Author, Speaker, Consultant: Ideas on Creating Profitable Customer Relationships

Be irreplaceable

Written on June 12, 2009 – 10:43 pm | by Steve Yastrow |

Don’t just be your job.  Be you.  Be irreplaceable.

This is a post I published on tompeters.com today.  When creating relationship-building encounters with a customer, it’s critical that you interact in a way that is unique to you, and clearly you.  After all, there is no one else like you.

RSS feed | Trackback URI

3 Comments - Add yours! »

Comment by Dan Gunter Subscribed to comments via email
2009-06-13 12:11:48

Quite simply, people NEED to go and read this blog on Tom’s website. It has career-changing implications. Another gem Steve.

 
Comment by Andy Thorp
2009-06-14 11:04:18

This reminds me of the Johnny the Bagger story, where a check-out assistant made himself irreplacable by putting little philosophical gems on cards and placing one in the shoppers’ bags. The great thing about this approach is not only does the customer like it, but it’s great for the self-esteem of the ‘deliverer’ to be deemed indispensable.

Comment by Dan Gunter Subscribed to comments via email
2009-06-14 11:22:44

Andy

Fantastic example, thank you for sharing it. Exactly the point I was trying to make in my latest comment regarding this blog entry over on Tom’s website. Even if your team’s reputation as a whole is par excellence’, each team member still wants (and deserves) to be appreciated in a unique way.

 
 
Name (required)
E-mail (required - never shown publicly)
URI
Subscribe to comments via email
Your Comment (smaller size | larger size)
You may use <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> in your comment.

Related Posts

  • A Cinderella Story Last week on tompeters.com, Steve explored a new concept that...

  • Make this the Week of Encounter In every customer interaction, there are only three things that...

  • The Post-Customer Service Age Here’s a recent post I did on tompeters.com, claiming that...

  • Everyone Can Sell Today’s newsletter, Everyone Can Sell, focuses on a truth about success...

  • Social Media is not Mass Marketing I published this piece on tompters.com today: Social Media as...

    Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

  • books

    Steve’s Books

    "When Steve Yastrow writes, I pay close attention"
    - Tom Peters

    "I had to buy two copies. The first one is so dog-eared and underlined I couldn't read it any longer."
    - Seth Godin

    Steve is the author of Brand Harmony and the newly published We: The Ideal Customer Relationship. Learn more and order direct from our Products page, or from Amazon.

    Steve in the News

    Chicago's Daily Herald features a business editorial discussing the importance of We customer relationships in today's economy.

    Microsoft's Retailspeak asks Steve how recalibrating for today's economy can help retailers thrive.

    About Steve Yastrow and Yastrow & Company

    In addition to writing, I spend most of my work time helping companies unleash their potential by creating better connections with their customers. This happens through my speaking events and through Yastrow & Company consulting engagements, where my team and I help companies figure out who they intend to be in the future, and then engage the entire company in creating that future through strong "We" customer relationships.

    Before starting Yastrow & Company in the mid-90s I was vice-president of resort marketing for Hyatt Hotels. My experiences in the hotel business showed me clearly that most marketing doesn’t happen in the marketing department. Customers are paying attention to all interactions with a company, not just the promises made in traditional "marketing communications."

    For more information, see our About page.