Article Contributed by Mark Deo
Today for small business operators as well as larger enterprises marketing continues to be a mystery. Often, the ad that generates record-breaking volume one month is repeated the following month and bombs. A campaign designed by the best ad agency may elicit a mediocre response. The same item sells like hotcakes after a 30-word classified ad, with abominable grammar, appearing on page 35 of an all-advertising shopper tossed on the front stoops of homes during a rainstorm! The mystery eludes solution but demands attention.
Your marketing results can be improved through a better understanding of your customers. Putting the customer first is probably the most popular phrase used by firms ranging from giant conglomerates to the corner barbershop, but the sloganeering is often just lip service.
Marketing success, however, is more likely if you dedicate your activities exclusively to solving your customer’s problems. Any marketing program has a better chance of being productive if it is timed, designed and written to solve a problem for potential customers and is carried out in a way that the customer understands and trusts. The questions and answers that follow will reveal the mystery of marketing by looking at ways we can put the customer first. These are questions that we often receive in our practice and some of the answers we give. I hope it helps you in your marketing efforts.
How can I set myself apart from the competition?
Client retention is key. The importance of “the relationship” with the customer never diminishes. For most small businesses, developing and exploiting the relationship is the one major advantage they have over the big players who don’t have the time and energy for it in the first place. This boils down to added value. Customers crave it but don’t get enough of it. When was the last time you gave serious thought to providing a value-added premium in customer transactions? Coupons, incentives, giveaways, special events – All of these are very effective when aimed at strengthening customer relationships.
How do I recession-proof my business?
Build a cash reserve. We have all heard the expression “save some for a rainy day.” But what happens when a rainy day turns into a rainy year, or two? Many entrepreneurs and small business owners will be facing this situation in the coming months. The best way to prepare is to set aside cash during more prosperous times. There’s a real benefit to having a long-term business plan that deals with the kind of cash requirements you’ll need in case of a business downturn. For some, building a cash reserve may come at the expense of swifter business expansion. But the alternatives such as borrowing cash, taking out a loan, dipping into personal net worth, or shutting the doors are far less palatable. But wait, you say, isn’t this finance rather than marketing. True but without cash reserves to launch marketing initiatives a marketing program has no chance in getting off the ground. Many people believe that the best time to launch a marketing initiative is when times start to get tough. This is a fallacy. The most advantageous time to launch such a campaign is when times are GOOD. In this way we can invest both our time and dollars at a time when people are more apt to move forward. This approach may be the very thing to keep the recession from knocking on your door.
How can I get former clients back?
Recognize that all customers are at risk. Even satisfied customers can be persuaded to defect to the competition. Do not take any customer for granted. Consider that customer win-back strategies can be more effective than finding new customers. Many experts believe that win-back success rates are far higher than recruiting new prospects. Here’s a few that anyone can implement:
+ Identify all of your products or services that could possibly be of value to your customers.
+ Motivate your customers to use as many of your products or services as possible.
+ Prove to your customers that your products and services offer value that they can not find anywhere else.
+ Keep track of every sale and sort in a database
+ Personally communicate with customers at regular intervals
+ Establish some form of satisfaction rating system
+ Sell peace of mind more than just product or service solutions
+ Admit when you’re wrong and pick up the pieces quickly and effectively.
Make your organization defection-proof. While everybody is talking about customer loyalty today few are taking real action. Preventing customer defection is surely the prime motivation for building customer loyalty, but it also gives us the ability to proactively develop strategies to improve our value and service in general. This is what prevents price sensitivity.
We can literally avoid price sensitivity by how we treat the client. Remember when you’re telling, you’re selling. No one likes to be sold. That’s precisely when they start focusing on the cheapest price. By asking questions we accomplish several goals. We discover valuable information about the customer. We bond with the customer by letting them do most of the talking. And we show that we care by being interested in their wants, desires and motives. This is the most effective way to overcome the price objection and redirect their interest to the relationship.
You don’t need a fancy ad agency or marketing firm to improve your marketing performance. In short my advice is to place the focus on the customer. It’s really about doing the simple things and doing them consistently. Focus on the relationship. Add value to every transaction. Build a significant cash reserve. Keep current customers loyal and win back the old ones. And most critically ask plenty of questions. Show that you really care. I hope you’re starting to see that there really is no mystery to marketing. It’s about putting one foot in front of the other every day and always putting the customer first.
About the Author
Mark is author of The Rules of Attraction: Fourteen practical rules to help get the right kind of clients, talent and resources to come to you!Business Update”. Many of his articles and commentaries have appeared in Business Week, Inc, Fortune, Entrepreneur, MSNBC, Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, and many other publications. He has also appeared on FOX, NPR, CBS and NHK. Mark writes at least one new article every week and comments in numerous media outlets.
Month: September 2009
“Wisdom is the integration of thought and analysis based on accumulated experience.” – Elkhonon Goldberg
Improvement starts with acceptance that a business doesn’t have to be sick in order to get better.
Some years ago the CEO of a 3rd generation manufacturing company asked that I conduct an evaluation of his credit operation. The company was expanding into Europe and with the expansion came greater demands on the ability to extend credit and cash flow. Following breakfast at my hotel the CEO and I drove out to the factory and administrative offices. On the
drive out the CEO continued the story he’d started over breakfast. His grandfather and father had built the business and now he and his brother, who was the VP of sales, were trying to take the company to the next level in growth.
We parked in the back of the building and as we walked through the production area on the way to the administrative offices, we must have passed by at least 20 production people…and there was silence. Not one of the employees we encountered said good morning, hello boss or even nodded…and neither did the CEO.
We met with the CFO, the Credit Manager, the Customer Service Manager, and the A/R and A/P Managers…all women. The brother, he’d stuck his head into the room and then disappeared.
I’d ask a question of the group and as one of the women would start to answer the CEO would butt in…soon the women shut up and the only voices heard were mine and the CEO’s. After I broke up the meeting I went to each member of the group individually to ask my questions.
On the way to the airport the CEO and I stopped for lunch and he wanted to know what I thought needed to be done. I told him that his people were approaching credit and A/R management in an old an out of date risk management way…like many other companies. I told him that I had an associate who in a week’s time could train his staff on our “profit” approach and that he could help organize and document the knowledge needed to ensure proper implementation.
The company president asked why I wouldn’t be doing the training, and I said to him, “I don’t like you.”
The man was shocked. “Why don’t you like me?”, he asked. I was hoping he’d ask and I said to him, “All the production people we passed were brown or black and you didn’t greet any of them and on their part they looked away from us. All the people in the front office are white and every time one of the women in our meeting tried to say something you cut them off as if what they had to say was of no value.” I went on, “I don’t have to look at any numbers to know that you have a high absentee and turn over rate. Morale is bad because the employees don’t like you and that leads to poor productivity and poor work quality. If you want to expand to Europe
you better know that those folks expect quality.”
All was quiet for a few minutes and I wasn’t sure if I was going to have to catch a taxi to the airport, and then he said, “You’re right , we keep retraining new people and we’ve had a big problem with quality and with employees stealing from us. My father and grandfather were loved by the employees and they would do anything for them but neither my brother nor I seem to have that ability.” We drove to the airport in silence.
In my follow up report I suggested to the CEO that he and his brother find themselves a GM (general manager) who liked people and wanted to be liked in return. To his credit they found such a person and things got better, he also had my associate out for the week.
The Point
Great Customer Service starts with great Employee Relationship Management. It Will Make You or Break You
Marvin Minsky in his book , “Society of Mind” says that the human mind is made up of thousands of learned agents/programs none of which on their own define the mind, but collectively they make up the mind. Every business and organization, including government, is a collection of people and none on their own, including the CEO, define the organization but collectively they are the company/organization.
Three Areas of Relationship Management
1. Employees. The highest priority is good relations with employees because if they are unhappy your customers better look out. An old friend once said to me, “If mama ain’t happy no one’s happy.”
2. Vendors/Suppliers. Vendors are critical to your success and if you disrespect and abuse them they’ll get even, and the word (buzz) will get out on your company and then others will demand a higher price to work with you,… if they‘ll work with you at all.
3. Customers. You might be able to get away with abusing consumers because so many businesses do, because they have short memories and because there’s a lot of them and more on the way. Business/commercial customers are fewer in number and they have generational memory. Get on the wrong side of a business customer and you find that long after the reason is forgotten the bad taste lingers on.
In Closing
In human society all real meaningful change comes from the masses. Institutions fight change even if it’s an improvement. James Russell Lowell wrote, “He who is firmly seated in authority soon learns to think security (their own) and not progress.”
In a business change must come from the management team. Business managers need to take time to seek out improvement or they’ll get lost in the day to day details.
It’s up to the top managers to be leaders and set the example of what great relationship management looks like, sounds like and feels like…and if they can’t do it they need to get help.
Abe WalkingBear Sanchez is an International Speaker / Trainer / Consultant on the subject of cash flow / sales enhancement and business knowledge organization and use. Founder and President of www.armg-usa.com, WalkingBear has authored hundreds of business articles, has worked with numerous companies in a wide range of industries since 1982 and has spoken at many venues including the Shakespeare Globe Theater in London.
First, some context. What exactly is an upsell and a downsell and why is it so important to your business?
An upsell is when your prospect has already said “yes” to buying something from you, and then they decide at the same time to buy something else. The classic example of this is the MacDonald’s “Would you like fries with that?’ The customer has already bought a hamburger and now the employee has nudged them into buying something else.
A downsell is when your prospect has said “no” to your initial offer so you present a second offer. Typically the downsell is less expensive than the original offer. So, for instance, the customer decides the MacDonald’s hamburger is too expensive and decides to buy just an ice cream cone.
Now clearly this can and does happen in face-to-face situations. But did you realize this can also happen online?
So for instance, someone buys a product on your web site. Your web site can immediately present them with a second offer, the upsell.
And if the prospect clicks away, because they’re not interested in buying your product, your web site can also present them with a second offer, a lower cost offer than the one they were looking at.
So you’re probably thinking, this sounds a little complicated and I haven’t a clue how to start. Why would I want to do this?
Two reasons —
1. You’ll make more money. When you start using the upsell, you’ll increase your overall purchase amount. For instance, say your product is $100 and you offer a $50 upsell. Let’s say 20% of your buyers take you up on it. Now you’ve made an additional $50 on 20% of your purchases. (This can add up after awhile.)
Now, for the downsell, you’ve saved a sale you’ve probably lost anyway. Let’s say your product is $500, when someone clicks away, you pluck a piece out of the original product, say an ebook, and offer that for $97. Now you’re giving your customers a lower cost alternative, a chance to try your product out before spending a lot more money.
2. If you offer an upsell, you’ll increase customer satisfaction and decrease returns. Yes you read that right. Upsells can actually make your customers feel more satisfied doing business with you and less likely to want to return the product. Why? Because you’re helping them “skip” over buyers’ remorse. We all have buyers’ remorse after we buy something, which is when we regret our purchase. The intensity and the length varies depending on the buying situation. But if you immediately jump into and offer a second purchase, your customers are busy figuring out if they want to make that second purchase versus feeling bad over making the first one.
And if they DO buy, then they’re that much more invested in you and your business and they WANT what you sold them to be what they’re looking for.
And the best part of this whole strategy? It’s automatic. You set it once and it keeps on doing it, over and over again. What could be better?
One final note to chew on as you make up your mind if it’s worth it or not – do you know what the most read page on a web site is? It’s your thank you pages. The page your prospects go to after they sign up for something or buy something. Don’t waste this valuable real estate – put an upsell on that page and watch your bank account grow.
Social media is about valuable communication. Of course, “valuable” is a subjective term, but typically refers to content which educates, engages, or entertains. Great content makes the difference between getting noticed and being ignored.
There are 3 main secrets for great content creation, especially when producing for the social web:
1) Listen to what your visitors want and need. Do you see questions coming up again and again within your area of expertise? If so, this highlights a need your visitors have. This happened a few times recently on Twitter, when a few different people asked for input on various WordPress plugins and techniques. I was able to respond to several of these, which helped me realize more about what kinds of questions people were having with WordPress. It also enabled me to learn something from others who responded to the requester. Great content is in the eye or experience of the user, and most often addresses a question, provides a solution, or moves the person to think differently about their current situation.
The best way to create great content using this principle is to keep track of the questions your clients ask most often, and creating content to meet this need. Another way to use this principle is to pay attention to the media and see what kinds of questions reporters are asking about. You can get reporter queries by using the free (and excellent) service at HelpAReporter.com. By monitoring what journalists are asking for, you know what kinds of questions people have and want answered.
And here’s another benefit: if you track what reporters are looking for, and create content around this, it not only adds to your blog, but it can quickly position you as an expert for future requests. I routinely publish blog posts based on interviews I give, and then use these to create instant credibility to get additional interviews.
2) The second way to create great content is to keep learning. I spend several hours per week taking in new ideas, reading up on new technologies, and improving my knowledge in several key areas. Not only does this keep me inspired (which is crucial to my personal happiness and productivity), but it also helps me speak intelligently about trends and emerging technologies, which boosts my expert status even further. This has been helpful in attracting and retaining clients, as well as helping me get out in front of the media. If you’re not making time each week to take in new ideas, do add this into your business development process. New ideas in means new ideas out.
3) Put parameters around your content production. I first read about this strategy in a book on thinking creatively. Basically, the process involves setting limits around an idea, and coming up with the most creative solution or outcome you can think of. So, for instance, I sometimes try and create the best blog post I can in 3 minutes or less. In this case, time is the limiting parameter. Research has shown that you come up with some of your most interesting ideas when you have two or more parameters in place.
This principle is demonstrated in the very popular “top 10 lists” and other similar content- people have asked a question: “How do I create great graphics for less than $10?”- and the two defining parameters are great graphics + low cost- and then they go searching for resources to meet these criteria. These kinds of lists and resource listings tend to be highly favored and widely repeated.
The whole goal of creating great content is to connect with your ideal market and create dialogue with them. Focus your tools, resources, and energy towards being interested and interesting.
You might just get a whole lot of people talking.
Dr. Rachna Jain is Chief Social Marketer at The Mindshare Corporation. Rachna works with speakers, consultants, authors, and small business owners to develop and execute effective social media marketing strategies. Her proprietary persuasive social media process (sm) focuses on building influence, credibility and visibility online. This translates into greater recognition, increased website traffic, faster lead generation, a shorter sales cycle, and more opportunity for her expert clientele. She blogs regularly at The Mindshare Blog
I recently finished watching Season 1 of True Blood. While I can see why it’s not for everyone, I myself enjoy a good vampire romp, especially when it’s populated by such a nice selection of hot-looking actors (who have no issues showing off their equally hot bodies).
Anyway, it got me thinking about all the vampire stories out there. Vampire legends have been around for centuries and in nearly every society. Vampire movies, shows, books, etc. continually pop up on a frequent basis.
So why all the fuss? What is it about vampires that just won’t die (pun intended)?
Well, I’ve come up with 2 theories:
1. There REALLY are real-life, blood sucking, undead vampires roaming about.
2. There REALLY are vampires roaming about, but they’re HUMAN vampires, sucking the energy, money, health, time and more out of other people. And these vampire stories are actually a combination of cautionary tales (evil vampires we need to kill) and a way to transform and tame our “inner vampire” to something loving and human (the vampire love stories).
For my part, I’ll put my money on number 2. Which leads me to how this can help your business.
Vampires are everywhere. I don’t think it was a coincidence I finish watching True Blood and discover one of my friends and clients was scammed. Con artists and scammers are just another sort of human vampire — typically they’re charming and attractive in some way to their victims (for instance, they’re offering something attractive) then suck them dry of money, energy, time or more.
The thing about vampires is they’re hard to spot. (Vampires look human and in many cases they’re beautiful.) This is why a lot of times you’ll let a vampire in, not knowing it’s a vampire until after you’ve been bit.
Here are some signs of common vampires that can be sucking the life right out of your business:
1. Are there tasks you do in your business that drain you? Typically these are tasks you don’t like doing and you’re probably not much good at them either. Yep, you’re looking at a vampire. The good news is these vampires are selective in who they bite. (Or maybe these would fall into those vampire love stories — one person’s dream vampire love is another person’s worst nightmare.)
Solution — do a bit of vampire matchmaking and outsource, find the people who love those tasks and let them take over.
2. Are there people who drain you? Maybe they’re a vendor or a client you really have trouble working with. They suck up a lot of your time and energy (and maybe even money) and you’re always exhausted after your encounters.
Well, this could be 1 of 2 things — either you have a real human vampire on your hands who makes a habit of sucking the life force out of everyone they meet, or this is like a task vampire. They don’t do it to everyone, in fact they probably don’t even want to be a vampire, but some people bring out the worst in them.
Solution — it’s the same, these people are toxic to you for whatever reason and it really doesn’t matter if they’re toxic to everyone or just to you, you still need to remove them from your life.
From time to time it’s always a good idea to scan your business and your life for any vampires, and if you find any, to send them on their way. Remember, vampires are seductive, so unless you’re looking for them you just might miss them.