Recipes for Success

June 11, 2008

Using unique experiences to reach out to customers…. is the theme of a recent WSJ article that featured John Bostick, executive chairman of LUCRUM, and also President and CEO of dbaDirect. The article talks about how different small companies create unique opportunities to meet with their customers. The article was published on Friday, May 30, the very day after I attended one of John’s classes up at Jungle Jim’s in Fairfield, Ohio (another exercise in unique customer experiences - they have every imported food you never knew you needed ‘ 6 acres of food under one roof’ http://www.junglejims.com )_
The class I attended was called ‘Hot Thai Summer Sizzlers”. John prepared some wonderful Thai dishes, and Jim Hennessy showcased several unusual beers that enhanced the flavors of the food (except for the Paulaner Heffe - beer and clove are not good flavors in beer, in my opinion!). In the class, John prepared and discussed the origins of many of the exotic dishes he was preparing, but in an easy to understand and appreciate manner - demystifying many otherwise exotic dishes and convincing me that just maybe I should try this at home sometime. Everything was delicious, and while, a few offerings were too spicy for some of the attendees - don’t say he didn’t warn you about the peppers! - the different beer offerings were a great way to ‘cool the palate’. Several LÛCRUM customers and their family members attended, and as the WSJ article discussed, it was a great way to get to know people outside the normal business environment. John and I both share the common experience of having worked for IBM, and are rooted in the belief that ‘people buy from people they like’. So, having the opportunity to get to know our customers in a more relaxed environment is something ingrained in us, starting with our days at ‘Big Blue’. The best testimony to the value they received from the class is the number of folks that were signing up for the next class! - Obviously, it was an enjoyable, informative session.
Just like trying new foods and beers can provide an enjoyable experience, trying new business offerings and concepts can also lead to a positive experience. For example, one of the offerings that is unique to Lucrum is our ‘Strategic Alignment Session’. Using a guided methodology, our consultants facilitate sessions for customers - taking them on a journey - starting at the beginning, and discussing their history (which quite frequently, everyone has a slightly different recollection of!), and using that shared history to guide the participants on the journey, resulting in a shared experience, mutual goals and ways to achieve those goals. These sessions are one of those things that you just don’t fully appreciate until you’ve actually observed, participated in, or spoken to someone about. I sat in on one session during my first weeks with Lucrum, and was impressed by the way our consultant (Eric Duell, in this case) led a diverse customer group at a local chemical firm through this process as they attempted to design a new customer pricing system. In the past few months, Eric has conducted sessions for 2 of my customers - both in very different businesses - one, a large financial institution, where we helped an off-shore firm develop a new sale and marketing plan. And then most recently, we drove a few hours north and used this same process with another custom in the non-profit sector, bringing together a very diverse group including marketing, IT, creative, and education departments, resulting in a new vision for a major website re-design for their institution.
In both instances, there were participants who walked into the session, thinking “this better be good, they convinced me to give up 2 days (or 2 - ½ days) of my time”. By the end of the first session, or even sooner, you could see that their impressions had changed, and they were eager participants in the process - and walked away from the sessions with a new vision and ideas on how to lead their organization through the next phase of their business plan. And, some were even ready to ‘sign up again’ for more sessions - to utilize this process in other aspects of their business.

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