Words of Wisdom from TheCamel

The Advantage of the Lost Art of Loyalty

Shane Hodge • Jan 09, 2019

Today I am going to discuss a subject near and dear to my heart, and possibly one of the best bits of business building advice I can pass on to all the budding zillionaires who await my blog with joy and excitement every single month (well my kids read it, lol) Yes, a subject that takes me way back in the day to my childhood, where that Jedi master of life (my father) taught so many great things. You see, my dad was so much from the great school, that “old school” where champions were made, and I was lucky to have witnessed so much of that old school and in this new school I get to use what I had witnessed and pass it on. Ah, a tear is forming in my eye and the keyboard is wet as we speak.

One of the major things I learnt from Yoda, I mean my father? Loyalty.

Not just loyalty to family and friends but commercial loyalty. In the 87 years my dad walked the earth, he drove the same brand of car, went to the same doctor, same pharmacy, same bank, used the same mechanic, I think he even used the same brand of tyres. My father was not a minority tribe back in the day. Loyalty was a pretty common ingredient in the culture of life elixir. There was no internet, Google, e-commerce, social media, so you couldn’t just jump from search to search looking for a deal. You had to actually go and visit people, so the relationship became a critical part of a business transaction not just the bottom line.

But loyalty was a two-way street.

Not only were consumers like my dad looking for a relationship, so were the business of the day. Knowing you by your first name, even your kids’ names, your likes and dislikes, what team you supported, they would know as much as they could so the relationship became super solid and hard for a competitor to break. But more so it made the consumer have a guilt feeling if the thought of leaving crossed their mind.

Now, you’re most likely saying at this stage, “Well, hasn’t CRM just replaced face to face customer knowledge, isn’t it all just the same it’s just automated now, we contact our customers what more do you want!”

Well, yep you would be right. CRM and automation have made sure we bombard our customers with emails, texts, social media posts on all the wonderful new things we have for sale to help them overload those bits of plastic they keep in their wallets.

So, what is the major difference between words of wisdom from blokes like my dad – old school customer relationships compared to the automated world of customer contact of today?

If I had to zero it down to one major difference, I can sum it up in this one great statement.

“People don’t care what you know, until they know how much you care.”

Back in the day, personal CRM had feelings compared to the state-of-the-art automated CRM of today.

You would walk past a shop and get a wave. When you walked into a business, the first few moments were spent talking about YOU, how was life, how are the family, what about that football team you support and how they are doing this year. Heck even the doctor asked about life before he whipped out the blood test order form.

The art of loyalty was driven by another soon-to-be extinct culture and that is “sincerity”. The big question? Can loyalty and sincerity be saved? The bigger question is, can they be profitable?

You bet your MasterCard they can. And I guarantee you an awesome business builder awaits you, as the statistics show that since Adam was a boy and had no interest in women with apples, it costs a lot less to keep a current customer than it does to find a new one. Loyalty will keep your current customers. And a lack of sincerity, will lose them.

So, what’s the plan? Start getting into loyalty mode.

It doesn’t have to be a full-on platform or package from the start. You can begin small. Get a newsletter going, start a database of all customers, send them birthday wishes, just start showing you care about them, not just when you want to sell them something.

I can promise you that even with a small level of showing care? They will be thinking of you first when they are in need of a product or service.

Big Hugs from TheCamel.Co®

< Older Post Newer Post >

Unleashing the Marketing Magic:

By Shane Hodge • 22 Apr, 2024

How Ai Can Add a Touch of Humor to Help Small Digital Agencies Stand Out.

The Secret Sauce of Success: An Algorithm With A Dash Of Humor

By Shane Hodge • 15 Mar, 2024

In today's competitive business landscape, capturing customers' attention is crucial for success. With the rise of digital marketing and the ever-increasing noise in the marketplace, businesses need to find innovative ways to stand out. One effective approach is to develop an algorithm that can help businesses captivate their target audience. In this blog, we will explore the key steps to creating an algorithm that can capture customers' attention and drive business growth. 1. Define Your Target Audience: The first step in creating an attention-capturing algorithm is to clearly define your target audience. Understand their demographics, preferences, and pain points. Conduct market research, analyze customer data, and gather insights to develop a comprehensive understanding of your ideal customers. This will serve as the foundation for building an algorithm that resonates with your audience. 2. Identify Key Engagement Factors: To capture customers' attention, it's essential to identify the key factors that engage them. These factors can vary depending on your industry and target audience. Consider elements such as personalized content, compelling visuals, emotional storytelling, interactive experiences, and social proof. By understanding what engages your audience, you can tailor your algorithm to incorporate these elements effectively. 3. Leverage Data and Analytics: Data and analytics play a vital role in creating an attention-capturing algorithm. Utilize tools and technologies to collect and analyze customer data, website analytics, social media metrics, and other relevant information. This data-driven approach will help you identify patterns, trends, and customer behavior, enabling you to optimize your algorithm for maximum impact. 4. Develop Personalization Strategies: Personalization is key to capturing customers' attention in today's digital age. Leverage your algorithm to deliver personalized experiences to your target audience. This can include personalized product recommendations, tailored marketing messages, customized landing pages, and dynamic content. By making customers feel seen and understood, you can significantly enhance their engagement and loyalty. 5. Implement A/B Testing: A/B testing is a powerful technique to optimize your algorithm's effectiveness. Create multiple versions of your algorithm and test them against each other to determine which one performs better. Experiment with different variables such as headlines, visuals, calls-to-action, and user interfaces. Continuously analyze the results and refine your algorithm based on the insights gained from A/B testing. 6. Embrace Automation: Automation can streamline your algorithm's implementation and execution. Leverage marketing automation tools to deliver personalized messages, automate customer interactions, and optimize content delivery. By automating repetitive tasks, you can focus on creating compelling content and refining your algorithm to capture customers' attention more effectively. 7. Monitor and Adapt: Creating an attention-capturing algorithm is an ongoing process. Continuously monitor its performance and adapt as needed. Stay updated with the latest industry trends, customer preferences, and technological advancements. Regularly analyze customer feedback, engagement metrics, and conversion rates to identify areas for improvement. By staying agile and responsive, you can ensure that your algorithm remains effective in capturing customers' attention. Conclusion: In a crowded marketplace, capturing customers' attention is a challenge that businesses must overcome to thrive. By creating an algorithm that is tailored to your target audience, leverages data and analytics, embraces personalization, and incorporates automation, you can significantly enhance your ability to captivate customers. Remember to continuously monitor and adapt your algorithm to stay ahead of the competition and deliver exceptional experiences that resonate with your audience. With a well-crafted attention-capturing algorithm, your business can drive growth, build customer loyalty, and achieve long-term success. Love and Hugs from TheCamel!

We Gotta Change the Song in 2024

By Shane Hodge • 16 Jan, 2024

Happy New Year, fireworks, champagne corks popping, people hugging, joy, smiles all round wow for a few minutes before midnight and a few minutes after it's a pretty special moment must admit. If you have had a miserable year, it's a feeling of, “ Glad that one's gone, let's make this one huge ” and if it's been a great year? Well it's a smile and a grin thinking of another year of making hay whilst the sun still shines. Bad habits are banished, promises made ah yes folks “ auld lang syne ” might be a good song to sing but then sorry to spoil the mood LOL, we get a few days in and boom reality sets in. Those habits you promised to throw away, the weight you said you would lose, the exercise you would begin just to name a few of those before and after midnight moments, well they didn't happen, but hello its early days right, there is still hope. Yes, young Jedi’s It's early days yet, so good or bad business, deals won or lost still too soon to call, so breathe easy. But let me remind you all of a very important point at this early stage of the new year, a time when 2024 is a mere toddler still dressed in nappies and yet to be toilet trained. Take yourself back just before the stroke of midnight before all that fun and frivolity and ask yourself a question, how many times did you hear the statement, “ Can you believe how fast this year went ” I lost count, and If I threw in the amount of times I asked myself the same question? It was a LOT. So, not to be the Patron Saint of Disappointment, but even though the year has been the same in length of time since Adam fell for the apple trick, its traveling faster each time you look at Eves Watch (apple joke lol) If things don't get on the right track from the moment your out of the starting blocks of 2024, if you don't have a plan of action, set some goals, a rich relative or a good lawyer to bail you out, quicker than you can say auld lang syne? You will humming the words to Liquor Store Blues, “ One Shot for my pain, one shot for my sorrow ” Thank you Bruno Mars. So my first bit of good old shared wisdom for 2024? “ People Don't Plan to Fail, They Fail to Plan ” Love that quote, have you ever wondered who wrote it? Well folks thanks to good old Wikipedia. It was written by John James Beckley who was an American political campaign manager and the first Librarian of the United States Congress, from 1802 to 1807. Good old John was a pretty smart bloke and his quote is a goodie, so in 2024 it's a good thing to start changing your theme song, and rip into some new motivating, inspiring, toe tapping lyrics to lift your game and winning percentage. To help you on your way and being the generous man I am, let me share with you a few points you should consider. So grab your trusty pen and paper if your Old school, or iPad if you're not, and follow me down the yellow brick road to fame and fortune. First make a plan to rise and shine early each day, set that alarm to ringy dingy at 5am and roll your tired and weary bones out and scream lezzzzzzzzgoooo. But don't go straight to work, plan to use this early opener for some “ you” time, spend an hour on exercise, walking, reading the bible, listening to some new motivational stuff like speeches from me LOL. Use the time to grow, spiritually, mentally, use the time to settle its YOU time and you need it. Now, from this moment the normal thing is to encourage you to set goals for your business, sales goals, performance goals, human goals and yes 1000% you need to do that, but I class it as you know that you don't need me to advise yet again one more time. The song I’m encouraging you to sing, the tune to hum in 2024 is all about you, your family as I have learnt one thing that if I'm right and second if my family is right, my business is right. So, start the day early and well, add in some notes to the song for dinner with family and no phones, sing with the wife or husband, harmonize with the kids over the playground not with the TV, make sure that every day there is a plan, a goal to live life and love with those close to you (Just like the carpenters song) You do that? And I guarantee that by the end of 2024 the song you will sing? “ The Time of My Life ” and Dirty Dancing was a great Movie and your life can be the best it's ever been. Go Get 'em. Love and Hugs from TheCamel!