I don’t know about you, but I like to check out several companies (online and in person) when searching for a particular product or service. If time permits, I could be searching for several hours. Researching is always my go-to when I'm on the hunt for something specific. You wouldn't believe the time my husband and I recently put into finding a new mattress. In our search, there were a few factors that really swayed us in our decision. Quality of the product and how it solved our needs were obviously the top two. But the third factor had to do with the companies themselves. Our online experience with each company played a huge part in determining which stores we actually wanted to take time to go to in order to try the mattresses. Let me tell you, there were a lot of brands we dismissed right away. Maybe their product WAS as great as they tried to market it to be, but the experience we had on their websites and the reviews they had floating around swayed our minds away from doing business with them. Why was that?
Have you ever thought about the reasons why potential customers choose not to do business with you? Sometimes it's because you don't have what they need or want at that time. But I've found that it mostly has to do with a customer's experience with a company. A poor experience will kill your chances at a sale 10/10 times. And let's be honest, it's hard to make a comeback when that happens. Even if a lead gave you a chance a few years ago and everything about your company has changed, chances are that they are going to remember that poor experience they had.
One of the foremost reasons customers will choose whether or not to do business with you is based on honesty. If they visit your website or walk into your store and see that you're raving about all the 5 star reviews you have, but you don't acknowledge all the 1 star reviews you have everywhere else, then the customer questions your honesty. For example, I stumbled upon a couple different mattress retailers that claimed EVERY customer was satisfied with their product and have given a 5 star review. Then you look at their Google Reviews and there are a TON of negative reviews. What makes it worse? The company hasn't responded to any of those negative reviews saying they want to rectify the situation. That's a big, fat NO. Needless to say, I didn't even give their mattresses a try. Why would I want to do business with a company like that? Every company needs to own up to their mistakes and put their best foot forward every single time.
You know those people who have a passion for what they do and love to share it with the world? Their enthusiasm is contagious and those tend to be the people you want to be around more often. Companies have the potential for the same! Through their enthusiasm and authentic sharing, they allow their audience to enter their world, creating connections that draw potential customers to their company. They have a unique brand, not because they hired someone to create it, but because they are true to who they are and what they're about. Most likely they have hired someone to build their website, and it’s even possible that they had someone to help with branding their company. But I can guarantee you that before they had engaged these outside parties, they already knew who they were.
There are a few key ways that you can change your business's current narrative and create one that is truly authentic: