“Let Your Fingers Do The Walking”

“Let your fingers do the walking" was the tagline of the Yellow Pages back when they were the reference point for anything you wanted. If you weren't in the Yellow Pages and White pages you would not be found and there was a high chance your business would not succeed, unless you had incredible word-of-mouth. Our fingers still “do the walking” these days but, rather than walking through Pages, we tend to stroke our cell phones and tap points of interest. How does your company stack up when customers look for you?

The landscape has changed. Not as much as you might think. It used to be about being under the right category, page placement, white space and having words and statements that would grab your potential clients attention. All these things are still important. We just reference them differently now. ‘SEO optimisation’ is about having the right words in the right places, User interface and engagement is about layout (white space), Page rank is about position in the search. Are you aware of what keywords people use when they're searching for your product or service? What do they care about and what are they looking for? Do you understand what your customer considers to be important in the delivery of your product or service irrespective of where they buy it from? In the world of motels, phrases like, “clean, safe, comfortable, friendly, convenient, wifi” often come up. Have you ever looked at online reviews from people buying products and services like what you offer? It is a great place to start if you want an understanding of how customers think and what matters to them.

As online reviews and social media websites gain more and more popularity, it is becoming increasingly important to make time to let your “fingers do the walking”. Understanding your customers is increasingly becoming an essential requirement to succeed in business. The better you know your customer, the more you can tailor your offering to match what they are looking for and position yourself with a meaningful point of difference. Work with your customer facing team this week and analyse online reviews, looking for what delights people and what creates niggle points. The beauty of getting the customer experience right is that you create and build a loyal customer group who keeps coming back and happily and readily spreads the word, encouraging others to come to you. This works because it is far easier to trust a friend's recommendation than have to “let our fingers do the walking!”