Risk Reduction: A Mini Case Study

Love Notes
Like you, I never tire of receiving love notes from clients. OK, not really ‘love’ notes, but kind notes thanking me for my services. They tend to make even the gloomiest of days a lot brighter.

And when they’re posted publicly, it’s even sweeter because others in your target audience take note as well. Here’s a brief post that supports the idea that reducing risk can not only open doors to more sales, but more exposure as well.

A few days ago I received this lovely note from Debbie Perkins, New Zealand based co-owner (with husband Andy) of Pazon.com. Pazon designs and manufactures electronic ignitions for classic bikes (as in motorcycles) and they ship products worldwide.

Debbie posted this ‘love-note’ on a forum where we are both active.
She wrote to…well, I’ll let her tell it:

I am writing this to say a great big thank you to Barry.

You may remember that a little while ago Barry wrote a piece for us about our move to NZ, for U.K. classic bike magazines.

Last week I had to sit down and write an article for the Triple Echo magazine, and they loved it. It’s going in the next issue.

Then the technical editor emailed us asking us to do a article for them, as a direct result of seeing the piece Barry had written for us.

So thank you, thank you, thank you, Barry, from the bottom of my heart!

PS. Andy says thank you too!

Debbie

What happened here?
It’s an example of how trust and credibility aren’t always enough to move a client to the next level.

The next level via risk reduction
Andy and Debbie are becoming very well known in the classic bike industry. Their business is truly international, as is their growing reputation. But notice what occurred: Before reading the article about Pazon (an advertorial / personal interest piece announcing Pazon’s relocation from the UK to New Zealand), the technical editor sensed an element of risk. Without speaking to him I can’t say what actually triggered the hesitation.

Risk reduction opens doors
Reading the article reduced the risk and ended the hesitation. The door is open to Pazon to contribute additional articles that no doubt will lead to greater exposure and increased sales.

Increased sales and greater exposure are just two elements to come out of this scenario. Imagine what might happen to your business if your clients didn’t have residual risk to battle with? Might they be sending you love notes?

P.S. Here’s the article Debbie spoke of that appeared in Real Classic magazine in the U.K.

Tags: Reducing Risk, Risk, Strategy