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Let’s Get Beyond Godin’s Less Annoying: Let’s Surprise and Delight Again & Slay Some Trolls.

By Filed Under: Business Building, Start Here

20060501-100558-starbucksWhat I’m after is an opportunity to amaze at the point of sale. Sonia Simone at Copyblogger hit it out of the park with a recent post on conversion killing.     People don’t have trust.  When they DO buy, that’s another time to make your systems work.  After you have that retail hit of euphoria that people get, what then?   You always feel a little let down.  I have that ‘this is it’ feeling when I buy stuff…especially after skilled internet marketers get me emotionally hooked.

What happens RIGHT after the sale is an opportunity.  Folks like Dave Navarro show some basic competence and good instincts by offering a truly good deal after that.  But, I wanna go beyond.  WHEN people buy…I want them to be amazed.  That instant.  Blown away.

Seth Godin talks about making things less annoying.  I don’t want to stop there.  I want to go far beyond, and overdeliver.  Every purchase–every job gets a package of goddies that you made to be super successful

See, people save their offers for securing the sale.  I want to put all of my ammo into securing lifelong trust.  I want people to feel smart and relieved when they buy from me, so the NEXT time they buy from me, they know that they’re getting a sweet, sweet deal.

I see all of these posts with things that offer $10,916 in FREE bonuses, and I’m insulted and squeemish.  I don’t want to be that guy.  I want to be the guy that does that for my customers.  There are opportunities to do this with everyone.

You could:

  • Give away your back catalog for new customers.
  • Develop a product/service MORE VALUABLE than what you sold, and give it way for free.
  • Deliver it in more & higher formats–if they bought a book, make it in an MP3, if they expect an MP3, make a video.
  • Package OTHER People’s good stuff on the same topic in an-i’ll-share yours-if-you-share mine.

Some of this is being done, but far too little I’d think is being done.  Once you secure a customer, THEN knock their socks off.  Overdeliver by an order of magnatude and then all the work you spent on getting that customer will be rewarded each time you sell something.

If someone has been treated amazingly well, then they’ll be back.  Again, and again.

One of the things that Starbucks used to (and I mean used to) have in its culture…was the ability to surprise and delight.  When you went, you’d get coffee and panache, a smart person would look you in the eye and try to do make your day happy.  Your Third Place, yada yada.   Ya go there now, and you trip over CD racks, and you feel used and monetized.    And, I was in recently and the place had the stench of greasy eggs in it.  I come for coffee.  Live by coffee die by coffee.  I come for coffee and public privacy, and the good pure smell of beans and hot water.

They used to give more for your $2.00 than you’d have a right to expect.  They fell when they wanted you to be monetized.  What if we did it  right–what if we committed to having an astonishingly good experience with FREE bonuses?

How would we work it out so when they bought they didn’t feel simply like you were shoveling out free stuff?

How would we work it so that it DID impress people that are cynical and bitter?

How would we work it so that, say 20-25% of people saw our commitment to being amazing?

How would we work it so that people were not let down after the purchase, but had stuff to do, had marching orders and felt great about what they just bought?

Then we’d be slaying trolls left and right.

Sonia Simone at Copyblogger Misses the Boat, Big, With the Tribes Post.

By Filed Under: Business Building, selling/marketing

I don’t know why Brian Clark and the Copyblogger people are going on this high school motif. Yes, there is differentiation and branching off going on in the Internet right now.   Yes, the rules are evolving on how we make money.  Yes, the “Fresh off The Used Car Lot” types are here. Yes, there are groups of people that are not communicating with others.  Normal, human, don’t you think?

Sonia talks about how–ultimately–there are cool kids vs. Internet marketers.   The cool kids get attention and the IM crowd gets paid.   I get paid on the Internet.  I’m not getting private jet money–but I do very OK thankyouverymuch.   I…am in a tribe obsessed with human connection.   You know, the one that didn’t get mentioned…the one that uses Facebook.  The one that gets more and more leverage.  Oh, sure, I did the book thing and made money selling ebooks, and I’m launching the **** out of my next ebook. I’ll do six figures from F#@% Therapy, if I hustle.

But ultimately, my income and security will be found in a third way–by connecting to people I meet on the Internet.   No mention of that tribe.  I’m working towards getting rich.   I’m working towards running around with a cool group of people.  Helping things grow to a higher and higher level, getting cool things made, cool people connected with, and keeping it REAL.

By growing my social media presence in depth, I, too am an Internet marketer.  I am an unlimited freelancer, an unlimited salesperson.   Sure, I get a little rush when my Blackberry pings from my e-junkie account  And sure, I’m probably missing the boat by not putting affiliate linkseverywhere.

But…you don’t have to worry about my motivations.  If I tell you that HeapCRM is the best thing since ACT 6.0, you can bet your sweet ass I mean it and why.  I don’t lend my reputation to anyone, unless the product is F#%@ing great.  You’re not thinking I’m going to be after some affiliate commission.   I care about people, and it’s making me rich. I’m not saying that Brian and Sonia don’t care.   I am saying that the best way to sell on  Internet is to build your  robust social media presence and sell to it, protect it, guard it, and add more value to it than anyone else can.

That’s the easiest way to make big cash on the Internet, and all it takes is caring, using Facebook, connecting and….helping.  The best part is that the skills from both crowds come in handy.  The cool kids crowd can help ya get an audience, and the IM crowd can help you sell.   Provided that you care, you’re beyond contempt.