Most of us in the industry are well in tune with the fact that Wellness is a key area of focus for many companies these days.  Companies are doing as little as simply offering literature to as much as opening workout facilities with fitness classes on site.  A recent article from The Boston Globe highlights a few local companies and what they are doing to achieve desired results.  What the reporter fails to mention is how a reward and recognition program seamlessly can tie into a company’s wellness program and not only increase workforce motivation but also drive participation and results.

Studies have shown that a healthier workforce is often a more engaged workforce – which as we know can have a positive impact on morale and the bottom line.  Here at All Star, our Wellness program has seven areas of focus (Healthy Eating, Exercise & Activity, Smoking Cessation, Financial Health, Social Responsibility, Disease Management, and Weight Loss).  Throughout the year there are opportunities to participate and earn points within these seven categories.  The points are loaded into our employee performance/peer to peer program and can be combined with all other points that employees earn for performance based behaviors, length of service, etc.  The programs go hand-in-hand and the chance to earn points for wellness initiatives plays a significant role in driving participation.

Certainly, the health benefits are significant and the potential insurance cost reductions are impressive however there is no denying the added value that a points program can bring to the table as a main component/driver of a company’s wellness program.  Despite that it was not the focus of this article – it will be interesting to see if the Massachusetts State Department of Public Health will include rewards and recognition programs in the guidelines, it plans to release later this month, to help businesses design effective wellness programs.

Click HERE to read the complete article.

The 12 Trends That Will Rule Products In 2013

Think 2013 will spell the end of good old analog and human interaction? Eh, not so fast according to a group of agency experts.

WRITTEN BY: Chris Butler

Near the end of 2012, a group of associates at Ziba, a design and innovation agency out of Portland, OR, got together to review what they had learned over the course of the year. Working with dozens of clients who serve customers around the world, the designers spent a lot of time observing people as they interact with technology, services, and experiences, noticing how they seek solutions to everyday problems and make decisions. In the process, certain patterns emerge so forcefully that they’re practically unavoidable.

Meeting over three sessions spread out over a week, 23 Zibites (designers, researchers, and creative directors) discussed the patterns they saw, and distilled them down to the 12 insights they thought were most current and useful, to them and to our clients. Each one is presented here, as a brief essay that suggests how they feel it will affect business practices in 2013.

The mind is a competitive environment.

Our understanding of how we decide has evolved dramatically over the past 20 years, and it paints a messy picture. Rather than logical conclusions based on clear needs and preferences, choices are often just the slim visible portion of a rowdy internal struggle, pitting conflicting ideas and beliefs against each other. Even our most certain conclusions turn out to be stories we create after the fact, convincing ourselves that we’ve preferred chocolate to vanilla all along.

Be okay with the chaos. The smartest organizations in 2013 will embrace this conflict, and acknowledge the complexity in their customers’ minds. This means services that let you be predictable one day and impulsive the next, and products that appeal to values that once seemed in tension: eco and luxury, traditional and playful, retro and hyper-modern.

Revisit our blog next week for more trends that will affect business practices in 2013.

The XNY brand watch is a modern, urban and durable watch taking the active lifestyle in mind with their unique material such as ripstop nylon and anodized aluminum.

The XNY line taps into current and emerging trends in youth culture that find their influences in music, arts, fashion and design and feature two categories. One category, influenced by a 1980’s throwback street style with a current flair, features modern interpretations of classic watch styles with high-contrast details as well as sleek minimalistic designs with strong presence.

The second category features watches with a durable, rugged look inspired by a combination of vintage, military, handmade and industrial styles. 

 Retail Costs Range from $120.00- $220.00

 Check out the entire line of XNY watches at www.xnywatches.com

SMS Audio is a first-class audio headphone and accessories brand, SMS Audio, LLC is dedicated to improving the way people experience music. SMS Audio combines technology, function and style to bring the highest caliber of sound, comfort and fashion to every product.

What began as music chart dominance for the rap music phenomenon 50 Cent, has quickly transformed to success in corporate America as a multi-tiered business mogul to be reckoned with. Recognized as one of the most talented and prolific music artists of his time, 50 Cent has managed to leverage his star power into record breaking brand extensions encompassing a broad spectrum of businesses including music ownership, artist management, film production, footwear and apparel, video games, publishing and health drinks, supplements, and now headphones.

SMS Audio currently offers five (5) styles of headphones –

SYNC by 50™ Over-Ear Wireless Headphones – Professionally tuned wireless headphones featuring full on-board controls and Kleer® Technology, producing CD-quality lossless audio output for up to 4 headsets from a single source. Available in Blacl, Silver and White.

STREET by 50™ — Over-Ear or On-Ear Wired Headphones – Professionally tuned headphones featuring custom acoustic drivers, enhanced bass and passive noise reduction — designed to produce clear powerful audio straight through to the highest volume setting. Available Black, Blue* (*only for Over Ear) and White.

STREET by 50™ — In-Ear Wired Headphones – Professionally tuned ergonomic earbuds, featuring an integrated mic and controls. Perfectly balanced audio output for huge clear sound in a small package. Available in Black, White and Pink.

STREET by 50™ — Wired DJ Headphones – Pro Performance DJ headphone is here and you won’t be disappointed. With two detachable cords (one for making phone calls, and a coiled DJ cord for extra length and durability), easy folding hinges and rotating ear cups, this DJ Pro Performance model is just right for the DJ in all of us. Throw in enhanced bass and ultra plush memory foam leather ear pads, you can spin away in the club for hours on hours.

Here are a few suggestions for promotional product buys this year:

Useful and easy to use mobile device accessories:  Screen cleaners,  pens with stylus ends for touch screens, holders / stands, ear buds & headphones, charging units, cases,  mini speakers, accessory organizers and cord management gadgets.

Eco-friendly products:  Non-woven, reusable totes and backpacks, reusable water / sport bottles, bamboo products, products made from recycled materials, organic fabric wearables.

Health  and Wellness focused products;  Hand sanitizers, “spa” pillows, first aid kits, exercise equipment, lip balm, sunscreen, emergency kits, insulated lunch bags and food containers, stress relievers, informational dials & slide charts, pedometers.

Made in America:  All products advertised as USA made.

Decorated apparel:   Polos made of antimicrobial and thinner performance fabrics, tees and fleece using softer cottons; both conventional and organics,  retail style oriented garments with subtle decoration, wearables of vivid brights, neons, and neutrals.  According to Pantone.com, here are the top 10 Spring colors for men and women:

Color trends for 2013

Let All Star Incentive Marketing help you find the best products for your themed events and promotions, trade shows, and employee gifts and branded wearables.

These orchids need only 1 ice cube once a week!  They are truly beautiful and easy to care for!

Just Add Ice Orchids are grown and supplied by Green Circle Growers, one of the largest greenhouse operations in the Midwest.

Green Circle Growers is committed to introducing fresh new ideas to the market place while utilizing production methods that are efficient and environmentally conscious.

Green Circle Growers not only handles Orchids but, Gerber Daisies & Tulips for Spring-time, Herb garden for the summer, Mums for the Fall and Poinsettias for Holiday time.  Reward someone anytime of the year!  They even have mini versions available to hit a lower price point.  Depending on the size you will need to add 1-3 ice cubes per week.  It’s just that simple!

There are so many different ways to utilize this brand to reward your customers, recognize employees, special events and trade show giveaways.

Check out the below link on how to care for Just Add Ice Orchids.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XYIY5F8DU14

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® announced that the 2013 International CES® is the largest in the show’s 45+ year history, with 1.92 million net square feet of exhibit space.. More than 3,250 exhibitors unveiled some 20,000 new products at the 2013 CES, drawing more than 150,000 attendees.

Major product launches occurred across all 15 product categories at the 2013 CES. In wireless/smartphones, highlights include the launch of Sony’s Xperia Z, the Huawei Ascend Mate and ZTE Grand S. In video displays, LG featured its touchscreen Ultra HD, Sony launched the first Ultra HD OLED display, Samsung featured its bendable OLED and Hisense launched its transparent 3DTV. Digital Health and fitness launches included new products from Fitbit, Withings and BodyMedia. Audi and Lexus featured driverless vehicle technologies. For gamers, the 2013 CES saw the launch of Nvidia’s Project Shield, the Oculus Rift, the Sifteo and Razer Edge. Other noteworthy products launched at the 2013 CES included: the Valve SteamBox, Tobii eye recognition technology, the Kickstarter-funded Pebble smart watch, Qualcomm’s Vuforia augmented reality, multi-device connectivity from Ultraviolet, NFC technology from LG and Sony, tabletop applications from Lenovo, MakerBot’s Replicator 2x and Samsung’s Smart TVs with voice recognition.

Shopping Event Case Study: Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway

By Guest Contributor Gary Galonek, Raving Partner, Incentive Merchandise and Loyalty Fulfillment, & National Sales Manager, Gaming, All Star Incentive Marketing

I must confess that I labored over using “Christmas” or “Holiday” in the title, as both were on display at Empire City at Yonkers Raceway, December 13th to 15th, where our company was participating in their annual three-day shopping event. And while the Christmas vibe was prevalent throughout the Good Times Ballroom where the event was taking place, it was not the only nod to religious celebrations on-property; a giant menorah stood on the famous Yonkers raceway track, with its candles proudly illuminated for all to see as the harness racers trotted by. Given that the largest population of Jewish-Americans resides in the state of New York (approximately 8% of residents), this was a logical and tasteful display.

Back to the Good Times Ballroom. First off, make no mistake; Empire City is not the Bellagio. And while recent renovations to this storied track, which expanded with gaming about six years back, have classed it up significantly, it sits amongst a gritty blue-collar Yonkers neighborhood, whose patrons embody that spirit. That having been said, this standard casino function space was tastefully transformed into a warm and vibrant shopping area. Live greens were placed throughout the room, along with beautifully decorated Christmas trees. Tables were tastefully adorned with red and gold linens, and the event coordinators, in conjunction with our in-house merchandisers, made the merchandise pop.

To top it off, the vivacious event staff was all adorned in Santa hats with their names on them. Christmas music played over the PA system, and amazingly, it was never too loud or repetitive to make you want to pull your hair out.

• Encourage point spend.

Oftentimes we participate in these events where operators look at them as a necessary evil, but don’t really care if their patrons participate. Kind of a “window-dressing” event. Empire City wanted a high level of point redemption. Why?

• Reduces point liability on the books heading in to the new year.

• Helps their patrons check a few items off their Christmas lists, thereby creating a real value for them.

• In many cases, the event generated a special trip during an otherwise slow time.

• Get staff “singing from the same hymn book.”

The pre-event huddle conducted by the Manager of Special Events reminded me of being in a football locker room for a pre-game speech. Everything was covered, from maintaining a positive attitude to the decision, for this event only, to allow guests to combine their points to get an item, even beyond spouses.

• Advertise!

Empire City’s website promoted the event, as did signage placed throughout the casino. Even the black and white racing forum for that night’s lineup race schedule included two advertisements for the event.

The opening day was for their “Diamond Elite” players, and these folks came in droves to spend their hard-earned points. 90% of the items on display were available for immediate takeaway, with some of the bulkier items available for drop shipment to the patrons’ homes. A rewards kiosk was also placed in the event space so that patrons could shop for something not on display. A few other notable tactics that helped to make this a great event:

As a diehard Boston sports fan, the only drawback to our participation in this event was being surrounded by Yankees and Giants fans, two teams that have caused fits for the Red Sox and Patriots over the years. Beyond that, our good friends at Empire City are certainly not lost in Yonkers!

Postscript: I drafted this on the morning of December 14, after having returned from opening the event on the 13th. That morning, just 55 miles up the road, the unimaginable would happen in Newtown, CT. Our thoughts and prayers remain with all those who were forever changed by that horrific incident.

The New Nikon S800C COOLPIX Camera powered by Android

 Today, we share photos more than ever.  Now you can shoot and share amazing quality photos, with the newest COOLPIX cameras.  Image a camera with WiFi built right in.  So when you get that shot you just can’t wait to share, you can share it right away via email, or your favorite social site.

 Now that COOLPIX is powered by Android and has built in WiFi, uploading your favorite pictures is simple.  But it gets better.  The COOLPIX S800C can now do more than ever, thanks to a built in browser that turns your camera into something special.  It does more than upload pictures.  Download your favorite photo apps directly to the COOLPIX S800C with Google Play.  It can download pictures posted by your friends and family so you can view them on your 3.5” high resolution OLED touch screen.  Plus now you can wirelessly transfer images from your camera to smartphones and tablets.  It’s simple, it’s fast and it’s totally wireless.

 Check out the newest commercial featuring Ashton Kutcher

http://download.nikon.net/video/high/share_640×360.mp4

When marketers, accountants, vice presidents and general managers ask exactly how much free play costs

By Eliot Jacobson, Ph.D.

After I gave a talk on the mathematics of promotions at a recent Raving Consulting conference, I expected at least a few questions related to my talk. What happened instead is that person after person came up asking me to settle an internal dispute about the cost of free play. At the time, I had no idea that a war was being waged, and suddenly I was in the middle of the battlefield, being recruited by both sides.

Free play is usually given as a marketing incentive with the purpose of generating an extra visit to a casino. Its use is exactly as it sounds – the player is given a certain amount of funny money that must be played through a slot or video poker game at least once before it can be redeemed. Ordinarily, the amount of free play a player is given depends on things like the player’s average daily theoretical and demographics. Unlike other marketing costs, however, the cost of free play has never been fully quantified.

On one side of the battle, they explained, the answer was that the cost of free play was just the free play minus the hold on that free play. So, $100 in free play on a 5% hold slot costs $95. And I agreed; that was absolutely the cost for a hit-and-run player. For the other side, free play is free – after all, the casino eventually gets all of the money back. To them, $100 of free play costs nothing. And I agreed; they play long enough and you always get their money.

After the conference ended, I started thinking carefully about the question. After about three hours of contemplation, I decided to write an article. I even had a title for that article,“The Real Cost of Free Play.”What a great title! The problem was that after the first few introductory paragraphs, I ran out of things to say and gave up. It was a much tougher problem than I had originally thought.

A few weeks later, when my January 2011 issue of Casino Enterprise Management Magazine arrived, I was surprised and delighted to find the article, “The Real Cost of Free Play” (RCFP) by Dr. Bernard Malamud and Jeff Jordan. Hey, that’s my title! I read the article once, then again. I devoured it. It was the real deal. It covered everything.

The next time I was asked about the cost of free play, I had the RCFP data and results in mind. I quoted numbers, facts, trends, and reasons. Then I pointed the questioner to the article so that they could get more information. And that’s what I said to the next person, and the next after that. But I got a nagging feeling that this wasn’t enough. What marketers, accountants, vice presidents and general managers wanted to know was exactly how much free play costs. They wanted an answer they could use.

To get the real cost of free play, a lot of things matter. You need to know the machine the person is going to play. More than just the name of the machine, you need to know the math of the machine – the insider stuff,the house edge, its variance, the pays and their frequencies. You need the bankroll of the player and the amount of free play relative to their bankroll. Finally you need to stop playing.

Honoring the call for specifics, I decided to consider three slot machines: “The Wizard of Oz” (WOO) by WMS Gaming, “Double Blazing 7’s” (DB7) by Bally, and the ever popular “8/5 Jacks or Better” (JOB) video poker. Though player wagers vary, I assumed the player would play exactly $1 per spin. From there, I had to fix the player’s profile. Staying true to RCFP, I assumed that: The player has $500 as his bankroll. The player is given $30 in free play.

The player stops when either:

The player goes broke.

The player wins a total of $5000 or more.

The player runs out of allotted time to play.

A slot player walks up to either WOO, DB7 or JOB with a pocket full of cash ($500) and a free play cou- pon ($30). He plays $1 per spin. He has a few hours to play, unless he goes broke or wins big. The only variable in all of this is the maximum amount of time the player has allotted himself to play.

I considered all sorts of time allotments, from a player playing hit and run (time = 0) up to a player who has up to a full 24 hours to play. I decided to extrapolate beyond 24 hours using curve fitting. That makes it simple – plot the value of the $30 free play coupon against the total allotted time to play. Then I simulated millions of players for each of WOO, DB7 and JOB. After a few hours of number crunching, I got the data and drew the graphs.

So here they are – the pictures that tell the story: Note that in each of these, the more time the player has to play, the less the cost. But why does the chart for DB7 look so bumpy and seem to cost more for the free play? The answer is that DB7 has extremely high variance. Variance describes how often crazy things happen for the player – big wins and long losing streaks. The player stops if he has a big win and he stops if he has a long losing streak. The players who play DB7 are burning out more often, and leaving with a big win more often. In other words, they’re not sticking around to generate the theoretical that would lower the cost.

Here are the important math numbers on each slot.

Note that even though DB7 has a higher Hold% than WOO, it still costs the casino more if a player plays his free play on DB7 than WOO. Variance is the key in this situation. Higher variance costs more. But Hold% also matters. The game JOB has the lowest Hold% of the three games studied. As the graphs show, free play costs the casino more on JOB than either WOO or DB7. Lower Hold% costs more.

The size of the player’s bankroll also matters. The larger the bankroll the player has, the less likely he is to bust out. This reduces the cost of free play. It’s all about generating theoretical – the longer players play, the more the house will win.

Free play is not free, nor does it cost full value. It’s somewhere in between. The conclusions I reached by generating these examples are the same as those in RCFP. Following are the factors that reduce the cost of free play:

Higher Hold% reduces the cost of free play. Longer maximum playing time reduces the cost of free play.

Larger bankroll reduces the cost of free play. Lower variance reduces the cost of free play.

This is not head in the clouds stuff – it has practical value. A player’s bankroll is the greatest amount he has ever lost between two consecutive uses of a free play coupon. The maximum playing time is the most time he has ever played between two consecutive uses of a free play coupon. You can track the game he plays, the time he plays, the size of his bankroll, his average bet, and the amount of his free play. In very real terms, you can know the dollar value of each player’s free play.

What’s missing is recognition from the slot manufac- turing industry that this type of marketing informa- tion is critical to casinos across the country and around the world. Each slot machine should come with the ability to track the value of free play for that machine. Each casino marketing department should be able to access information to gauge costs for its free play promotions. It’s not tough math, but slot companies have to step forward, recognize the need and provide the answers. For now, the battle over free play can safely come to an end. The real cost of free play will simply be a known unknown.

[Citation. The Real Cost of Free Play, Dr. Bernard Malamud, R. Jeff Jor- dan, Casino Enterprise Management Magazine, January, 2011.]

How disengaged workers both increase costs and reduce revenue

By Brian Galonek

As competition swells in the gaming space, casinos have looked increasingly towards finding new revenue streams and expanding existing ones to boost the bottom line. These are necessary undertakings to be sure, as nothing trumps customer loyalty and its effects on profitability.

That having been said, there is another tactic that can also produce a substantially positive impact on the bottom line. This method can greatly improve the customer experience, and by doing so, generate more loyal, repeat customers who come more often and stay longer, and it has nothing to do with marketing (at least not external marketing).

The tactic of which I speak is “employee engagement” and it is the prized possession of informed companies and organizations that have discovered its enormous value (Disney probably being the best example). The challenge of improving engagement may seem daunting, but it is really just another way of saying that you need to improve the connection between the employer and employee. It is about focusing on the shared interests of both groups, and about making and keeping commitments to inspire trust.

Engagement is not about punishment, which most companies are already very well-equipped to dole out, but rather it involves deploying tools and processes to recognize and reward the good behaviors, and thereby eliminate the bad ones. Luckily, most companies already have many of these tools in place, such as new employee orientation processes, training programs, wellness initiatives, safety meetings, and employee communications systems, just to mention a few. These tools form the structure and the wiring that are essential to achieve higher levels of engagement; what is needed is the spark.

The real benefi ts of a highly engaged workforce often shock people. According to a comprehensive three-year study conducted by Towers Watson, companies with engaged employees grew 19%, while companies with disengaged employees declined by 30% during that same period. Below are some other stats from that same study. Organizations with higher-than-average employee engagement realize:

• 27% higher profits
• 50% higher customer loyalty
• 38% higher productivity
• 20% more revenue per employee
• 57% higher shareholder returns

These numbers may give you pause; I know I was amazed the first time that I saw them, but when you start to drill down on the effects of a disengaged workforce, you can easily see why the numbers are so severe. Disengaged workers both increase costs and reduce revenue. On the cost side, you can look no further than employee turnover, estimated to be as high as 80% in some casinos. Researchers have pegged the cost of losing a single employee at between $5,000, for less complex jobs, and as much as $12,000, for more complex jobs. These represent just the hard costs (advertising, HR staff , training, etc.), the soft costs (strain on other workers, disruption to operations, morale) are often two to four times higher. Crunch some numbers and you can quickly see that a casino with 2,000 employees and an annual turnover rate of 30% is staring at a multi-million dollar turnover expense.

On the revenue side, those disengaged employees can do a lot of damage before they quit or get fi red, or worse yet, if they remain employed. They are the ones that deliver inferior customer service both to internal and external customers, and by doing so reduce the customer loyalty that is so vitally important. How much does your casino lose every time poor customer service costs you a patron? Once you understand that disengaged employees drive expenses higher while reducing revenues, you must surely come to the conclusion that there is no more important issue to address; but how?

Most casinos will have many of the employee engagement tactics in place already; they usually are just underutilizing them. Recognition programs, wellness initiatives, safety rewards, suggestion programs, new employee orientations, training sessions, employee surveys, goal sharing, and a host of other common practices are all great venues to boost engagement levels. The problem for many casinos is that many of these initiatives are stale or underutilized.

So how can a casino turn these programs into a useful suite of engagement tools? For starters, they need to take a cue from their marketing departments. When a marketing department wants to launch a new campaign, they do so with creative thinking, skilled design, detailed execution, and extensive communications eff orts. The same is needed to better engage employees. Here are some tactics to accomplish this goal for your “internal customers” – your employees.

• Brand the Program – People respond to brand names, which is why the generic food section of any supermarket is so small. People trust brand names, and by adding one to your initiative, you will immediately capture the attention of your workers, who will see the eff ort as more sincere and not some off -the-shelf attempt at something new that required very little effort.

• Communicate – Take every opportunity to communicate your branded program to your workers so that they see the weight of the eff ort. Use printed materials, web pages, social networks, meetings, and any other opportunity to communicate with your employees to promote the values and benefits of the program.

• Make It Sincere – Make sure there is substance behind it. If it looks like “lipstick on a pig,” it will fall fl at and look like a halfhearted attempt to assuage employee concerns. It must have real benefi ts that are applied consistently and fairly to all participants. Treat your employees exactly like you expect them to treat your customers.

• Recognize and Reward – Lack of Recognition is often listed as the number one reason why people leave their jobs. Face-to-face recognition accompanied by an incentive program is one of the best ways to improve the connection points between the employer and employee, and to portray your new employee engagement program in the proper light.

• Involve the Employees – Don’t design and launch it in a vacuum. Create teams of employees from all departments to help give the program direction and make sure that everyone knows that the organization received input from a broad base of employees and departments.

• Find the Right Partner – An undertaking of this size requires outside expertise to be done right. Use a partner with a proven track record of understanding both the gaming industry and the power of employee engagement.

Great article, not just a sales person but for all, that I came across in Linkedin. I know I have been Jane more than once.

Becoming and staying productive isn’t about hard-to-follow programs or logging your every move in an app. It’s about self-care. Here are daily to-dos to get you started.

It’s Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. Two San Francisco entrepreneurs are pitching their ventures to potential investors today. They’d both agree that this is one of the most important days of their lives. This is the story of Jane and Joe…

Jane was up until 4 a.m. putting the final touches on her deck. In fact, she spent the entire weekend fixed in her apartment, preparing the presentation. This morning, she woke up late and rushed putting together her most “investor-worthy” attire. She slammed a shot of espresso, grabbed her computer, and ran out the door feeling hungry and tired. She arrived right on time but felt anxious and flustered about the events of the morning.

Joe, on the other hand, went to sleep last night at 11 p.m., as he does most nights of the week. His presentation was ready Friday afternoon, after seven revisions thanks to feedback from advisors. He spent the weekend in nature connecting with friends. This morning, he woke up at 7 a.m., had a glass of water, ran two miles, meditated for 15 minutes, and drank a smoothie. He put on the outfit he picked out the evening before, grabbed his bag, and walked out the door. He arrived 10 minutes early, feeling confident, calm, and eager to share his vision with potential investors.

Which entrepreneur would you bet on? And, which entrepreneur most closely resembles you?

Read more here

Just read a great post by Peter Guber, former Chairman of Sony Pictures, on linkedin.  He reminds us all that failures are learning opportunities as long as we allow them to be.

He talks about some of his flops (turkeys) and his philosophy for working through them.

“These turkeys were a constant presence and they seemed to breed especially forcefully in tough economic times. I learned I wasn’t in charge of success. I was in charge of the process that hopefully would yield more success than failure. I began to be guided by three navigational stakes:”

1. My process and my diligence to execute was the best I could do.
2. My attitude and determination to remain positive and confident was a critical catalyst for my success.
3. My resiliency and ability to see failure as but a speed bump on the road to success allowed me to get back up when I was knocked down.

Read full post here

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

With a business based on building and strengthening relationships, our customer service team is very much a part of the overall success.  Our ability to treat each customer as an individual helps us to deliver a superior product.  It is not easy to convince a perfect stranger on the other end of the phone line to put their trust in you and to resolve their issue to their satisfaction.

This gets me thinking.

What is that formula that works and how is it we are so successful at gaining that trust?

First, we provide the customer the consideration of our full attention.  Yes, even though we may have heard it a million times, really listening to what it is they need is the basis for the rest.  Most often, providing information and asking the right questions can make all of the difference as to how we gain trust and come to a mutually agreeable solution.

Once we have heard the issue at hand, we lead the conversation by explaining that we will need to gather some information from them to help determine the best possible solution. We then explain what the options are and let them be a part of the solution. Most everyone likes choices.

If the requested result is beyond what we can deliver but not unreasonable, we let them know that we truly would like to help them. We do not make any promises that we cannot keep but give them a reasonable expectation as to when they will be contacted and by whom.

Most importantly, we follow through. We always make contact as promised.  This usually involves giving them the means and opportunity to contact us directly or we check back in with them ourselves to ensure that the actions that were supposed to take place did and that they are satisfied.

The end result is that we have gained trust and shown that the outcome was as important to us as it was to them, leaving a lasting impression.

The HDR-AS15 Sony Action Cam Camcorder is a rugged, wearable full HD video camcorder with built in Wi-Fi.  Weighing in at just 3.2 ounces (with battery) it lets you capture your adventures on the mountain, in the water, and anywhere else you go for your adrenaline fixes.

Share your footage in a snap via Wi-Fi-enabled mobile phones and tablets running the free Play Memories Mobile application.  Just select the clips and the camera will transfer and compress web-optimized movies and photos without a single cable.  Then, share your cuts on the web and social media apps using your 3G and 4G cell networks.

Whether you’re mountain biking, skiing, skateboarding or surfing, SteadyShot image stabilization with Active Mode delivers stunningly smooth video from wide angle to full telephoto shooting.  In addition, innovative 3-way Shake-Canceling adds electronic roll stability for even smoother video capture.

Check out the features and functions of the Sony Action Cam:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu8MKceMve4