24 Feb 2008 12:33:29 | Sue and Chuck DeFiore
Unless your product or service is one-of-a-kind, you've got
competition. To beat them, you have to make sure you're the key
company, the one your customers turn to above all others. How do
you do that if you're new and small?
Try these strategies:
Use your size. You're new, small and aggressive. Be more
flexible than your competitors. Be willing to break self-imposed
rules. ("We need 24 hours to fill large orders.") Promise
personal attention-since you are the company, this shouldn't be
difficult. For Chuck and I this is easy. We are the company so
everyone that deals with us gets our "personal attention".
Service. Serve the customer above everything else. In the
overwhelming majority of cases, service, not price, makes the
difference in getting an order and keeping a client for the long
term. This means getting back to your customers. We always
answer emails with 24 hours and many times before that. In
addition, we always call customers back as quickly as possible.
To often today, customer service is an afterthought. Make sure
you don't fall into this trap, otherwise you won't be in
business very long.
Stay in touch. In an age when even the smallest business can
have cell phones, pagers, voice mail, fax machines and
e-mail,there's no excuse for not being on call for your
customers. That doesn't mean you can't have a life. It just
means you can respond to inquiries with little delay. Again,
this just means to get back to people in a reasonable time frame
based on their needs, not yours.
Sacrifice. Take the occasional hit on profit, lose a little
sleep, do a little more without always sending an invoice. If
you help a customer once or twice without looking for a check in
return, you'll be remembered. When it comes time for that
customer to place the next order, you'll undoubtedly top the
list. This is something we emphasize to our PFYS students during
their calls to sellers. Help them, give them some advise and it
will come back to you. This is part of doing business to give
something back. You can't always be looking at the dollar signs!
So give these strategies a try and rise above your competition!
Copyright 2004 DeFiore Enterprises
About Author :
Interested in having your own successful, home based creative
real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping
folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years,
and we can help you too! To see how, visit
http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips
and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real
estate investing and home based businesses.
