Anyone who thinks that they can get away with running a business that has horrible customer service had better have a product that is life changing and cannot be found anywhere else. Examples of this exist, primarily in the food industry. However, unless you are the infamous Soup Nazi (Seinfeld reference) or Flo’s Hot Dogs (in Cape Neddick, ME), it is nearly impossible to build a business this way. This is exceptionally true in the dermatologic and aesthetic worlds.
Our customers are our clients and they rely on us. But no matter how good we are, if we do not make them happy, we will not be able to build our business. At TSLMS we take building business seriously. It is inherent in what we offer to our members and what we infuse into SCALE Music City. As part of our commitment to helping you grow your business, we publish pieces like this one that we hope will help you maneuver the maze that can be building a successful practice and a reputation for good customer service.
Take Your Eyes Off The Bottom Line
In business we spend an awful lot of time focused on the bottom line. But what does that mean and is that really the best place to focus your time and attention to grow your business?
According to Investopedia, the term ‘bottom line’ refers to “a company’s earnings, profit, net income, or earnings per share (EPS). The reference to bottom line describes the relative location of the net income figure on a company’s income statement. Bottom line is commonly used in reference to any actions that may increase or decrease net earnings or a company’s overall profit. A company that is growing its earnings or reducing its costs is said to be improving its bottom line. Most companies aim to improve their bottom lines through two simultaneous methods: increasing revenues (i.e., generate top line growth) and improving efficiency (or cutting costs).” As a business it is important to make sure that you have net profits instead of losses, or you will not be sustainable. However, frequently the relationships with customers are overlooked as part of what it takes to do this.
There are some experts who point out that focusing on the bottom line as a sole indicator of success is not where we ought to be. Instead we need to move our eyes up to the contributors of success. (Source):
The bottom line numbers are an important component of the scorecard for management. Positive and growing profitability over time is a testament to a variety of factors including:
- Good market and customer selection.
- The creation and delivery of products and services valued by customers.
- Effective allocation of investment dollars in support of targeted customers.
- Efficient control of costs across the organization.
- Positive marketplace and macroeconomic factors.
Clearly we need our eyes up to build good businesses.
Word of Mouth Marketing
One of the most sought after of all promotions are those that come from word of mouth. In a nutshell, word of mouth marketing is the buzz that occurs when you make your customers happy and they tell other people all about the goods and/or services that you offer and how great they are.
There are a few companies that can help you to create this type of marketing campaign, such as FutureDermMedia. They use the most effective contemporary marketing strategies available and follow the guidelines laid out by the platforms used to get the word out. In this world, word of mouth marketing comes with much greater impact.
Word of mouth marketing (WOMM), also called word of mouth advertising, is the social media era’s version of simple word of mouth.
- Traditionally, word of mouth marketing was spread from one person to another based on recommendation.
- Modern word of mouth marketing describes both targeted efforts and naturally occurring instances where users share their satisfaction with a brand.
In today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation can have a far greater impact – leading to word of mouth marketing (WOMM) or word of mouth advertising strategies to capitalize on the opportunity. Many best practices and marketing tactics encourage natural word of mouth, but campaigns — particularly on social media — can have the explicit aim of promoting an online business’ social exposure.
According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family over any other type of advertising. Even academic research into WOMM has proven its effectiveness in conversion.
In the International Journal of Market Research, M. Nick Hajili wrote: “Trust, encouraged by social media, significantly affects the intention to buy. Therefore, trust has a significant role in eCommerce by directly influencing intention to buy and indirectly influencing perceived usefulness.”
Making Your Clients Happy Enough To Spread The Word
Sometimes your clients are really upset with you but they still spread the word and it makes you enormously, lines-out-the-door, popular. Outside of those very few super strict establishments that provide food that is well worth the hassle and time, most businesses cannot get away with treating clients poorly. Furthermore, most of us would not really want to do that to begin with. For those of us who are dermatologists or plastic surgeons, we entered into our medical practices to treat people and make them better. Those of us who help people tighten their skin or perform fat reduction, we want our clients to be happy.
Afterall, “Happy, engaged customers are the most effective tool for marketing your business.” Those same customers will let their friends and social media contacts know just how happy they are now that they look and feel better after your services.
