It is fascinating to look at the dollars spent on outbound marketing to attract customers, only to have the organization fail to deliver on the relationship the prospective customer was looking for. One would think that investing dollars into attracting customers would immediately be followed by delivering excellent customer service.
This might offend some sports fishermen, but the analogy might help frame the disconnect between attracting customers only to let them go. Consider investing in a lifelong dream of fly fishing in a remote part of the world. Getting to the destination costs some serious cash, but you hear that the fishing is outstanding. Once you arrive, you find out that the fish are attracted to a specific type of fly bait, and you don’t have one in your tackle box, so more money to buy the bait of choice. The guide collects you and your gear early in the morning, and you head out to the spot where the guide says they are biting the best. After some time of trudging through the back country, the stream appears, and all looks like a dream come true. Right now, all your investment is still well worth it. You cast for your first time, and bang, the magic lure is hit, and the fun begins. Heart racing and all the well-up emotions are coming to the surface. After a brief time, you successfully bring the fish ashore, and the smile on your face is ear-to-ear, what a dream come true.
At this time, the guide informs you that you are not allowed to keep the trophy fish. It is catch and release in this area. You reach for your phone to capture a picture of the fish, but it is back at the lodge. The guide has no ability to capture the moment either. So by law, you release the fish back into the stream to have another day. You don’t even get a nibble for the rest of the day and week at the site. All of your dreams and investing in this once-in-a-lifetime trip are fading fast.
Whether you have had such a fishing experience or not, every day your organization invests in marketing is like paying for the fishing trip. You put your magic bait into the internet stream and hope for a bite or nibble. When you get one, there is excitement that your marketing is doing a great job. You even get the prospect to engage in a relationship, only to have other parts of your organization let the fish get away.
As you refine your business’s best practices this week, it is time to continue to invest in marketing while creating a world-class customer experience as a continuous improvement project. If your organization is experiencing a revolving door of customers in and out, you might need to look at how customers are handled/treated once they are hooked.
This is not complex. People are simply looking for consistent, professional, respectful, and personal interactions that address their needs. The basic ingredient to consistent growth is not more investment in marketing dollars while you catch and release. It is about attracting and strategically keeping those new relationships for several interactions. The cost of attraction is high if the new customer is lost quickly.
Consider the cost of hiring a new employee, investing in training them, and then having them leave. The burden on the company is great. The same is true for gaining new customers. The cost of attraction is sometimes very hard to identify in marketing and sales costs, not because the numbers don’t exist, but because leadership does not assign a cost to each won or lost sale.
By dynamically weaving your Core Purpose and Core Values into each customer relationship, your ability to engage and retain customers will directly support the growth of your business. This week, take a hard look at the intake and termination that happens with your customers. Are there ways the organization can be more inviting and cultivate relationships with customers to make them lifelong clients?
Has building a culture to grow your organization piqued your interest? Call a Promise Guide at JKL Associates to discuss your situation and how we might assist you in achieving your best outcomes. MI (313) 527-7945 or FL (407) 984-7346
Journey On!
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Celebrating 30 years of Delivering on “Promises”
