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>A quick summary of my points in this thread: >1) Reach further to reach more consumers & extend >yourself, so they don’t have to work so hard to make >your business profitable. >2a) You may know what’s best for customers but they >may just want an easy resolution even if it isn’t a >real or full solution. Example: If something tastes >good & fills their stomachs, they consider their >problem solved. What it does or doesn’t do to/for >their bodies is only consciously relevant when they >have health problems. Even then, they may not >attribute bad health to their bad choices. If they do >somewhat correctly attribute it, they may blame >everybody who was involved in supplying what hurt >them—except themselves! >2b) You can either try to change them (which is almost >impossible) or change yourself, your business & what >you offer. > >Businesses Extending Themselves >Starbucks & McD’s have many outlets; a big reason is >to be closer to customers than competitors are. It’s >also a way to keep their names & offers in front of >people. It’s almost like VISA claiming to be >everywhere you want to be--& everywhere you are. >(Plus, VISA promoted businesses that accept VISA >cards; definitely a win-win. When people bought from >those businesses, they used their VISA cards & VISA >profited more. Plus, it locked the businesses in. >Could they afford to stop accepting VISA cards when >customers expected them to take those payments?) > >NOTE- Starbucks overextended its reach by opening too >many outlets. But closing stores costs money, so it >may be stuck. It can tick customers off if it closes a >location they depend on. It could permanently lose >those customers. > >Don’t just copy another business without knowing the >details; it can cause you more problems than not >changing. After you have enough information, make >necessary changes before competition gets worse. If >you improve your business & competition doesn’t >increase, you can still benefit. > >Domino’s Pizza & some competitors deliver, so >proximity isn’t as important for customers. Domino’s >franchisees could hire more drivers & pay for longer >trips between their stores & customers. They have to >be somewhat close to customers, so their delivery >staff won’t be too busy driving to keep pizzas fresh & >warm. If they hire more drivers, they’d have higher >payroll & possible logistical trouble. They’d probably >need drive-up windows to keep their drivers delivering >instead of bumping into each other going in & out of >doors. > >More drivers & more driving would mean more liability >exposure for traffic accidents & workers’ comp claims. > >Big retailers need to plan logistics too, so they want >stores to be near major highways & have enough room >for big parking lots & loading docks. Some cities >won’t let them in anyway. > >Compared to big retailers, small stores are often >closer to homes & work places, so shoppers can save >time & frustration by going to nearby stores. Small >stores have smaller parking lots or on-street parking >spaces, so shoppers don’t have to walk as far. > >Some big retailers are either opening smaller stores >or considering a smaller store format. They need >revenue growth to keep investors & executives happy. >They’re running out of places to put big stores, plus >malls aren’t as popular as they used to be. Some of >these big retailers’ small stores are built near >residential areas. > >Maybe there’s a real or perceived parking shortage. >Maybe you can’t afford to install a drive through >lane. Since many customers have cell phones & your >staff can use cord-less or cell phones with head sets, >you may be able to have customers order what they >want, via phone, fax or Internet/email. When customers >park near your store, your staff can bring merchandise >to them & get the payments in the form of checks/money >orders. (There’d be a big risk of crime if you have >outside cash transactions.) > >Now some credit card processors offer card-reading >machines for restaurants to use at tables. Maybe these >or something similar will work for curbside >transactions. > >If inventory is tracked closely on computers, >employees can tell people who call if something is in >stock. This may be expensive, but for major items, it >may be worthwhile. People know if they call a big >store, a simple answer to a short question can take a >long time. This point of differentiation & resulting >increase of customers & sales may be profitable enough >to offset the cost. It can be tested on a relatively >small product line first. This product line should be >what your business is well known (or what you want it >to be well known) as having. > >The sales copy could be “We know when you need ___, >you need it now. It’s why we closely track our >inventory of __. When you call, we’ll quickly tell you >if we have it. We can save it especially for you, for >up to __ hours (or until the end of that business >day). If we don’t have an unreserved __, we’ll let you >know when we expect to get one.” > >You could have a waiting list in case somebody doesn’t >claim a reserved product. If they come late & you >don’t have what’s been reserved, they may be upset. >They may accept the fact they were late & somebody >else had the money. Plus retailers stay in business by >selling things, not holding them. But some people are >irrational. But if you don’t offer this, you risk >losing customers to other businesses that have this >kind of service. > >You’d have to decide if this risk is worthwhile & >compare the competitive advantage you’d have. You >could have a “1 On Reserve Policy” for products like >these. You won’t promise to hold it for anyone, but it >may be available to prevent disappointment & anger. > >Since you probably can’t afford to open more store >locations, it’s vital to make your business seem >closer to customers. Good communication can do this. > >Customer Flow >Many want to get shopping over with by parking once, >then going home or back to work. Keeping people in >stores may get them to buy more, but it can make >things worse for them & you. It’s hard to adequately >serve multiple customers, especially in a crowded >store. It’s best to help customers get what they want >as quickly as they want it. Then you can serve >somebody else. > >Many men like commando style shopping--get in, do the >job & get out quickly. Doing it in big stores with >little or no customer service & long checkout lines is >hard. > >Looking to see which checkout lights are on--through >glare, signs & distractions--is frustrating. Sometimes >a checkout light is on, because customers are being >processed, but the lane-closed sign/chain is posted. >Then customers end up hunting for another checkout. >Even when many lanes are open, it can be hard to >figure out which line is for which lane. > >Stack Marketing In Your Flavor >I’ve heard & read various paraphrases of this: “If you >reach for the stars, you may not quite get one, but >you won’t end up with a handful of mud either.” – Leo >Burnett. > >Think of & treat each prospect as a star & you need to >reach him/her. You can stack things so you can climb >to reach him/her. It’s how I interpret what Chet >Holmes means by “stacked marketing.” If each marketing >& public relations message is different, it won’t be >stacked high enough to effectively reach an optimal >number of consumers. > >You’ll effectively reach customers when they get the >same message from your business. It’s easy to forget & >be confused by varying messages. If each message has a >different theme & proposition, you’ll be starting >completely over with each message. Messages don’t have >to (& shouldn’t) be exactly alike. They should be tied >together by a consistent value proposition. Every >message should support & strengthen your marketing >position & unique selling/strategic proposition. > >If it’s correctly stacked, it’ll be strong enough to >withstand what competitors throw at it. It’ll be >harder for employees & customers to screw it up. It’ll >be stronger & inspire more faith in your customer >base. They’ll know what to say & feel more comfortable >referring others to you. They’ll be more confident >when others refer them. > >Your business should be unique enough to provide >unique solutions to unique people’s unique problems. > >W-M & other middle-of-the-road retailers would like a >consumer better if s/he were more like everybody else. >W-M wants consumers to be average so it can get them >to buy what average people buy. Your business can >communicate this theme: If you haven’t been made with >a cookie-cutter, W-M will gladly remake you with its >cookie-cutter. Then you’ll wear what everybody else >wears; eat what everybody else eats & use what >everybody else uses. Then W-M will love you! €€€€€ > >Assure your customer base: We conform to you, within >reason, because that’s what customer service means. > >NOTE: My sig files consisting offer free, useful >advice & information & are tied in with the theme of >my posts. Each is slightly different, but still >consistent. I advise you to make your ads different, >but still consistent. > >Dennis S. Vogel >Don’t expect consumers to conform to you or you’ll >lose. Help them win as they are, or help them improve >& you’ll win too. >To help you do it, I have free marketing advice & >information here - >http://www.thrivingbusiness.lakefield.net/ >http://www.voy.com/31049/

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