Nothing Special

We live near a small strip center with a Starbucks, Subway and Panda Express. It’s close enough to walk to, but far enough away that we don’t suffer from the traffic that it attracts. We liked Longs Drugs, which anchored the center. It had a lot of what you need, so that if you run out of milk or batteries, you could make a quick trip.

Longs also had a funky edge. As various holidays approached, you could always find some cute “yard art” – which Donna loves – like a three-foot tall “Monster Crossing” figure for our front porch at Halloween, or an appropriately patriotic gizmo with American flags that we break out every 4^th of July. And their variety of Christmas lights and knick-knacks was as equally impressive as its prices were reasonable.

About two years ago, CVS/Pharmacy bought out Longs Drugs nationwide, and our favorite neighborhood drug store was transformed. The aisles are cleaner, the lighting a bit less harsh, the paint and carpet fresher. But its character was lost in the name change.

Much less funky. Fewer cute holiday-themed kitsch. Longer lines at the check-out. Fewer smiles from the pharmacy staff. In fact, no one looks like they’re doing anything more than waiting for their shift to end.

What CVS does have, however, is an “Extra Care” rewards program, where you rack up credit for purchases. You may not feel much employee-love now, but you’re always asked if you have an “Extra Rewards” card to scan with your purchase. And you’re encouraged to approach a free-standing scanning station each time you enter the store – and if you’ve racked up enough credit, money-savings coupons are automatically dispensed. To be honest, the savings can be worthwhile.

As I’ve confessed in earlier posts, I’m a Starbucks fan, and Donna and I usually stop by for a cup of coffee on Saturday mornings, and sometimes on Sundays as well. With CVS right next door, we still shop there. But less often than before.

Beyond locational convenience, there’s nothing that distinguishes CVS from other drug stores. Not the service. Not the selection. And the bribery of the “Extra Care” rewards program is not earning our loyalty.

Water Bob

We moved into our home five years ago and inherited a reverse osmosis drinking water system. And a water softener. I’m not a fan of the water softener, but for peace in the family, I live with it. But I love the RO system. An oft-repeated platitude is that you need eight 8-ounce cups of water a day. I drink about twice that. Everyday.

Each year, we call Five Cities Water – aka Water Bob – to tune up the drinking water system. We have no idea who “Bob” is – presumably the business owner – but we do know Brandon. And Bob should be proud. Brandon never disappoints. He has been the “face” of Five Cities Water for five years.

Our RO filters are changed quickly and efficiently. He asks questions and gives us tips about keeping the system at peak performance. And one of our two dogs likes him. As do Donna and I. Never underestimate the “pleasant, helpful” factor if your business is providing a service. Being good, proficient at what you do is expected. That’s not exceptional or memorable. Same goes for banks. And locksmiths. And motels. And thousands of other service-industry businesses.

This year, Brandon noticed that we’d remodeled our kitchen since his last visit. Then he noticed that our “old” RO water dispenser did not match our “new” brushed steel water faucet. He offered to install a new one for us, and just happened to have one in his truck that matched our faucet perfectly. So was that good salesmanship, or good service? Both.

Ten minutes later, Donna, I, and the two dogs were admiring our updated RO water dispenser. It was the final exclamation point on our kitchen remodel. Brandon cleaned up, gave us the annual speech about “checking for leaks” three times over the next few hours, presented an invoice, shook our hands and moved on to his next appointment.

Two weeks later, we received a “thank you” card from Water Bob. He asked that if we were satisfied … tell a friend. Will do. And we’ll see you again next May, Brandon.

A Steaming Cup of Consistency

My father was a coffee lover. He’d make a big, big pot of coffee in the morning and drink it all day long. Black. Lots of sugar. Me, not so much. I never drank much coffee until a few years ago. And it’s strictly decaf.

My coffee drinking is social. A friend has stopped asking me to go with her for coffee. She likes to walk down Higuera Street, order a cup and bring the coffee back to work. For her it’s all about the coffee itself. Not for me. I like to go to the coffee shop. To sit and relax. Carry on a conversation over a steaming cup. Or just open my laptop, sipping, checking up on email or the latest “news” on HuffPost.

Lots of people don’t like Starbucks. But I do. There’s one four blocks from my house. Two more – facing each other, one in a Barnes & Noble – five blocks from my office. And tens of thousands worldwide. Their sheer numbers make them easy targets for naysayers.

My preferred coffee is flavored. On weekend evenings, I like mine with Kahlua and cream. Sometimes with Baileys. But my favorite is with chocolate – a big mocha. Decaf, of course, no whip. It’s how I size up coffee shops. Starbucks makes my favorite mocha. And the best is at the downtown SLO Starbucks.

What makes it “best?” Consistency. It’s always made the same way. Not too sweet. Heavy cocoa flavor. No thick syrup residue at the bottom of the cup. One young barista, with short platinum hair, is the queen. When she’s making the drinks, it’s going to be great. Excellent staff. Smiling, cheerful, friendly, and helpful; genuinely engaging without pretense. And there’s a refreshing sameness; I frequently see familiar faces among relaxing customers, regardless of when I visit.

I like Peets Coffee in downtown SLO. Tables outside, in a prime people-watching spot. Excellent iced tea. Cool vibe. Efficient staff. But not a great mocha. And that’s my gold standard. It all starts with the “product.”

OSH b'gosh

We had honey-do projects planned around the house for the three-day Memorial Day holiday. I was to replace the lighting on our porch, and Donna wanted to repaint our front door – red! So, off to Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) we went. It’s close to our Arroyo Grande house, and unlike Home Depot, it’s not overwhelming looking for the things we need. And it was “we pay the sales tax” weekend – the best time to buy!

We walked in the front door and right to the paint section to check out color swatches. After selecting the shade of red from a plethora of choices, it was off to the paint aisles. Which brand? Flat, satin, eggshell, semi-gloss, gloss or enamel finish? Good, better or best grade? Choices, choices – so many choices. But choose we did, and our next stop was the paint counter to have our perfect shade mixed for us.

Ricky was great! He asked questions and guided us to a more informed – and cheaper – choice for painting our front door – the first thing people will see when approaching the house. And his best tips of the day – prophetic when Donna started painting the door – were that the wet paint will look disappointingly pink when wet, and we’ll have to give the door multiple (final count was five) coats, since red is among the most difficult colors when covering a white surface.

Flush with painting confidence, we set off to the lighting department and found an equally daunting number of choices. I liked these three, she liked those two. And then we both saw exactly what we wanted. One problem. We found three lights and needed four. Enter Jared, the store manager who just happened to be walking by and asked if he could help. Yes, please! He checked – no more in the back room. Worse yet, this model was being phased out and might not be available. Scarcity – which, of course, made us want it all the more!

Jared checked around and found what we needed at the Paso Robles OSH. He called the store, asked them to set one light aside, then called his assistant manager – who lives in Paso Robles, but works at the AG store – at home and asked him to drop by the Paso store on Monday morning and pick up the light on his way to work in Arroyo Grande. Then he gave us a rain check so that we’d pay the “no sales tax” price.

Monday morning, shortly after 8 am, OSH called and let us know that our light was at the Arroyo Grande store, ready for us to pick up, at our convenience.

I don’t know if we could have purchased the same lights elsewhere, for less. But the customer service we received was of great value. And we’ll gladly go back to OSH for our next home project. Hmmm … come to think of it, our bathroom light fixtures are looking a little dated. Might be time to go shopping.

Almost Joyful

I don’t tend to see myself as a person susceptible to infomercials. In fact, I tend to view them as lower-scale entertainment and a bit campy: exaggerated expressions, graphics and overly serious announcers or spokespeople.

I’ve had nagging lower back issues for years. I visit a chiropractor regularly and do back exercises several times a week. And it has helped. But while at Kennedy Club Fitness in Arroyo Grande on consecutive mid-Saturday afternoons – a prime time for local TV stations to fill their programming with infomercials – I viewed portions of a 30-minute BackJoy message without sound and just the graphics and closed-captions to convey the wonders of this lower-back miracle product.

I smirked the first Saturday, but mentally noted www.backjoy.com and checked it out that evening. By the second Saturday, I was intrigued enough to further investigate – including checking Amazon.com and eBay – to see if I could find the product (or a knock-off) for less than the truly amazing $39.95 (plus $11.95 shipping and handling) advertised on their website.

Mysteriously, my lower back was tweaky the next week, so I convinced myself to try an experiment. I ordered my very own BackJoy – made easier by the “money back guarantee” which pushed me from interested to committed.

The online ordering process couldn’t have been easier. And with a tracking number to follow my package, I checked its progress across the country to my front porch. After thoroughly reading the instructions, I took my very own BackJoy to work and put it to use on the first day. And the second day, which included a 3-hour round trip drive to Santa Barbara. My back felt fine, but I kept feeling that my legs were losing blood circulation.

By the third day, it was clear BackJoy was not for me. I checked their website, called the toll-free number and requested the money back guarantee. My customer service rep was pleasant and shifted into problem-solving mode to salvage the sale, asking questions about how I used BackJoy. To no avail. She then explained the returned-product process. Ten days later, my charge account was credited (less $11.95).

So, what did I learn? I’m not immune to infomercials. But this product did not live up to the lofty expectations I had for it. Was that my fault or theirs? Fortunately, it all turned out well. And my “experiment” cost me only shipping and handling.

Late for the party

I am not much of a shopper. At least not in brick-and-mortar stores. I don't enjoy the "experience" of shopping - browsing for just the right item. I much prefer Amazon.com, Zappos and online shopping in general. What's not to love? Easy price comparisons, delivery right to your home or office, no-hassle returns. All that's missing (for me) is being able to touch or try-on the items, and the instant-gratification that buying at a store provides. I do most of my gift buying - and a fair amount of my personal shopping - online. Which makes it all the more puzzling that I have only recently discovered the wonders of eBay, first-hand. Credit my wife. Donna had a Dooney & Bourke all-weather-leather handbag when we met. She loved it, but gave her purse to a friend a few years back. After that, it seemed a fading memory. Until I started teasing about her "man bag" - the not-particularly-attractive purse that seems more like a small piece of luggage; once an item finds its way into it, and settles to the bottom, there's not much chance of it ever being seen again. I've been told in no uncertain terms that they are quite "popular." My comments and her work friend sporting a "vintage" Dooney & Bourke that her husband bought her online spurred Donna to Google research. That led her to eBay and a breathtaking assortment of D&B items. After a quick and steep learning curve about auction bidding, she purchased a beautiful purse. Then another. Then I got hooked, and added to the growing Moon family Dooney & Bourke collection. Again, what's not to love about eBay? It can be online shooping at its best. A massive inventory, which changes by the minute. The fun of competitive bidding - it's almost as addictive as gambling - so that you control the price you're willing to pay. All the watch lists and instant notifications to keep you continually informed about the status of your bids. The social element of sharing photos and descriptions of items with friends. And of course, the ease of PayPal to complete your transactions, and encouragements to rate the sellers. Now Donna teases me about my "murse" - the man-purse D&B satchel I bought to carry my iPad. It's a good thing that I'm confident in my masculinity. Usually.

Fumble Recovered

Among my Christmas presents from daughter Katie was an iTunes card. Music is one of my passions and I view gifts like this as a “permission slip” to load my iPhone with songs outside my usual well-worn comfort zone.

While preparing to add the gift card sum to my iTunes account online, I was a little too eager, evidently, and scratched off a portion of the 16-digit code along with the security tape that covers it from prying eyes. Whoops, now what?! Never fear, there’s an Apple store in San Luis Obispo. So, I thought, I’ll drop by on my lunch hour and see if they can help me. (If this had happened to my wife, she’d be Google-ing within minutes, and in retrospect, her approach would likely have been more efficient.)

My visit to the Apple store was disappointing. A friendly Apple employee reassured me that I was not a complete idiot – my iTunes card scratch-off problem happens to other people. But … he couldn’t help me. The iTunes “store” must be accessed online to reconstruct the secret code. He did not offer to walk me over to one of the dozens of live Apple products to help guide me through the process so I could self-serve myself right there and then.

So, back to work I went. That evening, I used my MacBook Pro to sign in to iTunes, access their “store” and navigate my way to a form to fill out. An immediate automated-response email message confirmed that my form had been received and I now had a problem resolution number and a commitment that I’d receive a personal response, within 24 hours.

Slightly less than 24 hours later I did, in fact, receive a personalized email message from “Manu” the iTunes customer support specialist. He (I’m making an assumption Manu is a man) was polite, seemed to care and, most importantly, fixed my problem; my iTunes Card code was located and step-by-step instructions were provided to redeem it to my account.

Oh, and 24 hours after that, Manu sent another message to see if I was experiencing any difficulties with the card or the iTunes Store. Nice touch.

After a shaky start at the Apple Store, this is a story of good service “recovery” and ultimately a satisfied customer. And I just ordered an iPad 2 … but that experience will have to wait for a future article.

Fair Price, Good Value

There are two dogs in the Moon household. Long-haired dachshunds, to be specific: Chloe and Penny. And we prefer to shop locally. For many of our dog-related toys and treats, Lemo’s Feed and Pet Supply near our home in Arroyo Grande is where we shop, and for wet and dry dog food, Tails Pet Boutique in downtown San Luis Obispo is our store of choice.

Tails carries a special dog food that Donna researched extensively, and the store smartly manages its marketing tactics. As you walk up Higuera Street, you pass their large glass windows, where cats on loan from the local Humane Society are sleeping comfortably, and an easel with photos of dogs up for adoption is on display. I pass there most weekdays and frequently see people stopped at the photos or smiling and pointing at the cats.

Service can make the difference when offering commodity pet products. Tails prices are fair, and not much different than we’ve found on the Internet. The owner and staff are friendly and responsive. When I’ve wanted a case of dog food, and only a couple of cans were on the shelf, they’ve offered to order it for me; a couple of days later, I receive a call to let me know they’re holding the food for me. I like that.

Tails also offers a refreshingly low-tech frequent-buyer program for pet food. The reverse side of the store business card tracks six purchase dates and amounts (pre-tax); the purchases are tallied up and averaged, and the card can then be redeemed for anything the store sells. To me this is icing on the cake – I’d purchase the dogs’ food at Tails anyway, but the rewards program makes me feel appreciated for my patronage.

The products we want, priced fairly, offered with good service, in a pet-friendly environment, by local people who really seem to like what they do … it’s a winning combination. And the licks of appreciation after dinner from Penny and Chloe are warm, moist and priceless.

Give them an experience

I took the train from Grover Beach to Santa Ana for a recent “Moon Family Vacation.” It had been 20 years since I last rode Amtrak, and was pleasantly surprised. We remained on schedule throughout the 6+ hour trip, the passenger cars (and restrooms) were clean, the chairs comfortable, and the staff very professional. When Katie lived in Santa Barbara, she’d take the train to Irvine a couple of times a month to visit her then-boyfriend (now fiancé, soon to be husband) Eddie, and consistently enjoyed the experience; it sure beat LA traffic on Friday evenings and gave her time to grade homework and prep school lessons for the next week.

Monica and her husband Jimi joined us from Sacramento and we all spent the day at Walt Disney’s original theme park. So much has been written about Disneyland as an example of services marketing done well – with attention to every detail to payoff on “The Happiest Place on Earth” promise and make the $76 admission price seem like a good value. I’m from San Diego, just a couple hours south of Anaheim, and my dad would take our family to Disneyland every year when I was growing up. It’s been a few years since Katie, Monica and I have been there, and it remains as clean, well run and crowded as I remember.

We made a full day of it, and decided to have dinner in bustling Downtown Disney, adjacent to Disneyland and California Adventure. After scouting the many restaurants available to us, Katie chose Tortilla Joe’s. And yes, there was a line to get in. Live music outside made the wait more than tolerable.

The restaurant seemed an extension of D’land in every way. It was clean, efficient, and attention to architecture and interior detail screamed clichéd “Mexican cuisine.” While the food was good, if not great, most impressive were the carefully coordinated entertainment elements which added value to the dining experience.

An “artist” came to our table, and with great flair and personality proceeded to construct a ladybug from an impressive stock of colorful balloons. Many laughs and photos ensued as Monica strapped the bulbous insect to her wrist. The artist moved on to the next table to construct a giraffe for a smiling young boy, and we were unaware of the time passing as we waited for our food. As we ate, a strolling all-female mariachi band appeared. They were wonderful, talented musicians and captivating.

After paying for dinner, we didn’t want to leave Tortilla Joe’s. But we still had a few hours until Disneyland closed and hadn’t yet made it to Fantasyland, with our perennial favorite Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and the campy It’s a Small World.

Fourteen hours in the Magic Kingdom. It was a complete “experience.” Just as a great services firm should provide to it’s customers, or “guests” as Disney calls us. We paid our money, exhausted ourselves, and were ready to do it all over again the next morning. But there were planes and trains to catch, and work on Monday.

The Dark Side

I’m proud to be a marketing professional. It’s the career path I willingly chose. I’ve never wanted to do anything else. So, it’s not often that I feel compelled to defend marketing as a business discipline.

A good work and personal friend recently told me that she felt “marketing” was to blame for many of society’s ills. Marketing, she explained, convinces people that they must have things that they really don’t need, can’t afford or are actually bad for them. The Great Recession is rooted in the excesses of marketing. I dismiss this assault on my profession as misguided, inaccurate, simplistic and uninformed.

Donna and I watched the documentary The Tillman Story this weekend. Pat Tillman gave up a successful and lucrative NFL career to enlist in the US Army with his brother, less than a year after 9/11. Pat was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in April, 2004. The film details the misinformation, cover-ups and web of lies told to the Tillman family and the American public surrounding Pat’s “heroic” death.

Some suggest the original story of Pat Tillman’s killing by Taliban fighters, leading his men into battle, was part of a “marketing” effort to avoid the embarrassment of fratricide and to prop up support for the war. Unseemly characterizations of both my government and my profession.

Used to advance a solid product, service, organization, candidate or cause, marketing can certainly be a powerful force for good. Examples of it being used unscrupulously for immoral or unethical purposes – even with profound effect – make me no less proud to be a marketing practitioner. Like a CPA asked to comment about the accounting excesses of Enron, I choose to believe that “I would never do that.”

Re-Boot

Donna and I went to see Black Swan yesterday. And though I can't honestly say that I liked the movie, I was struck by the final words spoken by the main character: "I was perfect."

I periodically consider the notion that I am becoming a dinosaur; at least as far as my marketing skill set. Not naturally drawn to social media personally, and working for a firm whose clientele is primarily local businesses, I struggle with the usefulness of these tools. I know that I'm not alone, but that is small comfort when the feeling of being left behind haunts me as a marketing professional.

OK, so how does that have anything to do with the Black Swan quote? Just that among the advice I read about jumping on the social media bandwagon is that you do NOT have to be perfect to do it well. Get off the sidelines. Join the conversation. Experiment. Make mistakes and learn. And other cliches, which all point to encouraging dinosaurs to refrain from ready-aim-aim-aim-fire.

My training, which fits with my personality propensity, to believe that you have only one opportunity to make a great first impression, is at least a bit inconsistent with the advice I'm reading about using social media to engage customers and prospects. In fact, even using the terms customers and prospects may be another indication that I don't quite "get it" yet with regard to social media.

So, my New Years resolution - better late than never - is to get beyond feeling like I have to be "perfect" at social media. I'm committed to evolving, learning, testing and becoming more at ease with integrating "new media" tools and techniques into my well worn "classic media" (notice I didn't use "old media") tool box. I know that I'm damn good at planning and using classic media. Now I want to become equally good at utilizing the advantages social media are capable of delivering. That's my goal for 2011. And I'm modest enough to know that this will require the help of others.

The Color Splash Effect

Watching HGTV is hazardous to my wallet. Donna and I enjoy several HGTV programs, but we’re hooked on Color Splash with David Bromstad. We watch. We learn – or at least I do. We look around our house and that’s where the trouble starts. The living room needs updating. The bedroom needs a makeover.

Donna has a great eye for design and color, just like her mom. I don’t. I’m functional, utilitarian when it comes to furniture and accessories. Donna’s got her foot on the accelerator, mine’s more on the brake. And as a shopper, I don’t buy things often, but when I do, it can turn into a cascade. Thanks to Color Splash, it just did. New artwork for the living room walls. A new area rug, throw pillows, TV and stand. A new bed frame and comforter.

I prefer to buy locally whenever possible, but shop online when we can’t find exactly what we want. Using the classic 4P’s of Marketing, let’s look at brick-and-mortar and virtual store experiences:
• Product – I like to see and feel the rug, pillows and furniture at a local store. And you can’t beat up close and personal when shopping for a TV. But the depth of product choices is vast online. Add buyer reviews – even if some of them seem “planted” – and you get a dimension unmatched by a smiling salesperson.
• Price – is often lower online, sometimes dramatically so. The advantage is enhanced if the virtual store charges no sales tax and offers free shipping.
• Place – do you want immediate gratification? If so, the local store has the advantage. Two days after ordering a TV stand online, a phone call from the vendor informed us that the style we chose was out of stock. When we found a replacement – at a different virtual store – it took 10 days to be delivered. Meanwhile, our new TV sat on the living room floor.
• Promotion – local radio ads helped us choose where to begin shopping. Google key-word ads have made telephone yellow pages nearly obsolete; we searched locally and the vast Internet expanses with iPhones in hand. There was nothing we could not find!
• Pleasing the Customer – Marketing’s 5th P is where local stores can and should make their advantage evident. Customer service, going the extra mile – helpful advice, quick delivery and set-up, scheduling delivery according to the customer’s needs – can make the difference in clinching the sale.

Donna and I just watched a Color Splash kitchen redesign for the Yemoto sisters – and it was a stunning transformation. If we didn’t live 250 miles south of San Francisco, where David films his home re-design projects, I’d love to have him come up with something uber-fabulous for us. We better start saving for new countertops and appliances now. I can feel a new project bubbling to the surface.

A Place for Mom

It all started with phone message. Followed by a letter. The assisted living facility my mother has called home for a dozen years was shutting down. Not one who takes change easily, even in her younger years, this was going to be a challenging process finding mom a new place to live.

In passing, I mentioned what was going on to a friend at work. She told me that her husband was going through something similar for his mom in Los Angeles. The next day, Bruce sent me an email with a link to a resource he had used to find housing for his mother. A Place for Mom, Inc. is a nationwide information service about eldercare options including nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult family homes, independent living and home care agencies.

After poking around on their website, I decided to enter basic information on the home page and start a search. Within 10 minutes, I received a call. I tend to be suspicious by nature, so I was expecting a “sales” pitch. But, I wanted to leave no stone unturned, and was willing to listen if it helped me make a better decision. I was pleasantly surprised – Barbara was empathetic, seemed to know what she was talking about, and provided helpful suggestions, particularly about applying for additional financial help for mom.

Barbara followed up by email within an hour, with 10 senior facilities that fit our budget and location requirements. All at no cost to me. I’m not naïve, and on their website it’s clearly stated: “In order to provide the information service to consumers at no charge, participating facilities or agencies pay a fee to A Place for Mom, Inc.” I also leaned heavily on mom’s current assisted living facility, which provided solid information about senior housing in the area.

So, off we went to search for mom’s new home. Every few days, I’d get an email or call from Barbara. She sent articles about other families’ experiences. She asked how I liked the facilities we’d toured. She provided particularly helpful information about a little known financial assistance program for surviving widows of veterans. Barbara treaded that fine line between showing real interest and coming on too strong. I appreciated her as a resource.

What I liked about A Place for Mom (www.aplaceformom.com) was that Barbara provided a service that offered real value – saved me time in identifying options we could afford, provided information I didn’t have about financial resources, and followed up to get our impression of the facilities they’d recommended. The final step was a survey Barbara sent me to rate their service. Oh, and yes, we are on track to get mom moved in to her new home next month.

Shop Local, Eat Fresh

I prefer summer fruit and vegetables. Nothing against apples, pears and squash, but give me strawberries, nectarines, tomatoes and cantaloupe any day, everyday. Fresh is always better and locally grown is best. That’s why I enjoy Farmers Markets, but don’t go as often as I’d like.

A couple of years ago, Donna discovered Rutiz Family Farms, not far from our house in Arroyo Grande. It is open for just a few hours each week, so you have to work around that if you’re typical 8-to-5 working stiffs like us. But the slight inconvenience is worth it. As you’d expect, the fruit and vegetables they offer are as fresh as can be – we’ve been at the produce stand when a box of new lettuce heads comes in, just harvested a few yards away.

The Rutiz family does things which pique my marketing instincts. In addition to selling produce ala carte, they assemble a “Harvest Box” of assorted popular fruit and vegetables bundled together for pick up; it’s a convenient way to have produce ready and waiting for you, and I would think offers customers a chance to try vegetables they might not otherwise purchase individually. On the website, you may sign up for a weekly eNewsletter that tells you what’s being harvested along with recipes.

Early each fall, kids can go out into the pumpkin patch, select their favorite, and etch their names and designs while it’s growing in the field; then refine their artwork each week as the pumpkin matures. During the berry growing season, you may buy the fruit in baskets at the stand or go out and pick your own. Family friendly fun.

Their brand positioning is strong, too: “A family farm with 20 years experience growing quality, pesticide-free vegetables, berries and flowers.” A compelling message in an era of tainted-food scares and ever-higher gasoline prices. At Rutiz Family Farms (www.rutizfarms.com) we get to shop local, eat fresh and feel good about it.

Save Money, Live Better?

It’s easy to pick on Wal-Mart. The 800-pound gorilla of retailing. From social issues like claims of sexual discrimination and not providing healthcare for its workers, to community issues like the accusations that it crushes local mom-and-pop businesses when it moves into town, Wal-Mart has been portrayed as the poster child for the sins of “big business.”

But Wal-Mart’s marketing position is clear: Low prices. Especially in the current economic environment, a solid appeal. Add to that an extensive breadth and depth of product selection, an expansive distribution network of stores and lots of money to spend on promotion, and their marketing success is impressive.

Donna and I bought a TV this weekend. The last time we did that – probably 10 years ago – we went to Circuit City in Santa Maria, now a casualty of the Great Recession. So, off to Wal-Mart we went. Lots of TVs from which to choose. Well known brands. Low prices. But customer service – not so much.

Granted, we don’t shop at Wal-Mart very often – maybe a handful of times a year. But what happened to the senior-citizen “greeter” that I always remember bellowing “Welcome to Wal-Mart!” as I stepped inside the store? From what I can tell – at least at the store in Arroyo Grande – the smiling, cheerful “greeter” has been replaced by a less enthusiastic “exit door checker” who asks to see your receipt as you cart your TV out of the store.

No one offered to provide any sort of help in the Electronics department, where TVs of every size were competing for attention, turned on and mounted to the wall. Checkers at the cash registers seemed cheerless. Kind of made me want to use the self-service kiosks which now occupy prime spots in the middle of the check-out area.

My overall buying experience: functional and efficient. But I didn’t want to linger in the aisles. Get in, find what I need and get out. Did I pay less? Yes, almost certainly. Will I return in the future? Probably, but just for the items I perceive Wal-Mart (www.wal-mart.com) offers at a steep discount. However, it is not a retail experience which I look forward to fondly.

The Loan Guy

It all started with a “Happy 4th of July” email message. It was from the home loan consultant who had financed our house when we moved back to the Central Coast in 2006. Jim Smith had stayed in touch with low key communications – sometimes by email and sometimes by snail mail – that included just enough information about the housing market to be useful.

This time, it got me thinking. I had a home loan that would adjust in 6 more years, but rates were low right now. I sent Jim a return email, he responded and I determined that the time was not quite right for me to refinance.

But then Thanksgiving rolled around, and in the mail came a holiday card from Jim, a few more nuggets of real estate news and a 2010 calendar. I just had to contact him again – by phone. And this time, the stars seemed to align – rates, the right loan, etc. Donna and I signed all the paperwork for our new 30-year fixed loan on December 28, and the loan funded before year end.

Two loans with Smith Lending Group – on the same house – in four years. Why? Because Jim stayed in touch. He offered real value in his marketing communications. And because I trusted him. He earned that trust the first time we worked together. I felt that he was on my side – he did what he said he’d do, he didn’t take short-cuts and he let me know what was happening every step of the way. That earned him a second opportunity. And he was just as good this time around.

Jim Smith (www.TheLoanGuy.com) finished with a thank you card and gift. And I’d work with him again – the next time I buy a home.

A New Year's Eve Marketing Lesson

My in-laws from Colorado were in town for the holidays, and we were planning a New Year’s Eve dinner. I suggested McPhee’s Grill. My wife and I have eaten at McPhee’s in Templeton, but we’d yet to try the newer Avila Beach location. Since we live in Arroyo Grande, the short drive to Avila seemed perfect for New Year’s.

In my first marketing course at UCLA, the professor warned the 300+ future captains of industry in attendance to avoid careers in food service: grocery stores (because of razor thin margins) and restaurants (because of their significant business failure rate). So, as I sat down for dinner and reviewed the menu, I thought about why patrons choose (and choose to return to) one restaurant over others.

Positive word of mouth is crucial. Friends telling friends, face-to-face, voice-to-voice, and increasingly via digital social networks, quickly share personal experiences – both good and bad. But what impresses people enough to recommend or pan a restaurant? If you ask restaurateurs, I’d bet you’d get fairly consistent responses: good food, attentive service, pleasant environment, etc.

As with other service industries, my experience is that it’s often the little things at restaurants that leave lasting impressions – like keeping the water glasses filled and presenting the check promptly when it’s evident the diners are ready to wrap it up.

Since it was my suggestion of where to eat, my reputation was on the line. Fortunately, I was not disappointed. Attentive service? Yes. Pleasant environment? Yes. Water glasses filled? Yes. Good food? Yes – each of us had an excellent meal, served hot and to our liking.

When I asked my wife later what impressed her most about our dinner, she focused on the menu choices and how the food was prepared and presented. In other words the “product” McPhee’s offers. For me, it was more about the meal as the centerpiece of an experience – having a good time – which included attentive service and a pleasant environment; the quality of food was a given for me, but not the most memorable aspect of the evening.

So here’s my New Year’s Eve marketing lesson: different consumers weigh the importance of different factors when choosing to purchase, and whether to come back to purchase again. My wife and I are likely to return for dinner, but for at least slightly different reasons. Businesses need to understand what attracts their customers and what brings them back or turns them off. McPhee’s Grill (www.McPhees.com) seems to have a good handle on what their patrons want. And my father-in-law seemed impressed with my choice for New Year’s Eve dinner.