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You are behind on your sales quota for the quarter or year at Acme Cool Products, so you are looking to make up some ground and get back on track. Like Willie Sutton who robbed banks because “that’s where the money is”, you think about taking some business from your competitors. After all, you already know their customers buy the product or service; it is just a matter of getting them to buy from you at Acme Cool. If you are thinking, “I just need to find out what they are paying today and beat that price”, DON’T DO IT! Leading with price rarely works for any meaningful period and is frequently harmful to the health of your territory or business.
A service provider called me recently, unhappy that I had not given his firm the highest rating in every category. His purpose was not to find out why I rated the service the way I did, but to tell me my “complaint” would cost him money. I am a strong proponent of customer satisfaction surveys, but I urge caution in how you design, use and interpret them. Make sure your surveys and corresponding incentives are actually enabling you to build customer loyalty and continuously improve.
Last week AT&T announced another pricing change, their second in two months, when they reported they will begin to allow wireless customers to avoid 2-year contracts. Subscribers will be able to skip the 2-year deal if they buy their phones outright or finance them for one year.
This year I decided to make a concerted effort to work on my game as opposed to just playing rounds of golf. In the process, it struck me that my efforts to improve are just like trying to make a change in any organization.
My daughter graduated from high school two weeks ago, and I was a proud papa watching her receive her diploma. I also listened closely to all the speeches from the principal, the administrators and the students. One of the speeches struck me in particular
Memorial Day weekend is the biggest weekend in auto racing. It starts with Formula One cars in the Monaco Grand Prix…
AT&T announced a new fee in their wireless data plans this week, and I think it is a good idea. All companies want…
This past weekend I was at an event where everyday people drove their cars on the Watkins Glen racetrack under the guidance of Porsche Club instructors. Any kind of car is allowed, as long as it passes the safety and mechanical inspection. The list of cars included Porsches from the late 1970s to 2013, a […]
“We can’t do that! It’s not how our industry works!” I have heard those comments many times in my career. Unfortunately, it usually means whoever I am talking to does not have the confidence to be innovative. On the other hand, airlines have shown over the years a strong willingness to try new pricing paradigms; […]
I have been getting my hair cut at the same place every 4 or 5 weeks for the past 11 years. For simplicity, I will call the business Hair. It is a local salon that serves men, women and kids in our community of around 10,000 people. Most of the current stylists were not there […]
