Point of Difference – Do you have one?

April 17, 2015 in Relationship Marketing tagged Gratitude / Relationship Marketing / Relationship Marketing Made Easy / Thank You by RonSue

Point of Difference – What is it and do you have one?

One of the best marketing strategies you can use—is to do the unexpected!!!

Do you have a memorable and outstanding point of difference?

I was in discussion with a group of small business operators and the subject turned to what we were doing in our businesses to stand out from the crowd – you know that something extra that really sets you apart.

Pricing, exceptional service, on time delivery, value adding and free gifts at time of purchase were all put forward as Point of difference’s, but in reality, isn’t this just what we expect and require from a business transaction. What’s really needed is something to make you exceptional.

A real standout is to do the unexpected – Create a memorable moment in your customers’ life by surprising them with something special; a card on their birthday, or a ‘thankyou’ card for doing business with you. Or what about sending them a double movie pass, or some delicious brownies, or shout them a couple of cups of coffee with a gift card. Best of all is the surprise sent for no particular reason at all. (At least from the customers’ point of view).

You see, what a lot of us call our Point Of Difference is in reality just what our customers are looking for and expecting. The standout, the exceptional, is the business operator who does the unexpected and does it with style. It’s the POD that gets people talking about you, liking you and staying with you!

When it comes to a ‘gratitude marketing tool’ that can help you stand out from the crowd; one that is easy, convenient to use and very low cost, I would have to recommend using a SendOutCards account. And of course I must declare my bias as a SendOutCards distributor, but I can’t think of a better or more economical system for communicating and letting people know they are important to you.

Ron and Sue

Marketing Tips for Hairdressers – Relationship Marketing

April 12, 2015 in Relationship Marketing by RonSue

Relationship Marketing for Hairdressers

Marketing Tips

The true story of five hairdressers:

In a sizable country town I know, there are five hairdressing salons; Each of the five establishments are staffed by hairdressers with virtually the same skill level, three have staff and the other two are solo-preneurs and all of them have pleasing personalities. Their pricing is within a few dollars of each other and the most expensive is the busiest. In fact you have to book your next haircut in advance, as the salon is pretty much booked out and if you are a new customer, you only get in when someone leaves.

At two of the salons you can just rock up when you want a haircut and most of the time you won’t even have to wait. And at the other two it’s not difficult to get an appointment.

So, what’s the difference?

Only one of these salons does two things the others don’t. – One, is to phone every client the day before to remind them of their appointment and the other, the one that really makes the big difference is that they let their clientele know how much they value and appreciate them in a very practical and tactile manner. Every client is sent a birthday card, a Christmas card and a card on the anniversary of their first haircut. With the latter, the client is advised that on their next visit their personal hairdresser would like to share a glass of bubbly and some nibbles with them.

The owner of this salon really does love to show her gratitude and share the good stuff around, just because that’s the way she is and she likes to make people feel good. But more importantly she has done her sums. She worked out that for the petty cash investment of a few cards and a glass of bubbly and nibbles, she could keep her customers loyal to her. Also because all of her available appointment times are full, her customers are actually costing her much less than her competitors are, because she is not paying overheads and staff time for empty chairs – a very profitable situation.

Her competitors believe their skill set and their personalities are sufficient in themselves and in discussion with them, three of them see no value in spending “good money” on cards and gifts. “People still have to get their hair cut”, they pointed out. Two of them are absolutely convinced that offering their customers a 50% discount for their birthday haircut is the way to go. By the way, this discount probably costs more than the cards and gifts.

Is there any doubt who the savvy operator in this story is?

Ron and Sue