OK, in this case, the buyer was me (shaking head in disbelief).

A supplier of ours (the Jerks) who shall remain nameless recently screwed up. Big. They cost us money. When I called to see what, if anything, they could do for us in light of the loss, I was pretty much told to deal with it and that I’m one of many others, and bottom line… “too bad.” When I pointed out how much business we bring to them, I was told in so many words that it didn’t matter. Ack! I was treated poorly and the “customer service” rep I had to deal with was far from sympathetic to our situation and clearly didn’t care that my business had experienced a loss. All the person had to do was to express sincere remorse and compassion - that would have been enough (for me). I’m a pretty easy going person and can understand mistakes, but when he acted like such a JERK, it became about principle.

As a result - I won’t do business with them anymore, nor will I refer to them anymore.

What that rep cost the company (because he didn’t see the big picture) was immense. We used to bring them a LOT of money every year, and to make me happy would have cost a tiny fraction of that just once. But somehow it wasn’t worth it? Talk about biting your nose off to spite your face.

Had they handled it correctly by making SOME gesture to amend for the loss, I would have continued to do business with them and continue to refer new business to them on a regular basis.

Marketing Lesson to be learned here:

RELATIONSHIPS are one of the best marketing tools you will ever have. Your clients and customers need to feel like they are important. A relationship that produces not only their own business, but solid money-yielding referrals, is a relationship to be kept and nurtured. When people hear how great you treated your clients through adversity (as well as the good times), your reputation will do your marketing for you and that’s not something you can buy.

I am proud and delighted to let you know that Vision Advertising is to receive “Honorable Mention” for the Better Business Bureau “Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics” at the 2007 Awards Banquet on October 4th, 2007.

We’d like to thank our clients, employees, partners, suppliers and all of our many supporters. We thank you all for your individual roles in helping us to not only see this prestigious recognition come to life for us, but most importantly, to be a business worthy of such an honor.

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If you’d like to go to the awards banquet, you can download the reservation form here.

Click here to read the official press release on the BBB web site.

Marketing is far more than just your promotional activities (see diagram), and one clear example of what I’m talking about can be found in pricing and the resulting market positioning. Example: You are in the market for a consultant and find two. One asks $100 per hour, the other $300 per hour. Otherwise, they appear equal.

In observation - first, the consultant who charges more attracts a different type of clientele than they would at $100/hr. Second, the one who charges more has a higher PERCIEVED VALUE that attracts a completely different market segment (and mentality). Third, it’s conceivable that the person who charges more may in fact have less work, but what is done at three times the price will get more attention (read: attention to detail). As a buyer, based on this logic, you would be led to think that what you may save in price, you may pay for later in headache.

SO – given that – let’s pretend YOU are the consultant. What are you targeting? WHO are you targeting? What kind of fees are you targeting?

With that…

DO NOT discount your services or hourly rates. It devalues what you offer and doesn’t engender an appreciation for your product or IP. When you discount so you can get that big account, you create a downward spiral or bad habit that will effectively position you AWAY from the very account size you’re targeting. If you charge $600/hr – so be it. BE WORTH IT and do not discount. The people who can afford you WILL afford you if you are the right fit for the task at hand (and they’ll be a better client to work with).