Can an unhappy customer be your key to success?

Guest blogger Jill Shortreed, CBA, of Charleston Balloon Company in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.A. has a wealth of business experience. She enjoys  studying business books and engaging in online education seminars and classes to keep up-to-date. Jill has recently set up a new Facebook group called The Business of Balloons. This group is aimed at those who own and operate a business that sells balloon decor, retail balloons, balloon deliveries, or entertaining with balloons.

Jill shares her experience with us and explains how an unhappy customer can be your key to success.

‟All complaints have a similar theme – something that was supposed to happen did not. Something didn’t work(i.e., a balloon drop or a special effect.) You didn’t deliver on schedule, were late to set up, or missed a delivery. Your client’s expectations were not met; your client thought they were getting X, but you delivered Y.
By the time a customer is ready to contact you, they are upset and emotional. 
So how do you turn this around?

• Make your client feel heard, – Let the client vent; they deserve it. While it is only natural to get defensive, truly listen to their complaint and pick-up on nuggets of information that you can use to make them a loyal customer. 

• Do everything you can to delight your client. - Sometimes you cannot undo a problem, but there are ways you can find to make it up to your client. If you go slightly above what your unhappy client is expecting as a resolution, then it can go a long way into making them a repeat customer who will refer new business to you.

• Protect your Brand from negative mentions. - Before smart phones and social media, if a client had a complaint they called you or wrote you a letter. Now, it is easy for an unhappy client to damage your brand in a matter of seconds. So how do you handle this? Unresolved and ignored complaints tend to escalate. Respond promptly online and continue to update the situation so potential clients know that you care. This will go a long way and if the client leaves you negative feedback, you can try to balance it with a positive solution. Do not engage in an online argument with your client. This will just escalate and end badly for you with negative publicity.

• Build and maintain a positive reputation. – So what happens when your unhappy client is transformed into a satisfied one, or better yet, a thrilled one? They become more loyal than your best satisfied customer. Why? Because your satisfied customer received what they were supposed to receive from you. Your unhappy customer was hoping for a resolution that probably was not going to happen, and you delivered beyond what they were expecting. So you know that they will do? Tell everyone about their unbelievable story! There is nothing like unsolicited positive mentions to improve your brand – to me that is a win! 

• Welcome complaints as a way of improving your business. - If an unhappy client tells you about a problem, how many more have possibly experienced the same issue but haven’t said anything to you? When you incorporate complaints from your clients as a way of improving your business, you show your clients you care and help your business avoid the same issues in the future. Most clients will accept a human hiccup or occasional error; how you respond is what will distinguish you from your competitors.

So next time you have an unhappy customer, sincerely thank them for bringing this to your attention and take the appropriate action to turn this into a positive way to build your business.”

Jill Shortreed, CBA – Charleston Balloon Company 

A huge thank you to Jill for sharing her experience with the Very Best Balloon Blog! If you have not already found her group “The Business of Balloons,” I strongly recommend it, as it is a wealth of information and business support! 

Happy Ballooning!

Sue Bowler
www.suebowler.com

Maximise Your Sales for Father's Day!

Father's Day is right around the corner, giving us a great opportunity to promote and sell balloons and balloon related gifts for this special day!

Our target market is wives, mums, and children, and let's face it, choosing the right gift isn’t easy. Dads can be tricky to buy for. So what can you do to help them out, and make their choices easy, and the day special for fathers everywhere?



If you own a shop or store, create a fun and exciting window display that appeals to adults and children alike. Your window display is your silent salesperson who constantly promotes and creates many sales opportunities! Display what you want to sell; have a set number of predetermined design ideas that appeal to all budgets, remember, it might be a child spending their pocket money to buy a Father's Day gift.

Much like Valentine's and Mother's Day, many people leave buying their cards and gifts to the very last minute, so why not start a "Countdown to Father's Day" campaign? Use your social media channels and website to remind people that they only have X number of days to place their order. How about offering customers an incentive to pre-order their balloon bouquet or balloon gift design?

Learn How to Create Precision Bubbles to Add Value to Your Designs.

Adding small extra details to a design can really increase its value, but the cost to you can be minimal. One of my favourite accent details is to use a chain of precision bubbles, usually made from a 160Q or a 260Q, depending on the design. In this Mother's Day design, I used a chain of bubbles to accentuate the Microfoil^® balloon.

Balloons and the Great Outdoors

Outdoor Numbers by David Mahoney of Balloons Everyday,
Carrollton, TX, U.S.A.

Making outdoor decor is not the easiest job. It can bring all sorts of challenges —rain, wind, dirt, heat, 
cold, plus many other potential obstacles. With a little care and planning, we can overcome most of these.

There have been a number of great articles written about this subject in Images magazine and on Balloon HQ. We also discussed outdoor decor as part of a Round Table session at the 2016 World Balloon Convention, with some great information and tips being shared amongst the group. I was particularly drawn to comments and advice given in an article featured some years ago on Balloon HQ by Wynn Bell, CBA. I first met Wynn and his lovely wife Lindy at International Balloon Arts Convention (IBAC) 1997.  Their work was absolutely breathtaking,  they subsequently went on to win a number of 1st place awards for their large sculpture entries at successive IBACs. Wynn and Lindy’s inspired designs and elegant decor are regularly featured in Images magazine, even though Wynn has since retired from the balloon industry. I also received some great advice from David Mahoney of Balloons Everyday, Carrollton, TX, U.S.A. David and his team regularly install decor outside in all weather!

Soft, Elegant and Very Sophisticated - Qualatex® Balloons and Tulle

U.S Patent No. 6,782,675

Recently I had my first experience of working with a tulle covered balloon. I have seen so many beautiful photographs of this effect and wondered how easy it actually was to do. 

Save our balloons!

California is in the process of trying to ban sales of all foil/metallic balloons. 

This is serious folks!

This bill would totally ban the sale and use of helium-filled metallic balloons in the State of California, as of January 1, 2018.

•Selling and distributing balloons made of, or attached to, electrically conductive materials would be punished as follows:

–A first offence is punished as an infraction punishable by a fine of up to $250; and

–A second subsequent offence is punishable as a misdemeanour/criminal act.

•The bill will wreak economic havoc and possibly destroy hundreds of balloon and party businesses.

•Legislation in California can have a ripple effect on other states and will severely hurt anyone in the balloon business

22,000 jobs are dependent on balloon sales in California, and 60,000,000 foil balloons are sold annually in the state. Direct and indirect sales from balloons are estimated to be nearly $1.1 billion. (Source: http://www.theballooncouncil.org/take-action/)

If you live outside of California, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about or why balloons are such a big problem in California.

The issue all started over 30 years ago when the random release of helium-filled foil balloons caused some very serious power outages. Proponents of the ban suggest that balloon-related outages cost Californians millions of dollars each year, but they don’t provide much information on how they calculate that number.

In 1990 the California State Legislature passed SB 1990, a compromise bill supported by the balloon industry enacting a law to regulate the sales and use of helium-filled foil balloons. The law was passed in an effort to reduce power outages related to balloons.

In short, to be in accordance with the California Balloon Law and reduce electrical power incidents, all retail shops that sell balloons should follow the guidelines below:

• Weight all helium-filled foil balloons.

• Tie all ribbons to the weight so if they are released they will float away individually. DO NOT tie ribbons together before attaching to weight. Tie them to the weight with one knot each.

• Do not use metallic ribbon with helium-filled balloons.

The balloon industry has promoted these standards throughout the world, and it is working to ensure these Smart Balloon Practices are known and implemented by everyone who sells balloons.

In 2008, the issue resurfaced and a California legislator proposed to ban the sale of all foil balloons by the year 2010, once again due to the claimed increased number of power outages. An opposition grassroots campaign, “Save Our Balloons,” was set up by florists, special events planners, and small businesses to fight this new bill. Once again, due to the strong opposition, a compromise bill was passed. Because of the state’s financial crisis, the governor vetoed all “non-essential” bills and the California Balloon Law has remained the same since 1990.

So here we are again, faced with the same frightening ban that could truly affect our industry worldwide!

 So what can we do?

Party decor fit for a princess!

 

Pretty dresses, crowns, magical wands, fairies, and even frogs! There are lots of fun ideas for us to use to create a magical "princess party".

Anne McGovern, CBA, of Elegant Balloons in New York, U.S.A. captures the essence of this theme perfectly with her princess, centrepiece designs using the 18" ‟Princess Tiara” Microfoil^® balloon, dressed with tulle & feathers!

I designed this fun princess castle entrance backdrop for a photo shoot to promote the Rachel Ellen - Birthday Princess range of balloons and partyware. 

The colours are vibrant and bold. For this decor, I used Caribbean Blue, Pink, and Wild Berry as these colours complimented the balloon and party range perfectly! 

I have also made a version of the lovely ‟Birthday Princess” that stands approximately 4ft tall (1.2m).