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Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Local Issues Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage Hot Topics Most Viewed Forum Photo Galleries Video Readers Polls O-Zone Online Games Movie Preview Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad May 21, 2005 Marketing Today Spying on your business can be crucial Knowledge is power. In the Information Age, those who acquire, process and act on the most information win. How much information do you have about your business? Does your business have an intelligence agency? If not, you could be in big trouble and not even know it. That’s the bad news. The good news is that setting up an effective spying operation is extremely simple, costs next to nothing, and can really grow your profits. Fear not — this is nowhere near as Orwellian as it might seem. In fact, spying on your own business can be a lot of fun and extremely beneficial. Anthony Hernandez Why must you do this? You already have lots of information about the mechanics of your business, such as vendors, suppliers, product lines, services, employees, consultants, regulations and finances. You should also have a great deal of information about who your customers are, their likes and dislikes, etc. What else could you possibly need? Plenty. Remember that marketing is all contact between everyone connected to your business with everyone in the outside world. By “contact,” I mean any sensory input obtained using any of the five human senses (sight, sound, smell, touch and taste). This includes every little detail from how your telephone is answered to employee attire, shop cleanliness, smells — you name it. If someone not in your business senses anything at all about your business, then you are marketing, whether you know it or not. What impressions are your customers forming about your business thanks to your intentional and unintentional marketing? Are these impressions positive or negative? And why do you need this information? As a business owner, you are in the relationship business. Keeping happy customers coming back for more and referring their friends and associates is the cheapest and most effective way to grow your profits year over year (see my past column “Geometric Growth”). With that in mind, the importance of knowing how you’re treating your customers is self-evident. Getting answers to these all-important questions is simplicity itself. The process consists of two basic steps. First, spy on your business. Have friends and family members drop in, call, etc. Ask them to make purchases, return items and ask difficult questions. The key here is that your employees must not know what you’re up to and must not know the secret agents involved. You must be able to gather information about your business in its natural state, something that is utterly impossible when people know that you’re watching. Your mystery shoppers and callers complete their assignments and report back to you. Second, tabulate the results. Are you seeing any positive or negative patterns? If the former, keep up the good work! If the latter, you must take immediate action to correct the problem no matter how trifling it might seem. Believe me when I say that any problems in this area are far, far larger than they appear. Few customers will voice their complaints because most people avoid confrontation. The vast majority will keep their displeasure to themselves. In fact, only 4 percent of dissatisfied customers will ever voice a complaint. The other 96 percent will simply come in and leave with you none the wiser. But that’s where the silence ends because every dissatisfied customer will tell 20 people about the lousy experience they had at your business, on average. Let’s put this into perspective. Dissatisfy 100 customers and you’ll know about 4 of them. However, 2,000 people will know about you and will be far less inclined to do business with you. Those 2,000 people represent just under 10 percent of Ashland’s population. What should you do if you uncover one or more problems? First, don’t panic. Second, unless something truly egregious is happening, don’t get after your employees. Your problem stems from the unintentional marketing that occurs when one sees marketing as “things to do” such as ads, logos, flyers, etc. The moment you redefine your idea of marketing to include all contact between your business and the outside world, the problem will almost solve itself. Carefully examine every possible means in which customers can come in contact with your business and craft each one to contribute to a positive impression. In most cases, the solutions will be either free or very inexpensive and will normally require very little effort. And the results will be very worth it indeed. Spying on your business is vital for your success so long as you heed this warning: Conduct a witch-hunt and you will do lasting damage. Conduct a fact-finding mission with the goal of improving our business and you’ll have happier customers, happier employees and a much happier banker! Need help with your marketing or any aspect of your business? If so, please e-mail me to set up a free 30-minute consultation with no obligation whatsoever. As always, I look forward to your questions and comments. You may email me at [email protected]. Anthony Hernandez is a local business coach with more than 19 years of business and marketing experience. He lives in Ashland with his wife Robyn, son Logan, and their three dogs. --> Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.