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Customer Experience

75% of Selling Occurs After 

the Advertiser Says ‘Yes’

 

          Last week we discussed the fact that your customers demand value for every investment they make.  And we explained the value equation and how important it is that you manage both the customer’s expectation and the customer’s experience.

.Value = Customer Expectation  +  or   –   Customer Experience

          Make no mistake about it, value is never received, only perceived and you can manage that perception.

          There are so many variables in the marketing mix,  variables like weather,  competitor’s campaigns, sales staff attitudes and more, that none of your clients can say with certainty that a campaign did or did not work based solely upon your advertising.

          It is up to you to create the perception of value by establishing realistic expectations upfront, then over-delivering after the sale.  In our Guided Discovery Selling process, we have proven that 75% of selling occurs after the order is signed.  In other words, always under-promising and over delivering.

          We use two primary tools to manage the customer’s experience after the sale.  One, is our Critical Four Questions.  Once a month, review each of your accounts and ask yourself these four questions;

1.     What is the last Valid Business Contact I had with this client?

2.     When was it?

3.     What is the next Valid Business Contact I am for this account?

4.     When will I do it?

          A Valid Business Contact is defined as anything you do that benefit’s the customer or increases their sales.  If the answer to number 2 or 4 is ‘longer than 30 days’ you are not managing the customer experience.

          The other tool we use to manage the customer’s experience is our Post Campaign Analysis.  Conducting a Post Campaign Analysis places you miles ahead of weak-kneed competitors who do not have the confidence in what they deliver to ask their customers what worked and what did not.

          Of course, the other advantages of conducting a Post Campaign Analysis are;  

          a.) You learn how your client measures success

          b.) You learn how to make each campaign better than the last

          c.) You appear more professional and customer-focused

          If you don’t currently have a Post Campaign Analysis process, you can use the form on our website www.wensmedia.com or click on http://www.wensmedia.com/media/free.html

P.S. Our SoundADvice e-marketing system gives your clients and prospects a Valid Business Contact every week!  Click here to arrange a free on-line demo.   

Lifetime Customer Value

Lifetime Customer Value

 

            Our participants in Guided Discovery Selling have told us one of the most productive tools we provide is a system to manage the ‘Value Equation’.

Value = Customer Expectation  +  or   –   Customer Experience

 

            The reason this equation is so valuable is that both variables in this equation, the customer’s expectation and the customer’s experience, can be managed by your account executives.

            We begin by re-setting the bar for the customer’s expectation, and for the account executive’s expectation, from each campaign. Rather than claiming to be ‘number one’ or reach ‘thousands of consumers’, you can make your customer’s expectations more realistic and achievable, through our Guided Discovery questioning process.

            Begin by researching and developing enough pre-planned questions to establish what the ‘Lifetime Customer Value’ is of each new customer you attract to your prospect’s business.

            Your prospects will discover for themselves how one customer attracted by your station will pay for a one week campaign of 25 commercials!

             At a men’s wear store, for example, you might ask;

“What’s the profit in the advertised suit?”

“What’s the profit in the average up-sell or spontaneous purchase for every suit sold (belts, ties, shirts etc)?”

            “Assuming you delight each new customer, how many times a year can you expect them back? How many years can you reasonably expect that same annual amount of sales from that customer?”

            Keep asking questions until your prospect has an estimate of the Lifetime Customer Value of every new customer your campaign generates

            Your final question is always about word of mouth advertising. “Do you get referrals?” (By the way, if they don’t get referrals then your advertising can’t help them….advertising can’t make a bad business a good business.)

            When you multiply the average Lifetime Customer Value estimate by the average number of referrals your prospect says she can reasonably expect from each customer, that figure is always many times greater than the cost of a one week campaign.

            You’ll discover your advertisers will be happy if you simply attract one new customer per week, once they understand the Lifetime Customer Value of every new customer you attract.

            Next week’s ENS on Sales will address how to manage the other end of the Value Equation; the customer experience.

Overlooked Opportunities

Over-looked Opportunities

           Do you review all of your new national orders at every sales meeting to explore the local or spin-off opportunities they present?
          When a manufacturer advertises, your audience wants to know more than where they can buy the product.
          They want to know why they should buy it from one supplier versus another. Your local clients should always be sold adjacencies to your national spots at a premium, outlining why they are the best place to buy the advertised product or service.
          Letting your prospects know that their supplier’s marketing experts chose to invest in your station also creates more credibility for your station and your prospects appreciate the fact that you have kept them in the loop.  
          When nationals advertise, the season is usually ripe for their competitors to promote as well.
          When Michelin is advertising with you, for example, your local Goodyear dealer should be running a counter-campaign.
          NOTE: There is an integrity issue when approaching competitors. You should never tell a competitor about a national campaign until it is on air and a matter of public record.  
          Keeping your local sales people and your local clients in the loop with new national business can reap big rewards for you and them.
          Are there other opportunities you’re missing? As you plan for 2010,
Email Wayne if you would like to discuss how ENS Media Inc. can take your local sales to new heights in 2010.

 

 

Futurists

Beware of Futurists

           I love attending conventions which feature futurists as keynote speakers. They are always entertaining, thought-provoking and even exhilarating when you consider the possibilities they espouse.
          But they’re seldom right!
          In the late seventies I attended a cable convention at which a futurist predicted grocery stores would disappear within ten years. He talked about the technology which already existed to shop virtually on your TV, strolling the aisles from the comfort of your living room, placing your order with the click of a button and having it delivered to your doorstep within the hour.
          It was an exciting presentation to say the least. But alas, the last time I checked, people are still going to the grocery store 30 years after that prediction. 
          I once attended a seminar where I purchased a tape of Faith Popcorn (what a great promotional name!), making predictions about the future. It was exciting stuff, so I put that tape in a time capsule at my home and listened to itten years later. When I opened my capsule, I discovered that less than 5% of her predictions had become reality.
          I have since done the same thing with a number of futurists…..reviewed their material years after their predictions, and none of them ever beat Faith’s record of 5% success.
          But I still love to hear these fantasies, and I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to attend a futurist’s presentation to do so. It’s a great opportunity to take your focus off of the problems of the past and consider the possibilities of the future.
          Just remember that market acceptance of technology does not keep pace with technology. The first FM radio license was granted in 1937, yet 35 years later, less than 25% of the cars on the road had an FM radio.
          And it wasn’t that long ago that people who claimed to predict the future were burned at the stake as witches.
          Technology is being accepted much more rapidly with each ensuing decade, but the futurists’ predictions seldom reflect reality. Knowing this, I still encourage you to consider their theories as a way of broadening your horizons and opening your mind to new ways of doing things. Just don’t rely on their predictions as the foundation for your business plan.  

 

 

 

What’s Missing in your CNA?

What’s Missing In Your Customer Needs Analysis?

           Here is a news flash for you, your competitors’ CNA’s (customer needs analysis) are almost identical to yours!
          To deliver more value, you need to move beyond collecting your prospect’s thoughts in a CNA, and conduct a complete Marketing Audit.
          The typical CNA only tells you what the customer knows, or thinks she knows, about her business. While this is a great starting point, the customer is uniquely unqualified to see his or her business objectively….they are too close to the forest to see the trees. 
          To differentiate yourself from your competitors and deliver real value to your clients and prospects, make it your mission to unveil a marketing issue they are NOT aware of through a Marketing Audit.
          How do you do that? Here are a few suggestions;
·         Offer to facilitate a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) Analysiswith their staff or key people.
·         Search the web. Industry association websites, news stories and targeted trade magazines may reveal ideas, news or trends that affect your prospect’s business that they are not yet aware of.
·         Objectively review their print ads, websites and other advertising.
·         Be a mystery shopper, and present your mystery shopper report with specific recommendations for improvement.
·         Facilitate a customerfocus group to capture consumer perceptions of your client’s business in the marketplace. Better yet, talk to non-customers to learn why they patronize the competition rather than your account.
         
          There are many ways you can uncover needs or objectives your prospects are not aware of or not catering to. Make it your mission to learn something about every account that they themselves may not be aware of and you’ll become an invaluable resource to those accounts.
 
P.S. Do you want to really impress your clients? Email Wayne to inquire about having ENS Media Inc. conduct complete Marketing Audits for your key accounts and prime prospects.