The largest expense my company has every month is my marketing expense. The check I write to my marketing manager is higher than any other. On the surface, one might think I could save the money and simply do it myself. After all, it’s just some social media and website mumbo jumbo, right?
On the surface, it might look like that. However, there is a whole lot more to it: constant upkeep of website content to optimize SEO, utilization of our sophisticated software that manages our plan, forward thinking and ensuring that our actions today will lay the appropriate groundwork for tomorrow, pushing my limits to try different types of modern advertising, etc. A ton more than I could do or want to do on my own.
How do I know all of this? Why can I see below the surface and understand the depth and complexity of his services? Simple: he shows me. We have a weekly call on our plans and I have access to monthly reports on a million different metrics (maybe not a million, but a lot). During our calls, I can see all that he is doing, and I will never consider doing this on my own. Regardless of how easy it might look on the surface, it’s complex. Which brings me to strategy #1 to winning the DIY customer…
Proactively illustrate the value you bring to your customers so they never consider the DIY route in the first place.
If one of your customers only sees the output of your work, they might conclude that your company just “hangs a few cameras here and there”. If that’s their opinion, it might be too late. You might have lost a customer to the DIY bug. You need to get in front of them to illustrate the value you’re bringing. Some examples:
- If you provide preventive maintenance, make sure your customer knows exactly what your team did on their last visit and provide input on action needed by your customer.
- If it’s a prospect you’ve never work with, teach them about your approach and technology leading up to their next project. Make sure they know that you provide the latest and most proficient technology and services. If you don’t provide these advance services, then you can still teach them and show the details of your work.
- If you provide any managed services for your customers, meet quarterly or semi-annually to ensure that they see all the costs they’re saving and the value they’re gaining from your services.
Here’s the beauty of this strategy: while you’re sharing the value that you provide through educational techniques, you’ll also be exhibiting the complexity of your services. It’s a little bit more than “hanging a few cameras”, isn’t it? Your customer will think: “I’m glad we don’t have to do all of that.”
The best way to win a DIY customer is to make sure they never consider being a DIY’er. If you proactively teach them about the value you provide, they’ll also see the complexity of your services – and never jump over to the other side.
What do you think? A very small percentage of customers will see the complexity as a challenge and may go for it on their own. Has that happened to you? If so, please share your experience below.
