When talking with clients about what we are going to say in their ads, one of the first questions I ask them is, “Why should I shop here?” And then I tell them that they can’t say because they have the best prices, best selection of product, or best customer service. You would be amazed at how many cannot give me a good answer. They go on and on about service, price, selection, 20 years in business and all the other things that all of competitors are saying too.
Then I give them a challenge. Before our next meeting, I ask them to put a note pad beside the phone, and write down what callers are asking for or about when they call or come through the door. What problems do they have? What kinds of things are you delivering, and which ones are you not currently offering or providing. Why did they contact you? And I ask them to do the same with website comments, and if they have field staff, have them do the same thing. And this, by the way, is for both positive and negative comments and questions.
In those questions and comments, you can discover what your customers are REALLY looking for, and what is important to them. And it may not be what you think. Business owners often get so caught up in what they think is important to their customers, that they don’t take the time to find out what actually is important to them. Believe me, they will tell you. But, it may not be obvious at first, and it will take some practice to catch the nuggets of gold.
When I owned a service business, we made appointments with a two-hour arrival window. But rather than leave customers afraid to go to the bathroom for two whole hours in case we showed up, we called our customers prior to the arrival window and told them when we would be there. And we kept them up to date if anything changed. Many could stay at work longer or spend more time doing what they wanted to do, rather than sitting at home waiting for us to arrive. On the very rare occasion that we were late, they got an instant discount, without having to ask for it. We did the job well too, but really, that is the price of admission. Customers expect you do be professional and do the job right. This shouldn’t be what you hang your marketing hat on. I can tell you that this approach went a long way in building a 97% customer satisfaction rating. You see, we knew that they wanted the job done right. But we also listened and realized that they also wanted us to show up on time and respect their time. We did, and we won many, many loyal customers.
Listen to your customers. They will give you all the ideas you need for your marketing and advertising campaigns.
