Are You Holding Your Customers Accountable?
February 17th, 2016 // 3:02 pm @ Scott Manning
For years I have been telling my clients that if you really want to be memorable in the minds of your customers, clients, patients and people you serve, you must be obviously different.
The concept of differentiation or ‘competitive advantage’ or unique selling proposition are all very different, cooperative to a point but they are all things that are relate to you as a business.
What is your unique selling proposition?
Define your competitive advantage?
How are you differentiating yourself?
Again, all focused on YOU and your business.
This, to me, has always been wrong. No different than going to someone’s website and trying to “research” about them. Hello!!! It’s their website. It can say whatever they want it to say. That’s not ‘research’ or knowing or learning or experiencing.
I can always tell a buyer without a lot of sense because they want to ask all kinds of questions about everything other than themselves or business people who want to tell you all the great things they have done but never talk about what they are going to do – for you.
Everything, and I mean quite literally everything, in your business must be seen through the eyes of the client, patient, customer if you are going to make great decisions and have any of these three things I’ve listed above.
My philosophy is simple: we follow 4 key guiding principles of interacting with our clients.
1. Treat them like team members, not sitting on the other side of the table, but sitting next to you. You are on the same team, we aren’t selling you something we are working together for your benefit – that means we both have responsibility.
Too many unsophisticated companies and small time entrepreneurs never break the cycle and trap of just being ‘self-employed’ because they are trying to do all the work, instead of putting the burden on the person buying…they have to have as much involvement as you do – I didn’t say work – but absolutely responsibility. They have to be accountable for making good on their investment, not you holding the responsibility and burden for their purchase.
2. Do more and do the opposite of whatever anyone and everyone else is doing…
I can confidently say, no one on the earth does what we do in the way we do it. We are obviously different and the list of these things is so long (not to mention proprietary) and unless you were knee deep and also happen to be our specific, exact, ideal, target client whom we are built to serve you would never know – and that’s okay, because it’s suppose to be that way – only those that are suppose to know ever do.
The reason this is so critical is because of the strategy of ‘obvious differentiation’. We do not want to be compared to anyone. Not only because there is no comparison but because it takes too long, it’s inefficient, it’s wasteful and being in the comparison or convincing business is very stupid and very low profit – there’s no positioning and therefore no control.
3. Mutual respect, integrity, transparency, always.
This is a big one. You want your business to be based on this one simple yet profound point – your clients, customers, and patients need you – you do not need them…you are in position to accept those who will follow your guidance, respect your approach, trust your process, and be a good patient, customer, client.
This goes both ways. You will go all in for your customers, patients, clients success but it’s a two way street and that’s why you must choose them wisely and educate, nurture, and grow them deliberately into amazing customers, patients, and clients for you.
If the people who invest in you do not have these three life virtues between you and them, your future is destine for problems and diminishing returns.
I believe there is no greater selling, influencing, impactful strategy and right thing to do in business than to be truthful with your clients, customers, and patients about their future, your relationship, what’s going to happen, etc. Transparency builds trust and long term loyalty and makes people want to give you money again and again and again.
4. Sort of a common theme here, but, it’s about PEOPLE. I call it the human element; or humanizing the experience for your patients, customer, and clients.
You can never do too much motivation, personal development, positivity, prosperity and inspiration. I don’t care if you sell cars, houses, health, smiles, martial arts, counseling, guns, anything.
It’s not about any of these things, it’s about the people you are interacting with and the people who support you and them.
Appeal to their emotions and to them as a person and you will create a following like no other. They will open their lives up for you to do incredible things and they will in turn help you to do incredible things.
If you build dependence on you through services and goods, fine, but if you build dependence on you emotionally – if you can become a source as Zig Ziglar used to always say ‘the good, the clean, the pure, the powerful, the positive’ then you will have everything you want.
Ultimately, number 4 ties back to 1, 2, and 3, pretty much know this – they can get the tangible ‘thing’ you give them in exchange for money other places – at least generally, the outcome, the benefit, their perspective, it exists, others sell “it”.
But, the intangible thing, if you move to that, if you move them, if you move emotion and feelings and really make it about the people – wow – now there you achieve that obvious differentiation I’m talking about.
They never leave because they can’t because no one else is you, your company, your culture, your people, your experience.
That my friends is obvious differentiation…all of these, these four guiding principles, every one of them you are judge in eyes of your clients, prospects, and patients every day. It matters not what you say or think about yourself only what actually happens and what your customers, patients, and clients experience.
Remember this – if they break any of your rules – fire them fast, make them ‘dead to you’ as the kingpin Shark always says. You are not and should not be for everybody. You need rules and principles – only people who honor these four in our life stay in our life and that’s why it works so beautifully and that’s why they win so big.
I’d love to read your list of guiding principles for your interaction with your clients, patients, customers and have you share your thoughts with me on this.
Category : Blog
