You misunderstand your customers?
Your customers misunderstand you? You hear and see them.
But the rain never comes. Is that your experience with your customers? Improving customers' trust in you than increasing your market share.
There will always be two groups.
One in favor of and one against it. It boils down to what they get from it. Be careful who you listen to. Someone posted a comment online that she was stopped for taking photos of cakes at a cake shop.
Is the shop owner afraid of someone stealing her ideas? It's a harsh and competitive world out there. There's competitors posing as customers, undercover agents to outright copying. So how can you prevent someone from stealing your idea? You can't. Better spend time making something better for others to take photos. Deciding how useful this person will be for your business.
Deciding how useful you will be for this person's business. Professional and impersonal.
Standard and predictable. Friendly and distant. There was an article of a business owner charging customers $5 for just browsing in her store. (Click here) Why? Simply because people visit her shop to browse and then go online to make the purchase. I've yet to do it. What about you? The Internet is scary, isn't it? But isn't the customers scarier? Wait... Are you the scariest? Ask why are customers shopping online. The standard thing to do is to send a reply to inform the customer that you will take the necessary action to ensure the mistake does not occur again.
Then channel the feedback to the respective department for follow up action. It's the best strategy. You answered the customer and take the necessary corrective action. Case closed. Isn't it expected and boring? If so, why is every doing it? Well, this is the fastest and easiest way to close a case, isn't it? It doesn't cost you anything as well. Especially if it got nothing to do with exchange or refund. But the more important issue is what goes through the mind of you when you received a feedback/complaint. Another idiot trying to get something for free? An unreasonable request? Another irrational person? Or a customer providing genuine feedback. Another factor that determines how you will react is how big is your customer base and how important is this customer to you. If you have a large customer base, losing one customer means nothing to you. There's another 999,999 customers. But if this customer is Oprah, you are likely to sit up and listen. What if you do one of these to thank the customer just for writing in? - A discount coupon - A free upgrade - A full refund (if it's within reasonable means) - A free meal (if you run a restaurant) Are you thinking what if every customer starts writing in? What look, sound and feel stupid or silly to you is perfectly alright with your customers.
We are all different. Nothing beats seeing the real thing.
Have you seen Sakura? Not those on TV programs.
This is something you have to do once in your lifetime. It's beauty is beyond words and touches one's heart. No wonder the Japanese are infatuated with Sakura. There's reports on the dates where Sakura will be blooming in various parts of Japan, TV programs that follow the Sakura bloom from Kyushu to Hokkaido, various products made using Sakura, even Sakura fans chasing after the blooms and updating everyone on the news. Wherever there's Sakura, you'll find Japanese gathering for a party. Sakura come and go fast. It has come to represent the spirit of the Japanese towards life. Be like a Sakura. Live like a Sakura. The one your customers cannot do without.
The one your customers will not miss. Getting their hands dirty.
Babies do. The reason they learn so fast. Inside the box.
Outside the box. With a box. Without the box. With a circle. |
AuthorOutrageous Marketing Archives
May 2020
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