Hold on a second! I know you’re eager discover this marketing “secret” is, but before we get to that, I’d like you to do a quick exercise. So grab a pen and a piece of paper, this won’t take long.Ready?
Write down every method you currently use for marketing your business. Take your time. Put down every technique you employ. Let me know when you’ve finished.
All done? Swell.
So, what’s on your list? Chances are you have
usual marketing tools: newspaper, radio and television ads; showcase videos; web sites; business cards, etc. You probably have some of more “advanced” techniques, too: writing a regular column for a newspaper/magazine; vehicle placards/window detailing; regularly attending professional/association meetings; teaching classes; sponsoring community events; referrals agreements; etc.
All are useful tools for marketing your business. But there’s another “must have” that you need on your list. I call it “ultimate marketing secret” because an amazing number of businesses overlook it. So what is this remarkably effective marketing method?
Simple: CUSTOMER SERVICE.
I don’t just mean simple customer service. I mean honest-to-goodness, 110% knock-your-socks-off-before-during-and- long-after-the-sale, gotta-love-this customer care. Or, as marketing guru Jay Conrad Levinson says, “customer bliss.”
Too easy an answer, you say? Doesn’t matter, it’s true. Whether you believe it or not, fact of matter is, everything you do is marketing! And customer service is primary “contact point” for customer. It’s what they will remember most about dealing with you and your business. If any aspect of your customer service falls below their needs, you’ve lost. Sure, you might have a contract that keeps your from losing their business -- this time. But you won’t get it again. And you probably won’t get business of anyone they know, work with, or talk to for next few years…
Yahoo! executive Tim Sanders says in his new book LOVE IS THE KILLER APP, “At a time when more of us have more options than ever, there’s no need to put up with a product or service that doesn’t deliver, [or] a company that we don’t like.” Customers know this instinctively and, as saying goes, will “vote with their feet” as they walk away from your business and head over to your competitor. If you want to attract and keep more customers, focus on developing exemplary customer service first and foremost! Even before you spend another dime on advertising. And remember, customers base that decision on THEIR definition of service, not yours. How? Well, start by focusing on customer.
