When it comes to communicating, it’s often what a person elects NOT to say, that has most impact on the way their message is received.
Lunch with 2 beautiful women
In 45 minutes time, my wife and myself shall be having lunch with Megan Fox. I don’t mean we will be having lunch, whilst watching Megan in a movie; we will be sitting at the same table, talking with Megan – Just like we did on Sunday.
Here’s the thing: Megan Fox isn’t Microsoft!
There’s only one Microsoft, but there are thousands of people called Megan Fox, including my family friend. My friend is not Megan Fox the actress, she’s Megan Fox, who works at my pal’s restaurant.
It would have been 100% accurate for me to have told you that my wife and I will be meeting with Megan Fox for lunch today, and just left it at that. However, it would also have been totally misleading.
Many business owners elect to selectively omit key information when marketing their services. For example, in the UK, broadband Internet providers were recently told they had to stop advertising their fastest possible speeds as their headline speed, because only a small number of their users would actually receive that fast a service from them. The vast majority of their users get a much slower service than that headline speed.
With the advent of social media / social networks, this is a very risky strategy. The marketplace is better connected today than ever before. The marketplace also has a voice, with consumers increasingly proactive in sharing their experiences of providers. The companies that mislead the marketplace risk losing everything, however, those who who are genuinely exceptional have an opportunity to generate more word-of-mouth referrals than ever before!
What’s the answer for these companies?
Here are a few suggestions that will grab the marketplace’s attention and turn their clients into passionate advocates of their company:
- Build a great service and tell people how great it is.
- Develop a wonderful product and tell people how wonderful it is.
- Offer exceptional customer service excellence and tell people how exceptional your customer service is.
What am I missing from this list? Please share your ideas.
