I recently finished reading the Sushi Economy by Sasha Issenberg, which by the way, is a great book if you are a business geek like myself or just want to learn about the sushi industry.

One take home I'd like to highlight from reading the book is the foundation of sushi service. This foundation is crumbling from a food-to-customer-relationship to a food-to-consumer-departure. Eating sushi used to be an integral experience of eating high quality, hand-selected fish, ceremonially prepared by the chef and blending the interaction of chef and patron, selecting and enjoying the meal. It was the relationship of linking the sacred source and preparation of food to the consumer.

Throughout the book, I found how this interacting relationship is dissolving in the sushi industry as it changes from small-personalized players to larger players whose motive is money. Sushi is fast becoming the new fast-food, where quality gets replaced with profit and reproducibility. A trip to your nearest supermaket's fish department will likely find you staring at low-grade or imitation sushi neatly packaged in to-go boxes and, oh, don't foregt the free chopsticks.

This disintegration is similar to what I think is one of the reasons for the troubles at Starbucks. With the expansion of drive-thru kiosks, the move to every street corner and interstate higway rest stop the departure of the relationship began. If you ever want to get a lousy cafe mocha made by a frowning, unfriendly, uninspiring employee (notice I didn't say barista) stop at one of the highway Starbucks and experience some of the best examples of poor customer service. It is about time Howard Schultz returned as CEO to fix this customer breakup.

About 20 years ago, Schultz came back from a business trip in Milan, Italy with the desire and drive to bring to the United States the love relationship he experienced in Milan's coffee shops. It was the barista's relationship with the coffe bean and the customer, like that of the sushi chef, that he wanted to build into a business. The barista shares his/her knowledge and passion of the coffee bean, the manner in which it is brewed and served and brings this love to the patron in a rich and bold event.

I'm a fan of sushi and Starbucks. When I walk into my favorite sushi restaurant, Sake, in Portsmouth or any Starbucks I want that relationship experience as best as they can give it to me; an integral relationship between the source of my food, the passion of the chef or barista and the interaction between them and me. I want to enjoy myself, enjoy my food and know that the person behind the bar enjoys bringing that connection together. I will gladly pay extra for it because it brings me value.

As micro and small businesses we have advantages with making similar connections because often we are in direct contact with our customers. Take a look at your business and what interacting relationship you bring the customer's experience. Also, do you think these types of interacting relationships are departing from businesses? Let me know.

Image by tiarescott via Flickr at Creative Commons license.

Thanks to all of you who have been letting me know how much you are enjoying this blog

A few weeks ago, I was talking with a small business owner I work with on a volunteer project for a non-profit organization. I asked him about a direct marketing effort he undertook about a year ago that was targeted at a specific market. I wanted to know if it was a financially successful campaign. Did he receive any new leads or business? I was not looking for the actual numbers, just some idea of the results.

"Maybe a couple of leads. I guess I could have measured it".

What information do you need gather to measure the value?

1. Keep track of the costs of your direct mail piece (design work, printing, postage, handling, number of pieces, etc.).

2. Labor. If you outsource the work then use those costs. If you are doing the work yourself apply an hourly rate to your time and keep track of the hours you spend on creating the direct mail campaign.

3. Once the piece is mailed, measure how your leads found you by asking them the simple question of "how did you here about us?" If an existing customer contacts you, ask them if they saw the direct mail piece. Keep a record of the answers.

4. Keep track of the sales dollars from the people you asked or if they volunteered the information or if you had some kind of feedback option, such as a coupon.

At the end of the campaign, total your costs and evaluate against it your sales generated, your new leads, your increased business or whatever your objectives were for the direct mail campaign. Measure against those objectives.

The value or not of your campaign is ultimately your decision. Measuring doesn't have to be as difficult as measuring ice thickness on a frozen lake in Alaska.

If you have run a campaign how or did you measure the results?

Image by Ra64 via Flickr, by Creative Commons license

I know on your income statements and balance sheet you have your brochures, website, business cards and such listed under the expense line. They are all costs your business incurs, but what about turning your thinking around and viewing your marketing as what it really is - an investment for near and long-term returns.

When you market your services or products you are engaging with people. You are sharing with them about what you do or how you help them with their challenges or pains or you are educating them or helping them with their decision making before they make a purchase. You are giving and this giving is often reciprocated with you receiving.

Thinking about marketing as an investment changes the manner in which you speak to your customers. It removes the hype and turns down the volume. It allows you to engage and connect with them more one-to-one. This will take more thought, time and resource on your part but the rewards are greater long-term. Remember, just as there are financial advisors to help you with your personal long-term monetary investments, there are marketing advisors to help you with your customer investments.

Re-think your marketing.

In the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) October 3, 2007 article "A Virtual View of the Store Aisle" Ellen Byron reports about the retinal tracking device developed by Kimberly-Clark that improves their product development cycle and their store shelf strategy.

The article explains how in a specially designed mock virtual store Kimberly-Clark can help them better understand consumer behavior and improve the new product development cycle.

Kimberly Clark uses the research data to help promote their new products to big store retailers like Wal-Mart, Target and Safeway. It allows them to be able to partner with the retailers and add value to their products with the service. As an example, they mocked up a Target store aisle from everything from the white floor tiles, the aisle width and length and the lighting to see how their new Huggies Natural Fit diapers red package will look to the consumer as they walk down the isle.

I look forward to find out more information on the results of their work and sharing this with you.

I encourage you to read the whole article it is pretty interesting stuff.