Margaret Getchell Of Macys Department Store

Furthermore, according to customer behaviour expert Michael LeBeouff, when a customer has a bad experience with a seller, they tell an average of 20 other people about their painful experience. On the other hand, satisfied customers very often tell nobody else, and sometimes, just two or three other people about a good experience. There's just something about getting insulted, ripped off, or cheated that makes a person want to get the experience off his or her chest by telling it to other people. But if you have a happy experience, you tend to just get on with life.

When you consider that positive word-of-mouth advertising - referrals and endorsements - accounts for up to 90% of repeat business for most companies, it makes it all the more clear how devastating the opposite - this negative word-of-mouth 'anti-advertising' - can be. Whole armies of customers go away and potential customers don't come in after hearing about how a particular business treated a pal.

One of the very best ways to increase those all-important repeat sales is to resolve customer problems in their favour, even if doing so costs you some money or profit. What you lose in the short-term comes back at you many times over in repeat sales from customers who view you as an honest dealer who cares about customers.

When in business, you should not be in the business of making sales. You should be in the business of creating customers, and happy customers.

Here's another extremely vital point: what's the most important factor that makes a customer come in and buy from any business on a repeat basis? Is the lowest price the prime factor? Is it the one with the best quality? It is the business with the widest selection? Is it the business with the most persuasive advertising?

The answer is none of the above! The correct answer is this: scientific studies of customer buying behaviour show that the most important factor in a customer's decision to buy is HOW MUCH THEY LIKE AND TRUST THE SELLER!

This is a fact with tremendous implications. It means that if your customers like and trust you, they'll be willing to pay more just to do business with you. THAT MEANS YOU DON'T HAVE TO COMPETE ON THE BASIS OF PRICE! Yes, you can charge more than your competitors for the same product if you have established the reputation of a 'good guy' who cares deeply about customer needs.

Just think about the different outcome that could have been achieved in our first example about the computer store. Instead of trying to rifle £25 out my friend's pocket, the dealer should have been thinking: 'This chap has spent £10,000 here. I need him. I want to make sure he spends the next £10,000 here. To hell with my measly 25 quid! I've got to help this guy out now! When I solve his problem, he'll appreciate it!'

So don't be penny wise and pound foolish. Strive to create customers, and the sales will take care of themselves - oh yeah, and your sales will multiply magically as you build your list of repeat customers, along with your reputation as a people-oriented business that cares, not a profit hungry dealer who is willing to do anything to make a quid.

Continue reading here: Never underestimate the intelligence of the buyer

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