Are Your Customers Giving You The Runaround?
The Runaround: What You’re Not Understanding About It
It’s quite possible to post a flyer of services people want and be subjected to feeling like “something else has preeminence over their purchasing decisions”.
Fishing With The Wrong Bait!
Founders of local bootstrap businesses often fall into the trap of feeling “set up” by someone they assumed to be a potential buyer because they don’t take the time to consider the criteria someone needs to meet first in order to be considered a good fit to do business with. So, they’ll duck-tape a few images together courtesy of a free online platform or mobile app and spam as many social media groups as possible only to painfully learn that that approach has nothing to do with how someone connects with their services or the quality of those leads.
If you’re running your business online read: Get Customers To Buy Not Try.
When the designs used for your advertising aren’t being fueled by an understanding of the needs of those you serve, it veils the value of what you do, and you end up in the runaround:
Undecided buyers who create false expectations. That, between getting the third degree and stalking them, wastes a lot of your time to only set you up in the end!
Are You A Victim Of The Runaround?
I received a message from an acquaintance “advertising” their services on Facebook some time ago. “Those students set me up!” She said. She was in dire straits, and logically, sounded desperate to find money.
If you’re a service provider, you know how frustrating it is when your plans are derailed because someone you assumed to be a potential buyer didn’t follow through on a purchase. Distinct habits surrounding my experience in this situation inspired me to name it ‘The Runaround.’ (And it’s connected to a certain type of buyer. But I digress.)
Being overzealous and eager to call someone a client when they have not paid you or signed a contract is a setup unto oneself.
In the end, she went right back to spinning top in mud with another flyer. This time, more hopeful than before that her results would be different. Since it was obvious to me that her expectations were wired badly, I wondered what kind of results she expected instead. After all, it was clear (to her) that what she was already doing was producing frustrating encounters.
Break the cycle. It’s said that the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. To achieve real change, you need full commitment to change. It’s not enough to feel frustrated with the results you’re getting — you have to rethink your approach and pursue a new path intentionally.
Read: Why Being Different Is So Difficult
I should add that prior to our conversation, by virtue of her images, on the surface it appeared like things were going pretty well. But…
There’s More To Fishing Than Just Counting How Many Fish You’ve Caught!
Once you’ve engaged in the process of exchanging your services for money, it’s not uncommon to find evidence of places that can be improved in order to compliment the entire experience for both parties involved.
This can show up in the form of someone having a wrong concept about your industry and what you do can be addressed via content so the next experience is more seamless. It could be a weak brand story that can be stronger to convert quicker because it’s authentic, specific, and noticeable. It can be potential clients ghosting you because your price is “too high” that you could eliminate with clarity on your ideal clients. Or, it could be the sluggish movement of your packages that you can reposition so the value is clearer or the up-sell or down-sell seamless.
The aforementioned are critical areas that, on a deeper level (like with my acquaintance), subject you to the runaround as well because the prospect is left in limbo about why they should care about the services being provided over the next guy.
Design that’s disconnected, inconsistent or an inaccurate reflection of the purpose its created for is dead and just the type of story I labor to get people (who have worked with me) to distance themselves from in order to strengthen their impact because you go fishing with real bait, not a picture of bait.
But not doing this next thing first is where the whole connection begins going downhill:
I am the Founder and Visual Brand Strategist at The BrandTUB
- Schedule a call lets see if you’re a good fit to work with me.
