Greetings!
Overwhelmingly, companies know too little about their clients/customers. The single greatest void is in sourcing. You have no idea what it takes to get employees to ask, "How did you learn about us?"
Sourcing helps you determine the success of your marketing efforts. What isn't and is working? By sourcing you can evaluate your Marketing Plan to delete or add strategies (www.azobleassoc.com for our "Do-able Marketing Plan" workbook and our "10-Minute Marketing Plan" program).
It helps to have email addresses. If some don't want to provide them, acquire the addresses you can. Something Is Better than Nothing (SIBTN).
Depending upon how well you know your clients, you can learn the circles they move in, the organizations they belong to, their hobbies - the list goes on and on. The point is, the more you know about your customers, the better able you are to leverage the business you already have.
The two most common excuses owners and employees make about sourcing are "When we're busy, I haven't got time to ask all these questions" and "I don't want to pry."
Here's the scoop:
particularly in retail, there are times when there is only one customer in the store. There's your perfect time to strike up a conversation and schmooze. Moreover, it's only a few questions. You're not going to convince me that people are lined up at the register continually from the time you open until closing. Home in on your employees who are good conversationalists. You'll be amazed at what you'll learn.
If you're having a frantic day at the office, three minutes more on the phone with a client, when it's appropriate, won't kill you. You probably spend more time than that complaining about how busy you are!
There are always a few people who are shy and introvertive. They might find you a bit nosy and say so. The majority, however, will love to talk with you. After all, people love to talk about themselves! Prove what a good listener you are.
So . . . stop with the excuses. Just because you as a client might not like to take the time to schmooze, don't impose your own tastes on this form of marketing. After all, you're not marketing to you; you're marketing to them.
We welcome your calls to acquire some consulting assistance that will steer you in the right direction. We will not respond to email questions, since the responses usually take too long. Voice-to-voice is much easier and more satisfactory.
