Guest Post by Carol Roth
Carol Roth
Everyone loves a bit of recognition. Can you make it pay off for you?
Hollywood award shows have always seemed a bit bizarre to me. Let’s take people who earn ridiculous sums of money (not to mention get a whole variety of other perks) for entertaining us and give them some more recognition. Even movie credits list every person who sneezed in the general direction of the set.
Imagine if every business enterprise did that: you buy some fast food and the wrapper says, “This cheeseburger was brought to you by Farmer Bill who raised the cow, Joe T. at the distribution plant…Rebecca who flipped it on the grill and Mark who rang up your order.” Sounds ridiculous, right? Maybe not.
From awards shows to credit lists, Hollywood builds a connection between key players and its customers, the audience. This means if you go to see a film by a certain director or starring a certain actor, as a customer, you already have many connections to that person resulting from their recognition. Plus, by listing contributors in the credits, they take advantage of the employees’ (key grip, lighting director, etc) desire to be recognized.
How can you use recognition to enhance your relationships with your employees and your customers? Several companies do this very well. Mercedes’ AMG engineers hand-sign each engine and the Longaberger Basket Company’s artisans hand-sign each basket they create. This creates a sense of pride from the employee, a factor of recognition and a special connection with the customer who realizes that there is a real person who made their product with care, not just some faceless “corporation”.
The Krystal restaurant chain also turns the recognition towards the customer, inducting its most avid and enthusiastic customers into its Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame. They even feature the customer’s picture on their packaging.
How can you recognize your employees and/or customers to increase loyalty and enhance the value of your offering?
Carol Roth is an investment banker, business strategist and deal maker, having helped her clients raise over $1 billion in capital, complete hundreds of millions of dollars worth of M&A transactions, secure licensing, joint venture and partnership deals, and hone the strategy of their businesses. She blogs about issues affecting entrepreneurs and their businesses from her Unsolicited Business Advice blog.
