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R E A D O N L I N E fl oristsreview.com R E A D O N L I N E 61 Are your customers doing your marketing for you? Or do they drive other customers away? e truth is that success is defi ned more by the answer to that question than anything else in your marketing strategy. Years ago, an unhappy customer told 20 people not to buy your product. Today, online, the word spreads farther and faster. e customer conversation is the most important tool in your tool kit for bottom-line results, yet many businesses still treat the customer experience as a minor part of the plan—as an afterthought. It's important to have a great product, environment and sales/marketing campaign, but research has proved that a recommendation from a friend, neighbor or another customer drives consumers right to your door, website or phone line (or sends them running!). Research also shows that a good customer experience beats price and product as the deciding factor in whether to return, and a great customer experience motivates customers to proactively tell your story to others, even when they are not asked. And to make that happen, here are the things you need to know : Know what you want your customers to say when they do your marketing for you. Make sure that you know your current customers. Are they recommending you? What are they saying about you? You must know where you are to create a route to get to where you want to be. Who are you? Your brand, product, mission: What makes you unique? I can order fl owers from anyone by picking up my phone or my laptop. Why should I call you? How do you treat me consistently? e personality—your brand—is the starting point. Disney has attractions, hotels and restaurants, but every Disney The 3 big ings: 1. Keep it simple 2. Make it sustainable 3. Design it to be unique to you and your brand. Two primary mistakes I see regarding customer research: 1. No research; no eff ort to ask or fi nd out. (We think we know how we are doing.) Danger! You don't know! Or you may have at one point, but things change. 2. Not asking the right questions. I see surveys and piles of research that provide lots of information, but when you read it, does it really help? Honestly, do your surveys give you answers? Or piles of information that is just interesting, but so what? If nothing else, ask your customers these three questions: 1. On a scale from 1 to 10, rate how you recommend us. (10 = "I actively recommend you," and 1 = "I tell people not to buy from you.") 2. Why do you recommend us, or why do you not recommend us? 3. What do you say when you tell others about us? ese three questions serve as a blueprint to craft a marketing strategy that actually works. And the answers to them may help you fi nd the leverage points to focus on so that you don't have to reinvent everything. And, let me add my pet peeve to the customer experience right here. 61 on so that you don't have to reinvent everything. And, let me add my pet peeve to the customer experience right here.

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