Customer Karma: Why Stop at a One-Night Stand, When You Can Have a Lifetime Relationship with Your Customers? - Softcover

Sen, Arjun

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1532005229 ISBN 13: 9781532005220

Publisher: iUniverse, 2016

Synopsis

In Arjun Sen's most recent book, Customer Karma, "Why stop at a one-night stand when you can have a lifetime relationship with your customer", he uncovers the blind spots of many well intentioned companies in the customer dating game. Arjun draws upon his broad experience in marketing, branding, and customer relationships to offer impactful customer-centered insights for business professionals of all levels. Arjun successfully piques your curiosity and keeps you coming back for more with his first-hand industry stories that demonstrate the power of genuinely connecting with clients. This book has something in it for anyone who intends to attract and keep customers, or someone who wants to build meaningful customer relationships.

Arjun playfully crosses the boundary of polite business correctness to reveal the biggest vulnerability of businesses; not knowing on a personal level anything about customers they are pursuing or specifically what makes them tick. He akins businesses to a dater and parallels the process of courting a date and should be a similar process to courting a customer. He brings tremendous value in his explanations of how to connect with customers in a way that requires awareness and authenticity.

Arjun excels in his ability to shift his perspective, and reframe situations, so that the reader can see things as both the business and the customer. His first-hand experiences are relatable and applicable to seemingly every business. Arjun cleverly examines plausible and real-life business scenarios, through the lens of karma, which he defines as outcomes based on one's own efforts and actions. The reader is left with a deeper understanding of what works to cultivate lifelong customer relationships, using dating relationships as the litmus test for authenticity and sincerity.

Customer Karma, is a must-read for any business that wants to attract, effectively serve and retain life-long customers. Good karma is cultivated by heart-felt good action. When companies genuinely invest in their customers, they are rewarded with good karma of customer loyalty the abundant returns. This formula works with every relationship and in every area of your life. But knowing the formula is not good enough as Arjun emphasizes that Customer Karma is about action, not words. Businesses build good "Customer Karma" only when they actually put their customers first in all their actions.

About this title

About the Author

Arjun Sen is president and founder of ZenMango(R), a marketing consulting firm that works with restaurants, retail, nonprofits, academic institutions, golf pros, and other guest-experience-driven industries. Previously, Sen led a prestigious corporate career, holding senior executive positions in several Fortune 500 companies. His primary focus is to assist brands to understand their current equity in the mind of the consumer to enhance their guest experiences and brands. During Arjun's corporate tenure, he served as VP of Marketing and Operations Services for Papa John's International Worldwide. Arjun's previous experience includes positions at the University of Colorado, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Boston Market, Pizza Hut, Tata Iron & Steel, and Jillian's. Arjun received his MBA from Brigham Young University and his Bachelors in Aeronautical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India. Learn more at www.customerkarma.org

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Customer Karma

Why Stop at a One-Night Stand, When You Can Have a Lifetime Relationship with Your Customers?

By Arjun Sen

iUniverse

Copyright © 2016 Arjun Sen
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-5320-0522-0

Contents

Acknowledgments, ix, 
The Purpose of the Book, xi, 
Lessons on Good Karma, 1, 
Karma Lessons from My Grandma, 3, 
Karma in the Business World, 8, 
Seeing the Big Picture First: The Seven Blind Men and the Elephant, 11, 
Understanding the Customer: Are You a Butterfly or a Terminator Today?, 15, 
Understanding Relationships, 21, 
Humanizing Customer Relationships, 23, 
A Journey Must Start with Self-Discovery, 27, 
Start Strong, 31, 
Making It Easy to Explore, 36, 
Seeking Confirmation, 39, 
The Grand Finale: Decision Time, 44, 
What's Your Hurry, Cowboy? Savor the Moment, 49, 
Good Karma in Communication, 55, 
Don't Start as a Fire Hydrant, 57, 
Random Taglines, 60, 
Speak a Common Language, 63, 
Bread-Crumbing Communication, 67, 
The Science of Communication, 70, 
Karma of Giving, 75, 
When a Grandma Called Me Stupid, 77, 
A Free Bra on My Birthday, 82, 
No More Warm Nuts for Me, 89, 
Texting "XOXO" in the Middle of the Night, 94, 
My Pleasure? Really?, 97, 
Start with Authenticity, 101, 
No Room for Trick Play, 103, 
Can't Believe You Made Me Feel Stupid, 109, 
Surprises from Friends and Family, 112, 
Strategizing Not to Get Caught, 116, 
A Warm Heart Always Gets Noticed, 120, 
True Integrity, 123, 
Making Fun of Others, 126, 
Good Karma Is Not for Sale, 131, 
Loyalty Cannot Be Programmed, 133, 
Outsourcing Love, 136, 
Discounting Love, 141, 
Affection Disclaimers, 145, 
Showing Love with Just a Hot Towel, 149, 
Be Focused and Add a Personal Touch, 153, 
Curly's One Thing, 155, 
Will Never Hit a 5-Iron Hybrid from a Fairway Bunker (Again), 159, 
One of One and Not One of Many, 161, 
Surviving Challenges, 165, 
The Journey to Better Karma, 171, 
Getting to Ever After, 173, 
Celebrating Your Top Customer, 176, 
Daring to Be Different, 181, 
Seeking Inspiration, 187, 
Disruption to Win Big, 191, 
Final Words, 196, 
Endnotes, 201, 

CHAPTER 1

Lessons on Good Karma

When I was working with a top sports personality, he asked me to stay focused on the present. He explained to me that focusing on the present helps you maximize the present. Later on, when one looks back, one can only celebrate and appreciate past success or learn from mistakes made.

This advice has been helpful to me, as I am grateful for every lesson I have learned in life. If I consider each lesson a valuable pearl, today, when I look back at them all together, I see them as a pearl necklace, together much more valuable to me than each individual pearl. All the combined learning has helped me understand what the path to good karma is and how a business can have good customer karma.

As I share my experiences, it is important for you to note that you must identify what karma is and isn't to you. That is essential to tapping into the power of karma in your life. Nearly everyone has heard the word karma. My grandma introduced me to the word karma and the concepts connected with it. She illustrated the meaning of the word to me through simple examples. Let me share with you some of the lessons from my grandma, as her words have been my cornerstone of the concept of karma. Once we are on the same page about the concept of karma, I want to check to see if the concept works in the business world. I have learned that the following concepts set up the framework of karma in the business world.

• seeing the Big Picture First: Seeing the big picture helps one put things in perspective. When one does that, it is easier to put the customer first.

• understanding People's Mind-sets: All people are not the same, and one person does not act the same way all the time. Understanding how customers react in different situations is essential before one decides how to treat them.

Karma Lessons from My Grandma

When I grew up in India, I was fortunate to have my grandma as part of my everyday life. She was there for me, to be my cheerleader and my compass in life and to reflect on circumstances when things did not go well. Reflecting on the past with her was one of the most critical elements of my growing up. She never told me the answer but always guided me to get there. I recall a series of experiences that helped me refine what karma was. We all have experiences, and perhaps these experiences can help you find similar concepts in your own life. Defining the concept of karma is essential to understanding it, and my grandmother was instrumental in helping me do so.

Ninety-Nine Percent in Third-Grade Math Was Not Enough

One of the earliest situations I can think of was a math test in third grade. I was proud of my math abilities and was confident that I'd aced the midterm. When the results came in, my score was a 99 out of 100. The teacher explained to me that she'd deducted one point for lack of neatness. I was heartbroken. I came home and started crying, blaming the teacher for being cruel and robbing me of my well-deserved perfect score.

My grandma listened to me and then said, "You have the graded paper with you, don't you? This evening, I want you to grade that paper on your own — but only from a neatness point of view. Let me know what you feel, but remember — you are only looking at the neatness and nothing else."

That evening, I went over the paper. I started with confidence that there would be no reason whatsoever in the paper for her to have given me anything less than a perfect score. As I went through the paper, I realized there were quite a few instances in which I had erased my work clumsily and written over the unclearly erased text. In one instance, I could even argue that for a specific problem, it was not clear what my final answer was. The teacher had been kind enough to give me the benefit of the doubt. Later that evening, when I sat with my grandma, she asked me, "Were you perfect in the neatness area? Was your lack of neatness an issue in showcasing your work or the final answer in any question?" I had to admit that I had been sloppy and had not taken neatness seriously. In fact, I had been lucky to get the full points on a problem where the teacher could have deducted more points. That day, my grandma taught me two important lessons in life.

1. Anytime I got results that were not favorable, I should focus first on what I had done and then on what I could have done differently. Focusing on others or blaming others was convenient, but that never would help me get better.

2. Results would always be a function of my effort and actions. I needed to be perfect first before I could expect perfect results.

Regretting Not Making the School Quiz Team

Another time, I was trying to be on the school quiz team. I went to the tryouts and did not make it. I was disappointed. This time, my grandma was kind and gentle. She started by saying, "Don't worry. Next time, you will do better." Then she went on to say, "Did you have a clear idea about how to prepare for the quiz selections? If you had a clear idea, then did you prepare as much as you would have liked to?" As I thought about her questions, I realized the answer to both was no. I had had some idea about the scope of the quiz and studied a little, but I'd been sure that what I knew was enough to get me through. The more I thought, the more I realized that my lack of knowledge of the scope of the quiz and my lack of preparation had not aligned well with my false confidence of succeeding. To succeed, I should have had more clarity of what was required of me and then put in my best efforts. Only then could I have expected to have a real chance of succeeding.

Sanskrit Teacher Did Not Like Me

Then there was the time I told my grandma that my Sanskrit language teacher did not like me. This time, my grandma thought my reaction was funny. I was not amused by the fact that she thought my predicament was funny. I told her that the teacher not liking me was seriously costing me in class, as he would never call on me. As she learned that it was important for me to get the teacher to like me, she asked me, "Does the teacher even know your name? Do you know what the teacher likes? What effort, other than waiting to be called on in class, have you made for the teacher to like you?" As I listened to her, it was clear to me that my complaining to my grandma about my teacher would not change the situation. I needed to proactively take steps to change things, as that was in my control.

Karma Defined Applying for My Engineering Entrance Exam

As I grew older, my grandma helped me connect the dots in each of these learning moments. One evening, when we were sitting on the balcony, I told her that after finishing high school, I wanted to be an engineer. I wanted to graduate from India's top engineering college, one of the six Indian Institutes of Technology. She smiled at me and said, "It is all about your karma." I was confused, as I thought karma meant fate. Was my grandma telling me that everything was dependent on fate, which meant I did not have to do anything other than wait for fate to reveal itself? Was there nothing I could do to ensure I got into the IITs? My grandma went on to explain, "Karma comes from the Sanskrit word karman, which means 'action' or 'doing.' I am referring to what you can do in any situation. You must have a clear idea of what is required to get into the IITs and then go do your best. Then you can tell yourself that you have done your best, meaning you did the right karma. Only then will you have the best chance of getting in." I was starting to see what she was saying. Grandma went on to say, "There are no shortcuts to success. Success is hardly ever bestowed on those who do not work hard or do good karma. Do good karma, and you will be rewarded with good karma."

That evening, I could confidently say that I got it. I started understanding the lessons of karma. I studied hard, did my karma, and was rewarded with an admission to the IITs. I graduated from IIT Kharagpur with a degree in aerospace engineering. After that, I came to the United States, earned my MBA, and got into the corporate world in the field of consumer marketing. In my years of working with some of the top consumer brands in the fields of restaurants, retail, service, and consumer goods, I learned that the concept of karma was the be-all and end-all definer of success. To me, the concept of karma was a blend of Newton's third law of physics, which states, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction," and the golden rule, which states, "One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself." In my career, the more clarity I got about karma and its effects, the more I could successfully understand consumer behavior and the corporate world. A defining moment came to me when I was talking to the CEO of a company and asked him, "How do people get promoted in the corporate world?"

He explained to me in simple terms, "You get promoted when the right person comes at the right time and witnesses you doing the right thing. You cannot influence who the right person is, nor can you influence when he will come to witness you. But you can inspire yourself to do the right thing every day every moment so that when the right person comes, he will for sure witness you doing the right thing."

Wow, I thought. I felt the CEO had simply stated in different words what my grandma had said as I was growing up: "Arjun, just keep doing good karma. Then you will be rewarded with good karma in return."

As I have reflected on my grandma's words over the years, I have distilled this knowledge into three clear steps of doing good karma.

1. To determine karma in a situation, start by understanding what good karma is. Seeing the big picture puts things into perspective and impacts the decisions you will make. Then pause. Pausing and having this clarity is important, just as it is important for you to clearly know where you are going before you start your journey.

2. Next, commit to putting your best effort toward doing good karma. My grandma reinforced this idea by telling me over and over that there are no shortcuts to success. Good karma happens only when you put forth your best effort.

3. Finally, if the results do not come out as desired, reflect back on the first two steps above. Did you clearly identify what was good karma in this situation? Did you do your best? You can only focus on what you could have done differently, and thinking of other factors will take away the opportunity to self-reflect and get better.

These lessons translated well in the business world, where focusing on the big picture is essential to determining how well you can retain customers.

Karma in the Business World

A closer look at the concept of karma shows that causality is a big part of it. Over the years, I have learned that my grandma's advice about karma is relevant in the corporate world too. As I share the impact of karma in the business world, you will see how causality plays a strong role in defining karma in this world.

The journey to write the book came from my search for the meaning of life in the business world. I started with the realization that life in this world was more than simply sales growth or increased profits. It was more than a new product launch that raised the stock price. Over time, I realized the meaning of life in this world was all about building a lifetime relationship with your customers. If your business has a lifelong relationship with its customers, then sales are guaranteed to grow.

Valuation of Coffee Shop Karma

Imagine you are running a coffee shop. A customer comes to you three times a week, and every time, he spends approximately $8. You put your heart into building a relationship with the customer. Then the following happens.

• In one week, the customer spends $24 with you.

• In a month, he spends approximately $100.

• In a year, he spends approximately $1,200.

• In five years, he spends approximately $6,000.

Now that you see the value of the customer to be $6,000 every five years, you are surely going to look at him differently. You will have no problem putting in extra effort to build a relationship with this customer. Now add the concept of causality. Giving him great customer service comes first. Only if you provide great service will he spend $6,000 with you for five years. It does not work the other way. You cannot expect the customer to come to you one day and say, "If I buy $6,000 worth of food and beverages from you over the next five years, will you please give me great customer service?"

This causality of offering great service to the customer and getting rewarded in the long term is exactly what my grandma taught me about karma. Think of the coffee shop example. In the example, doing good karma for the customer involves being friendly to him and going above and beyond to make him happy every day, and that can result in $6,000 revenue over a five-year period. Now, if that is not good karma for the coffee shop, I do not know what is. Just know that my grandma was never wrong, as good customer karma defines any brand's future success.

Customer Complaints Are Opportunities

Here are some other examples of simple gestures that are good investments in customer karma.

• It is raining hard, and the customer asks the retail store clerk if he can borrow an umbrella. The store clerk's first reaction might be worry that the customer will not bring the umbrella back. However, helping the customer by lending him an umbrella might be a great way to connect with the customer and plant the seed for a potential long-term relationship.

• A customer calls the customer service line of a digital entertainment company, complaining that the new video game he has just ordered does not work. The customer service representative (CSR) might be tempted to verify that the game is actually not working before he plans to send out a replacement. If the CSR pauses for a moment, he will realize that the customer has already proven his desire to own the game by buying it and is now calling because he cannot play the game. If the CSR finds a way to kill the downtime by getting the customer a link to a download so that he can start playing the game without any further delay, that will be good karma directed toward the customer. That is bound to strengthen the relationship between the customer and the brand and might earn the brand off-the-charts word of mouth. The customer might go on social media and write, "Can you believe what they did? I called, and within minutes, they sent me a link. As I was downloading the link, they got all the information from me, but I was up and playing within fifteen minutes of calling them. Impressive."

Examples like these are opportunities that can be found in any business nearly every day. All a brand needs to do is seize these opportunities and do good customer karma consistently and spontaneously. The results will speak for themselves.

Seeing the Big Picture First: The Seven Blind Men and the Elephant

As I start emphasizing the importance of seeing the whole picture instead of just seeing the parts, I think of a story my grandma told me from ancient India. This was one of my favorite stories growing up, and my grandma would act out different parts of the narrative during her storytelling. In the fascinating story of "The Seven Blind Men and the Elephant," the king brought an elephant to seven blind men and asked them to guess what it was. Each man walked around the elephant, touched it, and then came up with his conclusion based completely on his personal experience. The first man felt the tail and thought the object was a rope. The next man stepped up and touched the leg, and he believed it was a pillar. Another man touched the tip of the tail and thought it was a brush. The man who touched the elephant's ear thought the object was a winnowing basket. The other three men also had different conclusions based only on their experiences.

What I find fascinating is that each blind man truly did his diligent exploration and came up with a conclusion that could be entirely justified based on the experience he had. But not once did any of them think that he could be partially right or that there was a bigger truth than his personal experience. If the men had paused and seen the elephant from a different angle or collaborated to see the whole picture, they might have been able to figure out that the brush, basket, pillar, and rope were parts of an elephant. The incomplete story prevented them from maximizing the opportunity and being aware of the threat in front of them. This story showcases how focusing on one piece of the puzzle can often be misleading.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Customer Karma by Arjun Sen. Copyright © 2016 Arjun Sen. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Edition details

• Publisher: iUniverse
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1532005229
• ISBN 13: 9781532005220
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 218