Once you have them, keep them
Advertising is one of the most crucial
components businesses need in order to succeed. When utilized
effectively, it can jolt a business out of a slumping state of
fiscal stagnation. When used wisely, advertising can help
prevent such slumps and allow a business to grow with a steady
influx of new customers. However, if the advertising stops, so,
too, may your business.
You’ll always need new customers, to
be sure, but they aren’t enough to keep your business
afloat. You have to take care of the customers you already have
because every time they leave your front door, there’s a
chance they’ll never walk back through it again. A better
offer may entice their interest, or they may simply have not
been happy with your company’s customer service. Though
they may quickly forget about good service, customers will
remember bad service forever. And they’ll keep telling
everybody about it. That kind of advertising, nobody needs.
Instead, focus on a free type of
advertising that’s tough to beat: your image. Everything
about your business projects a message to your customers... the
appearance of your store, the finished quality product, the
friendliness of your CSRs. Every second they are in your plant,
they are subjected to dozens of these subtle advertisements. A
smile from an employee is the same thing as a sign that reads:
“We enjoy your patronage.” Every effort made
to keep a customer happy is an affirmation to them that they
are important, which is precisely how they want to feel.
If you don’t like to gamble, then
try to make your company’s image as unforgettable as
possible. Don’t fall into the trap of simply striving to
satisfy your customers. Try to surpass their expectations.
Knock them off their feet — razzle dazzle them —
and your company will stick out in their minds better. It might
only take one little gesture — saying their name,
promising to replace a missing button free of charge, an
explanation of the stain removal process — but if that
gesture impresses them, you will definitely be seeing them
again soon.
Of course, the next time they come in
through your door, you’ll have to start all over again.
Customers need a lot of reminding, but look at each transaction
as an opportunity. After all, who wouldn’t jump at the
chance for free advertising?
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Good advice from a consumer reporter
Most cleaners cringe when they see the
word “drycleaner” appear in one of those
consumer action line columns of the newspaper. Uh-oh, here we
go again, is a typical reaction. We’re going to hear
about how some cleaner lost clothes, ruined a wedding gown,
didn’t get the spots out, charged too much, insulted the
customer all, of course, with the obligatory cliche
“taken to the cleaners” worked in there somewhere.
Such was the reaction we had when we saw
the headline, “Charges not
always easy to spot at dry cleaners” on the lead item in a recent Cleveland
Plan Dealer consumer column. But wait. This writer
actually got it right when he advised readers:
“I think most folks don't ask about
prices before they hand over their clothes to be drycleaned.
And although it's probably heresy for a consumer reporter
to say so, I don't think price alone is the most important
consideration in choosing any service, whether it's drycleaning
or tailoring or housecleaning. I would pick the place where you
get consistently good service.”
The only thing we don’t like about
that is the fact that the writer thinks it’s heresy to
say it!
The advice was in response to a
reader’s query concerning environmental charges on
drycleaning. The reporter explained that some cleaners add on
the environmental charge “to let customers know that it
costs money to comply with state and federal environmental
laws.” While most cleaners include their environmental
compliance costs in the overall cost of doing business that
goes into their price calculations, the add-on
environmental surcharge is a common practice, too. If
you’re doing it, make sure customers know in advance that
the charge will be added, and why. As the Plain Dealer advisor
said: “If you ask, any drycleaner should be able to quote
you the total cost of drycleaning before service is rendered.
Quoting you one price but then adding a
‘surprise’ charge would be a violation of the
Consumer Sales Practices Act.”
That’s good advice, for drycleaners
as well as customers.
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