Customer Relations – Page 2

2 August 2014

How to give people a “good feeling” about you

Like it or loathe it intuition and having a “good feeling” about someone or something can greatly impact our business decisions and the purchase decisions of our customers and potential customers.

So how do you ensure you are giving out the right vibe when you are talking to people? Here are five tips to help you give people a “good feeling” about you.

1. Be confident, friendly and approachable

People are naturally drawn to warm people and are more likely to listen to confident people, that is why being confident, friendly and approachable is the rapport building trifecta.

Not only will you be more likeable, people will feel more relaxed around you, respect your opinions and be more inclined to follow you, leaving you smiling all the way to the bank.

2. Be an expert in your industry

When you are an expert in your field, and know your products and services intimately you give better explanations, presentations, infomercials and pitches and answer those tricky questions and objections quickly and powerfully.

Nothing gives a customer or potential customer more confidence than having all of their questions answered or hearing someone knowledgeable share insight that will help them in their life or business.

3. Add value

Instead of seeing what you can get out of each person you meet, focus on how you can add value. By adding value you prove your value and your potential customers guards naturally come down.

With this approach potential customers will not only be more receptive to what you have to say, they will open up to you, making it easier to convert sales and build profitable relationships.

4. Ask questions and listen carefully

Asking the right questions and listening closely to the answers can be incredibly powerful. You can establish rapport, showcase your knowledge, increase credibility, uncover needs, and build relationships.

The more targeted and intelligent your questions are, the better the answers you receive and the easier it is to find even more ways to add value.

5. Never underestimate the power of your body language

Often the “feeling” someone will have about you will come more from what you are not saying. While you may be a smooth talker, if your body language doesn’t support what you are saying, people will question your authenticity.

If a person can’t maintain eye contact with you, covers their mouth a lot when they speak, is fidgety or seems uncomfortable, leans back and crosses their arms, or frowns a lot, chances are you are going to walk away from the meeting and not have a great feeling about the person you were talking to or how the meeting went.

However, if you are meeting with someone who maintains eye contact, faces towards you and leans in, smiles, nods and is open and animated, you will naturally warm to them.

Next time you are talking to someone ask yourself “what is my body language saying about me and is it matching my message?”

Do you use your intuition in making business decisions? What gives you a “good feeling” about someone?

Amanda

21 July 2014

How to identify what your customers love about you

While you know exactly what you love about your business and what you think are your biggest selling points – do you really know what your customer’s value and love about you?

More often than not business owners are selling what they want to sell rather than selling what their customers want to buy. To make sure you’re not one of them, here are four quick checks to ensure you’re not assuming what your customers want, but rather listening to what they value.

1. It’s in their frustrations

If you want to know what your customers and potential customers value, look at the common frustrations and stereotypes of your industry. What do people groan and complain about? What are the common bad experiences?

Now that you know what people don’t appreciate, list the opposite and you will start to see what your customers and potential customers will really want.

2. It’s in their objections

Don’t be put off by objections, objections are your potential customers way of voicing their concern and when handled right they give you the opportunity to make a more personalised sales pitch to get them over the line.

Though in saying this it is important to pay attention to them and make a note of the objections that keep coming up. Is there something that your customers and potential customers need that you aren’t providing? Are there benefits or features that you aren’t promoting that you should be?

Through objections your potential customers will tell you what is important to them, what they need to know and give you insight into how they make their buying decisions.

3. It’s in their testimonials

Look over the testimonials you’ve received from your past and current customers. What have they praised you for? What have they valued? What are the common themes through all of them?

Chances are that the key features, benefits and results that your past and current customers loved are also the same features, benefits and results that will appeal to your future customers.

4. It’s in their introductions

Referrals and introductions are also a great way to gain insight into what your customers and business associates value about you. More often than not when someone introduces you in business they will lead with what they see to be your biggest point of difference, key area of expertise or your top benefits.

So the next time someone introduces or refers you, don’t just focus on the new contact, focus on what they have said to get the new contact interested and wanting to talk to you.

When all else fails remember you can ask!

Amanda

12 May 2014

Six tips to create a more customer-focused business

If you want to create a real competitive edge in your business start focusing on your customers. It sounds obviously simple, but the fact is most businesses continue to focus on what value they can get as opposed to what value they can give.

But when you start to focus on your customers and what they want and need, you create better products and services, generate more business opportunities and sales, develop more loyal customers and increase your referrals.

So to ensure you are reaping the benefits and profits of giving value, here are six tips to help you create a more customer-focused business.

1. Stay connected to the needs of your customers

Your business success is directly determined by how connected you are with your customer and their needs. As a business owner it can be easy to fall into the trap of offering, stocking or doing what you want instead of considering what your customers want, but it’s one of the fastest way to limit your growth.

To refocus yourself and remain connected to your customer you need to be constantly asking questions, both of your customers and of yourself. Questions like what do my customers want from my product, service, business or industry? What are their current frustrations or complaints and how can they be improved or solved?

2. Anticipate future needs and trends

While meeting your customers current needs is important, in order to future proof your business and really establish your point of difference you also need to anticipate their future needs.

Ask yourself, what will my customers want from my products or services in three, five or ten years? What new trends or technologies are going to impact on how they use my products or services? What is not yet being offered that would benefit my customers?

3. Write your marketing from your customer’s perspective

“You” is one of the most powerful marketing words you can use. Not only does it help your reader connect with you when the read or hear your content, when you continually write from the angle of “you” instead of “we” you stay in the mind of your customer and can more easily identify and anticipate their needs and wants.

You start to uncover what is important to them, what they value most and what part of your products and services will most appeal to them.

4. See your customer as a friend not a sale

One of the smartest things you can do in your business is to stop selling and start serving. When you change your approach from “how much can I get out of you” to “how can I help you” your customer’s guard comes down, they relax and start to open up to you.

When you add value to them and appear to be looking out for their best interests, they become more receptive to what you are saying, value your opinion and are more likely to see you as a trusted expert who can help them, increasing the likelihood of you making the sale.

5. Stay in regular contact

To build a relationship with your customers you need to stay in regular contact with them, but not just through newsletters and email marketing, genuine, personal contact. Talk to them to see how they are going. Keep in touch in a way that makes them feel valued.

Be proactive, your existing customers are the easiest sales you will ever make so make sure you look after them and take an interest.

6. Always add value

One of your goals in business should be to give your customers what they can’t get anywhere else, or in a way they can’t get anywhere else.

It could be as simple as taking the time to answer all of their questions, giving them an added bonus, sending them a book, resource or opportunity that you know they would benefit from, or having their favourite coffee and snack when they come to meet you.

Always be looking at how you could be adding value to each of your customers in order to make their experience with you even more memorable.

How do you stay customer focused in your business?

Amanda

13 April 2014

Five ways to build credibility with your customers

Credibility is essential for converting contacts into customers. While you may have the better product or service, if you lack credibility, perceived or otherwise, chances are you won’t make the sale and your potential customer will go knocking on a competitors door.

So how do you build your credibility in the eyes of your potential customers? Contrary to popular belief credibility doesn’t start by focusing on your experience and expertise, it starts by meeting your potential customer where they are, identifying what they need and want, then easing their frustration by solving their problems.

To help you here are five ways you can establish credibility with your potential customers before you start talking about yourself.

1. Know your audience

Knowing your audience isn’t just about having an outline of your ideal client. It is about having an understanding of what is important to them, where they are at and where they want to be. The kind of understanding that allows rapport to be built quickly and an emotional connection forged, resulting in your potential customer thinking “hey, these guys get me”.

(Need a little help with this? Get a copy of the 25 must-ask questions to get inside the mind of your customer here)

2. Talk to them in their own words

Nothing can irritate or isolate your customers and potential customers faster than big words and industry jargon. Often business owners will showcase a larger vocabulary and introduce more complex concepts in order to prove they know what they are talking about, but it rarely has that effect.

Instead it can be seen as being arrogant, egotistical and confusing, causing your target market to become annoyed and potentially lost.

If you want to increase your credibility (and appear more intelligent) talk clearly and plainly. It sounds strange I know, but the role of an expert is not to make concepts complex or confusing, it is to simplify and solve them, explaining them in a way that is easy to understand even if you know nothing about the industry or topic.

3. Hit their pain points and give them clarity

One of the fastest ways to build credibility with your audience is to understand the frustrations and problems they are experiencing and be able to articulate them.

While many people know they aren’t getting the results they want, they don’t necessarily know why. They haven’t been able to identify the real problem or issue that is holding them back or the way around it.

If you can give your potential customers clarity around what is going wrong and why, you will have their attention and establish yourself as someone who knows, and has experience in, what they are talking about.

4. Solve their problems

If after you’ve showed your potential customers what is going wrong and why, you can then show them how to fix it you immediately boost your credibility.

People want to feel heard and understood, so if you can take them to the point of pain, give them hope and then follow through with a relevant solution, you will not only establish your expertise, you will dramatically improve your chances of making the sale.

5. Offer them proof

If you want to increase your credibility, let someone else tell the story. Use stories or case studies of past or current customers who had similar challenges to the ones your potential customers are facing now and show what you did for them. Testimonials from real customers talking about real experiences with your business show your value in action.

Once you have established credibility in these five ways then start selling your experience and credentials. View talking about what you’ve done as a way to seal the deal rather than start it.

Your customers want to know what is in it for them first, before they give you their time or money, so the more customer focused you can be in your marketing and sales, the more credibility and rapport you build with your customers.

How do you build credibility with your audience?

Amanda

30 March 2014

Turning industry stereotypes into powerful points of difference

Whether we like it or not people make assumptions about us, our business and even how we conduct our business based on the industry we are in.

Don’t believe me? What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a used car salesmen, lawyer or journalist? When you call a tradesman are you expecting them to be on time or late? Tidy or messy? What about when you meet with an accountant? Are you expecting a passionate, engaging person or a person who has less personality than their calculator?

While some people certainly do fit their industry stereotypes, many of us don’t. But as frustrating as it can be to be judged according to a perception, idea or bad experience someone else is responsible for, it can provide you with a very clear way to differentiate yourself and a very powerful method to sell.

To show you here are four tips to help you turn your industry stereotype into powerful points of difference.

1. Define your industry stereotype

In order to rise above the perceptions and bad experiences people have had with others in your industry you need to define your industry stereotype. To do this take everything bad (joking or otherwise) someone has said about your industry and combine it with common perceptions people have of someone in your field.

By doing this you now have a list of what not to do, and how to differentiate yourself in the mind of your customers.

2. Create your industry “villain”

Once you have your “not to-do” list, create the “villain” of your industry to give all of the negative attributes a personality. For some industries like real estate or investment, you might paint a really shady, unscrupulous, self serving character, though for others it might be quite mild in comparison yet still appeal to common industry frustrations.

The key is to make this “villain” realistic and relatable, because this is the person you are getting your customers to focus all their negative feelings and bad experiences on instead of you and your industry as a whole.

For example a tradesman might say something along the lines of…

“Have you ever been left waiting for hours without a phone call wondering where your [tradesman] was? Then when they finally arrived [x] hours late, after trampling dirt all through your home, you find out [insert frustration: the job has to be delayed/the job would take longer than anticipated/the job was more expensive than quoted/they don’t have all the materials or equipment they need/it wasn’t done the way you wanted etc.]?” Continuing on with the pain, frustration and inconvenience caused.

3. Become the “hero”

Once you establish the pain and frustration the “villains” cause your potential customers, you then need to establish yourself as the “hero” who swoops in to save your potential customers.

To do this you need to paint the picture of how you, your products and services, the way you deliver them and/or the way conduct your business is vastly different in comparison to everyone else in your industry, using the proof of testimonials where possible.

Through your marketing copy, and when you are talking to your potential customers, show them how you provide what they need and want, taking the weaknesses of the industry “villains” and turning them into your own marketable strengths.

To use the tradesman example above, you might follow on by saying…

“But imagine if instead you received a phone call an hour before your tradesman is due confirming your job details along with his estimated time of arrival. If, when they turn up – on time – they removed their shoes, communicated clearly on how long it would take, explained what was involved, had all of the tools and materials needed in their fully fitted out workshop on wheels and delivered on time, on budget with the highest quality workmanship – guaranteed. Then after they finished, they cleaned up all of their mess leaving no trace they had been there other than a job well done. That is what you receive with [business name]”.

4. Follow Through

While positioning yourself as the “hero” can generate interest and sales, delivering on what you promise is the true key to overcoming industry stereotypes and creating raving fans that will go on and sell your business for you. People can’t help but talk about someone who is breaking the mould, particularly when the person has helped them greatly.

Have you ever found yourself stereotyped based on your industry?

Amanda

10 March 2014

How to turn a mistake into a marketing opportunity

While mistakes in business can fill us with dread and embarrassment, like many other times of trial and adversity they can be turned into an opportunity to showcase the professionalism, integrity and authenticity of our business.

So how do you recover with your reputation in tact after you’ve dropped the ball? Here are three tips to help you turn a mistake into a marketing opportunity and win the respect of your customers and business associates.

1. Remember mistakes can be the best teachers

When money is coming in, the phone is ringing, our customers are happy and everything is going smoothly we don’t always look for ways to improve, change, update, innovate or leverage to make our business work better. After all if it’s working why mess with it – right?

Just think about it, when are you more motivated and driven to change your marketing approach or bring in sales, in a slow month or a busy month? What about adding value to your customers and increasing your level of customer service? Are you more likely to think about it when you have a happy customer or an unhappy customer?

When are you more innovative and creative in business, when it’s business as usual or you’re under threat because of a mistake, wrong decision or competitor?

Creativity and innovation thrive when we are under fire. There is nothing quite like making a mistake or facing adversity and the accompanying pain or embarrassment, to get us out of our comfort zone and into our creative, innovative and strategic problem-solving zone to find a better way.

So take the education, learn the lesson, find a way to make it better or prevent it from happening in the future and make the change.

2. Realise mistakes can humanize you and help build rapport

The fact is we all make mistakes, and provided it is small, there is limited damage and the intent was innocent, mistakes can actually work for us, making us more relatable and approachable to our customers and business associates.

To give you an example, many years ago I told a potential customer they could get “one product for the price of three!” – a bargain right?! This silly, slip of the tongue completely broke the ice, gave them a good laugh and allowed me to build a good rapport with them over the phone which lead to an ongoing relationship and ongoing sales.

Who hasn’t made a typo, got tongue tied, sent an email to the wrong person, forgotten to do something, misspoke, or made a wrong decision? The key is in how you handle it, recover from it and make up for it.

Could you use the mistake or blunder as a rapport builder, a case study to help your customers avoid the same mistakes themselves or as an opportunity to showcase new and better procedures, methods or measures?

3. Use your mistakes as an opportunity to show your character

There is something inspiring about a person who takes responsibility for their actions, faces the consequences and tries to make it right. It shows character.

So if you do make a mistake own it, if you make the wrong decision fix it and if you have an unhappy customer, address it. Be professional, admit your mistake, apologise and make it right.

By being open, honest and accountable for your mistakes you not only protect your reputation, you can end up having more people want to work with you simply because of the attitude you have and actions you have taken.

Amanda

17 February 2014

Resell, Upsell and Cross-Sell – Little words that bring in big money

One of the fastest ways to make more sales is to get your existing customer base spending more with you. Having already seen the value and results in doing business with you, your existing customers are not only easier to convert, but also don’t require you to outlay any money in order to reach them.

So how do you keep your customers coming back and spending again and again? By finding ways to resell, upsell and cross-sell your products and services.

Resell – Keep them coming back

Build in a repeat purchase of your product or service so you can continue to resell to your customers. This means finding a genuine, ethical way of getting your customer to purchase your products and services repeatedly, not altering the quality of your products or services so people have to purchase them more often. There must be value for them as well as you.

It doesn’t even need to be the entire purchase again, it could be a specific part or component, a smaller condensed version like a refresher course, for example, or an ongoing maintenance program depending on what is relevant.

Upsell – Increase the amount they spend

The easiest way to upsell clients is to get to know them. Ask questions, find out their needs, their frustrations and what they want to achieve. By doing so, you will have a greater understanding of why they are buying and be able to suggest products and packages that have more inclusions to benefit your customers as well as make it more profitable for you.

If you’re not sure about how to approach your existing customers, you could say something along the lines of “Having worked with you for [x] amount of time now, and knowing you and your business well, I believe [x product or service] may suit your needs better. While it will be a slightly larger investment, I believe it will give you better results/make your life easier/help you achieve your outcome quicker/insert other benefit.”

Cross-Sell – Get them buying more with each purchase

Cross-selling is the official marketing term for “would you like fries with that”. The aim is to get your customers buying related products or services in order to make their buying experience with you all the more enjoyable, beneficial and profitable.

For example, if you owned a furniture store and a customer wanted to buy a bed, then you would want to cross-sell a matching tall boy, blanket box, mirror and bedside tables, in order to sell the whole bedroom suite as opposed to just one product.

If you sell online and don’t do it already, you may want to have a heading with “you may also like” or “customers also bought” and include related products or services under each product or service you feature on your website as a way to cross-sell to your customers.

So before you go out and spend a large amount on bringing in new business, look at how you could resell, upsell or cross-sell your existing customers.

Amanda

3 February 2014

How to avoid burnout and burning clients in busy times

When you’re working late nights and early mornings, constantly pushing yourself to work harder, increase your clients, grow your business and meet deadlines, you can end up tired, stressed, overwhelmed, late with your work and can even lose the passion you had for your business to begin with.

So how do you maintain your health and sanity and your clients happiness during busy times? Here are six tips to help you avoid burnout and burning clients.

1. Take regular breaks

When you’re extremely busy taking a break can be the last thing on your mind. Not wanting to lose your place or momentum, you can think “I’m too busy to have a break”. But breaks are even more vital when you’re under pressure.

Even just sparing 5-10 minutes every 60-90 minutes to stretch or go for a walk, can help to clear your head and give you greater perspective, minimise your stress and the potential for burnout and make you more productive and efficient.

2. Break up your work

Break up your high concentration work with low concentration work and tasks that you enjoy. This simple change can often be as good as a break and you can give your mind the rest it needs to keep working at your peak – without utter exhaustion.

For the best results start the low concentration work or enjoyable tasks just before or just after your break as this will give your mind more of a break.

3. Accept a little imperfection

If you’re a perfectionist, you can often end up adding to your stress by taking up more of your limited time trying to ‘perfect’ your work. Though for your sanity and schedule you do have to let go of your perfectionist ways. Don’t get me wrong, still take pride in your work and ensure it is of the highest quality, it just doesn’t need to be ‘perfect’ all of the time.

4. Delegate and Outsource

As one person you can only do a limited amount, especially when you are juggling multiple roles within your business. To grow easily and efficiently and save yourself time and stress look for tasks you can outsource.

Build a trusted team of people you can delegate tasks to when you need to. Whether they are employees, contractors, alliances or businesses experts you’ve engaged, utilise their strengths and expertise for areas in your business that you don’t enjoy and aren’t strong in. When you have the right team in place you’ll gain more time and have faster growth and less stress.

5. Know how much work you can handle

One of the easiest ways to avoid burnout is to know how much work you can handle or comfortably outsource, and say “no” or “not yet” to the rest. While it can be tempting to say yes to every client and every opportunity you can run out of time, stress yourself out and risk not meet deadlines or giving poor service which reflects badly on your professionalism.

If you are a serviced based business try booking your work in advance so you don’t have to say no to opportunities. Just explain that you’re booked out for the next week/fortnight/month and give them the option to book your services on the next available date.

5. Build a life outside of work

It’s important to have a life outside of your work and the every day routine. Often when you’re passionate about your business and love what you do, you can view work as an outlet and it can become something you keep going back to in the spare moments you have.

But it’s important to remember that you need time for yourself in addition to time with friends and family, to have fun and enjoy life. Not only will you feel better for it, you will also be more relaxed and work more effectively.

How do you avoid burnout?

Amanda

27 January 2014

How to get testimonials that convert sales

You saying you’re great is one thing, but a customer saying you’re great? That can really help to get sales over the line.

Testimonials and case studies can be incredibly powerful. Not only do they give your potential customers an example of how you could help them, the customer giving the testimonial is doing the sales pitch for you, and chances are what they loved about you will be what potential customers are looking for.

So how do you get more testimonials and make the most out of the testimonials your customers give you? Here are four tips to help you get testimonials that will convert sales for you.

1. Request testimonials after you have delivered value

The best time to ask for a testimonial is after you have given your customer value. It could be saving them money, reducing their expenses or stress, or making their life easier. Don’t make the mistake of asking them just after they’ve signed up, not only will you face more resistance, the testimonial you receive won’t be as specific or powerful.

2. Ask for testimonials in person or over the phone

When asking for a testimonial, always ask in person or over the phone. People are more likely to say yes to giving a testimonial when you have spoken to them, they also tend to send it through quicker.

3. Know what you want from a testimonial and be prepared to give prompts

To make testimonials work in your favour, you need them to answer all of the regular objections a potential customer may have with your business and industry. To do this well, you normally need to provide the customer you’ve requested a testimonial from with a guide of what you want.

It could be as simple as sending them a quick email thanking them for agreeing to do a testimonial and including a sentence like “what we are mainly looking for in a testimonial is how you enjoyed working with us. This could include the level of service, ease of contact, the quality of our work and what you thought of the finished product (plus any other specifics you want to include).”

4. Encourage customers to publish testimonials on a social platform

Once they have agreed to give you a testimonial ask if they would mind giving it to you on a platform like LinkedIn, Google +, Facebook, Twitter or a review site where others will see it.

It’s one thing seeing a testimonial on a website, but seeing a testimonial given by a real person publicly? That adds a whole new level of reality and credibility, especially when you know the person giving it.

Plus with many review sites and LinkedIn requiring testimonials to be uploaded by the person who is giving them, it allows you to increase the number of testimonials you have on these platforms. It also, still gives the you the ability to copy and paste them into your other promotional material easily.

Amanda

11 December 2013

Eight tips to generate more repeat customers

Repeat customer sales are the cheapest and easiest business you will ever generate, so it makes sense that more of your time should be spent nurturing and leveraging your existing customer relationships than bringing in new business.

But how do you keep customers coming back and buying again and again? Here are eight tips to help you turn those once off buyers into loyal, profitable, repeat customers.

1. Develop products or services that have a repeat buy

One of the most important factors in getting repeat business is to have products and services that can be bought repeatedly or added onto. Being able to upsell, upgrade, add on or repeatedly sell products or services to your current customers will help you develop a constant stream of income without a large marketing outlay.

2. Get your customers details

It sounds obvious doesn’t it, though you’d be surprised at how many businesses don’t capture the contact details of the customers that buy from them. But the trouble is if you don’t who your customers are how can you market to them and stay in touch?

If you’re wondering how to capture their details, offer an opt-in registration for a free report/checklist/cheat sheet or newsletter on your website, give them free gift or gift certificate for filling in a contact form, include contact details on feedback forms and surveys and/or hold a competition.

3. Send “you’re due” reminders

Keep track of when customers are due for your product or services whether it is a refill, check-up, follow up or replacement.

Think of dentists and chiropractors who let you know when you are due for an appointment, or mechanics and pest specialists who put stickers on your car or cupboards with when you are due for your next service or pest check-up. Think about how you could implement reminders to help prompt your customers to buy again.

4. Create a customer loyalty reward program

Reward your loyal customers with a bonus or free product or service once they have bought a certain number of products or services from you or spent a certain amount of money (think “buy 10 and get the 11th free, a VIP discount or a gift certificate after a spend of [x] amount).

Whatever you choose, just make sure the incentive is high enough so they will want to keep coming back.

5. Send out a “thank you for buying” offer

Once your customer has bought your product or service send out a special offer or gift voucher (valid for a limited time) to use with their next purchase as a thank you. This can be quite effective in encouraging your customers to buy again soon after their last purchase.

6. Stay in contact

Staying in touch with your customers, seeing how they are going, telling them about new products and services and informing them about specials and promotions can help you keep your business in the forefront of their minds and give them the prompt they need to buy again.

7. After sales follow up

Never underestimate the power in following up after a sale. A simple call to see how your customer has found your product or service can be a great way to get valuable feedback, testimonials and have the opportunity to upsell with different products and services.

8. Go the extra mile

If you really want to have repeat customers, go beyond their expectations and give them what they can’t get anywhere else. It could be as simple as taking the time to answer all of their questions to creating a wow customer service experience, anything to make an impact and keep them coming back.

How do you keep your customers coming back?

Amanda

123