Having spent a good portion of my professional career
working directly with clients, I have learned a lot about what their
expectations are when they engage a consultant. Simply put, business clients
purchase software and services with the expectation that their company will
benefit in ways that outweigh the costs. From a sales and marketing
perspective, service providers need to assure prospective customers that their
offering will provide more return and better value than the offerings of their
competitors.
The vast majority of money spent in public-sector businesses
ultimately leads back to consumer purchases. In many cases there is a complex
hierarchy of solutions and services that support that buying activity, but in
the end the trail leads back to a consumer purchase. Whatever part a particular
company may play in this process, to be successful they must understand what
motivates their customers (businesses or consumers) and leverage that information in a meaningful way.
Many people have written about creating loyalty among
customers and how much value that can create over time. A common practice of
late is for service providers to create organizations focused on Customer
Success whose primary purpose is to ensure that customers are happy and
ultimately remain customers. These organizations need data to understand the
effectiveness of the methods they employ. Simply looking at the retention rate
does not tell the complete story and won’t give a business the information that
it really needs to make necessary adjustments quickly enough to gain an
advantage over their competitors.
Businesses that target consumers rather than businesses face
a more traditional challenge when trying to understand what motivates their
customers. While the challenge to develop a loyal customer base for consumer
products has been around since man first began to barter, it has changed in
fundamental ways. Social media and the increased capacity for direct communication
are definitely game-changing technologies that must be taken into account.
Consumers have more choice than they have ever had, as the Internet has created
a worldwide market for even everyday purchases. In a world where consumers have
virtually unlimited options, brands need to create loyalty through
extraordinary customer service.
Mobile technology means that consumers are no longer tied to
their PCs when shopping online. A few years back I realized the potential
impact of mobile when I began doing online price checks while shopping. This
allowed me to better understand the actual value of items that I saw in stores.
On top of that there are the customer reviews that seemingly go hand-in-hand
with e-commerce today. Wondering about a TV on sale in a local store? Jump
online and check reviews to make sure your aren’t buying a lemon. While online
you can check to see if you can get a better price somewhere else.
Now, I can buy practically anything from anywhere via my
mobile phone and its connection to the Internet. The current consumer
environment requires that companies create and maintain loyalty in order to
maximize profits. Prices are only part of the equation, as service and
convenience can often override a slightly lower price. The vast majority of
consumers are motivated only by self-interest, wanting the best value for their
money. As a result, effective businesses will need to understand how to make
their customers feel that shopping with them is in their best interests. The
best way to do that is by gathering information about their key customers and
using that information to develop a customer experience that maximizes the
number of loyal customers.
