Today is International Women's Day. For many of us, it's just another day in the month of March. For about half the population in this world, it may carry a special meaning for them. Though not as widely celebrated as other special occasions like Father's Day, Mother's Day and Valentine's Day, it is gaining more awareness among the public. This morning as I was flipping through the papers, there is a Women's Special section. Beauty products, aesthetics, fashion tips, diet, household tips, interviews, articles on things every modern woman should know, sales by a departmental store and a host of services for the woman. There's even a hospital tying the International Women's Day to offer health screening programs. There's a poster and women are asked to snap a photo of them with the poster, share the photo on Facebook by tagging the hospital. They can also collect a goodie bag at the hospital by showing them the Facebook post. Photo Source : Gleneagles Hospital Facebook Page As a guy, we'll probably find it a waste of time to go through all these just to get a goodie bag. But we cannot assume the woman will feel the same way. One of the mistake most of us make is to assume what we believe to be true as what our customers will feel as well. Just because you are unwilling to pay $200 for a piece of junk, you assume that no others will do the same. Just because you do not think you will join such club as a member, you assume that there's no market for it. If there is nobody selling the kind of product or service you intend to offer, it doesn't mean that there will be a market for it. You have to question your assumptions. And if you are not sure, TEST. Now, the majority of advertisements are pictures of products and its prices and types of services available. Even articles which are supposed to be helpful tips are mainly saying how good their products and services are. Of course, there are some contests as well. What stare at me on my face is that no thoughts and care are put into them. It's as if ok, so now we got an opportunity to run a promotion that ties in with the International Women's Day. Let's run an advertisement on our products and services that cater to this group. And if those companies are already running print advertisements on the papers, they just use back the same ad layout, maybe with a little difference in the promotion. For others, they will place an article and talk about their products and services. Those with a bigger budget will run a contest. Think about it. Most businesses will take opportunity of special occasions to run promotions. This is very common and usually can help boost sales in sluggish months. And it makes your promotion more interesting rather than what you usually do. Furthermore, it can align your business with certain causes. It's like killing many birds with one stone. But how many of us really understand how International Women's Day came about? When was it started? Where was it started? Who started it? Why? What is the meaning behind it? What does it advocate? How others are celebrating it? If you are curious about it, you can read about it here. Now, look at this advertisement. How did you feel after looking at it?
What's starkly different from all the advertisements that I've saw on the papers today is that this advertisement did not talk about it's product at all. The most it did was to show their brand at the end. They did not promote a specific product. No talk about how good their products are, no price, no promotion. Well, you might argue that Dove is a big, strong and famous brand. But to think about it in this way is missing the big point. The big idea here is how are you connecting with your customers? What are you advocating? What do you stand for? How you make your customers feel about themselves? If you are interested to find out what you can do to make yourself stand out from your competitors, please leave your contact I shared sometimes back about getting a free $10 petrol card in exchange for my details (click here).
For the past few days, I've been receiving calls from an unfamiliar number. As usual, I ignored the call, guessing that it must be from one of the banks' telemarketer. Two days ago, my phone rang again and I picked up the call accidentally, as I was expecting a call and answered it without looking at who's calling. And I realized my mistake immediately. The lady on the phone asked for me and when I identify myself, she quickly jumped into her sales talk. She identify herself, which company she is calling from and reminded me I received a $10 petrol voucher. Then she went on to invite me to visit their showroom to look at their car models for a test drive and some special promotion. This was roughly how our conversation went: She : "I'm so-and-so and I'm calling from (company name) because you received a $10 petrol card. We would like to invite you to take a look at our (think she mentioned a model) and take a test drive as well as the special promotion." Me : "I'm sorry but I won't be free these few days." She : "You can come down during the weekend. We have two showrooms at blah blah blah." Me : "Oh, I got something on this weekend." She : "How about tomorrow? I can fix an appointment with an agent for you right away." Me : "I need to work on weekdays." She : "Oh. How about next week? Do you prefer Tuesday or Wednesday?" Now, I'm lying through my teeth. Me : "I'm going for an overseas trip." She : "When are you leaving and for how long?" Me : "Next Monday for 10 days. When is the promotion until? Can I check my schedule and call you back?" She : "It will be for a while. I can give you a call to confirm the appointment. Do you prefer me to call you tomorrow or Friday?" Me : "I'm afraid there'll be changes. Why don't I call you when I am back?" She : "Maybe I'll give you a call back in the middle of the month when you are back." Well, if you've read my earlier post, you would know that I'm not the owner of the car. She would not have gotten me on the phone if I had not answered it by mistake. And there's no intention to change car anytime soon. In fact, I had wanted to put a fake telephone number so that I wouldn't be bombarded with these nuisance calls. But I wrote down my real number to as I'm curious to see what they are going to do next. Is the company too naive to believe every piece of information that they received? And they've asked a multiple choice question that gave them every reason to call us. There was no option to tick "No plan to change car." So anyone who ticks 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months, 9-12 months is a potential customer. Talking about the telemarketer, she has probably learned some sales presentation skills. For example, don't ask customers whether they want or not. Assume they want it and gives them two options to choose. When you give them options, they will have to choose one. However, she also failed to listen more than talk. Was I in the right situation and environment to talk to her? Did I have time when she called? At the very least, she could have asked if it's convenient to talk now. Ultimately, they are wasting resources in me, as I'm not ready to buy. And worst of all, the information they collected about me are wrong. No doubt there will be people who provide genuine information. But that doesn't mean they want your product and offer. They could be a loyal customer of a particular car brand. They could be driving a certain model for specific reasons like budget constraints, big family, etc. Instead of pestering prospects to visit you, how are you going to get them to come knocking on your door? Please leave down your email address below if you are interested finding out what you can do. Did you read about the post on the bubble tea (click here).
Now let's talk about the Korean barbeque buffet for my lunch. I didn't know about this restaurant until I saw it being introduced on a TV program. It seemed quite a nice place with a good varieties of tasty authentic Korean food based on the TV hosts recommendation. There were Ginseng chicken soup, abalone porridge where you can find big chunks of abalone, fried glass noodle with scallops, Kimchi hotpot, Kimchi pancake and different kinds of meat for barbeque. Since, me and my cousin were somewhere near to this restaurant, we decided to try it out based on the TV program. The place was located on one of the ground floor units in a refurbished old flat-turned-hotel. Upon entering the restaurant, there was no service staff to greet us. We were not sure if we have to wait for a service staff or do we help ourselves to the table. We walked further in and a waitress saw us. Then she put down what's she holding and showed us to a table. We were quite early and there's only about four tables occupied (out of maybe 30 or more tables). Four men seated next to our table were quite loud. So before sitting down, I asked if we could take the table on the other side of the restaurant which was quieter but was told something like that section is closed. I couldn't hear what she was mumbling. Anyway, that's fine by me. The lady turned on the fire and told us that we can start the buffet. So off we went walking one round to look at the spread. Ok. The raw items were filled to the brim. However, the cooked items were almost empty. Only two miserable fried chicken wings left. And yes, I saw the fried glass noodle, without any scallop. Were they all taken by the early birds? And where's the Kimchi hotpot and pancake? All not what I saw on TV. The program definitely showed a lot more. Were the items available only for dinner where the price was higher? It was not mentioned by the hosts and the program was filmed in the day. Logically speaking, I would tend to associate it to lunch. The staff were busy bringing out plates and plates of cooked dishes and laying them out on a number of tables. There were hotpots, fried fish and side dishes all over the table like what you find in a proper Korean meal scene. Do they serve set meals? They sure looked more appetizing than the buffet spread. We got our items and started barbequeing. My cousin tried a bowl of the Ginseng chicken soup and said it was tasteless. I asked him about the porridge and he said he tried scooping but found nothing except rice. However, the marinated meats were quite tasty and were of slight better quality than some of the restaurants serving barbeque we tried before. Just them, we saw a busload of Korean tourists coming in. And so the mystery was solved. My cousin remarked, "They probably won't survive without catering to the tourists." We went for a second round and again, the cooked food were practically empty. We came back only to come back and find another waitress keeping all our cutlery. Apparently she thought we had left. She apologized quickly and went off. I noticed that there's a guy who looked like a Korean and possibly the boss dressed in polo tee shirt, bermuda and a pair of crocs slippers. The rest of the staff were in their own clothes and all are Vietnamese. We looked around the restaurant and both of us had the same thought - we wondered if the present owner took over this unit from another business which did not survive. Apart from some wallpapers with Korean language characters pasted on the pillars, the rest of the restaurant's equipment and furnishing looked like inherited. The seats where those wooden seats from the olden days coffee shop. As we were speculating, a couple with their grown up kid came and seated at the table where the four guys had left. It looked as if they were hungry for the longest time. Not long after they were seated, their table is piled with plates and plates of food. The lady made a comment which I must agree. She said to her husband, the staff were very slow to refill the items. Then I asked my cousin "Will you come back to this restaurant again?" He said, "No." And I said, "I won't come back too." The only saving grace is that the boss offered to change the barbeque steel plate without us asking. I believe the business owner has paid a big amount to the TV station to feature his restaurant in the program. But why paint such a different picture from the actual experience? Just imagine, the business owner successfully attracted me to eat at his restaurant through the TV program. Yet, he chose to disappoint me with what he sa In your business, are you making this mistake? You have to make sure that what you portray your business as has to match what your customers actually experience. If you say this is what you will get, make sure your customers get this. It was unusually hot in Singapore yesterday.
After a heavy lunch (well, I didn't really eat a lot) of Korean barbeque buffet with my cousin, I had a craving for something real cold. So we ended up at a bubble tea shop. He ordered a hot milk tea while I had a cold one. This is a popular bubble tea chain from Taiwan, which has taken Singapore by storm. There are now at least 60 outlets all over the island. Immediately after getting my drink, I took a sip to quench my thirst. The next moment, I caught myself saying "Wow, it's artificial enough." Of course, what else can you expect? Everything are pre-packed and most of the ingredients and flavoring comes in powder form. So you don't expect them to add a real plum when you order a plum milk tea. Anyway, I'm fine by it as I only wanted to quench my thirst. We quickly find ourselves a seat to enjoy the aircon as well. While chatting over our drinks, my cousin remarked that his drink is tasteless and asked me to try it. I took a sip and it's BLANDER than BLAMD. It tasted like plain water mixed with diluted milk with VERY VERY VERY faint taste of tea. I've noticed that the standard of quality for drinks at this shop is rather inconsistent. Some tasted ok, some tasted horrible and only one tasted good. When a business expands so fast, there is always the issue of consistency in quality. Looks like this company is facing the same problem. I've no doubt that they have some procedures and processes in place with regards to mixing of drinks. Boil the tea for 15 minutes. Transfer to container. One scoop of this, 3/4 cup of tea, a tablespoon flavoring for this tea. Tea after 30 minutes will be discarded as it's taste has changed. That's what I think they will do. If the staff are following the standard operations, then how could the taste varies from one outlet to another? This problem is especially obvious in Chinese restaurant as each chef's way of cooking, controlling of fire and timing affect how food turns out. But that is an exception. How can company like MacDonald maintain its consistency in food quality? I bet you cannot tell whether this hamburger was bought from the MacDonald in the east or west. Did the staff at the bubble tea shop added too little tea leaves? Did they added too much water? If you follow the procedures and recipes step-by-step, it is unlikely that your food will turn out otherwise. But even if you follow everything to a T, there's always a chance that something may go wrong. The ingredients may be defective. But we are so accustomed to assume that if it's from the same supplier which you've been getting supplies from for many years, there's no problem. That makes me wonder if MacDonald requires its managers to do food tasting every day. Ok, back to our drinks. I told my cousin to ask the staff to change it. However, he was hesitant as he said he has drank quite a bit (not that much actually, about two sips). Now, my cousin is a nice person and didn't want to cause any trouble to the staff. He thinks it's not really the staff fault and since the drink is still ok, he just leave it. And the drink wasn't that expensive too. I told him I'll change it for him. I believe that if our feedback is genuine, we have a right to not accept substandard service. Of course, I wanted to see how the staff handle such situation. So I took the drink and approach the lady telling her that the tea was bland and there's no taste of tea at all. It looked like she never had customer bringing back a drink to feedback that it's tasteless. I asked if she could change a new cup for me. She was not sure how to react to me and wanted to call her colleague. However, the other staff was too busy with his work and did not hear her. She then asked me if I wanted to add sugar or tea. Seriously, I'm not sure if either one of these options will makes the tea taste better. Adding sugar? Will it end up tasting like sugar solution? Add tea? Didn't I just feedback that the tea is tasteless? Is she going to add more tasteless tea to my tasteless tea? In the end, I asked for the second option as it's sounded safer. Obviously, she did not hear about my request to change for a new cup of tea. Nevertheless, whether I got a new drink or not is not important to you. The important message is that how many of your customers are keeping quiet like my cousin? They got something of substandard quality or lousy service and they just keep quiet. Is it because they are easygoing and more forgiving? Are they too scared of the trouble? Or do they see no point in feedback as they already expect the kind of outcome or answer from you? It may not be your fault but your customers have been disappointed by many businesses. Customers who keep quiet and walk away the last thing you want them to do to you. The name.
The statuette. The actors and actresses. The best and the worst. For this year, it's 86. Think about how you can use them. For some of you, Academy Awards may sounds unfamiliar to you.
But if I say Oscar, many of you will know what it is. Started in 1929, the annual Academy Awards is an American awards ceremony honoring achievements in the film industry and the oldest entertainment awards ceremony. The 86th Academy Awards will be held on 2 March 2014. The most iconic symbol of the Oscar is the statuette of a man. Made of gold-plated britannium on a black metal base, it is 13.5 in (34 cm) tall, weighs 8.5 lb (3.85 kg) and depicts a knight rendered in Art Deco style holding a crusader's sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes. The five spokes represent the original branches of the Academy: Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers, and Technicians.* So how did the Academy Awards ended up being known as the Oscar? One of the most controversial argument was that the Academy's Executive Secretary, Margaret Herrick, first saw the award in 1931 and said the statuette reminds her of her "Uncle Oscar" (a nickname for her cousin Oscar Pierce). And I just learned that from 1950 onwards, there is a legal requirement preventing the winners and their heirs from selling the statuettes without first offering to sell them back to the Academy for US$1. If the winner refuses to agree to this, the Academy will keeps the statuette. Academy Awards not bounded by this agreement were sold in public auction or private deals for as much as six figures. Although not as well publicized as the West, the winners never fail getting mentioned on major local newspapers with a BIG photos of them on the front page. You can be sure that the major fashion magazines will be filled with photos of the actresses with their designers' gowns and jewelries worth millions of dollars. The best dressed, the worst dressed and all in between. Taking a walk down the red carpet is a dream of every aspiring actor and actress, which few ever make it. And winning the award is a feather to the cap, and a very BIG one. Although getting nominated is by means no easy feat, but it's always the winner who is remembered. But there is always the exception. Meryl Streep has received 18 Academy Award nominations and won three. In awards ceremony of such scale, you get some of the best of the best in the industry competing. And these people often have what we call staying power. They may not get nominated this year. However, they are never out of action. These people also have their fair share of failures. They just keep on trying. Don't be surprised how many times they've failed before finally standing on stage, with all the riches that most of us hope for. So, let that be an inspiration to you. * Source : Wikipedia |
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May 2020
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