Make it easy to do business with you

Everyone wants more business - at least of the right kind.

But I remain astonished at the number of businesses which make it bloody difficult to do business with them.

Often this is because they are clinging to antiquated models. Three common hallmarks of this Luddite approach:

1. Failure to use the power of the web as a distribution channel
2. A view that people need to be 'sold'; instead of an understanding that modern customer simply want to 'buy'
3. Driving customers to an endpoint which is 'pick up the phone and call us'

A point in case.

I decided this week that I wanted to do a direct mail - yes, you read that correctly, mail as in snail mail - campaign for one of my businesses (there is a logical reason for this which I will perhaps canvass in a future blog).

I found I could pretty easily find half a dozen web sites which could sell me address lists (either email or snail mail) although almost none of them were e-commerce enabled.

But I was shocked when I came to search for someone who could pull the campaign together - produce and print the addressed direct mail piece; stuff it in addressed envelopes; post it out. Of course there are loads of them out there who do this sort of stuff, but not one of them provided me the opportunity to get a price and set it all up online.

All the sites out there 'forced' me to pick up the phone to talk to someone who wanted the opportunity to 'sell' me a solution. Why-oh-why-oh-why???!!!

I would have instantly done business with one who:

1. Informed me about the likely costs, benefits and returns of conducting a campaign (case studies and $$$$);
2. Provided me a way to initiate it and set it all up online

Isn't that what the web is for in business?

Why force me to call someone - it wastes my time and theirs; it probably means there are a bunch of employees on their payroll who don't need to be there; but most importantly it erects a barrier between me and doing business.

Times are tough. Don't whinge about it. Simply make it easy for me to do business with you. Use the medium; make it work.

Easy really!