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Month: November 2013

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If you were to seek advice on improving your business, you would likely be told that you need to “build your brand” or create “brand awareness”

Typically this means spending money on a fancy logo and generally telling the marketplace what a great business you are. If you do this, you are following the lead set by many, many corporate type companies.

But is this the best way for you as a small carpet cleaner to get more sales?

I was intrigued recently while watching Manchester United play Arsenal at football (soccer) to see that the travel firm Thomas Cook have changed their logo. It was on one of the electronic billboards.

A bit of research on the internet revealed more:

  • “This week the Thomas Cook Group unveiled the next stage in its journey back from the edge of a financial abyss: a new corporate identity known as the "Sunny Heart"
  • According to the firm, "The new, unified brand captures the essence of Thomas Cook: how it delivers inspiring personal journeys as the trusted pioneer in global travel." (The Independent)
  • “Thomas Cook says that the new visual identity and branding looks to reflect the ‘warmth and approachability’, ‘trust and personalisation’ and ‘message of High Tech, High Touch’ of the brand.”
  • “Tour operator Thomas Cook has ditched the globe logo it first used in 1880, replacing it with a 'Sunny Heart', as the tour operator continues its recovery from near collapse. The 172-year-old firm unveiled the design alongside a new slogan - 'Let's Go' - spelling the end for its famous motto 'Don't just book it, Thomas Cook it.' The rebranding is part of a root-and-branch overhaul by new boss Harriet Green, who was recruited last year to save the household name from collapse, after it was bailed out by its banks.” (Daily Mail)

You’ll notice that in response to near collapse, they have decided that the answer is…a new logo!

But surely the most important question of all is..will this lead to SALES?

Let’s ask one of its valued customers…ME!

I’ve travelled with Thomas Cook twice in the last 18 months. What has been my experience? On my recent trip to Mexico the transfer took two and a half hours arriving at my hotel at the equivalent of two in the morning. The problem? The advertised transfer was one hour. The previous year with a rival firm was 35 minutes. Apparently they had crammed in more drop-off points before ours!

On a previous holiday to Egypt, they cancelled an entire plane leaving passengers bound for Manchester to travel via Gatwick. An add-on of several hours. Incredibly they didn’t let the Manchester bound passengers know until they got to the airport in Egypt. It also meant that although I had pre-booked a window seat, I ended up sitting in the centre row.

I decided there and then that I would NOT travel with this company again unless I had very little choice.

Would the money spent on “re-branding” not be better spent on improving the experience for the customer? Frankly I don’t care about their logo or their “trust and personalisation” or their “warmth and approachability.” But I do care about getting what I’ve paid for. A re-brand (“new pretty logo”) does not fool me!

So what brand strategy should you follow?

  • Forget “brand awareness” You don’t know whether it’s successful or not as it can’t be measured.
  • Forget advertising to simply remind people of your existence. Killer advertising is simply salesmanship multiplied according to copywriter Gary Halbert
  • A good ad will work the first time. They don’t need to see it 7, 15 or 20 times
  • Don’t be fooled that a brand is the most important thing. The people who give you money are!
  • Forget ‘clever’ type advertising with just your ‘image’ displayed. If your salesman acted strange or did a silly dance and then mentioned the name of your company at the end you wouldn’t want it. Instead you want them to find out what the persons problem is, what their objections are and present your product as the best solution. That’s salesmanship!

I’ll give the last word to Claude Hopkins who wrote about silly logo’s and image type advertising this way: “Instead of sales, they seek applause”

I say…Let them have the applause - my bank doesn’t accept it!

 

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How do you give quotes or estimates? Do you just wing it or do you have a structured system in place? A marketing guru once commented that if you don’t have a system for selling in place you fall victim to the prospects system for not buying!

A recent experience shows the benefits of having a selling SYSTEM:

I live in a 1930’s house that needs a new front door and two small windows that join to it. Outside the front door is a small wooden porch that has seen better days.  I recently invited a reputable company to give me a quote for replacement for all this. What followed was a lesson in how not to sell!

First, remember that all salesmen are problem solvers.  In other words people do not buy products or services for the sake of it – they want a specific problem solved.

I was hoping for the salesman to educate me as to what could be done and to offer advice so that I could make an informed decision. Instead he highlighted several reasons why I couldn’t have what I wanted. Admittedly the porch was a problem as it was old but he simply didn’t want to deal with it. What he should have said was “If I were you, I wouldn’t waste your money on the porch…but maybe think about this…”

Lesson: Always act in the best interests of your customers. Educate them as to what is possible. If they would be better off replacing the carpets…tell them! Use photo’s, testimonials etc. They need to view you as a trusted advisor. When they do, price becomes less important.

He proceeded to lecture me about his windows but didn’t find out what my concerns were. Was I worried about security or keeping the heat in or did I just want the cheapest option? Why did I want to replace my windows? When I told him clearly which door I wanted, he began speaking about the others in the brochure.

Lesson: Use consultative selling. Ask a systemised series of questions to first of all qualify your prospect. Then find out exactly what they want and give it to them. Listen to what the prospect really wants. Find out their main concerns. It could be quick drying or whether a particular stain can be removed.

I asked him why I should do business with his company and whether all windows were the same. When I asked the difference between windows he replied “Price and Quality.” I asked what I would get if I paid more. The answer - “Better quality.” But what does this mean?

Lesson: Be clear why customers should use you versus your competitors. Reject those who don’t fit your criteria. It’s important to have a clear Unique Selling Proposition rather than “choose us because we’re no worse than anybody else”

When I asked about Thermal Rating he responded by telling me that his windows are C rated and that A rated windows are very expensive. And that his competitors would rip me off! In fact he spoke at length about bad fitters and their practices. The salesman constantly used the word cr*p, when describing his competitors.

Lesson: Don’t bad-mouth your competition. It’s not until you hear someone do this that you realise how bad it sounds. It makes you seem very unprofessional.

Speak and act professionally at all times. Also, you are not your own customer. Don’t assume they cannot afford to buy, particularly when offering protector. Last year we cleaned the carpets for a lady living in an area we would not normally clean in. I wondered whether we would actually get paid, yet she had protector on her carpets and gave the technician a £20 tip!

 

And finally… the salesman drove off in his flash Audi TT and never followed up. I’ve not heard from him since!

By the way, I've just noticed that the company is no longer in business!