Complaints!! Bane or Bonus for Business?

Can you imagine a company that loves getting complaints? Even to the extent of giving the customer something minor to complain about, just so they can handle it?

It may sound like a crazy proposition. But some leading companies overseas, and here as well, will go to that extent. And it makes good sense. They know that a customer who is disgruntled, and doesn’t get satisfaction, will often say NOTHING to the company, but will sure tell a lot of other people. This causes damage that could have been avoided.

On the other hand, if the customer complains, and the company is seen to do everything it can to fix the problem fast, then the company is a hero and can promote the fact. (“We’re not perfect, but we’ll do everything we can to keep you happy when something goes wrong!”). What’s more, the customer becomes their greatest advocate. The important thing is to KNOW when a customer is disgruntled to have a policy firmly in place for fixing complaints then to ENCOURAGE customers to come forward.

One bank overseas ran an ad that showed a person looking at the reader with the headline: “My salary is paid by the bank, but I work for you!” … with the theme that the bank was more than a big impersonal monolith… it cared.

Think of a number of cases where you’ve stepped in and fixed a problem, to be profusely thanked by the customer. Are you missing any complaints that could be spreading around the community? Maybe now’s the time to SEEK complaints.

Marketing? Where do you start? How does a 72.8% lift in sales sound?

Few businesspeople can actually define what 'marketing' actually is. And the thought of having to do marketing can be daunting. Yet they (and YOU), are already doing marketing every single day, whether you realise it or not.

Marketing is your single most leveraged profit multiplier in your business. You can impact your profit line with just subtle twists on what you're now doing. And here's the really good bit. You only need to focus on 3 areas to get a massive jump in revenue. Those three areas are:
- the size of your client base
- your average value of a sale, and
- the frequency with which clients purchase.

Now just in case you're about to say you've heard this before... here's a critical point.

This blog and the supporting tools I create for small businesses are NOT about 'telling' you the obvious. They're about SHOWING YOU EXACTLY HOW to implement strategies to achieve the outcomes. And helping you set your priorities in an otherwise frantic day. Of course, once you uncover the dynamic behind such a strategy, often it IS obvious! Commonsense.

So what if you set an objective to improve each of the three areas of focus by 20%? You'll lift your revenue by 72.8%! I guarantee you, it IS worth doing. So take some time now for this mini-audit of your current marketing. First up, ask yourself:  

Focus #1 - Increasing the size of your client base

- Do you test different headlines on your ads and measure the outcomes?
- Do you test different offers?
- Do you tell your FULL story on your website and in your literature?
- Do you script the wording and role play how to deal with phone enquiries?
- Do you have a script and a system for generating more referrals?.

In just those five initiatives to increase the size of your client base, the leverage for increasing your profits is breathtaking. Testing headlines can multiply your number of enquiries by twenty times.

Testing offers up to three times. Role-playing how to deal with phone enquiries can DOUBLE your success on the phone. And so on! These are real figures, not theory!

And this is just scratching the surface. Let's look briefly a:

Focus #2 - Increasing the average value of a sale

- Do you articulate the full value of your services and charge what you're worth?
- Do you train all frontline people in professional selling and customer service?
- Do you test packaging products and services together?
- Do you have a SYSTEM for cross selling?

Again, these are just a few of the options open to you to increase your average sale value. Do nothing different than now, and chances are, it is costing you dearly in lost profits.

Finally, how can you increase the frequency of purchase by your client base?

Focus #3 - Increasing the frequency of purchase

- Do you have a 'client communications calendar'?
- Do you find ways to say thank you?
- Do you plan special events and actively create reasons to add value to your clients?


Where to from here?

Start doing 'stuff'. Remember, if you can implement initiatives to lift each of those three areas by 20%, it puts 72.8% on your revenue line. Do the numbers on what that does to your profit line! And work with your accountant too on ways to get your costs down as well, and your profits could well soar by over 100% or much more.

Why you should consistently seek PR...

You may be amazed at how receptive the media is to your story. If you have been performing ‘awesome’ feats for clients, and your clients love you for it, TELL your story to the business magazines and the daily press. Of course, they won't be interested in something that is a straight plug for you. But if it is tied to a theme ... like small business making a success ... winning against the odds ... helping others to succeed ... adding value to others in creative ways ... then that IS news.

When you DO succeed in getting a write-up, you'll get a boost to your profile and to your credibility. ‘If it’s editorial, it must be true!’ But the potential doesn't stop there. With the publisher’s permission and acknowledgement, reproduce the article and use it in every way you can... mail it to your clients, to your prospects, or add it to your testimonial sheet. In short, one simple article can work for you for YEARS.

If you'd like more strategies to bring your business success in these unstable times go to: www.resultscorporation.com.au ... for a free report.

Record your gems!

If we had a dollar for every time a client has called me, or come up to me at a seminar saying, “I can't write a good ad or a sales letter. I just go blank” ... and then, when I ask them what it is they do, they proceed to articulate beautifully a string of powerful selling points about what they do! My usual advice is, go write that down now! There’s your sales presentation right there.

Here’s an even better tip. Grab a friend and a voice recorder. Your friend must be someone who's prepared to listen to your ramblings. Then, with the voice recorder set, proceed to tell them why they should buy from YOU, why your product is better, more efficient, longer lasting, more durable... whatever ... and mention all the extra special things you do that customers love you for.

The point is, you KNOW what sells. It’s just that often we get a mind melt when we try to write it down. Also, record yourself actually selling your product or service, perhaps on the phone. Having done that, you'll have the seeds of brilliant copy!

Sign up to my free strategy briefs for more small business tips.

Check out my sample articles.

The hidden profits in a Multiple Contact Strategy

At one of our ‘boot camp’ workshops, presenter US marketing guru Jay Abraham had the entire audience stand up. Then he said, “Please sit down if you responded to Results Corporation’s FIRST letter inviting you to be here”. Some 15% of the audience sat down. “If you responded to the SECOND communication, please sit”. Another 10% or so sat.

After he’d repeated this several more times, there was still some 35% of the people standing! What he had so graphically demonstrated was that unless you have a MULTIPLE CONTACT STRATEGY, you are going to MISS OUT on a massive amount of sales. Especially if yours is a high ticket item purchase. (Our boot camps were $4,500+)

Also, vary your communications. One might be a letter … another a letter and CD, another an email … You might include a series of testimonials, samples of your product or special report, an ‘act now’ offer … and so on. You can have a lot of fun with this and you’ll boost your campaign results!

For more great gems like this one, sign up to my free bi-monthly strategy briefs at: http://www.marketinghelponline.com.au/enterprise/3-membership-sign-up-options.html

You can also find some great 'sample' articles on my website: www.marketinghelponline.com.au

Improve your business' conversion rates

This riveting interview reveals how one business owner improved his company’s sales conversion rate from 1 in 19 … to 1 in 4 …

The interview is just over 12 mins in duration, and chock full of profit making insights to have you challenging YOUR sales processes.

Click here to hear it now: www.marketinghelponline.com.au/1.mp3 (12 mins 18 secs)

For more great ideas, sign up to my free small business marketing strategy brief emails.

Also check out the great sample articles at my website: www.marketinghelponline.com

What ONE element in your marketing has the potential to multiply your results 300%?

What ONE element in your marketing has the potential to multiply your results 300%? In a word, your OFFER. But what constitutes an offer?

It can be a myriad of things… a price reduction, a free trial, a discount coupon, a free information kit, an extra strong guarantee, a free survey or consultation, free seminar, easy payment, small gift, creative ‘value add’ …

One swimming pool company once offered ‘An extra 5ft of pool if you buy in the off season’ …

You need to test different offers for different markets. But they are an easy and simple way to get up to 300% more of your prospects to ACT NOW.

Compare ‘50% discount’ with ‘Buy one, get one free’. Same intrinsic value, but the ‘Buy one get one free’ proposition has performed better time after time. Yes, by up to 300%.

But there’s a catch. Even with a seemingly good offer, all too often the initiative underperforms. Why might that be?

Typically, it’s because the value of the offer is not developed correctly. Or more accurately, the perception of value isn’t fully ‘dimensionalised’. If the promotion simply states: ‘Send now for a free information kit’ … there’s no perceived value. However, if the promotion explains that this free information kit has 14 little known ‘trade secrets’ revealed by leading experts, or that it reveals the 8 most vital questions you must to ask before making a buying decision … or whatever … THEN it becomes more desirable.

By painting the picture of its usefulness and value, it’ll have highly qualified prospects beating the door down… eagerly giving their name and a whole lot of other vital information to get hold of the offer. Which means you’ve now got a database to nurture into customers.

In summary, what separates a ‘good’ offer from a poor offer has a great deal to do with PERCEIVED VALUE you build around it. In some instances, I advocate devoting almost as much space to describing the benefits of the free information kit as to the product or service itself. One ad we ran for a client was all about the information kit offer, and boosted responses 3,000%.

You can check out my website for some great sample articles at: www.marketinghelponline.com

For more great ideas, sign up to my free small business marketing strategy brief.