Written by Dick CarlsonI visited the local Chamber of Commerce in my new adopted city last week, and (of course) they’d like me to join. While the buffet lunch was lovely, and I met a nice man who ran a flower shop, I’m not sure that it would really be worth the expense. So I was looking at their site to try to see what other benefits there might be for my tiny little business. (Red flag #1 — they won’t tell me how much the membership costs.)
One of the “benefits” is that I can get up to 40% off at Office Depot. (Sort of like my cable provider gives me up to 7Mbms…) But they won’t give me any details unless I fill in a form with all my contact details. (Red flag #2.) Sigh. Sounds like I’m going to have to talk to a sales droid.
This morning, a nice young man calls me on the phone, tells me what a wonderful choice I’ve made, and starts rattling on about all the toner and copying I can get. I finally manage to derail his prepared pitch and ask if he has a simple list of categories and discounts that he could point me to on the web. “Well, no. There are just so many different products and discounts.” Sigh.
OK, I say. How about technology. What sort of discount can I get on computers, printers, accessories. Stuff like that. “Well, none.” Sigh. “You see, there’s not a lot of mark-up on those products.”
He tells me that they do have a sister company called “Office Tech” that would be happy to have me as a customer. I ask if they’re going to have better prices than Fry’s or Amazon. Another silence, then he says probably not. He starts talking about discounts on shipping things at their counter and I explain to him that I’m a pretty virtual guy, and that most of my products are just bits in a bucket and go over a system of tubes.
Don’t get me wrong — he’s got a job to do, and he’s just following up on a sales lead. And I really didn’t expect that Office Depot was going to give me 40% off on a Toshiba laptop. But I’m really not sure why we’re still doing this elaborate dance of hiding prices, pretending that there are actually meaningful discounts, and wasting time with phone calls and emails and such.
How about your web site? Can I clearly see what you’re selling, what it costs, and why I should buy it from you? And if you can’t compete on price, are there clear reasons why I should still buy from you? I often buy technology from Office Depot — they have a great return policy, I can have it right now, etc. But the sweet little droid on the phone never once mentioned any of that.
I speak often to rooms full of people in suits who would really like to believe that the world hasn’t really changed — and I’m sympathetic. I’d personally like to believe that I was still slim, young, and able to stand up from the couch without grunting. But at some point we all need to step into the real world.
Can you hear your customers sighing?
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