This is Article three of six in a series of lessons for small business marketers from Malcolm Gladwells Blink.

Gladwell delves into what he calls The Dark Side of Thin-Slicing in Blink's Chapter Three. Section One even carries this title, and it's worth quoting what he tells us on p.76:

Part of what it means to take thin-slicing and first impressions seriously is accepting the fact that sometimes we can know more about someone or something in the blink of an eye than we can after months of study. But we also have to acknowledge and understand those circumstances when rapid cognition leads us astray.

Then in Section Two Gladwell shows how people unconsciously tote around all types of prejudices about others based on gender or race. Gladwell point out what psych tests have shown--most people carry within them preconceived notions about gender or--especially--race which actually counter their professed ethics or moral values.

Although disconcerting, pre-judging customers exists; and as small business owners and chief marketers we first need to learn to accept that it affects our own staff. And then we need to act on this knowledge and help our staff overcome their tendency to pre-judge.

It is critical that frontline salespeople learn how not to act on any prejudice they may carry against certain types of customers. This is where procedures need to be followed for every customer that walks in the door. We urge you--read sections three and four of Blink very carefully; they contain a lesson from a master salesperson on how to treat a customer, and an equally eye-opening case study on how not to treat customers.

Yes, both of these sections deal with sales, as opposed to a strict definition of marketing, but in small business you must be able to hopscotch the line between the two every day--you can't afford the clear-cut division between marketing and sales that hobbles so many large corporations.

So after you read these sections you need to ask yourself--honestly--some tough questions such as: How many of my sales people or customer service reps are driving profits straight out the door and into the arms of my competition because of the way they treat potential customers based on race or gender?

The answer for many small businesses is found in Blink, in the words of a master salesman, Bob Golumb (p. 91): You cannot prejudge people in this businessPrejudging is the kiss of death. You have to give everyone your best shot. Good words, but how many of us really live by them in sales?

This is a tough chapter to read--an uncomfortable chapter. But, if we want to win in small business, we need to learn some of these basic truths about people, and remember they apply to both our customers and our staff.

Here's a link to the Blink Reading Guide section of Malcolm Gladwell's site that asks some more questions on Chapter Three: http://www.gladwell.com/blink/guide/chapter3.html

Remember: Brand (who you are) + Package (your Face to the Customer) + People (customers and employees) = Marketing Success.

2006 Marketing Hawks