The Relational Mechanic

Every business creates its own professional reputation. Sometimes we refer to it as "word of mouth." Given enough time, a positive reputation may be all that's necessary for a business to become successful.

But even word of mouth reinforces either a relational or a transactional mindset. Which means you've got to choose which kind of customer you want to do business with.

Often I hear operators of small businesses say "That may be true for big companies, but my company is so small that I can't afford to pass by any customer." They're wrong. Very wrong. It's likely to be even more important to small business.

Let me give you an example of how well this can work, when done correctly.

Meet Spiro Dendrinos, owner of Mobile Mechanical service. You can't get any smaller than a one-man operation, which Spiro became four years ago when he started his business.

Spiro's business model is simple: when you have problems, he'll come to you. He fits all of his tools and test equipment into his car, and doesn't have to maintain the expense of owning a shop.

His entire advertising strategy was originally to set some business cards on the counters of various coffee shops and convenience stores. By his own admission this strategy didn't get him any business. And why would it? Transactional shoppers didn't see any "great deal" on his card. Relational shoppers had never heard of him.

But when he made friends at the parts counter of the local automotive parts store, the personal recommendation of the parts man, accompanied by handing the customer Spiro's card, did slowly begin to pay off for Mobile Mechanical.

Then Spiro implemented the strategy that has become his signature, as well as his primary source of new work: about two weeks after he finishes working on a customer's car, or tractor, or outboard motor, he phones to ask if it's still working well.

It is amazing how many times he hangs up with another job for the same customer, or a phone number of the customer's friend or neighbor who needs the services of a good all around mechanic.

By his own admission, for the first year and a half he needed a part-time job to augment his income as a mechanic, but as Spiro's reputation has grown so has the demand for his services. For the last two and a half years Mobile Mechanical has been booked a full month in advance, and the work shows no sign of letting up.

And as you might expect, Spiro gets calls from people who are price shopping. He simply quotes them a rate, and refuses to negotiate. Spiro knows the difference between the price shopping, non-loyal transactional shopper, and the more loyal relational customer who isn't going to quibble over the last few dollars.

Not that he seems overly concerned about charging everything the market will bear. He tells the story of arriving at a customer's home, and having to clean the garage to create enough space to work on the car. He didn't charge for the time he was rearranging the garage.

He's been known to inform customers that the problem they've called him to repair is covered under their factory warrantee, pack up his tools, and move on to the next job.

When Spiro finds a faulty sensor at a cost of $25, and doesn't repair or replace the transmission, stories of his integrity spread quickly, and contribute to the word of mouth which drives his current success.

Former customers who've moved out of the area are willing to pay a serious mileage charge for him to continue to come to them in their new communities. (Once you've earned their trust, relational customers don't easily give up their relationships).

Life is good for Spiro Dendrinos.

Can we take some lessons from Mobile Mechanical's success?

Certainly.

1) Spiro's business can easily be differentiated from his competitors. He comes to his customers - a valuable service that none of his competitors offer.

2) Business cards and flyers left indiscriminately around the community accomplish nothing. If you're trying to attract transactional business make an attractive offer to sell something, now. If you wish to attract relational business, use another strategy.

3) Spiro does no "dollars off" promotions. They would attract transactional customers, which he's already decided are not as profitable. He sees price promotions as temporarily boosts to volume while simultaneously sacrificing profit.

4) He prices his service not as low as possible to attract more business; not as high as the market will bear to maximize revenue; but rather to earn a fair profit based on the value of his time. He does not deviate from his pricing philosophy.

5) He recognizes that every time he deals with a customer, he's contributing to his own word of mouth. Therefore, he treats every customer as if they're his most important customer.

6) He actively solicits additional business from his current clients, and referrals for future business.

7) And most importantly, Spiro has a clearly defined definition of his relational customer. His attention isn't diverted by trying to work with potential transactional customers who don't match that profile.

Given enough time customers will become aware of a lack in their lives that can only be satisfied by owning what your business sells. Then, having heard positive word of mouth about your business, those customers will come to your business and buy. Advertising only speeds up this process.

Are you consciously directing word of mouth about your company? Relational shoppers will only be drawn by relational word of mouth. Likewise, transactional shoppers will ignore relational word of mouth and focus instead on the transactional word on the street.

Which type of shopper are you building your business around? Do you know exactly who your customers are? Even more importantly, do you know who they are not?

Do you have the courage to avoid those who don't fit your customer profile?

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Twice A Year Is Recommended

We assume that people avoid seeing their dentist because they fear pain. Perhaps that’s a valid assumption.

Maybe they don’t call because they don’t have a relationship with a dentist. Or maybe they’re just busy. Then again, maybe it’s lack of foresight – the “Nothing hurts. Why invite trouble?” attitude.

For the record, I’m feeling no discomfort. I’d like to think it was all that busy-ness that kept me away for the last dozen years. But, whatever the reason, for the first time in twelve years I made an appointment for a check up.

How did I choose the dentist? Did I ask for referrals from people I know? Did I call the Chamber of Commerce? Search the Internet? Consult the yellow pages?

Nope. Like so many other people, I drive by his office every day. He has a sign out front of his office.

You’ve heard me say that frequency sells. Repeat the message often enough and people who need what you’re offering will eventually seek you out. By my own estimate I've passed that sign well over three hundred times. Three hundred impressions made their way into my brain. At the conscious level? Well, conscious enough that I did start thinking I was past due for a check-up.

One day, on a whim, I pulled into the parking lot and walked in. I had a delightful conversation with the doctor’s receptionist. She set my appointment, took insurance information, and explained the pricing and credit policies of her office.

On the appointed day I arrived, checked in, and got only half-way through the first article in an August 2004 issue of People, when I was called into the exam room.

Met the hygienist, Janine. Nice lady. She took a patient history, cleaned my teeth, and filled out a chart. She also took an x-ray of each side of my mouth. We spent about an hour and a quarter together.

Then the dentist walked in.

I said “Hi.”

He said “Hi,” back, but there was no enthusiasm in his voice. He made no eye contact. He went directly to the chart, and after studying for a minute, picked up a probe and a mirror and stuck them in my mouth.

He made two comments to Janine, wheeled his short naugahide covered stool out of my line of vision and announced “You need two fillings and we’re going to have to remove that rear molar. I’m going to have Janine take a full panoramic x-ray.”

With that, he was gone.

Janine escorted me across the hall, shot the panoramic x-ray, and told me I was finished.

I stopped at the reception desk to ask about my next appointment, which the receptionist scheduled within ten days.

I won't be keeping the appointment. I've already called and cancelled.

This Doctor of Dentistry could have turned me into a strong reference for his practice. All he would have had to do was to treat me as if I mattered.

Imagine the difference it would have made if he had spent thirty seconds when he first walked into the room to say “Good morning, Mr. McKay. We’re always glad to welcome new patients, and we’re pleased that you’ve chosen us for your dental care.”

Imagine how much better I’d feel at the beginning of the exam had he said “I’m going to take a look now at some areas Jeanine has marked on your chart. Would you mind opening your mouth?”

Imagine how much more confidence I’d have in his prescription of treatment had he said “Mr. McKay, you have a couple of minor cavities that need to be filled, but that back molar is a ticking time bomb. If you’re not in any pain, yet, it’s only a matter of time. I’m sorry, but the decay is such that we’re not going to be able to save that tooth. I’d like to schedule a time to remove it. Is there any reason we shouldn’t do that?”

But, those things will have to remain in my imagination, since they didn’t happen.

I’m one of those people who resents not being acknowledged. I don't like it at a restaurant. I definately don't like it when I'm paying a high priced professional for his services.

I'm presently taking steps to find a different dentist.

How much do you want to bet that the first doctor is still counting me as one of his patients? My patient file is probably one of the assets of his business.

And, though I did have the courtesy to cancel the appointment, I didn't feel compelled to announce my departure from his practice. Maybe I'll send him a copy of this article.

So, while I begin the search for a second opinion, let me summarize three good lessons to be learned from this particular dental experience.

• First, there is no amount of advertising as valuable as a good location.
  
  If enough people drive by, you won’t need to spend a dime promoting your business. We advertise to reach the people who don’t drive by.
  
  
• Second, whether you pay large amounts in rent or large amounts for advertising, every customer / client / patient is already a major investment.
  
  DO NOT TREAT THEM AS IF THEY ARE INTERCHANGABLE. Make eye contact. Smile. Tell them how much you appreciate their business. People like to be appreciated.
  
  
• And third, become very aware that the customer list you’ve paid so much to create (in rent or in advertising) is already outdated. You know people have tried you once and have decided not to repeat that experience.

How long should you wait for a customer to make a repeat purchase before you conclude that (s)he’s no longer a customer? One purchase cycle? Three? More?

Consumers today have more choice than ever before. One could argue that they are more valuable than ever before. The best way to be chosen is to be delightful.

What are you doing to delight them at first contact?

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Maybe I’m just fixated on dentistry, but I’d like to help a dentist build a practice (and more selfishly, to create a great success story about the marketing of service businesses for a book I’m writing).

If you know a young dentist, a sole practitioner who’s just getting started in the business, and who feels the need for some professional marketing help, please ask her, or him, to drop a note to: ChuckMcKay@FishingForCustomers.com

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And I couldn’t be more proud of my friends the Eisenbrothers. Waiting For Your Cat To Bark is now the nation’s number one business book, according to the Wall Street Journal. It even scores number three in the non-fiction books list.

This will be the most important business book of the decade. If you haven’t yet purchased your own copy, do it now. And you might as well get a couple of extra copies,‘cause you’re going to want to loan one to a friend in business, and you’re not going to get to get it back.

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Ten Steps To Great Customer Service

The scene is a national restaurant chain. I’m meeting a client for lunch. I notice that our hostess, who doesn’t appear to be much more than 19 or 20 is wearing a pin on her apron with the number “10” on it.

I must have looked a bit puzzled when I asked “Have you worked here for ten years?”

She laughed and said, “No, this just means that I’ve been through our training course and know the ten steps to great customer service.”

“Really,” I asked, “what are they?”

“First, you great the customer with a smile…” she said, her voice trailing off. Then she laughed, and said “Well, I used to know them.”

She seated us. Our waitress informed me that her name was Thelma and she’d be our server today. I asked “Thelma, do you know the ten steps to great customer service?” Thelma said “Oh, sure…” and quickly listed three. She pondered for a minute before naming the fourth… and after a mighty struggle came up with a fifth.

I flagged down three other waitresses in the next 30 minutes, and none of them did any better.

When Thelma brought our check, she also handed me a scrap of paper on which she’d dutifully noted the ten steps, in order. She mentioned that it took a bit of effort to remember them all.

Michael LeBoeuf said it so well in his 1985 book, The Greatest Management Principle In The World: “Behavior that gets rewarded, gets repeated.” (And if you haven’t found time in the last two decades to read this elegantly simple concept, isn't it time? Click the link and invest three and a half bucks in your personal management library).

Our restaurant chain thought that ten steps to great customer service were so important that they required all of their employees to learn them.

Unfortunately, it appears that as soon as all employees memorized the list, management thought their job was done. Employees saw no benefit in remembering the list, or applying it. Consequently, they didn't bother to do so.

Don’t think this could happen in your company? Unless you're constantly reminding your staff of the things you want them to convey to your customers, I can guarantee that it's already happened in your company.

I’ve been conducting a small experiment. I’ve been calling businesses randomly at odd hours and asking whomever answers the phone why their company’s service or products are better?

Try it yourself.

When the dispatcher picks up the phone with “Mary’s Pizza, how can I help you today?” ask “Why is Mary’s pizza better?”

In the last week I’ve asked “Why is your coffee better?” “Why is the doctor you work for better?” “Why is your customer service better?” “Why are your puppies better?” “Why are your roses better?” “Why is your chili better?”

I’ve made fourteen calls to businesses in my neighborhood. So far, nobody’s been prepared with an answer.

It's a simple test. Only takes a few minutes. Doesn't cost anything 'except maybe a few pennies in long distance charges.

Call your own company. Call your competitors. Call businesses in other cities. Call businesses you’re curious about. Ask the question.

Especially call your own company.

And if you’re not hearing a clearly articulated point of competitive advantage, may I suggest that you have some work to do?

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I've mentioned Waiting For Your Cat To Bark before, but have I mentioned that Eisenberg, Eisenberg, and Davis are now #1 on Amazon's Best Seller's list? I'm predicting that like it's predecessor, Call To Action, Waiting For Your Cat will also hit the top of the USA and New York Times bestseller lists.

This is the one business book you need to read this year. In fact, buy several and give them to business people you want to impress by the degree you lead the pack in new knowledge.

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So You Need A Survey, Do You?

Americans are just so gosh darn optimistic.*

Ask ‘em. Ask ‘em what they intend to buy in the next year. Then compare those results to what they did buy last year. Everyone intends to purchase major appliances, a new car, or a Caribbean vacation next year.

But somehow they just won’t be able to come up with the money this year.

That’s the problem with surveying intentions. Your survey is worthless. People’s intentions are not an accurate predictor of their actions. When people are faced with real choices, their decisions are quite different than when they are questioned about hypothetical choices.

For instance, a recent AARP** poll shows 48% of workers over the age of 40 say they are “somewhat confidant” about their retirement plans. Yet 52% of those same people have not even attempted to figure out how much they’ll need to live on. 22% of them have no savings at all.

We all see ourselves differently than we act. People can’t predict what they would do. You can’t predict it, either. You can only observe what they do.


A good question.

A good question asks for only one answer. “Were you satisfied with our food and service?” won't provide information you can act on.

If a diner answers “no” was it the food, the service, or both that were not satisfactory?


What about confidentiality?

Questions of a sensitive nature require a degree of trust on the part of the respondent. Either make your questionnaire anonymous with no identifying information, or clearly state your confidentiality policy.

Better yet, do both.


How should the questions be sequenced?

Some researchers have reported that the order of the questions can effect the way people respond, claiming that when general questions are asked before specific questions, the answers are unlikely to be affected by each other. Specific questions about crime, for instance, could change the degree of reaction to the more general “crime prevention” questions which followed.

Other investigators have claimed just the opposite: that putting the specific questions first keeps people more interested in the more general questions.

On one thing everyone agrees, however. Each question should flow comfortably from the previous question. Jumping to non-related questions tend to produce low response rates.


Get rid of those multiple choice check boxes.

Case study: a television/newspaper campaign to sell individual units in a condominium development. Over the first ten days of the campaign foot traffic through the models went up 350%.

Imagine my surprise when the sales manager told me the advertising wasn’t working.

How did he come to this conclusion? He gave every person who stopped in a questionnaire. The first question: How did you hear about Chancellor’s Row?

Nearly every one had checked the first box: “Just driving by and saw your sign.”

“Well, of course they saw the sign,” I said. “They’ve driven by here hundreds of times. This time, however, they pulled in and took the tour.”

I had the cards reprinted with a big empty space where all of the check boxes used to be. When people weren’t able to take the easiest answer, and had to think about the question, we got answers that made more sense.


Do you actually need a survey?

Is it possible that some other organization has asked the same questions, and has already found the answer?

Perhaps the Federal Government or an institution of higher learning has already conducted a similar survey and has the results already available. Check with your public library or the local Small Business Development Centers.

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* I could just as easily said "Russians are optimistic" or "Austrailians are optimistic." This is a clearly human trait.

** AARP Bulletin / June 2006

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