Paul Elliott
09-17-2008, 09:57 AM
While we are on the subject of customer relations (See Tip #27 in this section and the free e-course in my signature below.), learning to think like your customer is vital
Not only must you learn to think like your customer, but you must practice thinking like your customer--and continue to practice it. Until you can learn to "get into the head" of your customer and understand him or her, you are committing massive waste--a waste of time, money, and talent.
While it's true you may succeed in you business without this thinking and practicing, you will certainly not succeed as well.
If a business which does not have a policy of thinking like its customers feels it is succeeding, the next important question is, "Succeeding? Compared to what?" I frequently get the response, "We're succeeding compared to our competition." However, those same businesses usually don't have a clue how they are doing compared to their competition. All they know is that they are able to pay their bills and they may see that there are more customers.
The reason they have no clue is that they are not testing. They are not testing anything, much less everything, as they should be doing. Testing and measuring are essential to know how your sales and marketing are doing. Only then can you know what you need to change to improve your customers' responses and your sales.
It is true that testing and measuring take some time and usually a little money. However, the return makes each of those negligible . . . but only if you use the data you collect.
Too often the business owner will collect data but fail to use it. An example would be the fish bowl a restaurant owner will place for business cards for a weekly drawing for dinner for two. Customarily the owner will neither count the number of cards collected each day of the week throughout the year (nor save the cards for additional marketing). This when compared to the numbers of diners each day and the average ticket per day is very powerful information.
What is the real value of those business cards? Most often the restaurant owner will simply throw away the cards when the drawing is over and start filling the bowl again for the next week. This is a very shortsighted move.
The people who will leave their business cards have begun a process of communication. They have given you permission to contact them. That business owner should certainly enter their addresses into a database and send those people cards with coupons and specials, offer them special free meals during their birthday months, make the cards a coupon (for a limited time) for 2-for-1 meals for as many people as they can bring in for a single meal. The possibilities are only limited by your own imagination.
That restaurant owner will double his business in a single year merely by getting each customer, by reason of special offers, to come in twice as often during the next year. The same principle applies to most businesses in one form or another.
Want to double your business in the next year? Can you stand it? (Most businesses can't stand doubling their business in a year!) If so, stay in contact with your customers and build your relationship with them!
In the pursuit of more and better businesses!
Paul
Not only must you learn to think like your customer, but you must practice thinking like your customer--and continue to practice it. Until you can learn to "get into the head" of your customer and understand him or her, you are committing massive waste--a waste of time, money, and talent.
While it's true you may succeed in you business without this thinking and practicing, you will certainly not succeed as well.
If a business which does not have a policy of thinking like its customers feels it is succeeding, the next important question is, "Succeeding? Compared to what?" I frequently get the response, "We're succeeding compared to our competition." However, those same businesses usually don't have a clue how they are doing compared to their competition. All they know is that they are able to pay their bills and they may see that there are more customers.
The reason they have no clue is that they are not testing. They are not testing anything, much less everything, as they should be doing. Testing and measuring are essential to know how your sales and marketing are doing. Only then can you know what you need to change to improve your customers' responses and your sales.
It is true that testing and measuring take some time and usually a little money. However, the return makes each of those negligible . . . but only if you use the data you collect.
Too often the business owner will collect data but fail to use it. An example would be the fish bowl a restaurant owner will place for business cards for a weekly drawing for dinner for two. Customarily the owner will neither count the number of cards collected each day of the week throughout the year (nor save the cards for additional marketing). This when compared to the numbers of diners each day and the average ticket per day is very powerful information.
What is the real value of those business cards? Most often the restaurant owner will simply throw away the cards when the drawing is over and start filling the bowl again for the next week. This is a very shortsighted move.
The people who will leave their business cards have begun a process of communication. They have given you permission to contact them. That business owner should certainly enter their addresses into a database and send those people cards with coupons and specials, offer them special free meals during their birthday months, make the cards a coupon (for a limited time) for 2-for-1 meals for as many people as they can bring in for a single meal. The possibilities are only limited by your own imagination.
That restaurant owner will double his business in a single year merely by getting each customer, by reason of special offers, to come in twice as often during the next year. The same principle applies to most businesses in one form or another.
Want to double your business in the next year? Can you stand it? (Most businesses can't stand doubling their business in a year!) If so, stay in contact with your customers and build your relationship with them!
In the pursuit of more and better businesses!
Paul