Last fall, I was facilitating strategic planning for an Atlanta-area nonprofit, and, as usual, there were hotel-provided pens and scratch paper at each seat. I didn’t pay much attention to them, though, as I was busy with my own preparation. About halfway through the first session, however, I needed to write a note, and I […]
Category Archives: Customer Service
The Symbiosis Between Physical and Virtual Stores
I am just a sucker for a good marketing program. Recently, I have evaluated several products based on their extensive marketing and the claims they made within—to my great disappointment (Tommy John and MyPillow, just to name two). As someone who is “fashion challenged,” I am constantly trying to find clothes that at once make […]
Are Terms of Service a Mandate or Guideline?
On October 13th, there was an organized effort to boycott Twitter. I have previously written a blog post “Are You Prepared for a Boycott?” but I wanted to further explore the incident. The galvanizing issue was Twitter’s suspension of Rose McGowan’s account over “violations of policy” stemming from a phone number Ms. McGowan had tweeted. […]
My Interview with Ray Davis
As emcee of the Community Bankers Association of Georgia annual conference, I interviewed Ray Davis, former CEO of Umpqua Bank. Ray is iconic for taking Umpqua, a small $140 million institution located in rural Oregon, and transforming it into a $20 billion juggernaut. As I frequently talk about the success of Umpqua when I speak […]
Paying for Parking on The Way Out of Ark Encounter
My brother Larry and sister Linda and I took our elderly parents on a bucket-list road trip to Kentucky to visit the Ark Encounter. As we entered the main parking lot, I immediately noticed something radically different from every other park or attraction I had ever visited: there was no booth to collect parking fees. […]
Branch of the Future? I Hope Not!
I was in Atlanta, Georgia, for a series of business meetings, and happened to be at a trendy restaurant near the Federal Reserve Bank in Midtown. My breakfast meeting was ending, and as we were discussing the state of branch transformation in financial institutions, my guest suggested I check out the new Bank of America […]
If You Are Going to Provide Digital Service, You Better Take it All the Way
As a speaker, consultant and strategic facilitator, I fly a lot. Advancements, such as mobile apps, allow quick and decisive decisions and have certainly improved this experience. There are even options where I can self-select to generate alerts to let me know about key events such as “my flight is boarding.” These alerts can be […]
Creating New Tricks Using Traditional ‘Old Dog’ Marketing Concepts
In my search for transformational growth in the financial services industry, I am constantly on the lookout for innovative activities. The majority of my keynote speeches still revolve around some type of branch transformation. And one of the biggest elements of the transformation needed in the branch is the transformation of the people working there. […]
You Got to Know When to Fold Em …
It is always a crapshoot answering your mobile phone from a number that you don’t recognize. In one particular instance, what I thought was a phone call from a recently signed client, turned out to be a cold call from an organization that had reached out to me via LinkedIn previously. Their LinkedIn message had […]
Grounded Again … But Delta Comes Through In the End
On Wednesday April 5th, I delivered a presentation on Retail Branch Transformation at a New York Bankers conference in Syracuse, NY. Everything went great, there was a big crowd and the presentation was well received. Then it’s back to the airport to fly back to Tallahassee and a drive back to Valdosta, where I was […]