Are you really communicating with your customers?
We’d like you to take a long hard look at what you are saying to your customers. Not so much any brochures or website copy – we hope you’ve got that buttoned!
But we want you to be honest about your newsletters and blog posts…
Are you really communicating with your customers?
“Yes, of course I am” – we hear you say!
Are you? Or are you sharing your skills with your customers when that’s really not what they want to know?
What do we mean?
If you are an accountant, have you made the mistake of buying into one of those specialist accountancy marketing packages?The ones that churn out the same messages to everyone, but worse still they are written in such complex language that most of us business owners just don’t understand.
You need to be an accountant to get it – and that’s the problem. You are trying to communicate with business owners not other accountants. Your peers – other professionals in your industry – aren’t going to become your customers.
After all, if you were a hairdresser you wouldn’t be describing how to do a haircut – that’s why your customers come to you. But you could share tips about how to keep your hair looking good when you’re not at the salon…
So your messages need to add value to your customers
They could be:
Thought provoking – maybe a new way to look at something
Promotional – yes, as long as it isn’t all the time, you can promote your services
Informative – hints and tips that will help them make more informed decisions, or improve the way they do something
Of course, this does go back to our old favourite understanding the customer. But it’s about stepping into their shoes and asking yourself what they would want to know.
To carry on our accountant example: They don’t want to know how to produce year end accounts, or handle tricky tax issues – that’s your job. But they do want to know how to read the accounts, what financial issues they should consider when growing the business, for example.
We know our clients want to deliver exceptional customer experiences and improve customer retention. They don’t want to know all the details of how we assess and review - but the results of our conversations with their customers and how to implement recommendations. Likewise, potential clients are likely to feel the same way.
Remember, if all a reader ever wants is free advice to carry out the work themselves they are unlikely to ever become a customer…
So now take another look – are you really communicating with your customers?
