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Sunday, May 29, 2011
Word of Mouth Marketing Challenge your friends, associates & raving fans
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Saturday, May 28, 2011
What is your passion? Turn that passion into business.
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What is your passion? Turn that passion into business.
Draw up a plan and strategy to build a raving fans army. The secret is simple. It’s all about building relationship and acknowledgements.
Need help with this? Bob offers a comprehensive program that helps you create and implement a specific strategy based on your specific situation. Call for a free 15 minute consultation to get started.
Do you know - and better still do your folks (friends, family and neighbours) know:
- Where you are going?
- Why they should support you?
- The end result?
Real Example: I met a Real Estate Professional who wanted to stand out from the competition. Whenever I asked her what made her stand out she listed all the things that other Real Estate agents said about themselves.
In frustration, I realized that this strategy did not help her. I changed my approach. I asked her, “What is your passion in life?”
“Oh”, she said, “That’s easy!” I am passionate about making sure cats and dogs get shelter. I want to be a board member on the humane society.
I then moved back to the old question, “What makes you stand out in your business?” and she repeated the old lines. I switched the direction of the questions slightly.
“Now, how many homes in town have pets?”
“I believe about 75% to 80%.”
“How do you help animal owners with their pets when moving?”
“I help the owners and the pet’s distress, offer grooming, identify good areas to live, help with deodorizing homes and give coupons.”
“So…you are the Pet Friendly Real Estate sales person!”
“Wow!!!” Her eyes lit up.” “That makes me REALLY stand out from my competition!!”
Exercise: Make a list of your passions - like pets or the environment or any other issue that stirs the heart. Identify that group and join it.
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Friday, May 20, 2011
Well-designed customer survey can improve your business
Mr. Bob Cassels has a unique and valuable service to offer small businesses – surveying.
About 5 years ago, Bob, which had previously owned a research company, decided to provide a more hands-on service.
His firm will plan and conduct survey/response programs at the customer, employee, and management levels.
Each is a very powerful tool, with powerful results.
A business can benefit from one, or a combination of the three.
“Recently, we did a customer survey by mail for a specialty printing company with over 1,500 customers,” Bob Explained.
“There had been a change of management and they were not sure how customers reacted. There was an incredible response to the first mailing – 10%. We obtained a great deal of valuable information which, in turn, led to improvements in both service and products.”
“More importantly, the very fact of an organized survey being run by an impartial third party generated a lot of renewed interest in the company from customers who had slacked off previously. The Client estimated that the business generated as a direct result of the survey ‘event’ more than paid for the cost of the program!”
In the example cited, the client learned that it was actually serving a number of widely differing markets with differing needs. As a result, it decided to segment its marketing and communications so that each market got exactly what it needed, and no more. This in turn led to even greater overall sales.
Bob emphasizes that his techniques and methods are unique to his firm, and they are “proven to perform”. He has purposely set his business to fill the market niche at the affordable spectrum because he is aware that small and medium-sized enterprises could not possibly afford the fees charged by large research firms catering to the mega companies.
Keep the Customer Satisfied
Providing excellent customer service means more than just a handshake and a smile - although that helps too.
Successful business operators believe that examining your customer needs, providing full information about all your products and services, and responding quickly to mistakes will keep clients coming through the door.
...Hanging onto the customers you have by providing excellent service can be more important than seeking out new customers. says Bob Cassels of The Cassels Corporation.
Cassels offers a "customer retention and rejuvenation" plan that helps companies retain the valuable clients they already have.
About 80% of most businesses comes from 20% of your customers, says Cassels, so it's important to keep them happy.
Companies lose 68% of their customers due to an "attitude of indifference", followed by 14% who are dissatisfied with the product.
"Focus a little less on new sales and more on the 68% you could potentially lose from indifference. By analyzing the service side of your business you can determine if you truly understand and meet your customers' needs," Cassels notes.
Keep that Competitive Edge
The marketplace is changing - and customer service must keep in step. We are now in a market-driven economy, where the customer dictates what is needed. Companies must respond or get left behind.
The world is getting smaller as the global economy grows.
l The new technologies (Internet and Blogging) have, to a large degree, eliminated the borders to competition. This is the beginning of a trend that will affect our ability to compete.
l Products are manufactured in countries, which offer skilled labor at low wages. There are no real differences in products. A golf ball is a golf ball, a valve is a valve, and a TV is a TV. Companies realize that to compete, they must keep their costs down and quality high.
The Bottom Line: products are interchangeable, everything is the same and the customer chooses among them. Customer service is the key to attracting and keeping your customers.
Focus on increasing Customer Share rather than Market Share by improving customer relationship - one customer at a time. Your ability to communicate the uniqueness of your product or service to your customer is vital to your company’s success.
The first step toward open communications is to eliminate emotions. You need to diffuse a customer’s fear and anxiety before meaningful communications can begin. So listen to your customer and read the emotions between the lines. The most successful method is to let the customer talk, freely. Create an atmosphere where the customer is comfortable and believes he or she is in control. Demonstrate your responsiveness by acknowledging your customer’s concerns, as well as promising to meet his/her needs. Now the foundation has been laid. Communicating should be a simple task.
Based on the data gathered from our confidential customer perception profiles, it appears that only a few Customer Service Representatives respond to the real needs of their customers. Representatives tend to stop listening and make assumptions of what the customers want. They then steer them to solutions, which only partially address the customers’ concerns.
Communication is like good manners. Be polite and invite your customers to discuss their needs. Customers want respect. They believe that they have paid for it. They want to tell you what their special situation is. Please don’t assume that you know what the customer wants - avoid jumping to conclusions.
Customers rarely state their real needs and fears. This requires probing and repeating their responses back to them to obtain confirmation. What you are really doing is building a trusting relationship with each individual - one customer at a time.
For example, if your customers are seniors, how does your service address their needs? In many cases you are providing them the opportunity to communicate (talk) with another person about a particular topic. They may be just lonely. What has this got to do with your product? Everything and nothing! But if seniors are your market, then you need to understand their needs.
If you are dealing in technical products, and your customers are first-time buyers, the service you provide becomes even more vital. Take your typical VCR, and realize that only the engineers know how to operate it. What is the customer’s biggest fear and need, typically, not to be embarrassed, and to walk to away with simple, easy-to-follow instructions on how to run the VCR?
In both cases the need is not the obvious product or service. It is the more subtle understanding of where the customer is coming from. Let go the attitude of “let me show you how much I know “ and change it to “how can I make this experience be a pleasant and productive one for both of us.”
Competition is everywhere, so you need a way to stand out from the crowd. Your imagination, knowledge, and ability to identify customer needs and offer solutions will give you the competitive edge.
