“The sooner you get over the limiting and erroneous belief that your business is different, the sooner you’ll be able to ‘borrow’ best practices wherever you find them, from diverse businesses outside your own tiny little world, and use them to improve your business. This gives you a big competitive edge because all your competitors have the same narrow perspective. When you broaden yours, you can see what they can’t, embrace what they automatically reject, and improve in ways they bar themselves from using.”
Dan Kennedy: No B.S. Ruthless Management of People and Profits
This week, in fact, as I write this blog, I’ve been sailing the high seas off Miami on a fact-finding mission to find out more on brand loyalty and great customer service.
Now way back in March this year you’ll remember that I blogged about my concert trip to Melbourne Victoria to see the rock band KISS, and what all businesses could learn from how KISS does business. http://wp.me/p2c8zv-3E
Well this week I’ve been onboard the Norwegian Pearl sailing four nights out of Miami with rock band KISS and 2400 or so devoted KISS fans.
So here are some stats from the trip.
- There are thirty countries represented on this trip
- USA makes up about half of the travellers, with Canada second, Brazil third and Australia fourth.
- 1100 or so of the travellers are first time KISS Kruisers
- The remaining 1300 or so are split almost evenly as second time Kruisers or all three Kruisers.
- KISS Kruise IV has been announced for same time next year.
Here’s what I’ve learned from this Kruise:
1. The primary aim of this Kruise is to say “Thank You” to the fans.
Time and time again Paul Stanley has said that these people are KISS’s loyalist fans. He said that the band can relax with these fans, and the set lists for the Sail Away unmasked concert and the two makeup concerts have been put together with input from Kruise passengers. And Stanley continually reminds the fans of their input, through each concert.
Lesson Number 1: Listen to your customers. Take note. And give back. You can never over-reward your best customers.
2. KISS aren’t about the music. It is about moving product, mainly merchandise, for profit.
Nearly everybody on board is wearing KISS gear. T-shirts, singlets, caps, bandanas, sloppy joes, tattoos, you name it.
I bought three T-shirts to “remember the moment”, and I don’t even wear T-shirts!!
The lines for the merchandise store have been huge. Long!
Product is moving!
I heard once that Manchester United FC make far more money from merchandise sales than they do from football. I’d hazard a guess it’s the same for KISS…
Lesson Number Two: Know your profit centres and make sure you promote them.
I even overheard drummer Eric Singer, out and about on the ship on Monday night, recommending to some travellers to head down to the merchandise store to pick up some specific products.
Which brings me to my next point…
3. Be approachable to your customers.
Monday night, after the Sunset Sail Away Concert had finished, I roamed around the ship familiarizing myself with its various features and facilities, before deciding to head down to a late dinner at the Sushi restaurant onboard around 9:00pm.
So I sat down up at the Sushi bar, and there were only three other patrons eating…so I choose my seat next to one guy seated but chatting with some people walking out.
And then I look at him again and say to myself “Oh my goodness. It’s Eric Singer!”
So we chat for a while about watches, and I show him my new watch and he tries it on his own wrist. And because he’s a serious watch collector, he knows more about my special edition watch than I do!!
I also pick his brains about drum kits for my son, who is very musical, and Eric offers some great advice.
All up we chat for some fifteen minutes at least!!
Lesson Number Three: Be there for your customers. I’ve heard of numerous sightings of Eric by other passengers during the three days at sea so far.
And he’s really been out there being seen and meeting the fans!
At the end of last night’s concert, after the other members of KISS had left the stage, Eric stayed on stage for about ten minutes handing out drumsticks to the audience. And specific people.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152307496163942&set=vb.660128941&type=2&theater
So easy to do, yet so easy not to do.
Can you imagine the goodwill that that ten minutes created, for those fortunate enough to receive a stick, and also for those who just witnessed that ten minutes, even for those fans too far back to have been anywhere near receiving a drumstick!!
Priceless!!
Really, Eric Singer could have just walked off with the others and that would have been that.
But he didn’t….
As I quoted from Dan Kennedy at the start of this blog, it is those businesses that look outside their industry for best practices that they can borrow and adapt to their own business that are really gaining a distinct competitive advantage.
These three lessons from KISS are great examples of simple and effective principles of business that are easily adapted to your Dental Office operations.
And incorporating them into your business will bring only more competitive advantage to your business, and with that, greater success…
The Ultimate Patient Experience is a simple easy to implement system I developed that allowed me to build an extraordinary dental office in an ordinary Sydney suburb. If you’d like to know more, ask me about my free special report.
Email me: david@theUPE.com
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