My family was recently invited to a blogger event at Sea World. While we weren’t asked to write about it, or promote Sea World in any way, we had such a blast, how could I not write something about our trip? As we went through the parks I kept noticing things worth remembering and sharing; not just cute animals and terrific rides, but business things Sea World is doing right.
1. Be Happy.
One of the things I was most impressed by was the Sea Worlds employee’s attitudes. Every one of them was there to help you. And, they were happy about it. There was no grumbling, complaining, or eye rolling. They seemed to be having as good a time as the visitors.
No one wants to frequent a blog or business establishment where the attitude stinks. Our Burger King is this way. The people working there make it quite obvious that they’d rather not see you. What kind of impression are you giving people? Are your tweets simply links to your posts, and answering questions when you have to? Or are you happy to engage, laugh, and have fun with your followers?
2. Be On the Look-Out.
At every crossroads there is a sign pointing to different attractions and places of interest. Every visitor is given a map. But still, you find yourself standing in the middle of the crossroads, staring at this colorful map, and wondering where to go. Three times a Sea World employee saw us standing in bewilderment, walked up and asked if he could help us. Every time this employee knew exactly where to send us, and could answer any question.
What if we as bloggers and business owners took this to heart? If we were in the forums, interacting with people who need our help, searching Twitter for questions related to our niche, and answering them, or making ourselves available via our blogs we’d leave a good impression. People would remember us as those who were there to answer their questions and point them in the right direction.
3. Be Valuable.
After the fabulous Azul show our group was invited to stay and meet the trainers and performers. I’m kinda shy when it comes to stuff like that, but I did muster up enough courage to ask an fantastically made-up acrobat a question. 
I simply asked if she was the ‘bird’ in the show we just saw and she said, “No, not today.” Not today? You mean, sometimes you are the bird? She went on to explain that she could perform at least four different roles in the same show, and that many of them could. They takes turns to keep things interesting. She said, in this line of work, you make yourself as valuable as possible. You learn the ins and outs of more than one job, so that if someone comes down sick, or needs a day off, you can fill in. I imagine it also provides some job security!
While many of us blog about all sorts of things, we each have our niche, that one thing we’re the best at. Sometimes we focus so much on this that we forget to keep ourselves brushed up in other areas. WordPress theme modification is my specialty, but I make it a point to know how to design Twitter backgrounds and custom Facebook welcome pages so my clients can get all of their designs done in one place.
Are you leaving your customers with a good impression? How do you provide value?
