It’s Not Business, It’s Just Personal
Globalization has changed everything. There is no distance. Consumers are now willing to transact business sight unseen. This creates an interesting dilemma, one begging for counter-intuition.
Just as the world is becoming more transactional, the most profitable businesses will become more personal.
Let’s explore why.
Today, you can hire a guy in Russia to code your software, another professional in Los Angeles to design brochures, and a team in Kansas for SEO.
The pool of available talent is now an ocean.
Highly-skilled, and highly-educated professionals are available 24/7 in every time zone. This is great for the employer, but how has over saturation of products and services changed the perspective of your client or consumer?
Let’s begin with a little honesty; your company is probably not the best at what it does on the planet earth.
I know it stings to hear, but it’s most likely true. I’m going to go out on a limb and say your accounting firm, medical practice or widget manufacturer is probably not number #1 in its industry worldwide….it might be…and yes I know with the right positioning it can project that it’s the best and then become the best…but lets assume its not for the sake of the what you and I are discussing.
The good news is this, in a global economy; you don’t have to be the best to be wildly
successful. In fact, there is a little known advantage to being second, third or fifth…now that’s not something they tell you in b-school, but we’ll speak on the magic of second place in an upcoming blog.
So what really separates your products or services from someone else who is Bigger, Better Funded and has more Momentum in the Market than you?
It is your attentiveness, your intuition, your ability to communicate in a way that gains report and instigates a long term relationship that maximizes the LIFE TIME VALUE of your customers and clients,
Clients and consumers have more options now than ever before. They don’t have to settle, instead they select. They select those who can do the job well, but more importantly, they select those who make them feel comfortable, safe and like their best interest are kept into consideration.
In other words, it’s not business it’s just personal.
This is much more than making a sale. I’m talking about the art of listening to questions not asked, and offering substantive answers not sought.
This is more than up-selling, it is in-selling.
When you in-sell the customer feels a sense of loyalty in the absence of a long-term relationship.
In essence, it is a set up for long term business at the first transaction.
Yes, I know you have been told that business is supposed to be static and bottom line focused.
Kill that idea…or in today’s economy that idea will kill your business.
Consumers subconsciously want to find more in you than just delivery of the product or service.
Give them personal follow-up communications. Check to see if the work you completed for them 2 months earlier is working well.
Show interest in the results you give your customers beyond the transaction and it becomes a lot easier to find ways to increase your profit beyond that last transaction.
Think happy customers that have a relationship with you and get.
More Referrals
More Repeat Business
Larger Transactions down the road
When you communicate in this way, you are really establishing mental avenues of first call. This is how you overcome the bigger, better funded competition. You become the select business that has a steel cage around your customer mind when it comes to your product or service.
People talk to who they regular talk to….and the easiest person to sell something to is someone that already knows, trust and likes you.
Yes these are interesting times as far as business is concerned and the most profitable companies over the next 20 years will be those who create what I call the “intimate customer experience.”
I will reveal a few secrets on how to easily create the “intimate customer experience” without spending a bunch of extra time to do it in an upcoming blog post.
But for now…
Nudge your business processes towards a more personal touch, and the average dollar you invest in your marketing will compound 10 without having to apply anything extra to your business.
