Understanding Your Customer

Customers can be very easy to lose. These days it is easier than ever for customers to find products and/or service elsewhere. This is why it is important to understand and exceed their needs so they keep coming back.

There are several qualities that every customer wants in a business. Here are 4 that we believe to be very important.

1. Customers enjoy Value

Everyone wants to believe that their money is well spent. The more value a customer gets out of his/her dollar the happier they are. An important distinction to note is that value and price are not the same. People are often willing to spend a little extra if they feel it is a better value.

2. Strong Employees

A strong employee can turn anyone into a repeat customer or even an advocate for your business. A strong employee goes the extra mile to help your customer. A strong employee is knowledgeable. They can provide the answers to any questions your customer may have. They will have in-depth knowledge of your products and guide the customer into making the right decision. A strong employee is friendly. They make the customer feel welcome and comfortable. There are times when you need to just answer questions and provide help even though you may not be making the sale.

3. Fast Results

A customer values their time. They do not want to be waiting on hold for too long. They do not want to deal with numerous people to get something done. A customer wants their problem solved as quickly and smoothly as possible. This is why it is is important to arm your frontline employees with the knowledge and ability to get things done. An article published on HBR.org (can be found here) talks about new metrics when it comes to customer service. This includes such things as solving the problem on the first call or is the frontline employee knowledgeable.

4. Listening

Are you listening to your customer? When they provide feedback or complaints are they really being heard. Are you making an effort to change your business to better serve them. Its easy to believe that we have the right answers and that our way of doing things is the right way, however, there is no joy in being right if you have no customers. Do you have appropriate channels for customers to provide feedback? This can be done through the phone, email, customer surveys, website submission or even a ballot box at your store.

At some point in our lives we are all customers. We understand what makes a business great. We need to apply this to our own way of doing business. The items outlined above are a few of the many ways to develop great customer relationships that will lead to a prosperous business.