What Customers Want... But Won't Tell You

We all know the "customer is always right." But did you also know that the "customer is always lying?" Maybe not so much as lying as not telling you what they're really thinking. Yes, you can put out the occasional survey to get impressions of your business but by then it might be too late to fix things.

What a customer won't tell you might end up hurting your business especially if it is keeping that customer from coming back for repeat business. Here are five things that customers wants but won't tell you up front.

They want your staff to look good.

This doesn't mean you have to hire runway models as your sales staff. However, appearances do matter. How your employees dress and groom themselves sets the tone for your business. If you're running a sports bar then tattoos, piercings and wild hair will fit right in. However, if you're selling carpet you don't want a motley crew being the face of your business. Set the dress code that is appropriate for your business and make your new hires aware of those codes before they agree to the job.

They want to matter.

When a customer walks into a store they should be greeted by a friendly staff member and asked, "How can I help you?" This lets them know that their business is appreciated. That same kind of relationship can be built through an online store. If a customer sends an email query, try to answer that right away. Hopefully, it will be a personal answer. Whenever possible, provide your customers with the opportunity to comment on your business. This can happen through social media, email survey or even directly on your website. When they feel that their business is appreciated, they'll come back for more.

They want contact.

Like it or not, we're living in a 24/7/365 type of society. Our news is around the clock. Same for our TV watching. Many big grocery and convenience stores are open 24 hours. The same can be said for gas stations, diners and doughnut shops. In other words, we're getting used to getting what we want whenever we want it. Your business needs to make the effort to appeal to that same desire of immediate satisfaction. This doesn't mean you need to keep your doors open around the clock. However, having a voice mail system where a customer can leave a message will go a long way towards providing that feeling of being open 24/7.

They want consistency.

It's difficult to image a business that won't have some level of staff turnaround. From a customer's perspective, they might have grown accustomed to working with a specific salesperson or staff member. They've built up a relationship. That's important for a loyal customer. When a change in staff occurs, try to reach out to your loyal customers and let them know what is going on and assure them they're needs will continue to be met. 

How To Get Good Reviews

 

Everybody is a critic. It’s amazing how much we all rely on reviews and not just professionally written pieces but the “word of mouth” from our friends. How many times have you been turned off from a movie because your friend said it wasn’t good? Thanks to the internet we have even more opportunities to share our reviews. Giant ecommerce site Amazon was first to allow customers to post their own reviews good, bad or indifferent. Now every business that sells a product has gotten into the act with this very effective and low cost method of online marketing. While it is true that administrators of sites can edit or delete reviews it might be better to be honest with your customers. The hope is that the majority of reviews will be positive.

How can you get great reviews for your product? Try these helpful tips:

Write Them Yourself

This is nothing dishonest about this. You’re selling a product you believe in why shouldn’t you share your opinion? You also have direct access to your own circle of friends and family who can help your business a great deal by writing reviews and posting them. Don’t think for a minute that other businesses aren’t doing this because they all do!

Offer Rewards for Reviews

While it’s true that every customer will have an opinion about your product, that doesn’t mean every customer will be motivated to write and post a review. Why not provide them with a little added incentive? You can offer them a discount coupon or a free product for every review they post. Just ask them to send you the link for verification. This can be an ongoing online marketing campaign to help spread the good word of your company. You might also want to encourage them about disclosing the incentive. There’s nothing wrong with a review that says, “I got a coupon to write this but I would have written it anyway!”

Make It Easy For Your Customers

If you’re an ecommerce business then a lot of your customer interactions could be through emails. You can add a signature to every email that is sent out asking for a review and inserting a link where they can post it. For instance, it always helps to have reviews on your site but if you know you can get a good posting from a customer send them over to Yelp or one of the other review sites. When you provide them with the link you’ll not only make it easy for them but also introduce them to a site which could be beneficial for their own use. It’s win/win all around.

Share Your Reviews

Once the word gets out there is nothing stopping you from sharing those positive reviews on your own site. You can copy and paste reviews from Amazon or Yelp onto your own testimonial section of your website. Don’t have a testimonial section? Get one!

15 Great Guerilla Marketing Ideas for Startups

The term ‘guerilla filmmaking’ refers to creating a film or video with the barest of resources. That same principle applies to guerilla marketing. This is where a small business can latch onto a simple idea to get the word out about their goods or services. Startups benefit the most from a positive guerilla marketing campaign because of their potential to generate a “big splash” without huge marketing dollars. Here are 15 great guerilla marketing ideas for startups:

1) Put Themes to Work: Anything from special sales to in-store displays can attract more attention when you apply a theme to the event. While the seasons and holidays are good starting point, don’t be afraid to think outside of the box like a “Christmas in July Sale.”

2) Reward Loyal Customers: Handing out a discount coupon to loyal customers will not only generate more of their business but will help get the word out to other potential customers.

3) Start a Blog with Unique Content: If you’re in business, you need a website and that website has to be refreshed with great content. Start a blog and give visitors something new to read or comment on every day.

4) Go with a Viral Video: If you can find a way to get the word out about your product with a video that can go viral you’ll be in a strong position to capitalize on that. Try hiring a young team of college film students and make it funny.

5) Pass out Swag: Sure you can print your company logo on a pen and pass those out but that’s also a bit of a cliché. Today, you can print your logo on just about anything. What can your customers really benefit from? Cup cozies? Cupcakes? Remember you want to create a buzz.

6) Build up your Twitter Network: Encourage customers to follow your company on twitter then use that network to advertise special sales or deals.

7) Switch out your Phone Message: Forget the boring, “We’re not here right now”, swap it out for something fun like, “We’re unpacking product for our next sale.” Make it personal.

8) Ask for Testimonials: If you’ve got happy customers ask them to share their experiences on your website or Facebook page (yes, get one of those too!). New customers like reading positive reviews.

9) Improve Customer Relations: Offer your employees incentives for the most positive customer reviews. When you create a great experience for customers they will keep coming back.

10) Sponsor an Amateur Sports Team: You can’t ask for better community relations than sponsoring a local sports team or two. Just make sure you get your company logo on all the team uniforms.

11) Support a Local Cause: Another way to make a positive impact in the community is to sponsor a local cause. Keep your giving in the neighborhood where you’re customers will see the efforts directly.

12) Use Texts: As with other forms of social media networking, text messages are a great way to remind your customers of special sales or a pick up appointment.

13) Flyers: A slick looking flyer is a great way to generate business. Make sure you have a coupon on the flyer to track their effectiveness and give the person a reason to hold onto that.

14) Make it Personal: If you can find a way to tell your family business story through a local newspaper profile or video then you’ll reach a lot more potential customers by relating to their own struggles.

15) Create a Publicity Stunt: Don’t go too overboard, but even having someone dress up in a chicken outfit to pass out coupons in front of your store can draw attention. It would be especially funny if your store had nothing to do with chickens!

Can social media help with your small business?

Social media has quickly become one of the best ways for a small business to compete against bigger players in their industry. For a business, creating a social media strategy not only allows you to create a personal connection between your brand and your customers - it also gives you the opportunity to:

• Build customer loyalty

• Create great customer service through interaction

• And lower your customer acquisition costs in the long run.

A recent survey by Michael Stelzner, provided interesting data that was shared in the 2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report . What was found that small businesses who follow a social media marketing strategy received two times more qualified leads than those of businesses that didn’t.

As you can see, social media helps bring your brand in front of your potential customers much more easily than any other marketing strategies and at much lower costs. To be successful in your social media efforts there are certain things you should follow:

• Offer valuable content: Determine what your prospects need and try to fulfil it with great content. Will the content that you offer help them solve their problems? For example, for fans of your Facebook page, you can offer discounts, contests or exclusive promotions that reward them for their loyalty.

• Be consistent: Make sure that your communications are frequent and connect with your customers on a regular basis. If you haven’t updated your Facebook page over time, don’t be surprised if your prospects start leaving.

• Be visible on multiple social media platforms: Don’t just depend on one social media platform for your customer outreach. People are all over the web, having profiles on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter all for different purposes. So, make sure that what you post is unique to the platform you’re on.

Along with strengthening your brand, social media has another advantage thanks to Google. It helps in your search engine optimization strategy. With the Panda update, Google has declared that social media activity will play a large role in how a website will rank in search results. The more people share your content through social media and link back to your website, the more Google will look favourably upon you.

Customers are looking for more than just a transactional relationship with their favourite brands. When you create an atmosphere that allows your prospective client to connect with your company by voicing their opinions and suggestions through social media, you gain their trust. This trust translates easily to higher revenue as it makes lead conversion easier.

How to Make Yourself Invaluable to the Customers

Let's face the facts. If you ever believed that attracting new customers was your biggest business challenge, you were sorely mistaken. Winning customers is less than half the battle. The bigger challenge, most business owners would agree, is how to keep them. After all, if you devoted most of your energy in trying to attract a customer to you, logic dictates that someone else is also trying. Therefore, you have to work extra hard to retain that customer, rather than their moving to the competition.

But, how do you put that theory into actual practice? If you have developed a successful service or product, chances are very good that your competitor is working on an improved version. And, the improved version just may sway the customer from you to the competition.

The human aspect is a vital component of success. You have to create an environment that a customer will regret leaving. Certainly, business is about sales and strategies, finance and finesse. It's also all about people. Becoming more than a supplier of goods and services is the secret link. Learn to appreciate that your customer has needs outside of normal office hours. Be ready to go the distance for your customers and they will remember. Make their concerns your concerns, even at the risk of having a major headache. Also, think outside the box. How can you help your client's business, above and beyond what you already supply? Work hard to make yourself an extension of your client's enterprise. The customer should know and feel that you can always be counted on, no matter what or when, even if they only need advice. True, talk is cheap but it can be an investment with a fantastic return.

From the first time a new customer comes through your door, approach the moment as the start of a long term relationship. If you proceed along those lines, you will have laid the foundation for a bright future.

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The Key to Customer Relations

Here's a timely riddle. What is the definition of a terrific sale with no customers? The answer is – Useless.

The dust has not yet settled on the recent recession yet tomes have been written, countless lectures have been delivered, and editorials that can bring a tear to your eye have become the fashion. Yet, when all is said and done, pointing fingers and laying blame will change little. Unless we walk away from the financial warfare having learned how to prepare for the next time, all will have been for naught.

A common misconception was that retail failures were due to customers not shopping. That is not exactly correct. While true that consumer spending was reduced, it did not stop. There is always a need to purchase. However, shoppers became far more particular about what they purchased and where.

A secret to retail success lies in the relationship between the vendor and the customer. Consumers are far more likely to continue supporting a particular establishment when they feel an emotional tie. As such, building a strong bond with your customers is your best strategy. They will be far less likely to abandon you, even when times are bad.

It is a mistake to think that "the sale of the century" will drive traffic your way. Certainly, you may encounter a one-time success. But, after the sale ends, customers are far more likely to return to the friendly merchant who places an emphasis on efficient, courteous service. Customers prefer to frequent establishments where they feel like someone, not something. If you always stand behind your products and services, people realize that you are providing true value. Keeping your customers satisfied – no matter how difficult that may sometimes be – is the key to customer longevity. And, at the end of the day, that puts money in the bank.

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