I used to buy products from a vendor, but then I stopped. To date, they haven’t asked why I stopped buying. This was a product I renewed every 3 months. I wish they reached out to find out why I stopped buying. Maybe I would still be a buyer today. Yemi, one of the things I promise to be in my emails is to be real with you. What I’m about to share with you is something I didn’t take cognizance of for a while. But now that I do, I will maximize it. And I hope you will as well after reading.
As we wrapped up 2023, I decided to call a few of our clients at Scrutiney. My call was for two purposes. First, to get feedback about our services. And my second goal was to generate some content (content is everything). I asked them to describe our services in 3 words. They used words like “amazing”, “clear”, “clean”, “knowledgeable”, “creative”, and “projection” ( a word I’m still trying to understand). In summary, they all had one nice thing or the other to say, which was great. But that’s not my focus here.
What I want to share are the lessons I got from calling one of our clients. Earlier in December 2022, I sent her a proposal about our digital marketing service. Before this call, she had yet to respond to my proposal. It was while we spoke that she mentioned seeing my proposal, but didn’t feel the need to respond. Her reason was that the pricing seemed high. I was able to further explain the value this idea will bring to her business. And she seemed more comfortable with the price. Eventually, we agreed to discuss it again in a few weeks.
These are some lessons I picked from my call with her:
- Get comfortable with shooting your shots. In my experience, people actually respond positively to business proposals. When I say “positive”, they may not buy what you’re selling instantly. But in most cases, they will give you feedback about your offer, which you can then refine. If you are still wondering if to send out that proposal or not, I encourage you to. You just might be the solution to someone’s long-lasting challenge.
- Customers give the best product ideas. During my conversation with this client, she mentioned something else she needed help with. And that she’d been meaning to talk to me about it. After we spoke, it popped up a new idea in my mind. And It’s an idea we can offer to other business owners like herself.
- Customers are your thermometers. I had some doubts before sending this proposal. It was the same with another one I sent to a different client. But guess what? They both responded positively. Just imagine that I kept sitting down without acting on them. I would never have known what the market thinks about my offer. I think you got the point there. Don’t spend too much time thinking about your ideas. Push them out and let the market determine what it wants.
The summary of all I’m saying is that it helps to be in touch with your customers.
When was the last time you communicated with your customers? When was the last time you felt their buying pulse? Do you know what their worries are? Do you know what their aspirations are? There is only one way to know these things: COMMUNICATE. I get it. It can be a little hard, especially if you are not a social butterfly kinda person. But this is too important to omit.
So here’s your task for this week.
Call 10 to 20 customers of yours.
When you make these calls, don’t be selfish. Don’t let it be all about you, but about the customer. Ask about their dog, if they have one. Then ask open-ended questions like
- How would you say business has been for you lately?
- Is there anything you feel your business should be doing this year?
- What are some goals you have in mind for 2023, and how can we help?
I can guarantee you one thing: you will discover marketing insights from these calls. Do share your feedback with me when you do.
Don’t forget…it pays to stand out!
Yemi Ajibade
Marketing Lead, Scrutiney
