I just finished my last meeting of my latest business trip. I am in Omaha, Nebraska and will be heading for the airport in about a half hour. I am looking forward to getting back to operation mobile office. I am returning to the finance department because I didn't get a full week in yet. I have been thinking a lot about my allergy to green coffee dust. This makes it difficult to spend any time in the Roasting, packaging and shipping departments. I have come up with an Awesome solution which I will unveil in the next couple of months. It's not fair to not spend time with those departments, so I am really going to go the extra mile for those guys. Watch out coffee warehouse cause I'm coming out there soon!
We’ve recently dove into the world of Twitter and Facebook, not just personally, but as a company. The benefits in just a short time have been really good. I wanted to go over the main reasons how any company, can us social networking to their advantage.
1)To locate and network with potential customers.
Let’s not forget we are in business to sell stuff, and we need people to sell that stuff to. On social networks It’s important to let people know what you sell, why it’s the best, and how they can buy it. But this is not a hard sell, this is a relationship sell. It’s about letting people knowyou’re there, and when opportunities come up (which they will) then, and only then, go after it. The idea is they get to know us through social networking, and we are communicating our message effectively, then they’ll want to do business with us.
2)To communicate with each other.
At our company , culture is huge! So huge, that we wrote a book about it. Part of a great company culture is communication and getting everyone on the same page. Now I’m not talking about official corporate communication, but just here’s what going on. It could be related to work or not. I f I see on Facebook that our receptionist is excited about going camping , I can ask her about it ,t hen we have more of a connection.If someone’s Twitter update says that they don’t feel good, then someone can make sure they’re Ok or if they need anything. It give us all a little glimpse into each others lives, but it’s notinvasive, because each person chooses what they Share.
3)To communicate with our existing customers
We are actively encouraging our customers to“friend” or“follow” us individually or as a company on Twitter and Facebook. Just a little disclosure,we are a very productive group. It wouldn’t be acceptable to mess around on Facebook when there’s work to be done. Or be “Tweeting” during important meetings. Also social networking is encouraged but not required. We can link our customers to our latest blog posts, or just say hior happy birthday with Twitter or Facebook. It’s a great way to stay top of mind with our precious customers. Just another touch point we can have to keep them thinking about our company and our people.
4)To Have an Informal Board of Directors or Focus Group.
If you have a business problem orare trying to decide which of two packaging ideas looks the best, I bet there is someone out in Facebookland or the Twitterverse that has been through it or has a helpfulsuggestion. Just post a picture and say “Any suggestions”. I’ve already been using this with great feedback and insights from my Cyber friends. And don’t forget, you are helping other people too, by being their Coach or sounding board. Famous Author and motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar once said “ You’ll get what you want in life, as long as you help enough other people get what they want” . Sound advice.
5)To have fun!
What good is any of this without a little fun. Our Mission Statement at Dillanos is to 1) Help People 2) Make Friends and 3) Have Fun. As Im writing this I’m Realizing that social networking accomplishes all three. It’s fun to see your friend list grow on Facebook. It’s fun to connect with old friends and new friends. It’s fun to increase your “followers” on twitter. So go start the process. You’ll be glad you did.
I am at my third stop on the "Operation Mobile Desk"tour. This time I'm in the Finance Department, or as they like to say,"FUNance" Department. In the past this department has kind of a reputation for being quiet, or to themselves, off in their little bean counting (pun intended) lair. Considering how important it is to be accurate and timely with the fiscal dealings of a business, I don't expect them to be dancing on their desks. But like the other departments they genuinely seem to be enjoying their jobs. In finance we have Rand -CFO, Brian- Controller, Debbie-Accounts Recievable, Marylee-Purchasing, and Angela- Accounts Payable. Each one with their own unique personality. It turns out they're all totally fun! Witty comments, Lot's of laughter, and a collaborative, can-do attitude. They made a little welcome sign for me, and Debbie even had treats celebration my "arrival" As usual my Mobile desk is right smack dab in the middle of the department, so I get a true sense of the dynamics of the group, and it's Awesome. Luckily our exciting Dillanos culture has infected our financial folks. I'm staying here for this week and next week as well. I still have so mant stops on the tour, uncluding the roasting warehouse. Most people don't know I (and by brother Chris) are extremely allergic to the dust from unroasted coffee beans. So I am literaly going to rig up some kind of a enclosure, Boy in a Plastic Bubble style, with a little air purifier inside. I will be showing photos of that adventure for sure. More updates coming soon.
I finished my 2nd week in my new "mobile office" concept. Last week was the customer service department, and the week before that was the front lobby. I wanted to point out some interesting things I've learned so far. First of all, this experiment code named "operation Mobile Desk" OMD for short, has been extremely valuable. Being able to see the business from the trenches is something everyone should do. Doing that was easy in the when we started 17 years ago cause there was no one else. It was just My brother Chris and I, with one or two other helpers. Now that we have 80+ employees in 2 separate warehouses, it gets a little trickier. Combine that with a rigorous Travelling schedule and several other companies that we own or are partners in, and you can imagine getting a little insulated from day to day goings on. I probably should add that this was by design, and that we have great people in place to operate Dillanos, but I think it is important to get a fist hand look at times.
The Insights Insight #1. Our employees are even nicer to customers that I had thought. I new they were nice, but holy cow, they treat our customers like they were the most important person in the world. Insight #2. Our employees are even nicer to EACH OTHER than I could imagine. The lesson here is that the fun, creative, and friendly culture that we put such a focus on is working! Insight #3. Humor is a huge part of every one's day. the consistent laughter is so beneficial to this really, really hardworking group. Insight #4. there are so many different personalities, even in such a tight knit group like ours, that you have to treat each person according to their specific needs. Now I understand you can't be everything to everybody, so why try right? Wrong. even slightly different ways of praising or redirecting can be way more effective to certain personalities Insight #5. When instituting a MAJOR change in policy, the communication of that change should come from one person and all at once. It doesn't necessarily have to be from The CEO, President or top executive, but from the ONE person who can best explain and answer questions about the change.
Of course I've also learn tons of little specific things important to our specific business, but that covers the top 5 insights. I gotta say, love our customers, employees,and vendors and I can't wait for Monday.
Today is actually my first day in the customer service department. I have placed my mobile desk right smack down in the middle of the girls. I am about to attempt to have a meeting with our Director of Sales and Marketing Jeff and our Executive VP Keith. This is our weekly meeting for our "Little Orange book of Directives". We each have these little orange notebooks with 12 big business goals we want to accomplish in 2009. Just making a fun thing out of our company objectives, Dillanos style. we'll see how this goes while all the reps are taking our customers weekly orders.
I am really excited about moving my Super-Deluxe mobile office into the customer service department from the front lobby. I learned a lot from the lobby stay, but look forward to even more insights in the CSR Dept. (customer service representative). These fabulous girls take our orders every week from our wonderful and loyal customers. I start tomorrow. I have already moved the desk upstairs, and I'm ready to rock and roll. Will report about my experiences. DJM
