Blog

Where's the beef?

January 16, 2014 by Terrina Rishel — CEO, ATM Authority, LLC

Remember the Wendy's Old-Fashioned Hamburgers slogan, "Where's the beef?" I've always thought it was one of the cleverest marketing campaigns because it cut to the chase and resonated with everyone. Wendy's highlighted and magnified the customer's point of view and it paid off in spades.

In the financial services industry we are never short on buzz words and trendy topics, but sometimes I just want to scream, "Where's the customer?"

It's great to talk technology, process, transformation, analytics, value prop, acronyms, initiatives, and the like. But at the end of the day, to quote an old boss, "We're in the people business!"

With those words in mind, here are four ways to keep customers front and center:

1) Never tell them what they need

Nobody knows your customers' business better than they do! Don't show up with all of the answers — instead bring the right questions. My customers trust that I care about their needs, because I don't focus on my needs. Offering solutions that they "might" want to consider is always better than assuming or implying they're ignorant. Allowing people to feel that they are respected and that their concerns are valid starts with thinking of them as people, not as accounts or numbers in your database.

2) Don't build initiatives around the numbers you want to achieve

Customers don't care what your numeric goals are, so focus on what they care about — not what you care about. If you start a meeting with "I," you might as well say, "I am here for me — because it's all about me." People are perceptive and they will deduce that their best interests might not be at the top of your list when you throw the "I" word around. To build a successful customer-focused initiative, start with their needs, not your target numbers and goals.

3) Highlight the customers' success — not yours

Customers don't care about your success — really. What they really care about is how you can help them be successful. It's far more effective to discuss the success others have achieved by utilizing your solutions. Keep the bragging to a minimum and when you do talk about the great solutions you offer, explain it while magnifying their potential results — not yours.

4) Drop the acronyms and buzzwords whenever possible

Many industries have their own language and the use of acronyms is not uncommon. The financial services industry seems to be especially fond of them, but they can turn off customers. Avoid using them in conversation with customers, and limit their use when writing to a customer.

What you might think of as a convenient shortcut, your customer might think of as arrogance. Don't assume that they know what PCI, DSS, EMV, AIT, IAT, VAT and all those other wonderful acronyms mean.

In short, by telling your customers what they need while bragging (in an unfamiliar language, yet) about your accomplishments, you might leave people wondering, "Where's the beef?"

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About Terrina Rishel

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