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Hello

Let's start by considering this scenario.

You've booked a train.  When you get to the station you're told you have two choices;

A) Take a train that will get you to your destination 20 minutes faster than advertised

B) Enjoy complimentary champagne and stick with the slower train

Which would you choose?

This exact situation was mentioned at Nudgestock last week. 

Nudgestock is a behavioural science conference hosted annually by Ogilvy Consulting, taking place over a 12 hour period, featuring fantastic authors & scientists. 

The answer that most people choose?

B. The slower train and the free champagne.

Now why was that important to the railway, researching this with their customers?

Because it saved them millions of pounds in planned railway track & train improvements, and it highlighted the fact that customers don't always care about the things you think they do. 

When was the last time you asked your customers about an important change you planned to make?

There is a view that asking customers anything is foolish. Those pesky customers are bound to want the most expensive, difficult option for your business.  Aren't they?

Well not always no. 

When I worked in customer insight within a global insurance company they spent a huge amount on research.  Checking what people thought about things. Linking part of the senior managements bonus to the customer satisfaction score.  

A finding that came out time and again was people didn't mind waiting ages for someone to pick up the phone, if they knew what to expect.

They did mind the person who answered caring about what they had to say.

So, they scaled back the team, but spent more money on training in empathy and empowered the team to authorise decisions up to a certain financial limit.

Which took a huge amount of work out of the chain of command, and made a big difference to customer happiness. 

My advice to you?

Stay close to your customers, talk to them, listen to them, test things, and keep trying until you find the thing that really makes them love you.

The answer might just surprise you.

Shona
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100 Marketing Tips for Small Business Owners

You can buy a copy of my book from either my website or Amazon

A recent review 

"I bought this book in the very early days of my business when I was feeling overwhelmed with marketing. I loved how the book is broken into manageable sections so that I could put each individual tip into practice. It’s a book that I regularly dip into for inspiration and it has joined the shelves of my essential business books.

This book is crucial reading for any business owner, especially if you keep trying the same marketing ideas and need some great new tips."
 
Did you catch these?

This week there were three, 30 minute talks on the Self Employed Club Instagram account 

Linkedin Skills - Replay here

Ella Orr Social Media Consultant at Much More Social, spoke to us about how to use Linkedin.

It can feel like a hard platform to crack, and sometimes a bit of an overly corporate environment. But done well it can be a really helpful business growth tool. 

Set Better Boundaries - Replay here

Sarah Townsend, Marketing Copywriter & best selling author of Survival Skills For Freelancers, is back for her second talk with SEC, this time on how to set boundaries when you are your own boss. I am sure this will be full of great tips from Sarah.

Would you like to write a book? - Replay here

Steph Casswell, Writing Coach, spoke to us about what to consider if you want to write a book.

Steph has written 5 of her own, and now provides professional advice to others.
Coming Up!

Tuesday 22nd 12pm BST - Pursue your Dharma - 30 minute lunchtime live!

Join Salihah Agbaje creative director at Spoken World Productions for a conversation on how we can all pursue our calling in life, and work more creatively. Hosted on the Self Employed Club Instagram account.   

Salihah's podcast Spoken World Podcast has just won this years Quill Awards in the category of 'Most Innovative Podcast', it is really fantastic so why not have a listen this weekend. My favourite episode is here 
Need Marketing Help?

I can help you with a range of marketing services, to give you an idea here are some of the things I do regularly, but if there is something else you have in mind and don't see what you are looking for here please just ask anyway.
  • A marketing audit - Do you know how your brand appears to your customer online?
  • Creating a marketing plan - If you feel like you have all the ideas and none of the structure I can help you get organised
  • Understand your ideal customer - Do you feel like you have a really good idea of who you are trying to target with your business? If not a guided session might help
  • Email marketing strategy - Do you know how to start a newsletter, grow an audience and deliver great content that gets opened and actioned?
  • Content creation - Do you have lots of ideas for content, like blogs and social media posts, but never get around to actually creating it?
  • 1-2-1 brainstorming sessions. Do you want to create a range of ideas for use in your marketing, or just talk through a block you are experiencing? Lets have a chat.
  • Training - I can help you with a session on Instagram, Pinterest, Google My Business or lots of other bespoke sessions like my 'How To Market Your Business To a Local Area' workshop.
  • Marketing coaching - If you want help over a set period giving your marketing a boost, I can work with you!
In my experience you already know what you want, you just need someone to talk it over with, and help to plan.
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