Independent Thinking » Customers

Your Customers Are Not Morons

Daria Steigman — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:02:29 +0000

This should be obvious, right?

[Insert BIG SIGH here.]

There’s a lot of talk these days about “empowered consumers” and what this means for companies. It’s an issue for pricing and sales, and for what consumers want and expect from the brands we interact with.

We have more information than ever a mouse click, search term, or social scroll away.

There’s a big gap between the empowered consumer and many sales and customer service teams.

Case in point. I was shopping around the other day for information on Internet service providers. Mine has been very reliable–but the price has gone up astronomically. So here’s how the conversations went.

1. Existing provider said they felt my pain. Customer service agent put me on hold for a couple of minutes while he (maybe) went off to see if he could give me a different service or a better price point on this one. Came back and spouted a company line about having only one speed of service and that I was paying the standard rate for that. I told him I was going to cancel. Said he would be sorry to see me go.

The rate I was paying was $7 over the highest rate listed on the company’s Web site. The base rate was 40% lower than what I was paying.

2. Prospective company’s sales guy wants to know what I’m paying now. Not relevant, I reply, I want to know what options you offer. Sales guy asked what provider I have now. (Nice try, same answer.) Then he starts talking about bundled new services–which I say is not what I’m asking about either. Finally, he quotes me a price.

The price he quotes me is 25% higher than the rate listed on the company’s Web site. And it’s for completely unbundled service–and I already have one service through this company.

They must think we’re morons.

Clearly, companies have a long way to go in understanding how the Internet–let alone social platforms–impacts the business/customer relationship.

Photo by macinate (Flickr).

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Bigotry is Not a Business Strategy

Daria Steigman — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:08:07 +0000

You’ve probably heard that Lowe’s pulled its advertising from reality TV show All-American Muslim. The home improvement company says it made a business decision based on its assertion that the show is a ”lightning rod” for “strong political and societal views.”

The show isn’t the problem.

Lowe’s made a reactive decision based on a fringe Florida group’s disapproval of the company’s initial decision to advertise on the TV show. Now, somehow, Lowe’s is surprised by the backlash.

Like most business owners, I choose to work with people and companies I like. And I’m conscious of my brand. And my reputation. I also “own” my choices and my decisions.

So far, Lowe’s has done neither.

Bigotry is not a business strategy. Unless, that is, your strategy is negative PR, a firestorm of media attention, and a lot of customers who won’t be back anytime soon.

Photo by Niloy (Flickr).

6 Sales Questions Every Business Must Know

Daria Steigman — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 09:04:51 +0000

I’ll be the first to admit that conversations about CRM, lead times, funnels, and sales systems make my eyes glaze over.

Maybe it’s because I’m a small business. Or that I’m a fan of paper, pen, business cards, big red desk calendar. Or that every time someone starts talking about sales systems all I hear is jargon, jargon, jargon. Or that it really isn’t rocket science.

Mike Schultz broke the elements down nicely during a Webinar last week on The Art of Sales Conversations. The gist of his message was that it’s all about bridging the “conversation gap” between what you deliver and what your prospect wants. And then understanding how to talk the (right) talk.

Which brings me to the six sales questions every business must know.

Can You Answer These Questions?

My big takeaway from Schultz’s presentation is six questions you better be able to answer about your business:

Who are your ideal customers?
How do you help? (What needs do you address?)
What value do your clients gain from working with you? (How do they describe it?)
What are your core offerings?
What is the proof that you can do what you say you do?
What makes you distinct? (How do your customers describe it?)

If you can’t articulate your target clients, the target need, the business value, your offering, your proof points, and what makes you unique–then how do you expect anyone else to buy what you’re selling?

Photo by Holger Zscheyge (Flickr).

Why Tablets Are the Next Big Thing

Daria Steigman — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 09:04:39 +0000

Amazon just unveiled the Kindle Fire, a lower-priced entry into the tablet market that seems to be more e-reader than productivity tool. Add that to the Vizio tablet, which sports a more conventional Android interface, and tablet wars may be coming to a superstore near you.

Of course, it didn’t take Amazon to tell me that tablets are the next big thing.

Here are two stories, one business and one consumer, that illustrate this.

Exhibit 1: Potbelly rocks the lunch line.

In my experience, sandwich shops with long lines at lunch time are doing something right. By that measure, the Potbelly on 3rd Street, SW, is a pretty special place.

At the store near my home, you wait in line, order at the counter, and then wait again for your sandwich to come out of the heater before picking out your toppings.

Not the 3rd Street store.

This store has equipped an employee with a tablet, and he places orders about 10-15 customers back in the line. This means your sandwich is ready to customize when you reach the counter. It’s efficient, and it creates a more-seamless process. I’d go back there anytime.

Of course, the live music helps too.

Exhibit 2: My mom wants an iPad.

I’m going to push for a Galaxy Tab instead. But I digress…

Before my parents went off on a road trip last month, I started getting lots of questions about data rates and where she might be able to read her e-mail while out of town.

Then they stayed with friends who had a summer home equipped with wifi–and an iPad. And my mom not only checked her e-mail daily but also caught up on the news without being tethered to one place.

My mom is online regularly. She has a digital subscription to the New York Times, leaves comments on news sites and the occasional blog, watches videos on YouTube, skype[s] with her grandson, and even dipped one toe into Twitter. And she and my dad watched a recent presidential candidates’ debate online. But that’s all on a desktop computer.

Until now, she’s been comfortable with the Web as a destination. Now she wants the Web where she is.

Mobile matters, and I think tablets are going to be game changers. But what say you?

Photo by isawnyu (Flickr).

Are Customers High Maintenance?

Daria Steigman — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:21:23 +0000

I read a LinkedIn question the other day that asked whether companies should spend more time focused on their core business–and less, perhaps, on social media. While I don’t think this is really an “either/or” question (you have to do both), I also think it’s pretty clear that if companies spent more time doing what they do best, there’d be less need to be reactive online.

Being reactive, of course, isn’t an invention of the digital age. It’s a challenge that typically arises from limited resources, organizational silos, and/or a failure of imagination. Just as you don’t need a survey to know what good customer service looks like, it shouldn’t take bad press to know cutting corners is a bad idea.

So what’s changed?

In The NOW Revolution, Jay Baer and Amber Naslund suggest that:

“Possessing the time and information required to make sound product, pricing, operations, and customer service decisions is a luxury–a luxury that’s facing extinction.”

Yes–and No. Companies today get rewarded for excellence–same as they always have. But companies that have been coasting can’t get away with it (as much) any more.

I’ve heard some people say that, in this age of the real-time Web, customers are increasingly high-maintenance. As a customer, I think we’re empowered.

As a business owner, I see this as a good thing.

What say you?

Photo by Katherine Johnson (Flickr).

3 Tips to Turn Prospects into Customers (or Clients)

Daria Steigman — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:53:18 +0000

It’s not often that I spend a full day listening to other people talk–and sit through it all (or at least most of it). But the GrowSmartBiz conference yesterday held my attention.

There was a lot of terrific content, and I’ll post more fully over time. But I thought I’d pass along 3 tips from SmallBizTechnology‘s Ramon Ray on how to turn prospects into customers | clients:

Be flexible about what you are offering (and don’t nickel & dime people).
Follow up. You should “date your leads and marry your customers,” said Ray.
Be a true resource (including educating customers & providing value).

What would you add?

New Survey Highlights What Customers Want

Daria Steigman — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:53:50 +0000

Interesting takeaway from the Interbrand survey of consumer attitudes toward 32 major banks and financial services companies.* Turns out that the survey of 2000 households found that 53 percent don’t trust their own bank; and even more–64 percent–don’t trust financial service providers.

What consumers want:

“integrity, transparency, responsibility, and empathy”

What the heck were we (consumers) putting up with before?

This should also be another warning sign to companies, especially big brands, about the need to rethink their business operations and how they tell their story. What do you think?

______________
*From Interbrand New York CEO Alan Bateman in remarks yesterday during a Webinar hosted by Thomson Reuters.

Photo by takomabibelot. Flickr Creative Commons License.

Companies Need to Ask the Good–and the Bad

Daria Steigman — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 20:55:30 +0000

My car dealership called me to ask about my recent service experience. It went smoothly, and I told the customer rep. that. He asked me what I liked about their service department, and I gave him two specific reasons why I keep bringing my car back. And that was that.

After I hung up, I realized he didn’t ask me what I didn’t like or what I thought they could change. If he had, the dealership would have learned that I find the “miscellaneous charge” junk fee insulting, and that I tell people to steer clear of their body shop, which lost my business after they lost my front license plate and lied about it.

Are you asking your clients or customers about the good, the bad, and the ugly? If not, you’re missing a big opportunity to get invaluable feedback from the people who are already invested in you.

Estee Lauder’s Folly

Daria Steigman — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:52:53 +0000

Estee Lauder has raised the bar on its purchase “giveaway” from $1.00 below the price of not-so-cheap-to-begin-with moisturizer to $1.00 above. Which means you either leave without the extras or spend money on something you don’t want. Or option 3: change brands. There’s a lot of competition out there.

Let’s be clear: Although cosmetics companies put a dollar value on their giveaways, it doesn’t cost them that much. The aim of the promotions is to generate sales and customer loyalty.

So why would a company risk alienating customers, especially during a recession?

What Do Your Clients Need Today?

Daria Steigman — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:18:58 +0000

I received an absentee ballot in the mail the other day. Only one problem: I didn’t request one. I used one in September for the local (non-presidential) primary, but planned on trekking to my polling site this time. I guess I’m voting early this year.

Before you anticipate your customer’s or client’s needs, it’s useful to make sure those needs haven’t shifted over time.