Are You Creating Happiness?

Are You Creating Happiness?

by | Aug 14, 2019 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

We’re going to cover three of the 20 points of Roy H. Williams Advertising Oversimplified:

  1. Regardless of how you win them, it is costly to win a first-time customer. Getting that customer to come back a second, third, or fiftieth time is cheap and easy if they had a good experience the first time.

  2. Advertising is a tax we pay for not being remarkable. So be remarkable! This is what generates word-of-mouth. You’ve got to impress your customer. If you don’t, your competitor will.

  3. Companies that celebrate their victories have happy employees. So find things to celebrate. Happy employees create happy customers.

Did you notice the common theme of Happiness in those three tips?

Advertising is the paid form of connecting and inviting people to spend money with you. It’s what you do with that connection that determines the value you get from that advertising.

It used to be that in order to be noticed, you had to be remarkable.  Standards have been lowered because overall service in many fields has declined.  If you go thru the drive thru and they give you the correct food and charge the right amount in a reasonable amount of time, that can now be considered a win because of the number of places that can’t do those three things at once.

Keeping your customers is also a win.  Do you know the Lifetime Value of A Customer in your business?

It can be eye-opening and I can help you figure this out.  It is well worth the exercise.

It all boils down to having the right front-line employees.  No amount of marketing and advertising can fix a bad business and a bad business is often a people issue starting with the inside operations.

If you allow me to help you with this, I’ll be glad to.  Contact me: Scott@WOWO.com

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Are Your Employees REALLY Working?

Are Your Employees REALLY Working?

by | Jul 6, 2019 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

An old business owner joke goes like this; a reporter one day asked the CEO of a major company, “So, how many employees are working in your company?”  The CEO replied, “approximately half of them”.

 

It’s funny, but the problem is, it’s not necessarily a joke!  Today with the ever-expanding network of digital and social capabilities, the problem is getting worse, not better.

 

A fortune.com article stated that the average worker spends a full day of the work week doing things other than, work!  Paying an employee for 8 hours and getting only 6 hours of quality time is troubling, at the least.

 

According to an article posted by thebalancecareers.com, the most significant reasons why workers waste time were:

 

35% were not challenged enough

32% felt that there was no incentive to work harder

30% got no satisfaction from what they do, and

23% were just downright bored.

 

It’s no surprise that motivated employees with clear expectations get more done than those that simply show up and do what they “think” should be done.  The trick is, how do you keep them motivated?

 

I have a list of  “10 Leadership Tasks to Inspire Performance”  that suggests it starts with hiring. Hire on attitude and effort, you can train them on the skills required. Task #4  on the list suggests you have “clear expectations”.  Most people appreciate clear direction and boundaries and will “respect only what you inspect”.  Make sure they understand that doing non-work-related tasks are not tolerated, and you can bet the time wasted will be far less.

Now there is a fine line or grey area between wasting time on the job and taking a break.  It really depends on the requirements of the job and clear expectations set at the beginning.  Most employees don’t want to be micro-managed but they may need some help and guidance at first. 

In our company, we strive to use a coaching instead of managing set-up.  Because of the different roles people play, some have more flexibility while others need to follow procedures to the T.  Our on-air staff at the radio stations have to be on time.  As a former radio personality who sometimes worked non-traditional hours, I know how important punctuality is.  Same with meetings.  Time is a valuable resource for everyone.

Yet sometimes brainstorming, research and creativity can’t be easily measured or monitored by a time clock.  The coaching model of employee management takes into consideration the individuals work style along with the requirements of the job and finds a way to make it work. 

You may wonder what does any of this have to do with media, marketing and advertising that I usually write about.

Here’s the answer:

Your staff are a huge part of your marketing.  The customer experience can turn a first time caller or visitor into a life long customer, or it can create such a negative experience that you lose their business forever.

Even if I can bring you enough leads and potential customers through an advertising program to make you a millionaire, unless you treat them right, you will go broke.  And when I say you, I mean your entire team.

If you would like a copy of the “10 Leadership Tactics to Inspire Performance”, click here. 

I also invite you to subscribe to my Sound ADvice marketing newsletter for tips on running a better business, you can subscribe in the box below.

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7 Sales Secret Tips

7 Sales Secret Tips

by | May 14, 2019 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo Sales Tips, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

Every once in awhile, it’s good to take a look at what has helped you become successful and today is one of those days.

In 2009 I wrote and published an article on 7 Sales Secrets that generated some national attention.

I was 6 years into my position as an advertising sales person with a group of radio stations and saw that there were lots of reasons why people were not successful and I wanted to do what I could to help them succeed.

These 7 Sales Secret Tips apply to you if you work for someone else or are running your own business and they are timeless, not matter what the technology changes that have taken place or will occur in the future.

I’ve updated these tips for 2019:

The 7 Secrets are neither original, nor secret.

1. People don’t want to buy what you are trying to sell them.They want to buy a solution to their problem/need/want. The classic example is people don’t buy a drill because of the shiny black handle. They buy a drill because they need to create a hole. What is the other persons real problem/need/want?

2. Price is not important. Value is all that matters. While there are limits to what someone is willing or able to spend, if your customer sees no value in what you are offering, there is no price cheap enough to overcome a lack of value. You can discount yourself out of business and you can also train your customers to only buy from you when you offer a discount.  The companies and people that having staying power go beyond price and offer value, Do you?

3. Objections can lead to a yes. An easy “yes” means you either know your client very well, or you’re just being an order taker. I know it sounds harsh, but objections are conversation starters, and these conversations can lead to customizing a solution to their problem/need/want.  I rarely have a package or program that I “pitch”. Instead I know why options I can offer.  Do you know the difference? Which leads us to…

4. You have to listen and learn, more than smile and sell. I do my homework and am prepared with research about my customers and their business. I also look at their competition and we talk about them. We talk about their goals for the future, their past history, what they have done that was successful and what didn’t work too. Too often salespeople are only focused on what they have to sell instead of seeing how they can help their customers. If you are focused too much on what you want, it will show and you can actually repel people from buying from you.

5. Your customer knows more than you give them credit for. We live in an information age with easy access via the internet. Your customer has done their research. However…

6. Your customer knows less than they think they do. Just because the information is available, doesn’t mean they know how to use interpret it and use it to their advantage. That’s where you come in as the expert. Which means that you better know your stuff inside and out. You are personally responsible for your own education, not your boss. Be your very best. You need to also talk with your customers in such a manner that they understand.  Don’t limit yourself to insider jargon.

7. Relationships are forever. Apply the Golden Rule. Treat others with the same honesty and respect that you would like to be treated with. Keep relationships alive with your customers, potential customers and even those that may never become your customers. After a few years  I had developed relationships that began paying off in ways I would have never imagined. Now that I have more than 16 years in the media and marketing world in Fort Wayne including working for WOWO radio since 2013, I am enjoying the fruits of my years of cultivating my own brand and reputation.  How about you?

That’s it. A half dozen plus one Sales Secrets, that shouldn’t be secret. Your comments are always welcome.  Reach me at Scott@WOWO.com if you would like my help or have more to add.

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Keeping Your Core Customers

Keeping Your Core Customers

by | Apr 30, 2019 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, Uncategorized, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

Core Customers – Keep Them!

Every business owner understands that keeping a current customer is much less expensive than creating a new customer. Or at least you think they would! Let me rephrase this; Every SUCCESSFUL business owner not only understands this, but they do things to ensure that they remain a customer and become a Core Customer.

So what exactly is a Core Customer? A Core Customer is someone that has done business with you in the past “X-period of time” and has the potential to do business with you again.

The “X-period of time” depends upon the purchase cycle or how often purchases are made within each business category. For example, in the automotive category, a typical person purchases a vehicle every 3-½ years. In the plumbing business, less than 20% of the population use a plumber every year and 50% of the population only needs a plumber every 4 to 6 years. In the hardware business, it can be 1 time per month or more.

If your current customers have purchased from you within your “purchase cycle” time frame, these people should be considered a “Core Customer”. As a business owner, you want to connect and reconnect with people between purchases until, at minimum, they are out of the “purchase cycle” period.

The other important question is, how often do you need to keep in contact? It can vary to some degree depending upon the buying cycle, but the rule of thumb is 3 to 5 times a year, with a minimum of two.

The first thing you must do is identify your business’ buying cycle. Then, identify who your current core customers are.

If you do not have a list of your customers and their contact info, start to create one. The only info you need is the name, mailing address, email address, date of purchases, and if possible, what they purchased and the transaction amount.

Having this information is useless unless you USE it!

Keeping your current customers is one key to success, but we must understand that regardless of what you do, you stand to lose 20% of your customers each year due to attrition in one form or another. Therefore, it’s paramount that you continue to attract new customers that turn into Core Customers. Once you’ve created the relationship, do everything you can to keep them!

I have 8 helpful tips on how to stay connected with your Core Customers and protect them from predators (your competition). Just email send me an email to Scott@WOWO.com with the subject  Core Customers. I also have a weekly marketing tips newsletter that I will send to you free when you fill out the form below.

 

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Rule #1,  Repeat & Referral Business 

Rule #1,  Repeat & Referral Business 

by | Apr 16, 2019 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

Rule #1,  Repeat & Referral Business 

Marketing, like most fields of endeavor, has certain proven formulas you can use to ensure you get a return on your marketing investments.

The first formula, The Two “R’s” is simple; Advertising can’t make a bad business a good business.

How do you measure if you have a good business or a bad business?

It’s simple. If you don’t already have Repeat and Referral business, advertising won’t work. There is something inherently wrong with your business. Fix it before you waste another dollar on advertising.

Time and time again, I have seen businesses that ignore this simple rule.  

They come to me and say, we need help getting more customers.  That in itself is usually good.  But digging deeper may uncover some issues that need fixed first.

Take the doctors office that has a rude receptionist that is driving away people.  Or it could be the doctor himself who has a terrible way of relating to patients.

There once was a coffee shop here in town that hired someone to open their doors at 7am, but the person was always late. 7:15 or even 7:30 was when they would show up.  This was one of the key reasons that coffee shop shut down.

What is it about your business that is preventing people from spending money with you?  What are the reasons that once someone becomes your customer once, they don’t come back and don’t refer their friends and family to you?

We live in a review centric world these days.  

When my wife and I travel, we read the views before we decide where to go.

Have you read the reviews for your business?

Google reviews and Facebook reviews are pretty common along with other review sites that specialize in different shopping experiences. 

When I decide whether or not to work with a business and their advertising and marketing, I’ll read their reviews first.  If I see nothing but negatives for your business, we need to fix what’s wrong before we spend money to invite new people to your door.

Want my help, contact me. Email Scott @WOWO.com and we’ll sit down to talk.

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