Would you rebel or submit if you were required to adopt the same practices of other retailers? If every retailer had the same practices & inventory, many stores would close because consumers would choose the most convenient locations.
Small stores have failed by copying successful big retailers & big retailers fail when competitors offer better value. Instead of just promoting product features &/or benefits, offer the value of helping customers produce & maintain results.
As retailers test offers & consumers’ lives change, offering superior value is a challenge.
Example: As conditions change, products & methods can lose effectiveness or cause damage. Help consumers adjust what they do, so they can adopt new necessities.
Relevant Retailing
Since consumers have a variety of choices, test a variety of services instead of competing only based on products & prices. Your services should integrate your store into local consumers’ lives. What I write about Customer Intimacy is how to integrate your store into consumers’ lives.
When people want low priority results, discount stores' commodities are OK. Small stores should offer what people need for high priority results.
Big retailers try to be more relevant to wider segments by experimenting with customer services, product types & quality levels.
When big retailers focus on big segments, they miss some individual desires & needs. Fill those gaps by aligning your practices with local & personal conditions, so you can integrate with consumers because you understand them better than competitors.
You can help people produce better results when you ask what people want & need from certain results.
Example: Medical problems can restrict people’s movements & force people to change their homes. Some businesses push new cabinets. Organizers & different shelves would help people store & retrieve things & the installation would be less disruptive.
People Want More With Less Risk
Some retailers have easy product return policies, but people still have unsolved problems if they return products. Integration involves helping people find what they want & avoid what they don’t want.
People are more concerned about losing what they have than about progress. It’s common for retailers to offer products without promising specific benefits. Some encourage progress but ignore consumers’ other concerns.
Customer intimate retailers ask about concerns & help people build loss resistant foundations.
This foundations concept means people can retain benefits if problems happen.
Help people understand: 1) what causes their current conditions; 2) positive potential of making changes; 3) negative potential of not making changes; 4) what could go wrong with some products; 5) how to avoid mistakes.
Step-by-step instructions for specific conditions can limit risks. When steps are completed, other tasks won’t disrupt what’s secure because of your advice about avoiding problems & mistakes. Based on expected results of each step, people can recognize potential problems & learn to preserve progress & prevent losses.
As people consider other projects, you can help them check compatibility & be sure new projects don’t interfere with past projects. Example: If people have gardens, planting trees can cause too much shade or even chemically kill other plants.
Offer advice based on total goals & conditions since soil conditions & placement also affect plant health.
Urge customers to consider short- & long-term issues. Examples below are analogous for other projects.
Before planting trees, people should consider how long they’ll live in their houses, future tree size, growth speed & raking leaves year after year. People add rooms to their houses under growing tree branches & wind knocks branches down.
Since people have deductibles, insurance doesn’t always fully cover damage from accidents or severe weather. Insurance doesn’t restore satisfaction when people lose results of their work. Your customer service can include products & information for protecting completed projects & works in progress.
If insurance only covers completed projects, help people reduce vulnerability by determining when to start & how to speed up results.
People might hesitate if they can’t get full insurance coverage for expensive projects. You can show you care by advising people to be sure they’ll have insurance coverage before starting projects.
Project results should be worth more than the insured value of the materials. Do you have examples of insured value of projects to show to insurance adjusters?
You’ll show you care when you help people anticipate opportunities & problems.
What Reassures Customers?
Promote your ability to coordinate products & project tasks because confused people might hesitate to buy.
Shopping for the right product is frustrating without knowing if features solve specific problems. Help people plan projects by matching product benefits with customers' needs.
Stress from problems is compounded when people struggle to learn all they need for projects.
To reduce people's frustration, offer details they need for the best solutions.
Example: ‘You noticed (symptoms) & need quick solutions. After you evaluate your conditions, you need a plan & to learn about tools, materials & compatibility issues. It’s hard to control problems while learning every important detail, finding the best products & planning your project. All you need is at (business) because we recommend what works after comparing problems with product instructions & specifications.’
Ask what frustrates people, so you can help them avoid wasting time & energy.
Example: ‘You need persistence to maintain __ with cheap, discount store products. At (business), we specialize in helping you use high quality products for consistent long-term results. We’ll help you eliminate frustration, so you’ll be satisfied with projects. You can finalize projects & move on, when you’re sure about quality.’
Pride Is A High Priority Result.
Struggling to create & maintain high priority results is especially frustrating when personal pride is involved.
Example: People, who make lawn care a high priority, might link their reputations to their homes. If they personally tend their lawns, they want to understand lawn products because their job-to-be-done includes a high standard of lawn excellence.
If neighbors prioritize uniformity, their job-to-be-done is matching a standard, so they want to know just enough to buy the right products.
To serve them all, express dedication to their causes.
Example: ‘Your neighbors don’t keep many lawn care secrets because they want beautiful neighborhoods. We have products & information you need for high standard lawns. Home owners are often frustrated because they have different lawn conditions. We’ll help you understand how to adjust for different conditions.’
People, who feel personally linked to results, invest dedicated efforts & expect high returns on their investments. Promote your ability to contribute high quality value that matches consumers’ standards.
Ask about consumers’ standards & if you can exceed their expectations, explain how that quality is realistically achieved.
After people have been frustrated, satisfaction promises can seem too good to be true. Does satisfaction mean pride, relief from stress or other benefits? When you know what satisfies people, explain how products fulfill satisfaction with specific benefits.
Integrate your store into people’s efforts by learning about their successes & frustrations. How do problems affect customers? Why are certain results important? What leads to customers’ successes & frustrations? How can you influence those causes & effects?
After you ask about customers’ goals, you can explain how to use your product kits to increase successes & reduce frustrations. People’s success & frustration are affected by their comfort with products, results & risks. With questions & suggestions, you can help people determine how comfortable they are with product performance & risks.
Make offers based on benefits & how comfortable people are with products. Examples:
This general offer doesn’t specify why the product is safer or any specific benefits: ‘(Chemical) reduces effects of mold & is safer than __.’
This offer is more specific about safety & benefits: ‘Formula ABC kills without poisons by blocking mold's ability to absorb water. ABC also safely reduces odors & stains in X days.’
Some advertisers promise to exceed customers’ expectations, but some things should be considered. Should you promise to exceed expectations before you hear them? How much extra does that quality cost? Why is that extra quality worthwhile? Why is ‘good enough’ not enough? If people can only afford ‘good enough’ quality now, can they upgrade later?
Explain why & how exceeding expectations can match people’s priorities.
Example: People might want a home improvement to last until they move out in 5 years. Your improvement kit might increase their comfort, pride & home resale value enough to offset the price. If people use lower quality options, their homes might be less attractive, so they might have to wait longer for a sale.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2020 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
Showing posts with label Risk reversal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Risk reversal. Show all posts
Monday, January 27, 2020
Sunday, November 24, 2019
Build Credibility by Managing Expectations & Experiences
Advertisers seem to present products as ideal for everybody. Customer intimate retailers build trust with realistic promises about products for specific conditions.
Prevent disappointment by defining quality according to effects in local conditions because similar products vary in skill requirements & results.
Example: ‘You need (result) because winter is near. (Product A) can __ if you use it before frost hits. (Product B) can temporarily__ if used in cold weather. Come in now & we’ll make the best recommendations by comparing your needs with product benefits & limitations.’
Expectations are based on paradigms. Paradigms define people’s criteria. General criteria can be maintaining or upgrading comfort & preventing disruptions.
Define specific criteria based on people’s experiences. Examples: ‘Does comfort mean firm support or floating on a cloud?’ ‘What kind of disruptions do you expect?’
Manage expectations & experiences by balancing between the minimum people accept & best they can afford.
Example: What can people do to maintain or upgrade favorite experiences? How much disruption will people accept? Ask about budgets, evaluation criteria & current conditions, so you can recommend options to prevent or mitigate disruptions & maximize positive changes. You might suggest adjusting expectations. ‘If you can’t avoid (problem), you can use (product A) to reduce it. If you can’t afford (product A), you can use (product B) to __.’
When you know how people evaluate experiences & what they expect, form checklists of what’s important. After that, use scales to prioritize what will maintain, adjust or create desired experiences. You can ask, ‘When you have a choice between (experience A) & (experience B), how important is __? (1 least important to 10 most important)’
After asking about people’s knowledge & skills, recommend products, services & information for creating what they want. Increase options by improving people’s knowledge & skills with recommended tutorials.
People don’t always know how product quality affects experiences, so offer information based on people’s goals.
Example: ‘Achieving goals depends on product quality & activities, so we’ll help you plan tasks & choose products to maintain or increase your progress.’
Use Testimonials To Plan Experiences.
When people report good results, ask for details about products & methods, so you can advise others who want similar results. When you have permission to use testimonials, you can use those descriptions during consultations & ask, ‘Is this what you expect?’
Descriptive testimonials can help others avoid disappointments by finding experiences compatible with their lives.
When people are frustrated, ask for details of their progress, goals & criteria, so you can recommend products & methods.
Example: ‘Based on your goal & what you’ve achieved so far, it seems you need __.’
Create options by learning about several customers’ similar experiences. After customers choose options, help them replicate what satisfied others. If they go off track, use their criteria to guide them back. Use their criteria to form a system, so they can review changing conditions to determine whether to adjust goals &/or methods.
They also might want to adjust when new products are available.
Find New Options
If something isn’t ideal anymore, what are people’s second choice options? Help them adjust by resetting financial & time budgets, including what they need for learning skills to achieve & maintain results.
When new technology is available, help people determine whether to adopt new options or stay with what fulfills current needs.
Help customers determine if new options fit current goals & conditions or if new goals might be better. If preferences change, advise them if new options might interfere with progress.
Act While Risks Are Small.
When problems start small, people might believe there aren’t serious risks.
When you have credibility from product & local knowledge, your warnings seem credible. People may disregard harsh facts, so persuade them (without excessive alarm) to take action while a risk is small.
Help people determine what to realistically expect. Identify symptoms & offer products with instructions.
People like quick fixes, so let people know if multiple step plans are necessary, plus how long symptoms & remedies might last.
Offer details about tasks before purchases, so people can determine if they’re ready. If they aren’t ready, ask which resources they need.
You can build credibility with knowledge & realistic promises even if you don't have every resource customers need. If you need to refer customers to other stores for some resources, work with those retailers to develop plans & solutions.
Credibility can attract shoppers who need assurances about product quality & whether products are compatible with projects.
Since you sell products, your recommendations could be interpreted as opinions, so refer people to objective information sources. After people accept objective information, show how that information applies to your offers. With applicable information, your offers could be their best options in local conditions.
While discussing consumers' concerns & desired results, search for products & information they can optimally use. That effort can increase trust more than general advice.
Coordinate Resources & Reduce Risks
As a resource coordinator, you can attract buyers who need methods for choosing & using products.
Products aren’t enough until people can fill gaps between current & desired conditions, so promote your ability to offer total solutions.
If people don’t fill gaps, they might risk missing something. They’ll feel exposed to risks & expect things to go wrong.
When people are unsure about results, they’re unsure about buying. Gather information about current & desired conditions plus ways to close their gaps. Provide the steps so nothing is left to chance.
People might hesitate until they know how to evaluate options & decide what to buy. Give them freedom to act by providing information. People might stay in an endless loop of old experiences until somebody removes the risk of new experiences.
Risk reversal (refunds & exchanges) can be used after decisions, but people want to avoid bad decisions. By offering guidance, you & your customers can avoid refund & exchange hassles.
Explore Consumers’ Desired Experiences
Customer intimate retailers can specialize in helping people trade up for superior experiences.
People probably trade down with commodities for minor experience elements & trade up to high quality for the best elements. Their best elements define the overall experience quality.
Compare your current & potential inventory with competitors’ offers based on consumers’ desired experiences, not just prices.
Guide people's choices with questions to fulfill the quality they expect.
While talking to consumers, explore these issues:
What did buyers expect & actually experience? Were their expectations based on advice, observations or product instructions?
On a 10-point scale, how frustrated or satisfied were they? If major improvements are possible, can they afford those?
If a 10 doesn’t seem possible or practical, which level is possible & practical? If a 10 requires incremental improvements, can they afford the resources & learn skills?
What are they willing to do to remake, improve & maintain experiences?
If short-cuts are possible, do they think the quality will be too low?
They can decrease or eliminate minor elements to have more time & money for important elements. Which elements do they want to increase, decrease, eliminate or add?
How often can they afford their experiences? Do they own necessary products or do they have to buy or rent some things?
If they want a peak experience, how long should it last?
Do they want similar or different peak experiences?
Do they want something similar or different than the most popular experiences? Do they search for the next big thing?
Are they open to suggestions? Which options would make their experiences better? If they want to adjust experiences, which options might change things too much?
Do you have processes for gathering experience descriptions so you can introduce possibilities? You can gather descriptions by asking customers & checking the internet for consumers’ reviews.
Descriptions can help people find experiences compatible with their lifestyles, so they prevent dissatisfaction.
What Makes Experiences Valuable?
Beat competitors by helping people create experiences instead of just pushing products.
Though the primary value of experiences is immediate enjoyment, memories are valuable long-term benefits.
Some experiences are created by combining multiple elements, so help people choose & create the best elements to make their experiences special.
Help people determine how to create experiences with criteria for choosing elements possibly based on previous experiences &/or observations. People want the same or better experiences they see in pictures & videos, so ask them bring those.
Even when people enjoy experiences, they may want variety. Some might want more challenges.
You might offer a more physically assessable version, so people can do a version of an activity despite handicaps.
If there are popular experiences you can’t accommodate, divide experiences into elements. You might accommodate or create enough elements for satisfying experiences. Do people enjoy fast speeds, competition, social contact, being outside & easy-to-use equipment?
Some, who enjoy those elements, can’t afford or don’t know to implement full experiences. Help people adjust what they can control, so they can create a satisfying adaptation.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2019 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
Prevent disappointment by defining quality according to effects in local conditions because similar products vary in skill requirements & results.
Example: ‘You need (result) because winter is near. (Product A) can __ if you use it before frost hits. (Product B) can temporarily__ if used in cold weather. Come in now & we’ll make the best recommendations by comparing your needs with product benefits & limitations.’
Expectations are based on paradigms. Paradigms define people’s criteria. General criteria can be maintaining or upgrading comfort & preventing disruptions.
Define specific criteria based on people’s experiences. Examples: ‘Does comfort mean firm support or floating on a cloud?’ ‘What kind of disruptions do you expect?’
Manage expectations & experiences by balancing between the minimum people accept & best they can afford.
Example: What can people do to maintain or upgrade favorite experiences? How much disruption will people accept? Ask about budgets, evaluation criteria & current conditions, so you can recommend options to prevent or mitigate disruptions & maximize positive changes. You might suggest adjusting expectations. ‘If you can’t avoid (problem), you can use (product A) to reduce it. If you can’t afford (product A), you can use (product B) to __.’
When you know how people evaluate experiences & what they expect, form checklists of what’s important. After that, use scales to prioritize what will maintain, adjust or create desired experiences. You can ask, ‘When you have a choice between (experience A) & (experience B), how important is __? (1 least important to 10 most important)’
After asking about people’s knowledge & skills, recommend products, services & information for creating what they want. Increase options by improving people’s knowledge & skills with recommended tutorials.
People don’t always know how product quality affects experiences, so offer information based on people’s goals.
Example: ‘Achieving goals depends on product quality & activities, so we’ll help you plan tasks & choose products to maintain or increase your progress.’
Use Testimonials To Plan Experiences.
When people report good results, ask for details about products & methods, so you can advise others who want similar results. When you have permission to use testimonials, you can use those descriptions during consultations & ask, ‘Is this what you expect?’
Descriptive testimonials can help others avoid disappointments by finding experiences compatible with their lives.
When people are frustrated, ask for details of their progress, goals & criteria, so you can recommend products & methods.
Example: ‘Based on your goal & what you’ve achieved so far, it seems you need __.’
Create options by learning about several customers’ similar experiences. After customers choose options, help them replicate what satisfied others. If they go off track, use their criteria to guide them back. Use their criteria to form a system, so they can review changing conditions to determine whether to adjust goals &/or methods.
They also might want to adjust when new products are available.
Find New Options
If something isn’t ideal anymore, what are people’s second choice options? Help them adjust by resetting financial & time budgets, including what they need for learning skills to achieve & maintain results.
When new technology is available, help people determine whether to adopt new options or stay with what fulfills current needs.
Help customers determine if new options fit current goals & conditions or if new goals might be better. If preferences change, advise them if new options might interfere with progress.
Act While Risks Are Small.
When problems start small, people might believe there aren’t serious risks.
When you have credibility from product & local knowledge, your warnings seem credible. People may disregard harsh facts, so persuade them (without excessive alarm) to take action while a risk is small.
Help people determine what to realistically expect. Identify symptoms & offer products with instructions.
People like quick fixes, so let people know if multiple step plans are necessary, plus how long symptoms & remedies might last.
Offer details about tasks before purchases, so people can determine if they’re ready. If they aren’t ready, ask which resources they need.
You can build credibility with knowledge & realistic promises even if you don't have every resource customers need. If you need to refer customers to other stores for some resources, work with those retailers to develop plans & solutions.
Credibility can attract shoppers who need assurances about product quality & whether products are compatible with projects.
Since you sell products, your recommendations could be interpreted as opinions, so refer people to objective information sources. After people accept objective information, show how that information applies to your offers. With applicable information, your offers could be their best options in local conditions.
While discussing consumers' concerns & desired results, search for products & information they can optimally use. That effort can increase trust more than general advice.
Coordinate Resources & Reduce Risks
As a resource coordinator, you can attract buyers who need methods for choosing & using products.
Products aren’t enough until people can fill gaps between current & desired conditions, so promote your ability to offer total solutions.
If people don’t fill gaps, they might risk missing something. They’ll feel exposed to risks & expect things to go wrong.
When people are unsure about results, they’re unsure about buying. Gather information about current & desired conditions plus ways to close their gaps. Provide the steps so nothing is left to chance.
People might hesitate until they know how to evaluate options & decide what to buy. Give them freedom to act by providing information. People might stay in an endless loop of old experiences until somebody removes the risk of new experiences.
Risk reversal (refunds & exchanges) can be used after decisions, but people want to avoid bad decisions. By offering guidance, you & your customers can avoid refund & exchange hassles.
Explore Consumers’ Desired Experiences
Customer intimate retailers can specialize in helping people trade up for superior experiences.
People probably trade down with commodities for minor experience elements & trade up to high quality for the best elements. Their best elements define the overall experience quality.
Compare your current & potential inventory with competitors’ offers based on consumers’ desired experiences, not just prices.
Guide people's choices with questions to fulfill the quality they expect.
While talking to consumers, explore these issues:
What did buyers expect & actually experience? Were their expectations based on advice, observations or product instructions?
On a 10-point scale, how frustrated or satisfied were they? If major improvements are possible, can they afford those?
If a 10 doesn’t seem possible or practical, which level is possible & practical? If a 10 requires incremental improvements, can they afford the resources & learn skills?
What are they willing to do to remake, improve & maintain experiences?
If short-cuts are possible, do they think the quality will be too low?
They can decrease or eliminate minor elements to have more time & money for important elements. Which elements do they want to increase, decrease, eliminate or add?
How often can they afford their experiences? Do they own necessary products or do they have to buy or rent some things?
If they want a peak experience, how long should it last?
Do they want similar or different peak experiences?
Do they want something similar or different than the most popular experiences? Do they search for the next big thing?
Are they open to suggestions? Which options would make their experiences better? If they want to adjust experiences, which options might change things too much?
Do you have processes for gathering experience descriptions so you can introduce possibilities? You can gather descriptions by asking customers & checking the internet for consumers’ reviews.
Descriptions can help people find experiences compatible with their lifestyles, so they prevent dissatisfaction.
What Makes Experiences Valuable?
Beat competitors by helping people create experiences instead of just pushing products.
Though the primary value of experiences is immediate enjoyment, memories are valuable long-term benefits.
Some experiences are created by combining multiple elements, so help people choose & create the best elements to make their experiences special.
Help people determine how to create experiences with criteria for choosing elements possibly based on previous experiences &/or observations. People want the same or better experiences they see in pictures & videos, so ask them bring those.
Even when people enjoy experiences, they may want variety. Some might want more challenges.
You might offer a more physically assessable version, so people can do a version of an activity despite handicaps.
If there are popular experiences you can’t accommodate, divide experiences into elements. You might accommodate or create enough elements for satisfying experiences. Do people enjoy fast speeds, competition, social contact, being outside & easy-to-use equipment?
Some, who enjoy those elements, can’t afford or don’t know to implement full experiences. Help people adjust what they can control, so they can create a satisfying adaptation.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2019 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
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