(Baby) Food For Thought...

Baby food is not marketed to babies. It's marketed to mothers. If a
mom likes the marketing message -- and the taste, they'll buy it.
"Mother knows best", to turn a phrase.

Baby food is not the only thing that's not marketed to the end user.

Sometimes that's good. Sometimes that's bad.

For example, if you owned an automotive repair shop, your technicians
would be responsible for buying their own tools. But you are
responsible for supplying shop equipment (lifts, tire changers, etc.).

Yet, often shop equipment is marketed to the end user (the
technician), but not the final decision maker (the shop owner /
manager). Sometimes that's the same person. But  not always --
especially in larger shops.

It's best if you consider the person writing the check when you
create your sales and marketing messages. You may need to get a buy-
in from an influencer, but the check signer / decision maker may have
different priorities. You need to know who the final authority is and
connect with them.

In sales, you want to connect with that decider -- especially in a
corporate situation with layers of management to wade thru.

Takeaway: Sometimes it's easy to lose site of the opinion that's most
important. Who makes the decision on what you sell?  Are you
connecting with the right person or people?

Final Bank Rant....

O.K. by now you're probably sick and tired of my boring bank rant.   So am I.

So let me wrap this up with a lesson on the most important word in customer service...

Finally Beth and I scheduled time to go to the bank together to close several of our accounts because they were costing far more in fees than they were paying in interest. The most frustrating account was my son PJ's savings account. Most banks don't charge minors. Apparently my bank usually doesn't either.

The bank manager was short-staffed, so she is serving as a personal banker when we visited and I got to enjoy her delightful company again.

I complained about the charges on my son's account. She was quick to blame Someone Else.

"Someone didn't set this up right," she replied knitting her brow.

"They didn't charge his account any fees for the last 12 years," I retorted. "So, I assume 'Someone'  made the mistake a couple months ago."

"Someone made the mistake when you set up the account,"

"OK, this isn't about blame. This is about protecting my son's money."

"It says here that you're the custodian on the account ..."

"Yes. But if the account wasn't sent up correctly as a minor's account, there wouldn't be a custodian. Would there?"

Silence.

"Mr. Sasso, what would you like to do with this account?''

"Close it."

"Is there something about our service you're unhappy with?"

I'll save you the rest of the exchange. She credited the fees back. And she warned me against other big bad banks with hidden fees. But one thing she didn't say was "Sorry."

Mistakes happen. Most customers are forgiving of that. But without an "I'm sorry" it's hard to forgive.

Takeaway:  An simple apology can go a long way to smooth over most mistakes. It costs nothing but it's worth a lot to your customer.

In The Mood, Part 4....

My “bank rant” continues from last time. 

I walked into my bank after complaining about fees and faced a
well-designed promotional message on the door:

“Earn $240”

All I had to do was open a new account. The fine print turned me from
intrigued to irritated:

“New Customers Only.”

Someone in marketing wasn’t thinking. Aren’t 99% of the people walking
in the front door current customers? What message are they sending:
“YourLocal Bank: Raising Your Fees To Give Your Money To Our New
Customers.”

After my transaction, the teller rubs salt in my wound by handing me a
flyer and asking me to refer a friend so THEY can get $240 for opening a
new account.

How does that make a loyal customer feel? How would it make you feel?

Wouldn’t a better approach be to pay me $120 for a referral and my
friend $120 for switching banks?

Takeaway: Are you treating new customers better than existing ones?

In the Mood, Part 3....

Sorry it's been a while since my last marketing tip. I've been busy on client projects and some surprises I plan to unveil in a couple of weeks.

Let's head back to my bank where my branch manager closed one of my Money Market accounts (rather than waive the bank fees). During this interaction, her staff has been trying to cross sell me while I'm obviously steaming over the fees. Look here for the backstory.

Often customer service people are encouraged (more like forced) to cross-sell customers on every contact -- even if it's during a complaint. The theory: if a complaint is resolved well, a customer may upgrade or buy an add-on from your. But not every problem resolution turns out well. And it's not the best time to sell a customer when they're angry with your company or staff.

My recommended approach requires an added step but will get better results.

Don't try to sell a client anything when resolving a problem. Your job is to be apologetic and responsive. Period.

A day or two after your problem resolution, contact your client to see how they felt about the resolution of the problem.  Focus on the resolution, not the problem. Ask them to rank your responsiveness on a scale of one to six.

If they rate you 3 or lower, ask them what your company could have done better (be sure to separate the company as a whole from the employee). Note their answer and thank them for their input.

If they rate you 4 or over, thank them for their patience with your company while you resolved the issue. Ask is they had any advice to improve the resolution experience. Again note their answer and thank them for their input.

Then comes the opportunity to build your relationship with the customer. Explain that your company is very sorry for the mistake and would like to offer them a discount on a future purchase as your apology. Ask permission to mail or email them a special offer as your thank you for their continued business (like a certificate good for X% off their next purchase).  Then send them a thank you note with the special certificate. (Be sure the offer is not something you offer anyone else.) 

In general , you'll increase your overall customer satisfaction and add to your overall sales.

Meanwhile, Beth and I are going to the bank soon to close out more accounts. I'll let you know how turns out in my next tip.