In short it's by projecting your confidence in the future of your business so your customers will feel better about choosing you.
By showing them that the investments you make are those that make your company better, more responsive to the needs of your customers. How do you do that? By using your corporate assets and your good will for the genuine benefit of your customers. Nevertheless you must provide your prospects and customers with the feeling that you will be around. But what about the 99% of the companies on the earth that are privately held or family owned? Companies like yours do not and should not broadcast your financial information to outsiders. In the rarefied world of public companies, where financial information is broadcast far and wide to attract investors, it's easy to see if the company you're considering doing business with has the financial staying power that assures you they will be around after the warranty runs out. Customers are looking at your financial soundness. The brainstorming at these meetings by everyone from the Board Room to the shipping department will provide fresh innovative perspectives to take home and to continue to discuss in the mastermind peer groups throughout your organization. The beauty of association meetings is that there are sessions for everyone, ever functional area is represented by leaders and experts. Every member of your organization should be speaking regularly with their counterparts for innovation at every level. The giant companies call this competitive intelligence gathering but we know it's just common sense to speak regularly with other successful business owners in and out of our industry to see what they are doing that's working and consider how it just might work for us. One of the most effective ways to innovate is to spend time talking to your industry peers, those far outside your traditional marketing area - at an association event of via your regularly scheduled peer group meetings. Marketing ideas that cast your products, your services, and your organization in a new light - as innovators. Often innovative marketing is all you need. Innovation doesn't mean you have to reinvent your product or your service as long as you create the impression that you are making it better - different than it was. We all know of situations where the 10% was 100% perception.
Advertising experts say that for a product to be "new and improved" it only has to be 10% different than it was before. Product, service, and marketing innovation that sets you apart from your competition is a key element of success. When people know their business is appreciated they will give you the benefit of the doubt.
It does mean that the face, the attitude, your employees display to your prospects and customers must project that you care about them and about their business. Offering world class value to your customers doesn't mean that you are necessarily the cheapest, fastest, or best alternative. What is the reputation of your products in the eyes of the marketplace? Are they seen as good, better, or best? For the vast majority of companies, it is the quality of your products and services that gives you your competitive edge. Maybe you won't lose the first order, but you will lose the second, third, and so on. If you can't deliver or if your product is inferior you will lose the business. The Internet means you have a competitor open doing business every hour of every day. UPS and FedEx level the playing field when it comes to the products you make or distribute. Companies in rural Nebraska compete with their counterparts in Hong Kong. The quality of your products and services is always a critical element. Some organizations by their nature or the nature of their industry and products will find one characteristic more important than another but they all must be present to win. Each of the attributes of successful companies must be present, to one degree or another, if you expect to succeed.
0 kommentar(er)
