MARKETING TIP #096
The New Rules of “The Customer is Always Right”

The customer is King – always right, never wrong. We’ve heard it all a million times and it’s true. Without customers, we don’t exist.

There are new rules, though, that you need to know.

For starters:

  1. Know Me Intimately – With all of the data mining available these days, customers expect you to know them. And, they expect that you will use this knowledge to make their buying experience better. In addition, customers want you to use this knowledge to create special environments and opportunities for them.  Not special prices – a special experience. There’s a huge difference and the customer you want isn’t the one looking for the special price – you want the one that will respond to a special scenario created just for him/her because you “get” him/her.  Without that knowledge you’re just like everyone else.
  2. Hear Me Out and Give Me Info I Can Use – In other words, listen to me and then communicate with me in a meaningful way – like a conversation, not just a sales pitch. That’s one of the reasons that Web 2.0 application opportunities like Blogs, RSS feeds, and social/professional networking sites are growing – they meet the need to connect in a way that matters. So, if you do #1 above right, you’ll know what to communicate in your conversations with your customers. It’s like they’re real people!
  3. Stand for Something Other than Making Money – as Darcy Bevalacqua put it so eloquently in the latest Target Marketing. “Just as customers are more than dollars on a financial statement, brands must be more than faceless, money-making monoliths. When it comes to building a well-rounded brand that reflects customer values, consider relevant charitable initiatives, being green and using recycled goods, or giving employees time off for volunteer work, for example.”

The new rules of “The Customer is Always Right” are very simple – so simple that most days we miss the “small stuff.”

Talk to you soon,

Kae G. Wagner
CEO, Speaker, Author

P.S. Hope your 2008 planning is going well. Let us know if we can help.

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