By Edward Tuorinsky
August 30, 2022
Source: Forbes
Photo Source: Unsplash,
On one recent morning, a maintenance contract made me stop and examine business ethics. A competitor had advised potential customers that they would need three years of maintenance following a purchase. The customers, worried about meeting industry standards, were potentially none the wiser. But I was left shaking my head. Was it illegal? Not really; maintenance contracts are common add-ons in our industry. Was it right? Without accurate information, the customers couldn’t make an educated choice. Would I run a similar “deal”? Definitely not. Educating and advising prospects is part of the sales cycle for nearly every industry. I note that in new and emerging technologies, best practice information often lags behind customer interest. Customers have little or no internal expertise to help them make decisions. Instead, they look to providers to tell them what they need to know.
There’s no future in the short game. Sales techniques with overblown promises have an old-fashioned name: snake oil sales. The company makes a quick sale, but they don’t have repeat customers. Instead, they must rely on finding gullible new marks over and over. To me, this sounds exhausting and shortsighted. In modern times, I’ve seen this technique employed to boost the stats of a company that’s looking to be acquired, desperate for venture capital funds, under pressure from shareholders or only incentivized to get the numbers booked. This strategy doesn’t value the customer, create a positive experience or build a relationship. Customers lose out, and so do employees who were incentivized by bad ethics. Believe me when I tell you that if you take advantage of a customer’s vulnerabilities, they will eventually get wise, and an ex-customer with an ax to grind is a liability; they’ll be quick to share bad experiences and the names of slippery salespeople.
There’s simply no future in the short game.
Use the long game for growth. We’ve all been in a situation where we spend time helping a potential customer get up to speed only to have them decide to do business with someone else. It’s never a good feeling to lose out on the sale, but you can take comfort when you know you’ve given it your best competitive effort. Time has shown that for every prospect treated carefully and educated earnestly, you establish trust and goodwill. That trust might not pay off immediately, but if you play the long game, it’s a calculated investment. Things might not work out with the competitor, and the prospect might return to you. Or, they’ll consider you next time, for follow-on work or in their next role.
For example, I try to provide my customers with foundational knowledge. I use data, expertise, customer insights and case studies to arm them with the information necessary to make a good decision. I want them to feel confident about signing on for a purchase or service and have realistic expectations about what they will get for their money.
The long game takes that initial investment of time and effort and turns it into an engagement that pays dividends over and over. As one Forbes article pointed out, the probability of selling to an existing customer is higher than a new customer. New customer acquisition costs have jumped dramatically—up more than 60% between 2014 and 2019, according to an analysis by ProfitWell. Furthermore, customers are more likely to recommend a brand to others after a positive experience. Nurturing customer relationships is where sales stars distinguish themselves. By deepening your knowledge of customers, anticipating their needs, listening to their feedback and input, and rewarding them for their loyalty, you are building something that lasts.
You can determine the value of customer trust. Sure, look at sales, but also consider long-game metrics like customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, vendor management, community stewardship and more. For long-term growth, these trust factors are just as important as revenue.
It starts at the top. Too often, ethics are portrayed as only being personal. But that kind of thinking gives businesses a pass on questionable practices or shady policies. As leaders, you set the tone.
Those on the path to becoming (or maintaining) a trusted brand do so by using strong ethics and values as their blueprint for business.
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