Marketing for today’s economy
As the recession wreaks havoc on both businesses’ and consumers’ livelihoods — and many economists expect this slowdown to continue for some time — drycleaners need to find short-term marketing solutions while still focusing on
their long-term goals.
 | ||
With credit tightening, investments tanking and jobless rates climbing, consumer
confidence has eroded further and faster than in any recent recession. The
Consumer Confidence Index, a four-decade old economic indicator, hit its lowest
level ever in October, bottoming out at 38.8 on a 100-point scale. Currently,
it has crawled up to 44.9 and remains well below the average reading of 90 that
signifies good economic times.
Even the savviest economists can’t pinpoint when the U.S. economy will come out of its headlong descent. But
drycleaners shouldn’t just sit by, twiddling their thumbs until consumers start to have a rosier
perspective on their’s and the country’s finances.
So often, we in the cleaning business assume that it is our excellent location,
superior service, or well dressed counter-personnel that will perpetuate our
business. The fact is, consumer trust in a customer service relationship is the
defining factor in determining who will win in business.
What is trust?
We use that word so often, yet are not able to define clearly what it means or
how it makes a difference. Trust can be called the R.O.C.C. upon which
excellent customer service is built because the answer comprises four distinct
areas: Reliability, Openness, Concern, and Competence.
Reliability. We all know what it means, but do we really put it into practice?
Reliability means doing what you say you will do, following through as
promised, delivering as scheduled, with no excuses. It is our first step toward
demonstrating our trustworthiness. Take control of your own reliability by
never promising more than you can deliver and always delivering what you’ve promised.
For instance, if you are scheduled to take down a customer’s draperies on Tuesday morning at 10 a.m., but don’t show up until 11 a.m., the customer begins to question your reliability. This
erosion of trust will creep into the customer’s perception of the quality of cleaning that you’re providing.
Openness. For the most part, “honesty is the best policy.” Customers want truthful, candid answers to all of their questions. When you are
the customer, you want the same thing.
Occasionally a garment may be ruined by genuine employee error and we must
assume responsibility. It would be a tragic mistake to repeatedly put the
customer off by simply saying the garment is still being processed and then,
eventually, admitting it was ruined. Even reimbursement for the cost of the
garment won’t heal the wound caused by this kind of deception.
However, if a garment is ruined and the customer is immediately called and
informed that the garment cannot be located and that you are prepared to make a
full and immediate reimbursement for its cost, this could be better than the
customer actually seeing his or her favorite garment disfigured.
Everyone, even customers, can understand that something can be lost. But not
everyone understands the technical difficulties that can be encountered in
processing a multitude of varied garments.
Concern. This means asking enough questions about your customers and their
clothes so that they know that even if your prices are higher than your
competitors’, you genuinely care about them and their appearance.
Too often we become so focused on our businesses we begin to think it’s only about “money.” But our customers want to know that we have a long-term interest in them as
well as their clothes. It’s good business to remember birthdays and anniversaries and ask about a customer’s family.
We build relationships by gathering information of importance to our customers
and then recalling that information to let them know that we asked or heard,
and we cared.
Competence. The services we provide must meet or exceed our customers’ expectations.
Customers will not buy from us just because we are nice people or because our
cleaners are socially conscious. We prove our competence by becoming experts in
our industry and by demonstrating our abilities.
Customers look for a level of quality workmanship relevant to the prices we
charge. Based upon those prices, they want to get what they pay for and are
thrilled when they get more. It’s an interesting phenomenon — the more you give your customer, the more you’ll have a customer for life.
