dunkin Donuts’ on a personal level. I think its critical to always think before speaking on how something will reflect positively or negatively (by not adding value) to “the brand” be it corporate or the most important brand which is our own 🙂
Thanks for all you do!
Your personal ambassador 🙂
Amy
Hi Bob, How right on target you are! I don’t know about everyone else, but I don’t like been offered what people are trying to get rid of and I love it when they thought about me and realized I could benefit from something they have (no need to add that they are trying to get rid of) :-).
Bob, Thanks for this story.
My take is that this is Assistant Manager is a good person doing her job the best way she knows how.
Unfortunately, it seems she sees her job as something she does for money and wants to do well, but does not see special value in nor does she realize that she has to power to build special value beyond what is already there.
She reminds me a bot of the shoeshine woman in Jeff Olson’s “The Slight Edge.”
Like that shoeshine woman, I wonder what this Assistant Manager might accomplish if she were to get the right mentoring and expansion of vision she might gain from reading about Rachel in “The Go-Giver” or Ordinary in “The Dream Giver” by Bruce Wilkinson.
I didn’t just pick up any of those books, but they all have had a major impact on how I believe and act.
I am fortunate enough to have been trained and mentored by Jeff Olson and to have met him several times before “The Slight Edge” was published. No one had to suggest that I get, and read, and re-read that book.
“Endless Referrals” was strongly recommended to me by another mentor and friend, Ace Fair, whom you know. I treasure my copy which you signed when we met, and didn’t need any urging to get “The Go-Giver” when it was released.
“The Dream Giver” was recommended by another great mentor, Darnell Self, who recommends that book to all who join him in his business.
MY hope is that this Assistant Manager and many many others like her will have the good fortune to be introduced to great mentors and great books and will learn from what is offered and act on what she learns.
Everyone will benefit.
WORDS ARE OUR TOOLS! SELECT THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE TASK AT HAND!
Thank you, everyone, for all the recent comments to this post. My apologies for taking so long to respond. Let me run down the list with some of my “responses to your responses”: :-).
David, thank you for your always thoughtful and insightful comments. And, yes, like you, I’m a huge believer in defining terms so we’re always operating from a consistent premise. I’m thinking (though not entirely sure) that I’m – in my mind – defining “perceived value” differently than you are. While you are quantifying it, I’m leaving it as being very subjective in the mind of the customer and thinking that is where our difference originates. And, of course, if we are defining it differently, our conclusions will necessarily be different, as well. Am I right or wrong? And, even if I’m correct in what is different, am I still offbase in my thinking? Very possible. Thank you again, my great friend and brother. Looking forward to seeing you soon at the big marketing event in Orlando.
Hmm, since this answer was kind of long, I’ll continue with the next response.
Gary, right on! Amy, also agree (and I enjoyed your blog post on personal branding).
Sandrine, again, I agree completely. Please realize though; that was not her intent; simply the language she used. And, THAT is what is such a shame.
Mark, you’re absolutely correct, and through the right mentoring she could (and hopefully will) realize her innate greatness. You have not only had some of the greatest mentors alive in Jeff, Ace and Darnell (all of whom I respect deeply) but you also had the desire to act upon the wisdom they were sharing. I congratulate you for that. By the way, I gave the assistant manager (whom I like very much) a copy of The Go-Giver, suggested the alternative way she could have worded her offer in order to communicate more value, and she seemed extremely receptive. Will she follow through? Who knows; I’d certainly like to think so…and that will be up to her.
Mike, I agree with you . . . but don’t yell so loudly. 🙂 🙂
OK, my Brother – NOW you’ve done it!!!! 😉
As if the phrases “Perceived Value” and “Actual Value” weren’t enough, you had to bring up the term “Subjective!!!”
Thesaurus.com:
SUBJECTIVE: emotional; based on inner experience rather than fact
FACT: EVERY person’s fundamental emotional need is to connect, to build that relationship you’re always speaking of (no matter how incidental). And YES, people decide to purchase emotionally, then justify logically – I’m not discounting that. And some will argue that relationship plays little to no role in a transaction (I believe this is an indication of their own self-worth issues, etc.).
HOWEVER, using the phrases “Perceived Value” and “Subjective” relegate your wonderful work in this area to a realm “based on inner experience rather than fact.”
This is why I do not like these phrases because they sell your work and my beliefs short of what they actually are and limit their effectiveness.
Now, I understand that most people won’t understand the consequences of this “hair-splitting”, but keep in mind that in the age of Twitter and Facebook, the John Galts and Dagny Taggarts are always watching, and I would hate to lose an opportunity to connect with them because of a lapse of semantics.
As always, my Brother – YOU ROCK!!!
(Don’t sell yourself or your ideas short – you’re RIGHT ON TARGET!!!!)
-David
Bob,
Been busy, eh? 😉
This is so true. People screw up opportunities they don’t even know they have, just by getting into the habit of a certain type of speech. If you watch (which you obviously do), you can see examples of it everywhere.
I worked briefly, a long time ago, for a company that sold satellite dishes. Customers would call in and be routed to the right department, based on the type of system they wanted to ask about.
A week or so after some shuffling of staff, to cover for a woman who was out on maternity leave, we developed a “small” problem. We all got called into a meeting. The managers were concerned about a sudden sharp drop in sales for the C-band systems. At that time they were about 5 feet in diameter, as I recall it. The salespeople showed their stats, and it was clear they were doing their jobs. They just weren’t getting the calls.
While they debated what could be causing the change, I was listening to the woman who routed the calls. I got up and left the room. When I came back I told them, “Problem solved.”
The woman who was out on leave had always asked, “Were you looking for the full system, or the mini-dish?” Her replacement changed things a bit. She was asking, “Did you want the big dish, or would you like to hear about the new, digital mini systems?”
Anyone who’s ever sold anything can see just how bad that second question was for the guys who sold the C-band units.
I explained to her that she was creating the problem. Then I suggested that, unless she wanted her boyfriend to lose his job (he sold the C-band units), she might want to go back to the approved language.
Things went back to normal that afternoon.
It was a little disturbing watching these guys look immediately for an external explanation, rather than asking, “What could we be doing to cause this?”
Thanks for the reminder, Bob. Time to go look at some of my welcome emails again with this in mind, and see if I can tune them up a bit.
Paul
Paul, thank you, for that very value-laden lesson. I loved how you figured that out which, knowing you, does not surprise me one bit. Excellent, excellent teaching.
{Note from Bob: Paul Myers is one of today’s top online enterpreneurs and the master copywriter behind some hugely successful campaigns. I’ve learned many, many lessons such as the above as a long-time subscriber to his ezine. You can learn more about him at http://www.talkbiznews.com.}
That is good. Your post Bob and Paul’s reply.
It’s amazing how such little changes can make such an impact on your sales.
~ Paul
Keep it simple, keep it friendly. Love it. You have a new costumer round here.
– Fernando
Thank you, Fernando. Much appreciate!! 🙂
Nice article! Thx!
I would rather appreciate the lady for her honesty, though offering the freebies with a lie would have pleased some customers.
Most of the time people like to hear what they like , hence expecting others to speak words which please us is not ethical.
You can refuse the freebies if it hurts your ego , but accept the truth as it is ( w/o sugar coat).
Thank you, Cleveland.
Fabian, thank you for your thoughts. I’m not sure I’m understanding your point. You seem to be implying that the phraseology I suggested is a lie, and that there is some inherent value in framing the gift in such a way as to have no value to the customer. Is presenting something as not being of value (when the gift was intended to be of value) more honest? Same gift; just a different way of framing it. One frame holds no value; the other frame holds a lot of value. Not sure why you would consider the first one ethical and my suggested re-frame unethical. If you’ll re-read the article – with an eye toward interpreting it positively – you you might see it differently. Of course, I honor your right to disagree, and appreciate your participating in the conversation.