“We Hope You Come Back…”

Hi there,

That’s all the receptionist said as we were leaving and it surprised me.

Why?

Well, Susan picked up a couple of tickets for a free massage the other day and persuaded me to come and give it a try. Now I’ve been in China for 6 years and still haven’t had a massage yet. I know, I know, they’re supposed to be great but somehow they don’t appeal to me.

Anyway I thought “What the heck might as well give it a try.” so off we went…

The reception area was very opulent, gilded sofas and armchairs, beautiful decor and fine china on display – more like a five star hotel and definitely not what I’d expected.

The receptionist was very pleasant and once we’d changed our shoes for the slippers provided we were escorted to a sofa and asked to wait a little while. Whilst waiting we were asked if we’d like to go for a shower and offered tea, coffee etc.

I plumped for water which duly arrived with a plate of watermelon, nice touch.

However I was disappointed that the receptionist didn’t remove the previous persons dirty tissues when she took away the empty glasses. This spoiled the effect of the water melon.. I mean who wants to eat something when someone’s dirty tissue is sat there winking at you?

Kind of put me off my watermelon it did…

Soon we were told it was our turn, so leaving the watermelon talking to the dirty tissues we followed our host and were taken to the massage room.

This was an eye opener…

We entered a big darkened room with about 50 comfortable-looking reclining seats and each one had a TV monitor on it. Most of the seats were full, the customers lay back watching TV and relaxed whilst the masseuse massaged their feet.

Now this may seem fine, after all everybody looked happy lying back with their eyes glued to the screens: so maybe the management had done their research and discovered this was what their customers wanted. But for me there was just a teeny-weeny problem…

The noise!

Most of the TV sets had the volume turned up way loud… the cacophony was indescribable, umpteen different channels all blaring away in Chinese.

I was in two minds whether to get up and go but decided to bear it to see what happened. I didn’t switch my TV on though despite the intentions of numerous assistants who seemed upset I didn’t want to have a TV screen pressed inches from my face!

Anyway after about an hour the ordeal was over and I was glad to get away.

To be honest the massage wasn’t bad but the overall experience was a big minus in my book.

I asked Susan what she thought and she said she’d not go back. “The other places are much nicer as they have private rooms and no noise.” were her words.

After collecting our shoes we were escorted to the door by the receptionist – which is the norm in China – and she said “We hope you come back…” as we left.

I looked at Susan and said “Is that it? Is that the sum total of the marketing?” I couldn’t believe it.

We’d been enticed there with the promise a FREE massage which was duly delivered without any ‘fuss’ – surely they were going to try and sell a membership or something? But no, there was no upsell, not even a form to fill in to collect a telephone number or email. We were expected to remember the place and choose to come back without any further offers.

Massage centers are a dime a dozen in China and since this one had gone to the trouble and expense of printing fliers, and giving the Free massage you have expected something more.

This really begs the question – “What was the point of this marketing campaign?”

If it was solely to get more people to visit the center then they succeeded. But if it was to get more recurring customers then they failed. It’s pointless getting new people in the door then letting them walk out without at least capturing their details and, better still, marketing your services to them there and then.

Of course, that may have been what the owner intended when he planned the campaign but the staff let him down. Which means he doesn’t have any control of his business. i.e. the staff are being allowed to do as they see fit (hence the episode with the dirty tissue). If this is the case then he’d really be better off getting on top of his main problem which is his staff training and or morale.

This could be the main reason he is losing customers and felt urged to try and attract more. Fact is though, no matter how many prospective customers he brings in the door, if the staff don’t do their job many will leave without becoming customers…

So Let me ask you:

Who are the most important people in your business, are they the customers or the staff?

In my book it’s the staff. Treat them like diamonds and they’ll shine for the customers attracting more and more to come back. Now even if you only employ yourself you should still treat yourself like a diamond so you can shine for your customers. Get this right BEFORE embarking on your next marketing campaign otherwise you may not see the results you expect from it.

Speak to you soon,

Stuart.

Need some help with a sales letter or marketing problem? Drop me a line to copy [at} kungfucopywriter.com – I’ll be glad to help.