Listen to “#682 How Zingerman’s Built a Corner Deli into a Food Empire” on Spreaker.
On this episode of The Small Business Radio Show…
SEGMENT 1 with Micheline Maynard, starting at 0:00: How did Zingerman’s go from a corner deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan to a $70M food empire?
SEGMENT 2 with Steven J. Anderson, starting at 19:15: More than ever we need to recommit to creating a special experience for all our customers. Our next guest says he learned most of these lessons when he was a kid with a paper route. Maybe you can relate!
SEGMENT 3 with Shawn Hill, starting at 36:45: Amazon made online reviews a critical part of selling any product or service. Learn how you can get more online reviews for your business.
Sponsored by NiceJob.
More on each segment below.
Segment 1: Micheline Maynard is a journalist, author, and professor. She is a contributing columnist at The Washington Post, where her essays on business and culture appear in Voices Across America. She has been a senior editor at NPR’s Here & Now and was a senior correspondent and Detroit bureau chief for The New York Times. She is the author of four books, most notably The End of Detroit: How the Big Three Lost Their Grip on the American Car Market. Her most recent book is Satisfaction Guaranteed: How Zingerman’s Built a Corner Deli into a Global Food Community.
1:30 – How did you become interested in this story?
2:45 – How did Zingerman’s grow beyond a corner deli?
5:15 – Zingerman’s has built its business around Open Book Management. Why do they do this?
7:30 – Zingerman’s community-driven philosophy.
10:00 – Who owns Zingerman’s? What’s the biggest part of the business?
13:45 – When did you start the book and what has been the response from Zingerman’s?
15:45 – What’s in store for Zingerman’s?
Segment 2: Steven J. Anderson is an internationally known business strategist, entrepreneur, author and in-demand speaker. He is known for his innovative data-driven systems of communication to create profitable, positive service-focused organizations, many in leading health care practices and allied companies. He has founded more than a dozen growing and diversifying businesses, including the Total Patient Service Institute, Keystone Dental Management, and Crown Council. Steven’s previous books include Nearly Everything I Learned in Kindergarten Screwed Me Up! and The 13 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make and How to Avoid Them. His latest book is called The Bicycle Book: The Story of a Boy, His Father, a Paper Route and 12 Secrets of Serving Others in Business and Life.
19:15 – You might be surprised to learn which well-known people started their careers with a paper route.
22:00 – What is your service promise?
24:30 – What are your service standards?
26:45 – What Steven learned as a kid with a paper route about how to serve customers better.
30:30 – What did you learn about serving bad customers?
Segment 3: Shawn Hill is the Community Director for NiceJob, Inc. and host of The NiceJob Podcast. With 15+ years of experience across the US and Canada, Shawn is an expert in reputation marketing, community communication and engagement and is passionate about customer driven growth – connecting people and establishing, building, and protecting reputations. He also is a certified Fun Delivery Specialist.
36:45 – How have online reviews evolved over the years?
40:30 – Does it matter where the review is posted?
43:00 – It is important to have verified reviews? How many reviews does your company need to be credible?
46:45 – What about removing reviews?
49:00 – Is it still common to leave negative reviews about competitors?
51:00 – How can Nicejob help businesses get more reviews?
