Scott's Blog - Page 54 of 69 - Scott Flood Writing

SUCCESS STORY: GAS, NOT HOT AIR

November 30, 2011 by Scott Flood

You’re the largest natural gas marketer in the state, and the people you need as clients have never heard of you. What can you do to convince them of your size and expertise?

During the early days of energy deregulation, Proliance Energy — a joint effort of two of Indiana’s largest utilities — quickly established itself by offering purchase expertise to commercial and industrial customers. Their success at keeping a cap on what those customers would have to pay for natural gas ballooned the company into the state’s biggest. But name recognition was still minimal.

SUCCESS STORY: FRIES WITH THAT?

November 23, 2011 by Scott Flood

You’re opening your 25th bank branch in a location that isn’t very visible from the road, in an area that’s already saturated with competitors, and far from your other offices.

Still, Cragin Federal Bank wanted its grand opening to be a huge success in terms of traffic and money. The bank set up a cross-promotion agreement with a local McDonald’s franchisee. Using that tie-in, Scott Flood and Ace Art Director Mike Reiser created what became the bank’s most successful promotion, called the “Great Savor Grand Opening.”

SUCCESS STORIES: DIRTY LAUNDRY

November 16, 2011 by Scott Flood

It’s hard to get excited about dry cleaning. So how can you convince potential customers that your approach to what they see as a commodity service is different?

Morellis Cleaners was a new chain that took dry cleaning to a new level. Forget the images of steamy, stinky roomfuls of strange machinery and employees who looked like they’d been steamed for hours. The company had attractive spaces staffed by knowledgeable employees who took time to educate customers about dry cleaning.

BENIGN NEGLECT: A DEADLY WEAPON

November 9, 2011 by Scott Flood

Most organizations worry that they’re going to lose a customer, client, or supporter because of something they do. But my experience has taught me that more losses are caused by what they don’t do.

Sure, lousy customer service will lose a piece of business now and then. But what I call benign neglect is one of the most consistent ways a business or organization can lose people over time. They’ll slip away gradually, barely even noticed.

SUCCESS STORIES: CHILDHOOD BANKERS

November 2, 2011 by Scott Flood

When out-of-town banks have begun to dominate the local landscape, how do you convince residents that your bank is truly part of the community’s bedrock?

Mutual Savings Bank has been serving Johnson County residents since 1890, choosing to continue its original focus of helping everyday people buy homes and save for the future while other financial institutions merged and diversified. When some of those new banks began to promote themselves as community banks, Mutual needed to find a way to remind residents that they were the real deal.

SUCCESS STORY: TURNING AMATEURS INTO INVESTORS

October 19, 2011 by Scott Flood

How do you make everyday working people feel confident enough about investing that they’re willing to put more of their hard-earned dollars into your mutual funds?

General American Insurance knew that companies have two reasons to encourage 401(k) plan participation: financially secure employees are happy employees, and larger employee contributions mean managers can park a bigger share of their own earnings in the company’s plan.

THE POWER OF DEMONSTRATIONS

October 12, 2011 by Scott Flood

One of the most effective ways to convince your prospects of your value is to show them. While demonstrations might sound like a relic from the days when drummers peddled their wares from door to door, the technique is as powerful as ever, for everything from consumer products to business services.

When container ship line APL was trying to convince shippers of the many advantages of double-stack intermodal cars (the ones that look like a truck trailer sitting atop another), executive Don Orris kept hearing concerns about the quality of the ride within the shipping containers. Shippers worried that their delicate merchandise would be jostled and damaged during transit.

SUCCESS STORY: HERITAGE ON RYE

September 28, 2011 by Scott Flood

You operate a century-old restaurant that everyone loves, but often forgets when faced with all sorts of well-advertised chains. How do you bring people back to the table?

Shapiro’s Delicatessen has been serving corned beef and pastrami sandwiches and other Kosher-style deli fare to Indianapolis residents since Louis Shapiro found his way to the Circle City just after the turn of the last century. The restaurant was still a local favorite (and even managed to impress visiting New Yorkers), but saw its business facing tougher competition.