The customer is making a comeback – slow though it may be. And when she (or he) returns, you’re
going to notice a change. A big change. FAIR WARNING: How you prepare for the new customer will
determine your long-term success.

REALITY: While your customers were away, online has officially taken over. It’s the new showroom
and comparison shopper. You can chat, or phone in a heartbeat. You can see every option and some you
never knew existed. It’s fast, it’s accurate, and anyone can choose anything, any time of the day or night.
Yes, the Internet has been there for a few years, but it has taken a firm hold as a trillion dollar option for
consumers and customers every place in the world. Your world.

It’s a different world now. We are not going to “recover,” per-se. We’re going to revive and revise. And
you can be in it, or watch it pass you by.

Here are some examples of “different” on the business side. Car dealerships, stock brokerages, insurance
companies, banks, homebuilders, commercial real estate agents, residential real estate agents, and
mortgage lenders have all revised and restructured their business – and that’s the short list.
And the customer is different too. Way different.

Let me give you the details of what the new customer (both business and consumer) looks like:
* She’s going to decide somewhat slower. She’s been hesitating for more than a year.
* She’s angry about the value of his home, and the value of her investments.
* She will not be doing business the same way it’s been done before.
* She will not be banking the same way she banked before.
* She will not be advertising the same way she advertised before.
* She will not be buying a car the same way she did before.
* She will not be buying a home the same way she did before.
* She will not be investing the same way she did before.
* She’s online. Checking out your website – and your competitor’s website.
* She’s socializing. Telling everyone what’s happening in her world and the world.
* She’s Tweeting, Facebooking, and Linked-In-ing. Social media is still a firestorm.
* She’s blogging about his experiences with you, for the world to read.
* She’s YouTubing about his experiences with you for the world to watch – by the millions (any questions
United Airlines?).
* She’s Googling, not yellow-paging.
* She’s texting. A lot.
* She’s using her mobile device to do damn near everything.
* She’s WiFi-ing in his hotel room, on the plane, in Starbucks, and at home.
* IF she’s reading a paper, or getting the news, it’s online.
* She’s as likely to watch The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, or listen to Howard Stern for news as she
is to watch a network “news” person read a tele-prompter.
* She’s purchasing after midnight. By the billions.
* She’s looking for ease of doing business with you.
* She is value oriented, but will look to price as part of the decision.
* She wants a relationship.
* She wants, needs, and expects GREAT service after the sale.
* She does not want to wait for anything or anyone.
* She needs help and expert advice.
* She’s looking for ideas and answers.
* She can check your price and your facts in two seconds or less on Google.
* She knows as much about your product as you do.
* She knows MORE about your competitor’s product than you do.
* She can pay right now IF you can take a credit card online.
* She expects someone to answer the phone when she calls that can actually HELP.
* She is SICK of off-shore call centers, erroneously called “help desks.”
* She is SICK of you telling him how important her call is while she stands on hold.
* She is SICK of your recorded hold message.
* She demands the truth. All the time.
* She no longer trusts the institutions she used to hold sacred.
* She expects you to be as computer literate as she is.
* She needs to be understood and feel your sincere concern.
* While you are qualifying her, she is qualifying you.
* If she needs a referral or recommendation, she’ll go to Craig’s list or Angie’s list or Google or her next
door neighbor, or anyone else but you…UNLESS you have video testimonials online.

As you’re thinking about (and making excuses about) these statements, you better be thinking about your
answers and responses to them. And you better be making the strategic decisions and game plans to
make them happen.

The economy is coming back – BUT NOT TO THE WAY IT WAS. Don’t take my word for it. Ask any
daily newspaper.

After reviewing these statements, ask yourself this BIG question: Will your new customer buy from you,
or your competition?

It’s time to get a real person answering your phone; it’s time to have someone monitor the Internet for unhappy customers; it’s time to offer real customer service, not lip service; it’s time to start caring about people, and the numbers will take care of themselves.