Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue III, 2015 | Page 66
CustomerService BY JOHN D I J U L I U S
Selling an Experience
What business are you really in?
W
as I wrong when I said
you should offer a price
match guarantee?
This question was inspired by reading Jeff Shore’s article on
Entrepreneur.com, “Don’t Wage a Price
War. Win Sales by Eliminating Your
Competition.” A paradigm shift is needed
from selling a commodity someone can
get anywhere to selling an experience customers can enjoy only with your company.
Everyone in your organization needs
to have this mindset: We are the ultimate
experience provider. We will not be oversold.
In fact, if you can find it more expensive
somewhere else, we will raise our prices and
match it.
• Don’t compete in price wars; compete in experience wars. Sound crazy?
Perhaps. However, if this were truly your
mindset—if it were everyone’s mindset in
your company—it would change your
approach to the experience you provide.
It would force you to deliver the ultimate customer experience. Personally, I
get upset if I find out someone is charging more for something either of my
businesses sell. I start to think, What are
they providing that we aren’t? Is it quality, consistency, customer service? What
is it? We all need to improve our game
We all need to
improve our
game and be
proud of what we
charge relative
to the experience
we deliver.
and be proud of what we charge relative
to the experience we deliver.
• Employee mindset is wrong. Ask your
employees this question: “If customers told
you they could get what we sell someplace
else for significantly less, what would you
do? What would you say to keep them?”
You’ll probably be disappointed at their
answer. Too often when faced with that
scenario, employees act almost apologetic
and start offering the customer more, or
even worse, a discount to justify the price
gap. The problem is that your front-line
employees may not understand the true
value of the services and products they
are selling to the customer.
• Expensive cup of coffee or a free
living room? About 10 years ago, the
first time I worked with Starbucks, I
found out that some baristas felt guilty
about charging a customer $5 for a
cup of coffee. Why? Because that was
more than 50 percent of their hourly
pay. They couldn’t comprehend how
someone could pay so much for a cup of
coffee. So I started thinking about what
they really sell. Then I remembered my
favorite sitcom of all time, “Friends,”
with Ross, Rachelle, Chandler, etc. I
remembered them hanging out in their
favorite coffeehouse, Central Perk, for
hours laughing, having a good time, being “friends.” Then I thought about all
the times I met someone at a Starbucks.
It may be an old school friend, a potential client, a neighbor, brother, or one
of my kids. Rarely have I ever spent less
than 45 minutes, talking, getting caught
up, or building a relationship. Then it
hit me: What a deal! They aren’t selling an expensive cup of coffee, they’re
selling really inexpensive rent on a living room for people to connect, hang
out, and enjoy each other’s company.
• It is not just a triple grande, non-fat
decaf iced latte. It is the total experience:
the warmth of beautiful surroundings, a
friendly community of people (customers and staff) who recognize you, a consistent product, and a place to escape to
for hours should you choose. When the
baristas realized how important that was
to their customers’ lives, it changed their
perspective on what those customers were
getting for their money. The baristas went
from feeling guilty to feeling proud of
what they sold.
What does your company sell? I hope
you take the time to use this exercise and
fully develop something that is so strong
that your newest employee runs home
to tell their parent, spouse, or neighbor,
“Hey, you know what business we are
really in?”
John R. DiJulius III, author
of The Customer Service
Revolution, is president of
The DiJulius Group, a customer service consulting firm
that works with companies
including Starbucks, Chickfil-A, Ritz-Carlton, Nestle, PwC, Lexus, and
many more. Call him at 216-839-1430 or
email [email protected].
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MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE IS S UE III, 2015