Experience is the best teacher - James Bryant

James W. Bryant - "Better You 4U - An Entrepreneur's Journey"

​IBGR - PROFIT Radio Network. Everything a business owner needs to start, grow, or exit a business. Come grow with us.

INTRODUCTION
Who is in the best position to talk about your product, your promise, and the transformation that it provides?  Are you the best person to talk about your products and services?  In the beginning you are the only person that can have that conversation because you know the most about your company and products. You know what you were thinking when you developed the product idea and the intended problem that the product will solve for your customer. Things are often clear in our minds as we are communicating with ourselves.  We use certain phrases that are common to us but may not be common to your customers.  

What do you think happens when the same person tells the same story all the time?  We learn to filter out that person’s voice.  We learn the art of ignoring what that person has to say.  Our brain just simply pushes the mute button on that person and their story. If you do not want people pushing the mute button when you are talking about your products and services, then you need to offer something more than just you telling the story.  What if you had people who used your products tell the story of how your product changed their life!   The experiences of the people that use your products and services build a strong narrative about your brand.  Today we are going to learn how to unleash your customer stories to talk about your products and services.

Episode Objectives - The Why
You are not just in the business of selling products.  Your product provides a real solution to your customer’s problem.  People tend to buy products and services that they can envision themselves using.  Using your real-life customers to tell their story is one of the most powerful tools you can use to connect with new potential customers.  The objective of this episode is to equip you with the tools that you need to unleash the power of your customer’s stories. 


Key Issues - Owner Perspective:

• Customer engagement takes time and is worth the effort.
• The community that you build provides a foundation for future growth.
• Negative feedback is fuel for innovation.

What You Need to Know - The What
There are many ways to engage your customers.  The tools that you use to engage your customers will depend heavily on what you are trying to accomplish.  

1. What are you trying to accomplish?

• Product Testing
• Product Review
• Market research for new product
• Increasing sales
• Increasing clicks on website
• Increase traffic to website.
• Get more people into your sales funnel.

2. Sample Customer Engagement Tools

• Surveys
• Reviews
• Referrals
• Testimonials
• Customer Stories

3. The difference between a Testimonial and a Customer’s Story


4. The elements of a customer’s story


What You Need to Do - The How
1. Determine what type of customer engagement will work the best for your intended purpose.  

• What issue are you trying to address in your sales process?
• Are you trying to overcome a specific objection that a potential customer may have?
• Do you want to highlight your customer’s real-life transformation because of using your product?
• Feedback for new product development
• Feedback for further market penetration

2. Include points within your process to specifically ask for the type of feedback that you want.

• If you want your customers to provide a review, then you must insert that “ask” into your process.  Maybe this is a follow-up email campaign a few days after the product is delivered.
• You can ask for Video reviews and offer some time of incentive for those customers that submit a timely review.
• Just having a reviews section on your website is not enough.  You must make the “ask.”

3. Help your customer provide the type of feedback that you are looking for by structuring the right questions.

• If you are looking to build stories, then you must ask more than yes or no questions.  
• Examples

Describe how receiving the product in the mail makes you feel? 
What was your initial impression of the product?

You have a lot of choices on what you can purchase, why did you purchase this product?

Please choose one work to describe how using this product made you feel? Describe why you chose that word. 

4. Find ways to use your customer stories in marketing materials.

• Website
• Emails
• Brochures
• Videos

5. Always look to leverage what your customers have to say into ways to improve.

This is not just applicable to things that are underperforming.  You may find the feedback useful in identifying those things that you need to start doing more of.


Shows
Previous: Delivering Your Promise
 https://podcast.betteryou4u.com/1-delivering-your-promise-james-bryant
 
Next: The Importance of Your Call to Action


Links and Resources
 
1. Upcoming Webinars:
https://link.betteryou4u.com/Webinars
 
2. IBGR – Profit Radio
JOIN My Mentoring Group in the IBGR Community
DOWNLOAD the IBGR Growth App
 
3. Subscribe to the podcast: 
https://podcast.betteryou4u.com/
 

James W Bryant
Over the past 20 years I have helped managers and key executives solve the work-life balance dilemma. I empower those who refuse to accept that you must choose between a successful business or a successful life. Working together we will increase your productivity helping you to solve the work-life balance dilemma, allowing you to focus on growing your business. Pursue the life of your dreams without sacrificing the business that you want.

LinkedIn:    https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbryant2/
Business Made Simple: 
 https://www.hireacoach.com/James-Bryant
https://www.businessmadesimple.com

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