Saturday, August 9, 2008

Can you see the future of Marketing? - Basic and to the Point.

By Scott Nelson


Dan Kennedy is known in business and marketing circles as the "millionaire maker". His fame comes from his results. He takes his clients and shows them step by step how to take and idea and turn it into money.

Entrepreneur Magazine says Dan Kennedy has 101 money making ideas for any business owner. One of the things that make Dan unique is his ability to take his principles and apply them to any industry or business. He currently works with clients in over 50 different businesses, industries and professions. In any given year, he'll earn $250,000 plus in a single month just providing direct-response and direct marketing advice and strategy.

Kennedy's value is best measured by what he has been able to do for the mom and pop business that is failing in every way. They'll turn to Dan's methods and in months will go from high debt to zero debt and revenues of over $200,000 a month.

Or, there's the now-giant Guthy-Renker Corporation, famous for its celebrity infomercials with Victoria Principal and Vanna White, and its Tony Robbins infomercials. Guthy-Renker is a 200-million dollar+ a year business now, and Dan's been a key member of their brain trust since their very first infomercial (Think And Grow Rich). Or there's U.S. Gold, a company that has twice increased its sales by millions with Dan Kennedy provided marketing breakthroughs. And the list goes on and on and on.

Dan immediately made my business healthy again by one simple principle that I was neglecting. I think it is neglected by a lot of businesses. Dan believes simply that having strong relationships with existing customers is an essential growth and profit center in a business. In fact, he sees it as even more vital then getting new customers.

The thing that made the biggest difference in turning around our business was learning about what it meant to give excellent customer service and to set out to doing those things consistently. This means dealing with the customers in all states of emotion. Customers are just easier to deal with when everything goes the way they want it. The fact is that things don't always please them. So customer service is really about managing the times when they aren't happy. It is a much harder skill to master but with the potential for great rewards. The goal is to take the difficulty and grow customer loyalty by how you handle it.

A client can take offense to a number of things when it comes to doing business with you. Whether it be the actual product, your prices, or your customer service, some clients just find things to gripe about. And you can't ignore their complaints. Instead, acknowledge their problem and defuse the situation by:

Thanking them. Often the customer will express themselves impolitely. Start by thanking them regardless. None of this is personal. Stay calm and composed.

Beginning your phrase with, "Let me see if I understand you completely." Then restate the complaint of the customer. This accomplishes two things. First, it gives the customer pause and a moment to calm down. Second, it shows that you are listening and taking their concerns seriously.

Making sure you find one thing in their complaint that you can agree with. It doesn't matter how baseless you may see their complaint, pick one major point you can agree with. Build your rebuttal on that point. As an example: "Well, Mr. Thomas, I can totally understand you being upset about the delivery being late. I will see to it that it doesn't happen again. Now, about your other concerns..." This shows them that you are not defensive about the situation, and you would rather help solve their problem than make excuses.

Solving the problem. The only reason a client picks a fight in the first place is to let you know that they have a problem. It's your job to play along and solve that problem. Remember, this is your chance to turn a negative situation into a positive one and actually gain your client's loyalty.

I will tell you without hesitation that these techniques saved my business. I knew nothing about total customer value and what it meant to my bottom line. The understanding of the importance of TCV will make you stronger in customer service all by itself. Dan's "Magnetic Marketing" is the ultimate resource for marketing principles that work to change the fortunes of your business, fast. It is these simple, low cost to no cost strategies, which make the biggest difference. Before Magnetic Marketing, I was ignorant to these concepts.

He'll let anyone try it for 1 year with a full money back guarantee with no hassles or fuss. Sometimes when you come to the point where things aren't working and you have nothing to lose. That's when the right teacher appears. Or maybe you are just starting and can't afford set backs.

My advice would be to copy those that have had success. Take the trail blazed by the millionaire business man.

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