We were introducted to Bob Scott through our local tool rep. In a little over a year, working with Bob Scott, we have made improvements to our building, purchased new shop equipment and implemented an ad campaign--while increasing our net profit. We are very happy with the results and can heartily recommend Bob."5 Concepts to Prevent Your Small Business from Failing the WIIFM Test
I recently attended a very informative and worthwhile Internet Marketing Workshop hosted by the Worcester Chamber of Commerce and presented by Peter Caputo, Kyle James, Jennifer Snyder and Brian Thorne of Hubspot. One of the featured speakers was Catie Foertsch of Yes! MediaWorks and during her presentation on video blogging she mentioned WIIFM, an acronym for “What’s In It For Me?”
It’s been a while since I heard it and after Catie’s presentation I started to think about the meaning and how its relevancy to Small Business Owners, especially in this environment, is more critical than ever.
In the midst of a stressful, down economy, it seems only natural to toughen up and perhaps institute policies that make sense to us, but undoubtedly fail the WIIFM test in the eyes of our customers and clients.
Before making any changes to the way you do business, I suggest we think about we offer and find ways to add value; not in our eyes, but in the eyes of our customer. The only way to do that is to engage our customer and really, I mean really, listen to what they have to say. This is the easiest and most sure-fire way to create a customer base for life.
Here are 5 concepts to help your Small Business pass the WIIFM test:
- Every time you interact with another business entity, keep WIIFM in mind; do they disappoint you? If so, how can you take that experience back to your own business and make it better?
- Keep a dialogue open; your customers are struggling too. Talk to them about how you can help. How can you make it easier for them to do business with your company?
- Never, ever, ever ignore a customer complaint. Even if you think they are baseless, there is always a nugget of great value inside; it’s the truest form of a customer’s point of view and they are priceless.
- If you weren’t firm with your customers about receivables before, don’t start sending threatening letters and emails now, you will alienate them and lose them forever. Give them a call to discuss the open balance, attempt to make arrangements in a friendly, but firm, way.
- Instead of thinking about which services you can cut and how high you can raise your prices, think about adding valuable resources that will keep your customers coming back.
As I wrap up this post I’m reminded of a quote from the brilliant Peter Drucker, “The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer.” A lot of energy is spent on creating (obtaining) customers; now let’s focus on keeping them by paying attention to what’s in it for them.
