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Ph: 0451 184 599 Email: dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au Web: www.marketingmeansbusiness.com

Marketing focus

PRO VI D ING A R ANG E OF T I PS, I D EAS AND ST R AT EG I ES

FOR T H E SM ALL BU SIN ESS OW NER

Helping you achieve your

business goals Welcome to Marketing Focus,

the newsletter of Marketing

Means Business (MMB) :- www.marketingmeansbusiness.com

We are a small team of

consultants who are skilled

specialists in the development,

execution and evaluation of

Marketing, Advertising and

Communication programs, with

a unique blend of creativity,

fresh ideas and diverse

marketing experience.

Our blend of talented individuals, are all experts in their specific fields. Because we are small, it is important for us to build relationships with our clients as this helps us to gain a better

understanding about their needs allowing us to recommend suitable marketing techniques. Just as a professional athlete has a coach to ensure their best performance, our goal is to provide you with professional support to ensure you maximise your business and personal performance, to achieve your goals. Our Goal MMB was established to help small and medium-sized companies achieve their business objectives through the development of effective marketing strategies, supported by the practical implementation of results-focused marketing and business development.

MARKET WATCH Does Your Marketing Strategy Need a Revamp? Did you kick off the year by planning to do some things differently in 2013? Are

you beating yourself up because it’s now a quarter of the way through 2013, and you

still haven’t managed to get around to doing it? Perhaps you could use this little note

as a reminder to refresh your business, revamp your marketing and tie up loose ends.

Issue 3 Volume 3 September 2013

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Ph: 0451 184 599 Email: dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au Web: www.marketingmeansbusiness.com

Your Customer can be Your Lifeline or Your Executioner

Dennis Chiron MarketingMeans Business

0451 184 599 dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au

www.marketingmeansbusiness.com Skype: dennis.chiron2

PROFILE OF AN

UNHAPPY CUSTOMER

There are some facts on

unhappy customers that both

you and your staff should be

aware of.

Think about yourself and your

business. If you fit some of

these profiles it should also

confirm to you that others feel

the same.

Did you know that:

That the average business

never hears from 96% of its

unhappy customers.

That for every complaint

received, a business will

have 26 others that are

unreported, six of which

are serious.

That those “non-complaint”

customers do complain to

nine or ten other people.

That customers whose

complaints are effectively

resolved will tell an

average of five other

people.

Everyone knows the benefits of

a satisfied customer, but few

business owners stop to

consider the potential value of

the not-so-happy.

In an article in “My Business”

Tom Dickerson explains how

you can use unhappy customers

KEEP YOUR

CUSTOMERS HAPPY

Sixty eight percent of

customers who leave do so

because they feel

unappreciated, unimportant,

and taken for granted.

to better your business http://

www.mybusiness.com.au/experts/how-

unhappy-customers-can-improve-your-

business

Unfortunately, unhappy customers are

an inevitable consequence of doing

business and you will run into them no

matter how committed you are to

seeing them all happy.

There will be times when that customer

is justified in being upset while there

will be others where the situation was

entirely out of your control. Strategies

do exist where you can diffuse a

situation and help a customer feel better

and perhaps even turn them into a

repeat buyer.

In the beginning, every business owner

is certain that they must retain every

single customer they can but this is not

an excuse to allow the business to

become the proverbial “doormat” for

customers to kick around when they

feel like it.

Sooner or later you're going to have to

deal with an upset customer. A product

breaks, their goods don’t arrive when

promised, an employee has a bad day,

these things happen! The question is,

how are you going to deal with your

unhappy customer, especially

considering that these days it's very

easy to vent ones spleen using social

media.

Almost with one foul swoop, a

frustrated customer, through Facebook

or Twitter, can literally destroy your

business.

Everyone claims they give excellent

customer service. While that might

be true for some, it is far from true

for others.

If every company gives excellent

service, there would be no need for

customer complaints lines,

consumer watch dogs, or even

companies liquidating.

Customers care about how they’re

treated. With the recent rise of social

media, consumers are able to voice

their dissent — or support —

immediately to the masses.

Businesses have to manage

relationships with their customers

more carefully than ever, whether

online or offline.

People will buy from you for many

reasons, but the experience they

have determines whether they come

back or not. So from the beginning

you need to focus on helping the

customer, because that’s what builds

repeat business.

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Ph: 0451 184 599 Email: dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au Web: www.marketingmeansbusiness.com

COMPLAINTS ARE A

GREAT WAY FOR YOU TO

IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS

Dennis Chiron MarketingMeans Business

0451 184 599 dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au

www.marketingmeansbusiness.com Skype: dennis.chiron2

legitimate and realistic.

A customer’s complaint is usually a

clear message on how you can improve

your services or products. If you are

able to identify and meet customer

wants and needs, you will undoubtedly

improve your business performance

and increase your customer base.

A satisfied customer usually means

repeat business. In most cases, the

information that you can obtain through

a customer’s complaint is impossible to

get through any other means. You are

being presented with a real opportunity

to prove your commitment to your

customer by addressing these

concerns, even when the complaint

may seem minor or trivial.

Complaints that customers bring

directly to you are the most efficient

and least costly way of obtaining

information and under-standing

customer expectations.

When a customer has a genuine

complaint, thank them for raising the

matter with you. Treat them with

genuine empathy, courtesy, patience,

honesty and fairness.

Try to respond to the complaint

quickly. Tell the customer how you

will handle it and when to expect a

response.

Speak to the customer in person. Do

not rely on written complaints or

records of conversations.

When choosing your approach for

communicating with a customer,

think about how you would like to

be treated if you were making a

complaint to a business.

Model the type of conversation

you want to have with customers

who are making a complaint.

This may include making it clear

to the customer that you are

eager to listen and treating them

with courtesy and consideration.

There are a number of common

complaints that customers make

relating to products and services.

Having procedures in place that find

solutions to common complaints

will help you resolve issues quickly

and efficiently.

Always seek outcomes that will

satisfy your customers, and make

sure these are feasible and

affordable for your business.

Remember that the cost of a short-

term concession is worth preserving

a long-term relationship.

It is a fact: Customers will take

their business elsewhere because of

poor service rather than poor quality

products. It is very important that a

business listens to the feedback

received from their customers.

So, appreciate the fact that your

customer bothered to tell you first,

and take full advantage of the

situation.

Firstly, a good business tries to

minimise customer complaints

through excellent customer

service, and address customer

complaints about the business,

or a product or service quickly

and fairly.

Customers can become difficult

for a variety of reasons. Some

might have an annoying

personality; others like to find

faults, while some think they

know it all. Customers like

these can become impatient,

intimidating and demanding.

Angry customers are the most

difficult to handle as they are

usually upset and emotional, as

they are not happy about the

product or the service.

You need to see your

customer’s complaint through

their eyes. Imagine that

whatever the customer is

complaining about has also

happened to you.

What would you be thinking

and feeling? How would you

react? How would you expect

to be treated? What would it

take to satisfy you? What

response would be necessary

for you to walk away feeling

good about your complaint and

the company?

It is estimated that only 1.5% of

all customers will try to take

advantage of a company

through exaggerated claims.

So, chances are, your

customer’s complaint is