Selling the Invisible

"Big mistakes are big opportunities."

"America's great service successes are not the companies that did what others did, but a little better."

"Unless warned otherwise, the people responsible for marketing a service almost always will take up where they left off the last time they thought about marketing."

"Surveys asking How could we improve? no longer produce useful data; the customers have run out of ideas."

"Focus groups tell more about group dynamics than about market dynamics."

"Every failure is likely to be costly."

"Never mind what business you are in. What are you good at?"

"If you're selling a service, you're selling a relationship."

"Your real competitor often is sitting across the table. Plan accordingly."

"Have we carefully considered innovative ways that new technology can be used to improve our service and grow our business?"

"The very premises on which planning is based seem flawed from the beginning."

"Given that groups are good at brainstorming, perhaps many services might benefit from focus groups that brainstorm new ideas."

"You easily can get stalled in the shift from strategy to tactics because you are paralyzed by your desire for excellence."

"How do you fill a niche's needs? How do you create uniqueness?"

"People do not look to make the superior choice; they want to avoid making a bad choice."

"People with little time are more apt to make first impressions as snap judgments, and then base all their later decisions on them."

"Build the quality into your service, but make it less risky, too."

"Accentuate the trivial."

"To broaden your appeal, narrow your position."

"In positioning, don't try to hide your small size. Make it work by stressing its advantages, such as responsiveness and individual attention."

"Maybe your price, which makes you look like a good value, actually makes you look second-rate."

"Monograms have no memorability."

"A brand is even more important than a warranty."

"Communications make services more tangible, and give prospects something firm to evaluate."

"Saying many things usually communicates nothing."

"People cannot see your service. So they judge your service by what they can see."

"Sometimes, it's all in how you say it."

"Sentences free of clich?and other tired words arouse and keep people's curiosity and attention. "

"Look harder. The interest, and the story, are there."

"We want to smile more."

"Don't raise expectations you cannot meet."

"One of a marketer's most suicidal marketing weapons is hype."

"To fix your messengers, fix your message."

"To succeed spectacularly in a service business, you must get all your ducks in a row. Marketing is just one duck."

"The more you can spot patterns and better understand people, the more you will succeed."