Create a "No" Report for your business... to get more business!

Every day in every business a customer asks for something to which the business replies "no".

There are lots of reasons why that response might be valid and appropriate, but this post is about the value of understanding which questions were answered that way that should not have been!

For example:

• I was recently in the market for a new water softener so I called a major retail chain that sells home appliances and asked them if they sell softeners. The woman on the phone said "no".  
• I was helping a friend find a new job not too long ago so I contacted another friend who works for a recruitment agency. He said his agency specializes in head-hunting for the health care and manufacturing sectors. When I asked if they also recruit for the financial industry, he said "no".

I can't really blame either of them for saying "no". They were both just stating facts, and there are probably good reasons for them not to offer those things. In my opinion, however, if you sell appliances, you should probably sell water softeners and if you're in the recruiting business, you should probably recruit for all industries. But that's beside the point. The point is, businesses should be recording those questions to which they answer "no".

That retailer should be tracking how many times someone asks for a water softener. That recruiter should keep track of how many times a job candidate is presented to them from an industry outside of the ones in which they specialize. That tracking will identify trends that could lead to product and service diversification that opens up new revenue streams!

Why bother? First of all, if you start selling water softeners when otherwise you didn't, you'll make more money! Second of all, and perhaps more importantly, if the market thinks you might sell something that you don't, you should. If it's perfectly reasonable for a customer to ask for it, you should sell it. Of course, if someone asks a car dealership if they sell waffle makers, that's not reasonable and not worth considering. But if the market requests it of you and it's a reasonable request based on the brand positioning you have established, your answer should be "yes".

The biggest question is whether or not a product or service would be (reasonably) expected of you by the marketplace ("Do my customers really expect that I would sell water softeners?"). The best way to determine what is expected of you is to listen when they ask!

LESSON FOR MARKETERS

Start keeping track of what people are asking for. It matters not what YOU think you should sell to the market, it matters what the MARKET believes you should sell.

YOUR TURN

Any examples of businesses that unexpectedly answered "no" to you?