SEARCH, INDEX, UPDATES, CONTENTS, IDEAS, MARKETING AND SELLING
Michael Studham has written this page as the result of a presentation he and his wife attended at a hotel in early February 2002.
"Many of the points that came to mind during the presentation apply to any business wanting to increase its profits, and are not restricted to any particular industry.
I apologise to all professional sales people to whom the following comments are a very simplified version of everything they take for granted. My aim is to prompt people who would not otherwise do so, to consider some aspects of the decision to buy.
We generally talk about Marketing and Selling as though they are the same thing. Strictly Marketing is making the buying public aware of the product, Selling is persuading someone to make a purchase.
Why do we buy?
There will always be exceptions, such as teenagers buying for fashion, but
generally we buy to satisfy a need. Even buying the 'in' item at
many times the price of a perfectly adequate alternative fulfills a need -
probably the need to have the admiration of our peers. For example, we do
not buy matches because we want pieces of wood with a chemical compound at one
end, we buy matches because we need to light something. Instead of
matches, we might buy a lighter, particularly if we need to use it regularly and
it is easy to use. We might buy a disposable lighter, or a gold plated
one. Both Marketing and Selling strategy should be targeted to fulfilling the
need of the customer.
Who from?
To answer this question we have to decide what the customer considers
constitutes value for money? The customer will always buy what is to them the
best value for money, but the
customer is buying an experience as well as a product. Both Marketing and
Selling strategy should be targeted to the customers perception of value.
Imagine I want to present an expensive watch to someone within the next hour, and I am in a strange town. I see the ideal watch in the window displayed on an elaborate presentation box for £500. If the salesperson says I can have that watch for £450 without the box, what is the price of the watch and how will I value that box?
When I enter the shop, there are two salespeople each serving customers, and I can observe them while I wait. If I see one handling the goods and packaging them very carefully, and the other being less careful, which person will I prefer to approach? In those circumstances I will pay the same price to each, but I may be less satisfied with the product, and therefore have less value from the careless person, unless that person is much quicker and I am in a hurry.
A product will sell at the highest price, and the customer will be happy to pay, if their need is fulfilled for what they consider is the best value for money.
Marketing
This is a massive subject which there is not room to consider in detail
here.
Obviously the marketing company promoting the presentation had been successful on this occasion because we were at the presentation, and I cannot criticise them in any way. However some aspects of the Marketing contributed to the subsequent loss of a sale, but I have no idea who would have been responsible.
It had started with an unsolicited telephone call offering us a one week luxury self catering holiday for 4 people including return flights at the cost of an administration charge of £39.50. All we had to do was attend a two hour presentation on behalf of a new internet based holiday and travel company.
Because of the connection with the holiday industry, it was emphasised that this was not a time share presentation.
The administration of the invitation was efficient, confirmed in writing with clear directions. The written invitation referred to another firm which I will call 'A' that would be providing the holiday. A quick search on the web identified the website for 'A' and gave the full name of the company as 'A Ltd established since early 1997'. A check on the Companies House website indicated no company with that exact name was registered.
There were two companies with very similar names. One was formed in May 2000 so perhaps it was the other company which was formed in 1997, the same year as claimed on the website. As at February 2002, the last accounts filed for that company were to 30 April 1998, the accounts to 30 April 1999 due by 29 February 2000 were almost 2 years overdue. Did this give me confidence in the company?
You may not think that dealing with your Accounts on time at Companies House is relevant to anybody's marketing, but in the same way that the Inland Revenue consider poor attention to deadlines might be a sign of poor record keeping, I took note of it.
The website included an offer of a holiday on very similar terms to those we were being offered. The Terms and Conditions page included at clause 10 - 'At the courtesy of the resorts management recipient families will be required to take a hospitality tour which will explain the various facilities and services the resort offers. This program is offered contingent to accepting the hospitality tour. There is no obligation to buy or enter in to any contract'.
It may be my loss and I may have made an incorrect assumption, but I did not want to take up the offer of a holiday, because of what the hospitality tour might entail. Was it the incentive to me that the promoters expected?
Selling
The welcome at the presentation was friendly and
efficient and at no time pushy. It was made very clear that the promised
holiday was not conditional on any commitment at the presentation, and was freely offered at the end of the
presentation. When we said we did not wish to take up the offer of the
free holiday, we were invited to and signed a form donating it to charity.
The presentation was clearly not about time share, but was a means of obtaining holiday accommodation at trade prices. For an initial subscription and a small annual membership fee, the member has access to a very sophisticated website, very clearly demonstrated during the presentation.
From the examples given it is obviously very good value for money, well researched and with 13 offices throughout the country. I could see the potential benefit to me would far exceed the cost, but I did wonder why an internet based travel agency needed 13 offices?
Closing the deal
The lesson, which can be applied to most businesses, is to think about the
customer at all times. I am disappointed that we did not feel able to take
advantage of this potentially very beneficial scheme.
We, like the other seven couples at the presentation, were given the opportunity to sign an acceptance at that presentation at a discounted price, or to apply to the head office after at least 6 months at the full price. For the sum involved I would have liked to do some calculations on a real example for ourselves, to have talked to our adult children who would also benefit to see if it was of interest to them, and to have made an application in writing within a time limit of, perhaps, seven days.
With everything that had been done so well, why was that option not offered to us? We felt that we had no choice but to refuse. We were pleasantly thanked for our time, and left the hotel without being asked what might have achieved a sale.
We were given plenty of time to read the agreement written in plain English, and a copy of a statement from the Office of Fair Trading. It was made clear that we were under no pressure and indeed we did not feel pressured. The documentation stated that it did not affect our 'statutory rights' but it would have been so much more helpful to have explained what those rights were. Why could we not be invited to sign but offered 14 days to change our minds?
Within the pack of information was a booklet that I did not read. I expect within that there was a commitment to maintain the trade prices, but that was not drawn to our attention, and therefore we could not have confidence about future savings.
Fly-by-night
This is an old phrase which is still relevant today. When I receive a
flyer about a plumber which only quotes a mobile number and no address, I am not
inspired with confidence to use a tradesman who may be of no fixed abode.
I have no address for the firm which did the presentation. Although I assume that I could track them through the marketing firm or the internet based travel firm, I would have preferred to be made aware of their address. People interact with other people, and that must not be forgotten in the age of the internet. I use the internet, I would have no problem selecting and booking a holiday that way because of price, but it will be a long time before I prefer internet service to personal service from someone I know and can locate.
Money back guarantee
In some cases it is possible to build the customers trust and overcome any
hesitation to buy a product by offering a money back guarantee. This
suggestion is not always practical but it can be used in a surprising number of circumstances and demonstrates confidence in the product. A number of
businesses do achieve this.
In the case of the presentation referred to above, the free holiday offered as an incentive was not the product being promoted, but from another firm. Why did they not promote their own product by allowing one booking before signing up to become a member?
Advice
The firm which did the presentation are not our clients, and it is not for me to advise
them. The people involved are obviously intelligent and hard working, but
may be too close to the business to see it as I did as a potential customer.
They may know what changes they would like to implement and not yet be able to do so. There are certainly aspects of our Practice we intend to change for the benefit of our clients, but unfortunately changes take time.
I hope I have demonstrated how apparently unrelated matters sometimes influence customers, and how the omission of minor details can lose a sale. If you are in business, how do your customers perceive you and your products?
If you contact us personally, you could ask us to review your business and perhaps we would be able to make suggestions for you to consider."
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