Newsletter #5: They love you, they leave you…then they come back. Why?
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A couple years back, a stylish colleague called Mandycakes*, told me to go to the Fancy Place Hair School* for a great cheap haircut that came with an “amazing” scalp massage. Even though my hairdresser, Antonia, never led me astray in our decade-long relationship, Mandycakes’ enthusiasm and verified fashion sense made me say yes. Plus, I could save $70.
What could go wrong?
At the time, I had short hair—pixie-cut short. Which meant that every flaw in this cheap haircut could not be hidden. And my husband had to figure out something diplomatic to say when I came home. And I let myself be lured by false promises.
All my fault!
I ignored the facts and red flags: Mandycakes has long hair that doesn’t require much skill to trim, the gal who cut my hair had a shaved head and—once it was past the point of no return—she asked me how she should cut my “sideburns.” I brought a picture, just do the picture and they’re not sideburns on a lady!
Anyhoo … Antonia was ever-gracious as I told her about the Fancy Place Hair School adventure while she was fixing it.
As business people, you know this story. You hear about losing a client and the saddest stories are all about price.
Except the story doesn’t always end at bye-bye.
I was talking to an EAP client recently who told me about a time they lost an organizational client to an embedded EAP competitor (where EAP services are basic and come as part of a bigger benefits plan.) Many EAP folks find this embedded-EAP trend crazy-making—because it contributes to a race to the bottom, pricing wise, which takes the focus off the real value of EAP.
This story had a happy ending though: her client came back after getting the bare-bones experience from the competition.
And you know what she did?
Found out why they came back.
That insight is invaluable on a marketing project. Like the one-pager we’re working on for her sales team. The purpose? To help them at crunch time—when a prospect says, “Why should we go with you when we can get this other service for nothing?”
Or worse—when a client asks why they should stay.
As marketers, you know it’s important to understand why clients say yes. But are you digging into why they leave and why they come back?
There’s gold in them thar hills. Go get it!
5 questions to ask your come-back client:
Why did you leave? (Cheap haircut!)
What did you think you’d get with the competition? (Extra cash in my pocket!)
What happened when you left? (Man sideburns!)
Why did you come back? (Fix this disaster!)
What were the costs of leaving and coming back? (Paid more than I normally would and wasted 3 hours!)
Once you’ve got these insights, you can figure out how you’ll use them to help your sales team, your prospects and your clients.
And I know you will.
Until next time, keep on truckin’,
Andrea
PS: If you’re in Toronto and you need a chic haircut (or a bad haircut fixed), make an appointment with Antonia Mossa at Salon Bespoke.
*Names changed.
Epilogue: Mandycakes continues to be a lovely gal with impeccable fashion sense.
**********The quote of the month**********
Quality, quality, quality: never waver from it, even when you don't see how you can afford to keep it up. When you compromise, you become a commodity and then you die.
-Gary Hirshberg
**********Marketing tip of the month********
Marketing lessons from my hairdresser
Antonia takes a classic relationship-building approach to sales and marketing. Plus, she’s a master at her craft.
4 ways to treat your clients so they see you as a valuable service, not a commodity:
Tell your client what’s in their best interest – I once asked Antonia for bangs and she said no. She knew my minimalist approach to hair maintenance doesn’t jive with bangs.
Don’t put your needs before your client’s needs – Antonia never gives me a hard time about my twice-annual haircut schedule.
Be honest, yet positive – Half the time I bring a picture of a haircut and Antonia has to say, “Okay, that girl’s hair is longer than yours, but we’ll do something that can grow into it.”
Don’t trash your client’s bad decisions – After the hair school incident, Antonia didn’t say, “You get what you pay for.” She said, “Let’s see what we can do here.”
Source: A decade of observation from Antonia’s haircutting chair at Salon Bespoke.
**********Good vibes**********
Sharing the love of reading
Dolly Parton, the big-haired country singer who’s written over 3000 songs and still has the voice of an angel at 70+ years-old, founded the Imagination Library in 1995. Its purpose is to inspire the love of reading in kids. The program mails “free, high-quality books to children from birth until they begin school, no matter their family’s income.”
A lot of books. Over 107 MILLION books so far.
In early 2018, Dolly was honoured at the Library of Congress, when the Imagination Library celebrated giving away its 100 millionth book. This two-minute video sums it up.
**********My 60-second commercial**********
I'm an executive ghostwriter, specializing in benefits, leadership coaching, corporate wellness and employee assistance programs (EAPs).
I work with executives and executive coaches who have big hearts, are driven to help others and never open a conversation they're not willing to close.
My clients are straightforward, ambitious, humble, hilarious and I never have to wonder what they're thinking because they say what they mean and mean what they say.
If you're a tough-love executive or executive coach who would benefit from the kind of work I do, please get in touch:
andrea@redsailwriters.com | 647-502-3187 | ca.linkedin.com/in/andreabassett
Let's talk about these thought leadership projects in 2021:
Newsletters | White papers + e-books | Ghostwritten articles
Workbooks to supplement corporate training
Business book ghostwriting (fall 2021, early 2022)