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What Your Customers Really Think

July 23rd, 2008 | Comments | Posted in Customer Retention, Customer Service
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Marketing Sherpa provides great information and guidance on what works, and doesn’t, in all aspects of marketing.

They recently published a chart reflecting the results of a poll conducted with webinar attendees. The results, if you’re a vendor, should be eye opening.

Why do you lose business? Why does your customer loyalty stink? The lie we tell ourselves is that our competitors offered a superior price. The truth? Our service sucks.

If you’re into pain, take a look at the following chart and link through to Marketing Sherpa’s analysis (but be forewarned, they only make these results publicly available for a limited time…):

Source: Marketing Sherpa - Customers & Vendors Disagree on Loyalty

Source: Marketing Sherpa - Customers & Vendors Disagree on Loyalty

Marketing Sherpa’s Analyis: http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.html?id=30719

It’s easy to blame the boogeyman of price. We do it all the time with outsourced services and offshore products but in the absence of justification for your higher prices – i.e., the extreme competitive advantage that superior service provides – then everything becomes a commodity. So if your service sucks and your prices are higher than your competitors, be afraid, be very afraid.

On the Lookout for Reciprocal Marketing Opportunities

July 12th, 2008 | Comments | Posted in Marketing
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Torn MeniscusAt my physical therapist’s recently working on rehabbing my knee after a partial meniscectomy, I asked him if he knew the folks at the Runners Roost shoe store across the street. He said he hadn’t met them but he’d probably sent 40 people over their because they’re about the best around when it comes to fitting your feet to the right running shoes.

I asked him if he didn’t think that there might be a reciprocal marketing relationship there? After all, people go to a high end running shoe store for two reasons, in my opinion:

  1. They’ve got bad feet; arches are flat, they overpronate, etc. and/or
  2. They’re really serious about running and they need a custom fit…

In either case, it’s likely that a certain percentage might need physical therapy. My wife, for example, has an alignment problem that orthotics haven’t helped but physical therapy might.

And if a guy comes in and introduces himself as the fellow who’s referred 40 potential customers, a store owner might just want to return the favor by

  • Referring customers with PT needs
  • Organizing an in store seminar where said physical therapist – a very nice guy and extremely competent PT named Jason Cherry of Belmar Physical Therapy, P.C. – might talk to the Runners Roost’s clientele about avoiding injury while running, etc.
  • Placing a link on their website to Jason’s
  • Buying Jason a beer or all of the above.

The point of all of this? There are always businesses whose customer base overlaps with yours but with whom you do not compete. Look for opportunities to partner with them in a way that mutually increases your opportunites, sales and profits while adding value to your customer’s experience. Apart from word of mouth and referals this is one of the most powerful marketing strategies around!

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