I was in the beautiful city of Chicago this week to speak at a marketing conference. And I learned some interesting things: 1 – The traffic in Chicago is much worse than the supposedly bad traffic in Atlanta, where I live. We left the hotel in the city center at 3 pm and parked on the “road” a few minutes later. Lesson Learned: I am thankful, as I know many of you are, that I don’t have to leave the house and fight this terrible traffic every day. Life is too short for
suffer like this regularly. The stress level of doing this would take years off my life. 2 – Despite the traffic, I got to the airport early enough to rebook my ticket (paying the $25 fee) on a flight that left 90 minutes before my original time. That was the good news. The bad news turned out to be that this flight was going to be 45 minutes late, so I didn’t make much of my $25. Obviously, I can afford the $25, but that’s not the point. The lesson learned: It’s not about the money. It is about the perception of the value received for the money. When I made the deal with the airline to book the earlier flight, I did so with the specific understanding that I was spending $25 to buy 90 minutes. But I ended up getting only half that time: 45 minutes. So, I felt like I had been screwed on the deal. People, like us and our clients, invest money with us based on their perceived value in return. If you don’t keep your promise, then the customer won’t be happy with the deal. If you deliver more, the customer should be ecstatic. That’s why you’ll usually find additional, unannounced bonuses when you buy my products. Never mind that I probably would have spent the $25 to get the 45 minutes anyway, that’s not the deal I bought. 3 – When I booked my hotel reservation, the website promoted the excellent history of the property. When I was standing in the lobby they had an interesting display on the wall with a list of famous people and many presidents who had stayed there years ago. And they specifically mentioned how they had upgraded the hotel with the latest in electrical, plumbing, etc. I’m not sure how long ago someone wrote this fiction, but it must be at least 30 years ago, maybe more. Maybe the Diamond Jim Brady reference should have given me a clue. I won’t bore you with the sordid details about the sagging mattress and matted rug, but it was depressing walking into my room. Especially when I opened the curtains so I could look 15 feet through the air duct into other rooms. The lesson learned: the next time I make a reservation at a “historic” hotel, be sure to ask if they have stayed true to their history or entered the new millennium. Of course, for $39 a night, I might have expected something like what I got. But, when I’m paying $120 for the special discounted conference rate, I don’t see the value in the offer. For many products and services, like hotel rooms, we have an idea of ​​what we think we should get for the money we spend. It doesn’t matter if our preconceived notion is correct, we already have it in our heads. As marketers, we have to deal with the public that has these preconceived ideas. When we’re not going to fit in with them (like charging too much for a seedy room), we need to be fair and make that clear. But obviously we’ll want to do this in a way that shows why this is a fair value proposition, if not a great one. 4 – But this story gets even more interesting… I was chatting with Paul Hartunian (the PR expert who once sold the Brooklyn Bridge – legitimately) and I mentioned that I wasn’t happy with my room. He commented that other people had also expressed similar opinions, but he loved his room. It turned out that he had asked the hotel about upgrade options, and for $20 more, he could get a completely renovated room with a wonderful view of the city and Lake Michigan. Of course no one offers this when you call to make a reservation. And it’s not mentioned at all on his website. But I bet the people who work at this hotel wonder why more people don’t choose the upgrade option. The lesson learned: Don’t hide your light under a bushel basket! Think about it…the hotel could have turned a lot of disgruntled people into raving fans just by mentioning the $20 option. Plus, they could have been getting an extra $20 a night from dozens of people for doing absolutely nothing. Sure, we’re sitting here thinking how stupid this is. But… unfortunately, we occasionally make the same kind of silly mistakes and don’t make clear the really good benefits of our product or service. In summary: 1 – Don’t play in traffic. It is dangerous for your health. 2 – Explain the value of your offers and deliver what you promise (preferably more). 3 – Do not hide your best benefits and offers. Put them at the forefront so your prospects become satisfied customers. Sincerely, Shawn Casey PS If you missed Jeff Paul’s amazing teleseminar this week, or just want to review it and take more notes (Jeff talks fast and provides a lot of information), you can listen to the recorded version here: http ://www.ShawnsNews. net/JeffPaulRecording.html (Scroll down a bit when you get there)