Why your Customers are Better than you

"This is just ridiculous" is what you may be thinking. But let's go back to the old adage the customer is always right and just think on that for a little while. 

Let's breakdown this claim and take a few steps back because you probably think I'm crazy. To help clarify my claim, we are going to start with that very statement:

The customer is always right
Whether you think so or not, this is always true*. If the customer says that t-shirt at Kohl's isn't worth $35 and doesn't fit right, it isn't worth $35 and doesn't fit right. Of course this only directly applies to the consumer that thinks it. However, the consumer that thinks it is likely to share what they think on social media, with their best friend, and on online reviews on the company website. Which leads me to my next point:

Customers are more influential and credible than you are

You heard me right, they are more credible than the company that sells the product. It doesn't matter if Kohl's thinks that shirt is fully worth $35 and fits consumers just fine. One consumer's opinion can influence another consumer's purchase quite easily. When it comes to decision time, a potential buyer will probably ask five of his closest friends what they recommend. They will also check out websites like Yelp and take a look at the customer reviews on the company's website. Which, surprise, are made from even more consumers! According to this article, a whopping 70% of consumers look at online reviews before making a purchase. That is a market you can't create and you can't control, but it is important to monitor the online chatter surrounding your product. It is also important to take those reviews and customer ideas and listen to them:

Your customers know what customers want.

According to Bill Lee, from an article on franchising.com, in "one compilation of studies of 1,193 commercially successful innovations across nine industries by MIT's Eric von Hippel, 737 (60 percent) came from customers". This supports the fact that consumers know what buyers want; they work to fulfill their own needs and create and purchase products that they would want to buy.

So your next question is probably, "how can I be better than my customers?" because that's obviously where every business owner wants to achieve! I'm going to break it down into three basic tips:

1. Listen to your customer! Even though you can't meet all of their wants and needs, you can at least work to improve the products or services you sell to better fit your target customer.
2. Observe online chatter. It is important to Google your business and watch how often customers are posting about you and what kind of things they are saying. This obviously takes us back to point #1.
3. Make sure your customer receives the best service you can offer. Even if your product isn't right for that customer, ensure that their experience is a good one. Great customer service can go a long way in online review sites, social media sites, and word of mouth chatter between friends.

What else do you think your customers are better at than you? What do you do to make the best product for your customers?

Until next time!
~Melissa

Fun fact: No one really knows who first uttered the phrase: "The customer is always right". It is widely believed that is was first said by Harry Gordon Selfridge, an employee at the original Marshall Fields store back in the late 1800s. However, some say that Marshall Field, the founder of the original Marshall Fields and Harry's boos said it first and it was quickly picked up by his employee, who is widely given credit for this phrase.

*To clarify, I would like say that the customer is always right in the customer's mind and will tend to share with other people how "right" they are. Many times the customer has unsupported facts, terrible claims, and outrageous statements (I've worked in retail and sales, I've heard a lot of statements in which I utter under my breath "that customer is not right") but in the end will only make the purchase if it is right for them. 

Professional, (but not too professional) Business Writing

This is a little bit of a boring topic, but a very important one in the business world.  Have you ever thought about how you communicate with your clients?  Yes you send them emails and you write posts on your social media, but what kind of message are you sending?

Let's start with plain and simple.  Do you write your business emails in the font Comic Sans?  Please don't, and let's start over.  No matter what the business, you should avoid unprofessional fonts at all costs.  Using such fonts makes it seem like you are not serious about your business and that you would rather be sitting on the beach sipping a mai-tai.  You want something that is easy to read and professional, but more exciting than Times New Roman.  

Once you pick the font for the body of your email, make sure you have a great signature to go with it.  If your signature is so long that you get bored reading it, let's fix that!  An email signature needs to include your name, phone number, and email and a very minimum.  Generally it should also include your title(s).  I personally do not think you need the physical address of your business in your signature-odds are they will be e-mailing you back, not snail-mailing.  Some nice personal touches are links to your company's Facebook and Twitter.  (It is an easy and free way to get your social media numbers up!)  Check out this blog for a tip on inserting these into your signature in a classy way!

Now comes the tricky part.  You want to sound professional but not stuffy. You want to sound serious but not angry.  This is something you need to balance out as a small business owner and adjust based on your industry. Something I like to do is write the email as if I am speaking it.  Then I go back and fix all the imperfections; clean up conjunctions, fix spelling errors, delete extra words, and replace words like "the super awesome cool thing" with "the ultimate part of your experience".  A good test is to pretend you are reading it to your grandmother-she will not understand slang and does not want to hear swear words. 

Emoticons have a place in life: text messages.  That is all.

And for the love of all things on this earth please use spell check and proof read.  Know that spell check does not find everything.  Spell check will not check the subject line of an email.  It will also not catch if you use the wrong "two", "to", and "too", among others.   It will not know how to spell many names.  It does not catch all punctuation errors.  If you have a history of making these kinds of mistakes, first type up your emails in Microsoft Word and then copy and paste into your email.  Word will catch more grammatical errors!  

As with all of my blogs, you need to find what works for you and your business. Please share what kind of email language and format works for your business!  

Until next time! 
~Melissa

"Authenticity, honesty, and personal voice underlie much of what's successful on the web" 

                 ~Unknown