The Business-Consumer Paradox

For as long as the concept of free enterprise has existed, there have been those that have been relentless in achieving the unachievable – the business man, a legendary icon. He aims to crush his competitors in every way possible to make a ton of cash…Oh, and deliver the goods to consumers while he’s at it. The point of a business is usually to make the most money it can off of the least resources. But what happens when the consumer walks in and wants the most product with the least amount of money? The Business-Consumer Paradox.

The Business

You’ve seen it more then once – sometimes businesses just don’t get along with consumers. Most businesses operate on the abundance principle, which basically means they say “Oh you have a problem? Too bad. There’s plenty more people to buy our stuff.“

I’ve said it a million times, business should be about something greater then money, but I know that’s not always the case, and I accept that. The example above makes the business man look like the bad guy,and that’s not always the case either. In my defense though, thats how the movies portray them! And I happen to know a few business men personally that act like that…

Anyway, I think most of you would agree that generally to make money, you have to have either a decent profit margin for every product, or the volume in sales to support the low cost (wholesale). There are more advanced concepts out there like gateway products and promotions etc. that we’ll get into in another post, but for the most part you’ve got to make money or you would quit…right??

The Consumer

On the other hand, you have to get inside the head of the consumer. If you are trying to buy something that you will use for your personal life, or let’s say something to eat for example, where will you go first?

First, you’ll probably go to places your friends have recommended. They already had a positive experience with a certain company or brand, so there is less risk in going with them. If that doesn’t work, you probably will default to places you’ve seen a few times but have never got a chance to go.

If no one has recommended anywhere without asking or you cant think of a place to go, you may even ask someone specifically or on facebook etc. “Hey guys, i’m soo hungry…in the mood for pizza, any good places near downtown?” You’ve probably done that in one form or another before, I know I have.

Second, you’ll go out and do your own research. You’ll search on Google, you may look around for reviews on sites like yelp.com.

Only after you’ve exhausted all other resources will you go out driving and looking for places…and some won’t even do this at all.

We’re all consumers in some form, so that really shouldn’t be that hard, but I was surprised at how any businesses struggle with it. So what exactly is happening here?

The Solution

The main factor in any interaction between any two people, or a person and a business for that matter, is trust. Trust is what gets them to come in the door (or click on the website) and actually spend some money.

In the example above, if your friends recommend something, that’s a form of trust, because someone else you know personally had a positive experience with them. If you’ve seen the place a few times, that’s brand recognition, and you’re more likely to go places you’ve seen over and over then one that you just found. SOMETIMES convenience can override trust, but it rarely happens, unless its about 10 or 20 times more convenient.

Think about it. If you’ve got a shop on the corner that has a broken window reinforced with rebar, tons of weeds growing through the concrete and some really scary guys hanging out in front. Do you think Grandma Ethel is going to come in and buy your muffins? Unless she’s super granny, probably not.

On the other hand, if Grandma Ethel has been buying your muffins for years and knows you personally, she’ll probably come in anyway…Chances are you’ll hear a lecture about your image, but she’ll still buy from you.

So, what have we learned?

• Familiarity builds trust
• Trust outweighs price
• Convenience CAN override trust, but only in extremely uneven proportions

Okay, so how can it work for me?

So trust is a powerful thing, but can it overcome this massive conflict of interest? Absolutely. So how do you build trust then? You take care of your customer.

Everyone has heard the saying “The customer is always right” and although they are not always necessarily right, the saying essential means that you should make it right to make them happy.

Many small businesses do actually fall back on this principle, but usually only AFTER something has went wrong or a customer is unsatisfied. Why not make them happy right up front?

Build a happy atmosphere, have sales people that greet them and engage them with questions about their day. Give them something for free without asking anything in return, just for walking in the door. Give them a story to tell. With a website, show some of your personality, engage people on social media, talk to them, show genuine interest to help without any compensation.

What does this do? It makes them happy upfront…and guess what else? It builds familiarity, but most of all, it builds trust.

The cool part is that after you’ve built trust and familiarity, your unhappy customer problem will become virtually non-existent. Would you yell at someone for spilling your drink after they just gave you a free corndog with a smile?

The Bottom Line

Be happy, be helpful, be fun, be unique, but most of all, BE YOU. Don’t pretend your a big bad company who doesn’t have time for the puny little customer. It doesn’t impress anybody.

Embrace the small business aspect, and take care of your customer. It’s the only way around the Business-Consumer Paradox.

Thoughts? Comments? Angry business owner rants about me portraying them as selfish? Leave them below! And don’t forget to share!

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