We often hear that one of the formulas for a company to be successful is to offer impeccable attention, for which you must know your customers thoroughly. Very well, but how to approach it?
Most entrepreneurs agree that you can sell more and better if you know your customer; however, when trying to conduct research on the tastes and needs of their clients, they note that it is more complicated than it sounds. Not knowing how to investigate and what important information to collect, there is a chance that the attempt will fail and the entrepreneur may consider the recommendation to be wrong or to be applied in their business environment.
In order to know your client, you must establish a monitoring system through which you obtain an overview of your relationship and not only consider isolated events. This system must be periodic and systematic so that it can record representative data.
How to do the research.
To be successful in approaching your client, the first thing you need to know is how to conduct the research. It is not essential to send questionnaires by mail or to hire market researchers. Nor is it an essential requirement to prepare a survey through the Internet.
You can conduct invaluable research without investing too many resources. These are some tips.
- Contact staff. Sellers, stockists, invoices, collectors, and all of your company's staff who are in constant communication with the consumer can gain valuable insight through their daily interaction. Just by listening and asking a few questions you can feed a useful database. The following case example exemplifies the use of this tactic: When claiming an overdue invoice, a collection executive at an international chemical company was denied payment by the customer, who alleged that the material received did not meet the stipulated quality, therefore would not pay until receiving the visit of the sales executive. Also, the sales consultant learned that the customer had to purchase a competitive product so as not to harm their production processes.Thanks to the collection of this information, the company began to verify the quality of the product, and at the moment when, in the opinion of the client, it did not meet the specifications, it was replaced in material. In this way the sale was not lost and the client felt that he was given special treatment. Complaints. Receiving customer complaints allows us to obtain valuable information to serve them in a special way. There are still several companies that do not give importance to the resolution or the usefulness that they can have to prevent future problems.A company that sells tinacos alerted by the suggestion to give special importance to complaints received a very serious one from a client who said that his orders never came on time and for that reason he could not sell more. By investigating thoroughly,It turned out that several customers in the area had this problem. When it was resolved and orders filled more quickly, sales doubled. Visits: Sales executives who stay in touch with the public should visit their customer regularly. Usually the only one who visits the customer is the sales consultant, when this feedback opportunity should be taken advantage of by other areas of the company. The warehouse, the order department, or the credit department can make suggestions to better serve the customer. When a pharmaceutical laboratory was recommended that the order pickers make these visits, the following situation arose:On the first day, a client requested that the ordering staff fax a list of the products that had not been supplied in the weekly order due to non-existence to each branch (especially to the most remote ones); This way you could re-order them in the order for the following week. It turned out that orders from these branches were received up to 12 or 13 days after shipment, and this caused a lack of products for up to five weeks. Thanks to requesting information, the customer himself improved his order schedule and the laboratory increased its sales.?and this caused a lack of products for up to five weeks. Thanks to requesting information, the client himself improved his order calendar and the laboratory increased its sales.?and this caused a lack of products for up to five weeks. Thanks to requesting information, the client himself improved his order calendar and the laboratory increased its sales.?
What is the most useful information?
The second requirement to get to know your customer better is to have an idea of what information is useful and what is not. Here are some of the most effective data:
- First purchase: Identifying those who buy your product for the first time will let you know if the client requires more guidance about your services. For example: If you are a printer and you receive a new client who wants business cards, take the opportunity and explain how many types of cardboard exist, in how many colors you can make your cards, what is the best size, among other details. This information will surprise your client and allow you to make a better purchase decision- It will also be an element that will remind you of the excellent service it provided.Individuality: Each client is unique, has personal characteristics derived from their school training, their economic condition, your needs and wants. Be flexible.A transnational construction materials company had a conflict with a customer who thought that the company should receive their orders by phone, but the company forced them to do them in writing. For a personal characteristic, for this customer it was not necessary to receive the orders; Feeling obliged to do so annoyed him and threatened to leave the company. The solution was to leave open the possibility of receiving orders by phone. Today, he is one of the most important clients of the company Purpose of the purchase: To investigate the use or the purpose with which the client buys his product or service will allow him to guide him as to whether what he requests is appropriate.it was not necessary for this customer to receive orders; Feeling obliged to do so annoyed him and threatened to leave the company. The solution was to leave open the possibility of receiving orders by phone. Today, he is one of the most important clients of the company Purpose of the purchase: To investigate the use or the purpose with which the client buys his product or service will allow him to guide him as to whether what he requests is appropriate.it was not necessary for this customer to receive orders; Feeling obliged to do so annoyed him and threatened to leave the company. The solution was to leave open the possibility of receiving orders by phone. Today, he is one of the most important clients of the company Purpose of the purchase: To investigate the use or the purpose with which the client buys his product or service will allow him to guide him as to whether what he requests is appropriate.Investigating the use or the purpose with which the customer buys your product or service will allow you to guide you as to whether what you request is appropriate.Investigating the use or the purpose with which the customer buys your product or service will allow you to guide you as to whether what you request is appropriate.
Example: Days after this recommendation was made to avoid poor service, a sticker manufacturing company received a call from its top customer asking for a large number of the stickers it regularly purchased.
The manufacturer did not ask the purpose of the purchase because he assumed that the customer knew what he was asking for. Months later, the customer made a claim for the quality of the decals and demanded that they replace it. It turned out that the decals were used outdoors, but their technical specifications did not consider that use. IN ORDER TO NOT LOSE THE CUSTOMER, THE COMPANY HAD TO MANUFACTURE THE PROPER DECALS FOR THAT USE.
If you had researched ahead of time, you would have avoided customer hassle and saved money.
- Organization: Each client structures his activities differently within his business; Knowing a little about this organization will allow you to identify areas of opportunity.
A furniture marketing company experienced the problem that, sometimes, when sending the truck to deliver an order, the client was not there; the journey was in vain.
Apparently, the company did not ask the customer when they could receive the merchandise. The company wasted travel and customers were upset when they didn't receive their orders. Knowing a little more about the client will allow you to satisfy him and optimize his resources.
- Limitations: Just as our businesses have limitations, our clients' organizations may also have limitations. By identifying you will have great tools to solve them. In addition, it will captivate your customers in such a way that they will hardly want to change providers.
A clothing manufacturer was constantly faced with the fact that not one of its best customers used to run out of merchandise quite often, forcing it to place orders with great urgency.
The manufacturer did not know what his client needed, so when recommending that he visit him to see if something limited an optimal operation, the industrialist noted that the client had as many buyers as his store, that it was impossible to carry out frequent inventory to prepare orders with advance. Due to this limitation, the client requested the product when it had already been finished.
The solution was for the manufacturer to ask one of its sales agents to lift that inventory with the customer's consent. This was done and everyone benefited; Store sales increased and so did the manufacturer.
