http://bluechip.bloggingspots.com Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:36:20 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Been a while since Part 1 so I thought I'd better get back to this topic. Here's another idea that worked well for us while I was with Grant County Economic Development. We held monthly meetings and our attendance over 12 year was fantastic. Most of the credit goes to ... http://bluechip.bloggingspots.com/2008/04/29/not-just-another-meeting-part-2/ I've always been in awe of how powerful negative people can be. Take 5 people who want to do something and mix in one who believes it can't be done and well, you can guess the outcome. Is it any wonder that most of the world's creative geniuses do most ... http://bluechip.bloggingspots.com/2008/04/01/dont-let-the-s-get-you-down/ Just did a customer service training session in Platteville and the response to one of the questions I asked led to this entry. One of the key components of the Disney approach to providing exceptional customer service is the concept of 'show'. They even use theatre terms in their business including ... http://bluechip.bloggingspots.com/2008/03/31/will-the-show-really-go-on/ While in Madison yesterday my daughter and I went to a movie at one of the 10 screen theatres. Nothing remarkable about that but as we were leaving another of the screens was also ending and instead of the usual younger viewers this audience was distinctly different. Older, well dressed...did ... http://bluechip.bloggingspots.com/2008/03/23/new-ideas-or-variations-on-a-theme/ Just reviewing the comment sheets from participants at two training sessions I conducted yesterday. I'm happy to say that the vast majority of the comments and ratings were favourable. In fact more than a few were very generous in their praise and many gave the ultimate compliment by listing one ... http://bluechip.bloggingspots.com/2008/03/06/taking-a-risk/ Attended the Platteville Area Chamber of Commerce's Annual Meeting Saturday night and I was struck by how well they were doing one of the simple things that most promotion and economic development groups miss....recognizing local change. When a new business comes to town we usually have a ribbon cutting or the ... http://bluechip.bloggingspots.com/2008/02/06/community-attaboys-and-attagirls/ Ever been tempted to try a gimmick or a giveaway (I call them 'geehaws.') as part of your marketing efforts? It's a way of standing out in a crowd but it has risks as well. A good marketing campaign can employ 'clever' but must always remain in the 'believable' range. ... http://bluechip.bloggingspots.com/2008/01/28/gimmicks/ I was just reading issue #382 of the Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week written by Joan Stewart. Tip #2 was titled, "Don't Make a Deal Like This One" and related a story about a hospital's attempt to negotiate an exclusive arrangement with a local TV station for all health ... http://bluechip.bloggingspots.com/2008/01/23/and-now-a-word-from-our-sponsor/ Information, that is. We've all struggled with this one and usually lost. At least from our customer's perspective. We spend days and weeks agonizing over how we will gather and present information on everything from area demographics to lists of available sites and buildings. All good info but where do you ... http://bluechip.bloggingspots.com/2008/01/14/how-much-is-too-much/ Ok, start of a new year and time to make those resolutions. In 2008 I will (insert wish here). One of the big problems with annual resolutions is that we expect to accomplish them in one year. In most cases, by setting up a timeline based on a calendar year ... http://bluechip.bloggingspots.com/2008/01/01/right-time-to-measure-success/