Introduction:

Tonight we are very fortunate to have with us a someone who has worked with and become a good friend of Diane Jones'. They first met during one of her postings to the United States of America and he is currently in Australia on a lecture tour about retail management and its applications in a new world order. We thought it would be a great opportunity to have him talk to people at the grass roots level rather than the management that he s usually dealing with. Having attended one of his motivational sessions I can assure you that you are in for an interesting and informative discussion. Ladies and Gentlemen, will you please welcome direct from California, Mr. David Stephens.

Thank you for having me here tonight. As you can tell from both the introduction and the way I speak, I am American. Now the way I understand it that in Australia admitting you are American is something like admitting you have leprosy. I hope you will forgive me for where I was born. I was introduced as an expert. Before I start I should warn you that the word expert comes from two words. "Ex" meaning a has been and "Spurt" being a drip under pressure. So I ask you to keep that in mind at all times this evening.

Its great to be here tonight, this is my first time in Aussie and I must say that it is beautiful. I spent a little time in Brisbane last week, no wonder so many people want to live in this area, maybe I will.

I am currently in Australia to talk to industry groups about customer loyalty. That is why I was invited tonight, to share with you - the staff and management of Pacific Fair retail stores - some of my knowledge in this area. This being your retail awards night, is a special event that acknowledges and recognises excellence in the retail sector. It is a night where instead of you serving the customer, you are being thanked for the effort you have put in in recent times.

Tonight is a chance for the management of Pacific Fair to say a big "thank you" to you, the people who keep a shopping centre alive. It is often said that the customer is number one, the customer is always right, we are here for the customer. While all this may be true when you are reading the latest new-age psycho-babble training manual that probably came from my home, California, the truth is that if there were no shops, no staff, no people serving, there would be no customers. So in fact, you are the most important people in your organisation and any time your boss forgets that you be sure to remind him or her of the fact. You can even say David Stephens told you so. Lets face facts folks. You do not spend every day standing behind a counter for eight or so hours because you enjoy doing it. No matter how much you might say you love your job, if it wasn't for the fact that it pays the rent and puts food on your table, I have absolutely no doubt that you would be spending almost every day on one of your fantastic beaches here on the beautiful Golden Coast. But reality often takes over from our wild imaginings and we must participate in the retail sector if we wish to make our contribution to society.

Y'all do that in treating the customer like a valued resource rather than an intrusion on your conversation about what was on TV last night. This brings me back to the point that this is the reason why you are here this evening. To be identified for the effort you have put in at your job and to be appreciated by your peers, management and the administration of the fine shopping centre. What is customer loyalty? I know the meaning off by heart according to Websters American dictionary, but last week some told me that there is a uniquely Australian dictionary. What is it called, the Macquarie?

When I saw this book I just had to go out and buy a copy and look up a few words, the first one was G'day. I saw the ads in America with Crocodile Dundee, what's his name? Paul... oh yes, Hogan. His line was "Come to Australia and say G'day. I thought, "this is one of those marketing things that they use to promote a place and when you get there its nothing like that really, like saying that San Francisco is only populated by gays. Sure there are a lot of gays, but that's not all you'll find in San Francisco.

I should point out that although I live in San Francisco, I am not gay, my boyfriend is, but I'm not. Anyway, the first time I say the word "G'day" written down, I thought, "geeday?" what in the hell is geeday?". But then I arrived here and I couldn't believe it.

People actually do say G'day to each other. It is not a tourist word, its part of the language. That is one of the beauties of travelling, seeing and experiencing different cultures. In fact I recently read about the reason we have weather...to give poor people the illusion that they are travelling. Before I get back to the main part of my speech I thought I would share some of the things I discovered when I thumbed through this Macquarie Dictionary. How about this. I was talking to a woman in a bar the other night and I was warned not to ACCENT "cut your mates grass". I thought, I didn't even bring a lawn mower with me, besides, I live in an apartment, I don't even have a lawn mower. So I went to this book and found that cutting someone's grass means moving in on their girl. I'm sure glad I didn't say "I'll get someone else in to cut the grass for me".

You know what this is in the States? Its a persuader, but here down under its a "bunch of fives". I like this term, a bunch of fives, as long as you never use your bunch of fives on another person of course.

I understand you have something of a drought happening out in the Western. I found out how dry it is, according to page three hundred and seventy one, it is as "dry as a dead dingo's donger" Someone explained what it means and I can't believe you Aussies put something like this in your dictionary.

I know you Aussies like a beer or two, but I don't know how you actually manage to order a beer. I have been travelling around a few of your states and I discovered that it isn't just as easy as ordering a glass of beer. The choice of drinking receptacles is totally awesome. The bottle shop, or as we call it, the liquor store sells cans, stubbies, bottles, or tinnies, easy enough. But when you get into the bar its another story. There you can buy beer in a number of different sized glasses.

There are middies, schooners, beer sixes, glasses, pots, ponies, small beers, sevens, butchers, Hedland ponies, eights, handles, kites and pints. I thought I had better sort this out and I am proud to announce that I am probably the first Yank to understand this. A schooner is a 425ml glass in Sydney, but a schooner is only 285mls in Adelaide where a Sydney schooner is a kite. A pot is 285mls in Melbourne and Brisbane but it's a middy in Sydney and Perth where a pot is 575mls. A glass is 200mls except in Brisbane where it's 225mls and Adelaide where it's a butcher and Darwin and Sydney where it's a seven. In Hobart a small beer is 115mls, in Brisbane it's 140mls and in Melbourne it's 170mls. Back in Hobart, 170mls is a beer six, where they have banned the Flinstones movie because of the line "Have a yabba-dabba do time, a dabba do time, we'll have a gay old time!

What sort of people are they in Tasmania?

Look I'm getting a bit off track here, but before I move on I understand that there are even differences in words between Australia and New Zealand. In New Zealand they say Jandles, you say thongs. They say Chilly Bin, you say esky. They say Blind date, you say livestock.

So what is Customer loyalty and how can you create and expand a Customer Loyalty program in your organisation. But before you do, how can customer loyalty programs work for you instead of against you.

Now before I get started with this talk I want you all to be very clear that this is not a hard sell of a new fandangled American course that we want you to attend. Don't think you have been invited here for an awards night and now you are going to be asked to buy something. No this is not Amway, Pro-Ma, Herbal-Life, Nu-Skin or any other pyramid...er direct vertical market purchasing scheme. I am regarded by some as an expert in Customer Loyalty programs, don't forget the meaning of the word "Expert". But be that as it may, I do have quite a bit of knowledge about the programs. I should also make clear that I don't represent any particular organisation, except the Customer Loyalty and Incentive Research Organisation. I keep using the word Customer Loyalty programs. Possibly some of you have no idea what I am talking about when I refer to them in this way. However, when I explain that they are the incentive programs that provide your customers with renumeration of some sort in return for shopping at your store frequently I think you will have more idea. To bring it to even more simple terms. Airlines have frequent flyer programs, retail outlets have what I like to call "frequent buyer programs". Another popular variation on the theme, although it is one I disapprove of due to the fact that their is no loyalty factor involved is seen widely here in Australia. In this case when you buy a particular item or spend above certain amount you will receive a free holiday to a nominated destination.

These places are usually popular tourist spots like hawaii, Bali, Fiji and Suva. Haiti and Rabaul used to be on the list, but not any more. Perhaps you can save those tickets for the people who don't pay their bills. With these programs, there was a catch. You had to pay for your own accommodation in a hotel decided by the promoters. You were also obliged, as one of the conditions to stay a certain number of nights in that hotel, usually a minimum of four. While the room rate was reasonably priced, what people found was that the hotels were not of a standard they were expecting. In one case guests arrived to find that the hotel wasn't even built yet.

Of course a substitute was found quickly, but the general "cheapie" nature of these schemes guaranteed that they would not last long. In fact you might notice that you hardly see them at all these days. More often than not, the problem was not with the retailers. They simply bought a package from a promoter who did all the arrangements, including taking their bonus in advance. Let me remind you that there was no desire to gain the loyalty of the customer in these schemes. All that was wanted was a quick sale of an already expensive item that had a high profit margin and was often the sort of thing that if you were happy with your purchase of say a house, car, computer or socks, the holiday was seen as a free bonus. I understand that Pacific Fair is on of the largest shopping centre in the Southern hemisphere.

Would you believe that I had seen it before, although I didn't realise what it was until I went there this afternoon. Pictures of Pacific Fair are often used in Australian Tourist Commission promotions as an example to the rest of the world of what is possible and readily available in Australia. In fact, Pacific Fair is a prime example used to show potential overseas visitors that Australia has facilities that are as modern and advanced as any where in the world, except in Tasmania. I want to make something perfectly clear. It is not the owners or management who has achieved that, it is you. You are the brains behind many of the stores. Your faces are those that greet customers and make their experience at Pacific Fair a memorable one. The way you design and lay out your merchandise and then support your customers in making a decision is what makes the whole place work. It would be no good if management went in and tried to do your jobs. just as most of you could not do theirs. It is a symbiotic relationship that is based in mutual trust, respect and an understanding of the needs of the industry and its various sectors. Since the United States leads the way in developing new and innovative shopping experiences, that is where I will focus my observations.

In Los Angeles, more commonly known as the city of Angels, you will find the largest shopping complex in the world. It covers nine hundred thousand square feet of floor space. In your language, that's about four hundred and twenty thousand square metres. Of this space, seven hundred and fifty thousand feet, or three hundred and fifty thousand metres is leasable retail shopping space. Compare that to Pacific Fair which I understand has around eighty five thousand square metres and you will realise that we are talking big. Being in the central California, Los Angeles has a climate that encourages outdoor activities, especially surfing, bushwalking and looting. Judging by the way the population of Los Angeles has grown over the last few years, it seems that one of their main indoor activities is horizontal folk-dancing, but we won't get into that, you can look it up in your Macquarie's.

This shopping complex is known as Mountain Marketplace and as well as being the largest in the United States, is also one of the least known. But when I say that, I mean outside LA. Los Angeles has a population of six and a half million people, and after being open for one year 62.5% of the population had visited the Mountain Markets. This accounts for over four million people through the doors of which 43% or almost two million people had returned within three months of their first visit. Incredible figures that made us want to have a look at their marketing budget and their overall concept to see what it is that draws shoppers in. Or more to the point, what is it that makes them loyal to this particular place when there are others in the demographic. What is it that brings people into this particular shopping centre? Just as Sydney's Macquarie Centre (Is this related to the dictionary?) has an ice-skating rink, in the centre, something that brings people in, Mountain Markets, has as its major attraction an indoor mountain, covered in artificial snow that enables people to ski and shop without having to leave the complex.

Since Californians are so far from most ski areas, the attraction is obvious. Given that Mountain Markets are also not far from Anaheim and all the theme parks like Disneyland and Knotts Berry farm also helps it to bring people in. But their is more to a shopping centre than its proximity to Fantasy Land. Its the loyalty factor that I have been talking about. I have with me a team of very talented young actors and I want them to demonstrate a simple encounter for you then we can talk through it. ONE _ TWO MINUTE SKETCH ON HOW NOT TO DO IT.

So, what was wrong with this scene? A COUPLE OF POINTS WHEN THE SKETCH IS FINALISED. This actually happened at a store in Mountain Markets . I spent some time analysing the place. Actually I spent a bit longer than I planned since I lost my car in their car-park. Compared to Pacific Fair's five thousand parking spaces, Mountain Markets have around twenty five thousand parking spaces on 14 levels covering almost 70 acres. As you enter, instead of giving you a ticket, they give you a map.

So, how can you take your enterprise to the next level, to make it a high profit, low overhead operation. As you all know, there are three things that are important in marketing a shopping centre. Image, Image and Image. In a well designed marketing scheme, the objective will be to accurately prtray this image to the intended market. You must let them see your reputation, your status in society and your position in relation to your competition. From there you must make it attractive enough that they want to be part of that culture and be identified with what it is you have to offer.

This is why people wear brand-name clothing, return to a shop or buy any particular branded item. Let's see how a typical shopping situation might look if this wasn't the case. SKETCH IN WHICH "SHOPPERS" BUY THINGS OR ARE TREATED IN A WAY THAT WOULD BE OUT OF CHARACTER FOR THEIR OBVIOUS APPEARANCE. Notice how the sales assistant completely ignored their requests and the information given. When I talk about request, I am not talking about verbal communication here. To build and maintain customer loyalty you must become something of an expert in body language, associative language, but most importantly, the Japanese language. I say that knowing that the japanese are very big on loyalty. I think you will find that if any Japanese tourists shop in your store, when they get back home they will show the photo they take of you giving them their change to a minimum of six of their friends and recommend that they visit you when in Australia.

The consequences of inadvertently overlooking the fundamental underlying factors associated with contradictory attachments to a conversely, yet internally variable modulus, definitely introduces a passionate element of allegorical mischievousness determining a regenetative but unclaimable standard of precursive manners towards subsequently passable notions of adequately maintained but superiorly marketed strategums expressed physically, yet metaphorically in a jeopardised environment lacking basic structure.

What this means is that if you don't like the food, get out of the kitchen. Let's bring the actors back one last time. I am going to have them go through a routine where the shop assistants have an attitude. Then when I clap my hands we will pretend that the pills I slipped into their Corn Flakes start to take effect and you will see the difference in the reactions of both the staff and the shoppers. LAST TWO MINUTE SKETCH. I hope you all took note of what is possible and what works in a situation like this. But customers often create problems.

In fact, I was in a shop the other day and a man came in and said "I'd like an Irish sausage". The shop assistant looked at him and asked, quite politely I thought, whether he was Irish. He took umbrage at this and almost screamed at her "If I came in and asked you for a polish Sausage, would you ask me if I was Polish. She said "no". He asked, If I came in and asked you for a German sausage, would you ask me if I was German? She said No. He said, So, How come when I come in here and ask you for an Irish sausage, you ask me if I'm Irish. She looked him straight in the eye and said "Because this is a chemist!".

She was cool, whe was calm, she put him well and truly in his place. Tonight it is in her spirit thet you are going to be rewarded for being the perfect shop assistant. But, before before we go ahead and present the awards, I want you to give you one last piece of information. My name is really Steve Davis, I'm an Aussie, I live at Mudgeeraba and you are the best audience that has ever been had. How about a big hand for the rest of the crew...