By Toby Stansell
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01/26/2010
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Posted in Customer Service, Leadership
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A few days ago, for no particular reason except that I happened to be thinking about some of my discussions that day, I took a marker and wrote on one of the flip charts in our conference room reserved for internal meetings, the phrase, “Criticism provides an opportunity for improvement.” I came back into that room for some reason the next day and found that someone had added the word “Constructive” to the phrase to create a new phrase, “Constructive criticism provides an opportunity for improvement.”
It took about four nanoseconds for that act to really get under my skin. I guess our society has advanced to the point and we are so smart that we can now be selective…
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By Toby Stansell
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01/10/2010
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Posted in Branding
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Personalization and customization are certainly two hot themes these days. The race to provide unlimited flexibility and configurability that result in highly personalized experiences and interfaces proceeds at full song within almost every consumer and commercial product category. Somehow, however, this pervasive and passionate focus upon individual consumer wants and needs has largely bypassed the commercial uniform market.
When it comes to uniforms, one size or style definitely does not fit all. The need for a made-to-fit/made-to-order program exists on three levels. They are…
At the industry level, we discover that different types of businesses exhibit unique functional requirements, operate in varying climates and environments, and employ unique roles and positions. Grocery stores and supermarkets…
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By Toby Stansell
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11/17/2009
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Posted in Branding
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As with most of these writings, my take on this topic is nothing more than a shameless attempt on my part to take an idea first put forth by one of my contemporaries and put some context around it in hopes of broadening and deepening its application in a business setting. My hope is that the appropriate application and execution of these principles helps increase your competitive advantage, growth, and profitability.
I can still remember exactly where I was when someone first introduced me to the principle of The Crooked Wire. I was in New York City visiting a firm with whom we had formed a sales and distribution alliance to address a particular segment of the corporate apparel market.…
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By Toby Stansell
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10/29/2009
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Posted in Branding
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I have been guilty at times of letting large discount retailers and the prolific availability of private label merchandise convince me that the brand name itself is of less importance to the consumer today. And with the explosion of outsourcing and license arrangements making it almost impossible to know who actually designs and produces the final article for the company whose label it carries, I am always a little leery of adopting brand favorites and brand patterns in my buying habits.
I recently read an article, however, that is not only making me rethink my position, but has actually enlightened me as to how we can use the current situation to actually strengthen our brand position with our consumers.…
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By Toby Stansell
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10/26/2009
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Posted in Marketing
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Most sustainable business models are perpetuated by the sale and delivery of products and services that generate significant financial and/or operational returns for our customers. Some of us may be fortunate enough to provide “exclusive” product/service offerings that make it difficult for our customers to defect to the competition, because little or no competition exists… yet. Most of us, however, are on the other end of the spectrum in that we provide deliverables that are valuable, and sometimes essential, but the customer has choices. Regardless of in which camp we find ourselves, all of us must successfully address the issue of how to best leverage our market offerings to sustain important customer relationships (i.e. generate deep customer loyalty) if our…
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