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.

Want to 'close' more sales? Try 'opening' with more questions...

Here's an easy test for you to try next time you're in a one-on-one sales situation.  Consciously observe how much you’re TELLING … and how much you’re ASKING.  You may find the results of this experiment very interesting.
 

Unquestionably THE most powerful approach in selling is by asking questions: questions about your prospect, their situation, their needs, and what they're looking for.

The temptation however is to revert to TELL MODE.

A salesperson needs to be like an investigative doctor, asking about the symptoms of a patient to diagnose the problem before prescribing the treatment.  In the case of the doctor, doing it any other way would be professional malpractice.  Not asking questions in selling is malpractice too.

The great thing about asking questions and listening to the prospects answers is that you can then ‘prescribe’ the solution exactly for their needs, and use their language. 

Remember this phrase: “Based on what you've told me, 'X' would be the most appropriate service/product for you.  Remember how you said you are looking for …”

Easy.  Powerful.  And so few salespeople do it effectively.

The Concept of ‘Soft Dollar’

The concept of ‘soft dollar’ is a simple concept. But hardly any businesses harness it effectively. 

It allows you to value add to existing clients. It allows you to develop strategic alliance relationships that get you endorsed into other client databases ... and it gives you the tools to take away the focus from price and minimise the need to discount. 

So what IS ‘soft dollar’? 

In a nutshell, ‘soft dollar’ is something you have, or can create, that has a HIGH PERCEIVED VALUE, but costs little to produce or source. 

Take a pizza store. That’s an obvious one we’re all familiar with. 

The first pizza they sell a customer is encumbered with all the overheads ... wages, rent, power, insurance, advertising, etc. 

However, if they were to offer a SECOND Pizza FREE ... what’s the ‘hard cost’ to provide that second pizza? Some flour, water, cheese and a few extra ingredients. Maybe $3. Yet the perceived value is the same as the first ... Let’s say $12.

This is a classic example. That $3 pizza, positioned as a $12 bonus, can be (and has been) harnessed as a potent marketing tool.

In a similar vein, a beauty salon may offer a $20 hair styling as a gift. Perceived value, $20. Yet, the delivery cost of that service may be $2.

We’ve helped countless clients ... in beauty salons, fitness centres, health care, retail, automotive, financial services, real estate, design and construction, travel ... to rapidly acquire new customers through this concept. It is a concept you must constantly seek to apply. Because it IS so powerful.

Let’s have a look at a few more examples. Take the situation of a professional services provider.

Virtually any professional may use this same strategy. Naturally it has to be ‘packaged’ in a professional and appropriate way, depending on the profession. But the concept is equally as potent.

Take an interior designer. This person may charge out their time at say $150 an hour. It’s VALUED at $150. But it doesn’t cost $150.

The positioning of this offer is critical. If the consultant is seen to be promiscuously giving their time away freely without positioning it correctly, then it loses much of its value.

On the other hand, if this professional ...

• positions the hour as an exploratory consultation, valued at $150 and ...
• dimensionalises the value to the prospect of what they’ll be doing in that hour to analyse, advise and recommend, AND they ...
• give reasons WHY they’re prepared to invest that time with the prospective client, an ‘investment’ in the prospect to that the prospect can fully understand the depth and breadth of the designers services and expertise ...

THEN ... this becomes a classic harnessing of ‘soft dollar’ strategy.   The consultant could launch a whole campaign around this strategy, aimed at highly targeted prospective clients.

Every business can harness this very powerful strategy. Apart from positioning an hour of your time in this way, your ‘soft dollar’ could be: 

•  one of your own low cost high perceived value products that is related to, or enhances your main product offering in some way. An extended warranty perhaps.
• a complementary product you source from someone else. You supply fitness memberships, you ‘package in’ a $55 voucher from a local massage therapist or beauty salon.
• information you ‘package’ into a special report. This one is SO powerful, and so few businesses really harnesses it effectively. (For more great tips, grab a copy of our e-book '21 Tips to Creating an Effective White Paper' ... you'll need to put "21 Tips E-Book" in the comments field)
• an audio tape of a seminar you’ve presented to prospects an interview you’ve scripted to give solutions to hot issues of the moment

The possibilities for ‘soft dollar’ are endless. If you don’t feel you’ve got the expertise to do the packaging, don’t let that be a reason NOT to do it! Find someone who can record a seminar, or a marketing professional who CAN put together a report of packaged information. 

 

Offering packaged information has been recorded to produce up to a 3,000% increase in leads. So it is worth doing.

We'll be really delving into white papers soon, so sign up to this blog to make sure you don't miss that series of blog entries.

Could this get you a truckload of quality leads?

Would you like to know about just one idea for your business that has delivered a truckload of qualified leads for our clients, and for our own business? 

Well, over the coming blog articles, I'm going to let you in on just such a powerful strategy.  Especially as it can deliver those leads for less than two dollars a lead.

If executed correctly, this strategy will almost certainly deliver you a stream of high-quality pre-educated prospects - no matter what industry you apply it to.  In fact, it could be the most powerful lead-generating strategy you ever implement.

Best of all, it dovetails nicely into the promotional channels you are already using, online and offline.

What is this strategy?  Well, you may have heard me refer to this before.  It is called 'packaged information'.  More specifically, a 'special report' or 'white paper' that you promote out in the marketplace. 

By the way, don’t be put off by the term ‘white paper’.  It sounds a bit pretentious but it is a pretty good description of the function for this document, so let’s go with that.

What a white paper is, and what is it NOT...

Essentially, your white paper will be a document that presents valuable information that you’ve created and collated.  It ‘educates’ your prospective client or customer on how to address and solve a problem or series of problems they are facing.  Often though, it must start with educating the prospect that they even HAVE a problem.

(That’s why there’s such a huge untapped potential here!  Most businesses fail to tap into the market of individuals who could and would use their product or service.  But don’t because they don’t yet KNOW they need it.)

The next logical step for the white paper is then to demonstrate the solutions you can bring to the table, with subtle proof statements and case studies woven throughout. 

Bear in mind the caveat here.  The white paper must not try to directly 'sell'.   A white paper is not an ‘ad’ for you.  It is not a thinly veiled ‘spiel’ about your services. It is NOT a company brochure or a trumpet-blowing exercise.  Again, this is where most business fail in their marketing.  They try to SELL more than educate.


Specifically, the white paper’s objective is to:

• get qualified prospects to put up their hand, flagging their interest in finding out more about the ‘problem’ they may have.  
• educate your prospect through examples, case studies and logical argument to the solutions.
• through those case studies and examples, to subtly position you as an 'authority' in your field with the track record to deliver the solutions.
• and MOST importantly for your marketing success, it opens up a dialogue with the prospect.  And in doing so, gives you permission to talk with them in a collaborative way.  That permission, as opposed to trying to SELL to them, is priceless as you’ll discover. 

If this sounds a bit ‘theoretical’ so far, then hang in there for the next blog entry.   Next time we'll look at some real life examples of white papers, including our own that has generated 371 qualified lead enquiries for Results Corporation.  In short, we’ll start unpacking the secrets to how you can harness the huge lead pulling power of a white paper in your business.

Make sure you sign up to Chris Newton's Strategy Brief Marketing Course (in the top right), to receive the complete series on white papers.

For two great examples of white papers click here.