The purpose of a customer is NOT to get a sale. The purpose of a SALE is to get a LOYAL CUSTOMER.
This philosophy is one way that I believe sets us apart from a lot of other moving companies, because we understand that we are NOT just selling a moving service; we are selling a relationship and an experience. Emotional connection is our true value proposition.
Unfortunately, to protect our intellectual property, I can't give away too much detailed information on this topic and how we execute on it. However, I can give you the general principles as to what I think makes a small business successful. And for a lot of businesses, it comes down to one area: Marketing. But how does a business owner execute on this? If you are an entrepreneur, you better start working on becoming a marketing professional. In an age where digital marketing is at our fingertips every second of the day, it has never been easier (but also more important) to understand consumer behaviors and what makes people buy into something.
10 years ago, small businesses had to pay an outrageous amount of money to advertise. But our attention as a society has shifted to new platforms that are much cheaper and even more effective. Now, social media IS mainstream media. I get calls several times a year from various TV, radio, and magazine outlets about "how their service can double my business, and all it takes is a small $11,000 investment to get started." I'm not saying I'm totally against these media outlets, as they can still be very useful for some businesses... But as a 27 year old entrepreneur raised on a different set of principles than the generations before me, in my mind I'm thinking, are you frickin' kidding me? During the spring, summer and fall, I can run a Facebook advertisement for $30/month, target it towards women between the ages 31-59 who have interests in real estate, home decor, and live within a 30 mile radius of La Crosse, WI and 10x my initial investment in 1 week. I have customers who tell me over and over again that they found out about us through one of two ways. Word of mouth or social media (one of which is earned by simply treating people the right way), and we are plenty busy 11 months out of the year.
It comes down to this; The most important job of marketing is that it does one thing, which is that it build communities. The best way to build a community of loyal customers is to create an emotional connection you want with them. You've got to know that people buy with their hearts, not their minds. Logic informs, but emotion persuades so you must be empathetic with your customers and understand their point of view and then communicate with them like a friend, not a mass audience.
That strategy alone can help you run a successful small business of your own someday. Remember, the purpose of a customer is NOT to get a sale. The purpose of a SALE is to get a LOYAL CUSTOMER.
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