Just imagine. You have walked out of a shop or put down the phone after purchasing something and your immediate reaction is Wow! How do you feel? Excited; satisfied; fulfilled eager to return and buy again? Wouldnt it be great if you could get your customers to feel the same way about dealing with you? Lots of small business owners (and not so small!) seem to think that the customer is merely an interference. But how can you get your customers all pumped up and ready to do business with you again? Ill share some tips on exactly how you can get a Wow! response and show how it can positively impact your bottom line. Get promising These days too many businesses seem reluctant to commit to anything. As a result, you walk away with a nagging doubt that nothing is going to happen and so the whole experience is not pleasant. What a refreshing change to get a business that provides a firm promise on dates and times or opening hours. Can you provide a clear promise to your customers? Have a think about each aspect of your business and highlight all your promisables in your sales and marketing material. One great tip under promise and over deliver. Promise delivery in 7 days, knowing you can do it in 3 days. When the goods arrived 4 days before expected, thats a Wow factor if ever there was one! Important point if you cant deliver it, dont promise it! Be a Tigger Remember Tigger from Winnie the Pooh? Hes all over the place; bouncing up and down with endless energy and enthusiasm. He just leaves his friends breathless! What a great person to be with and do business with. Are you enthusiastic when you speak and deal with your customers? Are your staff brimming with enthusiasm? If you cant project an image which says Im happy to be here, how can you expect your customers to feel different? So, have a Tigger day every day! First impressions If you have a shop or office where customers visit you, what do your premises say about your business? Is it modern, fresh-looking, clean and tidy? Or is it worn, tired and generally looking run down? Like it or not, customers will judge you on what they see. They may say Wow but for all the wrong reasons! A pot of paint and a splash of colour can make all the difference and it doesnt have to cost the earth (these DIY programmes have a lot to answer for!). Be a problem solver Despite all businesses believing they have great customer service, the fact is that the majority dont. The main reason is that when people complain, most feel that they have not been listened to and their problem has not been solved. Be a solver of problems - quickly and efficiently. Heres a motto for you Resolve to Solve. Be their friend I dont know about you, but I am a sucker for business owners who take their time to know me and recognise me when I next call or visit! The bond and the desire to do more business with those types of entrepreneurs, is strong for me. Do you take time to build a relationship with all your key clients? Do you go out of your way to greet them when they next do business? As the saying goes, aim to turn strangers into friends and friends in to customers. Value for money In this day and age of new technology, and the hefty prices that go with it, the concept of giving great value is sometimes forgotten. Creating a Wow moment can be as simple as giving a little bit extra, something unexpected. It doesnt have to be of huge value, its genuinely the thought that counts. Dont restrict this idea just to price. Price on its own may not work, it has to be tied in with something else 2 for 1, a small gift etc. The quality of your product must also reflect value for money. Dont try and pass off an inferior product with a superior price youll again create the wrong type of Wow moment! Medium price and great quality a definite and positive Wow. Call them The real killer Wow is calling your customer a few days after he has bought. Asking him if the product is fine, whether it does what he wanted it to do, is one sure way of stopping him in his tracks! If everything is great, then you have a customer for life. If there is a problem, wonderful; you have the opportunity to put it right and have a customer for life. This is a very simple and powerful way of creating Wow. So thats it. If you follow theses simple ideas, all your customers will be saying Wow and they will be coming back time and time again. Who knows, they may even tell their friends? Now theres a thought. Robert Warlow Small Business Success |
