Full Transcript
[0:00]
Welcome to the 805 Web Minute. And today we're talking about what local customers truly value and how your first impression determines lifetime loyalty. And we're really going to get into this deep dive because it's about why that incredible, you know, personal trust you've earned as a business owner right here in San Luis Obispo County can be just lost instantly lost. Yeah. If your digital front door, your website doesn't match the quality of your actual in-person service. That's the tension, right? That's the core issue for every local business on the central coast right now. You've spent years, maybe even decades, building a reputation one handshake at a time. You're a neighbor. People know you exactly. Your work speaks for itself, but the second of potential new customer Googles you that entire foundation of trust you've built, it's suddenly on trial. Okay. So let's unpack that because the sources we looked at, they really highlight this massive, almost I'd call it an unfair advantage that local businesses in SLO have over big anonymous corporations. It all comes down to one word, trust. When you look at the data, it's pretty clear. Small local businesses are, well, they're the most trusted institutions in America. We found a really powerful statistic on this. What was it? Get this 70% of Americans express confidence in small businesses. 70. That makes them the most trusted institution overall. Just think about that leverage for a minute. That's huge leverage. So if you're a small business owner in a Royal Grande or Pazzo Robles, you're starting that customer relationship already 70% ahead of some giant chain. You are. But the question is, what is that trust actually built on? And maybe more importantly, why can it vanish so quickly online? It's built on human connection. It's that accountability. People see you at the grocery store. They know where you live. The trust is personal. It's earned by standing behind your work when something goes wrong. So we've got trust is the foundation. It's what sets the local plumber apart from a national call center. But this trust, it needs to be protected.
[2:00]
And that's where the digital part becomes so critical. Like if I get a great referral from a friend and Grover Beach, but then I look you up and your online presence feels, I don't know, messy or unprofessional. Then the digital impression just overrides the personal line. Yeah. Creates doubt. It's a really fragile ecosystem. It is. The website is the vetting tool now. If that first online impression doesn't line up with the trust you've earned offline, the customer just assumes something is wrong. The reputation you built over 10 years gone in 10 seconds. So if trust is the foundation, let's talk about what keeps customers coming back. Our research pointed to three, three really critical pillars for loyalty. And the first one is all about recognizing our humanity. Yeah. Pillar one is simply being treated like a person. And this isn't just some nice, fluffy slogan. It has a real impact on how much people are willing to spend. Okay. We found that 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience. They are actively choosing that experience over just, you know, hunting for the lowest price. Let's break that down for a local business owner. 86% will pay more. What are they paying for exactly? Is it speed or is it something else? It's care. In the local contacts, they're paying for care. It's the small stuff that big companies just can't or won't manage because it's not efficient. Like what? Like remembering a past conversation or, and this is a big one, answering the phone with a real human voice instead of forcing people into that awful automated menu. Oh, the worst. Please listen carefully as our options have changed. Exactly. Or following up after a job is done just to make sure everything's okay. The value is in the message that says you are a person, not a transaction number. And the second you treat them like a number, you're just like every other big corporation. You are. And that leads right into the second pillar, which is reliability. It's that feeling of certainty that customers are really crevice. So pillar two is reliability.
[4:01]
You can count on. Yeah. And this is about going from just good service to excellent service. The numbers here are also super clear. 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases with companies that offer excellent service. So good gets you one sale. Good is a one time transaction. Excellent is a lifetime relationship. And excellent. I'm guessing really just means consistency. It's not about some grand gesture. It's about dependability. That's it. It's showing up when you say you will every single time. It's doing exactly what you promised in the quote and, you know, when something inevitable goes wrong because it does life happens. You just fix it. You fix it quickly. No excuses. No making the customer feel like they have to chase you down. That consistency builds an emotional connection. It reduces their stress. And that is what they'll pay a premium for. Okay. Which brings us to the third pillar. And this is one that I think a lot of local businesses overlook, especially the ones who are, you know, masters of their craft, but maybe not of their marketing. It's looking like you have your act together. The first impression. And this is so important because it ties right back to that digital fragility we started with. It does a professional storefront, a clean uniform or a modern website. It all just signals that you take yourself and by extension the customer, seriously, it's an instant credibility check. And the scary part is just how fast it happens. The sources say that 94% of first impressions are design related. 94% and that judgment happens in what was it about 50 milliseconds? Yeah. A 20th of a second. It's faster than you can blink before a potential client has even read the first word on your website. Their brain has already decided if you're credible or not. It's basically a gut feeling based on visuals. It's pure cognitive science. A clean professional website, it reduces what scientists call cognitive load. If a site is slow or cluttered or hard to read on a phone, the user's brain just goes, nope, too much work. And then they assume the business is the same way.
[6:01]
Exactly. It's the halo effect in reverse. If the website looks sloppy, they assume the business is sloppy. They just assume your service will be difficult and outdated, even if you're the best contractor in all of San Luis, a bespoke. So it's not about vanity. It's a signal of competence. No, it's about respecting the customer's time 100%. You could be the absolute best at what you do. But if your website looks like it was built in 1998, you are signaling to every modern customer that you haven't invested in your own business and they will move on. Okay. So we've got the three pillars, personal treatment, reliability and professional appearance. Let's talk about the payoff. When local businesses get this right, the economic benefits are, well, they're staggering. They really are. The math on loyalty just completely outweighs the constant chase for new clients. For one, repeat customers, they're your high value customers. They spend 67% more than new customers. 67%. So that regular who's been with you for years in AG is worth almost double that first time where you just got from some ad almost double. And they become your free and most effective marketing department. We found that 86% of loyal customers will recommend your business, which is the best kind of lead you can possibly get a personal referral. It's pure zero cost marketing. And then there's the long game. The data shows 59% of American consumers, once they're loyal to a brand, we'll stick with them for life. For life, that's incredible. It's a relationship you're building right here in the 805. But there's one number that really just blew my mind when we were reviewing this. It's the profit number. A 5% increase in customer retention can boost your profits by 25% to 95%. Yeah. Let's just pause on that. That's not revenue. That's profit. Why is that number so astronomical? It's because keeping a customer is just so much cheaper than finding a new one. Yeah. It's simple economics. You don't have to spend on ads to get them. You don't have to onboard them. And they're less sensitive about price because they already trust you. So all that leverage, it just flows straight to your bottom line straight to the bottom line.
[8:05]
Loyalty is the single most efficient profit driver a small business has, period. So that's the dream. But the flip side is how easily it can all fall apart. Like we said, it takes years to earn and seconds to lose. What are the big pitfalls that drive those valuable customers away? The biggest one, especially for businesses trying to grow is that bad first impression. We talked about the speed of that judgment, but let's connect it back to credibility. 75% of consumers judge your credibility based on your website's design. 75%. So even if my best friend in a taskadero gives me a glowing referral for you, if they then go to your site and it's clunky or outdated or just broken on their phone, they start to question the referral. They start to question their friends judgment. It's like showing up to a job interview in a stained t-shirt. It just undermines everything else. Exactly. And people have zero patience for it now, which is the second pitfall. The one bad experience, the data on this is brutal. 88% of online users will not return after a single bad experience. 88% you get one shot. One shot and that bad experience could be anything, a website that won't load on a phone, a contact form that doesn't work, an unanswered phone call during business hours. That's it. They're gone. Wow. And the final pitfall, this one's a little sad because I think it happens accidentally. It's when the customer starts feeling like a number. Yeah. This can happen when a business grows. You're trying to be efficient, but you accidentally start processing people instead of valuing them. Right. We pride ourselves on being personal here on the central coast. And you have to maintain that 73% of consumers say that experience is a key factor in their buying decisions. You have to make sure that valued feeling is in every single interaction, digital and in person. Okay. So this brings us to what we're calling the loyalty checkup. We know that 61% of small businesses say over half their revenue comes from repeat customers. These are the people paying the bills. They are your financial bedrock. The challenge now is converting a total stranger into that next new regular because that's how you grow.
[10:09]
Your loyal customers, they already know you. They found you personally, but the new ones, they're starting online every single time. They might have that referral, but they are absolutely going to Google you first to check you out. And they're making that snap 50 millisecond judgment based on what they find. So the goal has to be making sure your online presence gives those new people the exact same feeling of trust that your best regulars already have. Right. If your website looks slow or cheap or confusing, you are actively putting a digital roadblock in front of your own growth every single day. So here's a simple action step for you listening right now. A quick loyalty checkup. Pull up your website on your phone, not your computer, your phone. And if you can, grab a friend or a family member who doesn't know your business that well, have them do it too and ask them one simple question. Based only on this, would you trust this company? And then just listen, listen for any hesitation, watch their face, see if they get confused. Does it load slowly? Is the phone number easy to find that 10 second reaction? That's the reality for every potential new customer in San Luis Obispo or Pismo or AG. If your site fails that quick gut check, I guarantee you you are losing business. That's the quick tip for today. If you want a professional website without the agency price tag or the DIY headache, here is the better way. At UGRO.Pro, we build it, we manage it, and we handle every update forever for just $79 a month. There is zero set up fee, no contract, and it is strictly month to month, so there is zero risk. We're local here in AG, and we can have you live in days, not months. Want to see what your site could look like? Go to UGRO.Pro right now, and we'll design three custom mock-ups for your business, completely free, no strings attached. Thanks for listening, and keep growing.