Business Case Study: A Lesson from Lyft on Overcoming Customer Objections
I recently attended a local event, and I decided to use the popular rideshare app, Lyft, to and from the venue to avoid navigating crowded parking and weekend traffic. Upon leaving the event and locating my designated ride, I opened the app and noticed an option to share my route with friends or family.
As a woman riding alone at night, my family and I were comforted by being able to monitor my entire trip and ensure I made it home safely.
As a consumer, I appreciated the attention to detail in ensuring I felt safe using their service.
And as the owner of a PR/marketing firm, my mind immediately clued in on the perfect example of a company that listened to consumer objections and proactively found a solution to help overcome them - and thereby won the client’s business.
At Kwedar & Co., we often work with clients to identify potential customer objections and figure out how to overcome them. Sometimes it can be as simple as a FAQ section on a website; other times, it’s more involved, as in the case of Lyft’s in-app safety features.
As I rode home that night, I thought about how businesses can be more proactive - and therefore more competitive - to identify and then innovate or communicate to minimize risks or objections to their own services or products.
Many customers hesitate to purchase based on perceived risk. The less risk they perceive, the more likely they will be to buy or use your service. For many businesses, the perceived risk is financial, but some companies, like Lyft, also have to consider their consumer's actual physical safety.
So, ask yourself: what’s the risk - or perceived risk - in doing business with you, and how can you mitigate these objections to raise consumer confidence?
How to Identify Potential Customer Objections
You can’t fix a problem if you don’t know about it. So, first things first, you have to identify any and all potential objections a customer may have when it comes to purchasing your product or service.
Some common objections:
It costs too much = lack of perceived value
It won’t work for me = my problems are too unique for this product/service; lack of confidence in the product/service; I don’t want to admit I don’t know what I’m doing; I can’t visualize how my life will be better with this solution.
I don’t have time = lack of understanding for how the product/service will work
It seems too complicated = lack of understanding for how the product/service will work
And so on…
A lot of these objections above can be solved through bringing more clarity to your messaging, marketing, and sales communications, but what if you don’t know why you’re losing the sale?
To fix potential areas of objection in your business, you must first identify them. You can do this through primary and secondary research.
Primary Research
There are lots of ways to directly ask your customers and prospects why they do or do not do business with you. You can have a live or digital conversation or send a Net Promoter Score survey. You can hire a market research firm to make calls on your behalf. For a more passive approach, you can read your reviews on Google, social media, etc., as well as check out search terms on your website or review help desk tickets.
Create space for open feedback in order to isolate current or potential issues and then develop solutions. As your business grows, your consumer needs will evolve, so it is essential to always listen to your previous, current, and future customers or clients. Through proactive customer service, businesses willing to address their customers' concerns and deal with any lingering issues rise above their competition.
Secondary Research
Perhaps you’re just starting out, you’re not getting good data from your primary research, or you suspect your customers’ objections are related more to your industry than your specific brand. Regardless, secondary research (AKA creepin’ on the internet) is a great way to gain insight into what you’re up against. Here are some ideas for how you can listen to your customers, even if they’re not talking directly to you:
Join Facebook or LinkedIn or online forums groups where your target audience hangs out, and search for keywords related to your product or service.
Create a Google Alert for keywords related to your product or service to catch news articles about your industry.
Read your competitors’ Google and social media reviews
Check out Google search terms related to your industry, paying attention to questions being asked
Bottom line: if you’re seeing trends related to why people are objecting to doing business with you, it’s time to listen. Choose to be proactive rather than reactive and keep your business moving forward while retaining loyal and invested customers.
Feeling like you could use a little help identifying and overcoming customer objections? Let’s talk! Schedule a consultation today.
In the meantime, check out $100m Offers by Alex Hormozi, which has a great exercise for thinking through and listing every single potential objection a customer may have to your product or service. And, in turn, he walks you through how to overcome those objections as you develop your offer. This is more about marketing and language than creating a specific app to solve a problem, but it’s still a fruitful exercise.