Here’s a great example of how bad marketing can not only result in you making fewer sales – But actually LOSE you existing customers too!
As you read this post, the owner of a small web hosting business is wondering why so few people have responded to his latest marketing email.
In his marketing email, which was forwarded to me by a reader, he explains that over the Christmas holiday period, the load on his servers increases and this means people’s sites will load really slowly. To frighten his customers still further, he explains that the server speed could be too slow for their customers / clients / readers to bother with. It could screw up their business and make them look bad. (Ouch!)
Sounds horrible right? Well, the email goes on to paint a picture of increasing doom – Until he asks his customers to consider upgrading their hosting package, claiming that the new, more expensive package, will deliver a reliable service.
Marketing madness
Can you spot the problem here? This guy has just sent all his customers an email, which tells them the servers he has placed their sites on are overloaded. However, on the page of his website, which sells the package that he now says is unreliable, he says the total opposite. In fact, he makes a number of very bold promises about the reliability of the servers he uses. I have never heard of this hosting provider, his services might be great – but that’s not the point!
Not only has he just informed all his customers that he put their sites on overloaded servers, they now know they can’t trust his company’s marketing promises either!
In a shockingly bad effort to up-sell his clients onto a 400% more expensive package, he has actually massively damaged their opinion of the current service they receive from him. They will now be worrying about the problems that he has forecast for December and some will be looking for a reliable alternative to him and his false promises!
It’s madness for someone to try and scare their customers into upgrading, by claiming that the service he previously sold them is not what he promised. It’s also just plain stupid to tell lies to your customers. This up-sell approach does nothing, other than damage the provider’s reputation and alert the customer to change provider.
Marketing an upgrade to your customers or clients
If you want to encourage existing customers to upgrade from one level of service to the next, you need to demonstrate huge, additional value in the upgraded service. You create a vast difference between their current service and the upgrade, by massively increasing the value of the upgrade – NOT by telling them that what you already sold them is crap. You need to pump so much value into the upgrade, that they would be nuts not to use it.
This value focused approach makes the upgrade process less of a risk for the customer and enhances their experience of your business. They get to see you as being able to grow to meet their demands.
Your turn
What do you think of the approach used by this hosting company? Have you seen examples of it before and did it encourage you to spend more money with them? What do you think when a provider bad mouths the quality of their own, entry level services? Share your opinions with us.
Photo credit: Paul Hammond
A great example of what happens, when someone does some marketing without a clue what they’re doing.
Its like selling the expensive dishes in a restaurant, by saying the less expensive food will make you ill.
Thanks Jim
I really like your restaurant example Candy – Thanks!
Lunacy – even allowing for the fact that this person may not be a marketing expert, common sense should have stopped that particular “marketing” (loosely defined) email. My view would be that if you can’t afford a marketing person (full time or consultant) at the very least get someone to read every single piece that you are sending out to be sure that nothing silly gets out there! As you say, no-one, but no-one who received that email will be staying as a client of that company – heaven help them!
There’s some shockingly bad marketing out there, Barney. It takes a bit to surprise me, but that email was really poor – toxic, in fact.
Thanks for the comment sir!
As a web host owner, I’m quite shocked that this would actually happen. I could never imagine sending such an email to our clients.
I’m no marketing expert, but this screams “techie running business with zero real world business / marketing experience”.
We adhere to the mantra “State 90% of what you actually can provide in all copy (web, email, ads) and then provide 110% of what is stated / expected. Set yourself up for sucess and to always exceed the expectations of your clients. Works wonders for us.
Rob – LexiConn
Thanks Rob,
I know that you’re in the same industry as this guy, but what a difference in your attitude to marketing.
He pointed the gun and pulled the trigger.
One less sub-standard hosting service to worry about now.
Now, there’s a strong mental image!
I forgot to mention a classic marketing blunder when I commented.
The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was being held in the West Indies for the first time ever.
With teams from the different nations around the world coming for the event.
The leading up to it, the West Indies Cricket Board had hired a team, including Marketing Pros, who would advise and implement the campaign for the World Cup. For the last 12 months before the tournament, West Indians were bombarded with full blown media campaigns in the print and electronic about the benefits of us hosting the World Cup and the need for us to give up some of our customs and freedoms so as to make visitors to the islands that were attending the tournament feel more welcome and secure.
“No cellphones”
“No radios”
“No ice coolers”
“No clothing with logos other than tournament sponsors”
“No musical Instruments”
Well to make a long story short, the WICB stressed so much on what people were NOT supposed to do, that when the tickets finally went on sale (They were priced horrendously high) most went unsold.
The organizers of the World Cup, were convinced the ticket sales would increase when the tournament started.
It didn’t happen. The West Indian fans stayed away in droves. They had more cricket team members and officials than paying patrons at some of the preliminary games. Most games were poorly attended.
Tournament organizers failed to take into account that the revenue that was to be generated was mostly from the local cricket loving population, who liked to go to games with all the above mentioned they were told they couldn’t bring.
The ticket prices were drastically reduced along with the restrictions before the end of the preliminary stage and the start of the quarter finals. The organizing committee only realizing their error so late in the tournament.
Even the “Pros” get it wrong.