Savvy Shoppers Are Kicking Your Butt

This week, I went looking for a specific item, an AV cart for my office, but didn't know the name of any stores that would carry what I wanted. For the office supply stores, it is a "special order" anyway. So why not just save a useless trip to the store (only to be again disappointed) and instead just order it on-line - like they would at the store. So I Googled.

I didn't bother with opening my copy of the Yellow Pages because, well, the information in the Yellow Pages is from last year - and besides, there are no prices - and no pictures of the specific item - and no updates - and no way to check if it is in-stock - and no info on new stock - and no way to see their web site - and no interactivity - and no way to compare against others - and no video showing how to use the product - and no recommendations - and no reviews from customers - and no pictures of the storefront - and no interactive maps with directions. And businesses still spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars monthly on their Yellow Pages ad for basically a billboard on paper that only gets seen when someone needs your product immediately and is willing to haul out a big book and you hope they can find your category.

I search on-line. I am a Baby Boomer with no fear of technology. Today I know the name of a great kitchen store because I've read some great reviews on it. Today I know to NOT deal with my neighborhood flower shop because they're out of business - caused by poor service that I discovered on-line. Today I know which restaurants are great, which car dealers to avoid, which hotels have the best view, which second-hand store has that classic guitar I've been looking for and also that people, no matter how great the review, will not put their trust in a hair stylist that isn't recommended by a friend or neighbor. I might use the Yellow pages at 2 in the morning if I wanted a pizza - but then maybe not - unless I were in a strange city.

If you are using the Internet to do your homework before you buy, wouldn't it stand to reason that your customers are doing the same thing? You've got to be on-line and on-line needs to be one of your primary marketing strategies. You can probably forget that big, flashy Yellow Pages ad and go with a simple free listing in the book with your web site address included. Then, make sure you are where everyone else is already gathered - on-line. Besides, if your customers already know your name, they'll find you in the white pages - not the Yellow Pages surrounded by all of your competitors.

I bought the AV cart, not from a local company, but from one in the USA. They had the best web site, the best selection, outstanding pricing, free shipping to my front door (even to Canada) and it was in-stock today and would be shipped immediately. Add to that the fact that their web site was so easy to navigate, didn't ask me to set up an account but automatically set one up for me (with user name and password) once I keyed in the credit card info, gave me a tracking number for my shipment, had hundreds of testimonials from over-the-top satisfied clients who rated each product individually ... and ... they also said "thank you." And I think they meant it.

Stop being ordinary. Start being the standard to which your customers become raving fans and your competitors bristle. Change your Attitude about how you do business. Your customers have just as much knowledge as you do. Don't ever treat them like you're doing them a favor. You're not.
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Attitude w/ ATTITUDE by Kevin Burns - Corporate Attitude/Culture Strategist

Creator of the 90-Day Strategy to Greatness Culture


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The Secret About Secrets

Pssst. Want to know a secret? I know a secret. Do you know the secret? Did you know there are 10 secrets? In fact, there are 10 secrets to just about everything on the face of the earth. Funny enough, not one of them is a secret.

Search on Amazon and you'll come up with 870,000 books with the word "Secret" in the title. How can there be 870,000 secrets? The truth is there can't be. Even the movie The Secret wasn't a secret. It was a rehash of the old adage that what you think about you bring about. The secret to abundance is not a secret. It never was. Oh, I suppose it could've been considered a secret since it was hidden inside a book -- you know, the last place most people would ever look.

Go ahead and Google "The 10 Secrets to..." and you will be met with 69 million search results. There are 10 Secrets to Better Love Life. There are 10 Secrets to Success. There are 10 Secrets to Finding Happiness. There are 10 Secrets to Marketing. Even Victoria has a secret. There are also 10 Secrets to Giving a Good Scientific Talk, Better Blogging, Social Media, Wedded Bliss and my favorite The 10 Secrets to Understanding Women (probably the only one that is a secret).

Why do we fall for headlines that feature "The Secrets to..." of anything? Are we trying to compensate for our ignorance by claiming it was a secret - which lets us off the hook for not paying attention up until now? I would hazard a guess that it's because we're just too lazy to crack open a book and find out the so-called "secrets" for ourselves.

Personally, I'm getting a little tired of marketers who treat us like idiots. I know the difference between a secret and a fact. A fact is something conclusively proven. A secret is what the marketers use to get you to look at their advertising and to force you to open your wallet to overcome your surprise, shock and wonder.

Wake up and change your attitude. Don't fall for this stuff. There are no secrets -- except the number of times you fell for someone's "secrets." And that, shall remain a secret, won't it?

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Attitude w/ ATTITUDE

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