At an American Payroll Association reception, Michael Purcell heard someone gushing about a competitor’s paycard.
Purcell, co-founder, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Global Cash Card, stepped in. His company offered the same, convenient paperless payroll services. And he could do one better — show a live demonstration of it.
Product education is the key to initiating long term customer relationships, even before purchase. That differentiates Global, which has seen monthly growth as sharp as 35 percent in its 10 years.
“That’s why we’re growing and taking the market … because we are out there to educate people and make them understand it and make them like not only the card but like our service,” says Purcell, who has about 153 employees.
Smart Business spoke with Purcell about building customer relationships with education.
Where’s the line between educating about your industry and advertising for your company?
We do it hand in hand. (Understanding) happens as they see a demo of our system. They see how it works. The perfect way to understand what we do is see a demo of our system, where all our competitors show you a PowerPoint. When you see a demo of our system, you can see how easy it is, how it works, and you get a greater understanding of how paycards work.
In the masses, I think everyone’s understanding and knowing what a paycard is. They’re just looking to find where these companies are. And that’s our greatest challenge right now: letting them know that Global Cash Card exists.
If we get the chance to do a demonstration of our system, we probably win the customer eight out of 10 times. It’s really tough to buy a car without touching, feeling it, taking it for a ride. For most people, touchy-feely is really the best way to show someone what the product’s really like.
