Respect your customers and attract more sales


Marketers have a poor habit of talking about "the consumer" as if they are one individual. Consumers are in fact all various - they are a lot like individuals in that respect - and they're in reality us. We all resent being patronized, but numerous marketers do this with astonishing regularity.

People discount advertising statements (in reality in most cases they don't even read them) and most of us can spot bullshit fairly well. We are all consumers - if we can see through marketers and their cunning ploys, so can everybody else.

The difficulty is always to encapsulate the concept of customer respect in a way that staff can relate to when they are working with individuals. It is simple for our staff to get into the habit of seeing our customers as simply cannon fodder, or walking wallets, instead of as human beings with their very own needs, desires, and skills.

If you need an instance, try dealing using the care workers of a buddy who's a wheelchair user - or better nonetheless, use a chair yourself for a day and see how individuals treat you.

David Ogilvy was one of the giants of the advertising industry. He was responsible for telling us that the only sound in a Rolls-Royce at 60 mph is the sound of the clock ticking, for instance. What he told his staff was equally important - among many Ogilvy-isms, two stand out. The first is: "The consumer is not a moron - she's your wife!" We need to maintain reminding ourselves that our consumers are not stupid, they are people just like us.

The second one is "People don't buy from bad-mannered liars."

Yet so many marketing communications (particularly telephone marketing approaches) are both bad-mannered and untrue. Somebody calling from India, claiming to be called Sharon, and instantly asking about how much one has left on one's mortgage, is clearly badmannered and lying. These two statements should be up in letters of fire in every marketing department in the nation.

Keep in mind that your staff might not have the same commitment towards the business that you have.

Individuals frequently forget that consumers are people too - there is nothing wrong with reminding them.

Putting up signs to remind individuals has a lengthy history - IBM's "Think!" indicators, Bill Clinton's "It's the economy, stupid!" sign, and numerous other people have worked well. Don't forget the lesson yourself, especially when dealing with somebody difficult!

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This article was sent to us by: Harold B. Olson at 01202011

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