Turning a Negative Into a Positive

Do you get hung up on something you see as a shortcoming of your business? What you believe is a negative can actually be a positive to your customers.

Do you get hung up on something you see as a shortcoming of your business? What you believe is a negative can actually be a positive to your customers.

Perhaps you are starting out in business and do not have the budget for an office. Why not take your business to your customers? Would customers appreciate the convenience of having you come to them instead of them having to fight traffic to get to you? Of course. What you thought of as a negative (“I can not afford an office.”) is a positive benefit to your customers (“You don’t have to come to us—we will come to you!”).

When a friend of mine was starting her massage practice, she was working full-time in a corporate job. She could only see clients on nights and weekends. That turned out to be a big plus for her customers, many of whom also had 8-to-5 jobs and preferred seeing her outside of their normal work hours. When she went to full-time in her massage business, she decided to continue offering evening and weekend appointments.

If one of your products can only be produced in limited numbers, or is only available at certain times of the year, that can be a big plus for your marketing. Build up to when the product will be available and create excitement among your customers. The fact that something is in short supply, or is only available for a limited time, can make it more desirable to customers because it creates a sense of urgency. Your customers may not camp out all night to buy your product, as they did for the Playstation 3, but they will know that if they do not act now, they will be left out. That will motivate them to buy.

And sometimes the switch from negative to positive comes from how your present it. Even if you believe that something will be perceived by customers as a disadvantage, present it simply as a matter of fact. Let’s say your product comes in one color. Saying, “It only comes in blue,” showcases a shortcoming. Saying that the product is, “a vibrant blue,” gives the same information without the negative spin. Maybe I like blue and would be perfectly happy with blue; however, telling me that I can only have blue makes me start wishing for a green one. After all, we humans always want what we are told we can not have.

Of course, you should never make misrepresentations or try to deceive customers. Always be truthful when describing your products and services. But that does not mean that you have to accentuate the negative.

Start by listing all of the features you see as potentially negative. Then look at each feature from your customers’ point of view. Find the positive benefits to customers in each feature. Those benefits are probably things that make your business uniquely able to serve your market, so include them in all of your marketing communications.

As the Idea Lady, Cathy Stucker helps entrepreneurs and professionals attract customers and make themselves famous. Get free marketing tips at http://www.IdeaLady.com/.


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