Author Archives: Dan Gershenson

What a Shoplifter Taught Me About Branding

Today’s post is brought to you by guest blogger Rob Jager of Hedgehog Consulting. Rob is an incredibly gifted management consultant and I’ve personally used his services to help channel my agency’s vision into tangible results. I’ll be co-presenting with him on how you can do the same next Thursday the 3rd at the Chicagoland Chamber at 7:45am. The event is free.

I used to work in retail. In retail, it’s no secret people steal. Sometimes it’s the employees; sometimes it’s the customer. It really doesn’t matter, they both taught me something I didn’t know before.

First, most shoplifters have a look or habits they have. Talk to any Asset or Loss Prevention department and they’ll give you a name or a description of each specific person they’re watching for. In fact, they’ll tell you that the thief behaves the same way every time.

Second, I found out that if you approach a shoplifter, greet them, ask if you can help them with anything at all, they will usually dump what they’ve taken because they know you know…and once they’re found out, they want out (the only exceptions being the absolute pros, who will lie to your face and then take some more).

So what does that have to do with branding?

Well, every business attempts to brand itself in some way of another – through logos, slogans, and other visible things. What you don’t see are the things that are internal as well. This is the part we refer to as culture. How the company behaves in varying situations. This is just as much a part of brand as any message a business puts out. When I think of shoplifters, I think of how consistent their habits are between visits to different locations and how it’s their brand. Their style. Their culture.

So I would ask you, what is your brand? Your culture? Your style? If you have employees, as many do, will they behave in as consistent a manner as you? If not, it’s time to give them some stories to help them better understand you. And that’s what a shoplifter taught me about branding.

About The Author:

Rob Jager started Hedgehog Consulting to help business owners get the tools they need to make more money. He has worked in the retail industry for 14 years and three years in the Quick Serve Restaurant industry. His experience in retail and restaurant operations taught him techniques in management, profit and loss accountability, logistics, budgeting and planning, increasing sales, creating consistency in operations, and maximizing profitability.

His accomplishments include turning a losing business into a profitable business within 1 year; a significant feat considering the loss was $1M per year.  Other accomplishments include improving work environments, fixing broken systems, assisting in leadership development, and improving overall clarity of business.

Using his MBA, Rob has both the experience and the academic knowledge to understand how to make things happen. Rob is currently working on his PhD to further his knowledge in the area of Leadership and Organizational Change.

Preventing The Negative Effects of High Employee Turnover

In today’s post, guest blogger Melonie Boone, Co-CEO and Owner of Complete Concepts Consulting (an HR consultancy focused on compliance and management) takes a look at how strong employee retention can have a positive impact on your culture and overall brand strategy. 


You may be thinking that your employees are happy and even if they do leave, it’s an employer’s market out there so I won’t really be affected, right?

If your organization is a revolving door, frequently churning employees it makes a negative impact on your reputation, current customers, prospective clients and business partners.

Your company brand goes further than your logo, company colors, and website. Your employees are your brand. Who you are and what you do is encompassed by who you employ. Moreover, the cost associated with high turnover can break the bank.

Nearly 70% of organizations report that staff turnover has a negative financial impact due to the cost of recruiting, hiring, and training a replacement employee and the overtime work of current employees that’s required until the organization can fill the vacant position.

So what can you do to retain your employees to maintain a dominant brand and minimize the costs of high turnover?

It all starts with hiring the right person.

  • Making sure the candidate is a good fit before the first day of work is critical.
    It all starts with sourcing candidates from the right place. While Monster and CareerBuilder have always been the staple go to, branch out and explore LinkedIn, niche job boards that pertain specifically to the job function you are recruiting for and don’t under estimate the power of your network. A quick email to your network could result in a referral that is a perfect match.
  • Use the interview as your opportunity to get to know the “real” candidate.
    Every time you sit down with a candidate, they put on their interview face. When the candidate with the interview face tells you everything you want to hear. They have memorized the job posting, researched good answers to common questions and smile the entire time with great eye contact. To get beyond the interview face, combine a structured interview process with behavioral based questions. Set clear company expectations and position requirements. Incorporate more than one hiring manager and don’t hesitate to have follow up interviews to clarify any concerns.
  • Don’t rush the hire and neglect conducting proper due diligence.
    We encourage companies to conduct background screenings, always check references and verify the candidates background. Use findings from this step combined with all the information obtained through the interview process to aid you in making the hiring decision.
  • Make it a great start.
    Once the position has been offered and the first day has been set, start the new hire off on the right foot. A new employee orientation can go a long way in setting the tone for your new employee.  Make them feel welcomed and a part of the team. Training from Day One helps build the foundation for a successful relationship.

So you have a great team – now, how do you keep them?

  • Make employees feel valued.  Create a culture that embraces and celebrates your employees and their accomplishments.  Train, mentor and develop your team from top down. Reinforce your employee’s value through recognition and make your organization the place your employees enjoy coming every day.
  • Provide feedback and opportunity for growth. Incorporate a performance management process that hold employees accountable, provides feedback and promote from within giving opportunity for growth.
  • Build trust and confidence in the leadership team.  Live and breathe your mission, vision and brand!  Employees have to trust their leaders and believe that they have the competence and passion to grow the business.  Inspire your employees to be the best they can be and follow that mantra in everything that you do.

It is no secret that happy employees are one of the most important components of your brand strategy.  Remember, if you recruit the best person for the job and nurture them as employees. they will stay – creating a powerful brand statement for your organization.

About the Author:

Melonie Boone MBA, MJ, PHR is Co-CEO and Owner of Complete Concepts Consulting;  a HR Consultancy specializing in Human Resources Compliance and Management for small to mid-sized businesses. With over 12 years of experience in Human Resources, Mrs. Boone has held varying positions from administrative to executive leadership. Mrs. Boone possesses advanced education in business management, human resources as well as business and employment law. She is a native of Chicago, HR enthusiast, novice runner and enjoys spending time with her family. To learn more email Mrs. Boone at mboone@completeconceptsconsulting.com.

Take A Really Tiny Page From Urban Outfitters

As I was in Urban Outfitters yesterday buying some fridge magnets I didn’t really need (c’mon, they were those iPhone button magnets, how could I resist?), I was waiting for my receipt and found that instead of providing a paper receipt, they took down my e-mail address. I’d get the receipt e-mailed to me.

A little move but actually quite brilliant when you think about it. They now captured my e-mail address and had a new way to connect with someone who had clearly shopped at the store. As long as they don’t bombard me with daily messages, it’s a smart maneuver on their part.

Not to mention it’s environmentally friendly. If we did away with all paper receipts and did them all electronically, we’d save a few more trees for sure.

Whether yours is a retail environment or not, consider how you can convert from paper receipts to electronic receipts to connect with them. It might be a more natural way to market to people vs. hitting them up to open a card/account that demands more of the money they just spent with you already.

What’s not to like here? Have some simple ways like this that you set the table for a relationship online with customers during their buying transactions in an offline setting that you’d like to share?

Dan is speaking at the Chicagoland Chamber Nov. 3rd!

What are you doing on the morning of Thursday, November 3rd before 9:00am? If you’re free and near downtown Chicago, I think you’ll walk into work energized and with a fresh perspective on how what you build internally can do a world of good externally in terms of your customer relationships.

I’ll be speaking at the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce along with my colleague, management consultant Rob Jager, on:

Building The Brand Within:
How To Deliver Unexpected Surprises For Your Customers 

It’s a look at how content marketing can help you position your company as a thought leader in its industry, how to logistically put your people in a position to be better aligned with the company’s true mission, how to identify the best content providers within and what turning employees into brand ambassadors means for team loyalty and a healthier culture. If you’re a small business owner or department leader, I think you’ll get a lot out of our hour spent together.

7:45a.m.: Registration & Networking 
8:00a.m.: Presentation 
9:00a.m.: Q&A 

Location: Chicagoland Chamber, 200 E. Randolph, Suite 2200

Pre-registration for this FREE event is required on the Chicagoland Chamber’s website here:
http://www.chicagolandchamber.org/wdk_cc/events/eventDetails.jsp?cc_event_id=8afbc90d-a2de-473a-9ebc-8a026cd3e6b5

Will Movement Make Banks Remember, Remember the Fifth of November?

Perhaps this isn't just the stuff of movies after all.

Smaller institutions may leverage outrage behind “Occupy Wall Street” and “Bank Transfer Day” to their advantage if they know how to act instead of analyze.

You’d like to think they saw this coming. You’d like to think they wouldn’t be surprised. And at the end of the day, I’d expect the biggest banks in America, including Chicago’s, to still be standing tall. Yet the movement known as “Bank Transfer Day” is gaining momentum and it’s important for all of us to note the new speed with how audiences mobilize, no matter where we stand on the issues. For marketers of financial products and those of us who advise them, it represents an opportunity to listen to audiences and pause before considering what to do in the name of getting more money from customers without giving them something in return.

Why? Because of this writing, one person is having an impact on what 25,978 people may do toward their bank on November 5th. And that’s just today. What will that number be by November 5th?

Organized by Kristen Christian, Bank Transfer Day is imploring people to move their funds from major banking institutions to non-profit credit unions on or by November 5th. The point of doing so is to send a message to the largest banks that there are consequences for unethical business practices. Christian isn’t trying to install anarchy or any more economic instability than what’s already in place.

Rather, as she told the Village Voice and KTLA Los Angeles:

“It’s not about people taking their money and burying it under their mattress. It’s shifting the money to a company people respect the practices of. If you don’t like Wal-Mart’s practices, shop at a local grocery store instead.” 

Christian is a 27-year-old who has banked at Bank of America, both personally and professionally. But she found her breaking point when B of A charged bank fee after bank fee. When she called into the bank because the site was down, she was charged two dollars. When she took her mother to brunch, her mother wound up paying for it because Christian’s account was frozen for three days due to suspicious activity – without any communication from B of A.

Many people who bank with institutions like this have a similar customer service story to tell. The more of them there are, the easier it is for groups to mobilize.

Is there a lesson for smaller banks and others in the financial industry in positioning themselves in this “recovering” economy? Absolutely.

While credit unions are the benefactor in this case, there’s no reason why others, such as community banks, can’t also benefit as long as they don’t act oblivious to current events and remember a few key points in their positioning/re-positioning:

If you raise a fee, there could be consequences beyond a few angry letters and posts online. What Occupy Wall Street and now Bank Transfer Day are showing institutions of all sizes is that there is a very real emotional limit to bank fees.

On the basic level, there is anger and frustration, where people throw their hands up in the air and say, “This is ridiculous and stupid. But what are you going to do?” Then they ask each other what they want for dinner.

Then there’s another layer where you’re ticked off enough to withdraw your account in favor of another institution.

Well, this is actually the point beyond that. 

What we’re witnessing is a new point where people are withdrawing accounts and organizing in order to bring like-minded people with them to send a clear message. And I don’t believe it’s going to end on November 5th either.

Regardless of politics, people are making a grave mistake by marginalizing these types of movements (right and left, mind you), because in a world where it’s not about size of crowd but how well the message is distributed through channels such as social media, a great deal of impact can be made one way or another on a brand. True, the world won’t pay as much attention to a couple people with signs. But I think we can all agree Occupy Wall Street has been greater than that. 25,978 people who sign up for Bank Transfer Day via its Facebook Page is greater than that. The story has the potential to spread far beyond the physical location (if we learned nothing from the uprisings in Egypt).

To ignore that sentiment without addressing it is shockingly short-sighted, if not arrogant. It is at this moment that smaller financial marketers at the community level (banks, financial advisors) should look at themselves and say:

“We’ve got an opportunity here to be portrayed in a light apart from our much larger colleagues. They’re doing us a favor, really. Whereas we might’ve been lumped in with them at one point as ‘Financial Institutions,’ they’re the ones getting hammered in the press for what they’re doing wrong. They’re fragmenting our industry in a good way and we should take advantage of the moment to tell our own story, how different we are from them. We need to show that when people trust us with their money, we’re not going to gouge them to death with ticky-tack monthly fees, nor are we going to do things to do their account without telling them.”

I wonder how many community banks are having that conversation within their walls. Because they should. Now. People are literally taking to the streets and to the web in anger directed primarily at your competitors. And you won’t address that raw emotion because you want to stay above the fray? Because you won’t talk directly about what’s going on in a financial industry where trust is being eroded and what you want to do to fix it? Mistake. Huge mistake. Lost opportunity.

In fact, the issue doesn’t even have to be about how large or small the bank is but rather what it believes in opposition to its counterparts getting hammered in the media and conveying that differentiation clearly.

It’s possible some people who said “I’m attending” Bank Transfer Day won’t ultimately transfer funds from one bank to another. But the larger picture here is that they want to show solidarity and identification with a group against large bank brands. That matters.

It’s also possible that some people will say, “It doesn’t matter because it’s not like these banks are going to be hurting in their bottom line from this. Get real.”

That’s probably true. But I’ll go out on a limb and say any company that takes a “who cares what they think” attitude toward their own customers as long as their numbers are good won’t be doing wonders for their long-term brand perception.

What are your thoughts? Do movements like Occupy Wall Street and Bank Transfer Day change your feeling toward your financial institution? Or does it have little effect on how you view it? If you’re in the industry and feel comfortable commenting, what are your thoughts as well?