You Need Raving Fans

You’ve seen them, right? The “secret to __________ is to __________.” Having customers is great. But having raving fans is much, much better. So how do you convert a customer into a raving fan? It’s not as hard as you might think. At the core of a raving fan is this:

They know you know what they want.

The more you know about your customers the better you can serve them. The better you serve them, the more scalable and sustainable your company becomes.

Raving Fans Are Not Created Equal

“Not created equal” doesn’t mean some customers are better than others. All it means is that the more demographics knowledge you have, the better. You may have three or four different consumer types. To make this clear, in our case a solopreneur stay-at-home 30-something mom will, understandably, have very different expectations than a HVAC installation expert male in his late-40’s.

Here are four keys for cracking the code on your customers…and what they want:

1. Listen.
2. Ask.
3. Offer.
4. Select.

Let’s expand on each of these…

Listen

Really. Every time when you or your staff are talking with them. They’re giving you clues if you’re paying attention. Listen in between the lines. What they don’t say can be as important as what they do say. Listen with savvy. You might hear someone ask for lower prices when what they really mean is they’d love to have delivery options.

We, like you, have “quiet” customers. They don’t rock the boat. They’re easy on the nerves. Keep in mind that many customers have such stunningly low expectations that they’re not inclined to speak up. So, help them speak up. You’ll stand out in a very good way for inviting their input.

BONUS: periodically survey them. 

Ask

Not only ask your own customers but utilize the power of social media to ask a larger audience. It may seem obvious that you need to be sincere when you ask for your customer’s opinion. Still, you need to be. Being vulnerable can be uncomfortable, sure. But that’s the kind of experience that all of us long for, including you.

Offer

Most businesses can offer a LOT more than the limited array of products or services they currently do. If your business has high R&D (research and development) costs associated with bringing new offers to the market, try a small beta-test to confirm the interest is there. But nearly every type of business can come up with terrific cross-sell opportunities, if not upsells and down-sells. BONUS: affiliation offers.

Select

No, the customer is not always right. We all know that. However, it is better to lean in that direction than otherwise. And when that “special” customer comes your way, you get to choose not to work with them. Your vision doesn’t need to conform to theirs. This is your company, after all.

Apply these communication keys to unlock your army of raving fans. And if you need some help or a second opinion, schedule your FREE discovery call. We come unarmed.