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You May Be
Marketing Your Company Right Out of Business! |
by:
Stacey
Hall and Jan Brogniez |
How many times have you
thought "We need more customers!"
If you find that you
often feel that your company needs more customers, then consider
this...
There is a common belief held by most business
owners, managers, and sales teams that all of their business
problems would be solved if they could just figure out the
secret to "finding and getting more customers."
And,
that is their biggest mistake!
The never-ending search
for more customers requires an abundance of people, time, and
money... resources which are usually in short supply in most
companies. In such an environment, the effort put forth to
"find" customers is actually depleting the business of its
energy, creativity, and enthusiasm...commodities required to
serve these customers in a satisfying way. And, since
dissatisfied customers do not return, the business must keep
finding more customers to replace those they have lost.
So, with each repetition of the cycle, the company has less and
less ability to provide the level of service that would satisfy
the types of customers it originally intended to serve. So, the
number of complaints the business receives continues to
increase...and eventually, the complaints outweigh the
compliments. The word spreads throughout the community. It
becomes harder to find customers to serve. Debts then exceed
profits. The business fails.
Conversely, those 15% that
succeed have structured their company in a way that "attracts"
only perfect customers and clients.
Companies must
replace the thought "We need more customers" with the conviction
that "We now attract only perfect customers."
What's the
difference?
It's the difference between a successful
business and one that struggles to survive. It's the difference
between a profitable business and one that pinches pennies. It's
the difference between a thriving business and one that is
hanging on by a thread.
IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR CUSTOMERS
TO SERVE, YOU'LL FIND "CUSTOMERS FROM HELL"
Most people
agree that looking for customers to serve requires a lot of
energy. First, you must figure out where you are most likely to
find the greatest number of customers. And, then you must spend
more time and money experimenting with the right way to catch
their attention. By the time you have actually found someone who
is willing to try what you have to give them, your company has
exhausted its energy!
So, when this customer tells you
that they are not completely satisfied with your products, your
policies, or your pricing, you are more than willing to make
compromises to satisfy them ... truth be known, you are simply
too tired to put up a fight. Perhaps, thinking that you have won
the war, you feel you can afford to let them win these smaller
conflicts...especially in light of what it would cost to go out
and hunt down another customer to replace this one.
Yet,
if your company had more strength and solvency, you might be
more willing to listen to the tiny inner voice that says, "Be
careful...this one could be more trouble than their worth. This
is a customer from hell."
You ignore the voice because
of the need to make back the money spent on marketing and sales
programs. Or, you convince yourself that these customers must be
perfect for your company or you are afraid that you will lose
this customer to the competition.
Inevitably, though,
the voice turns out to be right. By the time you end your
tortured relationship with this customer, you feel that no
amount of money in the world would have been enough to
compensate us for the cost of the experience.
This is
the result when you create marketing campaigns or promotional
strategies that fail to clearly convey the bright light of your
unique business distinctions; you find customers that other
businesses should be serving.
THE LIGHTHOUSE TEST
So, how can you tell if your company is structured to "attract"
perfect customers to serve?
Here is the "Lighthouse
Test."
Imagine a lighthouse standing strong and erect on
the rocky shores of a beautiful ocean. On this particular day,
the water is calm, the sky is blue, and there are many boats out
to sea. Yet, out in the distance, there is a storm cloud forming
on the horizon. It is coming closer to shore very quickly. The
sky is getting darker, the waves are getting rougher, and many
of the boats are being tossed about on the water. As the rains
and the winds pick up strength, so does the power of the beam of
light emanating from the lighthouse. Some of the boats, anxious
to move quickly to a quiet and protective harbor, are relying on
this beam of light to guide them safely to the spot. The darker
the skies become, the brighter the light shines.
Notice that
not all of the boats are in need of this beam of light to guide
them to safety. Some have more confident captains and crew,
while other boats have equipment that can handle the storm
effectively.
Now, imagine that the lighthouse gets upset
because some of the boats are choosing not to come to its
harbor. Because it wants to protect and serve all of the boats
in the sea, it sprouts arms and legs and begins running up and
down the beach, waving its arms, doing its best to catch the
attention of all the boats. What would be the result?
Most
likely, the boats that were depending on the light to guide them
would by now have been destroyed in the chaos and confusion
caused by the light moving up and down the beach Other boats,
led by their curiosity, may come closer to shore to get a better
look at the spectacle of a lighthouse running up and down the
shore, and then head back out to deeper waters. While others
would be perfectly content to stay where they are...out at sea.
The end result, very few boats are served safely and securely.
The test lies in asking yourself what percentage of time is your
company the lighthouse standing securely on the shore attracting
the boats (customers) with the power of its light and how often
is it running up and down the beach looking for boats
(customers) to serve?
PERFECT CUSTOMERS COME RIGHT TO
YOUR SHORE
Take a moment to recall one of your most
perfect customers -- someone with whom you most enjoy working.
The customer you describe as perfect is most likely the one who
respects and values your time, trusts your company to have his
or her best interests at heart, comes to your site with
realistic expectations, happily pays what your product or
service is worth, and refers your business to their friends and
family. Perfect customers make you feel needed, appreciated,
respected, and understood. Even more, they reconnect you with
the passion and purpose that puts joy in your work. And, when
you think about it, these perfect customers often find your site
easily; there was an immediate spark of attraction and
connection with this client as if synchronicity brought you
together at the perfect time and place.
The key to
ensuring that your company is only attracting the most perfect
customers lies in the asking of four simple questions which
comprise a Strategic Attraction Plan:
1. What Are the
Qualities of My Most Perfect Customers?
2. What Makes My
Perfect Customers Tick?
3. What Do I Want My Perfect
Customers To Expect Of My Web site?
4. What Do I Have To
Improve?
The daily review for just five minutes of these
four questions is what will keep you connected to your company's
mission and purpose. It's this connection which powers the light
of your message and draws customers who are a perfect fit for
that message right to your shore.
Proponents of the
Strategic Attraction Planning Process are growing in numbers
quickly. As Robert Allen, author of Multiple Streams of Income,
www.multiplestreamsofincome.com, reports "this is a simple and
effective method for bringing perfect customers right to your
doors and web sites."
Copyright 2001, PerfectCustomers
Unlimited.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hall and Brogniez are the catalysts for the new Strategic Attraction
Planning Process. Through this paradigm-shifting methodology, hundreds
of corporate executives, entrepreneurs, as well as sales and training
teams, have been transformed into powerful magnets that quickly and
easily attract the most perfect and profitable customers to their doors.
Their book, "Attracting Perfect Customers...The Power of Strategic
Synchronicity," is available at www.perfectcustomer.com .
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