Our spotlight this month is on a favorite book of ours. While more than 10 years old, its principles still hold true and are proof that sound business practices ever go out of style. Read on for Carolyn Merriman’s review of Harry Beckwith’s Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing (Warner Books 1997).

In writing about the marketing of services, Harry Beckwith knows whereof he speaks. His book is based on 25 years of experience with thousands of business professionals, and is replete with thought-provoking examples from such service providers as Federal Express, Citicorp, a travel agency, and an ingenious baby-sitter.

He takes us back with him to the beginning. As he sat down to write his first ad for a service, Beckwith realized he couldn't show the service doing anything, because "services are invisible; services are just promises that somebody will do something." Because a service is intangible, people typically buy it without utilizing any of their senses. This is diametrically opposed to the product purchasing model that relies on sight, touch, taste, smell, and of its "invisibleness," a service is difficult to define in terms of established processes, deliverables, and outcomes. And services are usually purchased from people whom the consumer has been referred to, knows, or has done business with before.

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It can be more than a little unsettling to read the economic headlines these days. And it’s easy to feel uneasy when you consider what effect the waning markets and consequent consumer reactions may have on your organization. Now’s the time to take a hard look at what tactics you have in place—or need to implement—to rise above it all. Involve your team in reviewing your strategy and taking steps to make changes where they’re warranted. Consider these tips as you review:

1. Stay focused on your strategy and never lose sight of the end goal. While your plan may require some short-term shifts, the long-term rationale is still probably sound.

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Seems as if we’re always torn between two jobs these days: the quest to find new revenue or referral opportunities and the business of implementing them. As you work on your customer relationship strategy this year, here are some points to ponder:

What do your customers want and expect from you? Most say they want:

• Ease and simplicity
• Seamless delivery and communication
• Solutions for their business initiatives that they value
• To be engaged and treated like a business partner
• A return on investment, one that’s tracked and reported
• To be asked to give their opinion about how you can improve the relationship—and to hear your response!
  

How can you and your team be all that a physician or employer wants?

• Listen and learn from your customers and prospects and process their feedback internally.
• Create a sense of "ownership" of the customer’s experience with you—from the patient, his supervisor, the personnel or safety manager, all the way to the president.
• Build your program from the outside in; design your product and services from the customer’s perspective—not yours.
• Train everyone on sales and service, and the messages and behaviors that reinforce the value of the customer in every way.
• Be able to track, measure and prove your results, and demonstrate value all the time!

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