The All-Time Best Way to Get (and Keep) a Customer
Issue #2340
- WEALTHY: The best time to invest? (Andrew Gordon)
- HEALTHY: What are you REALLY rubbing on your body? (Jon Herring)
- WISE: Gerry Harvey on business success
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- 3 steps to creating strong, long-term relationships with your customers (Paul Lawrence)
- Caution: Misusing this word could be dangerous! (Don Hauptman)
- It’s Fun to Know… about new species
- Add "predilection" to your vocabulary
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When Others Are Fleeing the Bear
Maybe you know we’re in a bear market. But do you know what stage of the bear we’re in?
Courtesy of Howard Marks, chairman of Oaktree Capital Management, a Los Angeles firm that manages more than $50 billion in alternative investments, here’s an easy-to-understand and very useful breakdown:
Stage 1. Just a few prudent investors recognize that, despite the prevailing bullishness, things won’t always be rosy.
Stage 2. Most investors recognize that things are deteriorating.
Stage 3. Everyone’s convinced that things can only get worse.
The middle stage - the one we’re in now - is the easiest of the three to recognize. Identifying Stage 3 is trickier.
For example, for a few days - when Bear Stearns was heading for bankruptcy… global markets were tanking… commodity prices were down… housing was still scraping bottom… and company profits were disappearing - I thought we were just about to enter Stage 3. But then housing got a bit of good news and JPMorgan decided to buy Bear Stearns. And BOOM - just like that - the optimists were saying that things weren’t bad after all.
When investors are tearing their hair out… when no one can see light at the end of the tunnel… when a permanent bear market is declared possible… that’s when we’re in Stage 3. And not before.
The best time to invest? Stage 3, when the market is at its cheapest and is about to go up.
So how many of your fellow ETR readers will invest in Stage 3? I’d guess 5 percent at the most.
It’s incredibly hard to jump into a market when others are fleeing at warp speed. To even have a shot at it, you need to write a note to yourself right now and show it to someone you trust (like your spouse). Ask them to remind you, when the time comes, that you swore you would do this.
[Ed. Note: ETR’s Investment Director, Andrew Gordon, is the editor of INCOME, a monthly financial advisory service that uncovers income-generating stocks that promise safety (first and foremost), along with much-higher-than-average profit potential.]
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"The customer determines at the end of the day who is successful and for what reason."
Gerry Harvey
The All-Time Best Way to Get (and Keep) a Customer
If you can’t sell your product or service, you don’t have a business. Plain and simple. So, as Michael Masterson has said in ETR and in Ready, Fire, Aim, your primary concern has to be making sales. Even if you have a good product or service - one that is in demand - you can’t force people to buy from you.
The customer has the advantage. And if she wants to ignore you and spend her money elsewhere, you can’t stop her. But what you can do is give her a reason to choose you over your competitors.
As a small-business owner, you don’t have a whole lot of business-building tools at your disposal. In terms of resources, a small business just can’t stand up to a mega-corporation. But you don’t need a lot of money or employees to find - and keep - customers. You just need a few easy-to-come-by strategies.
In fact, being small can actually work to your advantage when it comes to one of the all-time best strategies: establishing a relationship with each customer. It can:
- Get the customer to trust you enough to take the chance of doing business with you that first time.
- Build loyalty - so the customer wants to continue to buy from you rather than your competitors.
- Get the customer to refer you to other potential customers.
You develop relationships with your customers the same way that you do it in your personal life. In big part, that means caring for them.
Think about the people you consider to be friends. Aren’t they people you genuinely care about - and who seem to genuinely care about you?
And think about your relationships with companies - big and small - that you deal with on a fairly regular basis
You must admit that it’s awfully hard to believe that the mega-corporations - General Motors, for example - care about you. They are nameless, faceless conglomerates. It’s a lot easier to believe that your local car salesman has a sincere interest in you. After all, he lives in your community. His kids go to school with your kids. You meet him face to face when you step into his dealership. That’s why, unlike General Motors, he can - if he chooses - establish real, caring long-term relationships with you and his other customers.
And that’s why you, too, will have an easy time proving to your customers that you are concerned about them and their problems… and that you’re there to help.
With blogs and social networking sites like MySpace and FaceBook, there are more ways than ever to communicate with your customers - and allow them to actually interact with you. You’ve been reading articles in ETR about how to use these new channels to increase your profitability (and will be reading more in the near future). Meanwhile, try this classic three-step method for establishing those all-important customer relationships:
1. Focus on a narrow niche market.
I publish informational programs for wannabe entrepreneurs who want to start up and run one or more businesses on a shoestring. Since I’m not trying to cater to all entrepreneurs, I can focus very specifically on what my customers want and need. Because it is obvious that I am devoting my time and energy to helping only people like them, it is clear that I sincerely care about their success.
Customers will believe that you genuinely care about them when they have a reasonable basis for that belief. By specializing in delivering a product or service that is aimed directly at them, you take an immediate step in that direction.
2. Take the time to understand your customers and their problems.
Only by putting yourself in your customers’ shoes - taking the time to figure out not only their wants and needs but also their worries, fears, and hopes - can you develop products or services that will truly help them.
When you do that - when you give them something that will make their lives better or easier in some way - you’re sending a very strong message that you care. This is especially true if you continue to develop new products or services for them.
I’ve got a catalog of about a dozen different programs that I offer my customers - covering a wide range of businesses they can get into with little capital or experience. That way, I’m able to give them exactly what they’re looking (and hoping) for.
3. Make your promotional messages personal.
Building close relationships with customers is all about communicating on a personal level (as it is with family and friends). That’s true of any direct contact you may have with your customers in person or over the phone - and it’s just as true of the indirect contact you have with them in your marketing materials.
Here are a few suggestions for making your sales copy more personal:
- Write your sales message in a conversational tone, as if you’re talking to a friend. For example, instead of saying "This business program can help entrepreneurs earn substantial profits," say "You know that new car you’ve had your eye on? Well, check out this program. It will help you get it."
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Share information about yourself. When people feel that they know you, they’re more inclined to trust you and want to do business with you.
In my marketing copy, I frequently admit what a slow starter I was… how I was in my late twenties and was pretty much broke before I started my first successful business. When my prospective customers hear things like that about me, they sympathize with what I went through. And that makes them feel closer to me.
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Be honest. Say what you really think, not what you think your customers want to hear.
For instance, instead of sugarcoating my sales pitch, I come right out and tell my prospects to stop feeling sorry for themselves… to stop blaming their past failures on bad luck and, instead, to take responsibility for whether they will succeed or fail in the future. I’m sure that turns a lot of people off. But, hey, you can’t please everyone. And those who see things your way will become profoundly loyal to you - and rightfully so.
You can’t pretend to be someone you’re not. Your sincerity - or insincerity - will always shine through.
- Octyl-dimethyl-PABA (OD-PABA)
- Benzophenone-3 (Bp-3)
- Homosalate (HMS)
- Octyl-methoxycinnamate (OMC)
- 4-methyl-benzylidene camphor (4-MBC)
- Website headline: Design a Fallout 3 perk [a bonus for video gamers], win notoriety and gaming gear
- Mr. Westen… has gained notoriety and respect in the Democratic Party with his book…. It was helpful to hear his ideas.
- green tree skink (New Guinea)
- an unnamed species of catfish (Myanmar)
- Togian white-eye - a small bird (Indonesia)
- floral banded wobbegong - a small shark (Australia)
- Big Red - a jellyfish that can reach a diameter of three feet (the Pacific Ocean)
These three steps will help you quickly establish real rapport with your customers. And not only will they willingly pull out their credit cards to make that first purchase… they will be loyal customers for years.
[Ed. Note: Michael Masterson calls Paul Lawrence "the best guy in the business for starting a business on a shoestring." Paul is the creator of the Quick and Easy Microbusiness System, ETR’s program for starting a business for under $100. He is also the publisher of the Street Smart Business program, which has dozens of "no nonsense" tactics for the small-business entrepreneur. Check out the details here.]
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Give Yourself a Nice Pay Raise — and a Three Day Weekend, Every Weekend
By the end of this week, you can give yourself a pay raise. (How does an extra $20/hr sound?) And schedule a few days’ vacation while you’re at it!
After a month or two, how about another raise… to $2,000 a week.
It’s happening everywhere. Ordinary people — including folks who never finished school — starting their own businesses… and making side incomes in the neighborhood of $40,000… $60,000… even $100,000 or more a year.
They’re living the American Dream. Now it’s time for you to start living it too. Click here to continue…
- Charlie Byrne
Sunscreen: 21st Century Snake Oil
By Jon Herring
ETR reader SR in New York recently wrote, "I read that most sunscreens contain a chemical that acts like estrogen in the body. Could this be harmful? And should I avoid sunscreen? I’m heading to Florida in a few weeks and don’t want to get burned."
The answer is yes. Almost all commercial sunscreens contain not just one but several chemicals, known as xenoestrogens, that mimic the hormone estrogen. Your Best Health Under the Sun, a book I wrote with Dr. Al Sears, highlights a Swiss study that found five of these chemicals in commonly used sunscreens:
In laboratory testing, each one of these chemicals behaves like estrogen. And when they are combined, they can have a synergistic effect. In other words, two "weak" xenoestrogens can produce a very strong response.
Not only does this disrupt the hormonal system, but these chemicals are known to stimulate tumor growth and the spread of cancer. (Not to mention a decline in male sperm count, early puberty, and feminine characteristics in men.)
And don’t think you’re safe just because you don’t "ingest" these chemicals. Clinical studies show that they easily penetrate the skin and enter the bloodstream.
Whenever possible, you should avoid using chemical sunscreen. Protect yourself from sunburn with clothing and shade. And when it is necessary to use sunscreen, look for a chemical-free product with zinc oxide as the active ingredient. (You can find several brands at health food stores.)
[Ed. Note: Now you know one danger of sunscreen. But does that mean you should skip the sun altogether? Absolutely not. Dr. Al Sears and Jon Herring reveal the amazing, life-saving benefits of sunshine in Your Best Health Under the Sun.]
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The Language Perfectionist: A Misuse That Can Land You in Big Trouble
By Don Hauptman
I can almost guarantee that you’ve read or heard this mistake:
As in the above examples, the word notoriety is sometimes used as if it means fame. In fact, it means fame for the wrong reasons, such as criminality or other bad behavior. Similarly, the adjective notorious is pejorative, referring to an unfavorable reputation. Synonyms are infamy and infamous.
Interestingly, those who misuse the word were once right - about 500 years ago. The Latin root simply means well known. Even today, some dictionaries claim that the word means "good" fame or wide recognition.
Don’t believe them. The meaning has changed, and it makes no sense to insist that it hasn’t. What’s more, it’s always wise to avoid ambiguity.
But even better reasons exist for respecting this distinction. Calling someone notorious - when you mean famous - could lead to serious problems. A Canadian Broadcasting Corporation producer wrote his staff a memo warning about the possible legal consequences of this misuse on the air.
I agree with Paul Brians, an English professor who maintains a website devoted to language use and abuse: "Nothing admirable should be called ‘notorious.’"
[Ed Note: For more than three decades, Don Hauptman was a direct-response copywriter. He is author of the wordplay books Cruel and Unusual Puns and Acronymania, and is now writing a new book that also blends language and humor.]
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It’s Fun to Know: New Species
While many species are on the brink of extinction, scientists are discovering species they never knew existed… including these:
(Source: Cryptomundo)
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The World Is Shrinking… and the Opportunities to Make Money With This “Global” Economy Are Nothing Short of Staggering! If You Know How…
Imagine how well your business would be doing if you could slash your costs by more than 49% while boosting your profits by more than 57%.
You can do it… if you know how.
Today, as a matter of fact, all the Fortune 500 companies are doing just that, and they’re posting record-breaking profits by taking advantage of the “Global Economy.”
Unfortunately until now, only big companies could even think of doing this. But not anymore. Now it’s your turn.
Click here to find out how you can put the “Global Economy” to work for you.
The global borders are shrinking… The world’s becoming a smaller place… Will you just stand there watching opportunity go by or will you seize the moment and put the “Global Economy” to work for you?
Word to the Wise: Predilection
A "predilection" (preh-dih-LEK-shun) - from the Latin for "to choose" - is an established preference.
Example (as used by Marina Cantacuzino in The Guardian): "[British actor Richard] Wilson doesn’t see any inconsistency between his socialism and his predilection for the high life."
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2008
As a retired teacher, I will say that misuse of words Really bothers me. So,I hope you’ll continue to point out these annoyingly common mistakes. One of the worst mutilations of the English language today is the misuse of “your.” I know history is no longer taught since social studies took its place, so I suppose English is next. You’re (for “you are” Not the possessive your) doing us a great favor by correcting us.
Amen, sister!
I have to agree about the misuse of words. I have been a big one for correctness of “verbage” as I tend to be verbose in my speaking and writing (telling stories: I don’t tell stories, I tell sagas they tend to be so long). I see “your”
misused all the time when the folks mean “you are.” In addition to large numbers of words which mean something totally different but are used as if they meant what the folks want them to mean.
“When you look at are stories or pictures” when you actually mean to look at OUR stories (or pictures.) They “are” stories and/or pictures but they belong to us and are “our” (possessive as to be the ones we wrote, made or otherwise own) vs they “are” stories and pictures meaning that they exist, have being, have been written or made (drawn, painted, photographed, etc). There is a big difference in the meaning, but people tend to write as if one was the same as the other. Carelessness, laziness or just plain don’t know the difference. Schools can be to blame for quite a bit of it, whereas the carelessness and/or laziness is just that with no one to blame but the writer and/or the speaker since the pronounciation of “are” vs “our” in the above instance is sufficiently different from one another that it should be obvious to the speaker (as well as the listener)that there was a mistake in pronounciation or the speaker again was just lazy and did not care.