The Merrill Dubrow Blog

When you travel around, you see them all over the place. They are on every street corner, in lots of hotels and even in airports.

They were growing fast. Real fast. Maybe some would say it was at light speed. Recently Starbucks announced they were closing over 600 stores and their growth over the next few years will be slowing down considerably.

For those of you who don’t know, I don’t drink coffee. I will have an occasional cappuccino after a nice meal but I am not a regular coffee drinker. I do go to Starbucks, but mostly as a meeting spot or for a marshmallow Rice Krispie treat. Ok I have a sweettooth and love them. Each and every time I went to Starbucks there was a line–usually a big line and it never mattered what time it was. I for one was very surprised that Starbucks decided to close over 600 stores.

The question is what happened to Starbucks?

• Did they grow too fast?
   
• Are their prices too high?
   
• Is the economy hurting their business?
   
• Do people all of sudden not like Starbucks?
   
• Is their marketing missing the boat?
   
• Is their competition making all the right moves?

What do you think?

I really look forward to having your share your comments!

I have probably made every mistake you could imagine with regard to this topic.

Years ago I hit a single in softball and while I was on first base, struck up a conversation with the first baseman and foolishly made a comment about Lauren (hey isn’t she nice looking) in the stands. As it turns out it was his sister…ouch!

As embarrassing was the time when this person in the elevator struck up a conversation with me about where I was going in the building. I told him I was going to see blank and he proceeds to say not great things about this particular company. The issue was that we weren’t alone in the elevator and one of the people in the elevator overheard us. You could guess what happened next — this person who overheard us was in a meeting with me, and even though I was just listening it made for a VERY uncomfortable new business development meeting.

I also know two friends who have recently interviewed people for a job who name dropped a few people whom the interviewee didn’t like or respect and at the drop of a dime changed their opinion and they never would hire the person.

If you know me well, you know I name drop. I pride myself on knowing a lot of people. BUT over the years I have tried to be careful when I toss out names. Yes I still need to make progress on this that’s for sure!

There are times when name dropping can work. But not all the time.

When you name drop be very careful — DON’T FIRE THE SHOT UNTIL YOU KNOW WHO IS IN THE ROOM!

It doesn’t matter if you are at an industry conference, client presentation, high school reunion, elevator or baseball field. It can backfire very quickly.

Remind yourself of this: It is important to be conscious of how you think the person you are speaking to will react BEFORE you mention any names. If you really aren’t sure, proceed with extreme caution.

• Are you a name dropper?
   
• What are your thoughts on the subject?
   
• Have you made foolish mistakes like I have?

I look forward to your comments and stories.

Last week I was at a promotions conference In Las Vegas. Having never been to the conference I was looking forward to the speakers, networking and of course the gifts that you receive at a conference. This conference didn’t have an exhibit hall so most of the gifts or "chotchke" were in the conference bag that I received when I checked in.

Yes there were mints in there, an eight ball that you roll and will tell your mood, a wallet and a number of other promotion items that had company names on them.

The question is what do you like and what is a total waste of time?

For me, save your money I don’t want a highlighter, calculator or pen. Those items just don’t work for me! I like something a little more creative, something that catches my eye. Something that stands out a little more than others. Maybe a small travel game like connect four or a small picture frame that I could use in my office–something that has a company logo on it but is small enough so it doesn’t stand out.

• Are you a stress ball person?
   
• Do you want a stuffed animal with a bow and logo on it?
   
• Do you want some mints or M&M’s? Selfishly, I love candy so this also works for me but does it really promote the company?
   
• How about a flash drive? Does that work for you?
   
• What are your favorite gifts that you like to bring home to the kids?

I look forward to your comments and suggestions.

We all know that the airline industry has tremendous challenges. With the rising fuel costs issue (anyone see an end in sight?) being dealt with every day, airlines are looking for additional revenue streams to stay afloat.

In the past few years airlines have charged for lots of different things. Have any really made a huge difference? Not sure, but last week’s announcement that American Airlines is charging $15.00 for every bag you check is concerning from where I sit. Before I expand on my thoughts, let me say that I like the airline a lot and have exceeded one million miles with them earlier this year.

Here are a few thoughts:

• In the past few years, customers have gone from increasing their carry-on luggage to decreasing what they bring on the plane because of the liquid restrictions and now EVERYONE will race to bring whatever they can carry on the plane not to be charged the $15.00. When that happens isn’t it a race to get on the plane first and what happens when you have a connecting flight and you show up a few minutes late and now because your flight may have been delayed, you walk on the plane and now have to check your luggage for the cool price of $15.00? How upset are people going to be?
   
• Since we are charged $2.00 at the airport now at DFW, I assume the new fee is $17.00 with the original $2.00 going to the airport. I would love someone to clarify this to see if I am right.
   
• I flew earlier in the week and discussed this issue with two different flight attendants. I asked them what happens when the last eight people show up on the plane with luggage that now has to be checked. Their response (consistent with each other) was that they will pull out a credit card system and charge you right there!
   
• How long will that take?
   
• Won’t that create more delays?
   
• What happens when you lose my bag? Do I get a refund?
   
• Are more people going to "stiff" the folks that help you at curbside check in?

Yes this bothers me for a few reasons and one has nothing to do with MONEY. If you have platinum or gold status you won’t be charged a thing. So in reality I won’t be charged. However this decision will create more issues with other passengers and ultimately create delays and frankly make the job of the flight attendant harder each and every day and possibly put all of the porters at the airport out of business.

I am not sure who came up with this recommendation at American Airlines. Maybe it was the Chief Strategy Officer or Chief Revenue Officer. Regardless…from where I sit they have missed the boat on this one.

• What do you think?
   
• What should they have done?
   
• Will other airlines begin charging as well?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

As you read this posting, the first quarter of 2008 is in the record books! Whatever you did or didn’t accomplish is over! You can’t get that time back! Here are nine questions that are going through my mind:

1. Is our revenue/profit on budget for the year?
    
2. Which new business development staff are ahead/behind on their goals?
    
3. What accounts are behind year to date?
    
4. What do our customer satisfaction scores look like?
    
5. Are our fixed costs in line with our budget?
    
6. How do our utilization rates look?
    
7. How is morale in the company?
    
8. How does our pipeline look for the next nine months?
    
9. How is our new strategy doing compared to plan?
    

What questions are you searching for answers to?
 

What questions should we all be thinking about?
 

I look forward to reading your comments.

During the course of a month, I get plenty of sales calls. Frankly, I wish I had $1.00 for each one I receive. I think I could have retired five times already! I do meet with a number of salespeople during the course of the week and I still am amazed at some of the basic mistakes that salespeople make. Here are a quick five (in no particular order) that come to mind:

• They don’t listen. If they are there to stress a certain product, they do it even though we might have no need for it or are doing it internally. No matter what happens they are very robotic and can’t deviate no matter what happens.
   
• They don’t have an agenda! For me this really is a problem. I like to know what we are going to cover and how long it will take. The buttoned up salespeople will not only have an agenda but will ask for input.
   
• They have given no thought to how they can help our business! Some of the salespeople are really good at getting a meeting but once they are in front of you they tend to go page by page in a presentation and can’t draw a compelling reason as to why we should be doing business with them. The goal of a salesperson is to BUILD A BRIDGE FROM THEIR PRODUCT OR SERVICE TO OUR COMPANY! For me it’s as simple as that.
   
• Next steps? To me if you have a meeting, you should always have an idea of what the next steps are and absolutely confirm them with your client/prospect. I find very few people who do this consistently
   
• And my number one favorite is no follow up. A few years ago I was at a joint MRA/AMA meeting and I was introduced to someone who asked me to volunteer some time for a program she was involved with. I was very excited about the program and helping her out. It involved children and I enjoy giving something back to the community. Guess what? She never called, never followed up and I never saw her again. All successful salespeople follow up and if they don’t it speaks volumes about who they are and the service you would get if you ever did business with them.

Have you ever had any of the ones I mentioned happen to you?

What are some of your favorite mistakes done by salespeople?

I look forward to reading your comments.

I tend to spend a lot of time thinking about M/A/R/C Research and ways to move the company forward. I do a lot of my best thinking while I am driving–just looking around and having my mind wander in lots of different directions.

Recently I had a thought of what really, really excites me in business!

What gets me going!

What puts a smile on my face!

What makes me scream, "yes we did it!"

What makes me feel proud!

I thought I would share with you a few items on my list:

• Exceeding client expectations
   
• Developing a strategy and actually having it work out
   
• Watching the progress of a person develop and professionally mature over the years
   
• Doing what you say you are going to do!
   
• Finding more efficient ways to do something
   
• Really having a partnership with another company

And number one on my list is:

Having a client say THANK YOU!

There probably is nothing more special than that.

• What really excites you in business?
   
• What have I left off my list?

I look forward to reading your comments.

I tend to be a creature of habit. I start my day around 6:00 AM, workout about five times a week, try to eat lunch around 11:30 AM and usually interview three to four people every week. My strategy is and has always been you never know when you will need to add staff and if you come across someone who is amazing, a superstar, and be successful within your system, you can always find a spot for them.

I try and ask thought provoking-questions. Here is a sampling of some of them:

• If I called your manager, what are five words they would use to describe you?
   
• Please describe the last time you weren’t successful at something and what did you learn from the experience.
   
• Describe a trend that is happening in the research industry right now and what you think companies should do as a result.
   
• What does client service mean to you?
   
• I would like to get better at _______ this year.

Some of my questions are ok, but clearly some of them are stale and need to be replaced. So today I need your help! I am in search of NEW interviewing questions!

What questions do you use?

What is the best question you were asked the last time you were interviewed?

I really look forward to reading your comments.

Yes, I am a planner. Yes, some of my friends call me Julie McCoy (Cruise Director from the TV show the Love Boat). My friends tend to look to me for: What should we do tonight? What are we going to do when we are on vacation? What show should we see?

Over the years the atmosphere and morale of wherever I worked has always been important to me. I always thought (and still do) if people are happy, they will work a little harder and communicate their smile to clients–which can only help your business grow. Over the past 3+ years at M/A/R/C, we have tried a number of company activities. Some have worked great.  Some missed the boat. A number of them were surprises–from the standpoint of people really enjoying themselves.

Here are a few activities we have done with the staff and my opinion of how it went:

• Chicago softball game. The intent here was to play a coed game where no one could get hurt. A normal softball is twelve inches around; this ball is sixteen inches. The ball is lot bigger and softer and frankly the ball doesn’t travel that far. This style of softball is popular in Chicago—hence the name! We have played three years in a row and I think people have really enjoyed themselves. Grade B
   
• Murder mystery holiday party. I had the idea that it would be fun to go to the Gaylord Texan for a murder mystery holiday party. This turned out to be a comedy of errors: there were not enough seats for our group, the food wasn’t that good at all, the show wasn’t that funny and of course they added another group to our group (yes, we were supposed to have a private show) which was an elderly group with everyone over 75. The staff hasn’t forgotten about this experience and reminds me (thanks TA) very often. Grade D-
   
• Ugly tie contest. A few years ago we had an ugly tie contest with three judges. We gave everyone an opportunity in front of the office to strut their stuff on a runway highlighting their tie. Since we only did it one year I am not sure how successful it really was. Grade C
   
• Whirleyball. I was very , very concerned about doing this. For those of you who don’t know what whirleyball is, picture an indoor basketball court with no rim, no net, and a target on the backboard. There are two five-person teams that are trying to catch a large wiffleball with these scoops while on whirly carts (which is another name for a bumper carts). Tons of fun, and can be very physical and challenging. We did this a few weeks ago and the staff is still talking about it. Grade A+
   
• For the second year in a row we will have the MARCy’s. This is our version of the Academy Awards. Every year the staff makes a company video. For the past two years, we have had the entire company vote on the best performances. And so far–in year two–this has been very successful. Yes there is a red carpet, yes there are interviews, trophies and acceptance speeches and yes we are very goofy. Grade A-

Company outings can be a challenge. You have different ages, gender and interests that you need to incorporate into the activity to ensure most of the staff participates and enjoys themselves.

• What activities have worked for your company?
   
• What activates missed the boat?

I look forward to reading your comments.

Okay, I will admit it.  There are some things that I buy that I will bargain shop. No, I won’t drive all over town, but I tend to buy a lot of DVDs and will go to Target, Circuit City or Best Buy depending on price. Like I said I won’t drive 20 miles to do this, but all of those stores are within two miles of where I live so it isn’t a big deal. I am sure a number of people (if not most) go through the newspaper every Sunday looking for deals or items on sale that they either need or are too good to pass up.  In essence they love a discount, yes love a discount. The reality is where does it stop?  Does everything we do or buy need to have a discount? Yes I will buy some things based on sale items like paper towels, mulch for our yard and bottled water for sure. Clearly I view those items as a commodity. But where does it stop?

Not a week goes by where I don’t receive an email from a market research company not only highlighting their services but highlighting their discount. "Try us now and receive 20% off." "Use our services before the end of the month and receive a discount."

• I realize that business is challenging these days, but isn’t there another way to promote their services?
   
• Doesn’t it commoditize our industry and cheapen the value of research?

If I need a lawyer, am I going to go to them because they send me a 25% off coupon? What about going to a new dentist because I can save $10 on my next cleaning? The answer for me is NO, NO and once again No!. I consider those types of services professional and would never choose one because of price. I have never and will never choose a hospital because a surgery might be $400 less than another hospital. Don’t we all choose those services based on reputation, quality of service and location?

Isn’t the market research industry the same thing? Aren’t we all professionals? Don’t we want clients to use our services based on our service, quality and insight?  NOT because of price! NOT BECAUSE OF A DISCOUNT. AND I WOULD NEVER USE A COMPANY FOR THE FIRST TIME BECAUSE A COMPANY SENT ME A DISCOUNT.

• Would you?
   
• How do you feel when you get one of these discount opportunities?
   
• If your company does it (clearly your choice) what is your position and strategy?

I realize this might be a controversial posting but I really look forward to reading your comments and point of view.