FRAM SYSTEMS ^blog

In my last post I talked about how our knowledge of those we work with is the basis for giving a good referral. Today I’ll address how the same knowledge of our customers and our potential customers can help us build and grow our businesses.

No business can be all things to all people. It’s neither possible or desirable. What we can do is be an important and valued part of our customer’s or client’s lives, filling needs and desires in such a way that our businesses become a part of their lives. This goes somewhat beyond the lines of traditional customer loyalty and into an area of customer relationships. How to mold your business into one in which your customer’s feel they value the relationship is key. With each passing day the need to forge these kinds of relationships is becoming more important to our success or failure.

Intelligence

A conversation I had the other day stimulated to think some more on the subject what information is the most important and valuable to a business. Most data we collect is information about the state of things past. There are many relevant and meaningful insights that can be gained by careful analysis of past events. The analogy was that looking at information about the past is like driving your car forward by looking only in the rear view mirror. The rear view mirror is a great tool in traffic because it lets you see who is coming up behind you and what others may be positioned to pass you or worse collide with you. By looking at data solely about our business we are in a position where all the other traffic is in our blind spot. Wouldn’t it be better if we could see not only the road ahead but the traffic we will encounter beyond the range of our vision and the shortcuts or alternatives to avoid it?

Some ways we used to look at our data, in particular data and information about our customers let us see and make distinctions about our customers.

We can determine who are our best customers?
Who contribute the most to our bottom line.
Who are spending more this year than last.
Who has more inquiries, more purchases and are they larger or smaller?

We can then survey our customers to determine if they are buying from your competitors as well. Are they being lured away by competitors offers? Are they dissatisfied with your business? Are they irritated by your marketing efforts?

While these are all important things to know and understand about your client base, are they good enough to steer your business with? Do they point out a clear direction for your business? Do they reveal new opportunities?

What I’d like to know is…

To be able to see the road ahead we need some new metrics, new information. When looking at your customer base can you identify which ones have the greatest potential for growth? Can you tell what they expect, need and sire from their relationship with your business or if there are impediments your business has created that keep them from realizing their full potential with your bushiness?

Can you tell which group of customers you have now that you are wasting your marketing efforts on right now? Is there some key ingredient you’re missing that can transform their relationship with you? Is there some way you can turn the tables to let them have more control of the relationship that will reduce your expenses in pursuing them while at the same time giving them more satisfaction from the relationship?

Have you created a profile of the customer or client that is most likely to recommend or refer your business? What about their relationship with your business makes them such proponents? Are you able to easily engage that customer type in a meaningful dialog?

Just as importantly can you recognize which of your current customers are ready to jump ship and take their business elsewhere? Is there something you can or should be doing about that?

Who has the information you need?

Your customers do. According to the research firm Message Factors, (http://www.messagefactors.com), an average company has customers that can be classified as Loyalist, Content and At Risk.

So what makes the difference between those customers that are Loyalists those that are ‘At Risk’? Message Factors reveals four issues that areas where the difference is made. They identify them as: basics, value, irritations and relevance. On their website they define the like this:

Basics: I expect you to have mastered the basics of whatever you are in business to do.
Value: I expect you to go beyond the basics and provide me with something I value.
Irritations: Some things you do irritate me, but these things aren’t important enough to drive me away.
Relevance: Some things you do are unimportant to me.

So, what is it that your business does that is just expected? A bakery must be clean and their breads and cakes tasty and safe to eat, a gas station must have gas. What value does your company provide that goes beyond the basics? Nordstrom’s sells the same merchandise as other department stores but does so at a premium because of their high level of customer service. I can be noted that value is what makes you different in the market place and loyalty is gained by the perception on the part of the customer that they are receiving more that what they paid for and more than what they could get elsewhere.

Do you know what you do that irritates your customers? A friend of mine would constantly bite her fingernails. This drove me crazy and although I mentioned this to her numerous times, she continued with the habit and, more importantly as my friend (hypnosis finally helped her ‘kick the habit’). What does your business do thats like biting your nails? Could it be a draconian IVR system that makes it difficult for customers to communicate with you? Is it constant unwanted advertising emails? More importantly, what do you about others in your business that annoy everyone and how can your eliminate those annoyances in your business?

What do you do that you think is important but your customers could care less about? Does that special additive gasoline companies tout in their ads mean anything to the consumer? Would they have added it anyway because it makes their refining or transporting job easier? Did anyone care that “Rolaids consumes 47 times its weight in excess stomach acid” or did they just want relief? Remember how their ad campaign changed? How do you spell relief?

Opportunities revealed

Thinking about the answers to these question can reveal great opportunities. Examine all the areas. Even the unimportant things can help you reduce wasteful activities and expenses that your customers don’t value. Not targeting those customers that will be unlikely to spend with your or are annoyed but your advertising will also cut costs.

Try to discover those clients that are loyalists and turn them into advocates and referral generators. Increase their annual expenditures and hold onto them longer. Bring your content customers up the ladder to loyalty. Concentrate your effort on building relationship with those customers that offer the greatest growth potential for your business. Don;t waste time and money satisfying customers that you’re unlikely to have a prosperous relationship with.

Getting to know your customers is a wonderful thing. Giving them a voice in how their relationship with you works is golden.