There are many ways that I see people attempting to stretch their money during this recession. Some are planting their own gardens. Others are mowing their own lawns. Still others are washing their cars less.

One area that I noticed the other day was when I was at the . . . → Read More: Are Your Customers Sttttrrreeettccchhhiinngg Their Dollars?]]>

There are many ways that I see people attempting to stretch their money during this recession. Some are planting their own gardens. Others are mowing their own lawns. Still others are washing their cars less.

One area that I noticed the other day was when I was at the hair salon. Like a good business, my salon asked me as I checked out whether I would like to go ahead and schedule an appointment for six weeks out. I didn’t have my calendar with me, so I passed. However, on my drive home it hit me that haircuts are probably an area that people are cutting back on.

Now, maybe they aren’t going so far as to change salons to save money, after all, most women won’t let just anyone cut their hair. However, if I were a betting woman I would guarantee that the majority out there are beginning to go every 7 or 8 weeks instead of every 6 like before. After all, how many women haven’t thought to themselves, “I’ll just wear a pony tail for a week if it starts looking bad.”

So, knowing this, what could a salon do?

My thought was that they needed to offer an incentive to schedule a 6 week appointment at the time of checkout rather than calling and scheduling at a later date. Maybe 10% off your haircut. Or maybe a free mini facial. The little bit the salon would lose from the discount would be more than made up for by the guaranteed customers.

Think about it this way. In my area an average cut and style at a middle level salon is about $40 including tip. So, if you consider that if a client comes to the salon every 6 weeks for a year that is 8.6 times. Obviously someone can’t go half a time, so we will round down to 8. So take 8 and multiply it by $40. That is $320.

Now look at if they had gone every 8 weeks instead. That is only 6 times in a year. That is $240…$80 less! And that is if they only get a haircut. Let alone any highlighting, waxing, extensions, manicure, pedicure, massage, etc. As I said, the small discount you give for them automatically scheduling it 6 weeks out is more than made up for with the increased frequency.

What ways can you keep your customers from stretching their dollar too thinly with your products or services?

Usually the prevalent message found . . . → Read More: What is your brand?]]> I just finished listening to Aaron Copeland’s “Hoe-Down” which is the background music for the commercial “Beef, it’s what’s for dinner.”  It is a great song and lots of fun.  But, as these types of things tend to do, it got me to thinking about business, and specifically branding.

Usually the prevalent message found in college classrooms discussing marketing is that you “Must create a brand.”  I am here to tell you that while this is true to some degree, it should not be the primary focus but rather the by-product.

Why?

Well, let’s look at the brands that we have all been exposed to on a regular basis.  What comes to mind?

So, after giving you some great examples of how companies are branding themselves, why do I still say that branding should be a by-product not a focus?

Well, let me ask you this question.  How much do you think you would recognize these brands if they had not spent millions of dollars on ad campaigns?  Would you be able to chime in at precisely the right moment for the “Beef, it’s what’s for dinner song?” (you know you did it) if it hadn’t been burned into your mind by 100s of 1,000s of repetitions?  What about the Budweiser frogs?  Would you be able to recite the entire commercial if you hadn’t seen it so many times?

Of course not.  And neither could your customers.

So, what does that mean for you?  Well, not to take away from the graphic designers out there, but the first thing to remember is that while a logo is important, a logo is not the most important part of a brand.  Do you remember the logo for your dentist or local florist?  What about the local coffee shop?  If you do, good for you, you are attentive.  But if you don’t, that’s okay.  Neither do 98.7% of their other customers.  Are you less likely to shop at any of these places because you can’t remember what their logo looks like?  Probably not.

But you are less likely to shop at these places if you have received poor service, poor product, etc.  So, what does that mean in regards to branding?

Your WHOLE business is your brand.

From the sign out front to the empty toilet paper holder in the ladies bathroom, it all matters to your customers.  If the first thing that comes to mind when your customers think of you is, “They have great food, but the bathroom always has this wierd smell…” then your brand is tainted.  If your customers love your products, but your billing process is a pain, your brand is tainted.

I like to think of branding as a balancing act between the images such as the logo, the flyers, the signs, etc and between the actual experience.  You need to have the logos and the signs so that people will take you seriously, but all the expensive logos and signs in the world won’t save you if your receptionist has a bad attitude that turns your customers away.

So how do you create a brand that consists of your whole business?  One thing that I suggest is that you are constantly looking at ways to improve the systems in your business.  (And if you are getting a blank and confused look on your face when I mention systems, I would start by reading Michael Gerber’s book “The E-Myth.”) As Matt and I like to say, business is about growth and continual change.  So if you notice that at about 3:35pm each day you are getting complaints that the toilet paper holder in the ladies bathroom is empty, maybe you should put a system in place that tells your employees to check the ladies bathroom at 3:25 pm every day and make sure that there are plenty of toilet paper and paper towels.

Another way to do this is to get customer feedback on a consistent basis.  And then, more importantly, once you have the feedback do something about it!  I love the way my local Starbuck’s has taken this one step further.  Every time I go in there I see a little chalk board saying, “Things we are working on this week.”  It then lists 3-4 items that they have received feedback on from customers and that they are working to improve.  What this does is it shows your customers that there feedback is important to you.

And I don’t know about you, but I would much rather be remembered for my exceptional service and my wonderful product than for my 2×2 inch logo in the corner of my stationery.

]]> http://www.psychological-marketing.com/2009/06/02/what-is-your-brand/feed/ 0 http://www.psychological-marketing.com/2009/04/22/mind-reading-are-you-entering-your-target-customers-minds/ http://www.psychological-marketing.com/2009/04/22/mind-reading-are-you-entering-your-target-customers-minds/#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:31:47 +0000 Matt http://psychological-marketing.com/blog/?p=142 In your marketing and sales you need to realize that every person you talk to has different language that they need to hear to buy your product or service.

Different words have different meanings attached to them, and often times even the same words we use mean different things to different people.

Why do . . . → Read More: Mind reading: Are you entering your target customer’s minds…]]> In your marketing and sales you need to realize that every person you talk to has different language that they need to hear to buy your product or service.

Different words have different meanings attached to them, and often times even the same words we use mean different things to different people.

Why do I bring this up? Because you need to consistently study the language that can make the biggest impact in your marketing and sales to your target market. For example, when selling to CFO’s of a company the language needs to be different than a CIO. One has a certain set of beliefs, experiences, and ideas regarding how to approach the goals of the company. The CIO will have a different set of beliefs, experiences, and ideas regarding how to approach the goals of the company.

If you do not tailor your message to each specific individual, then you will not have as good of response as you could possibly have.

So how do you determine the appropriate language of your target market?

You study to see what they are reading, watching, and listening to and how other people are selling to them. You figure out what words and what type of language they are using. What you want to do is study the process, and take apart the process like you would a puzzle. Once you take it apart and understand it, then you can adopt it for yourself.

It will take some work, but the good thing is hardly anyone out there will perform this work. They just want things to be easy, but if you take the time to study how other people are selling and marketing to your target market you can be miles ahead of your competition. And of course you also should study your competition, too, to see how they are marketing to your target market.

Oh, and just because they are marketing to your target market doesn’t necessarily mean they are successfully marketing to your target market. Sometimes big companies pour a lot of money down the drain just “to advertise” and very rarely quantify the leads they get. You need to justify every penny you spend on marketing — if you want to get the highest return on investment that you can.

So, don’t assume that if you see a “big company” spending money that they know what they are doing. If the current recession teaches us anything is that this market correction will weed out the inefficient, sloppy, and dumb businesses.

-Matt

Now most of the time I would call ahead to . . . → Read More: How I was put in a good mood…a true story…and how it applies to you]]> Yesterday my wife and I decided to get some pizza. It had been a long day full of work and we didn’t feel like cooking. Okay, so SHE didn’t feel like cooking. Anyway, we drove a few minutes into town to pickup a pizza.

Now most of the time I would call ahead to pickup a pizza because I don’t want to waste time just sitting there, or at the least I would bring stuff to work on or read. But, we tried calling ahead and there was no answer. Very frustrating to try to give a business money and them not wanting to take it.

Normally I would have skipped getting the food at this place, but the food was inexpensive and we both wanted pizza, so off we went to pick it up.

When we got there my wife went in to place our order. I received a phone call while pulling into the parking lot so I was running a bit behind. When I got into the store the crew that was making the pizza was goofing off- but not in an unprofessional way. They had created some kind of song, and cheers for when new customers came in, and when they would make a pizza.

It was funny, and it was interesting. And it brought a smile to my face. The total time it actually took to get our food was under 5 minutes, so it was also fast.

But as we walked out I realized that both my wife, and I, had forgotten to tell them that their phone wasn’t working, or that nobody was answering it. Their humor had gotten our attention and quite literally, put us in a better mood.

Very interesting. In the book “Emotional Intelligence” David Goleman describes a similar experience when he hopped on a city bus, with the bus driver giving a tour and being extremely friendly to people.

What does this have to do with marketing and your business? Everything, perhaps.

It does no good to do proper marketing, proper advertising, and spend the time, energy, and money to get a customer INTO your business if you do not do a good job of taking care of them.

A sales experience audit can be money well spent that investigates how well your business is handling the leads and prospects it gets.

You must realize that the slightest thing can turn off a customer, or attract a customer to you.

In this case, they did a great job. The chiropractor experience that I posted about a few days ago, did not.

I think I’m off to get some pizza

-Matt

Name an American Car Company… drum roll …. is it Chevy or Ford? (bail out / bankruptcy aside)

Most people when asked choose one of those…

Name a soft drink, or a pop, or a soda (depending on what part of the country)… Coke or Pepsi?

Most people go with . . . → Read More: Top of Mind Awareness? What is it, and why it matters…]]> Let’s play a game.

Name an American Car Company… drum roll …. is it Chevy or Ford? (bail out / bankruptcy aside)

Most people when asked choose one of those…

Name a soft drink, or a pop, or a soda (depending on what part of the country)… Coke or Pepsi?

Most people go with this…

Name a fast food place….didja get McDonalds?

Yeah, I know we’re playing Family Feud here

What is this concept? It is “top of mind awareness.”

That example above is easy enough to understand, the next part took me a long, long time.

Here’s when it finally clicked…

Think of the last funeral you went to…seriously…stop and do this. It makes it a lot more profound.

Got it?

How long ago was it? How often have you thought of those people? Once a day? Not likely unless it was someone very close to you — a very close friend or family member.

And here is the point I am trying to get across. It wasn’t at the top of your mind…like it was for the people who were involved in the funeral.

Chances are those people have thought about it almost every day…or more.

But you probably haven’t. When you think about it now, it is an “oh yeah…” type of thought.

Now of course there are exceptions, but this just shows that the passing of time happens very quickly.

So what does this have to do with your marketing and the psychology of your customers.

Well, I can just about guarantee you that the second they step out of your store, or they leave your website, or whatever media you use to sell him or her, they are NOT thinking of you.

They are instantly bombarded with the new information they are processing. They are thinking of their new to do lists, their problems, their concerns.

If you doubt this I bet that in the few seconds you’ve ready this…chances are you aren’t actively thinking about the last funeral you went to. Which illustrates this article perfectly.

This is all kind of connected in a muddled way. Proper marketing achieves more relevance in your prospects minds which helps overcome the physical limitations of the information the brain can take in.

So, do you have a strategy to continually follow-up and have top of mind awareness of your customers and your prospects? If not…you’ll be going to the funeral of your business…more than likely. And ask yourself this. How many of your customers would show up? Or would have they forgotten about you?

-Matt

Let me explain more.

Sometimes, but not always, your prospects have a list of things or reasons they are looking for when they buy your product or service. Now, if you ask your prospects sometimes they can clearly enunciate this, and sometimes . . . → Read More: Do you understand Buying Criteria? Psychological Marketing Explains…]]> What criteria do people have when they buy a product or service?

Let me explain more.

Sometimes, but not always, your prospects have a list of things or reasons they are looking for when they buy your product or service. Now, if you ask your prospects sometimes they can clearly enunciate this, and sometimes they can’t. Sure, they will say good quality, etc. but for them to express clearly what they want is a challenge to most people.

And then sometimes people do have a “sort of list” of things they are looking for.

Here is a key thing, however. People generally do NOT know how to buy your product or service. They do NOT know what they are looking for.

So how does this apply to you? Well, say you are in a business to where people do a lot of “price shopping.”

For example, lets just say you do painting in someone’s house.

Sometimes your buyers would have a list of criteria (things they are looking for) and what you need to do is re-set this buying criteria for several things.

First, make sure whatever you are resetting it is in their best interest and you are honestly protecting them.

Secondly, educate them on what needs to be done correctly.

So, if you call up and someone is asking, “How much to paint a 20×20 room?” You can then re-position it to something like this…

“Well, that honestly isn’t the question you need to be asking.

You need to ask these 3 questions to make sure you are avoiding these 3 mistakes.”

And then you educate them on 3 mistakes, or 5, or however many(as long as this is reasonable) mistakes that people make when painting.

It could include the fumes of the paint, the type of paint, allergies, health risks, lighting, etc. In other words, you actually…get this…provide value.

So, while other painters are just doing quotes, you’re educating them on how to buy.

Does this make sense?

The end goal is for you to equip your prospects so they are quizzing your competition with things that…get this…you competition doesn’t understand or cannot answer.

So, if you truly do research and understand and can create a process on the fumes from paint and you have your prospects ask your competition what system or process they have for painting and your competition goes…uhhh.uhhh.uhhh…then you know you’re on the right track.

This does take a bit of work, but once you grasp this concept it can be very powerful.

So ultimately ask yourself this question. What can you do that your competition cannot, or will not educate your customers on?

The painting example is just one I pulled off the top of my head but EVERY business does indeed have things they can do to set buying criteria in their customer’s minds.

Psychological marketing strives to help you do this.

-Matt