What Customers Really Need or Want

What is the best gift you can give to your customers?  Did you think low prices?  How about fast service?  Perhaps it would be great customer service?

If we begin to think from the very basic customer’s needs… a product or service they really need?

There can be a spectacular difference between what customers want and what most businesses offer. This widening gap can create dissatisfaction, distrust, and-worst of all for any business-disloyalty.

Evidence shows that customers will no longer tolerate the rushed and inconvenient service that has become all too common. Instead, they are looking for a satisfying experience. Companies that provide it will win their loyalty.

More than half of the customers surveyed across industries say they’ve had a bad service experience, and nearly the same fraction think many of the companies they interact with don’t understand or care about them. On average, 40% of customers who suffer through bad experiences stop doing business with the offending company.

Superior customer service can be an essential source of strength as companies emerge from the recession, but managers need to understand the extent to which the consumer landscape has shifted. Weakened brands, customers’ easy access to information about vendors, and the erosion of barriers to switching among competitors have combined to create a much more challenging environment for service, whether it’s outsourced or delivered in-house.

Some business owners believe that irritated customers will forgive errors and problems and come back for more. Research indicates that, on the contrary, alienated customers often disappear without the slightest warning. And as companies rebuild themselves after the recession, this silent attrition represents a host of lost opportunities for future sales and positive word of mouth.

Business owners should also aim to have consistently high-quality interactions between customers and frontline employees. That may sound costly, but contact information systems and other technologies can help to substantially offset the expense.

Business savvy and food for thought from MI Printing.  Your local resource for business printing.  Fast, fair and friendly, give us a call and see what we can do for your business.  623.582.1302

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MI Printing, LLC 
Phone: 623.582.1302
Email: sales@printinginaz.com
printinginaz.com

What is Worrying Small Business Owners?

I saw a recent survey about what is top of mind for a small business owner and I almost didn’t take the time to read it.  Being a small business owner I assumed that getting and keeping customers would be the driving force for all small businesses.

I was wrong!

The response from several polls were as follows.  53% percent of business in the survey said that healthcare costs were their most important consideration.  Taxes were in second place and environmental compliance considerations were in third place.

Being in a service business with a small workforce may have skewed my thinking and a “larger” small business with a larger work force and in some type of manufacturing business will have a different set of primary concerns.

The implementation of the Affordable Care Act and its potential impact is causing some small-business owners to try to keep their workforces under 50 employees so they are exempted from key parts of the act and in this regard are reducing employee hours so they are not counted as full time.

Complying with all the different types of taxes (including sales taxes) was the next layer of small business concerns.  They face increased taxes as national, state and local taxes as all types of governing bodies try to meet the needs of their jurisdictions.  Business bear the brundt of the tax base.

Cost of Health Insurance

Tax Complexity

Unreasonable Government Regulations 

Uncertainty over Government Actions

Frequent Changes in Federal Tax Laws and Rules

Cost of Natural Gas, Propane, Gasoline, Diesel, Fuel Oil

What is the most important concern for your business?

When it comes to business printing let MI Printing help you meet your needs.  Just give us a call at 623.582.1302 and see what we can do for your business.

Presented By
MI Printing 
Phone: 623.582.1302
Email: sales@printinginaz.com
http://printinginaz.com 

When Marketing Goes Horribly Wrong

Have you ever made a mistake in an ad you ran.  Don’t feel bad, marketing and products have gone wrong for even the biggest of companies.  Here are some great examples;

1958 Ford Edsel United States was in a recession and Edsel offered its most expensive model

1977 Drink Schlitz Or I’ll Kill You Ads In each of the four commercials, an off-camera voice asked the lead characters to give up their Schlitz beer for another brand.  Ten weeks after the commercials first began to air, Schlitz management ordered them pulled. Soon after, the Leo Burnett ad agency was fired by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company.

1985 New Coke! Why were people so upset? Coke’s brand embodied classic American traditions -- they didn't want new Coke! After finally retiring the “New Coke” recipe, sales of the old classic -- actually renamed “Coca-Cola Classic” to make it extra clear to consumers -- rose significantly. What do we take away from this marketing mistake? Learn what your customers want before spending time and money on a top-secret product or service change!

Pepsi Expands to China When Pepsi expanded their market to China, they launched with the slogan, "Pepsi brings you back to life." What they didn’t realize is the phrase was translated to “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave.”

2009 Free KFC Chicken Shut Down Millions of Americans had downloaded free coupons after the offer was featured on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and Web site on Tuesday, driving traffic to levels unseen in the brand's 50-year history. Roger Eaton, president of KFC in the United States said restaurants would no longer accept the free coupons for its new grilled chicken

2010, Gap's New Logo It lasted just 2 days. Never underestimate your audience's feelings towards your brand. People who want the basics and aren't interested in trendy new styles.

Netflix Qwikster's 2011 Made things more complicated -- not to mention it resulted in a 60% price increase. According to CNET, the company lost 800,000 subscribers and its stock price dropped 77% in four months.

Microsoft Windows 8 2012 Windows 8, the revolution that wasn’t. After a storm of criticism from frustrated long-time Windows users, Microsoft announced that it would be making significant changes to its Windows 8 operating system.

Want help with your next print media communication?  Call MI Printing 623.582.1302 and lets us be your local printing resource.

Presented By
MI Printing, LLC
Phone: 623.582.1302
Email: sales@printinginaz.com
http://printinginaz.com