Hit Your Target: Easify® Your Business

Author: Terry Watson, President, Easify Inc. As you’re setting goals for the coming year, I have one I’d like you to consider: not making people think. And by that I mean, let’s make things effortless for your clients in 2017. After all, your economic outlook is in direct proportion to the effort required of those who do business with you. If you’re making things unnecessarily difficult, clients will go elsewhere. So, think effortless in 2017. Why? We detest working with companies, brands and marketers that insist on unnecessary complications and processes. Think about your last call with the cable company – how many times were you transferred? How often were you put on hold? How many times were you asked the exact same question? This is incongruent with great customer service. Take a look at your processes, your website, different aspects of your business plan and your content strategy. Ask yourself:

• How can I make this easier?
• Where can I reduce steps?
• How can I opt out of the irrelevant?

Why You Need to Simplify and Easify®

My company is called Easify®. I like to say that to Easify® is to reduce the steps, eliminate the unnecessary and reduce the time required, in order to reduce decision-making stress and effort. Remember: the shortest distance between obscene profits and financial embarrassment is rooted in the ratio of thought versus effort. Make this your mantra! Companies that implement this process are not just profitable; they are safe guarded from economic fluctuations – just look at Apple, Redbox, Zappos, Amazon, Southwest Airlines and Nordstrom, to name a few. We buy books at Amazon because it’s easy. We shop at Nordstrom because returning an item is a nonissue. If potential customers can go elsewhere and get the same service or product with less toil, they will leave you like you have garlic breath.

How to Easify® Your Business

Start by asking yourself, how can I make X, Y and Z easier for my clients? Where are the pain points? Examine your entire business, from your marketing efforts to the way you work with customers throughout a transaction. Things to look at to Easify® the process:

• What are your processes, and where can you streamline?
• Is your phone number on every page of your website?
• Is your website providing useful information and easily searchable?
• Is your contact information on your social media channels?

Let’s tackle, for example, your website. It’s pretty common to have a contact button – but this means that your potential clients have to click through to a separate page from the menu. Instead, consider adding your phone number to the upper right-hand corner of every single page on your website. This eliminates that extra step to get them on the phone with you. Does your Facebook business page have a phone number listed? You would be surprised how frequently this isn’t the case. What if I were to click the “About” button on your page – will I find your contact information? Again, surprisingly few people do this. Ensure you have proper contact information where prospective clients are most likely to search for it – always. Another process to look at is when you meet with a prospect in person. Do you immediately give them a list of mistakes to avoid and frequently asked questions, or do you let them stumble through the transaction and learn on the fly? Are your prospects aware of potential costs up front, or do you provide a “pop” disclosure? Simplify and streamline. Your customers will thank you for it!