News
The Laws of
Attraction
By Alan Rosenspan, Alan Rosenspan
& Associates
In the last article, we talked about the importance
of protecting your customers in these difficult
economic times.
Many companies do; most companies don’t.
That means that the bad economy may actually afford
you an opportunity to attract more customers away
from your competition. Customers who were previously
satisfied with less - are now asking for more.
And when they do, you can be right there to catch
them. How can you do that?
1. Add value. Think of ways you can add value to
your product or service that your competition
doesn’t have. Let me give you an example: Many
companies use an automated inter-active phone
system. “Press one to get more information. Press
two for a brochure. Press three for…”
Companies love them because they save money.
Consumers hate them. So several companies – such as
Capital One - have actually included “talk to a live
person” as a benefit of their product.
But doesn’t it cost more? Southwest Airlines has
always resisted the temptation to cut costs on
customer service. When you call, you always speak to
a live person. Funny how they are always one of the
only airlines to make a profit.
2. Look for stronger offers. In bad economic times,
the temptation is to cut back on offers.
That’s the wrong place to save money.
Suppose your company is offering a free report or
white paper. Some bright young marketing person
might suggest that instead of a written report, you
offer it only as a PDF (“Just think of all the money
we’ll save on printing and postage!)
Yes, you will. However, a few other things will also
happen:
(A) The weaker offer will reduce response. And these
days, you just can’t afford to lose a single good
lead.
(B) Without a real document in their hands, the
person who responds will have a harder time
convincing their boss, or even their spouse, to
purchase your product.
And (C) You have lost the opportunity for your
information to be placed in a file, which they can
go back to when they are ready to buy (and this
might be in several months.)
3. Measure everything you do. And then do more of
what works. In a difficult economy, it becomes even
more important to know the Return-on-Investment on
every marketing dollar you spend.
Sure, that giant billboard looks great – but can we
quantify how many extra sales it produces?
Maybe that same amount of money would be better
invested in an e-mail campaign. Direct mail is
working well? Great, let’s find more lists to mail
to, or mail more frequently.
4. Cherry-pick your prospects. You may not be able
to afford to market to everyone - so make sure you
are marketing to prospects with the highest
potential.
Can you select those prospects that might spend more
on your products or services? Is there any way you
can target your competition’s best customers?
Finally, one of the best ways to attract new
customers is to ask your existing customers for
referrals. It’s also one of the most cost-effective
ways.
---Source: Alan Rosenspan, president of Alan
Rosenspan and Associates. Email him at
ARosenspan@aol.com.
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