Your Competition Wants Your Customers

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Competition is a part of business life. Some would argue that competition forces businesses to strive to get better at what they do for the fear of losing customers to rivals. Losing a few customers periodically is inevitable. However, losing too many (especially your best customers) must be avoided at all costs.

For most businesses, the top 20% of their customers account for 80% (or more) of their profits. While much thought and strategy typically go into bringing in new customers, not enough is spent on retaining existing customers. That’s where the real gold lies.

It may be a little uncomfortable to think that some of your best customers might be looking at making a change, but it’s something you must consider if you want to avoid having it become a reality. Everyone talks about taking care of their customers, but in many instances that’s a phrase not truly backed up with action. To build a fence around your customers and keep them far away from the prying arms of your competitors, you mus truly care, protect, and guide them.

Gather customer feedback on an ongoing basis.

Most businesses put a lot of hard work into getting a new customer. But after they become a customer, little effort is put into nurturing that relationship. A customer should never be taken for granted.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day operation of your business and lose touch with what’s happening outside your doors in the marketplace. Phone calls and emails to customers can be a great way to communicate and stay connected. But to do it on a large scale can be unrealistic. Informative company newsletters and surveys can help keep your customers up-to-date and give them a way to express their needs and concerns. These efforts can provide an early warning system to catch a customer jumping ship before it happens.

Tell them what you do.

Your competitors will do anything to steal your customers, including promising the moon. You know that some of these are false claims or teasers to get their foot in the door. Some of your customers may not know that. Your job is not only to provide a great product and service but also to continually remind customers about the value you provide that your competitors can’t match. If you don’t tell them, no one else will either.

Informing your customers through educational marketing content is a powerful way to keep them engaged while differentiating your company as one that truly cares about their success (not just your own).

Where are the weaknesses?

To help plug the holes in your business, start thinking about things from your competitors’ point of view. After all, they’re always looking for any weaknesses they can exploit, so you should, too. That way, you can shore up your weak spots before they get out of hand and, in the process, strengthen your position in the marketplace.

To discover your weaknesses, talk with your customers. Ask them about the areas you could improve. Stay up-to-date with industry trends that could create a possible gap in your defenses, too. You can’t buy every bit of technology as soon as it hits the market, but you can stay informed so you can address concerns with your customers when they arise. Sometimes the best defense is a good offense. Be proactive in your customer communication.

“There is only one boss: the customer. And he can fire everybody in the company, from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” ~ Sam Walton, Wal-Mart

Customer retention starts with providing great service and value. Getting to the top is hard work, but staying there requires just as much effort. Being aware of the competition while shoring up the weak areas in your business can go a long way in helping keep your customers coming back.

Monopolies and the lack of competition aren’t in anyone’s best interest. Keeping your best customers satisfied is. Use competition as a motivating factor to continually improve your services. Communicating with and showing appreciation for your customers will give you an invisible force field to keep the competition out of your backyard.

Direct Mail Is Alive and Well, Thank You

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Marketing fads come and go. Marketers today have a bewildering array of choices never seen before. Consequently, busy business owners don’t always know who to listen to in order to find what is working most effectively right now. Everyone can claim their systems and tools are the secret to a never-ending stream of prospects and customers.

Is Direct Mail Worth Exploring For Your Business?

Have you noticed that many of the Internet companies (like Google, among others) have been increasingly turning to direct mail to advertise their services? The reason is that old school direct mail worked long before the Internet and has been working for smart marketing in businesses all along. It just happened not to be the flavor of the day, thereby not getting much attention.

Now that the furor and publicity surrounding the “free” aspect of social media marketing has settled into the reality that free doesn’t necessarily equal real customers, smart marketers are looking for real campaigns that result in real customers.

Living Together in Harmony

Leveraging one proven marketing channel is great, but taking advantage of two or more is better. As effective as one channel may be, you limit the potential impact when using a single platform. With an integrated marketing strategy, you position yourself to maximize the real potential of your campaign.

The truth is that direct mail can still deliver real results when done correctly. In fact, direct mail works even better when coupled with email marketing and Internet marketing. When coupled with other channels, direct mail has the capacity to be even more targeted, personalized, and effective than when any of these channels are implemented alone.

To make this work and deliver results, it’s very important that the messaging and branding be consistent across all the channels you use. The logo, tag line, messaging, design, and colors used in one campaign should be reinforced across all media to generate stronger results and a more powerful impression. Consistency allows each campaign to feed off the other and deliver a bigger bang for the investment.

This is how big brands are able to leverage the power of multimedia messaging. Today, with the availability of affordable, short-run digital printing, you don’t need a large budget. It’s realistic and available for businesses of all sizes.

An example of a campaign that works extremely well is a new customer campaign. Nothing shows appreciation like a nicely designed, professional-looking direct mail piece delivered to your new customer soon after they become a client. People know that an email costs nothing to send but that a direct mail piece has a real cost.

Now you can follow that up with some informative emails to educate your new customer about how you can help them solve their problems. In the emails and direct mail pieces, ask your new customer to also connect with your brand on social media. Now you can further develop a bond with your new customer by sharing your values and core messages across all media.

Marketing success is about momentum. An integrated, multidimensional campaign, implemented consistently throughout the year, keeps the marketing ball rolling forward. This allows your business to be fresh on prospects’ minds when they’re ready to buy. The more consistent your brand, marketing message, and integrated approach, the better your results will be.

Your customers consume information in different ways. You can’t guess or assume one is better than another. Showing up in the physical mailbox, in their email inbox, and on the web assures that your brand is leaving no stone unturned. Having an integrated marketing strategy assures your business will be seen and heard. If just showing up is half the battle, then implementing this multidimensional approach is your call to action to make yourself ready for new customers on the business battlefield.

The Right Mindset

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Many people start off the new year with high hopes and aspirations for a successful future. They dutifully set goals, make plans, state their objectives, and promise themselves that this time they’ll really stick with it.

But sometimes life gets in the way and throws a curve ball (or two or three!), diverting our eyes from our path just long enough to derail the whole plan.

If you have plans this year to ramp up your business and want to really see it all the way through, there’s one thing that can help you stick with the agenda even when things seem to be going sideways.

Solve their pain.

If you can remember that one phrase and make it a theme for your entire year, you’ll be much closer to achieving all of your goals than you have ever been.

Your customers, prospects, and even your friends and family have some kind of pain. They’re all either actively or unknowingly searching for someone to help them cure their problems. Your task should be to find out what these ills are and then help provide solutions. You’ll become the one they always look forward to hearing from because you care about them.

The late Zig Ziglar once said: “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.” It’s somewhat ironic that achieving goals in your life and business requires a mind shift change from “me first” to thinking about what’s in the best interest of other people.

So as you set your sights on having the best year of your life, remember to always strive to be the one that presents answers to problems and puts the best interests of others before your own. If you can master these skills, you’ll never be without a friend and will achieve more goals than you ever have before.

Printing Is a Responsible Choice

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In lieu of a “Think before you print” email tagline, we encourage you to consider adding something like this to your emails:

“It’s OK to print responsibly. Not using paper in order to save trees is comparable to not eating salad in order to ‘save’ vegetables. Managed timberlands are similar to agricultural crops which provide clean air, clean water, and wildlife habitat, as well as millions of jobs nationwide.”

While there are many misconceptions about the paper and printing industries, we proudly stand behind them both, and we encourage you to check out these resources to learn more about why printing is a responsible choice:

  • www.paperbecause.com — Domtar’s Paper Because campaign highlights the key role paper plays in our lives and the reasons why it’s environmentally friendly.
  • www.chooseprint.org — Choose Print is an educational campaign designed to promote the effectiveness of print as a sustainable choice.
  • www.rediscoverprint.com — Rediscover Print is committed to searching out credible information, case studies, and statistics on how print makes a positive impact in our daily lives.
  • www.twosides.info — Two Sides promotes the responsible production and use of print and paper. The site provides information on why print and paper remain a versatile, sustainable communications medium.

Six Tips for Strengthening Your Value Proposition

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Anyone who’s spent time in sales knows that the buying process often boils down to one or two key questions: Why should I buy what you’re selling? And why should I buy it from you? A well-conceived value proposition will go a long way toward answering those questions.

But what is a value proposition? Simply stated, a value proposition is a brief statement that clearly outlines the benefits customers get from using your products and doing business with your company. It cuts through all the noise and focuses squarely on the customer and their needs.

So how can you create an effective value proposition? Here are six tips to get you started.

Get to know your customers. What makes them tick? What principles do they value? What challenges do they face? And how can your product or service help them reach their goals?

Study the competition. Start with their website, product line, and marketing literature. Visit their facility, meet their staff, and talk to their customers. Learn how they’re positioning themselves and what you can do to counteract their claims.

Discover what makes you different. Take some time to assess your own company. Look at your culture, values, and product line. Ask your top customers why they buy from you. Get input from your employees, too. Find out what’s unique about your company — and how those qualities can benefit your customers.

Focus on benefits instead of features. Benefits tend to be more customer-focused, while features can seem self-absorbed. If your value proposition doesn’t tell your customers what’s in it for them, keep trying.

Be specific. Avoid the temptation to talk in generalities. Consider Geico’s “15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance” versus a more generic “we’ll save you time and money.” Both may be true, but the first is far more specific.

Make it tangible. What real-world results can people expect from your products or services? Will they save time? Cut expenses? Improve efficiency? Increase revenues? Include the answers in your value proposition.

There you have it: six tips for strengthening your value proposition. Can you think of any others? Or maybe you’d like to share a favorite value proposition (your own, perhaps?). Whatever the case, we’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas in the comments below.