8 Things You Need for Complete Customer Zen

ZEN-tri-fy Your Business

Give customers complete ease of purchase (even the neurotic ones), establish rock-solid relationships, and ensure immortality for your business; here’s how.

Recently, I made the biggest purchase of my life (thus far); I bought a house. Surprisingly, I am 100% worry-free.

In a moment, I am going to tell you why, and how any business can apply this 8-point strategy to ensure that their customers feel the same.

Normally, I have endless anxieties about the goods and services I buy, even after doing all my research and reading the 453+ positive reviews…

BUT there are ways to my heart, as there are with any customer, and I want to share them.

1. Check All the Boxes (or at least the most important ones)

Going into our first home-buying experience, my fiancé and I had stipulations.

Every customer has a list of non-negotiables, a good rule of thumb is to meet all of them (or as many as you can).

If you can’t meet each demand, see where a customer is willing to compromise and where they are absolutely unwilling to bend.

Our list included:

• A modern product (our home).
• Accessibility.
• Enticing amenities.
• Minimal work required.
• Ongoing maintenance provided.
• Met our budget.

Because our developer was able to provide each of our requirements more than adequately, we were willing to exceed our initial budget.

In my experience, most customers will spend a little more if what you’re offering checks all of their boxes and then some.

Customers can increase their budget if they LOVE your product.

2. Ease of Ordering

Purchasing our first home was very simple. It was a brand-new construction in a brand-new neighborhood, and the ordering process was squeaky clean.

In my business and likely yours too, customers want a simple ordering process. Here’s what you need to remember:

• Streamline the process.
• Showcase your product or service extraordinarily well.
• Allow customers to immerse themselves in the experience.
• Display their options.

People don’t want too little options, but they don’t want too many either.

In the year 2000, psychologists Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper published an experiment in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The experiment was as follows: some customers were offered a large assortment of jams or chocolates at local food marts (24-30 varieties), and other customers were offered only six choices. All customers were given a $1-off coupon to be used after the taste-test on purchasing a jam or chocolate. Initially, the larger sampling of jams and chocolates commanded more of a crowd, but when it came down to actually purchasing a product, the smaller assortment received more sales. Findings showed that customers were 1/10^th as likely to buy from the larger display as the small.

In our case, we were shown two fully-furnished model homes. With the help of an exceptional design team, the homes beautifully presented all the things you could do with your house in the future.

Each had a different floor plan; both offered their own set of strengths and targeted the various brackets of home-buyers’ wants and needs in different ways.

We were then showed a third floor plan. This option was not included in the original model homes; it was something new, very few people had it, it offered a large backyard twice the size of the other options, and there were only two left.

• Create urgency without being pushy.

We had to have it.

After showing us the entirety of the neighborhood, with every question answered and a wealth of additional information provided, we were given a detailed construction plan on a large computer monitor. Our salesman took us back to the association’s clean, modern office; offered us a bottle of water and requested a check for $5000 to secure the property. “I won’t cash it today,” he said. He went on his computer and checked a box. “Come to our event tomorrow. There are free food and drinks. See all the possibilities this place has to offer. Meet the rest of the team. If you still want to move forward, we’ll fill out the paperwork then. In the meantime, the property is secured under your name.”

He had me at free food and drinks.

3. A Non-Pushy but Readily Available Team

If you’re too hungry for a sale, people can sense it immediately, and it makes most customers feel uncomfortable.

Customers have the right to change their minds.

Customers don’t want to feel pushed.

You can create urgency without being pushy.

Don’t be that guy…or woman…that creeps around like a human parrot…BUY, BUY, BUY, BUY, BUY. If you’ve done your job, and a customer is impressed with your product or service, they are likely saying it to themselves already.

4. Excellent Customer Service

Be friendly; not fake.

Let your personality and unique voice shine through.

Be knowledgeable.

If you don’t know the answer, find the answer.

Be available. I want someone who responds to my texts, calls, and emails immediately.

Provide continual check-ins and updates.

Touch base before your customer does.

Reach out with exciting news and helpful service – and give a customer time to respond.

Allow a customer to watch their product or service come to fruition step-by-step.

Show continued progress.

The sale doesn’t end the moment it’s made. Grow a relationship. Establish a lifetime connection; it will lead to more business, ongoing business, and referrals.

Timing is everything and trust is key; offer a calm rhythm and an effortless friendship.

Provide safety, comfort, and kindness.

Offer solutions.

Offer development.

Offer growth.

Offer a higher quality of life.

5. Customizations and Control

From the doorknobs to the appliances, we had complete control over the design of our home.

The minute a customer feels like they are losing control, they become panicked. If a customer becomes panicked too often, they will look for a way out – that’s how companies lose business to a competitor.

Hold a customer’s hand, but don’t drag them by it.

Give your customer the option to choose, but help them make the right decision.

6. Design for the Head and the Heart

Many businesses today offer a product or service that has been offered before. If you are running a traditional enterprise, ensure a modern take. What’s different, what’s new; how does it catch my eye, turn my head, and capture my heart?

Give your customer logical reasons to purchase your product or service, show them how you are unique, let them understand when they should buy from you rather than the competition (what makes you stand out), and supersede their logic with a visceral emotion that drives them to buy.

You must target both the head and the heart of your customers to create a successful business.

Make products and services that customers can aspire to. As a customer, I want to feel like I am part of an elite club without the elite prices.

BUT, don’t offer a product that’s too cheap either, because customers will always question why it’s so, and will eventually go to a company that makes them feel like they are worth more.

REMEMBER, luxurious but accessible.

7. EVERYONE is Satisfied

In both b2b and b2c businesses you are always selling to more than one person; a husband and wife, a team of people, even a single entity is hoping to improve their lives and share their joy.

You as a business must also be satisfied with the deal; customers can tell if you’re unhappy, and it will slowly chip away at your relationship.

The first house that my fiancé and I both felt 100% on we bought. There were some I liked and she didn’t and vice versa, but during our extensive search we only agreed on one completely; had only one of us been 100% when we made the purchase, the sale would have ultimately ended in disaster.

Once you have established what you believe is your desired target market, ensure that the majority are happy – strive to become part of the extended family that is each sale.

(You can’t please absolutely everyone, and there is always a small percentage that will complain no matter what.)

8. Referrals

Customers want to see other happy customers; if they are nowhere to be found, customers will go elsewhere.

Genuine referrals can be some of the most effective marketing you have.

Imagine sitting back as your business passes from customer to customer without lifting a finger or spending a dollar. If you unwaveringly dedicate your focus to the things above, this can be your reality; sort of…

It will cost time and money to establish your customer base. To maintain this customer base, it will require patience, diligence, and heart – the growth of your customer base comes from a business that sees more than just customers; they see people just like them.

For more ways to improve your business, go to cardsdirect.com.