MARKETING IS NOT JUST A DEPARTMENT;
IT'S EVERYTHING YOU DO.
Jeff
Stucki
Vice President of Operations and Founder,
Mindshare TechnologiesEvery detail of the guest experience offers
powerful opportunities to increase sales, inspire repeat business, and
create positive word of mouth. Everyone in your organization is a marketing
agent. Every act is a marketing act. And every service failure is costly.
One executive put it this way:
You can have great talent, products, prices, and advertising.
But if the cashier at the end of the line fails, everything fails. The
customer doesn't return.
The customer experience is the competitive battleground
in today's market. What is the customer experience? It's the sum total
of all encounters guests have with your products, people, and processes.
To gain a powerful competitive advantage, your company needs to stand
out in the customer's mind. Customers must notice a difference that
they can see, touch, and taste every time they come in contact with
your company.
By evaluating each point of contact between you and your customers,
Mindshare Technologies helps you take full advantage of every opportunity.
We help you stand out and give people something to talk about.
THE ONE SECRET YOUR ADVERTISING AGENCY
HOPES YOU NEVER LEARN.
Most companies spend a fortune on advertising
as if it's the only option to increase sales and attract customers.
Surprisingly, studies show that service strategies are more effective
at increasing volume and profit than ads, publicity, or direct mailings.
After all, even the most brilliant marketing campaign will fall short
if the product and service fail to deliver.
OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE PROFITABLE.
Obviously, advertising can be effective at times.
Start-up companies, for example, will always need to beat the bushes
for new customers. But once they're up and running, selling more goods
and services to fewer customers is not only more efficient-it's also
far more profitable.
Consider the facts. The cost of getting a new customer
through advertising is 5 to 10 times greater than generating one through
repeat business or referral. Furthermore, the results are short-term
and do not fundamentally change purchasing behavior. In other words,
advertising is a temporary solution that does not continue to produce
results.
The most powerful form of advertising can't
be bought-it must be earned. It's word of mouth.
AVOID THE REVOLVING DOOR MINDSET
If you're like most companies, 20 to 30% of the
customers who walk through your doors won't be back-ever. The average
U.S. company loses half their customers in five years and half their
employees in four. While this may be business as usual for many, top
performing companies gain a significant advantage by reducing turnover.
Studies show that decreasing defection rates 5% can boost profits 25
to 95%.
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IS NOT ENOUGH - IT'S
ONLY THE FIRST STEP
While a 97% satisfaction rating looks good on
paper, it's not enough to keep customers coming back. Research shows
that 8 out of every 10 customers who defect to the competition claim
they were "satisfied" with the experience.
To retain today's more educated and demanding customer,
companies need to move beyond satisfaction and inspire long term loyalty.
To do this, service providers must go beyond merely meeting needs and
give customers what they would love.
| A company that dedicates itself to delighting
customer is in no danger of having its praises remain unsung. Customers
talk if you give them something to talk about. |
| - Betsy Sanders, Nordstrom |
UNLOCK THE SECRETS TO SUCCESS
In today's competitive market, loyalty is the
defining battleground. The new millennium is about capturing the customer
and employee. These relationships are the modern unit of value.
Don't just rely on the next big improvement to carry your company. Get
back to the basics. Anyone can mint innovations. The real challenge
is to rethink your most basic relationships-the ones between you and
your customers and employees. How well do you meet their needs? How
smoothly do you solve their problems? If you haven't mastered the basics,
the latest innovations will only get you so far.
When it comes to delivering a great customer and employee experience,
lots of companies talk a good game. But few deliver. That's the real
opportunity. Take it. Run with it. You'll be amazed at how far you can
go.
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