Living in another country requires an open mind and willingness to accept different ways of doing things.
I think we can all agree on that.
However, while here, we’ve encountered a way of being, a “tradition” really that seems completely bizarre and is certainly inefficient. (Oh, right, efficiency isn’t part of the culture…but…this isn’t even FUN..)
Unfortunately, it’s one we must adhere to like everyone else.
It’s this.
Bill paying.
You know, the water bill, the electric bill…and yes, the phone bill (if you have a Mexican cell.)
Do you know how you have to do it?
You’re not going to believe this…(I still can’t quite grasp it.)
You have to physically go to the specific office of that utility and use their special ATM-style deposit machine to pay it.
(and stand in a long line to do it!)
That’s right, you’re not even paying a person — that I could understand –no, you’re putting the money into a machine to pay it.
So, why not connect this machine to the internet?
I have no idea….
But it got me to thinking.
(Because you know I can’t turn off my brain.)
Are we doing something similar in our businesses?
I mean, do we make it tough for our would-be customers to buy from us?
Think about it.
- Is your offer painstakingly obvious? (Hey, don’t feel bad if you’re not sure, the only way to be obvious is to make one offer at a time. Do you want x or y?)
- Do you clearly outline the benefits of your offer and how it’s going to help your buyer?
- Do you have an easy way to deliver the item/service?
- Do you have an easy way to accept payments? (I use mostly Paypal but a lot of the millennials seem to use Venmo. If you serve millennials, then you probably have multiple payment options.)
If you don’t make it super easy for your would-be buyers…they may move on to the next person, because unlike the water company, you don’t have a monopoly on what you do.
This is important.
What do you think? Do you make it super easy for people to work with you?
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