We’ve talked before about marketing mindset. The know, like and trust factor is critical in a buying decision. So again this week I have been dismayed by some crass marketing efforts that so clearly fail this test that it is a wonder they get any business at all. Here are the incidents (you may recognize the approach) and the conclusion comes at the end.
Story 1 – Pretend that the prospect has already signed up for something. The call comes to my cell with an unrecognized number. Normally you can tell if it looks like a legitimate call or not and this one didn’t. Still, after a few calls I decided to pick up – at a push, you could say that my attention was grabbed I suppose!
“Hello, is that (business name)? I just want to run over your entry in the upcoming Yellow Pages to make sure it’s correct before we send you the invoice. We have……”
Woah! Wait a minute. I have heard of this before. This isn’t the regular Yellow Pages in my area it’s for another edition somewhere in the US. This isn’t a good fit for the business and I am not interested. Once this was clear it was easy to shut down the call but if you are not paying attention it is easy to confirm they have your address and shortly after you will get an invoice to pay – its well over $200 by the way.
Story 2 – Surely you want this “free” service? Phone call again, classic bait and switch this time, related to a credit card we have. “Have we got a deal for you. Take this protection (for something or other) and it’s free for 30 days. Then we will just charge you X dollars. So I’ll go ahead and apply that to your account as it’s free…..”
Hang on a minute. Don’t need this service as I have it covered but it was almost impossible to get the guy off the line. He literally wouldn’t take no for an answer. When he finally got off the line it was grudgingly and with bad grace.
Lessons? How are these two incidents designed to gain credibility and trust? In fact they achieve the opposite. They generate annoyance and DISTRUST if anything. They make you feel somehow tricked. In the first case it implies this is something that you have signed up for and they are just confirming. In the second it is free until it suddenly isn’t. There isn’t anything intrinsically wrong with giving a free period of time and then a charge begins, but in this case there was no attempt to even understand whether it was of interest.
These things must work at some level for them to be continued. However the result in many cases is likely to be hostility to the company and a resolve never to use them in the future. That really isn’t the feeling you want to generate with prospects!
In a small business this is less prevalent (hopefully at least!) but the lessons still apply. How about finding out up front if there is even any interest in what you are selling? This requires some work on your part, of course. It relies on you understanding your target market and plugging into their key issues and challenges. It takes time to find out if they have problems that you and your company can address.
The message then is a conversation to see if there is a good reason to work together. If not, you have saved something very important. It might take a little longer to achieve but you will have their goodwill. They will remember you when they DO have a challenge you can help with or they will be more likely to refer you to someone they know. None of this will happen if they feel tricked, bullied, persuaded against their will or somehow hoodwinked into buying from you. That is the route to distrust and a negative image.
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