Increase Your Sales by 50%

Horror stories

Is it the sales assistant who doesn't end her personal phone call when you walk into the store? Or the waiter who rolls his eyes when you ask too many questions about a dish? As customers, we all have our own favourite horror stories to tell.

Australia is the worst

Twelve countries were recently surveyed on behalf of American Express. Australia ranked equal last with Britain on measures of service satisfaction, behind the US, France, Canada and India and Japan.

''The barometer clearly said customers want superior service and it's certainly not being provided,'' said Christine Wakefield, vice-president of American Express World Service Australia, which commissioned the survey.

''Australians have a laid-back attitude and this might be translating to some businesses having a similar attitude.''

Customers will pay more

"Companies were more likely to reduce service during economic downturns but those that did missed an important revenue opportunity". The survey found Australians were prepared to spend 10 per cent more in return for good customer service.

The Japanese and service

Customer service in Japan is an extreme experience. Japanese have learnt to expect nothing less than perfection in being served. Because of this, the level of service is extraordinary and humbling because the staff are so warm and genuine in wanting to satisfy. When baby boomers were children their parents enjoyed the same level high of service that that still enjoyed in modern Japan and many other countries.

"How to increase your sales by 50%"

Change you attitude will change your altitude

Too often we go looking for opportunity that is 'over the next hill'. We make life hard for ourselves. Sometimes opportunity is right in front of us. This document is intended as a road map to guide you to a different perspective. Competition is increasing each day. If you are not investing in new methods to increase sales then you will be going backwards.

Looking at the basics

The anatomy of a modern customer

There are as many different types of customers as there are products and services. It would be easy to suggest that there is no consistencies, but this isn't true. There are some things that have been proven to be consistent about every customer worldwide:

Recognition -Customers adore to be recognized. The power of a persons name has been proven in a multitude of social experiments. People crave to be identified as the unique individuals that they are.

Emotion -We are all emotional animals. Although we would consider our actions to be rational, the initial interest or spark in a purchase is almost always emotionally driven.

These basic emotions are grouped as:

Self fulfillment
Self esteem
Love / belonging
Safety
Physical / mental

Customers switch off

Customers are bombarded by information. It is a deluge that intrudes into our lives. Most of this information has a common style of aggressively trying to grasp our attention. Customers have become very sophisticated in identifying if an offer will benefit them. Women will judge a websites credibility within 1 - 5 seconds of it loading. Men will judge a website within 5 - 10 seconds of it loading. We switch off very quickly when we don't see the benefit to us.

What is lost?

In the race to become sellers of "stuff", many companies have lost the perspective of the customer. There is a common belief to treat a customer as an individual is an expensive and time consuming exercise. Customers then learn to accept what businesses offer them. The only way that they can vote is to purchase else where.

A customer satisfaction survey conducted by consultancy firm Accenture's survey found 52% of the 3,500 respondents said their expectations for customer service have increased over the past five years. Just under 60% of Australian respondents said they refused to buy a particular brand if prices were too high, but that number jumps to 75% when high prices were combined with poor service - the highest figure worldwide.

Australian businesses are so focused on churning customers that they don't often stop to measure the impact that their interaction actually has on their bottom line.

The traditional sales cycle

A customer walks into store or goes online to a website. They see something that they like. They purchase the item. The customer leaves. The customer returns either because of the businesses investment in advertising or because of the memory of a good experience.

At the point of leaving, the business has lost control of that customer.

This is crucial for several extremely important reasons:


That customer knows people in the same demographic
Others will see the product or service that was purchased
The customer will make future purchases
You are not aware of how the customer viewed the shopping experience
You don't know all of the reasons the customer came to you in the first place
When do they shop?
Why do they shop?
What are their triggers?
When will they shop again?
Where else do they purchase?
How much do they spend?
How much is their disposable income?
How do they rate the shopping experience?
Will they shop again?
Why will they shop with you again?

The list can go on and on.

Keeping it simple

The intention here is not to bombard the customer with questions. The intention is to illustrate how little most businesses know about their customers after they have left. Most businesses treat a customer as a paycheque. A false smile, and wave then onto the next customer. To most businesses, the cost to you is a factor of 7 to induce a new customer to purchase. The cost to retain an existing customer is a fraction of this factor.

What an existing customer can do for your business:

Be an ambassador

An existing customer has been initiated. They have overcome their suspicion to purchase. They know the same sorts of people in the community that you have yet to reach. Most customers will not bother to promote your business to their community unless you ask them.

Be a mate

Instead of a business card have a cardboard card printed. On the front side it bears the words -

"mates rates card"

On the reverse it offers the following wording -

"Your friend recently purchased from from us.

They think enough of you as a mate to offer you 10% discount at our store".

It is of little consequence if they pass the card to a friend or use it themselves. Either way you have certainly guaranteed yourself a follow up sale.

Ask for advice

Few stores would currently think to do this. In the process of serving a customer ask them if they could think of a way that the store could be improved.

Automatically capture information

Print up some A5 sized cards. When asking the customer the advice, go to the trouble of writing the information down on the card on behalf of the customer. This extra effort will demonstrate to the customer that their opinions are valued. Then ask the customer if they would like to go into a weekly / monthly draw to win a piece of merchandise from the store. The value of the item is actually not that important, it is the fact that their shopping experience has been elevated that will engage with the customer.

Be exceptionally different

Let's be crazy for a moment and lets pretend you don't have customers. Let's pretend you only had family and friends who shopped at your business.

You would know their names.
You would have a different style of conversation
You would have a different interaction
The way you and your staff act will dictate how your customer will react.

Customer service in Australia is treated as an uncomfortable relationship between the customer and the business (staff). It doesn't often come across as sincere. All surveys tell us that customers all want to be recognized. The average customer service experience looks solely at the current sale. It doesn't value the lifetime relationship with the customer. The average sales person feels that they are intruding to ask questions beyond the script that has been rehearsed. Its time to throw out the old rulebook on customer service.

Don't wait for the customer to ask

If a customer has had to ask, it means:


They have been thinking
They have been waiting
There is frustration
There is uncertainty
There is concern

Almost every sale is a carbon copy of the last. Not in terms of details but in terms of the mechanics. Evaluate what customers want at each stage, develop a plan to deliver and give before the customer asks.

Be consistent

It is more detrimental to offer great service on one visit only to give average service the next. It creates doubt. Humans like certainty. They don't like to be surprised. Take McDonalds. They would never claim to make the best food. They would claim to make the most consistent food the world over.

Throw in the floor mats automatically

Anyone who has ever taken advice about buying a car is told to make sure you get the extras for free. It is not so much that they price will make a difference, it is the perceived value for money. It is better to cost in the extras and offer a complete solution:


Hairdressers, combine a manicure
Auto mechanics, combine in car detailing
Accountants, combine in the personal tax return with the companies
Nursery, combine in a bag of potting mix
Restaurant, combine in a cocktail
Dentists, combine in a hygiene pack

Give value. Look at the customer as being a friend for the next 2 - 5 years. If you were investing in a long term connection, what value would you place on the relationship?

Thank you

How many businesses have followed up sincerely after the transaction and said thank you? How many hand written notes have your received? Thank you is powerful. It screams of recognition. It says to a customer that they have been remembered.

Ask for an assessment

An assessment goes both ways, it gives the business feedback and it gives the customer the ability to air their feelings. Be consistent. Create a system. The easiest way for an assessment is to create an online survey.

Where are your customers looking?

The new frontier of customer acquisition is no longer the web.

The new frontier is mobile web.


3 times more searches are done with a mobile phone on sites such as carsales.com.au
A sale on eBay using mobile phone occurs every 10 - 15 seconds.
Approx 17 million mobile apps are sold by the Apple store each day.

70% of mobile phones still use WAP technology that cannot open conventional web pages. New technology has been established to give access to both the 30% of smart phone and the 70% of old technology mobile. This technology is now cost effective and gives you access to 100% of the web traffic.

Use existing customers to test future opportunity

If you have been successful in building a solid relationship with existing customers then you have what many businesses need to pay big dollars to acquire -

Your own test laboratory.


Customer love believing that they are in on the secret. It goes to the core of their need for recognition.
Offer samples to existing customers at marked down prices in return for feedback.
Invite customers to a VIP night to get their thoughts.
Show customers new ideas and involve them in product development.
Create competitions with giveaways if they are able to induce interest from others.
Have fun with this involvement. This will change the way your view your database.

Invest in systems and procedures

Your existing customers are your extra 50% of your sales.

They represent:


Future sales to replace the initial purchase.
Sales of auxiliary accessories
Referrals to future customers to prove credibility
Access to their circle of friends and contacts
A source of testing to research the benefit of offers.

Iain Stubbings is a director of Mitrom, the marketing ideas company.
Mitrom is located in Melbourne Australia and assists businesses with less than 50 staff to attract more customers, convert enquiries to sales and build ongoing loyalty.
Mitrom's expertise is in website development, online optimisation, database management, email marketing, design, digital and offset printing, developing loyalty programs.
Mitrom have worked with retail, government, manufacturing, financial services and charities to implement new marketing strategies.
Mitrom can be found at http://www.mitrom.com.au and can be contacted by email - service@mtrom.com.au