| I had just dropped my son off at school and was | | | | graduating from college and living on a farm. The |
| enjoying my favorite morning radio show when a | | | | automaker is trying to honor certain people with |
| local news block came on. There were random news | | | | special incentives to get them to buy. The dealer |
| stories but one in particular caught my ear. The news | | | | owner combines all these incentives to give the |
| guy said, according to a study (done by someone I | | | | appearance of low prices. Guess what? To the |
| don't remember), Wisconsin residents are frustrated. | | | | 99.9% of people who don't qualify ... you're a liar! |
| Their top five frustrations include telemarketers and | | | | Another example: your store posts your prices on |
| cell phone connections. But the number one | | | | the internet and a customer comes in asking for that |
| frustration among residents of this great state: False | | | | price but the price inside your store is higher. The |
| Advertising! | | | | salesperson is confused and defends the store price. |
| Yikes! That hits a little too close to home. I | | | | Confusion erupts and...you're a liar! |
| understand where this is coming from. It's not from | | | | Consumers are craving consistency and that's why |
| us ad guys and gals making stuff up about how | | | | it's so important to have people in place who focus |
| great our clients are. It's the small business owners | | | | on pricing consistency and experience consistency. |
| making promises they can't consistently deliver on. | | | | Richard Flint, famous motivational speaker, tells how |
| It's one thing to say, "Once you call, we'll arrive to | | | | the president of Dairy Queen addressed his |
| service your furnace within fifteen minutes." It's | | | | constituents at a franchise meeting, "Ladies and |
| another thing to consistently deliver on that promise. | | | | gentleman, if you're going to serve a bad cup of |
| There may be an innocent reason why the | | | | coffee, ALWAYS serve a bad cup of coffee." He |
| maintenance guy arrived 25 minutes later, but to the | | | | realized that as soon as the customers notice a |
| consumer ... you lied! | | | | difference there is an inconsistency. Inconsistencies |
| Then there is the price promise which is often | | | | create confusion, confusion leads to frustration and |
| misrepresented, especially with auto dealers, where | | | | frustration leads to disenchantment and anger ... |
| consumers expect to pay one price, but when they | | | | "You're a liar!" |
| arrive at the dealership they realize that they would | | | | Lesson of the week: Never advertise anything that |
| only get that price if they were a military veteran | | | | you cannot deliver on 100% of the time. |