1

Marketing Means Business 0451 184 599 Email: dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au Web: www.marketingmeansbusiness.net.au

Marketing focus

PRO VI D ING A R ANG E OF T I PS, I D EAS AND ST R AT EG I ES

FOR T H E SM ALL BU SIN ESS OW NER

Helping you achieve your

business goals Welcome to Marketing Focus, the newsletter of Marketing Means Business.

We are a small team of consultants who are skilled specialists in the development, execution and evaluation of Marketing, Advertising and Communication programs, with a unique blend of creativity, fresh ideas and diverse marketing experience.

Our blend of talented individuals, are all experts in their specific fields. Because we are small, it is important for us to build relationships with our clients as this helps us to gain a better understanding about their

needs allowing us to recommend suitable marketing techniques. Just as a professional athlete has a coach to ensure their best performance, our goal is to provide you with professional support to ensure you maximise your business and personal performance, to achieve your goals. Our Goal MMB was established to help small and medium-sized companies achieve their business objectives through the development of effective marketing strategies, supported by the practical implementation of results-focused marketing and business development.

MARKET WATCH Does Your Marketing Strategy Need a Revamp? Did you kick off the year by planning to do some things differently in 2013? Are

you beating yourself up because its now a quarter of the way through 2013, and you

still havent managed to get around to doing it? Perhaps you could use this little note

as a reminder to refresh your business, revamp your marketing and tie up loose ends.

Issue 3 Volume 3 May 2013

2

Marketing Means Business 0451 184 599 Email: dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au Web: www.marketingmeansbusiness.net.au

Your Customer can be Your Lifeline or Your Executioner

Dennis Chiron MarketingMeans Business

0451 184 599 dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au

Skype: dennis.chiron2

PROFILE OF AN UNHAPPY CUSTOMER

There are some facts on unhappy customers that both you and your staff should be aware of. Think about yourself and your business. If you fit some of these profiles it should also confirm to you that others feel the same.

Did you know that:

That the average business never hears from 96% of its unhappy customers.

That for every complaint received, a business will have 26 others that are unreported, six of which are serious.

That those non-complaint customers do complain to nine or ten other people.

That customers whose complaints are effectively resolved will tell an average of five other people.

Everyone knows the benefits of a satisfied customer, but few business owners stop to consider the potential value of the not-so-happy.

In an article in My Business Tom Dickerson explains how you can use unhappy customers

KEEP YOUR

CUSTOMERS HAPPY

Sixty eight percent of

customers who leave do so

because they feel

unappreciated, unimportant,

and taken for granted.

to better your business http://www.mybusiness.com.au/experts/how-unhappy-customers-can-improve-your-business

Unfortunately, unhappy customers are an inevitable consequence of doing business and you will run into them no matter how committed you are to seeing them all happy.

There will be times when that customer is justified in being upset while there will be others where the situation was entirely out of your control. Strategies do exist where you can diffuse a situation and help a customer feel better and perhaps even turn them into a repeat buyer.

In the beginning, every business owner is certain that they must retain every single customer they can but this is not an excuse to allow the business to become the proverbial doormat for customers to kick around when they feel like it.

Sooner or later you're going to have to

deal with an upset customer. A product

breaks, their goods dont arrive when

promised, an employee has a bad day,

these things happen! The question is,

how are you going to deal with your

unhappy customer, especially

considering that these days it's very

easy to vent ones spleen using social

media.

Almost with one foul swoop, a

frustrated customer, through Facebook

or Twitter, can literally destroy your

business.

Everyone claims they give excellent

customer service. While that might

be true for some, it is far from true

for others.

If every company gives excellent

service, there would be no need for

customer complaints lines,

consumer watch dogs, or even

companies liquidating.

Customers care about how theyre treated. With the recent rise of social media, consumers are able to voice their dissent or support immediately to the masses. Businesses have to manage relationships with their customers more carefully than ever, whether online or offline.

People will buy from you for many

reasons, but the experience they

have determines whether they come

back or not. So from the beginning

you need to focus on helping the

customer, because thats what builds

repeat business.