GIE 2003: Sweet Talk Your Service

"The business we are in is the business of rejection."

That said, Rick Segel offered customer service insight - ideas and care commandments designed to impress, attract and retain clients - during a Wednesday ALCA session,"Romancing the Customer." A 25-year retail veteran marketing expert for Staples.com and author of Retail Business for Dummies, Segel said "soft talk" customer service training has never been so important. Today's customers are more demanding and more difficult.

And business owners feel more pressure to differentiate their businesses, he added.

"I bring a different perspective," Segel told the 50-person audience. "I am the customer."

That said, Segel asked attendees to recall the last time they were romanced. Cell phone sales pitches, an offer to biggie-size a fast food fix - the places and ways people entice customers to buy or return to a place of business are many. Landscape contractors also can use these techniques to attract and keep customers, Segel said.

1. Focus on the other person.
2. Talk about what they need.
3. Compliment your customers - give them small tokens appreciation.
4. Strive for "Isn't that nice?" comments.

While customers might not be easy to please, their reactions to emotion, rather than logic, explains why these tactics are effective human resources principles. "We are no longer selling just goods and services," Segel reminded. "We are selling experiences. We must make the mundane memorable."

So, how do you give your customers something to talk about? How do you create a stir and prompt them to do your advertising for you through word-of-mouth? First, Segel said business owners must truly know their customers. "Know the knows," he stressed. Can you answer the following questions about why customers do business with you?

Of course, what is different and attractive to one client might deter another from signing on for your services. Customer personalities vary, and businesses that tune into client quirks will win repeat contracts, Segel noted. First, owners must understand their shoppers - and then react to these customers' characters.

And each client is quite different, he added. First, there are price shoppers, which include roughly 37 percent of buyers. But, Segel reminded, "If you live by price, you die by price." Owners who flex their financial boundaries to accommodate demanding customers won't benefit their bottom lines.

Then, there are customers who want to be "wowed." Don't show these clients basic servies, traditional designs or typical plant material. "They want something different," Segel pointed out.

Other clients base their purchase decisions on trust. They want a brand name - backing. Similarly, other customers will sign on the line only with companies that flaunt status. "The make me feel important buyer," Segel described.

Convenience is a customer pleasure, and so is being the expert. "Educate the buyer," Segel stressed. "Some people do business with you because they feel you know what you are talking about. Offer and sponsor seminars and classes not on what you sell but on what interests your clients."

Finally, the touchy-feely constituency of your customer base relates to emotion, caring and entertainment. Given them reason to connect to your company - how can your service change or improve their lives? Can you relieve stress or provide a space in which they can gather their families and friends? These clients are looking for a reason to choose you. Show them by understanding their needs and reaching out to their landscape goals.

Remember to align your goals and your image, Segel said. "Have an attitude of appreciation." And because no company - no owner or customer, for that matter - is perfect, accidents happen. But forward-thinking owners translate losses into lessons. "Mistakes are opportunities," he reminded.

The author is Editor of Commercial Dealer magazine and a Contributing Editor to Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at khampshire@commercialdealer.com.