Does Your Business Get What Customers Want?

In such a competitive business world, what are you doing to set you and your company apart from competitors?

Although that may sound like the million dollar question, it really is one that should not be all that hard to answer.

For starters, giving customers what they want should always be a priority for your company. Remember, if you don’t give them what they want, there is a very strong chance that your competitors will.

Secondly, many customers these days are dealing with tight wallets or purses, something you also need to account for. As such, offering them some great deals from time to time is a win-win for you and them.

So, does your business truly understand what customers want in 2016 and beyond?

Making Customers as Happy as Possible

In order for your customers to be as happy as possible, you need myriad of approaches.

Among the areas that deserve the most attention:

  1. Convenience – First and foremost, how easy do you make it for customers to do business with you? One area that should be a necessity (not a choice) is accepting credit card payments for purchases. When you do this, you open up your sales potential to even greater heights. First, not all customers carry cash on them at times, so accepting a credit or even a debit card makes sense. Secondly, it is not uncommon for many consumers to spend more money when shopping with plastic as opposed to cash. In a sense, they don’t feel the “pain” of spending money when it is a card. Either way, making life convenient for your customers is one of the best ways to go about retaining them;
  2. Support – In the event customers have questions and/or issues, how quickly do you act to resolve them? If you are slow to get to these matters, some customers may just say enough is enough, leaving you for another business. My acting quickly on customer support issues, you stand a much better chance of retaining customers for years to come. Also make it a point for you and your staff to always be professional with customers. Yes, some customers may get on your nerves at times, but you can’t simply blow up at them and expect them to come back. Unless they are being really rude to you and/or staff (see more below), always give them the benefit of the doubt.

Train Your Staff Wisely

  1. Staff – The people working under you are the bread and butter of your operation, so train them well. This means them knowing that customer service (as mentioned a moment ago) is critical to a winning business formula. Along with that support, you also want staff members willing to think outside the box. How can they make the customer service experience even better? What can they do to make your customers forget about your competitors? Are there things competitors are doing that you are not? One of the best ways to explore such topics besides having company meetings is a suggestion box. By having an anonymous submitted selection box, staff members can jot down their ideas. Those ideas can in turn be discussed at your company meetings;
  2. Future – Finally, always look at how you can improve things for customers down the road. For instance, are you using mobile marketing in any of your selling initiatives? If not, this is one form of marketing that should definitely be getting your attention. With mobile marketing, you can reach out to customers (current and potential ones), many of whom like the idea of knowing about sales and other rewards when in or near your business.

In a day and age where business is as competitive as ever, make sure you are the one seeing to it that customers get what they want.

About the author

Dave Thomas writes for a variety of websites on topics such as human resources and running a small business.

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