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Dominate Your Competition
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How to Choose a Marketing Company:
Key #5: The Marketing Formula: Superiority
Consumers and businesses want value;
not necessarily the lowest price
Many businesses think their prospective buyers just want the lowest price. After all, the yellow pages and newspapers are loaded with ads that focus on price. However, our surveys show that what buyers really want, whether consumers or businesses, is value. Buyers want the best quality, fastest service, etc., at the best possible price. They want the most for their dollars.
The Internet has caused an explosion of new competition
Today, attaining results from advertising has become more challenging than ever. Businesses are faced with an explosion of new competition. The overwhelming number of consumer choices and lousy promotion has made buyers fed up with the level of noise raised by advertising that communicates little of value to them. They are tired of false promises and statements that fail to make products and services appear to be any better than their competitors’. Most people today are so busy they don’t have time for this nonsense. The Do Not Call Registry is an outgrowth of this consumer frustration and lack of confidence in what they hear.
The explosion of the Internet has raised the level of education and power of the buyer. Today, consumers and business purchasers surf the net to gain more knowledge prior to making buying decisions. They are in greater command of the purchase and require more from the advertiser before they will spend. Thus, buyers no longer need to trust advertising filled with platitudes, fluff and generalities. Yet, most advertising you see and hear continues to be loaded with this garbage. But due to the explosion of competition in almost all product and service categories, it’s hardly working. There is no wonder why marketing gurus like Al Reis, Seth Goddin and Sergio Zyman are saying advertising no longer works. In reality, advertising can work. It’s just rarely being done right.
The right way to make your business superior
So, what do you do? It starts by ensuring your business provides a product or service that is clearly superior to your competition. Superiority must be in terms of the quality of the product or service itself, and/or customer service... preferably AND customer service rather than OR. Also, the way in which you are superior must be perceived as being valuable to your potential buyers. For example, if your service is friendlier than your competitors' but your market is more concerned with the quality of your service, promoting friendly service might keep your cash registers empty. Therefore, you must first know exactly what would make your business perceived as being superior in a way that is considered valuable. Chances are you think you know the answers but would be surprised by the results surveys reveal.
Survey results may cause you to decide that you must make significant changes to your operations. Or, you may already have the right superiority and are ready to launch your marketing campaign. If your business requires operational changes, you will need a plan of action that allows for careful implementation. The marketing firm you choose must understand this and should possess the managerial know-how to assist you with a smooth and effective transition.
Why not make your customer service REMARKABLE?
Imagine this. You walk into a medical office, go up to the counter and sign in. You're instantly told with an understanding smile that it will be fifteen minutes before you'll be seen because the doctor just returned from an emergency at the hospital. She apologizes. Then the receptionist comes out to the waiting room and guides you to a seat. She asks you if you would like a bottle of cold water, tea or juice. You choose tea. Two minutes later she comes back with a cup of tea and carefully places it on the table next to you. She asks if you would like to go on the internet (there's two computers set up in the corner). You say, "No thanks." Five minutes later she comes back to tell you a room will be available shortly. Three minutes later the doctor (yes the doctor) walks in to the reception area, makes eye contact with you, calls your name and says, "Come on back, Mr. Smith." He introduces you to a nurse who takes you to an exam room. The nurse sees you immedately to perform some basic tests. Within two minutes after she's through, the doctor comes into the room, examines you, tells you what's wrong, explains the treatment plan and answers all of your questions in a warm, caring and patient manner. He then asks a nurse to walk you back to the reception desk where you schedule your next appointment.
You've been treated like a king and loved it. You tell everyone you know about the experience and the result is several referrals for the doctor. "I'll never go to another family practitioner again other than Dr. Jones," you say to yourself.
Yes, if you're a medical practitioner, you're probably thinking you don't have time to do this because most of your patients have HMOs, you're paid mainly by capitation and only 15 percent of your community's patients are insured under a PPO plan. Of course, if you're a skilled physician, have great communication skills and treat your patients like in the example above, you won't need to contract with HMOs because you can dominate the local "PPO market." And wouldn't you rather do so, and get better reimbursement and make larger profits? Try applying this example of great customer service to your business. Then promote it and enjoy your increase in business volume.
OK, so let’s move on and talk about promotion.
Copyright © 2007, Business Builders. All rights reserved. None of this material may be copied or reproduced without expressed written permission from Business Builders.
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