All Posts Tagged With: "customers"

A recent study by Rasmussen Reports on behalf of credit card company Discover Financial Services turned up a shocking statistic: 46 percent of the small business owners surveyed said it’s a myth that every business needs a website.

Huh?

The report goes on to say that while the number of small businesses with a website has grown 36 percent in the past two years, only 45 percent of the owners polled currently have one. Of course, that means that 55 percent of small businesses do not have a website. The most common reason given (41 percent) for not having a website was that it is not needed. The second-most common reason (19 percent) was that is costs too much.

I understand the cost objection – it is expensive to put a quality website online. But it has should be viewed viewed as a capital investment, just like a new roof, a delivery truck or an upgraded computer system. It’s part of the cost of doing business.

But not needed? I guess there might be some small businesses out there that don’t need to attract new customers, don’t need to keep their old customers happy, has no need to even make their phone number and address available to the public.

A website, no matter how simple, should function as the hub of your inbound marketing activities. All roads lead back to your website, where you have an opportunity to take prospects into clients or customers.

Popularity: 1% [?]

(Second in a series)

When it comes to writing persuasive copy, set aside your ego and focus on the customer. They don’t care about your experience, your awards, your family or your plans for the future. They just want to know how you are going to meet their needs, satisfy their wants and solve their problems.

Persuasive copy gets inside the head of your specific audience and anticipates their questions, their doubts and their concerns. Persuasive copy deals with those issues by focusing on the customer.

If you were selling a health insurance plan to small business owners, which opening do you think would attract more attention: “Let me explain the Smith-Johnson Employee Health Benefits Plan” or “Are you tired of getting inferior health coverage for outrageous premiums that threaten to put you out of business?”

Obviously the second approach is far more attention grabbing. The first approach is focused on the seller; the second touches on an important issue that affects hundreds of thousands of potential customers.

A great way to ensure you are focusing on the customer and not yourself is to count the number of time you use “you” vs. “us” or “we” in the copy. Two “yous” for every “us” or “we” sounds about right.

In writing persuasive copy that focuses on the customer, it’s essential to understand their point of view. Conduct focus groups, attend trade shows and talk to your current customers to get to know the way they think, what’s important to them, and what motivates their decisions. Speak to those points in your copy and you’ll push the buttons that trigger them to do what you want.

(Next: Stress Benefits)

Popularity: 42% [?]

Branding is one of those nebulous marketing concepts that everyone seems to define differently. Thanks to a fast-paced and entertaining presentation by Marty Neumeier of the San Francisco-based brand consultancy Neutron, LCC, branding comes into a bit more focus. A few key points he makes:

Let’s start off with what branding is NOT:
• A logo
• An identity
• A product

Definition: A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service or organization.

It’s not what YOU say it is. It’s what THEY say it is.

Why is branding so hot?
• Because people have so many choices and too little time.
• Most offerings have similar quality and features.
• We tend to base our buying choices on trust.
• Trust equals reliability and delight. Trust comes from meeting and beating customer expectations.

Here is Marty’s full presentation.

Popularity: 86% [?]

I’m a sucker when it comes to free reports. If I come across something online that looks useful or interesting, I’ll gladly give up my email address for the privilege of downloading it.

Of course, the downside is my inbox is immediately flooded with a steady stream of emails asking me to subscribe, buy, join or otherwise spend money for some product or service. A few examples, without naming the guilty parties:

• After downloading a free report on October 20, I have received 14 emails from one company, including two on one day and three on another.
• After downloading a report on Nov. 1, I’ve received seven emails from another company, including two in one day.
• In a third instance, I’ve received 80 emails from a company I downloaded something from on June 26.
• By coincidence, a client I work with showed my an increasingly aggressive, almost annoyed series of emails he received from a company begging him to sign up for a several hundred dollar coaching course.

So, my question is this: when it comes to autoresponding systems, how much is too much? Once a day? Twice a week? Three times a month?

At what point does the recipient become numb and stop paying attention? Or worse yet, unsubscribes? Now you’ve turned off a potential customer who, at one point at least, thought you had something valuable to offer?

Popularity: 24% [?]

When the going gets tough, the reaction of many small business owners is to pull back on their marketing and public relations efforts. It’s a quick, easy way to save money.

It can also be a deadly decision. What happens when the economy picks up and customers start spending money again? Will your business even be on their radar screens?

Rather than pulling back, small businesses should pick up their marketing pace when things are slow. But instead of spending gobs of money trying to court news customers, why not concentrate on the one’s you already have?

Aftrer all, you’ve probably already spent considerably time and money wooing them in the first place. You’ve already overcome the toughest hurdle: you’ve gotten them to give you a try. They’ve liked what they saw and they bought.

Now, you want to keep them coming back. Again and again and again.

How do you do it? The easiest way is with great customer service. Anticipate their needs. Solve their problems. Smile a lot and tell them how much your appreciate their business.

Try a customer rewards program. Send your loyal customers a special offer, a discount, a two-for-one deal. Make them feel important as your customer.

Another possibility is a referral program. Give your customer an incentive to introduce friends or family members to your product or service. You win two ways: you thank your loyal customers in a worthwhile, tangible way, and you open your market to new potential customers who are, in a way, pre-qualified by way of endorsement.

How about former customers? Ones who bought from you in the past but, for one reason or another, stopped. Try to bring them back with a special offer designed especially for former clients.

Slow times can be scary for small business owners. But imagine how you’ll feel when things pick up and you’re left behind.

Popularity: 27% [?]