Setting Up an Auto Service Business Development Center

Staffing

Our Service BDC does all inbound/outbound service calls. We also have a Sales BDC that handles all inbound/outbound sales calls.

In addition to the calls that they are paid for (see below), our Service BDC reps also follow up on reservation no shows. Our current no-show rate is about 6%, down from a high of 15% that occurred before we changed our reminder emails/texts (which now go out at the time the Customer makes the reservation, the night before their reservation, and the morning of).

Conversica has also proven useful as a data mining/contact tool. Our results have declined, but the volume of reservations that it generates is still very reasonable for the cost. We just wish that it was able to text Customers, as we find that far more effective than emails or calls.

Metrics

• Answer speed: 94% on the first ring. 100% by 3rd ring.
• Abandon rate: Less than 4%.
• Outbound calls/texts per day: Minimum of 120. Texts are better than calls – they get many more responses.
• Reservations per day: Minimum of 20/rep, goal of 30.

Breakdown of reservations

• 50% as the result of outbound calls
• 20% online
• 20% Service Advisors
• 10% combination of email and snail mail

Necessary Resources

• I highly recommend having a call recording system to playback calls and for training– at least 90 days of storage, ability to track calls by extension, ability to forward calls as .wav files, and ability to generate reports that show call length, successful/unsuccessful outgoing calls, and wait time
• Booking system – The same system has to be used by the BDC and by the Service Advisors; BDC reps must be able to leave notes that the Service Advisors can see, and the BDC reps must be able to see recommended services, including quoted prices; the booking system must be able to report on volume by date, rep, show/no show, service(s) performed
• ACD Reports – answer speed, abandon rate, call volume by day of week, date, time of day (to help figure out staffing), wait time (to corroborate with recording system)

Training
We give each of our BDC reps a training manual. It contains our scripts, a phone operation manual, breakdowns of our processes, a reference guide, maintenance service guide and prices, contact list of Motorcars employees, our department’s priorities and philosophy, and a set of flashcards. We use the flashcards as a fun way to train new reps on questions that they won’t likely get very often but should still know the answers to (see below, after Scripts).

We also have up-to-the-minute versions of all of this – plus the schedules of all employees – in the cloud (Google Drive).

A typical new hire shadows the entire team and begins to make outbound calls within 2 weeks, and inbound calls within 4 weeks. Because there is so much to know, we would rather they learn things well, rather than quickly.

Outbound Calls/Lists

• No shows
• Declined services
• Collect updated email addresses, textable phone numbers
• Purchased recall lists
• Sold not serviced
• ToyotaCare (each cycle, plus late, ToyotaCare Plus, and Toyota ServiceCare)

Compensation
We have a daily spiff to drive the next day’s reservations. The spiff is paid out to every member of the team, and starts at a combined total of 70 reservations for the following day:

• Less than 70 reservations = $0.00
• 70 reservations = $12.50
• 80 reservations = $15.00
• 90 reservations = $18.75
• 100 reservations or more = $25.00

The team can see where they are constantly throughout the day by checking the Workbook in Xtime, and I tell them how much money they have in their ‘bank’ every time it goes up. This has proven to be a winning strategy – everyone makes extra calls to get over the next hump.

Outbound Campaigns

Conquests

• $7.50 for Customers 9 to 16 months without service
• $10.00 for Customers more than 16 months without service
• Recalls – Payout per ‘show’ for proactive outbound contact - $5.00
• ToyotaCare - $0.75 for each ‘show’
• ToyotaCare Plus - $20 for each credit card number collected
• Toyota Service Care - $10 for each credit card number collected

Detail Center

• Complete Detail - $12.00
• Interior Detail - $6.00
• Exterior Detail - $6.00
• Pet Hair Removal - $2.00
• Floor Shampoo - $2.00
• Seat Shampoo - $2.00
• Exterior High-Speed Buffing - $3.00
• Engine Clean & Degrease - $2.00
• Rubbing Compound - $5.00
• Steam Clean Dashboard - $2.00
• Ionizer - $3.00
• Add Fresh Air Scents - $2.00

Recommended Services

• Alignment - $5.00
• Battery - $5.00
• Brakes - $5.00
• Tires - $10

Marketing Plan

We have found that our most successful campaigns have several traits in common:

• They are a combination of email, postcards, and outbound calls.
• They are narrowly targeted – not ‘shotgun’ ads. For example, there are 5 different ToyotaCare email templates – one for each of the 5 services – plus one to transition Customers to ToyotaCare Plus and another to get all Customers, regardless of brand or model year, onto Toyota ServiceCare.
• As a rule, our eBlasts and postcards rarely feature pictures of cars. Instead, we use humor, children, single panel comics, puppies, kittens, and images of the folks who work at our stores. ‘Dad’ humor seems to work best.

Scripts

Incoming Call

• Thank you for choosing Motorcars. This is ___________ speaking and I can help you!
• My pleasure, I’ll be happy to assist you with this.
• Please allow me to gather some personal information from you. May I have your home telephone number?
• (If Customer does not appear under the phone number given, let them know, and ask if they have brought vehicle in for service before.)
• (If yes, thank them for being a loyal Customer and try to find them by last name.)
• (If no, thank them for the opportunity to earn their business and create a Customer profile for them in XTime.)
• Which vehicle is your call regarding? (Year/Make/Model)
• (If Honda) What service codes appear on your Maintenance Minder?
• (If Toyota) Your next recommended maintenance service is XXX. Is this the service that you wish to schedule?
• (Check Dealer Daily for Toyota recalls. If there are open recalls, let the Customer know, and ask if they wish to have them taken care of during their visit.)
• Anything else that you’d like us to check out, since it’s coming in anyway? We also offer complete Detail services, if you would like to schedule that at the same time.
• Will you be arranging your own transportation or taking advantage of our shuttle service? (Unless oil change or other Waiter. If the concern is an electrical concern of any kind, it must be a drop off. The Customer’s SA will be able to give the Customer a good idea of how long it will take once the technician has an opportunity to see the vehicle.)
• What day works best for you?
• Let me check our service calendar for a convenient drop off time… We have an opening on ______ (day) at ______ (time) - will that work for you?
• What email address/textable phone number may we send your confirmation to?
• We have you scheduled to meet with your Service Advisor at ____AM/PM on _____ (day). You will be meeting with _______________. Our goal is to complete your visit in roughly XX hours, but your Service Advisor will be able to give you an exact time when they check in your vehicle.
• (If new Customer, explain service drive and shuttle process.)
• Again, my name is ____________and if for any reason you need to reschedule, will you please give us a call?
• Have I answered all of your questions and provided you with excellent service today?
• Thank you for calling and have a great day!

Declined Service(s)

If You Get Voicemail
Hello, __________, this is __________ calling from Motorcars. Please call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX. Thank you! Have a great day.

If a Human Being Answers
Hello, this is __________ calling from Motorcars. Is __________ available?

Hello, __________, this is __________ calling from Motorcars. Your Service Advisor recommended some work during your most recent visit, and I’m calling today to schedule your reservation.

We have an opening today at __________. Will this work for you, or would another day be better?

If They Push Back
I understand. Do you mind letting me know what obstacle we might be able to help with?

If It’s About the Cost
I realize that this might be an unexpected expense. If it will help, we have a special coming up next week on (depending upon which service was declined):
Alignment - $95.96 (normally $119.95)
Brakes - Save $50

We also offer a deferred interest credit card that allows you to take up to 6 months to pay for any work that you have done. It can also be applied to needed parts, such as tires and so on. Would this be helpful to you?

IF IT’S ABOUT BEING WITHOUT A CAR (only applies to brake jobs)
If it will help, I can offer a 1-day rental at no cost to you while you have this work done.

IF YES
Great! What I’m going to do is to schedule your reservation and I’ll add a note to your Service Advisor, so they’ll know about this.

(Make sure you schedule them with the same Advisor who made the original quote.)

IF NO
That’s fine. When you are ready to schedule this service, please let me know. My name is __________ and you can reach me at XXX-XXX-XXXX ext XXX. Is there anything else that we can help you with today? (Pause) Thank you! Have a great day.

No Show Follow Up

Hello, this is _____ calling from Motorcars. The reason I’m calling is that it looks like you may have missed your recent service visit. We understand – life happens.

Would you prefer to reschedule in the daytime, evening, or on a Saturday?

I have 3 times open on __________ … one at __________, one at __________, and one at __________. Which is best?

Great! I have you scheduled on AT . We have you scheduled for . Is there anything else that you wish to add?

Excellent, we’ll see you at ON . Have a great day!

IF THEY PUSH BACK
I understand. When you’re ready to reschedule, just call us back at XXX-XXX-XXXX. We look forward to seeing you again soon!

Recall Script
If You Get Voicemail
Hello, __________, this is __________ calling from Motorcars about an urgent safety recall.

Please call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX extension XXX. Thank you!

If a Human Being Answers
Hello, this is __________ calling from Motorcars. Is __________ available?

Hello, __________, this is __________ calling from Motorcars. Your vehicle is subject to a safety recall by Honda/Toyota, and I’m calling today to schedule this service. This service is intended to improve the safety and reliability of your vehicle, and it’s completely free to you. If you like, we can schedule the recall service at the same time as your next maintenance service.

We have an opening today at __________. Will this work for you, or would another day be better?

If They Push Back
In addition to improving the safety and reliability of your vehicle, Honda/Toyota requires this service to remain compliant with your vehicle’s warranty.

Would an evening or weekend reservation work better for you?

ToyotaCare

If a Human Being Answers
“Hello, this is __________ calling from Motorcars Toyota. Is __________ available?

Hello, __________, this is __________ calling from Motorcars Toyota to schedule your ToyotaCare service. This is a free maintenance service that we provide that includes everything but air filters and wiper inserts for the first 2 years that you own your vehicle. We have an opening at __________ on __________. Will this work for you, or would a little later be better?”

If You Get Voicemail
“Hello, __________, this is __________ calling from Motorcars Toyota to schedule your FREE ToyotaCare service. Please call me at __________ ext. __________ to schedule this service. I’ll be happy to help. Thank you!”

ToyotaCare Plus

If a Human Being Answers
“Hello, this is __________ calling from Motorcars Toyota. Is __________ available?

Hello, __________, this is __________ calling from Motorcars Toyota to schedule your next maintenance service. I see that your ToyotaCare service plan is about to expire/has expired. Would you like to extend your ToyotaCare coverage?

Extending your ToyotaCare will extend your coverage for maintenance for an additional 2 years. This will cover your first major service, which is normally $160. It will also cover 3 additional services after that. Extending your plan will also extend your roadside coverage for an additional 2 years. This covers flat tires, no starts, running out of gas, and they will get you to the nearest Toyota dealership anywhere in the United States.

There are 2 ways that you can extend your ToyotaCare. One is to pay the total amount of $329 plus tax.”

If They Say No
“That’s fine. Let’s go ahead and schedule your next maintenance reservation.” (Continue with service scheduling process.)

When They Say Yes
“Excellent! Let’s go ahead and schedule your service, and then I’ll take your credit card information so that we can extend your ToyotaCare coverage.”

Too Many Tools

Have you ever worked for or with a company that gave you too many tools? It's obvious that they mean well, and that they're enthusiastic and creative and want to help you. The trouble is, you no sooner begin to understand one tool before another shows up, and another, and another... reinventing the wheel in an effort to help you succeed.

To keep from being that company, and to help any vendors that you may deal with that already are that company, may I humbly suggest this post as a pass-along?

Here is how to do tools right:

• You have competitors. They have tools. Look at them all.
• Ask your Customers - as many Customers as possible - which tools they actually use, and why. Write this down.
• Create NOTHING - yet. (I know it's hard. You want to make something today - yesterday, if possible. But you know what? Sending 5 tools, one right after another as another brilliant idea hits you is going to get your tools sent to the circular file without even being opened, because your Customer knows another, better version is just weeks away. Always.)
• Remember: People don't want to learn anything new. You can't change that. Don't try - you will only waste all of your money, time, and sanity. People don't want a cam-retractable, variable speed, percussive impact device. People want a hammer. 
• Simple, simple, simple. A tool can do as many as 3 things, provided they are simple things. If you try to make it do more than 3 things, your Customer's faces will melt and they will become brain-devouring zombies. This has been proven by science.
• Put your name on the tool. You want them to remember who made that wonderful hammer that they use every day to kill zombies, don't you? Damn straight.
• Make the tool as durable and as cheaply as possible. Expensive tools either get lost or don't get used. This has also been proven by science. Unseen University did the field work. Really.
• Before you make your tool, go watch people use tools. I know they told you what they use and why, but remember: people lie.
• Think. Think some more. Think again. 9 times out of 10, speed is the enemy of successful execution. You're just going to have to trust me on this one.
• When you are finally sure you have invented a hammer, have not reinvented the wheel, made it to last, made it cheap and, above all, made it useful, create your tool.
• Go home. Sleep. You done good!

Last but not least: If you have to explain how your tool works, it's not a tool. It's an obstacle.

Betty White, Plato, and the Titanic

There is a natural tendency for any congregation of human beings to become insular. This is just as true for organizations and departments within those organizations as it is for states, regions, countries, religions, political groups, and on and on.

Human beings are herd animals; we always have been. We don't have thick hides, claws, or fangs. We're not particularly fast on foot or when swimming. A 3-year-old chimpanzee can literally tear our arms out of their sockets. What we do have is each other, and the need to communicate and defend each other led to big brains, an amazing aptitude for pattern recognition and, eventually, fully-formed language.

But even now, there are issues regarding the formation of effective new ideas in the face of emerging needs, threats, and appropriate responses to both. There is nothing new about this. In fact, Plato spelled the whole thing out in something called The Allegory of the Cave.

In Plato's story, a man wanders into a cave in which are imprisoned a group of people. These people are chained facing the cave wall, and have been since birth. Because of the chains, they are unable even to turn their heads. In the center of the cave, behind the prisoners, a large fire burns. As people, objects, and people carrying objects pass between the fire and the cave wall, they cast shadows on the wall that the prisoners can see. The prisoners attempt to build an explanation of the entire world, its contents, and its processes based on these distorted shadows.

The man who wanders into the cave, of course, has a lifetime of experience other than being chained to a cave wall, plus the added benefit of being able to see and accurately interpret everything he sees. From an organizational perspective, this is why it is so important to frequently engage outside consultants and to hire new employees from outside your industry. You and everyone in your organization that has been there for any length of time already see things with a very fixed lens.

New eyes are clear eyes.

The natural tendency, of course, when you hear the ideas of these new folks is to say, "That won't work, and here's why: You don't really understand our business." Those words are often the epitaph of the organization. You can only see things one way, because you are chained to the wall of your experience, and cannot see things objectively or from the outside.

Another issue regarding our hard-wired response to threats is that nature plays the odds.

In any group of people facing a mortal danger, a certain percentage will do one of the following:

• Act instantly based on recent information (10% - 15%)
• Panic and go crazy (15%)
• Stand around and do nothing (everyone else)

From a survival of the species perspective, this is a good strategy. Two of the answers will likely always be wrong, but at least one will probably be right. From nature's perspective, having enough members of a species survive to reproduce is a win. (The fact that so many people who survive a disaster tend to feel very close to each other afterward is nature's next step in this process.)

The problem is, from an organizational perspective, it is very easy for the third group to delay action until any decision no longer matters.

A good example is the town that I grew up in. When a mall opened up outside of the city limits, the downtown merchants debated for years about how to address this competition, talking the city into bringing in expensive consultant after expensive consultant with plan after plan until all of their stores closed for want of customers. What was once the center of commerce became a ghost town.

Another excellent example is the newspaper industry. Every month or so a journalist writes a new story that explains how newspapers can save themselves from extinction. The problem is, for everyone outside the newspaper industry and its dependents (such as the wire services), newspapers died a long time ago. As the new NPR CEO once said, "No one under 30 has ever read a newspaper. And they never will".

Newspapers are Abe Vigoda. They are not Betty White.

To avoid this trap, obsessively collect and listen to your metrics. Intelligence gather from your competitors and those in industries that are outside of your own, but who serve a similar Customer, or have similar business models.

Standing still while your ship sinks guarantees that you and everyone around you drowns. It is still going to sink, and an irrational belief that your ship will not sink because it never has and so it can't will not help you any more than it did the captain of the Titanic.

To survive, you must constantly adopt, adapt, and improve based on changing conditions. Action must be swift, decisive, and stem-to-stern.

Just ask T. Rex.

Working with Developers

We've previously discussed the DISC system of behavior profiling, and touched on the very real personality and language barriers that exist between departments. Nowhere is this more apparent than when working with Developers - a situation compounded by the fact that many of the most widely-used development groups today are based overseas.

It is difficult for a Sales Manager (for example) to understand that whatever he or she asks for from a CRM tool will be built exactly as they specified. On the surface, this sounds positive, but the truth is that anything that is left out of the description will not exist at all, and anything even somewhat loosely defined will end up a complete mess. The Developers will, of course, make modifications - all during billable hours, and typically at rates much higher than their original proposal, because this is all 'extra work' that you did not originally specify.

The fault, of course, is yours.

Think of it this way: If you say to your teenager, "Please take the wet clothes out of the washing machine and put them into the dryer", what are the odds that they will start the dryer? With a Developer, the odds may be 0%. Bear in mind, this is not the Developer's fault. Their job is to build exactly what they are asked to build - no imagination, no guessing, no assumptions. They are not rewarded for thinking outside the box - they are the box. To be good Developers, they have to be the box.

So when a Developer gets your laundry request, they have several questions, because they want to get it right and any mistakes they make come out of their pocket:

• In which room is the washing machine?
• In which room is the dryer?
• If the washing machine and the dryer are in different rooms, by which route should the clothing be transported?
• Which machine is the washing machine?
• Which machine is the dryer?
• At what time of day do you wish this task to occur?
• Should the clothing be removed from the washing machine immediately after it becomes wet, or at some later time? If at some later time, exactly what time?
• Should all of the clothing be removed, or only some of the clothing? If only some of the clothing, please specify which clothing is to be removed.
• Should all of the clothing be transported to the dryer, or only some? If only some of the clothing, please specify which clothing is to be transported.
• Should clothing be immediately transported after removal from the washing machine, or at some later time?
• If at some later time, exactly what time?
• Should clothing be transported from the washing machine to the dryer one article at a time, in groups, or all at once? If one article at a time, please specify the order of articles. If in groups, please specify which articles should be in which groups, and in which order the groups should be removed.
• Do you wish to have some type of confirmation when the clothing has been removed from the washing machine? Do you also wish confirmation when the clothing has been transported to the dryer?

This list could be pages longer (Business Analysts, you know it's true), but you get the idea. And notice the critical point: Because you did not specify turning the dryer on, it never made it to the list of questions.

Here's the real problem:

• Developers assume that you know what you want. (And that you will spell it out.)
• You assume that the Developers know what you want. (And that they will build it without being told to.)

Successful Development takes time and work on everyone's part. But more than that, it takes understanding of how the Development process actually works - how it has to work.

This is the reason that large organizations have Project Managers, Business Analysts, QA's, etc.: their real, unspoken job is translator. And - even if you are in a large organization, with the benefit of all of those folks - it will save you months (if not years) of frustration dealing with budget overruns, late launches, bugs, unworkable interfaces, unmet priorities and lack of sleep if you learn to look at every Development project from the Developer's point of view, and give them exactly what they need to give you exactly what you need:

A good night's sleep!

Special Offers and Slippage

From time to time, you may offer your Customers some kind of discount or other special offer by means of some type of coupon, etc. Here are a couple of rules regarding offers of this type that no one seems to follow, and which end up costing you more than the coupon is worth:
The whole point of this type of offer is to make sure that as many Customers as possible know about it. Make certain that you send it out on a day that it will be seen (if via email, Tuesday or Thursday are best; if via social media, try Wednesday just before lunch in your target markets; snail mail, use an unusual envelope or arresting graphic on postcards).

Especially today, when Customers are barraged by marketing messages in literally hundreds of mediums, the best way to keep your message from getting lost in the howl is to send it to your Customers more than once, and in a variety of mediums. Post it ahead of time on your company's website, send snail mail the week before, do an email or newsletter blast the day of, have your reps call key Customers the next day to make sure they got the flyer/email/etc... The squeaky wheel really does get the best results and, if you do it in several mediums instead of hitting Customers multiple times using just one, your opt out rate is far less likely to spike.
Make sure that your employees - especially support and sales - know about the offer before it goes out. Nothing is more unprofessional than a Customer who knows more about your marketing efforts than your employees.

You have enough competition, right? So make certain that other departments don't have competing offers going out at the same time. (How dumb is it to compete against yourself? Yet I can't count the number of times that I've seen this happen, simply due to a lack of communication between departments and/or managers.)

Now let's talk about a key component of any special offer: slippage.

Let's say that you send your special offer out to 1,000 Customers. The offer should require that Customers validate the offer in some way - bringing in a coupon, entering a code into a web form, etc. This serves two purposes:

• It allows you to count the number of conversions so that you know the response rate. Without this, you have no idea whether or not the offer was successful. Remember: This is a business, not a club; guesstimating is for hobbyists. 
• It allows us to exclude Customers who did not actually respond to the offer - a practice known as 'slippage'. The worst thing that you can do is allow employees to push your offer to Customers who have never heard of it (and they will, believe me, unless you order them not to). 

There are two reasons for this:

• Your metrics regarding the actual response rate go out the window. 
• Your employee is offering a discount to a Customer that was willing to pay full price! Don't get me wrong - you want as many Customers to respond to your offer as possible. But you don't want to offer a discount to a Customer that was willing to pay full price, or you'll go broke, because it becomes habit and then 'the way we do things' overnight.

I can already hear you: "But Dave, if our Customers find out afterward that we had a discount and they didn't get it, they'll be mad at us!"

Bullshit. They may take it out on you, but they'll actually be mad at themselves for missing your offer. And we even have a way around that: Have a second offer available for exactly these Customers, not quite as good as the first offer, and let them know that you are doing this one time only and only because they are such a good Customer. (This will only work if everyone in your chain of command holds the line.)

You want everyone to hear about your offer, but you only want a certain number of people to cash in. That's how offers work: They drive additional business your way without you having to give up revenue. Of course, you honor the offer for everyone who complies with your terms, but for no one else. And from then on, your Customers will watch for your offers, and make sure they save them.

Out of the 1,000 Customers that you sent your offer to, you'll likely get 20 to 30 who convert and comply - 2% to 3%. But your traffic should bump at least 10%. That's a 7% to 8% uptick in business without any discount beyond what you would normally give a Customer without a special offer.

Ain't slippage grand?

YG5FWXED2V2D

The Power of Belief

The problem with trying to win people over regarding anything - issue, product, service, cause, etc. - is this:

No amount of information changes a belief.

It does not matter if you have the most prominent climate scientists in the world, or how many; if someone believes that climate change is fabricated, they will continue to believe that. If you believe that black is white and white is black, no matter how many flash cards you are shown, you will never see what anyone who does not share your conviction sees. Belief is that powerful.

Why? Because belief feeds pleasure- and comfort-inducing centers in the brain, even for those who tend to be thinkers rather than believers.

Basically, humans who believe something that is not based on fact are those whose cognitive mind is based more on intuition than on reflection. That is, they are more apt to 'skip ahead' to answers that require less conscious thought. For reflective minds, a series of easily confirmed facts presented by a source whom the observer recognizes as an authority is often enough... it's just a matter of getting your message out there. But for 'believers', even recanted statements and authoritative proof are not enough (witness Toyota's debacle with unintended acceleration). And because most people tend to congregate with others who think as they do, this confirmation of belief is constantly reinforced.

One of the positives of social media is that it is easier to directly interact with Customers than ever before. But one of the negatives is that, if a proportion of your Customer base is intuitive rather than reflective (and they are), a comment by someone who is not a fan of your organization on a blog, Twitter, or Facebook has the potential to drive away large numbers of other Customers - even if what they say has no facts to support it.

So what can influence belief in a positive way?

A better, 'hookier' story (that is, one that is more 'intuitively true') and a peer group whose ratio tips at least 70% in favor of the new belief, so that the believer feels that they are part of an easily recognizable majority. (This does not mean the majority of humans - just the majority of the people with whom they spend the bulk of their 'voluntary' time - that is, time away from work.)

The first part is relatively easy, but how do you encourage people to regularly interact outside their usual (like-minded) peer group? Especially when social media applications - for purposes of marketing demographics - keep herding us into ever-smaller, more narrowly defined 'communities'?

The first step is to identify which of your Customers are reflective and which are intuitive. This is easily accomplished with surveys, monitoring of Twitter, Facebook, industry-oriented blogs, etc. The next step is to state the facts in language that is appropriate to each group (the days of "one message fits all" are gone), and in forums that identify your organization as part of or affiliated with the group in question (obviously, not if they are a hate group or part of some other objectionable organization). This is most easily accomplished by explaining how your organization has supported Customers like the Customer whom you wish to reach, using examples that have value to that particular Customer segment.

Bear in mind, if your Customer base has a wide demographic variation, you may have to craft several different versions of your story to communicate it most effectively to each group. It also never hurts to enlist the help of prominent members of each group to help explain your position and to learn more about the concerns of each Customer segment.

At the end of the day, it is always better to build your base of support before something negative is said, so that your Customers already communicate with you regularly, consider you 'one of them', and are more apt to listen to your side than to someone who has no facts to support them. The most important thing, if something negative is said, is to answer instantly, invite the speaker to discuss the issue off-line, listen carefully to their issue without interruption, respond in a way that actually addresses their concern, and then ask for feedback.

Execution

At the time of this writing, Apple's market cap is US$500 billion. The public's perception of Apple is a result of a reality distortion field, i.e., that Apple can do no wrong and always turns out gold. A large part of this has to do with how Apple handles the press and its product launches, both of which create the impression that Apple is a religion, rather than a company. But anyone who purchased an Apple 3, a Lisa, a Cube, a Newton, or any one of a number of other Apple products that died in the orchard knows the truth:

Apple has had at least as many failures as successes.

None of these products were bad ideas. Where Apple failed was execution. The best intention, plan, and product in the world will still die a horrible death if not executed perfectly.

Notice my choice of words; I didn't say 'executed well'. Companies that execute well die in front of the competition every day. Today, you must execute perfectly, or get the hell out of the game.