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On Sunday I took the family out to Hartebeespoort Dam for a drive. On the way back we passed by The Historic Barn, one of the many family owned restaurants in the area. It sounded like a rustic place, so we went on in. What followed was 7 great lessons on how not to treat your customers.

Lesson 1 - Realize that without customers you have nothing

Customers are your lifeblood. So when a car load of paying customers arrive to do business with your company, don’t drop your head, sigh and act like someone just stuck you with a red hot poker. It costs nothing for you to be polite and act professionally.

Lesson 2 - Presentation is vital

When I hear the phrase ‘The Historic Barn’, what comes to mind is a rustic old place steeped in tradition. You know, old furniture, wooden buildings, etc. If you’re running a business, you need to constantly be developing your brand and ensuring your message is clear. Don’t imply rustic then deliver crappy.

Lesson 3 - Deliver on delivery

We ordered simple food at The Historic Barn. Things like scones and toasted sandwiches don’t take over an hour to prepare. I bet that even a hundred years ago I could have whipped up our order in less than 20 minutes. In any company delivery problems happen. But when they do, own up to them. Send your managers out to apologize for the delay. Offer a free cup of coffee to keep the customer happy. But keep them happy while you’re keeping them waiting.

Lesson 4 - Emphasize quality

It doesn’t matter whether you sell bargain or premium products. There has to be a minimum level of quality associated with your business. When you finally get round to giving your customers the scones they ordered, it would be nice if there weren’t remnants of someone else’s toast in the butter. Even if your butter is the cheapest on the market, it needs to be clean, first hand butter.

Lesson 5 - Market related pricing

By the time we eventually got our bill, we’d decided it wasn’t possible for things to get any worse. But they did. We ended up being billed at 5-star hotel prices rather than home industry rates. My coffee (instant, not filtered) cost more than it would have in any of Johannesburg’s best coffee houses. People don’t mind paying for quality, but they resent being blatantly ripped off.

Lesson 6 - Do your arguing behind closed doors

I found it odd that the two waitresses working at The Historic Barn decided to have an argument with each other next to our table. I’m all for heated discussions with colleagues, but not in front of my customers. There’s a reason they invented doors. Get behind one and close it before you start screaming and shouting.

Lesson 7 - Lead by example

The owner of The Historic Barn was nowhere to be seen during our visit. Only once we got up to leave did he venture into the dining area. He could see the look of disgust on my face, had clearly heard my complaint, and was aware that his waitress hadn’t been tipped. Yet he said nothing. He walked in, sat down at another table and turned his back on us.

Small businesses need to fight their larger competitors with the only real weapons they have; their integrity and their willingness to please. So take a long hard look at the way you treat your customers because there’s a more convenient, more familiar vendor just down the road.

6 comments. Join the club.

If you employ staff, take a wander around the building and watch them from a distance. Chances are, some or all of those people aren’t enjoying their jobs, feel there’s something lacking in your leadership, or (as with one of my current clients) feel that the company is on the verge of failure. Not bankruptcy, failure.

It’s not easy to change the mindset of people like this, but you owe it to them to try. And if you believe that poorly motivated staff have no effect on your marketing systems, you’re wrong.

Take a look at these resources to help improve your workplace and learn to help your people, before you lose them, and the customers they help bring through your door.

Motivating your staff in a time of change

The biggest motivation killer

Rochambeau the front line

The motivated survive

Staying motivated at work

How to keep employees motivated and happy

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Well, it’s the start of a new year, and if you haven’t already done so, it’s time to give some serious thought to your advertising budget.

Now I’m going to assume you’re not a huge multinational with an unlimited budget, and that you’re going to give the big institutional advertising channels a miss for the time being.

Percentage advertising

Traditionally, business owners have used a percentage of annual revenue to dictate how much money they can afford to spend on advertising, but there’s no hard and fast rule about how large that percentage needs to be.

If you haven’t done this before, I’d suggest you start with a modest figure of 1-2% of your company’s annual revenue (or projected revenue if you’re a startup).

Then answer the 3 advertising planning questions below to calculate whether your advertising spend is possible within your budget. If it is, great. If not, you either need to increase the percentage of revenue you spend or reduce the amount of advertising you buy.

Question 1 - Who do you want to advertise to?

As part of your marketing strategy you will have identified a number of target markets you want to sell to. The first thing you need to do is decide what portion of your advertising budget is going to be allocated to each market segment, and why.

For example, a target market you’re already active in may not need to be peppered with advertising. If you’ve done your job properly, word of mouth and referrals will be responsible for most of your new business in this market.

Conversely, if you’re about to enter a market that’s new for your company, or that has a number of established competitors, a large chunk of your advertising budget is going to be needed to make an impact.

At this point, things can start getting a bit messy, especially if you’re planning on targeting a large number of markets, so it’s a good idea to use a spreadsheet to work things out. Simply create a column for each target market you’re interested in, and allocate a percentage of your budget to each market.

I usually start with an equal split of budget percentage for each target market and increase or decrease each allocation as I go. After a bit of tinkering, things will start to look right and you’ll be ready to move on to the next question.

Question 2 - Why do you want to advertise?

There are a number of reasons you may want to advertise. Some or all of the following could be good reasons:

• To introduce a your company to a new market.
• To build your brand.
• To let your market know about new products or services.
• To maintain your market visibility.

Bear in mind, the reasons you want to advertise will be different for each market segment you’re targeting. Pull out that spreadsheet again, and list each reason below each target market.

Now take a look at your allocated percentages again, and decide whether you’ve allowed a large enough percentage for the objectives you need to achieve.

Question 3 - How do you want to spread your message?

So, you’ve decided who you want to advertise to, and why you need to advertise. And with a little bit of maths, you’ll be able to see exactly how much money you’ve got for each of your target markets.

Now all you need to do is decide what you want to spend your money on. Unfortunately, this part is difficult, and only research, experience and knowledge of your industry will help. There are hundreds of ways to reach people through advertising, but only a few will work for you.

You may want to ask your existing customers what publications they read, how they respond to email marketing, or if they use the Internet for research. You could also take a look at what your competitors are doing to advertise their businesses. Finally, you could just carry out a small trial campaign and measure the results. That way, if it doesn’t work, you won’t have lost much.

In conclusion

Once you’ve answered the questions above, you’ll have the framework for a useful advertising plan. It may not look pretty, but it will be a lot more effective than simply sticking an advert in the Yellow Pages and hoping for the best.

And the good news is that all this work is excellent ground work for next year’s advertising plan.

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