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Customer Manufacturing Update |  |
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Dear Mitchell,
Welcome to the September 2006 Customer
Manufacturing Update. This month we're focused
on the use of focus groups to improve marketing
results. If you have friends or colleagues who would appreciate receiving this e-zine, feel free to forward a copy to them using the "Forward e-mail" link at the bottom of the e-zine.
Focus group research is a qualitative research method designed to gather in-depth thoughts from a small discussion group of people selected from a particular segment of the population. One use of focus group research not commonly discussed is as a starting point in a greater research project, such as a large scale mailed or on-line survey. In this month's white paper, How To Use Focus Groups As A Starting Point For Market Research, the process of focus group research is discussed. Examples of the processes and pitfalls are presented, drawn from the substantial experiences of the authors.
The following story is true. It was told to us by a friend and expert on Generation Y, Eric Chester ( www.generationwhy.com). A week ago, while traveling to the gym in my two- seater convertible, my cell phone rang and I heard a very familiar voice on the other end,
Make no mistake, folks. This was not a celebrity impersonator; it was really the voice of Samuel L. Jackson, the Oscar nominated actor, and a star I really dig. How did he know so much about me, my car, my hobby, and even my vocation? To say I was astounded would be an understatement. You see, my son Zac is a movie freak, and he had gone to the Snakes on a Plane website and, at no charge, pushed a few simple menu buttons to order this hilarious and highly customized promotional call sent to my cell phone. Seconds later, my phone rang with Zac’s number appearing in the caller ID window making certain I would take the call and not let it go to voice mail. This is the most amazing marketing gimmick I have seen in years, and definitely one created especially for Generation Why, the targeted audience for this ridiculous new movie. Okay, okay. I admit it. I just had to go see this obvious attempt to revive the B-movie, even though they’re still charging the A-movie ticket price. (After all, I didn’t want Sammy coming after me!) The film was so predictable, implausible, and downright idiotic that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I can’t recall such a cinematic masterpiece since The Blob That Ate Cincinnati! But set aside my juvenile taste in entertainment for a moment, because it’s the new high-tech, viral marketing campaign used to promote this movie that’s the real story, here. And it’s something that should make you carefully rethink how you’re connecting—or not connecting—with the newest members of your workforce and marketplace.
150 years ago the good (and of course local only) merchants knew their customers and provided 1-1 marketing. (They just thought of it as good customer service.) With the advent of the industrial age, we appeared to enter a mass market era. This era was an illusion that lazy marketers hoped would be true (and lasting). It didn't last because customers have always wanted to be treated uniquely. Make sure you are staying up to date on how to do that in your market or be prepared to be another victim of increasing price pressure as your sales people complain that all customers care about is price. 1-1 marketing (providing the customer a unique experience) is one of the best antidotes to becoming a commodity.
Losing an opportunity, or a few now and then, may be just an anomaly; it happens after all, and "you can't win them all," certainly not in today's highly competitive market. But that doesn't mean that you should just accept lost business as inevitable. All companies lose business for good reasons and for "bad" reasons. If What the customer wants to buy you do not offer and someone else does, that can be a good reason. If, however, your company offers the best solution to the customer's needs, wants, and demands and you still lose the business, that's a bad reason. How do you know what caused you to lose business? Many companies conduct formal lost business analyses. Some conduct informal ones and many just chalk lost business up to ... Aside from asking your sales person or team, how else do you learn what is causing you to lose business? Are you actively looking for patterns or root causes that could help you improve your close rate? If you are, good for you. If you are not, why not? Is lost business inevitable ... yes. Is that rate at which you are losing business improvable ... probably. But without knowledge about what is causing you to lose business, you can't improve your close rate. If you'd like to consider an alternative approach to asking your sales team why they lost the business, we ask you to consider our Lost Business Survey service. We can cost effectively help you get to a better understanding of what is causing you to lose business.
Long time readers know that we have been focused on sales approaches and processes that help the right customers buy right ... and the way they want to buy. The best sales process mirrors the customer's buying process. While many professional sales organizations have made great strides in developing sales processes and sales training that focuses the sales professional on helping customers buy, too many do not. Most readers would probably also agree that this misalignment is most evident in the retail car sales process in the U.S. Despite compelling research to the contrary from JD Powers, most dealers still believe that if the sales person lets the potential customer leave to "think it over" the sale is lost. JD Powers research has found that letting the customer "think it over" actually increases the close rate of prospective buyers. This and other evidence notwithstanding, car dealers in the U.S. are the last bastion of the hard sell. There are, of course, exceptions. And in those exceptions we can often learn valuable lessons; no matter what business we are in. So let us tell you about Planet Honda of Union, NJ. This unusual dealership sells 3x more cars than the average dealer and shows how aligning with the customer's buying process can make selling easier. Since you've probably never been to Planet Honda, you should know that it is a very different "feeling" dealership anyway. It has a large video wall showing videos of the latest Honda products and it has a G-force space simulator ride just for fun. However, what got our attention were the "Just Looking" stickers. The dealership has a cafe where customers can go that sales people are forbidden to enter. The receptionist at the cafe asks you if you need any help and if you say, "just looking" she gives you a yellow "Just Looking" sticker to wear that prevents any sales person from approaching you.
Customers love it and so does the owner of Planet
Honda because after about 15 minutes many
customers remove the sticker because they are now
ready to move forward in their buying process and
his sales people can help.
We appreciate any feedback you can provide to help us make sure these Updates give you value each month. Feel free to respond to this e-mail with any comments or suggestions for future topics or ways we can make these Customer Manufacturing Updates more valuable to you.
Thank you for your interest, and if we can provide
any
additional assistance in sales, marketing, strategy, or
innovation to help you increase your sales,
let us know.
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