Cathy Stucker - The Idea Lady

Attract Customers and Make Yourself Famous

Your Business Telephone Image

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telephone-imageYour customers’ first impression of your business may be formed over the telephone. What image do you project?

Who answers your phone? Working from home is fine, but have a separate phone line. You don’t want a family member (such as your three-year-old) answering a business call. She may be adorable, but not when I’m trying to place an order. You also don’t want your customer to hear, “MOOOOOMMMMM! PHONE FOR YOU!” Having a separate business line also allows you to ignore business calls outside of normal business hours, if you want to.

When you answer, do you sound perky and cheerful, or like you just rolled out of bed? Even if you did just roll out of bed, make it a habit to sound “up.” Put a mirror next to the telephone and remind yourself to smile. It makes a difference.

Who or what answers when you’re not there? The absolute worst thing is when the phone goes unanswered. We’re in the 21st century. Get yourself an answering machine, answering service or voice mail. I’m always surprised when I call a retail business and don’t even get a recording telling me when they are open. Sometimes, that’s all I need to know.

An answering service can be nice, but if you can’t have a live person answering all the time, have a message on your voice mail that lets callers know when to expect a call back. If you can, give them information about your web site or other ways to get information while they’re waiting for your call.

Of course, a bad answering service is worse than no answering service. If you use a service, call your office now and then to make sure that the phone is being answered, the operator is friendly and helpful, and they are able to answer basic questions about your availability.

Do the same test with your answering machine or voice mail. Is the recording clear and at the proper volume? Do you sound professional? If there is a menu, are the choices clear and easy to follow?

Make sure your outgoing message is to the point and your voice is upbeat. Unless it directly relates to your business, a “cute” message is probably not appropriate.

Some voice mail systems allow multiple mail boxes and announcement boxes. These can be used to give callers information about your hours or location, your web site, how to place an order, upcoming events or other standard information.

If you have calls transferred to your cell phone, be aware of your surroundings when you answer a call. If you are in a place with loud music or other background noise, it might be better to let the caller leave a message and call them back when you are in a quieter place.

Return calls promptly. Callers want to hear from you, the sooner the better. Hey, is that your phone ringing?

Make Customers Feel Special

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customers-feel-specialWe all like to think that we are, at least in some way, special. After all, as we were growing up, Mom must have told us thousands of times how special we were, right? If you make your customers feel special, they will feel good about doing business with you.

You may be surprised at how easy it is to do this. Here are a few simple things you can do to show your customers how special they are.

Compliment them. Everyone likes to hear compliments, when they are true and sincerely delivered. Say something nice.

Comp them. Give them something free. This has the most impact when it is unexpected. Put a little something extra in with their next purchase, “just because we appreciate your business.”

Thank them. Saying thank you at the time of purchase is nice, but follow up with a handwritten note thanking them for being your customer.

Remember them. When you remember something about a customer, they will be impressed. That might mean remembering the name of their spouse or child and asking about them, or asking how their trip to Italy went, or about how their last purchase is working out for them, etc. Sending a birthday card or other communication to show you are thinking of them can also make a positive impression. (Can’t remember all of this stuff about all of your customers? Write it down. Keep customer records to refresh your memory.)

Go out of your way for them. When there is a problem, take care of it. Show the customer that their business matters to you.

Make them feel like part of an exclusive club. Invite them to special events, give them a preview of your new products or early access to your big sale, give them inside information that they can use, or otherwise make them feel that they are getting something that most people do not.

Give them personal attention. Upscale stores offer personal shoppers and other hands-on help. How can you provide the assistance and attention that will make your customers feel valued?

It is not necessary to do all of these things to make your customers feel valued. You might choose ways of recognizing different groups of customers, so that you are not doing exactly the same things for every customer. Recognize the differences between your customers and respond in ways that will make each customer feel that they are special to you.

Knowing When to Shut Up

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shut-upMany people tell me that they have trouble talking to others about their businesses. But many more people have the problem of knowing when to stop. We’re probably all guilty of this now and then–I know I catch myself sometimes–but if it’s a habit it is costing you customers.

Telling too much can take several forms. You may go on and on about your business to the point where listeners get bored. The solution to that one is simple: sit down and shut up! Learn to watch your listeners for signs that they are losing interest. When you see those signs, make sure you switch the topic back to something they will find more interesting–them!

You may be so busy telling someone what your business can do for them that you don’t take the time to ask questions and listen to the customer talk about what they need. Doing so accomplishes two things: your customer feels valued because you took an interest in their needs and opinions, and you learn about what is worrying them so you can better solve their problems.

You may feel that you have to give customers minute details of how your product or service works. Every step of the process you use, the inner workings of your equipment, and other details may be fascinating to you, but the customer cares less about HOW you are going to do something that what results you will get for them. Don’t be so in love with process that you forget WHY you are doing what you do. Focus on the WHY with your customers.

Last but certainly not least is what a friend of mine calls being “too honest”. It is not only unethical, it is stupid to lie to customers. You may make today’s sale, but you will ultimately lose the customer along with your reputation. But it is just as stupid to tell too much truth–that is, truth that doesn’t matter to them but may turn them off.

Think of it this way: if someone asks you “How are you?” you don’t say, “Well, my spouse and I had a fight this morning over my drinking, and that really aggravated the ulcer I got over my upcoming trial for tax evasion. But at least my kid’s finally getting out of jail! And by the way, you are really ugly.” That might seem truthful, but it is not information that is relevant or useful to anyone else. And it will not leave a positive impression.

I see similar situations where business people tell customers all the reasons they shouldn’t buy what they are selling. If a customer asks if your product can do “x” and it can’t, tell them. If during the conversation you learn something about their needs that your product can’t do for them, let them know. That’s honest and helpful. But don’t just focus on all the deficiencies you can think of in your product. It gives a negative impression, and the things you see as deficiencies may not matter to the customer. So what if “it only comes in blue”? That’s not a problem to me if I want a blue one. Leave out the “only”. Don’t give customers reasons not to buy from you by accentuating the negative. It’s not honest and it’s not virtuous, it’s just stupid.

So, next time you hear yourself talking too much, stop. Take a deep breath, then say the magic words, “Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?”

It’s a Sale!

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Everyone loves to get a bargain, and that includes your customers. Offering special pricing for a limited time can be a way to get them to take action and buy.

Many business owners are wary of having a sale. They are concerned that lowering their prices, even temporarily, diminishes the value of their products or services. Or that they will lose full-price sales they would have gotten. Although each market is a little different, it is generally true that offering a sale will not have these negative effects, and will result in sales you would not have otherwise made.

Before having a sale, determine what your goals are for the sale. Do you want to get rid of excess inventory? Introduce your company to new customers? Or perhaps generate income during a traditionally slow time of the year? Your goals will determine how you structure and promote the sale. Here are some things to keep in mind when planning a sale.

Will you discount only some products or services, or offer an across-the-board discount? If there are certain products you want to clear off the shelves, focus on those. Instead of a percentage discount, consider special pricing when customers buy multiples to clear the shelves faster. Do you have a service that is especially attractive or useful to new customers? Discounting that service could bring you lots of new customers who will return to buy more. Or get existing customers to bring in new customers by offering a “bring a friend” promotion, where one person pays full price and the other is free. If you simply want to make a lot of sales in a short time, offering a discount on everything may be a good choice.

How can customers qualify for the sale pricing? Do not make it too complicated. Make it automatic or at least simple, such as presenting a coupon or asking for the discount. It is fine to impose some conditions. A deadline is important. Set one and stick to it. You might also require a minimum purchase to get the sale price.

How long should the sale last? You may decide to run it for just 24 hours, or a week or longer. Much longer than a week takes away some of the sense of urgency. Giving a short time frame stresses how important it is to buy now.

What will be the presented reason for the sale? To avoid diminishing the value of your products and services, or causing people to expect the special pricing all of the time, give a reason for the sale. It could be an end of the year clearance, or an off-season special, or, “I need money to pay for my daughter’s wedding.”

How will you make people aware of the sale? If you have an email list or mailing list, send notices to everyone. Put the sale on your web site. Include it in advertising. If you have a retail location, post signs.

Having a sale can bring an infusion of cash and customers when you need them most.

Fixing Mistakes

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My bad.Do you ever make mistakes? How about your employees? Assuming that all of you are human, chances are that sometimes you screw up. The measure of great customer service is not that customers never have a problem. It is how those problems are handled when they occur.

Whether you shipped the wrong product, or made a billing mistake, or missed a deadline or . . . whatever the mistake, what the customer cares about most is getting it fixed. How you handle the situation will affect your future relationship with that customer, and what he or she tells others about you. Here are a few simple things that can turn an unhappy customer into a friend for life.

Own the mistake. Admit that you were wrong, apologize, then immediately let the customer know that you are going to fix the problem. Accepting responsibility goes a long way toward diffusing anger.

The customer generally doesn’t care how the mistake happened. Do not bore them with a lengthy explanation of the process and why it happened. It sounds too much like making excuses. They probably do not care for the details of how you are going to correct the problem, either. They care about the result.

Ask the customer what he or she wants. Often, they will ask for less than you would have been willing to offer. That doesn’t mean that you must do everything the customer asks; however, it may give you a simple solution or at least a starting point. If the customer makes unreasonable demands, you can work from there to find a compromise solution.

Exceed expectations. Send a replacement immediately, without waiting for the customer to return the defective or incorrect item. Ship it overnight if they have an immediate need for the product. Give them a little more than what they expect to make up for the inconvenience your error caused.

Follow up. After fixing the problem, call to make sure they are satisfied. Did they receive the result they paid for? Most customers will be amazed and delighted that you cared enough to check.

But what if there was no error and the customer is out of line? There are customers who have unreasonable expectations, and the customer is not always right. Should you do everything they ask? Not necessarily. If the customer is truly unreasonable, you may not care about preserving the relationship; however, you do not want them to spread negative word of mouth, or escalate, perhaps to a law suit.

One way to diffuse the situation may be to simply offer an apology and a refund. Weigh the cost of the refund (Did you incur expense that is not recoverable?) with the cost of continuing to deal with an increasingly unhappy customer. Not only may they harm your reputation and turn other customers against you, the energy you spend dealing with the situation can be harmful to your and to your business.

Oh, and when you give them the refund, be sure to include a referral to your most-disliked competitor!