Ruining Your Reputation By Targeting The Wrong Clients?

Ruining Your Reputation: When’s the last time you purchased a product/service only to be disappointed in the quality of what you received?

What did you do about it? Did you ask for your money back? Did you write a negative review? Or, maybe share your experience on social media?

There’s nothing worse than having someone disappointed in your product/service. For me, disappointing a client is the equivalent of a kick to the stomach. It’s a horrible feeling.

Of course, there are times when you run across a client where no matter what you do, they just can’t be made happy. Usually, those are one-off situations.

However, when you find this happening more and more, it’s time to take a step back and look at how you’re positioning your product/service. Are you targeting your ideal clients? Or, are you casting a wide net hoping to catch anyone and anything?

Ruining Your Reputation Continued…

I had the unfortunate experience last week of booking myself into what was advertised as a “boutique” hotel on a business trip. The pictures advertising the hotel looked upscale. Since it fit my criteria, I went ahead and booked the room. When I arrived at the hotel late at night to check in, I quickly realized that it was more of a motel type establishment. It wasn’t in a great part of the city, but I figured I would give it a chance.

Have you ever heard the saying, “Putting lipstick on a pig?” This is what came to mind when I arrived in my room. I debated trying to find a new hotel and then decided since I’d already had a frustrating day, I’d make the best of an unfortunate hotel booking.

As I was getting my stuff ready for my training in the morning, I realized the room was missing some very basic amenities that are standard even at the bargain hotel chains. When I called down to the front desk to ask for a hair dryer, an iron and ironing board, the friendly front desk person said she’d bring these to my room.

What she delivered was an iron that looked like it had been beaten up. It had a Goodwill sticker on it (and frankly I was surprised the Goodwill even resold it, it was in bad shape) and not surprisingly, it didn’t work.

Ruining Your Reputation Continued…

My guess is someone in management decided to pinch some pennies, but never took the time to ensure it worked. Because, had they tested it to make sure it worked, my guess is the Goodwill price tag would have at least been removed.

The issue was, not only did I pay a fair amount of money for this room; they took the time to hire a great photographer and even painted the walls a trendy color to attract people looking for a nice experience when traveling. And yet, they skimped on the most basic of amenities. They didn’t include tissue (Kleenex) or a bathmat (I slipped stepping out of the shower on the slick floor). There were only two hangers. The blinds were was almost see-through. Even with the lights off, I could have sat and had a conversation with someone and been able to see them perfectly. I felt like I slept with a light on the whole night.

The end result, I felt cheated. I could have paid the same amount of money and stayed at a chain hotel and received a lot more for my money.

Of course, there’s a market for people who don’t care about the things that are important to me when deciding on a hotel room. And yet, their advertising was tailored to travelers exactly like me. They completely missed the mark on meeting my basic expectations.

Your Savvy Sales Tip this week: Ruining Your Reputation

Stop trying to be all things to all people, pretending to be/do something you don’t and hope this makes you money. It’s not sustainable long-term. You’re better off targeting your ideal clients and delivering on those clients’ expectations.

Too often people/companies are out in the marketplace promoting and selling themselves and products walking a fine line between outright lying to clients and stretching the truth slightly. Both of these will ruin your reputation. And long term this doesn't make sense.

So, be honest. When someone asks you if you or your product offers something, be willing to say no and lose the sale vs. risk losing your reputation after taking their money.

Wishing you continued success this week as you hone your message and target your ideal clients.

Agree? Disagree? Have additional comments or thoughts on this article? Please share.