Surfside Group

Welcome to the Surfside Group!

It’s ALL about the customer!
 How a disappointing baseball season turned into a good business lesson


Last Thursday night I got an email forwarded to me from Matt, my husband, business partner, and longtime (formerly suffering) Red Sox fan. He wrote, “Finally, an organization that gets it! It’s all about the customer!”
The forwarded part of the email was “The Red Sox Insider,” which is basically a letter to the Red Sox email list ‘from’ the team owners (but undoubtedly written by someone on their marketing staff). The letter THANKED him for being such a great fan throughout this exciting, yet ultimately disappointing season. It also included a few highlights from the season and reminded him that there are only 126 days until pitchers and catchers report for 2010 spring training.  There are also links to team management reports about next season and how you can arrange travel to attend spring training.  It’s fundamental, yet brilliant marketing and customer service because it includes these three basic ‘rules’:

1. Let your customers know you appreciate them
2. Acknowledge areas that have room for improvement
 3. Preview upcoming attractions and build excitement for what’s next
Yes, of course Matt is disappointed that this Red Sox post season was so short, but he’s still satisfied with their 2 other World Championships since 2004. He appreciates that he got this letter from management thanking him and everyone else who makes up “Red Sox Nation” for their loyalty. They are already sparking the excitement for next season’s spring training and opening day!
Even if you don’t know the difference between an RBI and an ERA, most people recognize that America’s pastime has infinite analogies to life and business. For example, there are always variables in a sales situation that are not in our control. ‘Stuff’ happens.  For the 2009 Red Sox, many of their key players got injured and tired.  They were not strong enough and they got swept by the LA Angels in the first round of the playoffs. 
Have you ever been knocked out of consideration for new business because you were not prepared on all fronts and the competition simply scored better than you at every turn? Hopefully, you learned from it and did better in other similar situations.
What about not delivering according to your clients’ expectations? It happens even to the most conscientious, customer-centric businesses. The truly great companies, sales professionals and executives will accept responsibility for what did not go according to plan, and offer solutions to fix the situation and/or do better in the future.
As we blast full speed ahead into the holiday season, what are you planning to do to thank your customer base and keep them excited about what you can do for them in 2010?  We all know that 2009 has not been a stellar year for many businesses, but if you’re reading this it must mean that you are still earning enough money to pay for your internet connection, so it can’t be all bad. If possible, think of a special way to thank your customers for their business. It doesn’t need to be expensive, just authentic. Then, let them know how you plan to do even better for them in 2010. Create excitement within your customer base by reminding them that you appreciate their business and will work hard to continue to earn it.