Introduction
The other day my wife was watching one of her favorite interior design shows, Flea Market Flip. In this particular episode, something caught my ear and it was important enough for me to write about it.
The show’s concept is teams of two attend a flea market where they must purchase and rehab various items. The goal is to turn them into something that they can then offer for sale at another flea market. The team that sells its items for the highest profit wins the game.
In this particular episode, anytime a potential customer came into one of the team’s spaces showing interest in any of the items, the contestants were immediately hounding them to buy all three items. “Take them all off our hands” or “We’ll give you a good deal if you take it all.” As a result, the potential customer was put off by the aggressive tactics and left without buying anything.
Meeting Clients’ Needs
After the host stepped in and helped them see what they were doing, they managed to sell all of their pieces, but still lost the game. The host’s words were to the effect of “talk to them about the piece they’re interested in, not everything you have to offer. Meet them where they are.”
Does this sound familiar to you? Does this maybe feel like something you’ve done in your business? Or maybe the approach someone has taken with you while discussing your needs with them?
It’s certainly all too easy to do. We’re often so excited about the services we offer that we can forget to listen to what the client needs from us. If you need graphic design work for your company newsletter and I won’t stop talking about how we do videos, that could affect your desire to work with us.
Designing the right kind of conversation
It’s one of the reasons we first sit down with prospective clients and listen, truly listen, to their needs. This helps us get a sense of what they want to accomplish and then can formulate a plan to achieve those objectives. We could certainly do exactly what the client asks for, but is it the RIGHT thing? Is it the best way for them to spend their design and marketing budget?
The end goal is to achieve measurable, sustainable results for our clients. This helps them talk to their shareholders about where they are at, resulting in more easily achieved objectives. Don’t forget to stop and think about what your client’s needs are. Meet them where they are at first, and the rest will happen naturally.
Are you ready to take your design, marketing, or advertising to the next level? Reach out to set up one of those sit-downs I was talking about by emailing info@gotandem.biz.
If you’re thinking about re-branding, check out our blog post about developing a brand guide.