Why are we so intrigued with The Tiger Woods Story?  Fallen hero?  Sensationalism?  Tawdry sex?  Voyeurism?  Jealousy?  Who knows.

Without getting into the obvious moral and possible legal implications of his alleged behavior, here’s a different view.

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The advertising world has been plagued with “testimonials” like this.  Just a little too good to be true.  The Federal Trade Commission has issued on-going guidelines about ads like this in an effort to protect a sometimes gullible public from themselves.

What about the small business owner who has some customers who have had good results with her product or service who wants to “crow” a little about their success?

As of December 1, you could be risking jail time if you don’t do it by the book.

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It always been amazing to me how fast bad news travels, especially in business.  We all have dozens of stories we can freely recite about the bad experiences we’ve had as customers.

Why does the news about good customer experiences travel so slowly, sometimes not at all?   I guess we all expect an excellent customer experience, and when we receive it, we don’t think to mention it.

Well, let’s change that right here and right now.  All of us are not only owners or managers of a business but we are also customers to someone else’s business, and we’ve surely have had a positive customer experience somewhere along the road.  Click on the comment button at the end of this post and share at least one of your best customer experiences.

THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE is all about positive customer experiences.  I’m a strong believer in modeling.  Let’s hear what others have done.  It will likely spark new ideas about what we can do in our own businesses.

We all look forward to your comments.

Have you ever done business with yourself? That may sound like a stupid question, but I’m serious.  Have you ever made contact with your own business to see what it’s like to be a customer?

Most of us have an “inside out” view of what it’s like to do business with ourselves.  We design our products and services, we decide how to market, sell and distribute them.  We’ve got that down pat, but do we really know what our customers are experiencing? Unless we are present at every moment of contact, we really don’t know.

I’ll step up first and plead guilty.  We have a good idea of what it is that we want our customer to experience, but most of us probably can’t speak with total assurance about what’s really going on in our customer’s world.

In THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE the customer’s world is the only world that we must understand.

Consumers are still spending money, but the way they spend it and who they spend it with have changed forever.  There’s a new version of the consumer’s checklist. They are holding our businesses accountable to meet and exceed their new expectations.

Do you know what they expect? Have you made up your own checklist of new customer needs and expectations?  What happens when they get to your website?  How are they treated on the phone?  What’s their experience in your store?

THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE website has been designed just for you.  We’ll help you ask and answer these and other questions that we’ve never had to deal with before.

Do you know the new questions? We can help.  Sign up for our emails.  We’ll show you how to get involved.

In the meantime, call yourself.  See how you feel as your own customer.

I belong to a fabulous athletic club.  Great facility. All the latest fitness equipment.  Plenty of tennis courts. Great service. Everything I need.

I’m guessing, but I think the total membership is in the thousands.

What would happen if all the members decided to show up at the same time, or even on the same day? Can you say “overload?” Clearly the experience would be a lot less desirable.

Athletic clubs operate on the Pareto Principle.  20% of the members are active and they account for 80% of club usage.  Fortunately for us loyal users, 80% of the members pay their dues every month but rarely use the facilities.

In business I often get these questions: what should I do with the 80% of my customer base who account for only 20% of my results?  Is every customer created equal?  Where should I spend my time and resources?

How much effort should you put toward your passive or inactive members or customers?  In my experience, focusing here is most often a losing proposition.  Most things in life aren’t distributed evenly.  In any endeavor, some things contribute more to your success than others.

About one in five customers will make a serious difference in your business.  It’s our job as owners and managers to know who they are. Concentrating on those critical few is the best way to drive results.

THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE website is all about getting more from less.  You are probably already doing business with those who are your best source of higher revenues and profits.

THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE website will show you how you can you expand your relationship with existing customers, the fastest way to increase business.

Sign up for our e-mails.  Find out how to get involved.  No risk.  No obligation.

THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE website is designed to help you win in the toughest economy we’ve ever faced.

One of the Seven Great Mysteries of Business: Why is it that happy customers rarely provide referrals?  I’ve never met a business owner who was pleased with the number of referrals they receive from their satisfied customers.

Why is happy rarely enough?

The Price of Entry: Many of us believe that providing a great product and superb customer service buys instant and never ending referrals.  Sometimes, but usually not.   A great product and excellent service is the just price of admission.

People Forget: Do we really believe that our business is always top of mind even with our happiest customers?  In spite of our notes, business cards, pens and stickers, they’re just not thinking about us as much or as often as we would like.

It’s Too Hard.  We are overwhelmed just running our own businesses.  How often will we take the time to talk about someone else’s business?

The art and science of gaining referrals is one of the key survival skills in THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE.

Does your business have an effective referral system? Most business owners tell me they do, but after a little probing, we find out they don’t. Your referrals will be only as good as the discipline with which you work your referral system.

Let THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE website help you make every happy customer a walking, talking billboard for your business.  It’s not easy but it can be done.

THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE website is all about referrals.  Sign up now for our free stuff and emails.  We’ll let you know how to get involved.

It’s 7 PM.  Your phone rings. An 800 number.  Unknown caller.  You’re in the middle of dinner.  Do you answer?

Same scenario, but it’s a family member or a close friend.  Do you pick it up?

In the office, your receptionist/secretary/assistant informs you of a call from someone you don’t know.  Later, it’s your best client calling. What do you do?

You get an unsolicited e-mail.  Do you delete or respond?  A voice mail from an unknown person.  Do you return the call?

There are some calls we always respond to:  the boss, a spouse, your top client, your banker, the IRS.

There are some calls we never respond to.  Junk messages, spam, salespeople, irrelevant or unknown senders.

The most frequently asked question I get from those who sell B2B: how do I get a response?  How do I break through the gatekeeper?  How do I get to the real decision maker?

FIRST RULE: Why do so many of us in the B2B world think prospects are going to stop what they’re doing and engage with us just because we decided to make contact?  A bit arrogant of us, right? Most people don’t respond unless they believe it’s relevant and most of the stuff we dish out to them is not.

SECOND RULE: Most people who are trying to solicit us are wildly enthusiastic about what’s in it for THEM but come up a little short when they have to describe what’s in it for us.

THIRD RULE: Don’t even waste your time making contact until you can describe in 25 or 30 words what’s in it for them to engage with you.  Hard?  Try it.  I’ll bet you can’t do it on your first try.

Not happy with your lack of responses from decisions makers?  Need help and practice?

THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE feels your pain.  There’s an entire section about perfecting these skills.

Interested?  Sign up today for our pre-launch e-mails with information about how to get involved.  No risk.  No obligation. Nothing to lose.

The new, tougher economy has not only impacted retail sales, real estate and the stock market, but nonprofits are also feeling the pain.  Giving patterns, just like spending patterns, have changed forever.

What lessons can be learned from THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE?

1.  Just like in the for-profit economy, doing nothing is not a good strategy. Donors are looking through different lenses.  Do you know what they are? Have you adapted to their new perspectives?

2. How’s your message? Is it compelling? What do you want prospective donors to remember about you?  Are you communicating your value to your community?

3.  How well do you know your donor base? Those who’ve supported you in the past will probably support you in the future, and may even expand their support in time of great need. The trick is:  some organizations avoid this or do it poorly because they’re afraid to bother these loyal supporters.  There’s a way to do it that works, and THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE will show you how.

4.  Add new volunteers.  One upside of the tough economy is the number of very talented people now available to volunteer because of layoffs and cutbacks.  Do you have a program to attract and grow them?  There’s a lot of talent out there now.  Are you tapping it?

As you can see, there are many parallels that can be drawn between the for-profit and nonprofit worlds.  Replace the word “customer” with “donor” and the tasks are surprisingly similar.

THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE is your one-stop resource for learning all you need to know to survive and thrive in our new economy.

Even if you don’t follow tennis, you’ve probably heard about Melanie Oudin. She’s the 17 year old Georgian who has taken down four formidable Russian tennis players, three of whom were picked to win the U.S. Open.

She earned a spot in the semi-finals later this week, but no matter what happens, she will go down in tennis history.

Her post-match, on-court TV interviews have been priceless.  Spontaneous, real, unscripted, unbridled joy.  Refreshing.  Untouched by handlers, agents, PR hacks and sponsors.  I guess that comes later.

“I know I can compete with the best in the world.  I have a chance against anyone.  I’ll know that forever.

She and Adidas customized a special pair of pink and yellow tennis shoes.  On the heel where her name would normally go, she had them put “BELIEVE.” The story is that Adidas was not planning to sell these to the public.  How long do you think it will take them to re-think that?

I believe it’s the funky shoes. An unlikely outcome. A too-short, unheard of tennis player who works hard and believes and makes it to the top of her profession on the biggest tennis stage of all.

I’m getting some new shoes.

The experts are coming into agreement.  Consumers are not spending like they used to and it probably won’t change soon.

Even as the overall economic news seems to be getting better, consumers still have their wallets sealed shut.

“Not only have people lost money but they don’t expect as much appreciation in what they do have and that should affect consumption.”

–Andrew Tilton, Economist, Goldman Sachs

We felt rich. We’re accustomed to ever-growing stock portfolios, massive equity in our homes and easy credit.  Now we must depend more and more on our paychecks to pay for the lifestyle, and that’s not working out too well.

“It’s simply less fun pulling up at the stoplight in a Hummer than it used to be.  It’s a change in norms.”

–Robert Barbera, Chief Economist, ITG Research and Trading

Many experts say that as households gain wealth their spending tends to go up.  The reverse is also true.  As wealth goes down, spending goes down too.

Even people with high incomes are reluctant to spend.  There’s a feeling that we need to be conservative–to save, to watch the stock market, to worry about layoffs and falling real estate prices.

It’s truly THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE. Money is being spent, but all the rules are different.  Do you know the new rules?  What will today’s consumer buy? Why and when will they buy it? Are you still wishing and hoping that things will re-set to the way they used to be?  Let me know how that works out for you.

Join our community at THE NEW AMERICAN MARKETPLACE.  It’s better to take one step in a new direction that to waste time chasing the past.

Register today.  No risk.  No obligation.