Strategic Support
Working together
Communicating — I understand what you need
The written word
I can get as technical as you want . . . but I'm not your average techy nerd.
You want sales. You want profits. I'm always focussed on that.
In a crowded world I work with you to make your enterprise stand out from the rest. This means providing the potential customer with reasons to buy from you. One of the best ways to do this is to provide facts, figures and technical information — but in a way that is easy for Joe Public to understand.
For example, so many websites are bland flishy-flashy eye candy. A site that contains real 'meat' is much more likely to get a response from the visitor — and in fact Google's algorithms search out such sites and rate them as websites of expert content.
At the other end of the scale some sites descend into impenetrable jargon. Ironically Google is the worst offender for this. I don't know about you, but I rarely get the answer I want from a Google technical page.
The trick is to take the trouble to put yourself in the mind of your potential customer: what do they need, what is their issue, what are they looking for? As a busy entrepreneur sometimes you can be too close to the problem.
The spoken word
The right response to a telephone enquiry from a potential customer hugely increases the chance of winning an order or defusing a potential complaint. If you're a busy entrepreneur you do not always have the time to make callers welcome.
I can give you two recent real examples.
1. One of my clients went to see a potential customer following a referral from me. The customer said to my client "You only got this job because the guy on the phone sounded like a nice guy".
2. I took an enquiry on behalf of one of my clients and then got a price to pass back to the enquiring potential customer with whom I then talked through the whole job in detail. Because I knew the way my client worked I could explain everything to the customer and answer his questions. I later learned that my client had been awarded the job even though his quote was £2,000 more than a competitor's quote. The customer said to my client that he thought we understood his requirements better and so would do a better job.
How to irritate potential customers
Demand they complete a questionnaire at the outset
Ask a lot of personal questions
Make sure the input fields are incompatible with the different types of software that your potential customers may be running
Write an algorithm that blocks further access to the contact form and/or website unless it is fully completed
Use pop-ups on the welcome page and make them difficult to cancel
Deploy a Captcha algorithm with images of fire hydrants, bridges and traffic lights and other indeterminate objects
Include a Support button that only links to a FAQs page, not real support
Under no circumstance allow potential customers to talk to a real person, but if you really must, ensure that such persons can barely speak English and have received minimal training in helping enquirers
It's unfathomable why companies spend money on advertising and then do their utmost to drive business away — but they do!
In a world where everything is automated, offhand and frequently lacking competence, the personal touch really pays dividends.
Main phone line: 07752 754588.
Email: mark@strategicsupport.uk
