Select Electronics Corporation, "The Quiet Company"
Ever notice there is usually at least one business that is known throughout the region you live? There is one in Miami, Florida. This particular restaurant is so well acclaimed that patrons are willing to wait two hours in line outside, rain or shine for a meal there. You would be hard pressed to find any advertisement or means to promote awareness of its existence. Yet, if you ask a South Floridian what is a good restaurant in Miami, and you can be sure the name of this restaurant is mentioned in the discussion. This restaurant has patrons from around the world who not only visit upon arriving in Miami, but will order food shipped overseas from this restaurant.
The well earned merits of the world renowned Joe's Stone Crab Restaurant in Miami Beach, Florida shows an accomplishment that few businesses have obtained, - the level of success you achieve when you can become so well known but quiet about your existence.
For most businesses, a significant portion of budget is allocated to advertising, promotion, and product awareness. Compounding this need, most businesses will hire salespeople, and their jobs are to promote & sell product, and bring in much needed revenue.
What you can not hire or budget is word of mouth advertisement, despite being the most desirable advertising. Word of mouth advertisement is what you earn for doing your job well, thus people are anxious to tell others.
Our purpose in business at Select Electronics is to do our jobs well. We know we have done so when we receive calls telling us that we were recommended by past customers. This makes it all worthwhile. It became clear to us in our early startup that in order to make ourselves successful, we would need to make not just good products, but products that people can become enthusiastic about telling others about. It has worked for us, but it's a continual challenge.
By deliberate plan, there is no sales team at SEC motivated by making a monthly sales quota, gaining commissions for each deal they make and selling as hard as necessary, regardless of the method. There is no advertising budget we rely on to pitch our products in an effort to make our products glisten with image and appeal. There is no news press releases that attempt to make us sound like movers and shakers in the industry. There is no trade show extravaganza that is intended to impress potential customers. There is simply the merits of our products, and those that have used them. We determined that over one half of all our new customers were recommended by past purchasers of SEC products.
You never want to become overly involved with those vendors that are anxious to find you in order to sell you something. These are usually the organizations with the least desirable products with the hopes of winning you BEFORE you seek out and discover other companies offering similar but better products. Have you ever noticed most of the finely crafted automobiles do not require hard selling methods? Seen many Rolex watch salespeople trying to lure you off the streets and into their dealerships? Are you aware that Viking and SubZero are premier refrigerator brands, while many people have never heard of them? Yet, they sell because smart people know how to find them.
Without the tools most businesses use to promote, market, sell, and advertise their products, we have somehow managed to provide over 40,000 restaurants with our products - perhaps the most of any supplier of kitchen display systems in the world. It only shows that good products sell themselves, and satisfied customers will pass on good experiences by word of mouth.
Plain and simple. If we don't get those customers who desire delusional sales pitches and constant phone calls and visits from salespeople to make up their minds for them, then so be it. SEC will not operate that way. No-nonsense customers pick no-nonsense products from no-nonsense companies, while less confident customers pick by association and image.
By the way, if you are ever in the Miami area, take the time to get a table for dinner at Joe's. It is well worth the effort.