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E-ssential
Message # 098:
The big mistake many businesses make when asking their clients for feedback.
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Asking your clients for feedback is always a good practice -- but using their feedback to attract new clients may not be.
Let me explain...
When the idea first popped into my head that I might enjoy training in the martial arts, I was attracted to the usual cast of benefits: increased personal confidence, self-defence and fitness. But once I started training, and as my training progressed, I found myself more and more interested in the precise body movement that the training demands.
In fact, rather than thinking of kata (the specific set of karate moves that make up forms) as the less pleasant -- albeit necessary -- part of my training, it became the primary reason I went back, and continue to go back, to the dojo.
But when I try to explain the satisfaction and enjoyment I get from something as obscure as 'precise body movement' to anyone but the uninitiated, what I usually get is a blank stare.
That underscores one of the most important distinctions you must make when understanding your clients' motivations:
The reasons people choose a product or service are often very different
from the reasons they stay with it.
Don't make the mistake of confusing those different motivations in your sales and marketing. When asking your clients for feedback, help them access the hopes, interests, challenges and skepticisms they had before they started working with you.
This way, you ensure that your messaging is relevant and compelling to attract new clients.
Happy messaging!
P.S. In my eLearning Workbook on Testimonials, I outline specific questions that help you uncover your clients' original motivations for hiring you in the first place. Those motivations can form the basis of some very powerful testimonials, and yes, you can find more about this eLearning Workbook here.
Who is Michel Neray and What's The Essential Message?
The Essential Message is about discovering your true differentiation and then learning how to communicate it in the most compelling way. But higher sales, greater alignment of sales and marketing and a stronger brand position aren't the only reasons why so many independent professionals, entrepreneurs and emerging companies rave about The Essential Message.
Clients also say that one of the biggest advantages of the Essential Message approach is how it helps them gain the confidence, momentum and resilience that can only come from being absolutely clear about their strengths and unique difference – as companies and as individuals.
The Essential Message was created by Michel Neray based on 25 years as an award-winning copywriter, an entrepreneur, a tradeshow pitchman and a senior sales and marketing executive. (He also rides motorcycles, does whitewater canoeing, and has his 2nd degree black belt in karate.)
For information about our corporate facilitation, copywriting and consulting services, or booking Michel to speak at your conference, please call 416 534-4766 or link to www.EssentialMessage.com.
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