This is a post that can apply to any size business as it is an age-old business problem. You have a superior product but yet your competitors have the market share. It’s hard to understand. Your devoted customers love your product – they tell you so. Why shouldn’t you have the market share? The real key is to understand the other factors that are influencing the purchasing decision. It’s not only about the quality of your products. To gain market share you have to incorporate business acumen into your efforts. To demonstrate this further, I am going to share a story about a local restaurant we recently went to and I hope it gives you some insight into how business acumen can help you gain the market share your product deserves.
In our small area, there are two restaurants specializing in the same cuisine. Both are family owned and while Restaurant A has superior food, Restaurant B has a superior business model.
Here are some comparisons of the two with the lessons learned for each:
1. Location:
a. Restaurant A is on the boarder of the worst area in town while Restaurant B is in the heart of the commercial district.
b. Restaurant A is out of the way for most of the demographic that would frequent the establishment while Restaurant B is very easily accessible.
c. Parking is limited for Restaurant A, causing the need to park on the street or in a lot away from the actual restaurant (an issue in inclement weather that is common around here). Of course Restaurant B has a very large parking area.
*Verdict: Restaurant B wins!
Lesson #1 - make your product accessible to your market – don’t expect your market to go out of their way to come to you!
2. Hours of Operation:
a. Restaurant A only offers lunch as a take-out only four days a week. Ugh! This one really gets me. It’s a family owned and run place. The husband is the cook. The wife and adult son serve. Yet they don’t open the dining room for lunch. They say it’s not “worth” it. Really, you are in an area that is not convenient so why would I drive there only to get a lunch to go??? Of course Restaurant B is always open for lunch.
b. The dining room at Restaurant A is only open 5 days a week, for limited dinner hours and they frequently close weeks at a time for family trips back to the home country. Restaurant B is open 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, excluding Thanksgiving and Christmas, of course.
*Verdict: Restaurant B wins again.
Lesson #2 – I have written about this in previous posts – be open to your customers!
3. Service
a. Both start of equal on this one. As big as Restaurant B is, the owner will still make every attempt to visit every table. Of course, the wife and son at Restaurant A are the server so the diners get that personal touch there.
b. Where it starts to divide is the amount of attention. Customers want to be greeted and served but you cannot be overly familiar. This is still a business relationship. Don’t make it uncomfortable for your guests. The entire time we were at Restaurant A, we heard the son’s voice. He didn’t stop talking and to almost every table. The wife was a little better but still… Know when to stop or you’ll chase your customers away.
*Verdict: Restaurant B wins.
Lesson #3 – They are your customers, not your family or best friends. Give them space to enjoy your product!
4. Marketing
a. Restaurant A places small ads in the local paper. Restaurant B has ads, television commercials, billboards and a website.
b. Restaurant B has some products for sale including their spices and salad dressings.
c. Restaurant B is a MAJOR player in the local non-profit scene. They sponsor events, they donate, they participate and they are genuine in their efforts.
*Verdict: Of course, no surprise, Restaurant B wins again!
Lesson #4 – Regardless of your size, don’t underestimate the power of marketing. Keep your name out there in any way possible so your customers don’t forget about you.
Clearly basic business acumen topics such as customer experience, business practices and marketing could take Restaurant A to a whole new level. As good as their product is, they are resistant to change and refuse to take action. They are in business in spite of themselves and unfortunately will continue to lose market share. Don’t be Restaurant A. Embrace business acumen to get the market share your product deserves.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Do your prospecting efforts stink?
This story has stuck with me since late last year and I think this is a great time to share it. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that even the most mundane of situations can improve business acumen. Even, if that situation involves garbage. Yes, there is business acumen, or lack thereof, in garbage…
Our home is in an area that has to contract for weekly garbage/recyclable collections. Our service provider was used by the previous homeowners and is used by most of my neighbors. They are prompt, never miss a pick up and don’t mind if there are extra bags from time to time. Sure, I wish they had a few other options but overall, for garbage, I think they do a great job. So that’s the background, here is the situation:
As most of my stories occur, this situation had the most unremarkable start. My front doorbell rang and I answered it to a rather unremarkable man. Now, I am not trying to be mean but he was a rather unkempt and drove a beat-up older truck. I honestly can’t remember his name or his company’s name but I do remember what he said. “I’m so and so and I own so and so company. I’ve been meaning to stop by for a while but didn’t get around to it sooner. I was just visiting family up the road and decided to stop. I have a garbage service that one of your neighbors uses. What are you paying now? I can give you good rates – here’s my card, call me.” Wow, that was impressive?!?
As far as prospecting goes, I am not sure that approach couldn’t get much worse. In fact, there were so many issues with it; it’s difficult to pick a place to start. Here are the four main points that really stood out to me as severely lacking:
1. The approach was bad – “I didn’t get around to it sooner” and “I was just visiting family up the road” were statements that really made me feel special.
2. Next, while he didn’t need to be wearing a tuxedo, a little more of a professional appearance would have been appreciated. A shirt with a logo, a uniform – anything to reinforce the company’s brand would have been much more appropriate.
3. Then, he assumed I just cared about rates and used that to “entice” me – there is more to garbage than just rates. Dependability, service, number of pickups, large junk item hauling…he didn’t even ask me where I thought my current service was lacking!
4. Finally, he gives me a card and says “call me.” Am I supposed to do that just because he said to? How many of us have customers that do everything we tell them to do, HAH, that’s likely to happen!
This man was so off-base in his prospecting that he really is a great example for this blog. Business acumen does include the ability to attract new customers. To successfully prospect, you should know where you competition is lacking and what the potential customers are looking for then you need to determine how you can fill that niche with confidence and professionalism.
Unfortunately as soon as I shut the door, his card went into - come on you can see this coming - the garbage. Funny, the rest of his prospecting efforts are probably in the garbage too.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Our home is in an area that has to contract for weekly garbage/recyclable collections. Our service provider was used by the previous homeowners and is used by most of my neighbors. They are prompt, never miss a pick up and don’t mind if there are extra bags from time to time. Sure, I wish they had a few other options but overall, for garbage, I think they do a great job. So that’s the background, here is the situation:
As most of my stories occur, this situation had the most unremarkable start. My front doorbell rang and I answered it to a rather unremarkable man. Now, I am not trying to be mean but he was a rather unkempt and drove a beat-up older truck. I honestly can’t remember his name or his company’s name but I do remember what he said. “I’m so and so and I own so and so company. I’ve been meaning to stop by for a while but didn’t get around to it sooner. I was just visiting family up the road and decided to stop. I have a garbage service that one of your neighbors uses. What are you paying now? I can give you good rates – here’s my card, call me.” Wow, that was impressive?!?
As far as prospecting goes, I am not sure that approach couldn’t get much worse. In fact, there were so many issues with it; it’s difficult to pick a place to start. Here are the four main points that really stood out to me as severely lacking:
1. The approach was bad – “I didn’t get around to it sooner” and “I was just visiting family up the road” were statements that really made me feel special.
2. Next, while he didn’t need to be wearing a tuxedo, a little more of a professional appearance would have been appreciated. A shirt with a logo, a uniform – anything to reinforce the company’s brand would have been much more appropriate.
3. Then, he assumed I just cared about rates and used that to “entice” me – there is more to garbage than just rates. Dependability, service, number of pickups, large junk item hauling…he didn’t even ask me where I thought my current service was lacking!
4. Finally, he gives me a card and says “call me.” Am I supposed to do that just because he said to? How many of us have customers that do everything we tell them to do, HAH, that’s likely to happen!
This man was so off-base in his prospecting that he really is a great example for this blog. Business acumen does include the ability to attract new customers. To successfully prospect, you should know where you competition is lacking and what the potential customers are looking for then you need to determine how you can fill that niche with confidence and professionalism.
Unfortunately as soon as I shut the door, his card went into - come on you can see this coming - the garbage. Funny, the rest of his prospecting efforts are probably in the garbage too.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
An epilogue to the tale of three car dealerships…
In my last post, I wrote about my experiences at three car dealers, all of whom sold the same brand of vehicles. I purposely omitted a common thread between the three because it deserved a post all to its own. Here are my concluding thoughts on the experience:
Recently, I made one of the better phone calls you can make. It was a call of praise. I called the customer relations for my new car manufacturer and told them about my car buying experience. The dealer I ultimately bought the car from was so wonderful, I felt compelled to tell the manufacturer about it. Why was I compelled? It’s an easy answer - they earned my trust.
Wow, a car dealership that earned my trust. Not a phrase you can say very often. As businesspeople we can never underestimate or forget the power of trust. A prospect who trusts you will become a loyal customer. In thinking about the other dealers, trust or lack thereof, was the reason I ended up at the third dealership.
The local dealer lost my trust when he proclaimed there were no cars available in all of America. What a ridiculous statement. This is the modern age. I have a computer and a phone – and I know how to use them. Don’t make statements that you can’t back up. The lesson they should have learned was that it doesn’t take long to lose trust and once it is gone…well, good luck trying to get it back!
The second dealer couldn’t even establish trust in the first place. Though at first they seem to be straight-up, once we arrived and they tried to undercut my trade by $3000 it became clear that they were shady. We did our research and we were being realistic so why would they try to play such a game? Their actions immediately put us on edge about trusting them with a business deal. Those suspicions were reconfirmed when they proclaimed that another dealer wouldn’t give the discount they were. If trying to rip-off your customers won’t establish trust then don’t expect that threats will!
So, why was the third dealer so different? The salesman was completely straightforward and spent time with us on the phone to ensure the long drive would be worthwhile. When we arrived, everything was as it was described on the phone and we came to a fair deal for both sides. The car was delivered as promised and on time. And, it doesn’t end there! The salesman has checked in with me several times to make sure everything is great with the car. The deal is done, he doesn’t have to do that but by doing so, he is continuing to build the relationship. I hope I can buy many cars from him in the future.
Now, that’s trust!!!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Recently, I made one of the better phone calls you can make. It was a call of praise. I called the customer relations for my new car manufacturer and told them about my car buying experience. The dealer I ultimately bought the car from was so wonderful, I felt compelled to tell the manufacturer about it. Why was I compelled? It’s an easy answer - they earned my trust.
Wow, a car dealership that earned my trust. Not a phrase you can say very often. As businesspeople we can never underestimate or forget the power of trust. A prospect who trusts you will become a loyal customer. In thinking about the other dealers, trust or lack thereof, was the reason I ended up at the third dealership.
The local dealer lost my trust when he proclaimed there were no cars available in all of America. What a ridiculous statement. This is the modern age. I have a computer and a phone – and I know how to use them. Don’t make statements that you can’t back up. The lesson they should have learned was that it doesn’t take long to lose trust and once it is gone…well, good luck trying to get it back!
The second dealer couldn’t even establish trust in the first place. Though at first they seem to be straight-up, once we arrived and they tried to undercut my trade by $3000 it became clear that they were shady. We did our research and we were being realistic so why would they try to play such a game? Their actions immediately put us on edge about trusting them with a business deal. Those suspicions were reconfirmed when they proclaimed that another dealer wouldn’t give the discount they were. If trying to rip-off your customers won’t establish trust then don’t expect that threats will!
So, why was the third dealer so different? The salesman was completely straightforward and spent time with us on the phone to ensure the long drive would be worthwhile. When we arrived, everything was as it was described on the phone and we came to a fair deal for both sides. The car was delivered as promised and on time. And, it doesn’t end there! The salesman has checked in with me several times to make sure everything is great with the car. The deal is done, he doesn’t have to do that but by doing so, he is continuing to build the relationship. I hope I can buy many cars from him in the future.
Now, that’s trust!!!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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