Blog Post: What Version Are You In?

Blog Originally Published by Kyle Doran on October 8, 2009

Welcome to website version 6.0 for R&A Marketing. What is significant about website version 6.0?

The most recent adaptation of our website came from an epiphany while I was taking a class at the Wizard Academy in Austin, Texas. I was taking a “Web & Radio Copywriting class” and the teacher of the class asked if anyone wanted their website to be critiqued. Upon viewing our old website the teacher posed the question, “Where is your home page?” A humble answer of “This is our homepage” has resulted in what we are viewing today.

A primary principle that was taught at this class was that there are four primary types of personalities and they all read and react differently to the way in which a website is built and laid out. Those four personality types are as follows:

1. Methodical
2. Humanistic
3. Spontaneous
4. Competitive

Methodical and Humanistic personality types are most likely to read through all of the content on a website because they are seekers and slow decision makers. In other words, “show me the proof in the pudding”. Competitive and Spontaneous personality types want to know all of the information ASAP—“tell me now, show me later”.

Our website was helpful to the methodical and humanistic personality types because we had a lot of information and it was all right there on our “home” page. However, we were not reaching the competitive or spontaneous personality types because we could not satisfy their need for fast decision making.

What are your customer’s personality types? Does your Ms. Jones sometimes like to walk through the entire store, inspecting every tag and asking “what have other people said about this sectional?” Or, maybe Ms. Jones asks to have it right now and demand the rundown of features and services the moment she walks in the door?

As a retail owner you make sure your sales people understand these different types of customers and that they sell based on their observations of who this Ms. Jones might be. Your website, home page in particular, is no different. Don’t be afraid to change the status quo to reach all personality types.

Your website is a sales person who cannot change on the fly. Equip your website with the tools to help land you sales. Ms. Jones will appreciate it and your wallet will too.

Word of the Week: NO

Word of the Week Published by Amy Lively on July 28, 2010

Don’t even think about it. Under no circumstances, ever, should you even dare to ask if the Beverage Bar is included at this buffet. In case you didn’t get the message, they’ve told you once, twice, EIGHT times on signs posted in the parking lot that boldly and badly proclaim, “Beverage Bar Not Included.”

I felt punished before I even walked in the door.

Can you picture the corporate level meetings, customer complaints and employee grumbling that led to this policy? I can even understand that it’s necessary to clear up confusion and preempt complaints. But what I don’t understand is why they didn’t find a better way to say it.

How about, “Belly up to the Beverage Bar for just $1.99!” OK, maybe that line needs some work—but you get the idea. State the positive instead of the negative, and your customer will feel like they’re getting a benefit instead of a spanking.

What are your “No’s”? We’ve all got ‘em: No sales without a deposit. No returns. No smoking.
• Your new furniture will be ordered upon receipt of your deposit.
• Your order is custom made just for you! Please double check for accuracy as this is a final sale.
• A smoking patio is provided in the rear of the parking lot.

Parents of toddlers will tell you, saying “No” all day is exhausting. No, you can’t put Cheerios in the toilet. No, you can’t lick the dog.

No, you can’t tell Ms. Jones “No.”

The “Word of the Week” is written by Amy Lively of The Lively Merchant, R&A’s partner in providing these thought-provoking weekly witticisms.

I’m not getting any better, but I try to manage my weakness. If something is not on my calendar, I won’t be there. So I put everything from phone calls to anniversaries on the calendar, with color-coded categories to make it look pretty. I also use Tasks, an electronic To Do list with bells and whistles that pop up on my phone and in my face.

I print endless bulleted lists broken down by home, work, church, etc. with things that need done yesterday, today and tomorrow. I find great joy in checking a box. Done! Finis! Ahhh, accomplishment! Yes, I put things on the list just to cross them off. Brush teeth? Done! Each lunch? Maybe later.

But here’s the problem: at the other end of many of my tasks are real, live, feeling people left in the lurch. A customer whose weekend business depends on me finishing a project. A vendor who can’t pay their staff until I pay them. A friend who feels forgotten.

This recently hit home when I was the empty box on someone’s To Do list. A phone call not returned, a meeting not kept, an email not replied… These may have been items to be checked or appointments to be moved for them, but to me this felt like personal rejection and professional malpractice.

Do you treat Ms. Jones—and your spouse, or your kids, and your coworkers—like tasks or like treasures?

The “Word of the Week” is written by Amy Lively of The Lively Merchant, R&A’s partner in providing these thought-provoking weekly witticisms.

Effective.

For 28 cents, Hank got himself a loyal customer. Hank’s succinct note is more sincere than a slick postcard or prerecorded message.  Then again, Hank is sincere. He’s like a machine in our yard- reliable, consistent, hardworking. He leans on his rake and gives you his full attention if you stop to say hello. Hank always includes a self-addressed stamped envelope with his invoice. He sends newsletters about lawn care and additional services he provides. He sends Christmas cards.

Nothing fancy. Just effective.

Hank has never offered us a coupon. He’s never on sale. He doesn’t offer financing (although we might need it after this fall’s bumper crop of hickory nuts). He doesn’t take credit cards.

Are you making elaborate plans to impress Ms. Jones, when all she needs is a simple, scrawled “thanks”?

The “Word of the Week” is written by Amy Lively of The Lively Merchant, R&A’s partner in providing these thought-provoking weekly witticisms.

I called a couple of national chains and learned that I had more to learn. What do you mean, what size are the tires? They’re round and bald, that’s all I know. In both cases, the associate who answered the telephone was able to provide prices and check availability for several different sizes and brands.

We like to support locally owned family businesses, so I called the locally owned family tire store. They’ve been around since the horse and buggy days, and pictures of great-great-grandpa line the showroom. A woman answered the phone and I explained what I needed. She asked me to hold for a salesperson, but I was in a hurry and hung up after :57 seconds.

When I called back, I didn’t waste my breath with the greeter and asked for a salesperson immediately. After five (5) – FIVE! – minutes on hold, someone answered and I stated my case.  I remembered that they had serviced the car in the past and asked if he could look it up and see what kind of tires we needed.

“I can only look things up by service date,” he explained.

Seriously? Are you kidding me? I know my name, my address, my phone number, my license plate, the make and model of my car. I barely remember what I ate for breakfast, and you want me to remember the date of my last oil change?

Do you make it hard for Ms. Jones to get what she needs? Are their roadblocks in your organization that make her detour to your competition? Do your systems cooperate, or do they complicate?

Do you have a Sales Prevention Department?

The “Word of the Week” is written by Amy Lively of The Lively Merchant, R&A’s partner in providing these thought-provoking weekly witticisms.

Traditionally speaking (the late 1800’s through mid 1990’s) every single marketer has controlled their message to the consumer.  If you wanted “making your house home” all you had to do was say it and she bought it…at least you thought that she did.  Marketing was easier.  Life was easier.

Today and moving into the future the marketer has ZERO control over their message.  Not to say marketing campaigns, positioning statements and branded collateral are not important to today’s consumer (they are expected), but we can no longer make the claim “making your house a home” without knowing that is what you actually do.

A quick fix that is projected throughout the landscape of retail is to get a better website, build a Facebook profile, or start a blog and you have mastered today’s marketing.  This is a knee jerk reaction that only creates problems—not solutions.

Another knee jerk reaction is to take this new way of marketing as “I better change everything right now to meet the customer’s needs!”  Sometimes this is part of the solution but at the core is truly identifying who you are RIGHT now.

Here’s how today’s brand is broken down:

ME + YOU – (YOU-RX) = $$$

ME: The me is the not the retailer in this case.  The ME is Ms. Jones.  She has to be first in the equation and added to the brand.  There is not a need for furniture in the marketplace without her.  Every decision revolves around her and only her.

YOU: The first YOU in this equation involves the retailer.  This YOU is the retailer’s strengths with quantifiable reasoning.  The claim “We have good delivery” does not stick in the marketplace.  However, claiming “We have a 98% efficiency rate for on time delivery” or “9 out of 10 delivery surveys come back with a grade of 10 out 10.  View our website to read each and every comment” does have validty and truth.  Without strengths there is not a story to tell and thus not a compelling reason for the customer to come in.

YOU: The second YOU in this equation involves the retailer again.  This YOU is the retailer’s weaknesses without quantifiable reasoning.   In the mind of today’s consumer if it happened to one or if it happened to hundreds it does not matter because someone is talking about it.  All it takes is one post on Facebook or one user generated bashing website to bring a perceived weakness to the top of the mind awareness of Ms. Jones.

RX: This RX is a prescription for help to combat weaknesses.  This does not work by attempting to demean the consumer who said these things or to simply delete their comment, review or post.  It happens by identifying these problems, addressing them directly from the source and owning up to the situation.

How do you execute?

1. Do you know who you are? Before you can begin a dialogue with Ms. Jones in this new landscape you must know your organization inside and out.  Investigate and discover all of the aspects of your organization to determine the unalienable things you do that no one else in your trading area can claim.

2. Do you know who your customer is? So you have identified the first YOU once you discover who you are but how do you find the ME in the equation?  Drill through your customer list.  Where does she eat?  Sleep? Shop? Work out? Browse? Before you can begin turning the equation into money you must meet your Ms. Jones and shape your strengths around her.

3. How are you going to accomplish this new dialogue? Marketing was never easy.  It has not gotten any easier.  A road map has to be put in place for how you are going to talk about who you are.  Is it going to be through Facebook?  Search engine optimization? E-commerce? Direct Mail?  Grassroots marketing?  Transactional?  Relational?  Nothing?  Without a proper plan and items and people to execute it, the equation will never line up in your favor.

Marketing has changed…are you ready to change with it?

That’s why it really-I mean, reeeaaaaaallly-irritates me when I get bad
service. I have zero tolerance. On the other hand, I have a fairly high
level of compassion because I’ve helped my share of mad Ms. Joneses. And I
love, love, love good service when I can get it. I’m first in line with a
comment card or thank you letter.

We recently found ourselves in the middle of a mess with a local service
provider. We were both wrong, but that didn’t make it right.  As a business
owner, I could see their side. As a customer, I didn’t care. The situation
didn’t end nicely, no one was happy, neither one of us ever wants to see the
other ever again. Thinking about it still makes me grit my teeth.

Part of me wants to make a big stink, tell all my professional friends how
badly we were treated, Tweet a bad review and post my gripe on Facebook.
Another part of me, a smaller but wiser part, says to just lump it, take my
toys and go home.

What do you do when you get bad service? Are you less patient with service
providers because you are one yourself? Or do a million hours behind the
service desk make you magnanimous when you’re in front of it?

My small, wise part won. This time.

The “Word of the Week” is written by Amy Lively of
The Lively Merchant, R&A’s partner in providing these
thought-provoking weekly witticisms.

I was the one who begged to break my husband’s long-stated “no cat” rule. yet every night, where is that cat? Right in the lap of the aforementioned cat-hating husband.

Cats are like customers. Aloof in their neediness. Ungrateful in their allegiance. Disloyal. Difficult to predict. Choosy. Particular. You know the difference between cats and dogs, don’t you? A dog thinks, “You pet me, you feed me, you shelter me, and you love me. You must be God!” But a cat thinks, “You pet me, you feed me, you shelter me, and you love me. I must be God!”

Ms. Jones is as self-absorbed as my cat. It’s all about her- her needs, her home, her family, her quirks, her demands. She wants to be stroked, petted, fed and loved on her terms.

Cats and customers are only out for themselves. If the focus of your message is about only you- your company, your terms, your selection, your greatness- she will sneer as she saunters off toward a warmer lap.

Does your marketing message make her purr?

The “Word of the Week” is written by Amy Lively of The Lively Merchant, R&A’s partner in providing these thought-provoking weekly witticisms.

What do these facts mean?

Three important factors:

1)      Ms. Jones expects you to have an image and an appeal. Although advertising, store layout and design are lower on the list does not diminish their value—it is not an expectation of the consumer.  Have advertising collateral that is hip, understandable and in today’s atmosphere is important and Ms. Jones knows when your walk does not match your talk.

2)      Value is important—it always has been. Yes, value and price are number one on the priority list.  These two terms have been molded together in today’s economy.  A few years ago value would have been higher than price and not seen as one in the same.  However, a few bad days in the stock market and a foreclosure make both value and price seem hand in hand.  But, the same principle holds true:

a.       Value=when price is < personal experience or when personal experience is > price

3)      Ease of shopping is not just about a friendly staff. This factor hits deeper than the environment you have in your store.   It involves everything at the fingertips of Ms. Jones.  Whether it is OFFLINE or ONLINE she wants her shopping experience to be easy and user friendly.  Making her search through your store without a sales person does not help her personal experience but neither does sending her to a manufacturer website to look at product.

We know what Ms. Jones is looking for in her shopping experience.  We also know that things that needed to be improved three of four years ago are expected to be running in tip top shape and things that were not top of mind even today are expected to be running in tip top shape.

So, what do we do now?

It’s time for a tune up.  Identify your weaknesses, your strengths, your customer profile now, your future customer profile and how you are speaking about your brand in the marketplace.

How do you do this?

• Step outside of your comfort zone and truly evaluate yourself in the marketplace.
• Join a performance group and see how other retailers are talking about themselves to today’s customer.
• Hire an outside consultant who will work with you step by step to make sure this new plan is implemented effectively and efficiently to maximize impact.

Changing is not just changing because everyone else is.  Change solidifies the legacy your brand has and can have moving forward.

Blah blah blah.

I’m at a marketing seminar today listening to business owners tell their stories. They were each issued the challenge: “Do you offer a significant advantage to your customer? Are you leading with your most compelling message?” They were also warned, “It’s hard to read the label when you’re inside the bottle.”

Some of the business owners seemed to think they’re better than they actually are. Their unique claim to fame, the ubiquitous “customer service” story, is being made by competitors on every corner. Their prices are low. So are their competitors. Their selection is wide. So is their competitors.

Others couldn’t see their own greatness. 19 questions later, they’d shrug and say something brilliant like, “Well, we use the proceeds from every sale to take five kids off the streets.” Or, “We give lifetime oil changes for $18.95 with every car purchase.” Rustling and murmuring from the audience meant we were really on to something.

How do you get outside the bottle to see yourself real? Ask Ms. Jones what she loves and what she hates about shopping for your product. Then make sure your message addresses her frustrations and answers her questions before she even has a chance to ask.

The “Word of the Week” is written by Amy Lively of The Lively Merchant, R&A’s partner in providing these thought-provoking weekly witticisms.