I write custom software using Microsoft Access for businesses that want to improve efficiency. I'm working on some Google ads for my service (I've previously gotten business through word-of-mouth).
Looking over all of my competition, everyone, for the most part, sounds the same. I would feel fairly confident going to any one of my competitors to hire them to build a database system for me. One of them does stand out a little because they sound like they know what they're doing, and they sound fun to work with too. But, they only marginally stand out.
The service I offer is, frankly, about in line with all of my competition. I have a lot of years experience both in programming and in general business...this provides me the ability to understand my customer's needs, and produce a great product for them. But so can everyone else.
So, how to differentiate myself?
I'm considering offering a money back guarantee based on customer satisfaction. In thinking this through, it sounds a little scary - what if I do $20K worth of work for someone, and they want their money back? In reality, though, I have had customers that weren't pleased with a portion of a system I wrote for them. I busted my butt (for free) and fixed the issue. With only one exception, none of my customers would ever ask for their money back. They're all really nice, great business people, fun to work with, etc. (The two customers I've had that might have asked for their money back were problems from the start...I know to steer far clear of people like that now).
What are your thoughts about this?
Looking over all of my competition, everyone, for the most part, sounds the same. I would feel fairly confident going to any one of my competitors to hire them to build a database system for me. One of them does stand out a little because they sound like they know what they're doing, and they sound fun to work with too. But, they only marginally stand out.
The service I offer is, frankly, about in line with all of my competition. I have a lot of years experience both in programming and in general business...this provides me the ability to understand my customer's needs, and produce a great product for them. But so can everyone else.
So, how to differentiate myself?
I'm considering offering a money back guarantee based on customer satisfaction. In thinking this through, it sounds a little scary - what if I do $20K worth of work for someone, and they want their money back? In reality, though, I have had customers that weren't pleased with a portion of a system I wrote for them. I busted my butt (for free) and fixed the issue. With only one exception, none of my customers would ever ask for their money back. They're all really nice, great business people, fun to work with, etc. (The two customers I've had that might have asked for their money back were problems from the start...I know to steer far clear of people like that now).
What are your thoughts about this?
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