Photo courtesy of Phu Son Nguyen

Flashing lights, splashy billboards, attention-getting PR stunts aimed at driving in traffic by the droves. Megaphone Marketing is in our face everywhere we turn, and the internet is no exception to the assault on our senses.

An afternoon spent immersed in Social Media can be exhausting if half of what you experience is thinly-disguised attempts to part you from your dwindling resources or to persuade you to act now before time runs out on an imaginary clock.

Aggressive and ego-laden marketers are busy assuring us that they are Number One, the most highly read, the go-to guy… or gal… and we would be fools to pass up their golden opportunities. While quantities last… of course.

It’s enough to make the bravest among us want to hide under the desk.

Does It Have To Be This Way?

The good news is that the answer is no. A very quiet, unassuming, self-assured NO. There is another way. A better way. A time honored, some might even say old-fashioned way, that has worked since the dawn of time and will continue to work when the last megaphone has been laid to rest.

There are a few key components of what I call the Stealth Customer Service & Marketing Model. I may have invented the name, but not the plan. It is as old as and as resilient as a fortress that will not fall.

Napoleon Hill summed up it up this way in his classic book Think and Grow Rich.

“The day of the go-getter has passed, he has been supplanted by the go-giver.”

It’s time to focus on the giving.

Napoleon Hill’s Formula for Customer Service

Hill had a simple formula for customer service that he called the QQS Formula.

The QQS is just as applicable and powerful today at the dawning of 2010 as it was in the days of Andrew Carnegie, the man who taught it to Napoleon Hill.

QQS stands for:

Quality of service – The performance of every detail done as efficiently as possible, always striving for greater efficiency at all times.

Quantity of service – The habit of rendering all service with even more service as greater skill is developed through practice and experience. (The more you learn, the more you provide with better skill.)

Spirit of service – The habit of always providing service in a “harmonious agreeable manner” that induces cooperation from clients, associates and fellow employees.

Many businesses focus on one or more of the first two. The double Q’s. But often only a token nod is given to the third factor in the QQS, the SPIRIT of service and that is unfortunate because without it, the first two are doomed to fall short every time.

Being Nice isn’t Just for Show.

Notice that there is a catch. It isn’t good enough to behave in a “harmonious agreeable manner” (Hill’s own words) only to favorite clients and then to close the door and turn on your fellow employees or networking associates.

Living up to a good Spirit of Service demands striving for harmony and kindness in all relationships, from the simplest sale to the most challenging competitor. It means building a solid reputation as a company whose service model is one of good cheer and integrity, reliability, and dependability, one that strives to stay above the fray and to become a helping hand to all in need.

We live in an era of Business to Business networking and co-sponsorship of projects and partnerships like never before. A company that wants to get ahead in today’s market can not afford to make enemies and burn bridges.

Building a foundation on Rock or Sand?

The second component of the plan is focusing on the foundation. The very core philosophy of what you are building your business on.

If your goal is to quickly collect as many random followers and faceless lemmings as possible that will join in the choir and sing your praises without much thought to their own real feelings, then be prepared for an endless, exhausting ride on the roller-coaster of adventure.

The masses are a fickle lot. Their attention span is short. When you think about it, their thirst for blood sport hasn’t changed all that much since the days of the Roman Empire. They are always on the lookout for fresh meat to devour. You better have something exciting and entertaining to throw at them, or else you’ll be watching them wander away for the next new flavor of the month. Building your foundation on the whims of the masses is a sandy speculation at best.

The other option is to dig deeper, not wider. The road may be slower, but the payoff lasts longer. It’s more even, and the ride is a lot smoother. The friends and clientele you attract are more loyal, more friendly, more willing to view you as an expert in your field rather than just an entertaining thrill.

Why? Because in order to dig deeper, you have to slow down and listen. You have to pay attention. You need to figure out who they are, what they need. That requires conversations, not lectures from a podium or megaphone. It requires research and deep thought. It begins with meeting them where they are, helping them build a bridge from their needs to their future, and holding out a helping hand to get them where they want to go.

In the Beginning Was the Word, and The Message Spread Like Wildfire

If you aren’t going to be out there shouting your message with a megaphone, splashing your name across billboards, or thinking up brilliant stunts to get your name in every blog or paper you can think of, then how is anyone going to figure out who you are?

Have faith. People love to talk. They love to share the good news when they come across a company that wows them, delights them, informs them, takes the time to listen to their individual needs, and sees them for the special person that they are. They can’t wait to tell everybody they know how wonderful you made them feel.

Why? Because in our hustle and bustle, promise-a-buck-and-give-a-dime world, consistent exemplary customer service that wows and delights is rare. Be THAT company and you will never have to say a word. The world will do all your talking for you. You’ll be able to spend your marketing dollars on something else instead, like delighting your clients even more.

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