The golden opportunity

It’s a fact that customers are a lot less loyal than they once were. We have more choices than we used to when it comes to the products we purchase or the services we use. With the Internet at our fingertips, we can research, and compare value, features and benefits before we enter a store or order online. And along with the economic downturn, many industries, such as banking and the airlines, suffered negative backlash. All that adds up to some challenging times when it comes to retaining customers and keeping them loyal.

One of the biggest opportunities to win a customer for life is when that customer is unhappy and you’re able to solve the issue to their satisfaction. When you consider that customer loyalty can be worth 10 times as much as a single purchase, taking advantage of an opportunity to turn an unhappy customer into a happy one is an obvious win for everyone involved. Go beyond to take care of customers when things go wrong and you'll gain a loyal customer for life.

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

labov.com

Selling value

I’ve come to understand the importance in selling value. Selling your value often takes more thought and time than just figuring out how many hours it will take to perform a task, putting together an estimate and selling a price to a customer. But if it’s price alone that you’re selling, chances are there’s someone else out there who can do it for cheaper. 

And if a customer is only concerned with the lowest price, chances are they’re not going to be the kind of person you want to do business with.  If the lowest price is all they’re after, what’s to prevent them from going with the company down the road if they’re a few dollars cheaper? 

Investing your time in selling value to people who see beyond the dollar signs is well worth it. It’s more inspiring to work with those who see your value.

Barry LaBov

LABOV Marketing Communications and Training

www.labov.com 

Time warp

One of my challenges is time—I expect to get things done in a certain amount of time and quite often, I'm wrong. Most of the time, I underestimate how long it will take to change something or solve something. And in almost every case, it takes longer than I thought.

It may be good that it takes longer to change something than I thought it would. Perhaps the change will "stick" better. Maybe I'll appreciate it more. Maybe more people bought-in.

No matter, I have little control of time and it's about time I understood that.

Barry LaBov
LABOV Marketing Communications and Training
www.labov.com