So, what’s your low hanging fruit? What are you reaching past while attempting to reach a higher branch? When you ignore your low hanging fruit, you miss one of your best opportunities.
A Seminar
Last summer, I conducted a seminar with a group of healthcare administrators. A member of the group had acquired my book How to Stay Ahead of Your Business Blog Forever. So, based on the book, I was asked to share about content marketing and creating social media campaigns.
I responded with of course I could share ideas, best practices, and warn of common pitfalls. However, I asked them if they would be interested in learning about low hanging fruit that could make an almost immediate positive impact on their marketing efforts. They were interested.
A Cautionary Tale
I said that every action your organization takes with clients creates a positive or negative experience. For example, our furnace at home was making strange noises. My wife said it was the blower, she knows about these things, she’s fixed it before. We contacted a local HVAC company who sent a salesperson who proceeded to turn off the furnace telling us the unit was beyond repair and then pressured us with “buy now or pay more later” tactics to replace the entire unit at an exorbitant price.
The Sales Pitch
During the sales pitch, the salesperson called his “boss” half a dozen times. On the last call, the boss told the salesperson to offer a one-time special offer if we made a buying decision right now. We said no – several times. When the salesperson packed up to leave, he said, “It’s a good thing you have a fireplace because this furnace isn’t going to come back on – ever.” My wife lit the pilot light and got the furnace going.
We called another company who replaced the blower for a few hundred dollars. It’s worked for five years, and for five years, I’ve said nothing good about the other provider. I’ve warned people away from them.
When have you been on the receiving end?
I asked the participants to share times when, as a consumer, they have been on the receiving end of pain.
One mentioned the time their internet was down, and they were put on hold for 22 minutes by their provider and then transferred to another department.
Another shared attempting to contact a life insurance company about their late fathers’ policy. After an excessive amount of time on hold, they were disconnected.
I heard about providers not showing up at scheduled times without any communication, being asked for unnecessary redundant information, and more.
Then I turned the tables and asked where they caused pain to their customers and prospective clients.
Where does your business cause pain?
- Where do you make it more difficult for consumers than it needs to be?
- What are your most common customer complaints?
- What actions does your business take that could cause customer pain?
- How do your systems and procedures get in the way of a positive customer experience?
- What attitudes does your company culture foster that may be damaging to the customer experience? For example, is working with customers seen as a nuisance or a privilege?
Reaching for the low hanging fruit
I ended the seminar by asking each participant to identify one source of customer pain and then commit to easing the pain. So, let me ask you, what low hanging fruit have you reached past? Where do you cause your clients’ pain? Have you been like me and concentrated so much on complicated marketing campaigns that you’ve missed the fruit hanging easily within your reach?
Here’s my goal for this post. That you recognize one place, you cause pain to consumers and begin making it right. If you look, you’ll find more than one, but start with one. Concentrate on it, fix it, and then pick another to champion.
How Can I Help You?
I like to help people and organizations, but I have three criteria I consider before taking an assignment – I believe in what the organization stands for, I know I can help, and it looks like fun. If you have any questions, Contact Me.
Does your business have a management training plan? Many organizations, large and small, use my book, The New Manager’s Workbook a crash course in effective management, as the basis for their leadership development program. Check it out.
