[Marketing Memo] Start Off Right By Thinking Of The Obvious

By Cary Weston

As an elected member of our City Council, I had the honor of representing our city by greeting and thanking a number of bike riders who were participating in a charity ride for a local organization over the past weekend.

And while I waited to say a few words and send the bikes off, I overheard a conversation between a couple of the race organizers regarding riders who were not sporting the traditional registration number pinned to their jersey.

The number is the object that identifies you as a rider and helps volunteers at checkpoints keep track of who has and who has not made it through. Its the very basic element of the race registration process. From a participation tracking standpoint, it's a very useful tool.

After a few moments of discussing, one of the organizers, who is a veteran racer and has participated in a number of charity rides, simply said "they should all know to get their numbers and have it pinned on their jersey- it's pretty common at all rides like this."

So when I addressed the crowd to say thanks and send them off, I made a quick and simple statement that if this is your first time riding in an event and you don't have a number to pin to your jersey, please see the man at the table and he'll help you out.

You know what - three people made their way to the table and I saw one person say "I didn't know that."

That got me thinking - how would you know if no one told you. Whose responsibility is it to meet, greet, and ensure that those participating have all the info they need?

And then, as it usually does, my mind shifted to a business thought: how often do we as business owners take for granted what we know and what we do and leave out the most obvious points to our new customers?

How many times do we miss an opportunity to welcome, comfort, and build a connection with customers by simply pausing and explaining in straight forward and basic language valuable nuggets that will set the tone for the working relationship?

So, as quick Monday thought, I ask you: How good are you with the obvious? How simplified is your welcoming message? Have you learned from your Three Ring Binder what in fact makes a relationship start off stronger and serve you both better over the long term? (See my thoughts on your Three Ring Binder here)

If you haven't given this much thought lately, take a few moments this morning and think about the most basic things that a new customer - not having any knowledge of the experience they are about to engage in - should know and what information would help differentiate yourself from your competition.

Maybe you'll draft a welcome letter or a welcome kit. Maybe you'll put together a "top ten" list of things that will make their experience start off strong. Or maybe you'll have a team conversation and explore the very best ideas on how to make better connections from employees who do it every day.

No matter how you do it, your business will benefit if you ask yourself "How can you make your next customer feel truly comfortable and confident."

Or - better said - how can you eliminate your future customer from using the costly phrase in the future "I wish I had known."

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- Cary Weston is a partner of Sutherland Weston Marketing Communications in Bangor, Maine

Connect online:
Company's Web: www.sutherlandweston.com
Cary's Twitter Account: www.twitter.com/cary_weston
Cary's Linked In: www.linkedin.com/in/caryweston

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