The Mythbuster
Be forewarned! The BizBlogger is on a mission today!
BizBlogger has preached for months about the ‘sins’ of poor customer service and extolling, largely through example, the ‘virtues’ of GREAT customer service.
As one would naturally expect, it’s absolutely impossible to give exceptional customer service IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHO YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE AND WHAT THEY VALUE!!
Oooops! Pardon me. The BizBlogger confesses to being a little passionate about this particular topic. So, let’s get to know your customers a little better and I bet that in the process, we ‘bust’ more than a few preconceived notions about them and how they think.
Myth #1 – Customers Are Only Interested In The Best Possible Price!
Boy! If you believe THAT whopper, the BizBlogger has some fine property for you to buy – conveniently located in the highly developable ‘ HAY SWAMP !’
Would it surprise you to know that just 9% of customers value price above all else? NINE PERCENT!! So why in the Hell (Oooops! Told you I was passionate about this!) do 99% of business owners set [low] prices designed to appeal to just a very small portion of the market; to the total exclusion of the other 91% that don’t put price above everything? Sure! They’ll take advantage of your low prices – they’re not stupid after all – but you could have gotten their business WITHOUT the extra discount.
Guess what? Fully 68% of customers decide from which business to purchase based upon how well they are treated by the people associated with the business! Being polite is not sufficient! One doesn’t have to be rude to do nothing to enhance customers’ experiences at your business. Polite indifference is sufficient to make most customers decide to go elsewhere and make their purchases.
Myth #2 – Customers Who Shop Online Aren’t Interested In Coming Into My Store!
Newsflash! ‘Shopping Online’ is NOT the same as ‘Buying Online’! However, if you insist on equating it to something, consider ‘Online Shopping’ as being synonymous with the act of ‘Window Shopping!’
Nearly 70% of customers who ‘shop online’ are simply doing research and actually PREFER to buy ‘bricks and mortar!’ Just as significant, fully 25% of Internet searches begin locally.
Don’t have a webpage? Guess what? You’re missing out not just on sales, but LOCAL sales to boot! Hmmmmm…maybe that new-fangled Internet thingy is worth looking into after all!
Myth #3 – Men Buy ‘Men Stuff’ & Women Buy ‘Women Stuff’!
Maybe you’re half right. In fact, something like 80% of household purchasing decisions are made by the female head and not the male as shopping lore would have us believe! This includes those sacred bastions of maleness: vehicles, houses, home renovations, and electronics. Here, the ‘X’ chromosome also dominates, not the ‘Y’.
Home Depot has spent millions redesigning its stores to be more ‘female-friendly’. They have also invested heavily in expanded product lines (ie. power tools) designed to be easier for women to use. Furthermore, they have paired this strategy with new home-repair classes geared specifically to the handy-WOMAN! Coincidentally (okay, maybe not, otherwise the BizBlogger wouldn’t have a point!), up until the recent housing industry troubles in the U.S. , Home Depot was breaking all kinds of company profit records!
Myth #4 – When A Customer Asks About Price, They Are Objecting!
As business owners, we are often almost apologetic that we have to CHARGE for our products and services.
I can’t tell you the number of times the BizBlogger has innocently inquired as to the price of something only to be given an on-the-spot discount! Why is this a problem? Because the BizBlogger was only enquiring in order to figure out how much money to pull out of his wallet! Of course, not even BizBlogger will look a gift-horse in the mouth – I generally don’t refuse such an unexpected windfall.
However, like many customers inquiring about price, the BizBlogger had already committed to the purchase. The additional discount was totally unnecessary and served only to decrease the profitability of the business. In the majority of instances when customers ask about price, they are actually picturing themselves completing the transaction. This leads to two main conclusions: 1) Try to avoid introducing price into your conversations with customers – let them do it as it’s a major buying signal; and 2) When customers start asking about price, it’s time to CLOSE!
The reality is that most business owners UNDERCHARGE for their products and services. Discounting to close the sale, especially when customers really don’t expect it, only compounds this problem.
Myth #5 – Women Watch Soaps & Men Watch Sports!
In truth, more women watch sports than watch soaps! Surprised? If so, you might want to look at your target market demographics and more importantly, make sure that your marketing activities are effectively reaching them. Given this example, if you were advertising on TV (ie. to reach women in general) during soaps rather than certain sporting events, your marketing would be less effective.
The point of this illustration is simple. Often we as small business owners don’t take the time to properly research our target market and instead, depend more upon stereotypes, personal bias (ie. knowledge as a consumer yourself), and ancient history (ie. the way it was 2 decades ago or more). In some cases, we get lucky. Too often however, we miss the boat as it leaves the dock and our marketing and sales activities are far less effective than they otherwise could be.
In Closing…
Do your homework. Get to know your customers, learn what they value and figure out what makes them tick. Then you can build your business around EXCEEDING their expectations through EXCEPTIONAL (ie. tailored) customer service (notice that the differences between yours and competing products and services becomes almost moot at this point) and at the end of the day, your customers are happy (ie. actually, thrilled because they don’t expect such treatment) and reward you with their loyalty. And loyalty, as they say, is worth 10 times the value of a single purchase. Sounds like a win-win proposition to the BizBlogger if there ever was one.
Have a great weekend! The BizBlogger and Shopping Princess will be together again in the Windy City . Could a ‘Princess’ posting be in the works? I wonder…!