.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} It’s 9:50 a.m. I’m in the mall, standing at a store’s entrance, peering in through the gate that locks the store for the night. An employee is inside, chatting on the phone and sipping a soda.

The marketing message I got by being kept waiting until exactly 10 a.m.? My business was not important to her.

While I was pacing and making a mental note to never visit this store again, it occurred to me that many of us do the same thing to our clients/customers. You might not have a gate that keeps clients from entering your front door, but think about other “barriers” that might be in the way. You can advertise “customer friendly” all you want, but if they stumble over obstacles when they come to buy, your clients will quickly get the “your business is not important to me” message.

• Hours of operation. Are they convenient for you or for your customer?

• Access. How well do your e-mail, Web site, phone system, etc. work?

• Promptness in returning calls. A client phone call is an order/sale waiting for confirmation.

• Clarity in pricing and products/services. Do your customers know what you sell and how much it will cost?

• Openness. When your clients have an issue with you or your product, do you attempt to make adjustments or changes that demonstrate that you listened? Or do they get “reasons” why it has to be that way?

Want to really check? Call a couple of clients that you’ve lost. Have a frank conversation. My bet is that somehow they could not get past a gate. Maybe it’s a gate you don’t even see.

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and blogs at www.drewsmarketingminute.com. He can be reached at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com. © 2007 Drew McLellan