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| Five marketing mistakes within an hour Our storyteller needed a plumber. He was just going out for the evening when he saw a trickle of water coming out of the cupboard. As a newcomer to the area he looked for a plumber on the internet. There he was, the plumber available 24/7! "I rang him. Yes, he would come within the hour." Phil turned out to be a very likeable fellow. He said he got fed up working for the boss and decided to set up his own business. However, the business wasn't working very well. He said it was hard to get customers. "Being a bit of a marketing enthusiast, I worked out later how many mistakes this plumber had made when he fixed the leak." Our storyteller had taken the screws out of the panel hiding the hot water cylinder which was presenting the problem. He had left them on the bench. When the plumber had done his job, he didn't put the screws back in. He just fitted the panel in place and left it. It would have been a small matter for him to have finished the job. Little things can be quite big to a customer. He didn't inquire about any other jobs, such as cleaning the guttering of autumn leaves. |
Tough in retailing The pressure on retailing has never been as intense as in the past five years.The challenges have been not only the global financial crisis, which has meant people are paying off debt rather than spending, but also online retailing. People can't be blamed for buying online when prices can be significantly cheaper. So what can retailers do? According to one expert in the retail field, the keys are in the acronym PALOS – product, agility, lean, online and service. Product – are you really trying to sell what people want to buy? Retailing is a dynamic business changing rapidly. No one retails horseshoes or video recorders any more. You might be passionate about your product, but is anyone else? If you don't know, ask the visitors to your store. People buy to satisfy wants NOT needs. Service – when times are tough, you'll get left out in the cold if your service doesn't measure up. Great service usually costs nothing and can make you stand out in the crowd. |
| CryptoLocker a Nasty One CryptoLocker is a ransomware virus. It's created havoc around the world and is one you hope you never get. Essentially it infects your PC's files and will delete them permanently unless you pay a ransom within three days. The ransom - about $500 - is paid through Bitcoin or MoneyPak, which are private fund exchange networks. It's almost impossible to track the perpetrators. The infection occurs via email, usually suggesting you should track a parcel to be delivered. Click on the attachment, open the Zip file and the virus goes to work gathering data on all your files. It then shows you a "ransom note". While you might be wary of opening any strange attachments, it can still happen, especially around Christmas time when you could be expecting a delivery. The attachment usually has a double extension name, for example .pdf.exe. The pdf extension adds some credibility; the exe does the nasty stuff. Beware of any double-extension attachments. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do once you're infected. One large New Zealand firm recently paid the ransom as it couldn't fix it and couldn't afford to lose the data. As with all viruses, protection is easier than cure. Make sure you have a robust anti-virus package running on ALL your computers. (The New Zealand firm had good anti-virus protection, but one employee connected a personal laptop to the company network and was not properly protected.) As a rule, free anti-virus software is not good enough. Pay for it and be better protected. One useful tool - but not a silver bullet - is CryptoPrevent, which stops your computer from down-loading double-extension files. So far the virus seems to infect PCs running Windows 7, Vista and XP, but Windows 8 and Macs could be vulnerable, too. If you're unsure about your protection, call your local computer service company for advice. |
When a customer is in a buying mood, keep selling
| Online store i-Tunes provides a superb example of capitalising on a customer's buying mood.
A friend commented recently: "I wanted to try the music of Karl Jenkins. I clicked on his album and soon found music which really appealed to me. I bought the item for $2.39. On the left of the screen was a message which said I could buy the |
rest of the album for $9.50. Thinking I had already missed a discount, I bought another tune and the same frame told me I could buy the rest of the album for a lesser price. I-Tunes was giving me a discount to entice me to buy the rest."
When a customer is in a buying mood, it pays to offer a generous discount to get another sale. |
| BRIEFLY Expensive ACC ACC is a special purpose tax. It's very late arriving as it can't be calculated until after the business tax return has been completed. The amount might take your breath away. Avoid the instalment offer. Pay in full. The ACC service fee of 10% is not a true 10% – it's more like 18% because of the way it's charged. Assuming the bank is going to charge you only interest and no additional fees, borrowing from it will be a lot cheaper. Staff Business Cards All staff who deal with customers should have business cards, particularly your receptionist. A car owner dropped his vehicle off to a franchise dealer to get a warrant of fitness. The receptionist greeted him and at the appropriate time handed him one of her cards with the comment: "If there's anything you want, call me". The customer felt cared for and the receptionist felt she was an important member of her firm, which she was. Conditional Contracts Be careful what you sign. Some folk think there's an easy out to a contract, if they need it. Put a condition into it. It's not that easy. Consult your solicitor first.
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 TAX CALENDAR April 7 2014 2013 Terminal Tax (March balance date) May 7 GST for March 2014 May 28 GST for April 2014 Big Bill for Little Error A bank customer owed about $4500 on his credit card. When he paid, he was mistakenly short by $68. The bank charged about $32 in interest, a 47% fee for being about three weeks late. The customer protested, using his frostiest voice to make it clear he was unhappy. The bank cancelled the charge. He told the person on the other end of the phone to calculate the annual rate, which he estimated to be about 800%. Another customer in a similar situation merely threatened to cancel the card and go elsewhere. His charge was also cancelled. |
Turn a Complainer into a Powerful Advocate
| It's always better to hang on to your existing customers, than to seek new ones. Getting new customers is expensive and time-consuming. Listen carefully to customers who complain. They are your friends because they will tell you things others might not. It's tempting to justify your actions in the face of a complaint. Don't. Assume the customer has cause for the grievance and act generously to put it right |
Then follow up to ensure the customer is not merely satisfied, but pleased with what you've done. Delighted complainers often become your best advocates! They tell others how well they were treated. If you reflect on what occurred you'll often be surprised to find you agree with the complaint. |
