Rachel Sanders is Expert Found's Business & Money Editor.

7 Foolish Phrases Owners Say to Wreck Their Business - and What I Think When I Hear Them

We’ve got the best service
How do you know that? Can you prove it? Would you mind if asked your customers instead of taking your word for it? Do you think you might have a biased opinion? Superlatives like this just don’t work in marketing. They’re overused and just don’t carry any weight. Now you might have the best service out there, you can prove it to customers by offering a guarantee, a spotless record, and glowing testimonials.

I can’t help you, there’s nothing I can do
Ouch. Nothing worse than working with a sales rep that is untrained and unable to make decisions or provide solutions. Always provide some solution, some answer to your customer’s challenge. It might not be her/his ideal solution, but no one likes to hear, “There’s nothing I can do”. What seems eons ago, I used to work in a movie theater. On a typical day, a woman uneasily approached me with her young daughter, she regretfully asked, “I don’t have enough money for both my daughter and me to see a movie, would you make an exception and allow her in?” I sat there for a few seconds, “Sure, why not?” The woman was so grateful she gave me a bear hug and kiss on the cheek. In one respect, I lost the theater $7.50 that day, I’d like to think of it as I made a $7.50 risk that this woman would be a customer for life at that theater.

That’s not our policy
Another customer service gem that I cringe when I hear it, this is awful customer service. Who likes to be told this? You often hear this from CSR’s and lower management who don’t have the authority or intelligence to think for him or herself. I bought a phone case on sale at Comp USA, after taking the case home I noticed it didn’t fit my phone. I took the unopened case back to the store within 72 hours and asked for a refund or exchange. After 45 minutes bouncing from CSR to lower management, I kept getting, “That’s not our policy, you’ll have to keep the case”. The case was on sale for under $10. I typically spend over $2000/year on computer related equipment, thanks to this $9.73 item, I will no longer spend that money at Comp USA.

Everyone is my target market
Ahh, memories of Sylvester the Cat from the Bugs Bunny Looney Toones comes to mind here. Remember when Sylvester saw a bunch of birds in a bush? Instead of focusing on one bird he’d scamper over in a frenzy to grab all of the birds he could – if memory serves, he never caught any this way. Get focused on whom your market reach really, and tailor your efforts to catering to that market. Saying that everyone’s your target market often spells out a variety of 4 letter words for a business’ future success; I would spell it D…O…O…M.

We’ve got XX years of service in the business
How have you done in those XX years? Did your business growth go up or down? Were these XX years of struggling just to make it or has your business been thriving? This phase can be deceptive, so you’ve got to learn more.

We’re a One-Stop Shop
I always think of the phrase, “Jack of all trades, master of none”. Businesses are often so eager to get the sale, they’ll say, “Sure we handle it all” without first understanding what the prospect wants. If a business does this to you before they know what you want and need – run as fast as you can.

Visit our 30-60% off sales
30-60% off of what? Come on, tell me the price, not how much I’ll save. A good percentage of marketers still use this technique, and it still must work on some people because they keep using it – it just doesn’t work on me, does it work on you?

A business savvy graphic designer is often a contradiction in terms; however, Jeremy is a unique combination of sharp business marketer and creative designer. This one-two punch provides clients with targeted marketing, advertising and design projects that yield outstanding results and a terrific return on their investment; they actually work. Companies looking to feel more confident and credible with their business brand, tired of getting lost in a crowd of competitors and always feeling like they have to compete on price, need to call Jeremy at 480.391.0704.

If you are looking for more free insight and inspiration, you’ll want to get in on the “Can-Do Confidence Builder”. Emailed weekly, the Confidence Builder provides you with essential marketing and design insights that help you get the most out of your investment and help you to stay one step ahead of the competition. Email Jeremy at comments@candographics.com and asked to be added to our list or visit http://www.candographics.com.