Posted by jba/fl on 8/1/10 7:07pm
Msg #347253
Received this email today
And the reason I am posting this here is not because we all have other businesses, but because there is some excellent information here. Substitute Notary or SA where appropriate, and think from another view. I know we may not be able to buy what is suggested - from our competitors, but we can think above them.
"Shop Somewhere Else
Dear Julie:
Have you ever wondered where else your customers also buy gems, tools, supplies and anything else they need? And if you know where, do you know why?
Okay, enough with the questions. The reason I ask is because it is as important to know why people buy from someone else as it is to know who.
Other than asking clients where else they buy and why, there is something you can do to check out the competition: Buy something from them.
No, I do not mean walking into their location in cognito, browsing around and accidentally dropping stuff on the floor. (I would do that, but you should not.) I mean getting their catalog or ad, and calling them up and buying something so that you can have the same experience that their customers do.
If you place your order by phone, are they nice when they answer? Do you get to talk with a real person, or is the phone answered by a voicemail system? If voicemail, is it easy to follow? Or will you hang up around the fourth or fifth menu because the list of options is so long you will forget what will happen if you press 1?
If you decide to order from a catalog, is the order form easy to follow? Is there enough room on the form to write your entire city name? Or do you have to cram it into a small space? And if you order from the company's web page, is the site easy to follow? And do you receive a confirmation of your order, or are you left wondering if it even went through?
Aside from the benefits of gathering data first-hand as a customer of your competition, there's another reason to actually place an order. Your brain processes behaviors in a different way than it stores facts. Knowing that there's a competitor out there is a fact that you remember, similar to remembering that there's a gas station on the corner across from the bank.
But when you actually deal with a process, such as placing an order, more than just facts are laid down in your memory ... there is the memory of flipping through the catalog, clicking through the website, dialing the phone, the auditory memory of the experience of ordering, and the impact of actually receiving the item. So, in one order, there's a tremendous amount that's actually going on. And having that experience will imprint quite differently on you than anything else you might learn about your competitors.
You can compare your experiences with your competition to the kind of experience that your customers have when they do business with you. And make improvements where needed.
There's another reason you might want to improve things: The next person who calls to place an order might be a competitor of yours who read this, also.
Thanks for reading!
Go make something great!
Sincerely,"
|
Reply by Marian_in_CA on 8/1/10 7:59pm
Msg #347255
I totally agree with this... part of being successful is knowing your competition.
I know that when I'm working on the aspects of my business, I do TONS of research on my competition. I know their websites, I try to find out where and how they advertise... I know when they've changed addresses, etc. I'm not a "stalker" -- but I keep up on what they do as best I can... and I try to make myself stand out in other ways.
The real treat is is finding an area where your competition is weak or non-existent, yet there exists an audience. You won't find that kind of thing unless you do your research.
|
