Confirm with your customers

I recently read about a website where you could order shoe repairs. They send you a prepaid envelope and then you put your shoes in the envelope, drop it off at UPS, and then they repair them and send them back to you.

I thought this was a great idea! When we lived in Frankfurt I loved that fact that there was a shoe repair service when I walked out of our building and turned to the right and a seamstress when I walked out of the building and turned to the left. It was very convenient because even thought my German was pitifully bad, they still knew what I wanted them to do.

I decided to try this shoe service even though they are located in Southfield and I drive by their store almost weekly because stopping in is a big hassle with a baby in tow. I still think it is a great service, but I still had communication problems just like when I was in Germany. The reason was I needed better directions on what they expected from me. The UPS envelope arrived folded up in a #10 envelope. That was it.

I was expecting some additional instructions and/or communication from the company. Something like "Thanks for becoming a customer, please put your shoes in the envelope and drop them in a UPS box near you"....even better would have been if they had take 1 minute to find where the closest UPS drop box was, print it out the map, and send it with the envelopes. Instead I had to do it.

I am still thrilled with the service, it was one thing I could easily check off my to do list without really having to get out of my seat. Getting the mail and driving by the UPS store are things I already do.

However, I think it is a good lesson on setting your customer's expectations once they give you business. You may know what the relationship will look like but do they? You don't want to be speaking two different languages.

Ideas

I have another blog http://michiganmother.blogspot.com/ about being a mom. I haven't posted here in awhile because I have been posting there. Some weeks I think of things I need to write about on this blog and other weeks I think of things for the Mother Blog.

Your Website: Build Credibility

I wrote this for my husband's BNI newsletter, but I wanted to post it here too...Read the research below and then read why I think this is important for businesses.

Yahoo Says Searchers are Better Patients

New research from Yahoo tells us that the majority of people who searched for health information subsequently visited their doctor (61%) and that 71% of these folks went equipped with pointed, action oriented questions. Searchers also use twice as many resources to learn about health issues than the average consumer.

• 20% of consumers were driven to search online because they saw an advertisement and wanted more information.

• Searchers are 130% more likely to have seen an online display ad and view it as informational.

• 70% of searchers will question their doctor if they are prescribed a brand different from what they searched for online.

The research was commissioned by Yahoo! in conjunction with Hall & Partners Health care to gain a deeper understanding of health searcher’s attitudes and behaviors, and how this impacts doctor visits and prescriptions. The study surveyed over 5,600 online health seekers with extra focus on those searching for Allergy, Depression and High Cholesterol information. Although demographics differed by condition, attitudes and behavior on search were essentially the same.

Why this research matters to non-health care businesses

This information is important to businesses that have nothing to do with health care because it gives us some insight into the mind of people using the Internet to search. The four main take-aways from this research are:

1) If people are searching for your product or service they are motivated and will most likely contact you if your website fills their need for information.

2) Always integrate your website address in ALL other forms of advertising –direct mail, tv, print advertising, etc.

3) If people can find your website when searching for terms that are relevant to their search and your business, you have a unique opportunity to educate them on the benefits of your product and service.

4) When they call your business they will already be educated enough to tell you exactly what they want. If they call your competitors, they will know to question the absence of a certain benefit they saw listed on your website (as in the case of them questioning the doctor who prescribe a brand different from what they searched for online).