Copyright (c)
2009 Judy Murdoch
Highly Contagious Marketing
http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
One
piece of advice I'm hearing again and again is the importance of taking good care
of your "core customers." The customers who have been working with you
for years, who send you referrals, and who return again and again to buy from
you.
Loyal customers are vitally important during difficult
economic times like we're currently experiencing because they're less expensive
to sell to: you don't have to spend weeks sometimes months building credibility
because they're already sold.
But what if your business
is relatively new and you just don't have many customers who are coming back yet?
Or what if you just lost several of your business customers and you need to cultivate
new relationships?
Can you do something to accelerate the
process of turning casual customers into raving fans who sing your praises?
Enter
the art of creating a fully satisfying customer experience.
=========================================
A
Satisfying Experience is the Key
=========================================
A
"satisfying customer experience" means that the many ways that your
customers interact with and use your products are designed to satisfy in a meaningful
way.
This goes far beyond solving the customer's basic problem.
And
this is where the magic can happen.
=========================================
Dimensions
of a Fully Satisfying Experience
=========================================
Customer
experience is all about "how" a problem is being solved. And this "how"
can be broken down into different types of experience including:
*
Physical senses: sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch
*
Emotions that come up (happy, curious, interested, annoyed, amused)
*
Heart-based connection (feeling like the other people have empathy for your situation)
*
Intellectual connection (how you go about solving problems; how you learn; vocabulary
you use)
The more of these dimensions that are touched in
an appropriate way, the more satisfying your customer's experience will be.
=========================================
Customer
Experience: Albuquerque Turkey
=========================================
I
can't think of a better product that we can all relate to than food so I'll talk
about my experience at Spinelli's Market, a local deli/grocery store to which
I love going--especially for their awesome sandwiches.
Although
Spinelli's sells some mainstream brands of snacks and soft drinks, the best parts
of the store are the aisles of imported Italian foods, pastas, sauces, and olive
oil and the deli counter where they sell salads and cut to order deli meats.
The
awesome sandwiches are made at the deli counter in the back of the store.
You
give your sandwich order along with your choice of sides (pickle, a deli salad
or fresh fruit or chips) to one of the guys working behind the counter and they
make your sandwich while you wait.
I usually use the time
to browse through the stores aisles and pick something to drink.
When
your sandwich is ready, the counter guy will call your name. You then take your
sandwich wrapped in white butcher paper along with whatever else you're buying
to the front to pay.
Sometimes I eat my sandwich in the
store at one of the little metal tables in the front and sometimes I take my sandwich
home.
Those sandwiches always make an impression. Every
time I've brought a family member or a friend or a business associate to Spinelli's
for sandwiches, they will ask from that time forward "when are we going to
that great sandwich place again?"
Spinelli's sandwiches
are a great example of a supremely satisfying experience. Here's why:
*
The ingredients of the sandwiches are always fresh.
* The
Spinelli family is very mindful of where they source the ingredients. They support
local farms and dairies and when possible, buy from family owned businesses.
*
You feel like someone took the time to really think about what to put in a particular
sandwich. All the flavors meld together in unique and wonderful ways.
*
Everyone working at the store is friendly and you feel like they're truly glad
to be working at such a cool place.
* When you're done eating
it's not just your stomach that feels full.
My heart feels
full too because I've eaten something prepared with thought and care and because
buying lunch from a local business is contributes to the health of the community
I live in.
Now take a moment and compare this experience
with visiting a big franchise place like Subway or Taco Bell.
=========================================
Creating
a More Satisfying Experience for Your Customers
=========================================
So
what about your business, what can you do to create a more fulfilling, satisfying
experience with your prospects and customers?
Here are four
steps I recommend to get you started.
=== Step #1 Remember
Why You Started a Business to Begin with
Before jumping
into the specifics, I think it's important to take a moment to remember why you
started your own business. Was it because:
* you saw a better
way to do something than what other companies were offering at the time?
*
something you're passionate about that you wanted other people to experience?
*
something important to you that you wanted to actively support through your business?
And
make sure your heart is fully engaged too. When your heart is fully engaged you
enable customers to engage with their hearts as well.
===
Step #2 Ask Yourself, "How is the Reason Behind my Business
Showing Up
in My Products and Services?"
If you started your business
because you care deeply or have a passion or have a true innovation, I imagine
it's showing up in the products and services you offer. Even without deliberate
effort.
Take a look at what you currently sell and in what
ways is the care and love for your business showing up in your products and services.
For
example, the Spinelli family supports the Slow Food movement, a grass roots movement
which encourages people to eat locally grown and produced whole foods.
In
addition to sandwiches, the Spinelli family produces and markets a line of Italian
sauces and sells made-from-scratch entrees that busy customers can heat and eat
at home.
=== Step #3 Ask Yourself, "Are There Ways
Customers Can
Experience More of What We Care About?"
My
guess is that if you sell something special, your customers know.
But
if you aren't talking about what goes into creating your products and services,
they may not know how to articulate this difference to other people.
If
this is the case, you and your customers are missing an opportunity for word of
mouth marketing.
For example, one of my clients creates
girls dresses using patterns and fabrics from the 1950's and 1960's. I love her
work because the dresses are cute without being frilly or fussy.
But
there are lots of cute kids clothing lines out there. I felt her products were
something special
I suggested to her, as part of her marketing,
to share the story behind how she found the pattern and why it appealed to her.
Her
stories are funny and entertaining and they help store owners who carry her lines
and the customers who buy the outfits feel involved in something special and unique.
===
Step #4 Choose One Small Change to Make so Customers Feel
More Engaged and
Satisfied
By far, the easiest change you can make is to
tell your story to customers so they understand why you have the business you
have and sell the products and services you sell.
Sharing
your story helps people feel more engaged and satisfied for several reasons:
(1.)
They have a way to articulate to others a reason for trying your products and
services. Referring others helps your customers look good to others and you want
to make it as easy as possible for them to do so.
(2.) It
allows customers to feel like a part of something larger. When you share your
story those who share your experience or point of view find a kindred spirit to
be with.
(3.) Stories are easy to understand and remember
because they touch us not only intellectually but emotionally. Human beings seem
"pre-wired" to absorb and integrate information that comes in narrative
form.
=========================================
Bottom
Line
=========================================
To create
more raving fans it's important to understand what makes your products and services
uniquely satisfying to current customers.
This satisfying
experience goes beyond simply solving a problem... a satisfying experience engages
the senses and emotions as your customers use your products and services.
Four
steps I recommend for creating a more satisfying experience are:
1.
Think back to why you started your business to begin with
2.
Ask whether that reason is reflected in the products and services you sell
3.
Find ways in which your clients can experience what makes your products and services
special
4. Find an opportunity to tell a story and more
fully engage your Customers
