Don’t get me wrong, I love a good SALE, it’s bloody handy at this time of year, especially in the lead up to Xmas, money’s tight, there are so many people to buy for… I get it... But, the buying trends of consumers and the psychology behind them are becoming increasingly damaging to my business.
How Consumers are being marketed to is having a negative direct effect on an SME’s ability to sell their Products and Services at full price.
Every business book I’ve read or coach or consultant I’ve worked with tells us to never discount our services, “it’s a race to the bottom of the cliff” they say… “You need to create value for the customer, build a relationship… yadda yadda yadda”.
In 2019, this is becoming increasingly more difficult.
Phone, Power and Internet providers reward you to switch, not to stay.
Big Retail Brands constantly slice their margins to the point that no one wants to shop at full price… and why should you when there are that many options.
Customer retention is out the window and everyone is focused on filling up their funnel at the front end - making Facebook and Google Ads more expensive and less effective, in fact all forms of advertising are becoming less effective cause there’s just so much noise out there.
So how does a humble SME survive in this climate where all the focus seems to be on the acquisition of a client (at any cost)?
You buck the trends and do the opposite. Give more love to your current customers, reward them for their longevity, create partnership programs and give them benefits that they can’t get at the half-price sale around the corner. Treat them like gold and they will repay you not only with their business but also the business from the referrals of their extended networks.
It reminds me of a saying I once heard… “The right thing to do is always the right thing”
