attracting & retaining customers - tufts university...attracting & retaining customers...

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GSFACONSULTINGAttracting &Retaining Customers

© GSFA Consulting 2009

Attracting & RetainingCustomers

Building Customer Loyalty inLocal Agri-marketing

Greg FranklinMarch 21, 2009

2009 MAINE FARMERSMARKET CONVENTION



Why should we focus on this?• It’s your most important business function• Your customers have a choice…

– If not you… someone else• Cost of acquiring a new customer is 6X - 7X the

cost of retaining an existing one• Businesses seeing 5% increase in customer

retention have reported increases in profits5% – 95%

• Customer Service implements WOMM– Word-of-Mouth-Marketing

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So let’s break this topic down…• Attracting and retaining customers has three key

elements… a practical understanding andapplication of:

– Marketing… Word-of-Mouth

– Customer Service

– Customer Loyalty



Marketing is…

well told.a good story…

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Marketing is everything……and everything is marketing.



Your Story is your marketing• Selling commodity products…

• Give your consumers a reason to talkabout your products and services– Differentiate yourself… your story– provide venues for these conversations

to take place

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Word of Mouth Marketing…• WOMM techniques… based on common

sense concepts– Customer satisfaction– Two-way dialogue– Effective listening– Transparent communications

www.womma.org



Word of Mouth Marketing…Basic elements

– Educating people about your products andservices

– Identifying people most likely to share theiropinions

– Providing tools that make it easier to shareinformation

– Studying how, where, and when opinions arebeing shared

– Listening and responding to supporters,detractors, and neutrals

www.womma.org

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1. Educating your customers

• Know your story (vs. commodity)…know what makes you different

– People– Place– Products



Know your story…• People…Place…Product

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2. Know your story…• People…Place…Product Characteristics of place

“Another NH product… brought to you when we’re good and ready.”

“Made with pure New Hampshire cussedness.”

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3. Identify people most likely to share their opinion

• Know your customers– Repeat customers– Complainers

• Know your community– Opinion leaders– Community leaders– Media

• Make it a practice to know everyone else• Hi tech… hi touch

– Lead management/CRM systems

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4. Provide tools that make it easier to share information

• Bag stuffers– Simple desktop published information

• 4 out of 8.5” x 11” sheet - use colored paper– Tell your story - people, place, product– Put multiples in each bag– Ask people to share them

• Bag labels– Avery labels– Tell your story - people, place, product

• Media - good PR



5. Identify all possible places where conversation can occur and use them

• At your facility…• Farm, farm stand, store• Picnic tables - linger problem

• At their home• Recipes - reduce risk• Packaging• Cards in bags

• Social Media• E-newsletters/market research• www.constantcontact.com

• Toll free number during season - recording• Update daily

• Events - make people realize you are special - make them realize they are special to you

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6. MBWA… Marketing By Walking Around

• My job… learn how, where and when opinionsare being shared

• Mix with your customers• Talk with them… learn what they do… learn

where they congregate• Listen• Carry items to cars• Park cars… my job• Ask for their input



Customer Service… our second topic this morning

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Customer Service is…… the best hands on, practical, day-to-day marketing.



Customer service is…• Your real product…

– It’s what you deliver from your customers’ perspective

• It occurs before, during and after the purchase

• It occurs in person, in town, in your booth, on the farm, onthe phone/chat/email, in each ad, sign, on the truck

• It is Food, Attitudes, Actions• A bundle of actions and items aimed at meeting or

exceeding expectations• Or the lack thereof…

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Food, Attitudes, Actions…• Which one sets us apart the most?

– Why?

• Which one is the easiest to deliver?– Why?

• On which one do we spend most of our timeand effort?



Stated another way……everything is customer service… every contact… every action… every interaction… every communication

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Your simplest yardstick…

• Treating customers the way you wantto be treated!



9 Ways to Deliver ExcellentCustomer Service… and retainyour customers! - at the farm - at the farmers’ market

• From my experience…• Good Customer Service

– By Susan Ward, About.com: Small Business/Canada

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1. Be responsive… be available• Don’t hide…• Meet your customers where they gather…

don’t expect them to come to you• Respond now… not later• Answer phone, email, questions now• No tolerance for information float



2. Deliver the goods…• Be reliable…• Deliver what’s expected… or manage it• Show up… or manage it• Get back in touch… or manage it• Know your customers’ expectations…

and manage them

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3. Listen to your customers…• No… really listen to your customers• Find out what they think• Respond to what they need• Know their expectations• Exceed their expectations



4. Seek complaints…• Seek complaints… solve problems

– We create advocates– Complainers are your most loyal advocates

• A dissatisfied customer who complainsis 2x as loyal…– if their problem is solved… 6x as loyal– if their problem is solved quickly… 9x as loyal

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4. Seek complaints… cont’d

• People whose problems are solved tell anaverage of 5 people

• People who have a problem but do not tellyou, talk to 10 people (2x impact)

• For each unhappy customer you hear, thereare 6 others you don’t, 25-50 others withminor complaints

• If unhappy customers do not have theopportunity to complain, first they will switchbrands…then tell 10-12 others



5. Manage unhappy customers…7 proven steps to managing the unhappycustomer– 1. Listen– 2. Determine if it is perception/opinion or error– 3. Summarize/feedback their concern– 4. Never agree with an incorrect proposition– 5. Propose a course of action… what you can do– 6. Summarize and gain agreement– 7. Follow up… thank them now… thank them later

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6. Be helpful…even if there is no immediate profit in it

• Invest for tomorrow…• Solve problems…• Treat others as you want to be treated…• Create reasons for people to talk about you



7. ALWAYS be helpful, courteous and knowledgeable

• Train yourself… and your staff• Don’t hide… reach out• Share your knowledge… bounty• Share your story… connection• Share your passion… engagement• Give people opportunities to talk about you

– Basis for WOMM

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8. Create Connections…• Be personable, visible, approachable…• People don’t trust your farm…

they trust you• They trust people they know

– People whom they seek out

• They buy from people they trust…



9. Exceed expectations…• Know your customers expectations

– Ask, listen, note, respond

• Throw in something extra… somethingunexpected– Food, attitudes, actions– Go the extra mile…– Don’t ask for anything in return

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Customer Loyalty… our third topic this morning



The 6 “C’s” of Converting CustomerService into Customer Loyalty…

• Not fancy… just practical

• Not hard… what you already know

• Not expensive…“What do you have in the house?”

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1st “C”: Connect with your customers…

• Reach out…• Listen and learn…• Know your customers

– Know them personally– Know their needs…– Know their expectations

• Put yourself in their shoes…



2nd “C”: Create Advocates…• Get beyond selling commodity

products…create conversation• Give your consumers positive reasons to talk

about your products and services– Differentiate yourself… your story– provide venues for these conversations

to take place• Get people to go out of their way to share an

opinion, an experience, or passion about yourproduct– To invest of themselves in you

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The power of advocacy…

10x Ability to Predict Loyalty



Create ownership…basis of advocacy• Feeling of connection… belonging

“this is my place”• Safety… connection to food• Community… an extension of how, why

and where they live• Recognition… “I belong here”

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Advocacy…person-to-person power



3rd “C”: Convert Complaints…• Seek complaints• Understand the power of complaints• Train yourself and your staff how to handle

unhappy customers• Always follow up on complaints and

complainers

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4th “C”: Constantly Communicate• Create a dialogue with your customers• Keep yourself and your business appropriately

“top of mind”• Use technology… “hi tech hi touch”

– ConstantContact.com• Be seen as knowledgeable about your

business and profession– Share that knowledge– Create connections



5th “C”: Think Comprehensively…• Effective Customer Service happens before, during

and after a purchase

• Creatively identify and analyze every way a customersees, hears and interacts with you– Look at the information shared– Look at how it is packaged– Look at how it is delivered

• Look at your product comprehensively…– Food, attitudes, actions

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5th “C”: Think Comprehensively…• Look at your marketing comprehensively…

– 9 Ps of Agri-marketing- Product- Place- Pricing- Promotion- Packaging- Production- Presentation- Positioning- Partnerships



6th “C”: Be Creative…• Look at what you have in the house…• Use it - “Make do… do without

Use it up… wear it out.”

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“Art in the Barn”



“Art in the Barn”

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Your finished product…… is just your customer’s raw material.

Summary…



What you have…… is what they want.

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It’s not just food, it’s…

…security!…safety!

…connection!…community!

…comfort!…belonging!



Deliver this at every point!

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Thank you.



attracting & retaining customers - tufts university...attracting & retaining customers...

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