Do your employees know what’s playing on hold? They should - here’s why:

By Alli Hill

Ask your employees if they know what your customers are currently hearing on hold. Chances are, they’ll respond with something like music or messages. But how many of your employees will know specifically what type of music you’re playing or what those messages say?

It’s important you keep your team clued in to what marketing messages your customers are exposed to. Here are two reasons why:

First, the more obvious one - Getting a customer ask about something they heard on hold is part of the point of on hold marketing, and your employees should be prepared to answer. While on hold, the customer might only catch a few details of the message and relay that information as best as they can to the person who picks up the phone. So, if the customer can’t clearly communicate what they heard on hold, your employees might be able to piece it together - if they know what the customer might have heard.

And the second, not-so-obvious benefit - They can help you keep it current. Granted, you get those friendly update reminders from us in your inbox every so often, but how many times have you had Christmas music playing in March? It doesn’t present a professional image to talk about promotions that are over and done with, or to advertise products or brands that don’t exist anymore (and I’ve heard plenty of both while on hold with various non-Win companies).

Getting your employees at least somewhat involved in how you are marketing to your customers can help them prepare for potential questions, which sends your customer service in the right direction.

4 Ways to Sabotage Your Caller's Experience

Photo Credit: Matt Reinbold

By Alli Hill

Your phone is a beating heart to your business, so don’t botch it with bad call procedures. Falling prey to these 4 telephone blunders can deal heavy damage your company image and shrink your bottom line:

1.       Asking callers to hold before discovering why they called.

“Thanks for calling – Can you please hold?” If this is how you answer the phone, you’re sabotaging your company image. Of course you get busy, even overwhelmed, but for callers with a simple mission, these words give them the green light to hang up and dial your closest competitor.

It only takes a moment to find out why a prospect chose to call your business. If you’re too busy to assist them, don’t shirk their call immediately. The call might be resolved in a matter of seconds, like giving store hours or directions, or it could be transferred to someone else who has the time to handle the caller’s needs. Worst case, you find out what they need, then ask them to hold. At least they know you care they called.

2.       Answer the phone with an inconsistent greeting.

If you’ve already trained your staff to answer every call with the exact same greeting, congratulations, you’re doing better than lots of companies out there. Using a consistent greeting sets certain expectations: callers know they’ve reached the right place, and they know they’re dealing with true professionals who care about the quality of their work.

Studies have shown that a large chunk of lost business each year is due to negative or indifferent treatment they received on the phone. While not all calls may go as smoothly as you like, you can give every call the best opportunity to be a good one by starting on a high note.

Even small inconsistencies can affect a caller’s experience: If your greeting is short or abrupt, or if you sound winded or overwhelmed, your caller probably won’t have a strong image of your company. If business is hectic, shroud out the chaos when you answer the phone, slow your speech, speak clearly, and put a smile in your voice. Subtleties like these can make the difference.

3.       Play nothing on hold.

Silence – or those annoying beeps – is a surefire way to lose that caller and their potential purchases. When a caller hears dead air on hold, 30 seconds easily feels like 90. Interjecting beeps into the mix isn’t any better. While those beeps do ensure callers they haven’t been hung up on, hearing the same beep, beep every five or ten seconds can become maddening.

Surveys show callers are more likely to hold longer when listening to music or messages. In one study by American Teleservices Association, an astounding 88% of survey participants admitted they want to hear product information. You’ve got plenty to talk about, and on hold messaging provides a cost-effective outlet to send your missive to the right people.

4.       Shuffle the caller through multiple points of contact.

You might think it’s good business practice to check on customers hanging out on hold (and to an extent, it is), but if a caller needs to speak with a specific person, it’s both frustrating and counterproductive for other employees to pick up the call.

Going through multiple points of contact before finally reaching the desired person wastes everyone’s time. It reveals holes in communication between the employees, and also means that the person the caller is trying to reach won’t be able to pick up the line if someone else is already on it.

If a caller is holding for a certain someone, let everyone know about it. Don’t continually transfer the call simply to make it someone else’s responsibility.

4 Things to Consider When Choosing Your On-Hold Music

By Johnny Gailer

1.  Your on-hold marketing is a chance to differentiate.  Try to avoid being generic, or anything that sounds "elevator music-y."

2. What music is the right music?  Worry less about what kind of music you or your customers like; instead, think about how you want them to view your company and what music genre compliments the brand image you've established.  (Need help with this?  Check out this article about what people see when they hear different types of music.)

3. Think about the length of your hold times.  If your customers wait on hold at your company for more than 30 seconds, play music with a slower tempo rather than an aggressive one.  Music with a slower tempo typically makes the wait time seem shorter.

4. The key of the music will affect your caller's mood.  Music in a major key, or where the tune sounds balanced, creates a positive sound and evokes a tone of happiness and lighter mood to your callers.

Music in a minor key, however, where the tune sounds slightly off-balance, creates a sad sound and can encourage a more dismal mood.

Bonus Marketing Tip:  Do you play music in your store, showroom, or at your counter?  Take note:

Do you know your busiest times of day? - Play fast-paced music during those times.  Traffic will move through quicker.

Want to increase browse time?  - Play slow-tempo music.  Traffic will slow down and give you a chance to sell more by making demonstration times seem shorter and give you more time for point of purchase sales.

Let winonhold.com help you advertise to your walk-in customers by putting together a custom in-store radio station for your company.

Need helping put all the above information into action?  Click here to email us, or give us a call at 888-465-3661.

What are you GREAT at?

A Message from our President

What are you GREAT at?

Not “what are you are capable of”?  Not “what are you trained to do”?  And certainly not “what are you experienced in”?

I just want to know, what are you GREAT at?

I ask that, because it is only the people who do what they are GREAT at who change the world.

Let’s take a brief look at three people we’re all familiar with: Ray Kroc, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.

Let’s start with Ray. What was he GREAT at?  Making Hamburgers?

Burger King and Wendy’s both beat McD’s hands-down.

No, what Ray Kroc was GREAT at was creating efficiencies in a system that allowed his organization to sell “BILLIONS and BILLIONS” of mediocre - but highly profitable - hamburgers.

And with that one ability, at the age of 53, Ray Kroc opened his first McDonalds, simultaneously changing the way the world eats and transforming the global restaurant industry.

So, what about the super-nerd-cum-richest-man-in-the-country (and sometimes world), Bill Gates, and his counterpart and competitor Steve Jobs?

Well, Bill was decent in academics. 1590 out of 1600 on the SAT. That’s professor material.

And yes, young Bill was even pretty good at writing code.

But compared to Steve Jobs, Gates was only mediocre at creating a reliable, stable, powerful software.

Job’s much more reliable, and cooler, Macintosh came out months before Gate’s PC.

Why then, does Microsoft own 90% of the personal computer market? And why was Bill’s personal net worth six times that of Steve Jobs when Job’s died in 2011?

Because Bill Gates did what he was GREAT at:  marketing and selling the idea of personal computing.

Job’s also did what HE was great at: Producing extremely reliable, innovative, socially transforming and, let’s be honest, sexy technology that changed the way we communicate, work and live.

Some people say that if Job’s were still alive, he’d now be worth as much or more than Gates.

Just think what the world would be like if Ray Kroc had kept selling Milkshake machines, Steve Jobs stuck with writing video games for Atari, and Bill Gates finished at Harvard, and became a corporate lawyer.

So . . . what are you GREAT at?

-Jimmy Harris

If you aren’t “investing” in word of mouth advertising, you’re missing out – here’s why:

Photo Credit:  Ron Mader

By Alli Hill

You may think that “word of mouth” advertising just happens all by itself, and you’re partially right.  People will tell other people about their experiences with your business, both good and bad, without anyone asking them to do so.  But did you know that a customer who has a good experience is only likely to tell one or two people (if any), while a person who has a bad experience is likely to tell ten times that many? 

It’s true.

Word of mouth proves time after time to be some of the most effective advertising available, and it’s one that you have more control over than you might think.  You simply need to “invest” in it.

So how exactly are you investing?  Recommendations come for free, don’t they?  Well sure, but you need to make the time and effort to ask for the referral in such a way that will yield positive results. 

Naturally, you want more people to talk about the great experiences they have at your store:  top-notch service, quality products, fair prices, whatever you have to offer that should deem you the go-to choice. So how do you loosen the lips of satisfied customers and make them share their stories?

A few years ago I was working on some marketing for a restaurant that had just opened on the waterfront in Georgetown, SC.   A nice place, too – burgers, sandwiches, fish, fresh seafood, a full bar, and a beautiful view awaited hungry patrons.  The only problem?  Not many people knew they were there.

That changed soon enough.  When you can’t get customers to come to you… Go to them!

An endorsement that comes straight from a person’s mouth is worth its weight in gold.  It creates a sense of honesty and personalization you can’t get from a flyer or newspaper ad.  A real person offers their opinion and puts their reputation at stake as being a reliable source of information.  Who can argue with that?

In the restaurant’s case, there was no big marquee out front, no radio commercial or phone book listing – just a neon Open sign in the front window and a chalkboard menu on the sidewalk.  Being downtown, parking came at a premium, and being the middle of winter, foot traffic almost didn’t exist.

Armed with a stack of to-go menus and a smile, I visited nearly every business downtown and sang the praises of the delicious food at the newly opened restaurant on the waterfront.  I invited those that I spoke with to come give it a try, and provided incentives.

Within weeks the restaurant started to clear over $800 a day for lunch alone, and with no other advertising than me talking to everyone in town. 

While free appetizers and to-go menus may not fit your business, you do have two options when it comes to word-of-mouth advertising:

1.       Ask satisfied customers for referrals.  Don’t just expect them to tell someone about the outstanding service they received at your counter.  You need to trigger the idea in their mind.  If you opt to track referrals and reward those customers who bring you more business, make sure to let them know the incentives involved.

2.       Hit the streets yourself.  Visit job sites with bottles of water in hand.  Stop and talk to contractors you run into on your lunch break and give them your business card.  While you network, make sure you tell them why you’re the better choice and what you can do for them.  Give them a reason to choose you.

Those customers I brought in to the restaurant may have found out about the “food with a view” eventually, but I put the idea in their heads long before they had a chance.  And they possibly would have told their family and friends to come try it at some point, but because I asked them to tell others, they responded a lot sooner than they might have otherwise.

Take every opportunity to talk about your business.  The more people hear about it, the more it will create top of mind awareness.  And don’t be afraid to ask your most satisfied customers to share their experiences with others. 

Remember:  if you never ask, the answer is No.

Count Down to Winning

A Letter From Our President

“ . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . The Show is Now Open”!

Those were the words we heard over the loudspeaker, just before the Vendor Show Opened in Orlando.

60 seconds later, there were no fewer than 40 people at our booth!

6 hours later, 24 Brand- New customers had signed up for our services!

(It may have helped that we were giving away $100 bills . . . click here for photos)!

With the three who have signed up since the show bringing the total to 27, we are now serving 381 Win-Family Stores with On-Hold marketing services that are helping them grow, every single day!

That’s just over two-thirds!

Of course, I couldn’t be happier about it!

Back in 1994, when I first signed up Toccoa Winlectric (Now, Toccoa Winsupply) for On-Hold Advertising . . . I wasn’t aware there was another “Win-Anything” in the world. I’d never even heard of a “GFCI”, or a pipe-bender, or where toilets and pipes and HVAC systems came from, and all our equipment was tape-based, including the little shoebox cassette deck we sent out when you signed up with us!

Fast-Forward 22 years, and we’ve grown together! Now, there are more than 570 Winsupply, Inc. companies, and more than two-thirds of you have entrusted us with representing you to your customers when they are placed on hold.

And all I can say is “Ain’t America Great”? It was so good to see the Spirit of Entrepreneurial growth alive and well, and to be able to take part in it along with you!

It really was very good to see so many of you again, and to meet so many new store Presidents, Managers and others for the first time, and to shake the hands of many of you as you have decided to retire. NOTE: It was especially gratifying to shake the hand of our long-time customer and Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Lew Johnston, especially after hearing about all he has done for his local community.

It was also great to see so many of our customers winning sales and production awards. Interesting Note: We paid close attention, and then we checked, and did you know that out of the many, many stores who won awards during the show, only one of the them was NOT our customer? Coincidence? I’ll let you decide!

Also, Many (250 to be exact!) Congratulations to Greg Wilson, President of Albert Lea Winnelson, who went home with our $250 Cash Prize from our Customer Drawing.

I know I speak for Cheri and Johnny and Alli . . . and everyone who works as a part of our team when I say “Thank you for your business”!

Of course, I’ll have more to say in future newsletters. For now though, please let us know if we can help you in any way! We are here to serve you!

In the mean time . . . if you’re a part of the “remaining third” who aren’t yet our customer . . . give us a call! We’d love to help you Win More!

-Jimmy Harris

3 Ways You Can Build Your Image during the Holidays Without Sounding Salesy

By Alli Hill

As another holiday season looms over our heads, retailers everywhere capitalize on consumers' generous spending sprees. By far the biggest shopping season of the year, stores grasp for as many sales as they can, and will do just about anything to get them.

But what about you, the independent supply store? How can you cash in on the holiday epidemic? You may not primarily provide the types of products that belong under the Christmas tree, but your business can still shine bright this holiday season. (More on that in a minute.)

It seems the same generic holiday shopping scenes play each year: Consumers pour into retail stores to receive their free gift with minimum purchase, or take advantage of the 50% discount on every item in the store (items which coincidentally have experience significant price increases since the night before), or partake in unlimited free samples of gourmet meats, cheeses and other finger foods (some call it sampling, others call it brunch). Whatever the gimmick, the message remains the same: Come Spend Your Money Here.

Here's the real question: how do any of these marketing efforts create customer loyalty?

With all the crazy-good holiday deals out there, it appears retailers focus more on garnering immediate sales rather than taking the time to ensure those frenzied holiday shoppers return throughout the year. Building strong relationships falls by the wayside as companies place more emphasis on single transactions to temporarily bulk up their bottom lines.

Here's where you can take the competitive advantage:

While other retailers mercilessly market through the holidays simply to boost 4th quarter earnings, take the time to strengthen your relationships and solidify your business for the upcoming year by offering simple gestures of goodwill with no sales strings attached.

Here's how:

1. Send a Christmas card. There's nothing quite like the feeling of receiving an unexpected card in the mail. And you can probably bet those big box stores aren't doing this! Bonus points if you take the time to hand-sign each one - it adds a personal touch you just don't find everywhere.

   Why this works: Bottom line: it's a selfless act of kindness. Just letting someone know you are thinking about them during the holidays can affect how they view your business.

2. Offer daily refreshments. It may seem simple, but usually the little details make the biggest impact. Put some Christmas cookies or candy on the counter and set up a hot chocolate or Keurig coffee station. Do this every day through Christmas, or even all winter long.

   Why this works: The holidays are stressful enough as it is. Providing a quick (and free) refreshment might just be the pick-me-up some people need. Plus, you can use their extended time in your store to build a better relationship with them.

3. Offer a Holiday Well-Wishing. Year-round, we thank the customer for their business and bid them "Good Day." Instead of offering the same plain vanilla appreciation, opt for a more festive one. For many, even the generic "Happy Holidays" well-wishing is better than nothing. And if you really want to raise some eyebrows, wish them "Merry Christmas" before they walk out.

   Why this works: I can count on one hand how many times I was wished a Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays last year upon leaving a store. And when I did hear those seldom-said words, it stuck out.. It doesn't cost anything to say, and those two simple words help ensure your customers leave your store with a smile on their faces.

Remember: most people can see through well-crafted ploys to gain more sales, so stand out by offering something genuine your customers can truly appreciate. When you do, you've given them more reason to come back to you than any one-day sale could ever offer.

4 Cost-efficient Ways to Fuel the GROWTH of Your Company

Getting the best possible return for each and every dollar is always important, but in a sluggish economy, it’s particularly vital to get the greatest possible impact from each marketing dollar. With that in mind, here are four highly cost-effective ways to invest in the growth of your company. 

1 – Target “Best Buyers” 

I’m certain you value all of your customers, and treat them all with an equal measure of respect and professionalism (as you should). However, while you may appreciate all of your customers equally… they are not all equal; some of your clients contribute more to the bottom line of your company than others. 

One of the most cost-efficient things you can do to grow your company is to protect your relationships with your best clients, and build new relationships with companies that spend big on the kinds of supplies you sell. 

Let the very best of your existing customers know that they’re part of an exclusive group of highly valued customers. Don’t worry… you can do it without making everyone else feel undervalued. Perhaps you could reward certain clients with a “Platinum Customer Card” that represents certain privileges. You could offer Platinum Customer card holders extended delivery hours or discounts on introductory products. Consider sending tasteful, modest “thank you” gifts to your very best clients on the anniversary of their first purchase from you. Or, how about simply taking them out for lunch or dinner? 

So, how do you attract new buyers with “best customer” potential? The key to building new relationships with high impact customers is tireless, persistent, relentless courtship. Develop a basic marketing plan to communicate with these prospective clients every 2 weeks for as long as it takes to turn them into your customer. There may be some marketing investment on your part, and there will certainly be an investment of your time, but if you’re sure the client is worth the effort, you won’t be sorry. Look for more on this subject in a future newsletter. 

2 – Affiliate Partnerships

What (non-competing) companies in your area serve the same kind of customers you serve? Figure out who those companies are, and find a way to work together. 

For example, a Winnelson company often serves contractors (and sometimes individuals) who are working on a kitchen or bathroom remodeling project. Often, they must compete with the likes of Lowe’s or Home Depot for sales. Well, a local flooring company - we’ll call them “Johnson Flooring” - also competes with the big box stores, and serves many of the same customers. The Winnelson company could arrange to place a sign by their counter advertising Johnson Flooring, while the flooring retailer does the same for the Winnelson company. 

The Winnelson company could pass out discount cards, valid with any flooring purchase at Johnson Flooring, and vice versa. You can arrange to send a sales letter to each of their clients, and vice versa. Get creative. There are many ways to team up with other business to cost-efficiently grow your company. 

3 – On-hold Marketing

Marketing on-hold is one of the most cost-effective ways to turn more new callers into customers, and sell more to your existing customers. When callers hear nothing more than silence while on hold, 90% of them will hang up within one minute while callers who hear music while on hold will stay on the line 30 seconds longer, on average. BUT callers hearing information while on hold are likely to stay on the line up to 3 minutes longer! When a new caller contacts your company, on-hold marketing helps you avoid having buyers hang up the phone, only to call a competitor. So you can use on-hold marketing to help convert more new callers into customers. 

Additionally, on-hold marketing gives you a golden opportunity to educate and remind your existing clients about all the products you offer. There may be certain products your customers haven’t purchased from you simply because it never occurred to them. There may also be products they buy elsewhere because they don’t know you offer them. Marketing on hold is also a great way to let customers know about brand new products, and it’s a highly effective way to generate traffic for marketing events, such as “Customer Appreciation Days” or “Counter Days”. 

If callers hear the exact same thing each time they call, they will begin to tune-out your messages. So to get the very most from your on-hold marketing, be sure to update it regularly. 

4 – Reward Your customers

Why not occasionally surprise your ‘regulars’ with a $10 Starbucks gift card or a gift certificate for dinner at a local restaurant. Now of course, what you give away to a particular customer must be commensurate to what they spend with you. As I mentioned a moment ago concerning your “Best Buyers”, not all clients will be on an equal plane, but try to reward all of your regular customers in some way. 

There are a number of online companies that offer customer rewards programs that you can begin offering your clients. Just as you might earn “points” or “rewards” with certain credit cards, these rewards programs allow you to give “rewards” cards to each of your customers, with which they earn points/rewards on each purchase. They can then visit a website to browse and redeem their rewards. Sure, such a program requires some investment on your part, but if it lowers your attrition rate, and/or increases your same-customer sales, it could be a very profitable investment! However you do it, look for ways to reward your customers! 

To summarize: 

•  Target “best buyers”, who can give you the greatest possible return on your marketing and sales efforts. 

•  Team up with complimentary, but non-competitive, companies to help one another grow. 

•  Use your on-hold marketing to sell more to existing clients, and convert more callers into customers. 

•  And reward all of your customers in some way, commensurate to what they spend with you. 

Take advantage of these 4 highly cost-efficient and remarkably effective strategies to multiply each and every marketing dollar like never before, and grow your company!