Sobel Co. LLC Marketing Blog

After attending a marketing conference this past week I was reminded of how critical it is for business owners to gain a clear understanding of their customers’ needs and situation. One way to gather this valuable information is by conducting a customer survey. Most everyone expects surveys to be a great tool for measuring how satisfied customers and clients are with your services and/or products. But a survey plays an  additional role in helping you make educated business decisions. Beyond measuring levels of satisfaction, the benchmarking data revealed in surveys can help you gain insights into whether or not customers would take advantage of a new service or product line you are considering, what unmet needs they have, and how they measure your company in terms of price, scope of products and services, quality and even your reputation. By asking the right questions (you may want to consult with an expert statistician to be sure you do ask the right questions, phrased to get you significant responses) you can identify unmet needs and, with an “early mover advantage,” you can tap into those before your competitors do. The more real knowledge you have of your existing and potential customer base, the more accurately you be able to gauge where your next efforts should be.

Best of all, positive survey results provide wonderful testimonials. Nothing is more convincing than sincere words of praise and loyalty from customers. As Dave Lewin, President of Statistically Speaking reminds us: It is very powerful to be able to put these words on your website, in your showroom, or on your marketing materials: “97% of our clients are extremely satisfied with our customer service.”

Market research is an important – but overlooked- component of a good marketing plan. Technology changes have made research easier and more cost effective to conduct so it is no longer just a tool for the giant corporations, but is also a way for small and mid-size companies to learn more about their customers.

As you use information you gather to make good decisions, one piece of advice is to make sure you know what to ask, but who and how as well. 

David Lewin, Ph.D, President, Statistically Speaking Consulting, reminds us that is is important to keep surveys focused on the main points.  It’s tempting to ask a lot of questions, but the longer the survey, the lower the accuracy of the responses.  Unless the incentive is great, people do not usually have the desire to fill out a long survey - so they skip questions or answer without much thought, and then no one in your organization is going to get a good answer.

Lewin also reminds us  that when considering the results from your survey, think who answered the survey versus who did not.  If there is a difference, your results might be biased and difficult to interpret.  Make sure the group that responds to the survey is fairly representative of the population you are trying to understand. 

Lastly, how you gather the data also has an impact on the validity of the analysis.  Are you going to do this online or over the phone?  Is the language in the questions clear and non-leading?  Are you going to ask questions with specific answers or open-ended questions?

The more you learn, the more impactful your marketing strategy will be!

Whether the economy is tight or robust, every business owner knows that loyal, repeat customers are always an important key to their success.

So, how do you know when your customers are really pleased? Manufacturers, retail shop owners, chefs, physicians and contractors all rely on the loyalty of their customers.  Yet, sometimes owners or senior managers find it easiest to “guess” what their customers value most.  Instead of guessing, how about just periodically asking a few critical questions designed specifically to give you guidance based on facts about your best customers?

Although a useful tool, a full-blown satisfaction survey can be ponderous for you and for the respondents. But if you focus on just one question each month, whether delivered by e-mail, a personal phone call, at the point of sale, or even via your website using a process like Survey Monkey, you will elicit some useful results.

You might begin dividing the questions you want to ask into segments that are most significant for you. These might include areas such as: rating of technical services or breadth of product lines, customer attention, competitive pricing and discounts, return policy and guarantees, and the over all customer experience. You can also ask your best customers questions such as, “What is the one thing we consistently do really well that you most appreciate?” and “What is the one thing that we don’t do that you wish we did?”   You can include other questions, too, like, “What service/products/experiences do our competitors provide that you most value?”

Their responses will provide insights that can help you improve your marketing, your approach to customer service and ultimately, your profitability. Take the guess work out of the equation and ask a few targeted questions over the next few months. One word of caution, though, is to be prepared for honest answers and the reality that some changes may be in order!

I have been out of the office for the last three days participating in our firm’s annual strategic retreat. Like most of you, Sobel & Co. is a mid-size business which focuses on consistently delivery of great service to great clients.  But, like you, we often get so caught up in the day-to-day activities that we do not make enough time to consider the bigger picture, to review our current situation and to consider what lies ahead.  We often admonish you, our clients and colleagues, to make time to work  on your business as well as in it.  But that is easier said than done! Pressing issues rob us of the time we need to be contemplative, and so we are forced to actually schedule time together.  The meeting’s agenda reflects our where we have been as well as where we want to go -  along with a road map for achieving our objectives.  If you have never held a strategic retreat for your company, where you are afforded the luxury of working together,  looking ahead and strengthening your opportunities, you should consider doing so! If you would like to talk to us about the concept of a retreat, what an agenda should look like, what you can expect to accomplish, and the role of the facilitator, please call me at 973-994-9494. This is an area where Peter Levy, partner-in-charge of the firm’s Business Consulting Services Group, has a depth of experience!

There is a Harvard Business Review case study entitled “Putting the Service-profit Chain to Work” which talks about the critical link between your company’s profitability and the loyalty and satisfaction of your customers. The first part of the equation, though, links employee satisfaction to employee retention to external service value and finally, customer satisfaction. In other words, when you are marketing to attract new customers, or to build higher retention with existing customers, the process should begin with your own employees.

These are the people who interact with your customers on a daily basis and they are the ones who fulfill your business’ promises. When employees treat customers well, the customers are more loyal, remain with you longer, refer more new business and are more likely to purchase a wider range of your products and services. On the other hand, when employees take the customer for granted and do not deliver extraordinary service, customers become dissatisfied and go elsewhere where they will be well-treated and valued. So when you launch a marketing campaign, or are trying to penetrate new markets or extend a product line, look inside your company.

Make sure that your employees understand what an important role they play and what influence they have over your customers’ experience with the organization. When your employees are your most passionate advocates, they are also your best marketers.

Prospective customers, as well as existing customers, want to know what value you can add for them. They are concerned with, “What’s In It For Me?” – also known as the WIIFM syndrome. So when you are marketing to them, try not to talk about how great you are, how long you have been established in the community, or the wide range of products and services you offer. Instead consider why they should do business with you. Put yourself on their side of the equation. What would you want? What would you value if you were the customer? Then find a way to deliver that product or service that they really need, that will help them be more profitable, more successful, more efficient. Lastly, make sure your marketing addresses the WIFM question in a compelling way. When you focus on your customers’ needs instead of on your own list of attributes, you will make a stronger connection with them, gain their loyalty and grow your business. 

One marketing idea that helps you build stronger name recognition and generate good will is to adopt a local nonprofit and work together on various projects throughout the year. To have the greatest influence you may select an organization that operates in the same “space” as you do. For example, a restaurant or grocery store may choose to assist a local food bank while a hardware store might want to offer assistance and resources to Habitat for Humanity.  Along the same lines, a hair salon can match up with one of the cancer organizations that is part of the” Locks for Love” program providing wigs for chemotherapy victims. No matter what business you are in, there is a corresponding nonprofit that would greatly appreciate your support and attention. There are many advantages to such an alliance.  (1) Your employees can get involved, which helps you strengthen your internal culture and sense of pride.

(2) You have the opportunity to demonstrate your philanthropic attitude to the business community. You can put information about the firm’s charitable activities on your web site as well as promoting your commitment in other ways. (3) There can be additional media coverage and branding when you announce the successful results of your joint efforts. (4)  Existing clients may be impressed with your efforts, resulting in stronger loyalty to your company. When you bridge the non-profit and for-profit worlds by joining forces with a group in your area you will find that together you have an even greater impact. Frankly, it feels good to do good!