Fishing For Customers

Author: Chuck McKay

  • Control Over Word-Of-Mouth

    Nearly every business person you talk to will tell you that word-of-mouth is his, or her, best advertising. Then someone, (usually a media rep), will point out that word-of-mouth is also the worst form of advertising, because you have absolutely no control over it.

    I disagree. You have total control.

    The operative word in business in the first half of this decade was bandwidth. For the second half, I suspect it’s going to be transparency.

    What’s transparency?

    It’s telling your prospective customers what you’re trying to accomplish. It’s admitting when things aren’t going as you planned. It’s being totally truthful in your dealings with your prospects and your customers.

    It’s candor, truthfulness, openness, honesty. Its accountability, understanding, and the willingness to team with your customers to help them get what they want.

    And why is transparency becoming so important?

    Because the internet has become a powerful communication tool. Because customers are now in control. Because they are now speaking directly to each other.

    And you can bet they’re talking about you.

    In the old days, when you controlled the media, you also controlled what was said, approximately to whom it was said, and how often that message was repeated. Today, customers will talk to total strangers about you. They will also believe what they hear.

    And why not? What incentive does a stranger have to lie? What does he gain by misleading someone else? He’s not involved in your company. Shoppers expect you to tell them the good things about your company and leave out the bad. They don’t expect other people to lie for you.

    The reality is if they don’t trust you they won’t buy from you.

    So, if you want shoppers to start trusting you; if you want customers to keep trusting you, you need to tell it all, brother. Tell it all. The good, the bad, and what you’ll be doing next.

    Which brings us back to word-of-mouth, and how to control it.

    It’s simple. You commit to treating every customer as if (s)he’s going to tell everyone in town what doing business with you is like.

    You make that commitment right now, and you never waver.

    And if you do treat everyone that well, what do you suppose your customers will be telling total strangers about you?

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  • The Magic Advertising Formula

    Please don’t think that I’m suggesting that you should offend small groups of people. That’s not it at all.

    I’ll bet the point becomes obvious as you read these examples.

    Example Number One:

    Everyone has heard the fable of the six blind men and the elephant. It’s a simple tale with an obvious lesson that even a small child can understand.

    This story has been around for generations, primarily because it is such a vivid example of differences in perception.

    I once alluded to those six men in a radio ad. I said “Like the six blind men and the elephant, everyone comes away with a highly personalized understanding of the process.”

    Imagine how surprised I was to receive a call from the President of the local Association for the Blind. He was offended that I had chosen to portray non-sighted people as having “limited abilities and inferior intellect.”

    In a market of roughly 500,000 persons, I had offended one.

    Example Number Two:

    Dan O’Day, formerly a top-rated major market disk jockey and currently a radio programming consultant told me of a podiatrist joke he told over the air on a San Francisco radio station. The girlfriend of a podiatrist called station management and complained. The manager then said to O’Day, “Dan, you’re never going to be a popular DJ if you alienate podiatrists.”

    I just did a Google search. San Francisco, a city of six million people boasts 610 podiatrists.

    Example Number Three:

    In the early 90s I owned a pair of radio stations in East Texas. One of my clients was a local baker, famous for their cheesecakes.

    We produced an ad for the bakery which said, in part: “New York, New York is a city of fifteen million people. New York, Texas is a city of fifteen people. New York, New York is famous for its cheesecakes. But the best cheesecakes in the world come from a secret recipe from New York, Texas.”

    The ad ran for several months. New bakery customers commented on the ad, and bought more of their products.

    Then one day a pair of ladies from New York, New York came into the bakery. They told the bakery owners how offended they were by that ad. How DARE anyone claim better cheesecakes than those that came from NY City?

    Then they each purchased a cheesecake and left.

    I got a call from the bakery instructing me to stop broadcasting the ad.

    I pointed out that the ad was obviously working well. Not only had those ladies been motivated to visit the store, but they had also purchased product.

    I argued that the chances of anyone else from New York, New York hearing the ad were infinitesimally small. I even refreshed the owners’ memories of how much positive response this ad had generated for their store.

    Their minds were made up. They didn’t wish to offend anyone. “Please pull the ad.“

    Figured it out? The point those three examples illustrated?

    Sure you did. It’s obvious.

    There is no magic formula for advertising which will appeal to everyone.

    Some people exposed to your ad won’t care.

    Others will quite likely be a bit put off (assuming the ad was any good).

    You see, there’s only one universal truth in advertising: any use of media that gets people emotionally involved will offend some other people.

    Great advertising runs the risk of being criticized. Bad advertising runs the risk of not being noticed at all. You’ve seen those bad ads. They are are so sterilized, so flaccid, so lifeless that they have no ability to emotionally pull us at all.

    You probably don’t remember those ads.

    And that is the most obvious confirmation of my point.

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  • Cause and Effect: Another Application of Transactional / Relational Shoppers

    Suppose that you had 50 people in a room, and asked each of them to flip a coin. Those whose coins came up “tails” were instructed to sit down, and those who had “heads” flipped again.

    The law of averages suggests that twenty-five of your people would flip a second time. Twelve, or possibly thirteen would flip a third time. Six would still be standing for the forth flips. Three for the fifth. And one, possibly two, would flip a sixth time.

    If the coin came up “heads,” our flipper would have successfully tossed six heads in a row.

    What are the odds that his seventh flip would also be heads?

    Fifty percent.

    Each time a coin was tossed, there were only two possible outcomes. The law of averages says each has an equal probability of occurring each time. Did our last coin flipper standing beat the odds?

    No. The laws of probability played out exactly as they always do.

    If you understand the cause (law of probability applied to a large number of people) you won’t be so impressed by the effect (one guy flipped six heads in a row). Understanding the cause also makes the effect predictable.

    Sometimes otherwise intelligent people mistake the effect of an action for the cause of an action. When this gets applied to marketing, the results can be disastrous.

    The Case Study

    In 2002 a Midwest grocer, who shall remain nameless, came across some research that compared the number of visits a new shopper made to a store to the tendency of that new shopper to return. The data indicated that after the sixth visit, the shopper became “loyal” to that store.

    I’ll explain which is the cause, and which is the effect, in a minute. First, though, let’s look at Mr. Grocer’s logic. If it took six visits to make a customer loyal, he would to mount a big campaign designed to bring new shoppers into the store at least once a week, and keep bringing them back for at least six weeks.

    Mr. Grocer purchased game pieces with liberal prize pay outs which were passed out with each sale. He scheduled serious price reductions in specific departments. And, he purchased massive numbers of GRPs to make sure the community knew of the discounts, the prizes, and the quality of each of his departments.

    The short-term result? A huge influx of new shoppers for the six-week period of his campaign. Long term? Only a small percentage of them became loyal and returned regularly after the promotion.

    What went wrong?

    There were two major factors. First, a lack of understanding of the difference between relational and transactional shoppers. Second, the assumption that six visits to the store CAUSED shopper loyalty.

    Transactional shoppers are only interested in today’s purchase. Give them a bargain, and they’ll buy. They’ll drive across town to save money on that purchase. They consider the time spent in comparison shopping part of the challenge of getting the most for their dollar.

    They have no loyalty. As soon as someone else offers them a bigger bargain, they’re gone.

    And which shopping mode did Mr. Grocer’s promotion appeal to? He heavily advertised low prices, discounts, and free prizes. It’s no surprise that he drew a large contingent of transactional shoppers.

    Oops.

    When one considers the number of dollars spent on this promotion, even the most experienced marketer is going to wince.

    Look at what was likely recorded in the research.

    People shopped a new store for the first time. A large number of them had a generally favorable shopping experience. They came back and shopped again. A few had a disappointing experience and failed to return.

    We see the same thing happen the second, the third, the fourth, and the fifth time shoppers visited the store. Each time, most of them had a generally favorable shopping experience, and a few didn’t. The few refused to come back and shop again.

    By the sixth week, all of those who had previously had a negative shopping experience had dropped out of sight. Those who had six positive shopping experiences in a row were generally so pumped by the treatment they’d received they could find no reason to shop elsewhere.

    It wasn’t six coin tosses that caused one coin to come up heads six times in a row. It’s that all of the tails outcomes had been removed by the sixth toss.

    It wasn’t the six visits to the grocery story which caused the loyalty. It’s that all of the shoppers who didn’t feel good about the place after their earlier visits had already sat down.

    What should Mr. Grocer have done? He should have focused on the relational shoppers who will return even when they don’t have a coupon. He should have gone out of his way to delight them with each shopping experience.

    • He could have increased the number of checkers so that people didn’t have to wait in line.

    • He could have set up a baby sitting area so that Mom could shop without trying to keep the kids in tow.

    • He could have offered free coffee and cookies, or sodas, or other beverages and snacks.

    • And he could have implemented these changes permanently. He could have heavily advertised those changes.

    He could have focused on things which appeal to relational shoppers.

    And please don’t tell me that these changes cost too much. They are insignificant when compared to the cost of his disastrous six week promotion. And they pay off much longer.

    Who are you targeting?

    What’s the logic that’s the foundation of your advertising?

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  • The Invisible Ad

    The Invisible Ad

    Has there ever been a kid who didn’t dream of becoming invisible?

    To pass unnoticed before people’s very eyes? To come and go with no accountability?

    There could be some very real advantages to being invisible – provided you’re not an advertising message.

    Invisibility in Advertising is the Kiss of Death

    An advertisement is judged for its ability to persuade a prospective customer to purchase goods or services. Ads that don’t get noticed don’t persuade anyone.

    How does one make an ad invisible? One loads it full of clichés.

    A cliché is a saying that’s been so overused that it no longer holds any meaning for anyone.

    Suppose this was the advice you were given to improve your advertising:

    “Therefore you should avoid clichés like the plague, especially those which could not stand the test of time. Knuckle down, keep your nose to the grindstone, your shoulder to the wheel, and your eyes on the prize as you leave no stone unturned. Of course, if you can get your act together these weak hackneyed phrases could be a blessing in disguise. But, half the battle defies conventional wisdom. Wrack your brain for short and sweet expressions that reveal the unvarnished truth about this particular wild goose chase.”

    Could you follow this advice? Of course not.

    Do you remember anything from it? (No fair peeking).

    The preceding paragraph didn’t say anything. You saw the words, you heard them in your head, but none of them were strong enough to create a visual image. There was nothing even slightly memorable in those eighty-six words.

    The whole paragraph is invisible.

    Are Your Ads Invisible?

  • Are you still offering the perfect gift for everyone on your list?
  • Something for everyone?
  • Friendly, courteous service?
  • Are you running an inventory reduction sale?
  • Prices too low to advertise?
  • For a limited time only?
  • Do you treat me like family?
  • Go the extra mile?
  • Offer over 37 years of experience?

    • Invisible ads. No one will even notice them, let alone remember anything you told them.

    The easy cure is to stop sounding like an ad and start sounding like a person. Actually SAY something. Make me an offer. Express it with one human voice. Say it in everyday language.

    People don’t dislike advertising, they dislike ads that say nothing they can relate to. They dislike ads that sound like ads.

    A Quick and Simple Advertising Test

    Get 12 inches away from another person – any other person. Maintain eye contact while you recite your ad.

    If anything you say embarrasses you or makes you feel silly, strike that line from your copy.

    If you’re running ads that look like ads, sound like ads, and are loaded to the gills with clichés, you’re wasting your money. Let me repeat that: you are expending capital and getting nothing in return.

    My business can’t afford that.

    Can you afford to make the bait invisible when you’re fishing for customers?

    Your Guide,
    Chuck McKay

    Your Fishing for Customers guide, Chuck McKay, gets people to buy more of what you sell.

    Got questions about making your ads highly visible? Start a conversation with Chuck by email at ChuckMcKay@ChuckMcKayOnLine.com. Or call him at 317-207-0028.

  • It’s Not The Weather

    “Twenty years ago this used to be so easy,” he said. “When sales were slow we’d put up the big tent, put a bunch of boats in the tent, set up a prize registration box, grill some hotdogs, and invite a radio station. We’d sell half a dozen boats easily.

    “Ten years ago it didn’t work so well. Today it doesn’t work at all. I don’t know what to do. Our sales are way off this year. I’m hoping it’s the weather.”

    I might not have even remembered that conversation if I hadn’t had the same one with a swimming pool dealer on the other side of the country later the same week. The conversation was nearly word-for-word identical.

    When the swimming pool guy said “Our sales are way off this year, I’m hoping it’s the weather” I realized what was happening.

    It’s not the weather.

    It’s the message.

    Let’s recap something I’ve already told you. There are only two shopping modes.

    Transactional shoppers believe that they already know everything necessary to make an informed decision. Transactional shoppers are only interested in price.

    Relational shoppers, on the other hand, are well aware that they don’t know enough to make an informed decision. They are shopping for an advisor they can trust not to take advantage of them.

    Three critical points:

    1. First, we all shop in both modes, depending on what we’re buying. And whatever you’re selling, your customers are about half and half. Roughly fifty percent are shopping price, and roughly fifty percent just want someone they can trust to offer advice on what’s best for them.

    2. Second point: transactional shoppers will cheerfully play one supplier against another in an endless game of “can you top this?” Transactional shoppers consistently provide lower closing ratios, smaller gross sales, and thinner profit margins.

    3. And finally, the right thing to say to one is exactly the wrong thing to say to the other. Doesn’t this make sense? Why would a relational shopper, who fears not knowing enough to make the right decision, react positively to “Save $1,000 if you buy today?”

    I was reminded of those two conversations earlier today when I heard an ad for a swimming pool manufacturer.

    “The perfect day to buy the pool and spa of your dreams is this Saturday. Speak to the experts at our one day sale event, see our custom 3-D pool design system, and save up to six thousand dollars on the purchase of a new pool. Come celebrate with free hot dogs and soft drinks, prize giveaways, and face painting for the kids.”

    Which shopping mode do you predict will react positively to the implied pressure of this ad? Save six thousand dollars if you buy this Saturday? This one is definitely a transactional appeal.

    But, will this ad pull in ANY qualified buyers, regardless of their preferred shopping mode?

    Let me predict what’s going to happen at this big one-day sales event. The radio station broadcasting the event will be pressured to produce a crowd. They’ll pull out the stops, pour on the hype, and pump up the giveaways.

    The pool company is advertising free hot dogs and prizes – oh, and free face painting. They’re going to attract people who want free hotdogs and free prizes. How many of them will be qualified to purchase a $60,000 pool?

    Come Monday, the pool company is going to count the number of pools sold on Saturday. If they are at all disappointed (and aren’t they always?) they’ll turn to the radio station and say “You brought in the wrong people.”

    No kidding.

    Advertising seeks its own audience. Every ad will appeal to some shoppers and not appeal to others. When, like all of your competitors, you’re screaming “We will not be undersold,” all of the transactional shoppers will come see you, then take your price to your competitor to “grind him down.”

    It’s not the weather causing your lackluster sales. It’s your message.

    As a business owner your first decision should be to which shoppers you want your ads to appeal.

    Suppose that instead of a big one-day sale, our pool builder had run a different ad?

    “As hot as it’s been, you’ve probably been thinking it would be nice to have a pool in your own backyard. We know that a pool is a major investment for a homeowner like you, and there are a lot of things to consider. That’s why we’ve brought in the experts to answer your questions in a casual, no pressure setting. Bring the measurements of your backyard, and we’ll show you on our custom 3D design system just what to expect, the range of costs for the amenities important to you, and we’ll even explain your financing options What we won’t do is pressure you to buy.”

    Of course, it’s going to take guts for Mr. Pool Builder to try to attract perhaps only four qualified buyers and making them comfortable buying, instead of attracting a couple hundred non-buyers who are there for the hot dogs, and hoping for the best.

    Oh, and hoping for good weather.

    It’s not the weather.

    It’s that you, and all of your competitors, are screaming the same message: “Get excited. Make an impulsive buy. We’ll save you money.”

    You’re all fighting for the same low profit, highly fickle transactional buyers. Any relational shoppers in your show room are there because they wanted what you offer so badly that they’re prepared to endure what they perceive to be your high-pressure sales tactics to get it.

    What would happen if you made it easy for them? What if you wrote ads that targeted the highly-profitable and intensely loyal relational shoppers?

    Your ads would automatically shine like a beacon in the darkness. Your ads would capture the attention of every qualified buyer who doesn’t trust your slick, fast talking, high-pressure competitors.

    You’d get the attention of those shoppers who, frankly, don’t trust you the way you are.

    It’s not the weather that’s keeping people from buying, it’s your strategy.

    Who do your ads target?

    Are those the customers you really want?

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  • Ask About the Failures

    Marketing consultants love to tell you their success stories. Listen to them long enough and you’ll believe they never make mistakes.

    Ask them about their failures.

    Oh, we all have them. They’re universally embarrassing. The good consultants have fallen on their collective butts often. The great consultants have spectacular failures hidden deep in their client files.

    Ask them about their failures. Nobody really learns anything by succeeding. Its failure that makes the cost of experience so great. It’s failure that makes experience so valuable.

    In the spirit of disclosure, I shall now share one of mine.

    It was 1971. I was a college freshman who worked for a man named Howard in his electronics shop after class.

    FM radio had replaced AM as the band most people listened to.

    Stereo had replaced “Hi Fi” as the operative word for quality sound. Quad had been available for about three years, but no one was sure whether SQ was really better than QS. Descrete quadraphonic sound? We only dreamed about it.

    Howard had started his own television and CB radio repair business half a dozen years earlier. Over the years he added a second technician, then a third. He started selling a few television sets. Picked up the Sylvania line. The Sylvania wholesaler sent him a dozen television sets and half a dozen stereo systems.

    My job? Keep the place clean. Make deliveries. Run to the parts house. Take care of customers when there was no one else to deal with them.

    One day a man in a suit swaggered into the shop. This was an oddity in itself, since no one wore suits into our place. We didn’t even wear suits into our place.

    But the other oddity was his lack of necktie. After all, if a man was going to dress for business, wouldn’t he wear a tie with his suit? Instead of a tie, this guy left the top three buttons on his shirt unfastened.

    As I said, he swaggered in with the attitude that he was indeed Sum Buddy.

    “Young fella,” he said, “where’s the boss?”

    Howard came out of the shop at just that time to ask Mr. Buddy if he needed help.

    Mr. Buddy explained his incredible offer: 8-track cartridges, in their own theft-proof space-age plastic bubble display case. Pick a hundred from the wide selection he had in his car. Buy ‘em outright for only two bucks each. Sell ‘em for six bucks each. Make a fortune.

    Howard didn’t appear particularly interested. “Ehhh,” he said. “What do I know about music?”

    Sum Buddy turned to me. “Hey, young fella. You know popular music?”

    “Sure,” I told ‘em. I then watched as I became one of the selling points as Mr. Buddy continued his pitch.

    “You’ve got a man here who knows music. I’ve got the product. Pick out a hundred titles, and I’ll sell you the display at half price. You’ve got the stereo record players with 8-track decks. How can you be a real stereo store if people can’t buy music here, too?”

    Twenty minutes of serious negotiation later and I, the “man here who knows music” was selecting 30 titles, which we put in the free theft-proof space-age plastic bubble display case. Howard counted out $50 from the till. Mr. Buddy was off to offer his tapes to another entrepreneur down another road.

    I had chosen Elton John, ABBA, America, Blue Oyster Cult, the Georgie Baker Selection, Black Sabbath, and several that are simply too painful to remember.

    Howard looked at me, the “man here who knows music,” and asked “How are we going to sell these?”

    “Well,” I said, thoughtfully, “I think we should advertise in the college newspaper.”

    I put together an ad, negotiated with the student paper’s student sales staff, and scheduled it to run in their second December issue – the one closest to Christmas. An 8-track of a great album would make a great last-minute Christmas gift was my reasoning. The paper was published every other week. There would be an issue on roughly December 7th, and another roughly the 21st. Our ad came out in the December 21st issue.

    We waited for the last-minute gift rush.

    We waited.

    We waited more.

    Howard was fairly patient, until January rolled around and he noted that we hadn’t sold a single tape. At that point he wondered aloud if a campus beer party might have fried too many of my limited brain cells.

    Howard suggested that I personally find 30 friends who would give him $1.67 each for these tapes so he could at least break even on this venture.

    I discovered that I didn’t have thirty friends.

    I did have six friends who collectively purchased seven tapes. The other 23 tapes hung around that store until summer when Howard sold ‘em for $0.50 each that during a sidewalk sale. We kept the theft-proof space-age plastic bubble display case in the storeroom for a while, but it was hard to stack things on it because of that big plastic bubble. We finally tossed it out.

    My first experience as a marketing authority was a total failure. But, as I said, we don’t learn much from our successes. It’s failure that makes experience so valuable.

    This particular episode of Chuck history has delivered four valuable lessons.

    Point Number One: a single ad in isolation isn’t going to accomplish much of anything. Ads work best when their message gets repeated, again and again, until people know that message by heart.

    Lesson Number One: Never bet the farm on a single ad.

    Point Number Two: some markets are seasonal. Some are ridiculously seasonal. In the case of a college student body, they tend to start leaving for home about eight days before Christmas, which would be the 17th. By the 21st (when our ad was published) the campus was empty.

    Lesson Number Two: Learn the seasonality of your market.

    Point Number Three: not all of the students left town for Christmas break. 30% of them lived in town. They bought gifts between the 21st and the 24th. Many of them bought music as gifts. None of them bought that music at a television repair shop.

    And why would they?

    It takes a lot of time, effort, and resources to establish any image in the minds of your prospective customers. If you should be successful at planting an image, any image, advertising a different image is worse than starting over. You have to try to first kill the old image before you can establish a new one.

    Lesson Number Three: don’t change your name unless you also change your products. Don’t radically change your products without changing your name. Don’t do either unless you’re forced to by rapidly declining sales.

    Point Number Four: my tastes in music are not, nor will they ever be, anything close to “normal.” Yours aren’t either. In fact, any personal opinion you have, when applied to the preferences of your market, is worthless. Don’t ever make a decision because your tastes, those of your friends, or your wife’s tastes are consulted. (And NEVER listen to anyone who says “I’m in the demo. My opinion is the only one that counts.”

    Lesson Number Four: Survey your market. Stop guessing. Learn what they want to buy.

    One incident. Four valuable lessons.

    Everyone benefits from this story except Howard.

    Your marketing consultant didn’t become an authority by always being right. The good consultants have fallen on their collective butts often. The great consultants have spectacular failures hidden deep in their client files.

    Ask them about their failures.

    And learn from them.

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  • Marketing as a School of Art

    A good art instructor takes her students through a number of different “schools” of painting in the course of their education. Does she do this to give them a broader appreciation of art? No. That’s a side benefit.

    She does it so that they can learn specific techniques developed by the masters of the various schools.

    They’ll study Rubens for his use of grand dramatic figures; Rembrandt’s attention to shadow; Cézanne’s use of small repeated brushstrokes; Picasso’s study of geometric shapes.

    The students will attempt to duplicate the masters in order to learn the underlying techniques. Some of those techniques will feel “natural” to the budding artist, who will add them to his own art techniques “toolbox.”

    Over a period of time the savvy student takes a bit of Raphael, a smidge of Vermeer, a touch of Monet, until he’s recognized as having developed his own style. This will be the beginning of commercial success for our artist.

    Marketers should study successful marketers the way painters study influential artists.

    Some markets respond better to direct response techniques while others respond better to branding. Some markets react to a free gift with purchase, while others tend to identify with a particular image.

    Successful marketers must be ready to change tactics as dictated by the market.

    I once witnessed an argument between a sales representative and the sales manager of a North Florida radio station.

    The rep said: “Are you under the impression that I work for you? I work for Buck Bay Marine. I work for Menarro’s Restaurant. And if I didn’t have your radio station to deliver their messages I’d use outdoor, or wear sandwich boards or pass out Rubik’s Cubes with their names on ‘em.”

    I applaud his attitude.

    Unfortunately it’s easier to find a good art instructor than an experienced marketer well versed in all of the ways to communicate with customers. Successful marketers, much like successful artists, specialize in one particular school of marketing philosophy.

    My suggestion? Study them all. Attempt to duplicate the masters. Learn the underlying techniques. Some of them will feel “natural” to you. Add them to your own marketing techniques toolbox.

    Over a period of time you’ll incorporate a bit of Hopkins, a smidge of Kennedy, a touch of Ogilvy, until you know with certainty that these are all just different ways of delivering your message.

    In my opinion, these are some of the best books ever written on the topics of marketing and advertising. They are arranged alphabetically. Please don’t consider this to be any kind of ranking.

  • Call to Action – Bryan Eisenberg and Jeffery Eisenberg

  • Confessions of an Advertising Man – David Ogilvy

  • Guerilla Marketing – Jay Conrad Levinson

  • How to Advertise – Kenneth Roman and Jane Maas

  • Magical Worlds of the Wizard of Ads – Roy H. Williams

  • My Life In Advertising – Claude Hopkins

  • Ogilvy on Advertising – David Ogilvy

  • Permission Marketing – Seth Godin

  • Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind – Al Ries and Jack Trout

  • Reality in Advertising – Rosser Reeves

  • Scientific Advertising – Claude Hopkins

  • Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads – Roy H. Williams

  • Tested Advertising Methods – John Caples

  • The 33 Ruthless Rules of Local Advertising – Michael Corbett

  • The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR – Al Ries and Laura Ries

  • Waiting For Your Cat to Bark – Bryan Eisenberg and Jeffery Eisenberg with Lisa T. Davis

  • Wizard of Ads – Roy H. Williams

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  • The Relational Mechanic

    Every business creates its own professional reputation. Sometimes we refer to it as “word of mouth.” Given enough time, a positive reputation may be all that’s necessary for a business to become successful.

    But even word of mouth reinforces either a relational or a transactional mindset. Which means you’ve got to choose which kind of customer you want to do business with.

    Often I hear operators of small businesses say “That may be true for big companies, but my company is so small that I can’t afford to pass by any customer.” They’re wrong. Very wrong. It’s likely to be even more important to small business.

    Let me give you an example of how well this can work, when done correctly.

    Meet Spiro Dendrinos, owner of Mobile Mechanical service. You can’t get any smaller than a one-man operation, which Spiro became four years ago when he started his business.

    Spiro’s business model is simple: when you have problems, he’ll come to you. He fits all of his tools and test equipment into his car, and doesn’t have to maintain the expense of owning a shop.

    His entire advertising strategy was originally to set some business cards on the counters of various coffee shops and convenience stores. By his own admission this strategy didn’t get him any business. And why would it? Transactional shoppers didn’t see any “great deal” on his card. Relational shoppers had never heard of him.

    But when he made friends at the parts counter of the local automotive parts store, the personal recommendation of the parts man, accompanied by handing the customer Spiro’s card, did slowly begin to pay off for Mobile Mechanical.

    Then Spiro implemented the strategy that has become his signature, as well as his primary source of new work: about two weeks after he finishes working on a customer’s car, or tractor, or outboard motor, he phones to ask if it’s still working well.

    It is amazing how many times he hangs up with another job for the same customer, or a phone number of the customer’s friend or neighbor who needs the services of a good all around mechanic.

    By his own admission, for the first year and a half he needed a part-time job to augment his income as a mechanic, but as Spiro’s reputation has grown so has the demand for his services. For the last two and a half years Mobile Mechanical has been booked a full month in advance, and the work shows no sign of letting up.

    And as you might expect, Spiro gets calls from people who are price shopping. He simply quotes them a rate, and refuses to negotiate. Spiro knows the difference between the price shopping, non-loyal transactional shopper, and the more loyal relational customer who isn’t going to quibble over the last few dollars.

    Not that he seems overly concerned about charging everything the market will bear. He tells the story of arriving at a customer’s home, and having to clean the garage to create enough space to work on the car. He didn’t charge for the time he was rearranging the garage.

    He’s been known to inform customers that the problem they’ve called him to repair is covered under their factory warrantee, pack up his tools, and move on to the next job.

    When Spiro finds a faulty sensor at a cost of $25, and doesn’t repair or replace the transmission, stories of his integrity spread quickly, and contribute to the word of mouth which drives his current success.

    Former customers who’ve moved out of the area are willing to pay a serious mileage charge for him to continue to come to them in their new communities. (Once you’ve earned their trust, relational customers don’t easily give up their relationships).

    Life is good for Spiro Dendrinos.

    Can we take some lessons from Mobile Mechanical’s success?

    Certainly.

    1) Spiro’s business can easily be differentiated from his competitors. He comes to his customers – a valuable service that none of his competitors offer.

    2) Business cards and flyers left indiscriminately around the community accomplish nothing. If you’re trying to attract transactional business make an attractive offer to sell something, now. If you wish to attract relational business, use another strategy.

    3) Spiro does no “dollars off” promotions. They would attract transactional customers, which he’s already decided are not as profitable. He sees price promotions as temporarily boosts to volume while simultaneously sacrificing profit.

    4) He prices his service not as low as possible to attract more business; not as high as the market will bear to maximize revenue; but rather to earn a fair profit based on the value of his time. He does not deviate from his pricing philosophy.

    5) He recognizes that every time he deals with a customer, he’s contributing to his own word of mouth. Therefore, he treats every customer as if they’re his most important customer.

    6) He actively solicits additional business from his current clients, and referrals for future business.

    7) And most importantly, Spiro has a clearly defined definition of his relational customer. His attention isn’t diverted by trying to work with potential transactional customers who don’t match that profile.

    Given enough time customers will become aware of a lack in their lives that can only be satisfied by owning what your business sells. Then, having heard positive word of mouth about your business, those customers will come to your business and buy. Advertising only speeds up this process.

    Are you consciously directing word of mouth about your company? Relational shoppers will only be drawn by relational word of mouth. Likewise, transactional shoppers will ignore relational word of mouth and focus instead on the transactional word on the street.

    Which type of shopper are you building your business around? Do you know exactly who your customers are? Even more importantly, do you know who they are not?

    Do you have the courage to avoid those who don’t fit your customer profile?

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  • Twice A Year Is Recommended

    Twice A Year Is Recommended

    Dentist Sign
    Dentist Sign

    We assume that people avoid seeing their dentist because they fear pain. Perhaps that’s a valid assumption.

    Maybe they don’t call because they don’t have a relationship with a dentist. Or maybe they’re just busy. Then again, maybe it’s lack of foresight – the “Nothing hurts. Why invite trouble?” attitude.

    For the record, I’m feeling no discomfort. I’d like to think it was all that busy-ness that kept me away for the last dozen years. But, whatever the reason, for the first time in twelve years I made an appointment for a check up.

    How did I choose the dentist?

    Did I ask for referrals from people I know? Did I call the Chamber of Commerce? Search the Internet? Consult the yellow pages?

    Nope. Like so many other people, I drive by his office every day. He has a sign out front of his office.

    You’ve heard me say that frequency sells. Repeat the message often enough and people who need what you’re offering will eventually seek you out. By my own estimate I’ve passed that sign well over three hundred times. Three hundred impressions made their way into my brain. At the conscious level? Well, conscious enough that I did start thinking I was past due for a check-up.

    One day, on a whim, I pulled into the parking lot and walked in. I had a delightful conversation with the doctor’s receptionist. She set my appointment, took insurance information, and explained the pricing and credit policies of her office.

    On the appointed day I arrived, checked in, and got only half-way through the first article in an August 2004 issue of People, when I was called into the exam room.

    Met the hygienist, Janine. Nice lady. She took a patient history, cleaned my teeth, and filled out a chart. She also took an x-ray of each side of my mouth. We spent about an hour and a quarter together.

    Then the dentist walked in.

    I said “Hi.”

    He said “Hi,” back, but there was no enthusiasm in his voice. He made no eye contact. He went directly to the chart, and after studying for a minute, picked up a probe and a mirror and stuck them in my mouth.

    He made two comments to Janine, wheeled his short naugahide covered stool out of my line of vision and announced “You need two fillings and we’re going to have to remove that rear molar. I’m going to have Janine take a full panoramic x-ray.”

    With that, he was gone.

    Janine escorted me across the hall, shot the panoramic x-ray, and told me I was finished.

    I stopped at the reception desk to ask about my next appointment, which the receptionist scheduled within ten days.

    I won’t be keeping the appointment.

    I’ve already called and cancelled.

    This Doctor of Dentistry could have turned me into a strong reference for his practice. All he would have had to do was to treat me as if I mattered.

    Imagine the difference it would have made if he had spent thirty seconds when he first walked into the room to say “Good morning, Mr. McKay. We’re always glad to welcome new patients, and we’re pleased that you’ve chosen us for your dental care.”

    Imagine how much better I’d feel at the beginning of the exam had he said “I’m going to take a look now at some areas Jeanine has marked on your chart. Would you mind opening your mouth?”

    Imagine how much more confidence I’d have in his prescription of treatment had he said “Mr. McKay, you have a couple of minor cavities that need to be filled, but that back molar is a ticking time bomb. If you’re not in any pain, yet, it’s only a matter of time. I’m sorry, but the decay is such that we’re not going to be able to save that tooth. I’d like to schedule a time to remove it. Is there any reason we shouldn’t do that?”

    But, those things will have to remain in my imagination, since they didn’t happen.

    I’m one of those people who resents not being acknowledged. I don’t like it at a restaurant. I definately don’t like it when I’m paying a high priced professional for his services.

    I’m presently taking steps to find a different dentist.

    How much do you want to bet that the first doctor is still counting me as one of his patients? My patient file is probably one of the assets of his business.

    And, though I did have the courtesy to cancel the appointment, I didn’t feel compelled to announce my departure from his practice. Maybe I’ll send him a copy of this article.

    Three Lessons

    So, while I begin the search for a second opinion, let me summarize what’s to be learned from this particular dental experience.

    • First, there is no amount of advertising as valuable as a good location.If enough people drive by, you won’t need to spend a dime promoting your business. We advertise to reach the people who don’t drive by.
    • Second, whether you pay large amounts in rent or large amounts for advertising, every customer / client / patient is already a major investment.DO NOT TREAT THEM AS IF THEY ARE INTERCHANGABLE. Make eye contact. Smile. Tell them how much you appreciate their business. People like to be appreciated.
    • And third, become very aware that the customer list you’ve paid so much to create (in rent or in advertising) is already outdated. You know people have tried you once and have decided not to repeat that experience.

    How long should you wait for a customer to make a repeat purchase before you conclude that (s)he’s no longer a customer? One purchase cycle? Three? More?

    Consumers today have more choice than ever before. One could argue that they are more valuable than ever before. The best way to be chosen is to be delightful.

    What are you doing to delight them at first contact?  Maintaining attention and attraction are critical when you’re fishing for customers.

    Your Guide,
    Chuck McKay

    Marketing consultant Chuck McKayYour Fishing for Customers guide, Chuck McKay, gets people to buy more of what you sell.

    Got questions about whether your customer list reflects real customers (and how to get them all buying again)? Drop Chuck a note at ChuckMcKay@ChuckMcKayOnLine.com. Or call him at 304-208-7654.


     

  • So You Need A Survey, Do You?

    Americans are just so gosh darn optimistic.*

    Ask ‘em. Ask ‘em what they intend to buy in the next year. Then compare those results to what they did buy last year. Everyone intends to purchase major appliances, a new car, or a Caribbean vacation next year.

    But somehow they just won’t be able to come up with the money this year.

    That’s the problem with surveying intentions. Your survey is worthless. People’s intentions are not an accurate predictor of their actions. When people are faced with real choices, their decisions are quite different than when they are questioned about hypothetical choices.

    For instance, a recent AARP** poll shows 48% of workers over the age of 40 say they are “somewhat confidant” about their retirement plans. Yet 52% of those same people have not even attempted to figure out how much they’ll need to live on. 22% of them have no savings at all.

    We all see ourselves differently than we act. People can’t predict what they would do. You can’t predict it, either. You can only observe what they do.

    A good question.

    A good question asks for only one answer. “Were you satisfied with our food and service?” won’t provide information you can act on.

    If a diner answers “no” was it the food, the service, or both that were not satisfactory?

    What about confidentiality?

    Questions of a sensitive nature require a degree of trust on the part of the respondent. Either make your questionnaire anonymous with no identifying information, or clearly state your confidentiality policy.

    Better yet, do both.

    How should the questions be sequenced?

    Some researchers have reported that the order of the questions can effect the way people respond, claiming that when general questions are asked before specific questions, the answers are unlikely to be affected by each other. Specific questions about crime, for instance, could change the degree of reaction to the more general “crime prevention” questions which followed.

    Other investigators have claimed just the opposite: that putting the specific questions first keeps people more interested in the more general questions.

    On one thing everyone agrees, however. Each question should flow comfortably from the previous question. Jumping to non-related questions tend to produce low response rates.

    Get rid of those multiple choice check boxes.

    Case study: a television/newspaper campaign to sell individual units in a condominium development. Over the first ten days of the campaign foot traffic through the models went up 350%.

    Imagine my surprise when the sales manager told me the advertising wasn’t working.

    How did he come to this conclusion? He gave every person who stopped in a questionnaire. The first question: How did you hear about Chancellor’s Row?

    Nearly every one had checked the first box: “Just driving by and saw your sign.”

    “Well, of course they saw the sign,” I said. “They’ve driven by here hundreds of times. This time, however, they pulled in and took the tour.”

    I had the cards reprinted with a big empty space where all of the check boxes used to be. When people weren’t able to take the easiest answer, and had to think about the question, we got answers that made more sense.

    Do you actually need a survey?

    Is it possible that some other organization has asked the same questions, and has already found the answer?

    Perhaps the Federal Government or an institution of higher learning has already conducted a similar survey and has the results already available. Check with your public library or the local Small Business Development Centers.

    * I could just as easily said “Russians are optimistic” or “Austrailians are optimistic.” This is a clearly human trait.

    ** AARP Bulletin / June 2006

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