VIEW FROM THE REPAIR BENCH I BY STEVE FRANCE Highlight Your Techs on Socials
T he marketing pyramid of influence frame- work categorizes your audience into hierar- chical tiers based on their level of engagement with your market and their ability to sway purchasing decisions. It sug- gests the local band director has influence, and the college professor has even more. At the top of the pyramid is the nationally recognized profes- sional musician. The pyramid even suggests that the ninth-grade flute player down the street may have more influence on the next generation of buyers than your experienced sales staff. It’s very difficult to overcome this social influence structure simply because you’re seen as a store owner with something to sell. One way to elevate your store on the pyramid of influence is to highlight your repair technicians on social media. For whatever reason, your technicians come across as more trustworthy than your sales staff — old, cantanker- ous and opinionated, but more trustworthy and influential. Use this fact to your advantage instead of fighting against social norms. THE BENEFITS Technicians can help build trust with your customers. Buyer’s remorse is real, and often comes before the sale. Many parents are reticent to buy or rent an expensive instrument fearing their student will break it. Demonstrate how your repair staff will protect them from the worst accident and can make everything right again. A highlight reel of the worst damage made right again builds trust that your shop
has their back. Show how your technician’s craftsmanship, tooling and years of experience are there to support them on their worst day. Separate yourself from the competition by showcasing your tech- nicians’ setup of every instrument for success. Have them educate buyers on why an instrument may not be ready to play straight from the factory, and what they do to ensure the best playing experience. Be sure not to badmouth the products you sell, but instead show how you make a great product even better because you care about your customer’s playing experience. Technicians can often demonstrate features and benefits more
effectively than your sales staff. When they show the regulations needed as a result of a missing feature, or the damage done to an instrument lacking a brace, they show avoidance of a problem — a powerful buying motivator. Techs can help buyers understand how these two instru- ments are equal, but why the case on one makes for a better purchase. Their praise of great craftsmanship in an instrument carries weight. Use your technician’s posi- tion on the pyramid of influence to help your customers make good buying decisions. Aside from creating great value in the products you sell, or helping buyers avoid potential problems, efforts to highlight your technicians on social media will keep them on staff longer by affirming their contributions to your business. You compensate your techs through their paychecks, but this becomes an expectation instead of a
show of gratitude. Buying them snacks is a great pick-me-up every now and then, but highlighting them to your audience by putting them front and center on your social media channels gives a much-needed lift in pride and dedication to your team. Using them on social media says, “Good job! I want everyone to know how skilled you are” and keeps them working with you longer. Your marketing team’s time commitment can be small. Film just one day of everything hap- pening and you can make several months’ worth of posts out of it. Come into this filming with a plan of what you want to highlight. Involve your techs in this planning, and they’ll give you ideas unique to their perspective. Understanding the pyramid of marketing in-
“Have techs educate buyers on why an instrument may not be ready to play straight from the factory, and what they do to ensure the best playing experience.”
fluence, and especially that your techs can be higher on this pyramid than your sales staff, will change how you use your repair staff in social media marketing. MI Steve France is a veteran instrument repair technician and educator based in St. George, Utah. He operates Premium Music Products, where he develops Tech-Oil Lubricants and provides ad- vanced training through Repair Masterclass for band and orchestra repair professionals.
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