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marketing
Pillow Talk & Guarantees
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People prefer to do business with people and businesses they know, like and trust. If one of those elements is missing, customer loyalty will suffer. I know and like a certain large retailer but I don’t always trust them -sometimes they carry cheap products with inferior quality. Consequently, I’m pretty quick to shop elsewhere for certain items.
I was recently traveling to visit family and needed to purchase an extra pillow so I popped into Wal-Mart and bought a pillow that had the store label on it. On the package were the words “3 year warranty.” No details, no conditions, no fine print; just 3 words devised to artificially garner my trust even though I was considering buying a cheap pillow.
Two years from now I won’t remember that this pillow has a 3 year warranty and the merchant knows that. Most people, if they do remember the warranty and happen to save the receipt for a $5 pillow, are likely too embarrassed to return the pillow to the store. The purpose of the “3 year warranty” isn’t to “guarantee” the pillow; it’s designed to portray the merchant as trustworthy. Did it work? Of course it did -I bought the pillow. Even knowing the psychology behind the warranty.
Guarantees are one way of subliminally reassuring potential customers “it’s safe to do business with the person or company.” Just be prepared in the even someone wants to take you up on your guarantee.
If you are uncomfortable offering a guarantee you should consider selling something different. If your customers are too unethical and abusive to offer guarantees to, you should find others to sell to.
If you’re going to offer a guarantee, make it big and bold. In the long run, it sends a message to the world that you are serious about your business and will do whatever it takes to win their trust.
Market Wisely: Dead Mosquitoes and $5 Coffee
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When Starbucks began spreading across the USA in the 90’s, few people could imagine a market for what amounted to be a $5 cup of coffee. Yet, despite the wave of doubts, Starbucks has not only survived but thrived -all by selling what some would consider an overpriced cup of coffee. What is even more amazing is that Starbucks typically only spends 1% of their revenue on advertising compared to 10% (or more) spent by most other national brands.
Even more amazing than a $5 cup of coffee is the story of Nin Nan, of Shanghai whose story was published on the internet several years ago. Mr. Nan, mostly as a prank, posted an add on the Internet website of his jewelry store an add featuring dead mosquitoes. Mr. Nan claims to have received 10,000 in just two days. Sounds crazy, yes it does. Mr. Nan soon began getting requests from other merchants to advertise on his website because of the enormous world wide traffic he was getting.
What these two cases illustrate beautifully is there is a market for everything. Am I included in the market for dead mosquitoes? Absolutely NOT! Are my grandparents in the market for a $5 cup of coffee? Absolutely NOT. The critical point here is that Mr. Nin doesn’t need me, Starbucks doesn’t need my grandparents, and you don’t need the entire world to beat a path to your door. What Mr. Nin, Starbucks, and you need is to strongly connect with the select individuals or group of individuals who are clearly in the market for what you have to offer.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Rank and Yank Advertising
0When Jack Welch was CEO of General Electric, he employed a ranking system in which senior managers were given a grade of either A, B, or C.
“A” managers were optimally productive and “C” managers were either minimally productive or non-productive altogether. “B” managers were what most people would label as average.
Each year, “A” managers were rewarded and “C” managers were terminated.
This practice -which I have only loosely described, is used in variations by many Fortune 500 companies. Often referred to as “Rank and Yank,” the practice has both ardent fans and staunch critics.
I have mixed feelings about “Rank and Yank” as an HR approach but I see it as a highly valuable approach to other areas.
For example, an advertising budget. Advertising venues should be graded and ranked. If a given advertising channel doesn’t produce measurable business, YANK it. The idea that the purpose of advertising is to just get your name out there is outdated. If you are spending money with a specific advertising venue but have nothing to show for it, STOP WASTING MONEY.
Don’t overlook “non-traditional” advertising. By benchmarking the sources of new business, you may discover word of mouth to produce a large percentage of your new business. If you find that word of mouth is a significant source of new business, consider ways to further promote and encourage referrals from your already existing client/customer base.
All of this assumes you collect critical data from new and existing customers. “How did you hear about us?” is one of the most important questions you can ask a new customer.
Nobody Knows Me Like Google
0I’ve come to the conclusion that Google knows me better than my own mother. They constantly push ads in front of me which they believe are relevant to my tastes. Most of the time, they get pretty close. Through the magic of the Internet, Google knows where I live, my political affiliation and that I most likely own a dog. Google knows I like to cook, read ebooks, and look up lyrics of songs from the 70′s. Google knows I like images of beaches and exercise videos from YouTube.
How well do you know your customers?
You probably don’t need to know as much as Google knows but it probably wouldn’t hurt to know more than you do now.
Periodic customer surveys provide valuable feedback about what is right and wrong with your business. Find ways to allow your customers provide written feedback. Ask them what they like, what they don’t like, and what they’d like to see you add to your products and services.
Especially important are the opinions of you’re core 20% of customers who are in what I call your Fan Club.
Marketing Rules Have Changed
0Marketers no longer have the power to command the attention of anyone they choose, anytime they choose. Consumers can report violations of the do-no-call list, fast-forward through your TV commercial and report unwanted email as SPAM.
Consumers have more power than ever before. Marketers must show respect. That means no SPAM, no irrelevant messages, no deceit, no broken promises.
Via the Internet, dissatisfied customers can tell hundreds and thousands of potential customers what a rotten job you’ve done.
The rules have changed, have you?
