When I was growing up, canned tuna fish was a lunch time staple usually served with another lunch time staple: macaroni and cheese.
I still like canned tuna fish and water-pack tuna in a big green salad is one of my favorite meals on busy days.
For years I bought name brand tuna at the supermarket. The same brands my mom bought. This worked just fine.
Recently I’ve noticed that the quality has changed. I’ve been finding that one can out of two of the store brand is poor quality. I’m not going to give you the details rather I’ll say that 50% of the time my cats score big and get tuna for dinner.
Even upgrading to solid white albacore hasn’t improved my odds.
So I’m doing what every customer should do when a product doesn’t deliver on its promise: I’m voting with my wallet.
I bought gourmet tuna fish at nearly $6 a can. Although that may seem outrageously expensive I figure if every can I open contains good-tasting tuna, it will be worth it. At $2.50 a can for the stuff I buy at the supermarket, I’m still paying $5/ can if only every other can is edible.
What Does This Have to Do with Your Business?
More than you may think.
No matter what we sell, we don’t have a business if we can’t get and keep customers.
The difference between your business and a company selling cans of tuna fish is one of complexity only.
For a company selling tuna fish, the criteria for keeping customers happy is a relatively simple one: be truthful telling me what to expect and deliver on what you promise at a fair price.
For years, Starkist, Chicken of the Sea, and Bumblebee tuna did exactly that and I kept buying.
Now they don’t and I’ve started buying from a new company.
If you have a small business and particularly if you sell a service, there are more variables involved. For example, if you are a coach how do you define what a “quality experience” is to a client? Is it about helping your client get the results they wanted your help with? Sometimes that’s the case. Sometimes a really good coach or consultant helps their client discover a new entirely different goal to pursue.
Regardless of the complexity one thing is still the same: If you don’t deliver your customer or client will vote with their wallet. They will leave and find a competitor who they think will do a better job giving them what they want.
How to Make Sure You Get and Keep Great Customers
Sometimes when you lose a client, it’s actually a good thing.
Because it turned out that what they really needed wasn’t something you help people with. That’s cool. Hopefully you and your client come to an agreement and part ways amicably. Perhaps you even refer your client to a company that’s better able to meet your client’s needs.
But usually losing a client means something in your sales and marketing process doesn’t work.
If want to get and retain more quality customers, here are three things you want to look at:
#1. Your ideal client or customer definition.
If you don’t have any definition, you need to have one. Even if your definition consists only of negative factors you want to avoid. You need to start somewhere.
If you do have an ideal definition is it accurate? Your definition will shift over time as you have more experience with different customers in different situations. If you don’t update your definition at least once a year, you’re probably working with a definition that’s no longer accurate.
#2. Your sales process.
Part of your sales process should help you screen prospective customers so that the only people you work with are truly ideal.
For example, do you have an application you ask prospective customers to complete before scheduling an appointment to discuss their needs? If you don’t, I highly, highly recommend using an application or assessment. It saves both you and your prospective customers time and energy.
And do you honor your sales process? Do you pay attention to red flags or do you let some people “slip through” because you need the money and you hope the red flags were just red herrings?
#3. Your marketing message.
What does your message currently promise you’ll deliver? And even more importantly, what do your prospects think you’re promising?
You want to make sure that what people think you promise is what you actually can and want to promise. If there’s a discrepancy, it’s important to address the difference as quickly as possible.
Ultimately We”re Talking About Awareness and Accountability
I know I sometimes resist looking at my sales process or marketing message because it will force me to take a public position on what my business stands for. In particular it means I have to clearly say:
“I help these types of clients with these types of problems”
Because the implication is if the someone seeing my message doesn’t fit see his or her problem listed, they’re going to walk away. And they’ll hire someone else.
And our egos HATE that.
But at some point we have to become fully accountable to the longing in our hearts. The longing for what you want your business to make a reality in the world. To say yes to that longing we have to say NO to anything else.
Bottom Line
As small business owners, we’ve got it pretty good. We have the freedom to say “yes” easily to what’s in our hearts and we can quickly to take action to implement what’s consistent with the yes in our heart.
And there are customers who want what we long to offer.
Which is why I’m not expecting to buy a can or Starkist, Chicken of the Sea, or Bumblebee tuna anytime soon. I may still be the customer they want and maybe at some level these companies tell themselves they want to sell a quality product but somewhere along the line what they think I want and what I really want parted ways and I’ve voted on the reality I want with my wallet.
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