Keep It Simple For Your Customers

To draw customers to your business, you need to keep their options as simple as possible. The moment a customer is frustrated with your business is the moment they disconnect from you in their minds. They may not leave right away, but they will have one eye open to your potential competitors' offers.

Keep the customers' purchasing options simple and well-defined. For example, many cell phone service providers offer unlimited calling plans where customers are charged a set fee per month, no matter how many phone calls they make. While many customers may never test the limits of such a plan, they enjoy knowing the exact cost up front. This is a much simpler arrangement than calculating what time of day is cheapest to make a phone call.

Include petty costs in your overall price. Restaurants are a prime example of when this can make or break a sale. If you find that you are losing money because many of your customers request extra tomatoes on their sandwich, you have two options. You could require a 5 cent charge whenever they ask for extra tomatoes, or you can add additional tomatoes to your sandwiches and increase the price by 5 cents. Customers naturally question any additional charges to their meals, and may feel taken advantage of over such a small amount. When you include your operating costs in the product prices, your customers understand the tiny increases.

Limit the number of options you present to your customers. The more choices given to a customer increases the feeling of making the wrong choice. This unintentional indecision leaves customers grasping at straws, or not making a purchase at all. Show customers exactly what you have to offer, and how it stacks up to the competition. With the necessary information, they will be able to make an informed choice. They will also feel confident when purchasing from you, since you make the choices as clear as possible.

Making the buying experience for customers as simple as possible is not difficult. Think through the options you are presenting your customers, and make sure they are the best ones for you and your customers. When you make life easy for your customers, they will be happy to return to your business, assured of exactly what they are getting.

View Your Business Through the Customer's Eyes

You may have all of your systems in place to give your customers the best possible service. Yet it is important to give these systems a trial run before your customers use them. You may come across unexpected hang ups, that could turn business away.

Go through the steps your customers would take to find your business. If you are online, make sure your ads are pointing to the correct page on your website. If you own a brick and mortar business, follow the directions you give out to arrive at your storefront. How easy is it to find and access your business? Is there any way you can simplify the process for potential customers?

Attempt to find out more about your business. Your website needs to clearly explain what you do, and how it benefits the customer. Your about me page should explain who you are, what your company does, and why you are passionate about your product. In your community, you should be involved in local business organizations, and your chamber of commerce. Be sure any public listing about your company has accurate information.

Purchase your product. Check all the links that your customer needs to click on to process their order. Make sure they are easy to read, easy to find, and work correctly. Make errors throughout the shopping process, to see what pages your customers might see. These pages should make it easy to fix the problem and continue shopping. Go to your store and purchase a product from one of your employees. Ensure that all quality systems that you have put in place are being followed.

Allow a friend who doesn't know much about your business repeat this process. Allow them to research your business naturally, using the systems they would for any business. Ask them what was easy and what was difficult.

Make any necessary changes, and then let your customers try out your system, and accept their feedback. No matter how intuitive your business is to you, it is brand new to your customers. If the process is not as simple as possible, your customers will be unlikely to purchase or to return. The more times you look through their eyes, the more chances you will see to improve your business.

Listening to Your Customers

How do you know what your customers want? Have you ever thought about asking them? Listening to your customers is one way to guarantee that you are providing the best possible products and services that will meet their needs.

In order to listen to your customers, you need to create methods of listening. Here are a few possibilities.

• Create a poll on your website. Ask them something simple, as in "What would you like to see more of on this website?" Be sure to leave an "Other" option, and include a contact box where they can leave additional comments. It may turn out that what you thought they wanted couldn't be farther from the truth.
• Ask them about the quality of your service. When your transaction is complete, ask your customers if there is any area in which your business could improve. You can do this face to face, via email, or through a survey. The answers may surprise you.
• Offer customer support. Have a telephone number or email address they can contact at any time to get immediate answers to their questions. What may be an easy process for you may be difficult for the average consumer. Give them the chance to explain their problem, and offer solutions as soon as possible. Without this in place, customers may turn elsewhere rather than continue to puzzle through your business.
• Value their opinions. Nothing is worse than the feeling that you are not being heard. Once you have gathered information about your customers' needs, follow through. Implement necessary changes that will make their experience better. Be sure to let them know that you were listening, and are striving to improve the quality of your business.

What methods of listening does your business have in place? Have you seen a business that truly values what its customers have to say? Join in the conversation