Archive for January, 2010
What We Can Learn About Trust & Brand from DK Diner
People around Grandview, Ohio know about DK Diner. Word of the fresh baked doughnuts and the cozy environment definitely gets around local circles. Google “DK Diner Grandview“. Notice something missing? Unless I’ve missed it, I can’t find a DK Diner website either. What I find is reviews in Yelp, Urban Spoon and other networks. I find a few blog posts from some food-related blogs, most of which have an extremely positive sentiment. I’ve heard the brand name “DK Diner” from at least 3-4 of my close friends in conversation. Sarah is also a huge fan. I checked in with Foursquare and shouted out what I was going to try. Almost immediately, I received @replys and comments on Facebook from other locals, all raving about their DK experiences and the doughnuts. Remember Zappos? On a smaller scale, people are talking about DK, too. Breakfast Today was the first time I had eaten at DK. When my family and I walked in, we arranged our own tables with enough chairs to fit the group. After sitting, Sarah made sure to point to the side of the room, where the self-serve station was steaming with fresh pots of coffee. “And if you need cream, it’s in the mini fridge,” she said before getting up. Minutes later as we were looking at the menu, Sarah told us about the doughnuts. I had heard stories of these legendary doughnuts before. The local delicacies were stationed near the checkout in a large display rack, complete with doors that opened toward the customer. At DK Diner, the doughnuts are also self-serve. Sarah returned from the rack, arms loaded with everything from glazed to chocolate and a few flavors in between. Looking at the half-dozen doughnuts that now crowded our table, I felt a little uncomfortable. This wasn’t the [...]
Read This PostHOW TO Build Your Business Communications Dashboard
Managing business communication used to be much easier. Even five years ago, we had email, letters, fax machines, and conference and private telephone calls. Those tools usually laid the groundwork for a face-to-face meeting where real business – the human kind – took place. Today, things are very different for business folks like you and I. Email has become the mainstay in business communication, supported by an ever-growing selection of social networks, blogs, microblogs (like Twitter) and VOIP software. There are so many communication channels to monitor and, to my knowledge, no one has yet to figure out how to increase the amount of hours we have each day to take it all in, respond and continue to do actual work. Business Communications Efficiencies It’s no surprise that we business folk have no choice anymore but to become great communicators. Our careers (and paychecks) depend on our ability to manage the flow, cut through the noise and be effective in sending and receiving messages both inside and outside of our organizations. So what do you do? How do you weed through the pile or even reduce the pile all together? Here are some ideas on how I’m managing my own communications: If you can’t view this video, watch it on my YouTube channel. Build Your Own Business Communications Dashboard WARNING: What works for me, may not work for you. The choices I’ve made on my dashboard fit my business strategy and daily routine. One thing I forgot to mention is that I usually have Adium open as a chat client, so I can also leverage multiple chat profiles from Facebook to AOL and Google Chat. Because it causes my Macbook Pro to slug along at times, I tend to get selective with that tool. Here are some other tips, tricks [...]
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