There’s a very cool thing about customers. In my experience , when they want something , there’s a very simple 3 prong model that they go about using to evaluate whether they will buy that something. Unless your customer is buying something massive from you , like a business division or a fleet of front-end loaders , they will follow this model almost to the T. I have gotten into the habit of explaining these three things to a customer over the phone before they even ask – and every time I don’t provide the information freely they enquire – like clockwork. Before I explain what that 3 prong model is , let me explain how powerful it is first.
It doesn’t seem to matter whether that customer is a business , or a consumer , or a non-profit – the model , if implemented correctly, will overcome all sorts of crummy stuff about you and your business. If you get the model right , your customer support can be crappy. You can show up in a crumpled shirt with droopy eyes from lack of sleep (yep – that’s me). You can speak in broken English and smell of booze from the night before. Your staff can forget to answer their phones , and they can be grumpy when they do answer them. They can make mistakes. They can take a sick days leave to lie on the beach.
Your business can do all of these things, and your customer will not give a shred and will thank you profusely for being such an awesome supplier if you get the 3 prong model right. I realise it may seem like a bit of a derivative of the 4P’s of marketing (Price , Product , Price and Promotion) – but I contend promotion and place are less critical to your business if you get these three right , and that the other 2 don’t quite relate exactly to what a customer really wants from you.
Without further ado , here it is , presented in the form of questions the customers asks when making a purchase.
Is this what I want?
Businesses lose a whole heap of money each year to not having what customers want. Note – I don’t say what you think they want , or even what is close to what they want. I’m talking about delivering exactly what they want , down to the last tiny detail. No exceptions , no details left out. EVER. One tiny thing , such as an alarm clock which ticks too loudly at night , suddenly goes from being a useful wakeup tool to being a useless insomnia generating irritation.
I went to Woolworths and found a shirt I liked. It was a sure sale for Woolworths but for one thing – the colour. I wanted a specific colour. (not an uncommon colour – pretty much a standard blue – AND THEY HAD IT IN THE PICTURES OF THE SHIRT ON THE LABEL). They didn’t have stock. They contacted all the other stores. They didn’t have it either. After spending an hour moping around the store , I got a “sorry , we can’t help”.
They lost the sale. All because they didn’t have a semi-popular colour. I didn’t spend my money at Woolworths that day. I was a disappointed chump who went home shirtless.
Don’t be like Woolworths. Don’t lose that sure sale. Find out where customers are buying your products and services and go ask them what they are looking for. Don’t do surveys or get opinions on a new product you’ve developed. Don’t do any kind of market research. I believe market research is unnecessary and out-dated.I now believe in buying research. Right when that person wants to buy something , right before they swipe a credit card at the till or sign on the dotted line , you eavesdrop on the comments and opinions they give and then see whether they go through with the purchase or not. That is the most potent form of product specification gathering. It was difficult before because you couldn’t very well waltz into a Woolworths and ask a customer what they thought of a product on the shelf – you would be thrown out. With the power of technology ,however , such as the Google Keyword Tool – there are a number of ways to get information like that right when the customer is hot to buy. Right when he has all that juicy marketing information that really matters. Right when he basically tells you all of the prerequisites to taking his money.
When you have gathered that information , make sure your products match every single detail – without exception. Even if you think you know the customers needs better than them – give them exactly what they want anyway. It can be a tough pill to swallow , but its true. Convincing customers they need something is way harder than just selling them what they already want – even if you know your idea is better. If you have to upsell on their needs go ahead , but know that you are making their choices more complicated than they need to be , and their purchasing will be delayed.
When Can You Deliver?
Always have a time frame. Even if they don’t ask for one – give it.
Customers love love love timeframes. They get off on receiving timeframes. They enjoy holding a “but you promised” card – and they enjoy it even more when they can throw the card back in your face if you don’t deliver.Customers get all excited the closer that delivery date comes , even if the thing you are selling is a boring accounting system.
Which reminds me of status updates. Its secondary to a delivery date , but it feels just as good. Send your customers SMS’s or emails to tell them stuff is happening. Even if nothing is happening , tell them you’re still thinking about them and “so and so” is dealing with the issue.
Then stick to your timeframes. Deliver on time. Always. Show up when you say you will. Get that stuff installed when you promise you will.
Delivering on your timeframes is actually easy. The trick is to give a timeframe that is an easy goal (within reason). If you know it will take 3 days – tell the customer it will take 5. If you hope it will take an hour – say it will take 4. You will look like a boss when you deliver early , and competent when you deliver on time.
How Much Is it?
Get your pricing right. Steal your competitors pricing information and then go below it by 5%. If you have the product research done right (buying research) , then you will have exactly what the customer wants. The customer will buy a less feature rich product or an inferior product if it is cheaper and does exactly what they want. Post-purchase customer service , durability ,quality, design and other factors (as long as they are within reason) fall flat in the face of price. They will be a very far fourth and fifth consideration to the other three. This is why so many cheap Chinese goods are such successful sellers. They’re delivered on time , are what customers want and are priced right.
I’m not suggesting you go out and sell cheap crap – far from it. But you will still make sales and generate profits if you do.
So to cap it off :
- Timeframe
- Pricing
- Match customer buying needs
And by the way , put these 3 things on your website and any other marketing material you have. Make sure you describe them in detail – each prong for each product. Detail out all aspects of the 3. Don’t skip one – EVER. Customers get frustrated when any of the above is not there.