This gym. ZombieFit puts an insane spin on standard fitness classes:
What if you woke up tomorrow to find your city overridden with zombies, would you survive? This may seem childish, but by preparing for the impossible, you’ll be ready for the improbable.
The keys to surviving Z-day are simple: Be able to lift and throw heavy things, run fast and for long distances, and be able to navigate obstacles and urban environments in an efficient manner. By following the ZombieFit WODs (workout of the day) and practicing parkour, you will achieve increased fitness through the performance of functional movements at high intensity and find within yourself the internal discipline and mental fortitude necessary to become a traceur.
This is GOOD MARKETING. Differentiate. Be remarkable. Be worth talking about.
More about ZombieFit.
That question may be the most important question you can ask — and the business innovation of the decade. It comes from Fred Reichheld‘s Net Promoter Score concept and his book The Ultimate Question. You should read the book and start using it immediately.
Of course, I love it because it’s a word of mouth question. Measuring your success in terms of working for the referral takes a lot of complicated business goals and boils it down to one simple idea — is the customer so happy that they will refer us?
It’s a question that works for every department. The CEO knows that referrals are important, but so does the delivery guy. Each employee can succeed by defining their job in terms of the did I earn the referral today? objective.
You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to start asking this question and how quickly it aligns your company around what really matters: customers that love you so much that they sing your praises to their friends.
Here’s a great email I got from Rackspace:
Learn more from NetPromoter.com.
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Focus is what builds brands and earns fans. The less distractions for you and your customers, the better for everyone. A few ways to do it:
1> With your selection
2> With your menu
3> With your talent
4> Check it out: Simply Noise
1> With your selection
Too much variety can confuse customers and cost you the sale. When Walmart Canada cut two of its five lines of peanut butter to free up shelf space, they actually sold more peanut butter. The results mirror a 2007 study by Bain & Co. which found that reducing the number of products you offer can increase sales by as much as 40 percent — all while reducing costs 10 to 35 percent. Take a look at what’s on your store shelves, you might find you can cut the selection (and some inventory headaches) and increase sales at the same time.
The lesson: When you focus your selection, your best products get more attention.
Learn more: Globe and Mail
2> With your menu
Restaurants are notorious for over-complicating their menus and featuring items they don’t do well. At New York’s I Trulli restaurant, owner Nicola Marzovilla keeps his menu focused — so much so that he refuses to offer a children’s menu, even though diners frequently request it. More than stubbornness, it’s out of his restaurant’s focus on family and nutrition. He’s more than willing to offer a smaller portion of something from the menu, but you won’t see chicken fingers, grilled cheese, or PB&J being served.
The lesson: Customers don’t always know what they’re looking for. Sometimes, it requires ignoring them to give them what they really want.
Learn more: New York Times
3> With your talent
The riches are in the niches. UK-based Red Photography will shoot a wide range of stuff, but they’re especially talented with cans and bottles. Instead of adding this to their offerings alongside location photography, food, and people, they created separate micro businesses “We Shoot Bottles” and “We Shoot Cans.” In terms of both branding and SEO, the specific focus gives them a big advantage over competitors who try to do everything.
The lesson: Focus on what you’re absolutely, fantastically, undeniably amazing at — and cut the rest.
Learn more: We Shoot Bottles and We Shoot Cans
4> Check it out: Simply Noise
If you need some noise to drown out your co-worker’s hacking cough — but can’t work to music — try Simply Noise. It’s no Pandora or Grooveshark, but it’s great at what it promises: All static, all the time.
Check it out: Simply Noise
Reviews on your website build customer trust and increase sales. We’d all rather buy from companies and products that are well-recommended.
How do you get more reviews? Just ask.
Send a reminder email asking for reviews after each order. Take a look at this great example that Costco sent me:
- Give a clear call to action: “Write a review!”
- Show the benefit: “Reviews help us provide you and all Costco members with better products and service.”
- Make it easy: Instructions are right in the email.
(Disclosure: Costco is a client and their reviews are powered by Bazaarvoice, where I’m an advisor.)
I called a cab in a new town, which is a do-it-and-forget-it experience for most people.
So how does the cab company get me to remember them?
They didn’t just email the order confirmation. They focused on earning the next sale.
The email had coupons and an invitation to install their app on my phone. Great move — once I install it, they are likely to be the only cab company that I have handy for the next order.
How can you change your post-sale follow-up to get a customer to remember your name?
There is a big basket of blank thank-you notes at the end of every row of cubicles at Zappos.
Guess what? The employees send a lot of thank you notes to customers.
How easy can you make it for your employees to make customers happy?
(Start reading Switch by Chip & Dan Heath for the science/logic of this sort of thing. It’s a must-read book.)
Lands’ End has always said it, plain and simple:
Guaranteed. Period.
If you’re not satisfied with any item, simply return it to us at any time for an exchange or refund of its purchase price.
No BS. Honest and clean.
Get up right now and strip one line of jargon out of your business writing. Every company has some. You’ll be better for it.
Procter & Gamble: Swan dive… into Old Spice’s remarkable social media campaign
Alberto Culver: Managing promotions on Facebook
UnitedHealth Group: Success in social recruiting
BlogWell: How Big Brands Use Social Media
